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From CNN:
SANTA BARBARA, California (AP) -- Sam, the dog whose ugliness earned him TV appearances, limousine rides and even a meeting with millionaire Donald Trump, has died, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported Tuesday.

The pooch with the hairless body, crooked teeth and sparse tuft of hair atop his knobby head died Friday, just short of his 15th birthday, said his owner, Susie Lockheed.

"I don't think there'll ever be another Sam," she said, adding wryly, "Some people would think that's a good thing."

Sam became an international celebrity after winning the ugliest animal contest at the 2003 Sonoma-Marin Fair in California -- a victory he twice repeated. The purebred Chinese crested hairless made appearances on TV in Japan, radio in New Zealand and in Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid, stayed in luxury hotels and met Trump on a talk show set. more...

ALHAMBRA, Calif -- The littermates of a Northern California puppy may be green with envy.

That's because a golden retriever born last week is green. The little green fella is one of a litter of four. But his littermates are the usual blond color.

read on...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A hound mix named Trucker has survived having two long nails driven into his skull by his owner, according to Kansas City TV station KMBC.

The nails were driven into his head with a hammer, according to KYTV in Springfield. The nails just missed the dog's brain and major nerves. Veterinarians were able to remove the nails, but Trucker will be blind in one eye and deaf.

Dr. Robin Toner, an emergency veterinarian, said it is the worst case of animal abuse that the workers have seen. One nail was allegedly driven into the dog's skull, and another was hammered into his cheekbone, KYTV reported.  more...

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- When is a dog not a dog?
 
When it's a greyhound in Kansas.

It may sound like a punchline to a joke, but it's true. Two years after the Parimutuel Racing Act was passed in Kansas, the law protecting pets in the state was changed to exclude greyhounds from the designation of dog.

"A greyhound ought to be a dog in the state of Kansas," said Kevin Neuman, of Overland Park.

Neuman and his wife, Sherri, have fostered and adopted greyhounds for 11 years. They are also active in a greyhound placement organization for retired racers.

"We fell in love with the breed. They're definitely a dog . They're a great dog," Neuman said.

Monday, he went to Topeka to try to change the law.

The National Greyhound Association, based in Abilene, Kan., disagrees. The executive director called the change unnecessary and said greyhounds aren't bred for pets, and therefore, shouldn't fall under pet protection laws. keep reading...

DORA, Ala. -- A lost Alabama toddler was found Wednesday after a neighbor’s three-legged dog came to his rescue.

The incident began in Walker County, Ala., Wednesday morning when Mitchell Lachance wandered out in the yard and went a little too far. 

"He just walked the wrong way, went out in the woods, you know. It was just an accident," said Ron Lachance, Mitchell's father.

Firefighters, police and neighbors scoured the woods in a four-hour search that turned up nothing.

With the search getting tense, neighbor Gary Hagood and his dog Sasha joined in.

"(Sasha) could hear Mitchell, but I couldn't. So she went right to Mitchell, and I followed her, and he was in a ravine, and there was a bunch of briers and thorns," said Hagood. "She went right through the briers. She was all over him, licking him, and Mitch was petting her." read more...

Proof that a little compassion goes a long way...yet another reason to believe that there IS hope in this world...

Iraqi Dogs Have Plenty of Food After Response To Soldier's Plea

LAS VEGAS -- Just before the New Year, Army Reserve Capt. Gabriella Cook sent an urgent e-mail from Iraq requesting food shipments. Not for her or her unit - for Iraqi police dogs.

"The dogs are starving and urgently need dry dog food," Cook wrote in a Dec. 28 e-mail that said the Iraqi Interior Ministry's only bomb-sniffing police dogs were eating table scraps and garbage.

The response to the canine crisis has been overwhelming: Offers of help poured in from New Hampshire, Florida, Texas, Ohio and New York. One sports gambling handicapper alone ponied up $5,000. more

dogs  donations  feel-good  fundraising  good samaritins  U.S.  world  

HELLO EVERYONE! Dog Food is not available for purchase in Iraq. It costs $50 to send a bag on your own, but the Las Vegas Humane Society is pooling funds to get food at a discounted rate. I donated $10 through the Las Vegas website...it's tax deductable!

