THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RUPERT, Idaho (AP) — The legal notice has been given: Pete the pup goes up for auction Tuesday.

The dachshund taken to the Rupert Animal Clinic in January after being hit by a car has recovered, but clinic officials say Pete’s owners haven’t responded to multiple calls to pick up their dog and pay the $400 bill.

So the clinic posted a legal notice in The Times-News that Pete will be put up for sale. (more…)

THE BAXTER BULLETIN

The Mountain Home City Council agreed Thursday to hold off bidding for animal-control services and instead assigned city police officers animal-control duties.

The city has been without an animal-control company since the first of the year, when the council decided not to renew a $32,500 annual contract with Mountain Home Animal Control Inc. and instead advertise bids for the service.

“Things seem to be going reasonably well,” Mayor David Osmon told the council. “We’re saving money. I would feel comfortable giving this a little more time.” (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO — The city of San Diego says it will sell its seven police horses via an online auction as a way to help balance its budget.

The horse unit, started in 1983, is disbanding, and the officers have been assigned to other units.

About a third of the San Diego Police Department’s dogs are also being laid off. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The owners of pets and horses seized by law enforcement would be required to pay for the animals’ care under a measure introduced in the Nebraska Legislature.

The bill (LB1084) by state Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber calls for a hearing to be held within 10 days of an animal’s seizure. At the hearing, the court will decide whether to return the animal to its owner or harborer. If the animal is not returned, the court will order the owner to pay all expenses related to the care of the animal, including shelter, food and veterinary care. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Brand inspector Mike Walck won’t soon forget one of the worst cases of animal cruelty he has seen. In mid-November, between Rulison and Parachute, someone shot a horse in the head, leaving the gray gelding in his late teens or early 20s for dead. But the horse didn’t die.

“I don’t know why they were trying to kill the horse, but they damn sure shot it in the head,” Walck said angrily. “It’s a tough deal.”

Walck said the horse has been nursed back to health and is recovering. No arrests have been made in the case. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Greene County lawmaker wants to make the slaughtering of horses for human consumption legal in Missouri.

But state Rep. Jim Viebrock has a lot of hurdles to clear.

Viebrock, R-Republic, is sponsoring state legislation aimed at bypassing a federal ban on meat inspectors working in horse slaughtering plants by getting processors to pay for the inspections. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALT LAKE CITY — Overstock.com Inc. has stopped selling watchbands, shoes and luggage made from the skins of exotic animals.

The Salt Lake City, Utah-based Internet retailer announced Monday that it pulled listings involving items with alligator, lizard, ostrich, stingray, eel, shark and kangaroo skin from its Web site. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLARKSTON, Mich. — Animals may not have any concept of holidays, but if they did, some local animals might find themselves thanking Kid Rock this holiday season.

“I’ve always tried to help out where I can locally; I do a lot of things nationally and worldwide, too, but if I can’t start out by helping in my hometown, then why bother?” said Robert Ritchie, the Clarkston area resident and Romeo native better known as musician Kid Rock. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

Feline Rescue and Rehome collected more than $1,000 Saturday night at The Afterthought, which featured the mellow, rockin’ stylings of Brenda and Ellis.

Alex, head library cat at the Arkansas School for the Blind and unofficial FURR mascot, greeted guests and passersby in his faux fur-lined green hoodie.

“He’s definitely attracted some people,” said Alex’s owner and FURR board member Susan Loesch. “He’s a little grumpy getting the jacket on, but once it’s on, he’s content.” (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — The basset hounds at Daphneyland aren’t the only ones with long, sad faces.

Donations to the nation’s largest basset hound rescue have never been so low, bills so overdue, the need so crucial or the help so thin, said Dawn Smith, Daphneyland’s president and founder. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALEM, Ore. — Tammy Thompson lives in a tarp-covered tent on Salem’s fringe, sharing her “little spot in the woods” with three much-loved dogs.

“They’re my children. They’re everything to me,” said Thompson, 44.

