Pooches get kids' names now
USA Today Mar 31, 08 6:49 AM CDT
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Traditional dog names like Spot and Buster have been abandoned for human names such as Max and Lucy, according to a survey of most popular pet names. The list was compiled by a pet health insurance company from the names of dogs in its database, reports USA Today . Max, Buddy, and Rocky are the most popular names for males, and Bella and Molly the most often picked for female dogs.
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As more people lose their homes, so do their pets
USA Today Mar 25, 08 1:36 PM CDT
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As foreclosure rates skyrocket around the country, animal shelters are feeling a heartbreaking byproduct: an influx of pets being surrendered, USA Today reports. Across the country, areas with high foreclosures are seeing increased rates of pet abandonment, and shelters worry that even more could be coming as unemployment rates rise and affects renters.
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opinion
Slate's Ted Kerasote protests animal cruelty in China
Salon Mar 24, 08 1:10 PM CDT
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While you're busy worrying about human rights in China, author and journalist Ted Kerasote argues, add animal rights to the list. After a trip to a ski camp in China where he was befriended by a "dead ringer for Lassie," he was appalled to find his canine pal served as the main dish at a feast in his honor.
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Study says robo-mutt relieved loneliness as effectively as a real dog
Associated Press Mar 1, 08 8:02 AM CST
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Robot dogs are almost as effective as the real thing in cheering up elderly nursing home residents, a new study at St. Louis University has found. Once the patients had some time to get used to him, researchers say robot mutt AIBO lowered loneliness levels about as well as a lovable therapy dog named Sparky did in a control group, the AP reports.
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Parrots are the latest pets to see spike in depression
Daily Telegraph (UK) Feb 26, 08 9:33 AM CST
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With more pet owners working long days and leaving their furry and feathered friends alone at home, cases of animal depression are on the rise, writes the Daily Telegraph . A TV vet says the trend is hitting parrots especially hard, causing the talkative birds to pull out their feathers or peck at their own legs—until they're dosed with Prozac.
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Single only canines
can hear sells so well
that it may go global
Reuters Feb 19, 08 11:40 AM CST
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A song that only dogs can hear has hit the top of the charts in New Zealand and may be headed for the US, Reuters reports. "A Very Silent Night," a charity single to benefit the country's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was recorded at a frequency audible only to dogs and got enough tails wagging to make it the nation's No. 1 Christmas hit.
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Animal Services investigating celeb's claim to have 17 dogs
Los Angeles Times Feb 18, 08 6:00 PM CST
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Los Angeles animal cops have cited Paris Hilton over her multi-puppy home, but a rep for the celeb claims her doggies are no longer there. Hilton sparked animal lovers' ire last week by admitting on "Ellen DeGeneres" to owning 17 pups—an illegal act in a city where non-breeders are limited to three dogs. The pups "keep having babies, and I feel bad about giving them away," she said.
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Korean company says it's the first commercial order for a cloned canine
BBC Feb 15, 08 10:57 AM CST
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A California woman has placed the first order for a cloned dog with South Korean biotech firm RNL Bio, pledging $150,000 for a genetic duplicate of her dead pitbull, Booger, who once saved her from a dog attack, reports the BBC. Seoul National University scientists, who produced the first cloned canine in 2005, will use tissue from Booger’s ear.
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Uno does Snoopy proud with Best in Show at Westminster
New York Times Feb 13, 08 6:40 AM CST
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As he is wont to do, Uno celebrated his historic Best in Show victory by baying, reports the New York Times . The first beagle to take the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show's top prize, Uno joyfully expressed himself throughout most of last night's final round. "What a personality," exclaimed the judge. "He’s the most perfect beagle I’ve ever seen.”
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Nicolas Cage sues former co-star Kathleen Turner over claims in new book
BBC Feb 13, 08 3:43 AM CST
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National Treasure star Nicolas Cage is suing siren Kathleen Turner for libel over a passage in her autobiography, "Send Yourself Roses," in which she claims her co-star was drunk and difficult on the set of the 1986 movie Peggy Sue Got Married . Cage filed the lawsuit in London where libel laws tend to favor the plaintiff, reports the BBC.
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Vegas sets lines for fun, but insiders say it may be beagle's year
New York Times Feb 12, 08 11:20 AM CST
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Remy, the winner of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show's nonsporting group, may have tonight's Best in Show honors within reach of her poofy poodle paws. Vegas oddsmakers think so, anyway: One puts the odds of a standard poodle victory at 25-1, reports the New York Times . But Remy's handler says, “I think the beagle and the German shepherd should be the favorites."
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Dogsitting politician claimed pooch died
BBC Feb 3, 08 1:41 PM CST
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It may have been nothing more than puppy love, but the mayor of a small Texas town has been driven out of office after it was discovered she secretly kept the neighbor's dog she claimed had died, reports the BBC. The Shih Tzu named Puddles was later spotted at a dog groomer's. The dogsitting mayor also reported to police that the pooch, whom she had renamed Panchito, was missing.
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Fifty-plus dogs given second chance in new homes
Associated Press Jan 27, 08 2:32 PM CST
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Many of the pit bulls Michael Vick illegally trained to fight have better days ahead, the AP reports. Experts have evaluated the more than 50 dogs taken from the quarterback’s property—and only one showed aggression. The rest were transported to rescue groups nationwide; 13 took an unlikely cross-country trip to Oakland to be groomed for eventual foster care.
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Beefy canine was last on list in 1935; lab is tops for 17th consecutive year
Associated Press Jan 17, 08 5:46 PM CST
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The bulldog has returned to the American Kennel Club's list of top 10 most popular American dog breeds for the first time since 1935, the AP reports. The Labrador retriever held on to #1—it’s been top dog for the past 17 years. Check out the other popular pooches: Labrador retriever Yorkshire terrier German sheperd
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Texas math teacher dies in freak hunting accident, as dog jumps on shotgun
Houston Chronicle Jan 9, 08 4:48 PM CST
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A Texas man died after his dog stepped on a loaded shotgun, the Houston Chronicle reports. The teacher, 46, shot down a