THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BETHEL, Alaska — Police in this southwest Alaska city will seek authority to shoot dogs on the spot unless residents do a better job of keeping their pets from running wild.

Fed up with reports of dogs biting people, police have already started giving tickets to those with roaming dogs. If that doesn’t convince citizens to keep their dogs on leashes, Chief Larry Elarton said he will ask city council to impose an emergency law allowing officers to shoot to kill.

“We’re going to zero tolerance, unless the owner is actively looking for a dog, or they call it to us and report it, or there’s some other extenuating reason,” Elarton said. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — An Algonquin man has pleaded not guilty to allegations he ordered his trained guard dog to attack his wife during a domestic dispute at the couple’s home late last year.

At his arraignment Wednesday in McHenry County Circuit Court, 29-year-old Jonathon Richard also asked for a jury trial on charges of aggravated battery, unlawful restraint, domestic battery and obstructing justice.

Police say the charges stem from the early December incident that police said left his wife hospitalized briefly with superficial bite wounds. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

A south Arkansas breeder surrendered 143 dogs to the Humane Society of Pulaski County on Saturday, leaving the shelter past capacity and low on supplies, said Director Kay Simpson.

All the dogs suffered from mange; many from eye infections, which in some cases will result in eye removal; and many had hair matted to the bone.

“One dog was so matted it was like concrete on both legs,” Simpson said. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County District Attorney’s office says three former workers at the Memphis Animal Shelter were indicted on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals.

The Commercial-Appeal reported Thursday that one of the employees had been the shelter’s veterinarian.

Shelby County District Attorney Jennifer Donnals says 43-year-old shelter administrative supervisor Tina Quattlebaum and 42-year-old vet Dr. Angela Middleton were being held at the Shelby County Jail East on $25,000 bonds. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Saving a German shepherd stuck in the rising Los Angeles River was the right thing to do, the risks were slight, rescue crews were on standby, extra taxpayer money wasn’t used and the alternatives were unacceptable, authorities said Monday.

The helicopter and swift water rescue crew members that saved the dog on Friday have been hailed as heroes, feted on television and radio and congratulated on the Web and in print. But they have also been vilified by a few in blogs, on social networks and story comment sections.

“You’re not going to please everybody. There’s always 10 percent, they either don’t like animals or think we are wasting taxpayer money,” Capt. Steve Ruda said. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An ousted Ohio firefighter who shot and killed two dogs in his basement walked out of a hearing to get his job back.

David Santuomo (san-TOO’-moh) left Monday’s appeals meeting when a Columbus television station set up a camera in the hearing room. The Civil Service Commission dismissed the case because Santuomo wasn’t present.

Prosecutors said the 43-year-old Santuomo shot his two dogs to avoid paying boarding costs while he took a cruise with his girlfriend. He dumped the carcasses in a trash bin behind a fire station. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — More than 100,000 people have signed an online petition calling for harsh punishment for a man accused of dragging a dog to death, the creator of a Facebook page called “Demand Justice for Buddy” said.

Thirty-seven-year-old Steven Clay Romero, faces a federal animal cruelty charge after Buddy, a German shepherd mix, was found dead Dec. 30 in Colorado National Monument.

His sister, 32-year-old Melissa Lockhart of Fruita faces felony theft charges for allegedly stealing the dog and telling Romero to get rid of him. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — A dog rescued from a rain-swollen river by a Los Angeles firefighter dangling from a helicopter is doing fine and waiting for his owner to come claim him.

Diana Guzman of the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority says the three-year-old male German shepherd mix is healthy and relaxing Saturday, one day after the dramatic rescue caught by television cameras.

Guzman says the male dog, nicknamed Vernon after the town where he was found, will be held for five days, after which he will be put up for adoption. The dog did not have a name tag or identifying computer chip. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A woman will undergo a psychiatric evaluation following the discovery of more than 40 dead animals buried in her Long Island yard.

Suffolk County Judge Paul Hensley said Monday that psychiatrists will determine whether Sharon McDonough is “an incapacitated person.” The results are due Friday.

McDonough pleaded not guilty last month to animal abuse after five dogs and a cat were found living in squalid conditions inside her Selden home. Authorities later uncovered 42 dead animals buried in her backyard, but have yet to upgrade charges. (more…)

TEXARKANA GAZETTE

PRESCOTT — The recent death of a 2-year-old boy motivated the Prescott City Council last week to approve an ordinance banning pit bull dogs from the city, said Mayor Howard Taylor.

The ordinance makes Prescott the fifth town in southwest Arkansas to ban the dogs. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOUNTAIN HOME — A man who was convicted of 20 animal cruelty counts and fled Arkansas before his sentencing has been returned to the state.

The Baxter County Sheriff’s office said William Henry Hanson, 45, was booked in the county jail Friday night. Hanson and his wife, Tammy Hanson, eluded authorities for more than three years after they were convicted in January 2006 of animal cruelty. (more…)

JULIE STEWART
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

MOUNTAIN HOME — Tammy Christine Hanson was returned to Baxter County late Friday after nearly four years on the run in an animal-cruelty case that gained national notoriety.

Authorities were also seeking the return of her husband, William Hanson, 44, from a jail in Johnson County, Mo. (more…)

501PETS NEWS SERVICES

New Yorker Donnell Walters was arrested Sept. 11 in the beating of his boyfriend’s dog, a 4½-pound Yorkshire Terrier named Lucy.

Lucy’s owner alleges that in late July, a verbal dispute triggered Walters, 22, to assault the canine. Walters is accused of repeatedly slamming or dropping Lucy to the ground, shattering one of her legs. (more…)

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…)

KRISTINA HANRY
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

Two- and four-legged guests mingled Friday as they were served sangria, salsa and desserts at Stephano’s Fine Art Gallery in Little Rock where the painting for the 2010 Pulaski County Humane Society Planner was unveiled.

The painting by Stephano, who uses only one name, features his dog, Diego, and cat, Frida, both adoptees from the Humane Society. (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

DEARBORN, Mich. — Police on Friday found about 150 dead dogs packed in freezers in the basement of a Michigan house littered with feces and trash where more than 110 live dogs, mostly Chihuahuas, were rescued this week. (more…)