THE NEW YORK TIMES

NEW YORK — Michael F. Morin says he has cutting-edge technology in the fight against that growing scourge of city life, bedbugs.
His technology: dogs. Two of them, Ruby and Pasha.

Ruby is a beagle. Pasha is a basenji “and maybe part terrier,” said Donald Frey, Morin’s partner in a four-month-old company that dispatches them to root out the speck-sized parasites in apartments and schools. And also four-star hotels (and three- and two-star ones) that worry about being mentioned in the same breath as “fleabag.” (more…)

DETROIT NEWS

Good news, Fido. Tough break, turkey: Some auto insurance companies have quietly begun offering free coverage to four-legged friends, paying medical bills for pets injured in car crashes.

But just as dogs and cats rule the roost at home, they also top the insurance pecking order. The handful of insurers that offer the coverage with comprehensive collision policies are drawing the line at cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys and other animals kept for profit or food — although Farmers Insurance Group will cover ferrets, rodents and reptiles. (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
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…)