Click here to read the whole story
LAS VEGAS -- The commander of an Army Reserve detachment is begging friends back home to send food for Iraqi police dogs.

"The dogs are starving and urgently need dry dog food," Capt. Gabriella Cook, commander of the Las Vegas-based 313th Military Police Detachment, said in a Dec. 28 e-mail reported Wednesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"Some of them have already died," Cook wrote. "Half of them are sick. We have no way of buying actual dog food here." 

If you would like to help feed the dogs, you may send checks to the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society. They are working with several companies to ship food to the animals as soon as possible.

"PetSmart has donated a pallet of food, and we hope PetCo will do the same," Judith Ruiz, president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society said.

Ruiz said several companies have donated food and that with the money, the Humane Society will be able to buy more dog food at a discounted rate and will also pay for shipping to Iraq.

"All funds will go directly for the animals," Ruiz said.

The Humane Society is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization. So your donation will be tax deductible.

Send donations to:

Las Vegas Valley Humane Society
Funds For Dogs In Iraq
2250 E. Tropicana
Suite 19
Las Vegas, NV 89119
DONATE ONLINE

I received this message from my friend Jessica…

Please, everyone! Take Action! www.nochancearkansas.org

DAVIS, Calif. -- The animal research department at the University of California, Davis, is under fire after seven monkeys were killed over the weekend.

The university said the deaths were caused by a problem with a heating and air conditioning system. They said the system got stuck on heat, and that before anybody realized something was wrong, most of the monkeys were already dead.

UC Davis officials said the monkeys' deaths have saddened the entire research staff. The director of the UC Davis Primate Center, Dallas Hyde, said the monkeys were left unattended overnight inside a temporary housing facility on campus.

Officials said the temperatures inside the room reached 115 degrees. The monkeys' water ran out, and seven of the eight that were in the room died of dehydration.

"I'm heartbroken over this, that we lost these animals. But it's not just their death; it's the way they suffered while they died," Hyde said. more...

NEW YORK -- Fourteen search and rescue dogs who dug through the rubble of the World Trade Center have since died.

Eight of the dogs died from cancer.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine said they don't believe there is a connection between the deaths and the chemicals the dogs were exposed to.

But the New York Daily News said some dog owners blame the mix of chemicals their dogs were exposed to during the hunt for survivors and remains after the attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

more from WDIV Channel 4

Wildlife Officials Find Black Bear Passed Out Drunk

BAKER LAKE, Wash. -- When state Fish and Wildlife agents recently found a black bear passed out on the lawn of Baker Lake Resort, there were some clues scattered nearby -- dozens of empty cans of Rainier Beer.

The bear apparently got into campers' coolers and used his claws and teeth to puncture the cans. And not just any cans.

"He drank the Rainier and wouldn't drink the Busch beer," said Lisa Broxson, bookkeeper at the campground and cabins resort east of Mount Baker.

Find out how they used more beer to catch him...

The answer is "504 goats," but only if you ask the right question.

In Vail, the right question is, "How can we control weeds across acres of right-of-way and open space without spraying or mowing?"

For the past few years, the town has hired private companies to bring in goats for summer weed control. The results were generally good: A goat-grazed hillside looks like a small re-enactment of Sherman's March to the Sea. But there have been problems.

An unleashed dog killed a few goats a few years ago, and one herd dog — a specially-trained animal worth thousands of dollars and a priceless companion — was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Read More From the Vail Daily

THE COLONY, Texas -- A Texas man has been arrested after police say he taped the muzzle of his brother's dog shut -- and the dog died.

The 1-year-old black Labrador retriever -- named Bull -- was euthanized after suffering from heat stroke.

Police said Richard Swift of The Colony, near Dallas, taped the dog's muzzle shut last week to stop him from barking so he could sleep.

Swift was arrested two days later on a felony animal cruelty charge. He's free on bond. If convicted, he faces up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

An official with the SPCA of Texas told The Dallas Morning News that the taped muzzle kept the dog from panting. Panting allows dogs to cool down, since they don't sweat like humans. full story...

JOPPA, Md. -- There may be more than one mystery animal running around Maryland -- there are pictures from a sighting in Harford County.

At the Mathis family's rural home in Joppa, they're used to animals, but not this kind.

