THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — The Rees-Jones Foundation has pledged up to $4 million to build a new animal shelter, clinic and adoption center in Dallas.

Details were announced Tuesday by the SPCA of Texas.

The pledge for the 39,000-square-foot facility will kick off the final phase of the group’s $15 million capital campaign to build the new complex. (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…)

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 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…)

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

SPRINGDALE — Police from two cities are investigating a break-in at Springdale Animal Services that left 10 kittens dead and 10 missing.

Nothing was stolen in the break-in at 321 Randall Wobbe Road, which was discovered at 6:20 a.m. Thursday, said Lindsey Droste, director of animal services. (more…)

MARKETWIRE

PHOENIX — PetSmart Charities has dispatched a fleet of Emergency Relief Waggins’ — each stocked with 16 tons of supplies valued at $50,000 — to the Gulf Coast to help pets displaced by Hurricane Gustav and to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Hanna.

By coordinating relief efforts with local and state officials in Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas, the PetSmart Charities emergency response team is ensuring that necessary supplies for animals, and their caregivers are quickly delivered to the hardest-hit areas. (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…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Rico the pit bull mix is bursting with adolescent energy when he’s led into a training center by Army Capt. Lawrence Minnis.

But as soon as Minnis reaches for a treat jar, the dog is focused on Minnis’ face, sitting before he’s asked. (more…)

SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Georgia strained against her leash, eager to start her walk while pulling trainer John Garcia along a dusty road at Best Friends Animal Society.

Even though she’s still excitable, the 6-year-old pit bull has progressed a lot after her arrival at the no-kill animal shelter north of Kanab, Utah, following her rescue from former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick’s dog-fighting operation. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

It’s like karate, only with aprons and no martial arts.

About 20 people showed up for the first volunteer training session at Little Rock Animal Village on Monday night to earn their red aprons, which indicates completion of Level 1 training. (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…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

More than 80 dogs were turned over to the Humane Society of the United States on Monday after the Animal Rescue League disbanded.

The sanctuary owner voluntarily surrendered the dogs, the society said. (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

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…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

LITTLE ROCK – As a puppy, Amber broke her hind leg. Without treatment, it healed on its own, but she would forever have one leg shorter than the other causing her to limp the rest of her life.

Animal Services of Little Rock found the abused dog and brought her to the shelter, Little Rock Animal Village, where Amber met Tracy Roark, manager of the agency.

Six months later, after treatment and “having somebody show they cared for her,” Amber became a different dog, friendly and active. She now works alongside Tracy and goes home with him every night. (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…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

I grew up with dogs, cats, chickens, hogs and fish. As a little girl, I remember bottle feeding runts of the litter from the hog farm, hatching chicken eggs in a homemade incubator and watching over the births of every new litter of kittens.

Love hurts: Simon squeezes Annabel as they slumber in their Little Rock home.

When I got older and moved to Arkansas, I adopted a shelter cat and named her Annabel. She has been my constant familiar for seven years. Introducing my now-husband and his cat Simon was an ordeal, but in time all three became friends. At 6 pounds, Annabel is in charge of everything and often slaps 20-pound Simon upside the head for no reason. Still, he loves her, and Annabel has graciously agreed to share with him her house and her humans.

Because animals have always been a part of my life, enriching it with kinship, love and solace, I was very excited to start a blog about them. (more…)