THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. CLAIR, Mo. — Nearly 125 animals living in filthy conditions have been rescued from an eastern Missouri property.

The Humane Society of Missouri said Thursday it and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department rescued 102 domestic rabbits, three dogs, five cats, a guinea pig, three baby goats, four hens, two roosters, two pigeons, and two ducks.

It said the rabbits were housed in feces-filled, wire-bottom cages without shelter. The dogs and fowl had no shelter or water. (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…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA — A Grayson woman has been charged with arson and cruelty to animals after she allegedly set fire to a home she was renting and her two cats were killed.

The fire occurred at 27-year-old Sarah Sheridan’s Snellville home on Oct. 6. Gwinnett County Fire spokesman Tommy Rutledge said investigators found an accelerant inside the home where Sheridan was living alone. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROANOKE, Va. — Workers at a Roanoke pet store joined firefighters in safely evacuating puppies, cats and other pets after a back room fire filled the store with dense smoke.

Workers told The Roanoke Times they didn’t think twice about rescuing the animals when smoke began filling a PetSmart store Saturday afternoon. Roanoke fire spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury says no injuries were reported as some 80 puppies, cats, gerbils and other animals were safely plucked from the Valley View Mall. (more…)

DAVE HUGHES
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

CLARKSVILLE — Two Johnson County women have been charged with felony cruelty to animals after a large dog-breeding operation was discovered earlier this month, authorities said.

Christine Yarrington, 60, and Lynn Elise Burkett, 51, both of rural Lamar, were each charged in Johnson County Circuit Court on Thursday with eight counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Authorities previously had not identified the women. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALEM, Ore. — Tammy Thompson lives in a tarp-covered tent on Salem’s fringe, sharing her “little spot in the woods” with three much-loved dogs.

“They’re my children. They’re everything to me,” said Thompson, 44.

That’s why she was grateful for a local program that provides free exams, vaccinations and medications for the pets of homeless people. The aim is to improve public safety and show compassion for homeless people. (more…)

THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

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…)

McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Flea control is important for all of our pets. However, if your pet is extremely itchy on the area above his/her tail, the most likely cause is flea allergy.

A single flea bite on a flea-allergic pet will result in several days of intense itching especially around the lower back and rear limbs. For those pets, control is not enough, the fleas must be eradicated. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

A Vilonia woman overwhelmed with at least 35 cats she’d taken in called the Faulkner County sheriff’s office and U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln for help.

With no county shelter, officials and Patricia Medley of Vilonia turned to Gentle Souls Pit Bull Rescue. (more…)

KRISTIN NETTERSTROM
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Free-roaming cats would have to be sterilized and microchipped to continue their wandering, under an ordinance Little Rock directors are scheduled to vote on Tuesday.

The capital city wants to update various animal laws, increasing the fee for keeping a “dangerous” dog from $100 to $150 and adding a section on how to deal with dangerous cats. (more…)

MARKETWIRE

PHOENIX, AZ — At about noon today, a PetSmart Charities Emergency Relief Waggin’ trailer, stocked with at least 16 tons of much-needed pet food and supplies, was deployed from the PetSmart Distribution Center in Phoenix, Ariz., to the Santa Barbara Humane Society to assist pets who have been displaced or injured by the Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara County. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BALTIMORE — Socks, the White House cat during the Clinton administration who waged war on Buddy the pup, has died. He was about 18.

Socks had lived with Bill Clinton’s secretary, Betty Currie, in Hollywood, Md., since the Clintons left the White House in early 2001. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A new fee for pet owners would help pay for building and operating animal shelters throughout the state, under a bill filed Monday.

The measure by Rep. Clark Hall, D-Marvell, would impose a $3 fee for veterinarian visits for cats and dogs. That money would be placed in a trust fund, under the Arkansas Department of Health, and doled out to cities and counties for their animal shelters. (more…)

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…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

RESCUE IN THE ROCK

The Little Rock Animal Services Advisory Board is hosting two public hearings to gather input on proposed changes to city ordinances about domestic cats.

“The proposed ordinance changes would include both mandatory sterilization and micro-chipping of all free-roaming cats,” said Little Rock Animal Services Manager Tracy Roark. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Arkansas Farm Bureau announced Tuesday it will back legislation to make aggravated animal cruelty a felony on first offense, reversing its opposition to past efforts to stiffen the state’s animal cruelty penalties.

The group, which represents 227,000 farmers in the state, said its board of directors voted to support animal cruelty legislation being backed by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

For the kittens dashing and tumbling around the room, the Washington Humane Society’s first Kittengarten class is all about the playtime.

But for the humans and the shelter there’s a bigger goal: making sure that cats are healthy and happy in their adoptive homes — and that they stay there. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Hill’s Science Diet, a popular brand of dog and cat food, won’t be on the shelves much longer at Allwood Pet Center in Clifton, N.J.

Store owner Lydia Grossman said she plans to stop selling the food because Hill’s has raised its price “a few times” over the year and a 7.4 percent jump is coming Jan. 1. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FAYETTEVILLE — Like elsewhere in the country, hard economic times mean hard decisions for Arkansans, especially when it comes to their pets, and shelters and rescue groups say they are overwhelmed.

“We’ve had pigs, goats, everything. There are people that will leave a box of rats at the door,” said Darren Taylor, animal services officer in Fayetteville. “I think the economy probably has a lot to do with it.” (more…)

Sarie, in red, and Joey, a pair of miniature schnauzers, are walked by a Humane Society volunteer in Omaha, Neb. The two 9-year-old dogs were dropped off anonymously with a note that said their owners could no longer afford to keep them.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A growing number of Americans are giving up their dogs and cats to animal shelters as the emotional bonds between people and pets get tested by economic ones.

From the Malvern, Pa., man who turned his two dogs over in order to help pay for his mother’s cancer treatments, to the New York woman who euthanized her cat rather than keeping it alive with expensive medications, rising economic anxieties make it increasingly difficult for some pet owners to justify spending $1,000 a year or more on pet food, veterinary services and other costs. (more…)

BY KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Big Footsie loves children. It’s his job to pick out books for them to read, listen to their problems and calm them down when times are tough.

As Head Library Cat for seven years at the Arkansas School for the Blind, Footsie has grown up with many of the children who visit him. (more…)