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One of the Sochi Games' best stories got even better Thursday. Slopestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, whose effort to find homes for four stray puppies and their mother led to oohs and ahhs internationally, can add an Olympic medal to his list of new things to bring home.

A Brooklyn father is accused of killing his one-year-old daughter, dismembering her, and feeding her to the family’s pit bull. Serenity Brown vanished in 2006. However, her mother did not report her missing until 2011. Three years later, authorities are still trying to determine exactly what happened to the little girl. Although the incident allegedly happened in 2006, Serenity’s mother, Paula Johnson, failed to report the crime for five years. In 2011, Social workers visited the family’s home as Johnson’s 12-year-old son has been skipping school. The workers became concerned as Serenity was listed as a resident but was not...

Hoping to prevent the killings of stray dogs who are roaming the streets of Sochi, a Russian billionaire has funded the creation of a shelter where the animals can find new owners. Oleg Deripaska’s shelter in Baranovka, a village near Sochi, houses around 40 dogs in basic pens, but city officials say such protection gives the dogs a chance of finding a new home, Reuters reports.

ROCK HILL — Ten people will need treatment after one person was bitten and nine others were potentially exposed to rabies by a puppy that tested positive for the disease in Rock Hill, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported Thursday afternoon. "About 275 South Carolinians must undergo preventive treatment for rabies every year, with most exposures coming from bites or scratches by a rabid or suspected rabid animal," said Sue Ferguson of DHEC's Bureau of Environmental Health Services. "Wild animals carry the disease most often, but domestic pets can contract rabies as well." Ferguson said state law...

when he was supposed to be looking for drugs A police dog in Mississippi has been fired from the force, after finding playing with soda cans more interesting than drugs busts. Police in Gulfport will be sending the Belgian Malinois dog back to the training facility he came from as Fred was found to be 'slacking off'. Just two years ago, the city of Gulfport paid $12,000-$13,000 for Fred which included training at a facility in Kaplan, Louisiana. Fred was trained at K-9 Unlimited in Kaplan, a school thought to be excellent for turning out well-trained and hardworking dogs. Chief...

Mattie Moore was taking her usual two-hour walk around Martin Luther King Park with her dog early Sunday morning when her foot and leg suddenly fell through the ground. Holding herself above ground with her elbows, she slowly crawled out to safety. But as she struggled to escape what turned out to be a deep sinkhole... her dog saw her distress and came running back to her. “He thought something was wrong,” she said. “He comes up behind me and falls right in.”

The Labrador retriever was the most popular dog breed in the U.S. last year for a 23rd year in a row, the American Kennel Club announced Friday. That's the longest any breed has been top dog since the organization's 1884 founding. German shepherds, golden retrievers, beagles and bulldogs are holding steady in the top-five pack, with Yorkshire terriers, boxers, poodles, Rottweilers and dachshunds continuing to round out the leading 10, which mirrors last year.

A tiny apricot poodle who survived a harrowing journey through mountains of San Francisco trash, is going home to life that will, in contrast, smell like a rose. On Monday, Patricia Aleman picked up Gem, as she was named, and whisked her off to a new life in her Potrero Hill home, complete with a yard. “I can’t wait to take her home and just play with her,” Aleman said. “I’m really, really excited. I feel lucky to have her.” In late December, trash sorters at the Recology Recycling Center spotted the poodle’s head poking out from a bag on...

"Lucky" might not be the first word you'd use to describe a dog left abandoned, starving and abused in a rough neighborhood near Miami — a dog whose front paw had been cut off. But on Wednesday, the year-old pooch trotted happily on her new plastic and carbon-fiber limb, seeming quite pleased with the odd path her life has taken. She's also something of a celebrity these days at Orlando's ABC Prosthetics and Orthotics, which has donated its services to Debbie. The place sees her when appointments for human clients have finished for the day.

Now that’s what I call a dog with heart! A house caught fire in Australia, and after everyone was out, the family dog Leo ran back inside. Leo was determined to save his four tiny, unlikely pals.

Standoff: Dog Attempts to Pass Cat in Hallway

When animal control officers were called to a Greenville, South Carolina, neighborhood to pick up a wandering pit bull on a cold Monday in December, they didn't expect a mystery to unfold. But inside a fold of the dog's collar, they found a wrinkled black-and-white photo. It had no name or date. A smiling man seated on a railing looks straight into the camera -- but, beyond that, the photo offers no clues. The friendly tan canine, now named Soldier because the man in the photo may be wearing a military uniform, was skinny but well-behaved, said Susan Bufano, community...

While many dogs and cats can live harmoniously together, there are certain dog breeds with hunting instincts that may be too strong to handle daily life with a feline friend

Below is the story of Theresa, a rescue dog that, despite serious injuries, eventually walked again and became a mother to kittens in need Dr. Mary connected the two situations. We had a mother dog that had so much milk to give, and we had kittens that desperately needed to nurse. She took a chance and placed a kitten next to the dog. The kitten immediately started to nurse, and the dog lay back with a sigh of relief. Dr. Mary brought over the other five kittens, and they also started to nurse. The crippled dog became a loving surrogate...

It's an old question, and to some a first-date necessity: Are you a dog person or a cat person? In their respective roles as both work animals and pets (and sometimes even gods), dogs and cats have lived alongside humans for thousands of years. Meanwhile, the persistent dogs versus cats comparison has been running a parallel course.

A family decided to take in a stray cat after they discovered that everyday the cat waited outside the door to see their dog. “I caught my dog meeting with him daily .. They have been inseparable since,” said the human via reddit.“Boots was a 3 month old kitten at the time, and he would interact with Diego and follow him around whenever we went for walks, usually in the back yard. We thought it was strange they got along so well!”“We got him immunized and took him in when we realized Boots was almost always waiting outside the door...

A pet owner's happy reunion Thursday with his long-lost dog left a Queens man — who has been caring for the pooch for nearly six years — in tears. Ben Choi got his Pekingese, Buddy, back after 78-year-old Alfred Hayek was coaxed into handing the canine over by two private detectives who negotiated the release.

The triumphant story of a little pup called Daisy who overcame all obstacles. It is a story about strength, friendship and love - but most of all it is a story about believing in ourselves.

There's a controversy in veterinary medicine that divides the profession, and it's over something that many pet owners never give a second thought: kissing your pets. As you might imagine, I have some thoughts on this topic. Because, yes, I kiss my pets, and yes, I know I probably shouldn't. -snip- But back to the risks. Shortly after the study about the transfer of oral bacteria from pets to people came out, I talked with Dr. Richard E. Besser, a pediatrician and the former acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the current ABC News...

The number of Americans owning pets is at a record high, and more people are making provisions in their wills to provide for these animals after they're gone. But to ensure your pet is cared for as you intend, it's important to set up a pet trust—an arrangement that 46 states permit. "Pet trusts aren't just for the wealthy," says Frances Carlisle, a trust and estates attorney in New York. For most pet owners, she adds, the goal "is to make sure a plan exists for the care of the animal." Pet trusts can take effect either after you die...