THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Police say a southern New Jersey man who posed as a female veterinarian tried to kill himself with a thread from his sweater.
Middle Township police say a dispatcher revived Daniel Tyce after finding the thread wrapped around the 27-year-old’s neck.
Tyce is held on $25,000 bail in the Cape May County Jail on charges of trying to pass bad checks. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania — A Pennsylvania woman is facing trial on animal cruelty charges for marketing “gothic kittens” with ear and neck piercings over the Internet.
Thirty-five-year-old dog groomer Holly Crawford is scheduled for trial Tuesday in Wilkes-Barre.
Prosecutors say she inflicted pain on the cats to make money. Attorneys for Crawford say she didn’t act maliciously. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FAIRPLAY, Colo. — Prosecutors are planning to file charges against a Park County couple accused of starving hundreds of sled dogs at their kennel.
Samuel and Diane Walker will be in Park County Court Tuesday afternoon, and prosecutors say they plan on charging them with animal cruelty. The couple has been free on bail since their arrest Christmas Day.
Authorities say they seized about 100 starving mixed-breed sled dogs on Dec. 17 from their Pawsatrak Racing Sled Dog Kennel near Hartsel, about 70 miles southwest of Denver. Investigators say seven of the dogs died.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RENO, Nevada — In one of the worst cases they can remember, Nevada agriculture officials have cited a woman for animal cruelty for neglecting more than 100 barnyard animals, including 35 starving horses and a goat that died from eating wool off a sheep carcass.
Jan Lemley of Battle Mountain faces 42 counts of animal cruelty. Each count carries a civil fine of $1,000, said Nevada Department of Agriculture spokesman Ed Foster.
Lemley did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press on Wednesday. She told The Battle Mountain Bugle, which first reported the incident, that her attorney had advised her not to comment. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LINCOLN, Neb. — Police say a 22-year-old Lincoln man has been accused of running a cat through the spin cycle of a washing machine.
Officer Katie Flood says police were called to a Lincoln home on Sunday by the roommate of Richard Andersen. (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…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SELDEN, N.Y. — Authorities are working to determine if any of the 20 dead dogs found buried in a Long Island woman’s backyard might have been pets stolen from neighbors.
Sharon McDonough pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty charges last weekend. Her 21-year-old son told authorities that animals had been abused at her Selden home. They say five dogs and a cat were found in wretched conditions inside. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LINCOLN, Neb. — A Lincoln teenager has been ordered to serve probation until he turns 19 for helping torture and kill a cat.
Seventeen-year-old Jacob Weichel received his punishment Friday. He’s also banned from having a weapon or owning pets during his probation period and must complete 50 hours of community service. (more…)
PITTSBURGH POST- GAZETTE
They may be kept with the best of intentions, but exotic pets can create havoc at home and in nature.
Sometimes they turn on their owners, as happened to Kelly Ann Walz, 37, of Saylorsburg, Pa., who was mauled to death Oct. 4 by a 350-pound black bear while cleaning its cage.
Walz reportedly had thrown a shovelful of dog food to one side of the cage to distract the bear while she cleaned the other side, instead of putting the animal into a separate area. (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
AKRON, Ohio— An animal-rights group plans a protest outside the court appearance of an Ohio pet store employee accused of drowning two injured rabbits.
Twenty-year-old Liz Carlisle of Ravenna in northeast Ohio was charged earlier this month with two counts of animal cruelty after she allegedly bragged on Facebook about drowning the animals. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA — A remorseful Michael Vick wants a second chance and vowed to crusade for animal rights with the Philadelphia Eagles — and knows he won’t be easily forgiven by fans.
“I’ve done some terrible things, I made a horrible mistake. And now I want to be part of the solution and not the problem,” Vick said Friday, referring to his conviction for his role in running a dogfighting ring. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOUNTAIN HOME — A woman who failed to show up in February 2006 for sentencing on 20 counts of animal cruelty has been arrested in Vermont, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said Sunday.
Tammy Christine Hanson, 42, was arrested Saturday in Sutton, in northeastern Vermont, by Caledonia County Sheriff Michael Bergeron, according to Montgomery. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI— A South Florida teenager accused of a string of cat killings and mutilations is set to appear court.
