THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA — The number of cats and dogs put down at metro Atlanta animal shelters is rising amid sharp budget cuts.

The number of cats and dogs destroyed at animal shelters in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties has jumped 24 percent in the last two years. Those five core metro Atlanta counties killed almost 30,000 cats during that time.

Gwinnett County led the metro area with 7,588 dogs and cats put down in 2009. County officials say almost half of the animals were destroyed because the shelter could not house them. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OCALA, Fla. — Hundreds of dead animals have been found at an Ocala-area home.

An official at the Marion County Animal Center says 348 dead animals, mostly just skeletal remains, were found across the property, as well as in cages, in feed bags and in plastic bags stuffed in the owner’s freezer. Another 375 animals were found alive but malnourished.

The live animals included 151 dogs and 156 birds as well as cattle, tortoises, cats, hamsters, sheep, horses, rabbits and lizards. (more…)

THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The national Tour For Life, an animal-adoption campaign that encourages giving stray dogs and cats a home, will stop in North Little Rock on April 20 at Lakewood Village.

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakewood Village, 2851 Lakewood Village Drive, in North Little Rock. The tour stop in North Little Rock is in partnership with the North Little Rock Animal Shelter.

The tour, sponsored by the North Shore Animal League and in its ninth year, annually travels to about 20 cities nationwide to help bring attention to finding homes for dogs and cats. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — Animal shelters must keep stray animals for four weekdays before putting them to death.

A state appeals court has ruled that shelters can no longer count Saturday as a business day when determining how long to keep an animal. The ruling affects state laws that set different holding times for dogs, cats and other animals.

The ruling was in response to the 2006 case of a Berkeley woman whose dog was impounded in Pinole on a Thursday and relinquished to another person on a Wednesday. The shelter argued that it had held the dog for four business days as required by law–Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OAKDALE, La. — A couple accused of flouting a snake permit law now also faces charges of cruelty to 17 dogs and five cats taken from their property.

Allen Parish Chief Deputy Grant Willis says 44-year-old David Beauchemin and 23-year-old Tawni Beauchemin were booked Tuesday on 22 cruelty charges. They run High End Herps and Happy Hounds Rescue.

Willis says neighbors had long suspected the couple of feeding stray pets to the snakes. He got a warrant when an animal rescue worker brought evidence they were asking $300 for a dog they had claimed to adopt. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — In Ashley Mutch’s view, Almost Heaven was anything but.

As she inspected the huge kennel outside Allentown, the SPCA police officer was hit with an “immensely strong” odor of urine and feces. Mutch said she saw dogs living in their own waste, suffering from matted fur and skin ailments, and lacking access to food and water. Her inspection report described a filthy, neglected compound bursting with 779 animals, primarily dogs but also cats, guinea pigs, horses, ponies, fowl, monkeys and a pig.

The 2008 raid at Almost Heaven Kennel resulted in criminal charges against its owner, Derbe “Skip” Eckhart, who goes on trial Monday on animal cruelty and other counts in a case that state dog-law officials are using to illustrate their get-tough approach to unscrupulous breeders. (more…)

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…)