THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Dogs arriving at an animal shelter is usually a sad story. But the mood is more like Christmas morning as staff at the Washington Animal Rescue League wait for the Rescue Waggin’ truck to open its doors.

The people and the animals have never met, but some greet like old friends. A basset shoots out to lick a face. Jodie Martin holds a small black puppy, one of the almost 40 dogs that she and the driver picked up that morning from two shelters in Ohio, and kisses it on the head before she hands it over. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Rachael Ray is looking for 64 charities to compete in a $200,000 contest to find the most deserving pet cause in the country.

Using basketball’s March Madness format, Mutt Madness will start with 64 contestants, Ray said. These will be whittled down by Ray and a panel of pet lovers from entries submitted through www.rachaelray.com/muttmadness by Sept. 30.

Each of the top 64 groups gets $1,000. Winners of the next several rounds, chosen by online votes, will get another $1,000. The final voting showdown is worth $25,000 for second place and $50,000 for the winner. The champ will be announced in early December, Ray said. (more…)

Debbie Ross with her Labrador Moses and Clyde Watson practice a water search Saturday near Mayflower. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RUSSELL POWELL)

BY EVIN DEMIREL
ARKANSAS DEMIREL-GAZETTE

Atop an antenna, an orange nylon flag waved limply above a white car parked on a gravel road in the Camp Robinson Wildlife Demonstration Area on Saturday.

Around it, swirled wind carrying scents for bloodhounds, German shepherds, Catahoulas and other dogs belonging to Search Dog Alliance of Arkansas members. (more…)

THE SEATTLE TIMES

Some day this spring, a black bear is going to lumber out of Washington’s Cascade foothills in search of food.

The hungry bear is going to wander into someone’s backyard, hunting for a garbage can with a flimsy lid.

An anxious homeowner is going to call the state wildlife office.

And Mishka, the state’s first wildlife service dog, is going to go to work. (more…)

Grace Hawes (left) and Kip Clift, dressed as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, mingle at a Mardi Gras parade Feb. 15 in New Orleans. (All photos by Zoe Clift/RESCUE IN THE ROCK)

ZOE CLIFT
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

Two Little Rock canines were part of the Barkus Krewe in New Orleans on Feb 15.

Grace Hawes, a 15-year-old rescue hound mix from the Pulaski County Humane Society, and Kip Clift, a 2-year-old rescue pup from the Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals, took to the streets for the event. (more…)

THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Obama family is nearing a decision on the breed for the first dog.

Before President-elect Barack Obama began his interview on the ABC program This Week, which was broadcast Sunday, his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, asked the host, George Stephanopoulos, to slip in this question: “What kind of a dog are we getting, and when are we getting it?”

When asked, Obama laughed, “They seem to have narrowed it down to a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound,” he said, adding that the next step is to canvass shelters. (more…)

AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB

Premiering at number one in its opening weekend, Marley & Me is sure to be a hit, but the American Kennel Club would like to remind moviegoers about the importance of making careful, educated decisions when considering adding a dog to their family.

Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, Marley & Me is the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling book by John Grogan. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FAYETTEVILLE — Like elsewhere in the country, hard economic times mean hard decisions for Arkansans, especially when it comes to their pets, and shelters and rescue groups say they are overwhelmed.

“We’ve had pigs, goats, everything. There are people that will leave a box of rats at the door,” said Darren Taylor, animal services officer in Fayetteville. “I think the economy probably has a lot to do with it.” (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD — Ratchet the Iraqi puppy finally had his day.

An animal rescue group flew into Baghdad on Sunday and picked up the dog, which was adopted by Army Spc. Gwen Beberg, 28, of Minneapolis in a case that highlighted military rules barring troops from caring for pets while in Iraq. (more…)

In this photo provided by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Army Sgt. Gwen Beberg of Minneapolis cuddles Ratchet, a puppy she and another soldier rescued from a burning trash pile in Iraq.

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

Army Sgt. Gwen Beberg isn’t having an easy year in Iraq. When the Spring Lake Park, Minn., native bonded with an abandoned puppy found whimpering in a burning trash heap in Baghdad, she wanted to make sure the black-and-white mutt named Ratchet made it home with her.

On Oct. 1, Beberg placed 6-month-old Ratchet on an Army convoy to the Baghdad airport, where he was to be flown to her parents’ home in Minnesota by a rescue group called Operation Baghdad Pups. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sammy, a Shetland sheepdog, wouldn’t touch his food, retreating to a corner of the yard and devouring mouthfuls of dirt — behavioral oddities his owner later learned came from a lifetime of abuse as a “stud” in a large puppy mill.

The 10 years of caged confinement Sammy endured would have been illegal under a bill signed late Thursday by Gov. Ed Rendell. The governor, who owns two rescued golden retrievers, and other dog advocates hope the new law will help Pennsylvania shed its reputation as the puppy mill capital of the East. (more…)

Karen Kelley of K-9 Consultants recommends building dogs their own digging boxes. Her dog, BooBoo, enjoys curling up in the dirt for a quick nap at Kelley’s North Little Rock home.

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

Her clients call her the Dog Whisperer. I was hoping she could whisper some sense into my pound puppy, JoJo, who had been running the house since we got her.

Karen Kelley of K-9 Consultants arrived at our home and immediately started assessing JoJo, who was jumping at her and biting her fingers and generally being JoJo. (more…)

LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

Manny was waiting up for Abby when she got home a little after 3 a.m. last Saturday from the Chatsworth train crash scene.

“Where you been?” he sniffed. (more…)