MINNEAPOLIS - When Patti Bruflodt heard that Chuck & Don's pet food and supplies store, a chain with locations in Minnesota and Colorado, was starting a home delivery service, she wasted little time ordering two 18-pound bags of NutriSource for her 5-year-old Australian Shepherd, Annie. "We don't drive, so we really, really appreciate the service," she said. "It should last her a couple of months."
BALTIMORE - Their names were Bandar and Pixel. When they died, Bandar in 2013 and Pixel in 2014, Linda Schenk as shaken. She had owned both cats for 15 years. They'd been with her through a move to California and back home to Baltimore and a marriage, and their deaths left her sad and bereft.
CHICAGO - They came with names like Cheddar, Freckles, Ferris and Stripe. Sixteen homeless dogs had been transported from Chicago's Animal Care and Control facility to a Chicago Wolves hockey game at Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont.
CHICAGO - James Elmore was putting Vienna, a pit bull mix, through her paces. On command, she sat, went to the down position, crawled, reached to shake hands. And if that didn't impress, there was one of those "easy" buttons sitting nearby. Vienna smacked it with a paw, triggering a disembodied "That was easy."
At least two of the four new breeds that were recognized by the American Kennel Club recently seem family-friendly. And the other two might work in a pinch.
Yordano Ventura quit school at 14 and was working construction until his big break: a tryout that led to a spot in the Kansas City Royals’ academy in the Dominican Republic. But even after making the major leagues and pitching in the World Series, Ventura wouldn’t live anywhere else than Las Terrenas, his hometown, where he trained on the beach and swam in the ocean.
The inaugural Downtown Dog Day was held Saturday in downtown Overland Park, Kan. Hundreds of dogs and their humans were on hand at the event to help support Great Plains SPCA. Activities included a walk around downtown and costume contests.
Kansas City's animal shelter has become so overwhelmed with unwanted pets that it’s putting a new policy in place. Starting April 1, pet owners will need to make appointments before dropping off pets. Last year the shelter took in 8,179 dogs and cats — 1,300 more than in 2012 and the highest number since 2008.
Officials are reviewing hidden-camera photos in an attempt to learn who did it. The dogs were found Tuesday stuffed into four garbage bags in the 5800 block of Oak Ridge Drive, a dead-end street north of Stroud’s Oak Ridge Manor restaurant.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Brian Nieves, allows for local ordinances prohibiting dogs from running at large, as long as the regulation is not specific to breeds of dogs. If passed, it would undo any local ordinances already in place, including one in Kansas City that mandates pit bulls be spayed or neutered.
A 55-year-old man sustained a cut to his hand Saturday night when a relative swung an ax at him during a domestic dispute. The attack occurred just before 9 p.m. in the 6000 block of E. 12th Street.
My friend Marlowe just relocated to the Pacific Northwest. I chauffeured her. Still, we made good time, but then Marlowe is always a little anxious, wants to scoot along. Call it a rat’s Manifest Destiny.
It’s no wonder then that Carla Hanson and Clif Hall will open their 8,000-square-foot Shawnee home as a fundraiser for Operation Wildlife and the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation. On Feb. 9, visitors can tour the house that features more than 40 stained glass windows, a 36-foot indoor lap pool and a large, light-filled gallery space that holds a large portion of Hanson’s mask collection.
A family dog is being called a hero after alerting a sleeping mother and her daughter to a burning house early Sunday in Raytown. The mother and 13-year-old daughter woke up to smoke and fire in the home in the 6700 block of Ralston Avenue shortly after 2 a.m., according to the Raytown Fire Protection District.
In all, 24 dogs were seized from an area known as having the highest number of pit bulls per capita in the city. A city ordinance limits pet owners to four dogs, and it requires owners of pit bulls to spay or neuter them unless they get a breeder’s permit.
The animal welfare organization Wayside Waifs is entering its 70th year with a new president and a new message: It is more than just an animal shelter. The organization is not changing its name, but it wants to encourage people to recognize it as offering a “complete circle of care” for helpless animals, from adoption to behavioral assessment to the end of life.
De-icers and salts might keep you on your feet during icy weather, but they can irritate your pets’ feet. Experts recommend washing their paws and cleaning anything stuck between their nail pads after winter walks. Booties, if your dog will tolerate them, are another good idea.