"I looked out the window and I saw something drinking out of the water trough," said Lisa Mathis. "It looked like something out of Lord of The Rings."

"I'm from New Jersey so I immediately thought it was the Jersey Devil," said Jon Mathis. "In New Jersey folklore, it's a wild beast -- sort of like the abominable snowman."

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/3558739/detail.html

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A California man is now wondering why he risked the lives of his family members in order to help a stray dog.

Jefferson Silveira pulled his minivan off the freeway Sunday night, to try to shoo a stray dog away from traffic near San Jose.

While Jefferson Silveira tried to save the dog from wandering into traffic, his wife, Catherine, her 12-year-old son and the couple's three younger children waited in the family minivan. He then watched in horror as the minivan was slammed from behind by a passing pickup going at least 60 mph. The driver reportedly told police he didn't notice the van until it was too late. Charges have not been filed and there was no alcohol in the driver's system. read on...

PHOENIX -- The heat-induced shimmer of Arizona's pavement is fooling the brown pelican population.

State officials report more than 30 of the endangered birds have crashed into paved surfaces that they've mistaken for lakes and creeks.

The state's Department of Game and Fish says the injured birds have been found from Yuma to Phoenix over the past two weeks. The pelicans are being treated for dehydration and malnutrition.

Experts believe the birds are heading to Arizona to look for fish because of a food shortage along the West Coast. more from WDIV Channel 4...

BETHLEHEM, Ind. -- Some 90 people searched through the night for a missing 2-year old girl before she was found safe Wednesday morning with a family dog on an Ohio River bank.

Daisy Smith was found more than a mile from her home by a Clark County conservation officer taking part in a search that began after she and the dog disappeared from the family's back yard about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Conservation Officer Mac Spainhour said the family dog was to thank for the girl's safety.

"This girl has a guardian angel," Spainhour said. "And it's the dog. He stayed with her throughout the night, and in the end he led us to her." more...

Thousands of geese in Highland Township are being deported to a new home in Iowa.

Residents have reportedly complained about the droppings and the noise the birds make.

Some municipalities have used trained dogs to chase geese out of parks, while others have turned to goose roundups to get rid of the birds. more from WDIV Channel 4...

TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) -- Six puppies were killed, apparently by fireworks placed in their mouths, shortly after teenage boys were seen carrying Roman candles in a north Tulsa neighborhood.

Animal control officers said they were following leads Tuesday but had no suspects in Sunday night's attacks, during which one person told police they heard a puppy yelp.

more...

Kristen Kirby's 16-month-old Australian cattle dog, Summit, does just about everything you'd expect out of a puppy.

He runs in the park, fetches tennis balls, plays with Kirby's toddler and sometimes darts into the neighbor's yard, playfully ignoring his owner.

Summit is much like every other dog in the neighborhood, except for one thing - he can't hear. Kirby, who now lives in Atlanta, adopted Summit last spring from Summit County Animal Shelter just before she moved east.

more from Vail Daily...

Hundreds of spectators and 21 rats turned out for the 19th annual Xtreme Rat Challenge at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

The rodents compete in many events including the tigh rope, hurdles, long jump, rope climb and weightlifting.

The event began in 1974. More info and pictures on this story from Ananova...

A very rare condition was fixed on a small stray dog in North Carolina WDIV Channel 4 Reports.

Popcorn was found alone in a North Carolina State Park. At first, her rescuers thought she had a limp, but it turned out that she had five legs.

Donations totaling over $3000 have poured in from across the country to help pay for the lengthy surgery that removed two of the legs. One of the amputated legs was severely curled while the other was rotated 90 degrees, giving Popcorn painful arthritis. more about Popcorn...

The Oklahoma Nature Conservancy has launched a campaign to make people aware of the benefits of the Big-Eared Ozark Bat, an endangered species.

Facts:

Like Tequila or Margaritas? The Big-Eared Ozark Bat is the only creature that can successfully pollinate the Agave plant, the source of tequila.

Hate those Biting Bugs? This species of bat eats 160 pounds of insects per night.

Eew! Bats Get Stuck in Your Hair! Not true, this is a Hollywood myth.

The Nature Conservancy is taking the Halloween opportunity to let everyone know that bats are not the neck biting vampires that some perceive them to be. They are an important part of the ecosystem.