pets

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Camel Kills Owner in Apparent Mating Attempt

60-year-old woman had love for exotic animals

(Newser) - A pet camel killed its Australian owner—purportedly after trying to mate with her. The camel, 10 months old but already weighing in at about 330 pounds, knocked the 60-year-old woman to the ground and lay on top of her. “I’d say it’s probably been playing, or...

Household Chemicals Sickening Cats
Household Chemicals Sickening Cats
Aug 16, 2007 12:21 PM CDT

Household Chemicals Sickening Cats

Flame retardants used on furniture could be hurting humans, too

(Newser) - Cats are falling ill with thyroid disease caused by toxic flame retardants found in household dust and some pet food, says the EPA. Chemicals known as PBDEs—polybrominated diphenyl ethers—found in consumer products and furniture are mimicking hormones which send a cat's thyroid into overdrive. Since humans are the...

Ving Rhames' Dogs Kill Caretaker
Ving Rhames' Dogs Kill Caretaker
Aug 3, 2007 5:43 PM CDT

Ving Rhames' Dogs Kill Caretaker

Animal control takes actor's four dogs into custody

(Newser) - Four dogs belonging to actor Ving Rhames mauled a man to death today, the LA Times reports. The victim, who has not yet been identified but was apparently a caretaker for the dogs, and was found lying dead on Rhames' front lawn this morning. Rhames is currently abroad working on...

Rent-a Dog Biz Lets You Be Master for a Day

Active urbanites invest in four-legged time shares

(Newser) - A California entrepreneur has taken the commitment out of dog ownership for all those lusting-for-a-lab types who have room in their hearts for a pooch, but not in their lives. Flex Petz customers can contract out one the company's 10 dogs by the day, choosing from Labrador retrievers, Afghan hounds...

The End Is Near: Hospice Cat Senses Death

Oscar picks patients just about to die with uncanny accuracy

(Newser) - An upscale nursing home in Rhode Island is home to a cat that can sense impending death, the Boston Globe reports. Oscar, whose domain is the dementia ward, shows little interest in patients who are ill but not dying. But when he curls up in a bed, the patient usually...

Neutering Bill Ruffles Feathers
Neutering Bill Ruffles Feathers
Jul 10, 2007 10:16 AM CDT

Neutering Bill Ruffles Feathers

Calif. legislation would require owners to 'fix' cats and dogs

(Newser) - Legislation that would require Californians to "fix" their cats and dogs has captured the state's attention, inspiring more more controversy than any other measure this year, including an assisted-suicide bill. TV legend Bob Barker backs the spay/neuter bill, but groups like the American Kennel Club don't want the state...

The Cat Did Not Walk by Himself
The Cat Did Not Walk by Himself
Jun 29, 2007 6:53 AM CDT

The Cat Did Not Walk by Himself

(Newser) - Unlike most animals who were domesticated by man, cats, you cat owners will not be surprised to learn, domesticated themselves.  A study published in Science concludes that some 12,000 years ago cats, attracted by mice, who were themselves attracted by grain which man had just figured out how...

Romney 'Tortured' Family Dog
Romney 'Tortured' Family Dog
Jun 28, 2007 6:26 AM CDT

Romney 'Tortured' Family Dog

Pet on roof rack for 12-hour ride

(Newser) - White House hopeful Mitt Romney once kept his Irish Setter in a dog carrier strapped to the roof rack of the family car during a 12-hour road trip in a stunt that's come back to haunt his campaign 24 years later, Time reports. The incident came to light as an...

Elwood Named Ugliest Dog
Elwood Named Ugliest Dog
Jun 23, 2007 7:31 AM CDT

Elwood Named Ugliest Dog

(Newser) - A 2-year old mixed breed, Chinese Crested and Chihuahua, dog named Elwood won top honors as the world's ugliest dog at the Marin-Sonoma County Fair.  Elwood's owner, Karen Quigley was delighted with the outcome.  This was Elwood's second try at the title.  No word on whether Karen...

