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Poop Scoopers Rake It In
 Poop Scoopers 
 Rake It In 

Poop Scoopers Rake It In

'Waste specialists' see increasing profits with a business 'always picking up'

(Newser) - The economy might be slowing, but one man's poop-scooping business is, well, piling up. A sixth sense for sniffing out the goods is earning Ron Johnson's Poo-B-Gone $75,000 yearly, the Chicago Tribune reports. Pet owners who are too busy or grossed-out to handle their dogs' waste pay up to...

Foreclosure Victims Also Furry
 Foreclosure Victims Also Furry 

Foreclosure Victims Also Furry

As more people lose their homes, so do their pets

(Newser) - 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...

Man Eats Man's Best Friend
 Man Eats Man's Best Friend 
opinion

Man Eats Man's Best Friend

Slate's Ted Kerasote protests animal cruelty in China

(Newser) - 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...

Polly Want a Prozac?
Polly Want a Prozac?

Polly Want a Prozac?

Parrots are the latest pets to see spike in depression

(Newser) - 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...

Pet Ferrets: Cute, Cuddly, Illegal
Pet Ferrets: Cute, Cuddly, Illegal

Pet Ferrets: Cute, Cuddly, Illegal

Owners ask why domesticated ferrets remain illegal

(Newser) - Americans own about 2 million ferrets, and some are asking why they remain illegal in several states and cities. “Martin Luther King said an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” one ferret advocate said. “And this is an injustice.” Opponents say that owners are...

Woman Orders Clone of Beloved Dog for $150K

Korean company says it's the first commercial order for a cloned canine

(Newser) - 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...

US, Chinese Firms Charged in Pet Food Scandal

American owners intentionally sold tainted products, prosecutors say

(Newser) - US authorities today charged an American company and two Chinese businesses with manufacturing and importing tainted ingredients in pet food that killed thousands of cats and dogs last year, the AP reports. Las Vegas-based ChemNutra and its owners face a felony conspiracy charge and 26 misdemeanor counts for selling adulterated...

Religious Belief Linked to Loneliness

Study also associates love for pets, computers with social isolation

(Newser) - Most people can't stomach loneliness, and they're more prone to believing in the supernatural or creating strong bonds with pets and household objects to compensate, a new study finds. It's a throwback to our ancestors, who relied on group living to survive, LiveScience reports. "Being socially isolated is just...

Missing Dog Case Takes Cruel Turn
Missing Dog Case Takes Cruel Turn

Missing Dog Case Takes Cruel Turn

Teen charged after owner receives harrowing calls

(Newser) - Philly police have arrested a 15-year-old in the case of a gentle brown dog whose disappearance led to a cruel chain of events for her owner. The youth and others called up the distraught owner after Edna's disappearance, demanded a ransom, then made a dog yelp in pain as he...

Chicago May Ban Pet Chickens
Chicago May Ban Pet Chickens

Chicago May Ban Pet Chickens

Owning poultry seen as green and trendy among some residents

(Newser) - Are chickens a city pet? Chicago’s city council is nearing a vote on a proposal to ban chicken ownership, even as green- and organic-minded citizens around the country increasingly keep the birds for eggs, yard work, and companionship. Among worries for Chicago politicians, the AP reports, are that chickens’...

Cat Diabetes Becoming a Weighty Problem

Some vets think dry, high-carb kibble is a major culprit

(Newser) - If your cat is fat, he might have an even bigger problem. The rate of type 2 diabetes among pets—particularly cats—is soaring, reports the Chicago Tribune. Experts aren't in total agreement about why, but in general they think that our furry feline companions are developing the disease for...

Meet Tom, Your New Pet
Meet Tom, Your New Pet

Meet Tom, Your New Pet

For some Americans, turkeys are to be adopted, not eaten

(Newser) - This is generally not the best of days for turkeys, though some have it better than others. The New York Times takes a look at several families who have spared turkeys the knife—by adopting them. "I instantly, totally fell in love, and now I just want to stay...

Ellen Breaks Down Over Botched Dog Adoption

Things going 'so terribly wrong,' sobs comedian

(Newser) - Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres broke down in tears on her program yesterday as she described a doggie adoption flub.  She and her partner adopted a pup named Iggy from an agency, but when the dog didn't get along with the couple's cats, Ellen gave it to her hairdresser....

Fido-Friendly Vacation Spots
Fido-Friendly Vacation Spots

Fido-Friendly Vacation Spots

If vacation isn't vacation without Rover, consider one of these ten pet-friendly towns or your next trip

(Newser) - Man's best friend has become a member of the family, so why shouldn't he get a break, too?  Make it fun and easy to travel with your pet by visiting one of these hound-hangout towns MSNBC recommends:
  1. San Diego, CA
  2. Long Beach, CA
  3. Carmel, CA

Cats of Iraq Bring Solace in War
Cats of Iraq Bring Solace
in War

Cats of Iraq Bring Solace in War

Stray felines find place in the heart (and home) of Times bureau chief

(Newser) - As bombs rocked the outside world, New York Times correspondent John Burns found one hopeful symbol within the newspaper’s Baghdad compound—the growing cat population. Keen survival instincts brought the cats over the blast walls to adoring humans who fed and counted the feline population. It was “one...

Panhandler Begs For Lost Pooch, his 'Best Friend'

Anti-cruelty society and locals rally behind itinerant owner

(Newser) - A Chicago panhandler has gone from begging for loose change to asking after a lost pal, the Chicago Tribune reports. Sixty-nine year-old Tom Finley says he last saw his canine "best friend" outside a McDonald's, and believes someone took her in the hope of giving the dog better care....

Fido Knows What You're Thinking
Fido Knows What You're Thinking

Fido Knows What You're Thinking

Dogs can read humans like no other animal, researchers say

(Newser) - Man's best friend, traditionally viewed by scientists as the drooling, complacent descendant of the noble wolf, are being given a fresh look by behavioral researchers who say their reasoning and ability to read human communication is unprecedented among four-leggers. Studies have suggested that dogs come out of the womb with...

Millionaire Dog May Have to Fight for Her Biscuits

World's richest pooch already faces lawsuit

(Newser) - When billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley bequeathed $12 million to her pooch before she died last month, it's a good thing she left the eight-year-old Maltese enough to hire  a good lawyer. Trouble, who was inseparable from the 'Queen of Mean' when she was alive, and had a propensity to bite...

Helmsley's Heir Is the Dog
Helmsley's Heir Is the Dog

Helmsley's Heir Is the Dog

Queen of Mean leaves $12M to Trouble, a bunch to charity, ignores 2 grandkids

(Newser) - When the Queen of Mean’s will was read, Trouble, the billionaire hotel magnate’s pampered, biting Maltese, came calling. Leona Helmsley left $12 million to the 8-year-old pooch, along with $38 million to three other family members. The rest—between $4 and $8 billion—went to her charity trust,...

SPCA Calls Off the Dogs on Britney
SPCA Calls Off the Dogs on Britney

SPCA Calls Off the Dogs on Britney

Society drops investigation into star's pooch's broken leg

(Newser) - Britney Spears is out of the doghouse with the SPCA. The society's LA chapter has dropped its investigation into her dog's broken leg, People reports. The investigation followed reports that the Yorkie wasn't being treated for the injury. But the dog's vet reported that everything was just fine.

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