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

OPELIKA, Ala. — Five veterinary clinics in eastern Alabama received 32 surprises in the last week: Healthy cats in containers and carriers, along with notes from an anonymous donor saying she is dying from cancer.

The notes signed by “Miss R” beg the vets to find her pets new homes. (more…)

Arveil Bass brings the mustang he is training, Prince, to a dirt-flying fast stop. (Photos by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STATON BREIDENTHAL)

RON WOLFE

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The horse is a 4-year-old mustang named Prince, and he’s 1,000 miles from home in the desert. He comes from a wild history of thundering hooves. Today’s not-so-wild West had no place for him, but Arkansas horse trainer Arvell Bass did.

Bass rides the bay easily — through the muddy splash of a creek, up a grassy hill, through the wildflowers. (more…)

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Katie Popovich recently accompanied her boyfriend to a Chicago animal shelter in search of a dog. When a beagle-border collie mix immediately nuzzled against them, they were smitten.

But the 22-year-olds received a considerably chillier response from the human behind the counter. “It seemed like we were instantly thrown into this category that we were just kids and not responsible,” she said, adding that they are now talking with breeders. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Private and municipal shelters in central Arkansas are being overrun with animals found in rural Pulaski County, stretching resources to the point that shelter officials say they can no longer afford to keep caring for the county’s strays.

“The Pulaski County Humane Society is literally going broke trying to keep up with these animals and doesn’t have room for one more,” said Desiree Bender, the Arkansas state director for the Humane Society of the United States. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

With tails awag and faces painted, pets and supporters of The Little Rock Animal Village marked its first anniversary Saturday as rescuers teamed up with the shelter’s vet to save one dog’s life.

A call came in about 12:30 p.m. to Cindy Paxton, volunteer for the birthday celebration and for Out of the Woods Rescue and Referral, that a very pregnant beagle was roaming the highway in an unincorporated area of Pulaski County. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEOUL, South Korea — An American woman received five puppies Tuesday that were cloned from her beloved late pitbull, becoming the inaugural customer of a South Korean company that says it is the world’s first successful commercial canine cloning service.

Seoul-based RNL Bio said the clones of Bernann McKinney’s dog Booger were born last week after being cloned in cooperation with a team of Seoul National University scientists who created the world’s first cloned dog in 2005. (more…)

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

PHILADELPHIA — After a weeklong media tour, South Jersey’s fattest cat is back — with a new “foster” owner, a vet appointment Tuesday, and the promise of a permanent home by the end of the month. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CANEY, Kan. — Oh, my! Three tiger cubs at a Kansas zoo are getting some maternal care from an unlikely source — Isabella the golden retriever.

The tiger cubs were born Sunday at Safari Zoological Park but their mother soon stopped caring for them. Isabella had just weaned her own puppies and was able to step in. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BLACKWOOD, N.J. — A 44-pound cat found lumbering around New Jersey was abandoned by a woman who said her home was foreclosed, an animal shelter official said Thursday. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Amsterdam’s Artis zoo says a baby red panda adopted by a zookeeper’s cat after being rejected by its mother has died.

The zoo says an autopsy on the tiny panda found its windpipe filled with milk, indicating it choked to death. (more…)

BY MIKE LINN

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A special judge authorized an arrest warrant Friday for Helena-West Helena Mayor James Valley, finding reasonable cause to believe that Valley committed animal cruelty by releasing stray dogs to fend for themselves near a national forest. (more…)

BY NANCY ELIZABETH DEMENT

Military working dogs are a vital part of the Air Force today, and the canine unit at the Little Rock Air Force Base is proving it.

“We’re a very small organization within the Air Force, but we are a large unit compared to the canine units of the Army or Marines,” Sgt. Jonathan Eha said. “Because of this, we have been deployed more lately because the need for [military working dogs] is greater.” (more…)