Nigerian Scams Hit Purebred Puppy Market

Dog-lovers fall prey to appeals to adopt or buy fake pooches

(Newser) - Nigerian scammers have a new ploy—this time giving away "free" purebred puppies that are worth upwards of $3,000, the LA Times reports. Racketeers advertise the pups using websites, MySpace postings, and even print ads, asking pet lovers to rescue the dogs or offering to sell them at...

Dogs Go Nuts for Fake Family Jewels
Dogs Go Nuts
for Fake
Family Jewels
May 18, 2007 2:27 PM CDT

Dogs Go Nuts for Fake Family Jewels

For neutered males, peer pressure can be a pain in the ... you know

(Newser) - Bob Barker, meet Gregg Miller. The outgoing "Price Is Right" host's signature sign-off is a plea to spay and neuter your pets. Miller sells prosthetic dog testicles. Kismet! Says one pet owner who ponied up for the phony cojones, "Mostly it was to make sure Dallas still felt...

Dognappers Target Toy Breeds
Dognappers Target Toy Breeds
May 8, 2007 10:01 AM CDT

Dognappers Target Toy Breeds

Small dog craze prompts nationwide surge in canine theft

(Newser) - Forget cat burglars: a surge in the popularity of pricy diminutive dogs has generated a wave of dognapping. Dog thieves across the nation have assaulted store clerks, broken into cars, and even held a family at gunpoint to get their hands on the pups, which can be fenced for thousands...

Melamine Death Toll Passes 8,000 Pets

FDA says health risk for humans unlikely

(Newser) - More than 8,000 deaths of cats and dogs that may be linked to melamine-tainted food have been reported to the FDA in the two months since the pet food recall. The statistics come as the FDA tries to assure Americans that the tainted protein concentrates, also fed to hogs...

China Detains Pet Food Contaminator

Beijing cracks down on source of melamine-tainted gluten

(Newser) - Chinese authorities have jailed the head of a company accused of selling pet food makers  the melamine-contaminated gluten that's killed thousands of cats and dogs. The detention of Mao Lijun suggests Beijing is eager to cooperate with the FDA investigators currently on its turf, after initially disavowing any gluten sales...

Chinese Add Melamine to Animal Feed
Chinese Add Melamine to Animal Feed
Apr 30, 2007 7:04 AM CDT

Chinese Add Melamine to Animal Feed

Filler that tainted pet food is commonly used as fake protein

(Newser) - The compound that tainted pet food and is being blamed for hundreds of pet illnesses and deaths is a commonly used additive in animal feed in China, reports the New York Times. The coal derivative melamine, used in plastics and fertilizers, is nitrogen-rich, which triggers tests for protein content.

FDA: Pet Food Poison Added Intentionally

Chinese may have used melamine to boost nutrition rating

(Newser) - The chemical which contaminated over 100 brands of pet food—with disastrous results for dog and cat lovers—may have been intentionally added by Chinese manufacturers in an effort to fudge nutrition ratings on their rice protein and wheat gluten. "That's still a theory, but it certainly seems to...

Chic Pups Are Channeling Nic and Leo

Oscar knock-offs now come in teacup sizes

(Newser) - Knock-offs of Academy Awards gowns—always a brisk business—now come in even-smaller sizes:  An L.A. company has released a new line of Oscar duds for dogs, from Nicole Kidman's red Balenciaga  to Leonardo DiCaprio's Armani tux. Little Lily's, which has been dressing posh pooches since 2002, has...

Is Your Cat Making You Neurotic?
Is Your Cat Making You Neurotic?
Mar 15, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

Is Your Cat Making You Neurotic?

(Newser) - A parasite that reproduces in cats, previously linked to schizophrenia in infected humans, has now, bizarrely, been implicated in mass personality changes in geographic areas where incidence of infection is high. A U.S. Geological Survey study of 39 countries shows that high infection rates of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite...

Stories 301 - 318 | << Prev