THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Authorities say nearly 2,000 hens and roosters have been confiscated from a two-block area in Los Angeles as part of an ongoing cockfighting investigation.

Los Angeles police Officer Cleon Joseph says officers and animal services workers spent ten hours Wednesday removing the birds from the rural area of residential trailers and ranch-style homes in the Sylmar area.

Items used for cockfighting were also seized. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. CLAIR, Mo. — Nearly 125 animals living in filthy conditions have been rescued from an eastern Missouri property.

The Humane Society of Missouri said Thursday it and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department rescued 102 domestic rabbits, three dogs, five cats, a guinea pig, three baby goats, four hens, two roosters, two pigeons, and two ducks.

It said the rabbits were housed in feces-filled, wire-bottom cages without shelter. The dogs and fowl had no shelter or water. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE — Alone, in the middle of Sylvia Lake, swims a prince without his princess.

For 25 years, Prince, a mute swan, has called Sylvia Lake home, and up until December 2007 he shared his days and nights with Princess. The two did everything together in this Gig Harbor community, including entertaining the locals, scaring away obnoxious Canada geese and hobnobbing with their duck friends.

Gordon Golob, who lives on the lake, remembers how Princess used to knock on his back door every morning to let him know she was ready for breakfast, while Prince would hang back and wait for his share. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CORBIN, Ky. — An animal rights group that frequently targets fast-food chain KFC says it wants to erect a statue crafted from chicken droppings to protest a proposed bronze statue of restaurant founder Colonel Harland Sanders.

The request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, was e-mailed to Corbin Main Street Manager Sharae Myers on Monday. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEENAH, Wis. — A year ago, Jake the rooster confounded Neenah officials. Now a household of exotic birds has city officials scratching for answers.

At issue is the Roseberry Bird Rescue, a nonprofit organization that cares for as many as 125 abandoned, abused or neglected birds until they can be rehabilitated and adopted.

The business has operated for 15 years from the home of MaryKay Rosenow and Randy Berryman, but it has been in violation of city zoning codes from the start. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ALBANY, Ore. — On the afternoon before the Oregon Ducks beat the Oregon State Beavers in the annual Civil War football game, a male mallard was found in Albany, spray-painted Beavers’ orange with its legs duct-taped together.

The duck survived, but its feathers no longer shed water. If set free, it couldn’t swim.

“Insane,” said Jeff Picton, executive director of the nonprofit Chintimini Wildlife Center, where the bird must spend the winter. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PetSmart Charities is on the scene of a large-scale animal rescue effort in Wisconsin, ensuring hundreds of rescued pets have enough food and supplies.

The animal-rescue effort began yesterday and continued today in Cazenovia, Wis., where more than 350 animals including dogs, horses, fowl, livestock and other small animals were taken from a self-described “animal rescue and sanctuary.” (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…)

McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In Southwest Ranches, Fla., a 100-pound Siberian lynx named Sasha roams Steve and Barbara Burk’s house like the alpha-male predator he is.

At times the powerful cat paws playfully at a llama, a goat or another critter in the menagerie of animals the Burks invite in to wander the house. At other times Sasha grows bored with the barnyard hoi polloi and retires to his bedroom, furnished with a double bed and a television. (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…)

What makes your pet outstanding? Was she rescued from an abusive environment? Does he do cool tricks? Is she the smartest animal ever? Did he save you from a burning inferno? Tell us about it!

Email me your story and photos of your pet. Be sure to put “Pet of the Month” in the subject line. If selected, your pet will be featured all month as Rescue in the Rock’s Pet of the Month, and you both will get a great prize!

The Pet of the Month for October will be selected Sept. 30 and posted Oct. 1. We’ll be accepting emails from now to midnight Sept. 29. Or you can enter by snail mail: Krisha Williams Turbeville, 121 E. Capitol, Little Rock, AR, 72201.

THE WASHINGTON POST

One of the many transitions thrust on freshman going off to college is saying good-bye to the family pet. But, guess what: Although college dorms have traditionally been known as pet-free zones, a handful are now allowing certain animals in selected residence halls to give students a more homey feeling about their living space. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

I’ll share mine with you if you share yours with me – not that I haven’t already told you all about my cats.

When Annabel and I were living alone in an apartment in Northwest Arkansas, she loved to go outside and had a little kitty door in the window so that – for a couple hours – she could come and go as she pleased. (There wasn’t any traffic because it was very late, and she rarely strayed far.)

One night she pops in the window, and I noticed something in her mouth – something furry … and alive! She deposited it right behind the couch, meowing at me for approval. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It’s an Arkansas bird story that at first might be hard to swallow.

A pair of conjoined barn swallows, attached at the hip by skin and possibly muscle tissue, will be sent to the Smithsonian Institution for study and examination, Arkansas wildlife officials said Friday. If confirmed, officials say it could prove to be an incredibly rare find — a set of conjoined twins among birds.

(more…)