That’s why she was grateful for a local program that provides free exams, vaccinations and medications for the pets of homeless people. The aim is to improve public safety and show compassion for homeless people. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RENO, Nev. — A new federal proposal to manage wild horses is rekindling debate over another fixture of the Western range: cattle.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week proposed moving thousands of mustangs to preserves in the Midwest and East to protect horse herds and the rangelands that support them. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOHNSON CITY, Texas — When an elderly Johnson City woman known as the “cat lady” died, leaving behind more than 100 felines, the question arose about what would happen to her precious pets.

Blanco County has no animal control agency or animal shelter, so the 72-year-old woman’s neighbors knew they had to step in and help. (more…)

McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

DETROIT — When someone shot Jose Cantu’s pit bull in broad daylight, Cantu didn’t call the Pontiac, Mich., cops. He called Pam Porteous and the Animal Care Network.

“I called Pam first because I knew she would come right out and take care of it,” said Cantu, 32, an unemployed construction worker who, like many Pontiac residents, has come to rely on the group for pet needs in the financially troubled city. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. — Several groups are pushing to renew the slaughter of horses in the U.S., possibly starting in Oregon.

Proponents are pushing Congress to introduce a bill to allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume inspecting horse meat for human consumption. (more…)

CONCORD, Calif. — On Monday morning, Debby Brown was ecstatic, having been reunited with her tiny dog Lexi 2 1/2 days after the pet was taken from her Cadillac Escalade parked behind a Concord, Calif., restaurant.

But it was a tough weekend for the Concord woman, who offered — and paid — a $10,000 reward to get back Lexi. (more…)

THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — My dad figured he had all the time in the world to take care of Rocky. What he didn’t realize was that he needed quite a bit of money too.

My dad has a decent pension from his job as a cafeteria worker at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York. But all the pet food, veterinarian visits and other expenses are making a dent on his budget. Still, he loves Rocky and won’t give him up. (My mom is not as much of a fan, as Rocky is extremely rambunctious, but she puts up with him to please my dad.) (more…)

(All close-up photography by Benjamin Krain/ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE)

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

They’re not yet operating on a wing and a prayer, but the Little Rock Zoo is hoping a new show featuring birds swooping over patrons’ heads will draw at least 35,000 more visitors this year compared with 2008 and help make up for lost city funding.

Zoo officials estimate that the facility needs to see at least that many more patrons to make up for a slight decrease in city funds and attendance and an increase in operating expenses. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A new fee for pet owners would help pay for building and operating animal shelters throughout the state, under a bill filed Monday.

The measure by Rep. Clark Hall, D-Marvell, would impose a $3 fee for veterinarian visits for cats and dogs. That money would be placed in a trust fund, under the Arkansas Department of Health, and doled out to cities and counties for their animal shelters. (more…)

BLOOMBERG NEWS

Uno the beagle, winner of the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club dog show, is back in New York after a yearlong victory lap that took him to opening-pitch ceremonies at Major League baseball games, the White House and downtime on his ranch in Austin, Texas.

Uno was the first beagle named best in show in Westminster’s 132 years. He made an appearance at a press preview yesterday at the Hotel Pennsylvania, baying before a gauntlet of cameras. (more…)

McClatchy Newspapers

The ploy is an old one: You get an unsolicited e-mail or letter from someone offering you cash or prizes. But some schemers now are dangling an enticement aimed straight at the heart: the chance to buy or adopt an adorable puppy.

The American Veterinary Medical Association issued an advisory this month, warning would-be pet owners about Internet ploys that offer popular purebred puppies and exotic pets at discount prices. The scheme operators first ask customers to wire several hundred dollars, usually to Africa or somewhere else overseas, for the animals, then later request more money for insurance or transportation costs. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Hill’s Science Diet, a popular brand of dog and cat food, won’t be on the shelves much longer at Allwood Pet Center in Clifton, N.J.

Store owner Lydia Grossman said she plans to stop selling the food because Hill’s has raised its price “a few times” over the year and a 7.4 percent jump is coming Jan. 1. (more…)