A bond hearing for 18-year-old Tyler Hayes Weinman is scheduled Monday afternoon. He was charged Sunday with 19 counts each of animal cruelty and improperly disposing of an animal body. (more…)
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
As America ushers in a new era of federal leadership, many state governments are also getting back to work—and at least one of them is making puppy mill-reform a priority. Last Sunday, the ASPCA joined animal-welfare advocates and Illinois lawmakers in Chicago to announce the arrival of Chloe’s Bill, legislation that will help stamp out the worst puppy mills in the Prairie State.
“Illinois has a unique opportunity to adopt one of the strongest commercial breeding laws in the country,” says Cori Menkin, ASPCA senior director of legislative initiatives. “As commercial breeding increases throughout the United States, particularly in the Midwest, it is reassuring that Illinois is recognizing the need for stronger laws before the prevalence of puppy mills becomes a blight on the state’s reputation.” (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…)
Pulaski County Humane Society volunteer Karen Kelley holds a dog rescued last Friday from a suspected puppy mill. The dog’s hair has grown over its eyes so that it’s mostly blind. Groomers this weekend will cut the hair of all the dogs rescued.
KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK
40 dogs were seized from a shed in Lonsdale on Sept. 26 by the Humane Society of Pulaski County and the Saline County Sheriff’s Department, which cited a Benton woman for animal cruelty. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Prosecutors said Monday they are considering a retrial of the former minor league pitcher and actor who killed his girlfriend’s cat.
Jurors deadlocked 11-1 on Friday at the felony aggravated animal cruelty trial of Joseph Petcka. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — A former minor league baseball player was “washed up” and had “zero income and no prospects” last year when he became jealous and killed his girlfriend’s cat, a prosecutor said Monday.
Joseph Petcka, who pitched in the New York Mets’ minor league system in 1992, was a “washed-up, never-made-it-to-the-big-leagues athlete” and a “D-minus” actor, prosecutor Leila Kermani told jurors during her closing argument in Petcka’s aggravated animal cruelty trial. (more…)
THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Dermott’s animal control officer did not feed or water dogs in the city’s animal shelter for nearly a week, causing three to die and one to eat the carcass of another, the director of the Humane Society of Southeast Arkansas describes in a criminal complaint.
The complaint, signed Tuesday by Humane Society of Southeast Arkansas Director Ruby Burton, accuses Travis Cessor and Dermott Mayor Floyd Gray of animal cruelty by not caring for the dogs from Sept. 3-8. (more…)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPRINGDALE — Animal shelter workers are trying to figure out who killed 10 kittens — and why.
A parking lot sweeper found six dead kittens Thursday — the day after the animals were stolen from Springdale Animal Services. Five of the kittens were four weeks old and were taken from their mother, who was pining for them. (more…)
Rescue in the Rock focuses on pets and champions animal rescue in central Arkansas. It's also a resource for owners and rescuers, linking organizations around the state and county. Please feel free to email me
suggestions or news tips. Krisha Williams Turbeville is news editor for ArkansasOnline.
KRISHA WILLIAMS-TURBEVILLE
The Animal Rescue Site offers baking tools with a bite.
Easy to clean, the six-muffin Paw Print Silicone Muffin Pan is available at The Animal Rescue Site for $12.95.
With each Paw Print Silicone Muffin Pan purchased, The Animal Rescue Site will fund 14 bowls of food for animals living in sanctuaries and shelters.
Baking in silicone provides great results, as it provides even temperature for perfect browning and easy release when bending the pan to unmold adorable paw-shaped muffins. Dishwasher, microwave, and freezer safe.
KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
Merry Mistletoe Wishes from the Humane Society of the United States features a curious Greyhound lounging under the mistletoe and just waiting for hugs, kisses, and festive holiday wishes.
Artist Mary Badenhop is well-known for her witty interpretations of our furry friends.
The message inside is: "May your every wish come true this joyous Holiday Season."
Printed on green friendly paper with soy based inks, 12 cards and envelopes come in a box for $12.95.
Personalization is available for an additional fee and a minimum purchase of 8 boxes.
