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Never mind soccer moms, security moms and the bitter working class. This is a question for pet owners. And John McCain is Best in Show. The pet-owning public may have caught on to the fact that McCain, like George Washington and George W. Bush, shares his home with a number of pets - more than a dozen, in McCain's case. Democrat Barack Obama, by contrast, is petless. Among pet-owners, McCain has clawed his way to a marginal advantage; 42 percent supporting the Republican, 37 percent the Democrat, according to the results of an AP-Yahoo News poll (remember, it was Jonathan...

With whiskers entwined and their furry bodies snuggled close, Zara and Arnie make a purrfect couple.

A teenager was stunned to find that a baby bat had been curled up inside her bra for five hours - as she was wearing it. Abbie Hawkins, a hotel receptionist, thought her mobile phone was ringing when she felt vibrations coming from her clothes. But she later discovered the tiny creature tucked away in the padded pocket of her underwear. As staff and colleagues crowded around, Miss Hawkins, 19, produced the frightened bat, which was the size of her hand. She said: "Once I realised it was a bat I was shocked, but then I felt quite sorry for...

VANCOUVER - Marley the cat dropped 14 storeys out of a window of a high-rise and lived to meow about it. It may have been nature that lured him out, and it was nature that cushioned his fall. Angela Bester had left a window slightly ajar for her one-year-old Scottish Fold domestic cross she named after a favourite singer, Bob Marley, while she took an overnight trip to Whistler. When she returned to her 14th storey condo, she froze. "I saw the window and I knew instantly what had happened and I looked at the (uneaten) food and the water....

Hollywood, CA (BANG) - Sharon Stone has been offered a free brain scan. Animal rights group PETA are determined to discover why Sharon "demonstrates a lack of empathy" towards animals by wearing fur, and so have written her a letter telling her they would be willing to pay for the scientific scan.The letter reads: "Scientific studies suggest that the prefrontal regions of the brains of people who lack empathy might be underdeveloped. Here's our offer - would you allow PETA to pay for a scan of the prefrontal region of your brain to determine if comments and actions that seem...

July Fourth is a celebration of outdoor cooking, as well as our nation's birthday. It's time to brush off the barbecue and throw masses of processed meat on the grill. As we all stand around waiting for the fire to die down so that we can make s'mores, it's also a time to ponder the notion that the barbecue is a ritual 700,000 years old or more, and it might have something to do with our big brains.

Diver catches giant crab   A giant crab with a shell 12in wide has been caught by an Aylesbury diver off the UK coast. The crustacean, weighing 17lb and with a claw span of 9in, was found by diver Paul Worsley during a recent diving trip in Lyme Regis, Dorset. Douglas Lanfear, who runs the dive boat Blue Turtle, said he was amazed at the size of the crab. He said: "It was truly a monster. It was the biggest crab I have ever seen in all my years and there were fishermen who have been working here for...

It lurked in the wreck of an old battleship 160ft below the surface – a true monster of the deep. Diver Paul Worsley could hardly believe the size of the giant crab he found in Lyme Bay, off the Dorset coast. Careful to avoid its fearsome claws, he managed to get it into a bag and raise it to the surface. For his efforts, he can congratulate himself on capturing what experts believe is the biggest edible crab ever landed. It weighed 17lb and had a shell width of 12in while each of its massive claws was as big as...

With the Fourth of July and its accompanying fireworks nearly upon us, it's time to think about safeguarding your pets from the booms, shrieks, bangs, pops and whistles of fireworks. "The days following the Fourth of July tend to be the busiest for our shelters," said Michelle Roaché, deputy director of Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care & Control. "Falling on a Friday, it can be even worse because weekends are already extremely busy." The number of stray and injured animals at the county's shelters jumps dramatically around the holiday. The Fourth is a terrifying time for many animals....

This video is an animation of a deer and rabbit. The rabbit meet the deer in the wild and expresses its thoughts. The voices of this video are, o7jimmy and grandson.

Famed chimp 'Moe' escapes into forest As of Monday, there was still no sign of Moe in the San Bernardino National Forest, but there were plenty of rumors about the missing chimp. Water was running and peanuts were missing at the Gem Ranch on Cajon Boulevard, and a dead chicken was found in the same area where Moe disappeared. Someone even called from Rancho Cucamonga saying there had been a possible Moe sighting in the caller's yard. Amidst the mayhem and the media circus at the scene, animal control officers and those close to Moe continued their search for the...

Customs officials in Gothenburg were at a loss as to how to deal with Jacques Abdelaziz and his two four-legged pack animals when the trio wandered off a ferry boat from Denmark on Sunday afternoon. * Dropped French bid hits TeliaSonera shares (30 Jun 08) * France Telecom ups bid for TeliaSonera (30 Jun 08) * Gothenburg club and concert tips - June 27 - 29 (26 Jun 08) Abdelaziz, who hails from Brittany in northwestern France, has been wandering around Europe for the past two months with his two donkeys, Nounou and Toutoune, according to the Göteborg-Posten (GP) newspaper....

Dead Moose -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 2008-05-08, 10:33AM AKDT I have a dead moose free for the taking. It died yesterday, apparently of natural causes. I called Fish & Game to come and get it. Apparently, moose are a natural resource and belong to everybody, until they die, then they belong to whoevers property they die on. So, according to Fish & Game, the moose now belongs to me. Sweet!! So, if you want a free moose, please come and get it before the bears do. You could use it for dog food, or stuff it and put it your front yard,...

Ferocious attack kitten is available for adoption to any home willing to accept him. This destructive kitty has been trained as a proud warrior and will fiercely defend your house, even against you. Well-trained since 10-weeks of age to attack anything in his presence, he will protect your family from evil things, including the following: * insects * other trained attack kittens * babies * toilet paper * anything under a blanket * unwanted house guests * paper bags * floor rugs * Chuck Norris * Feet. Great with children (assuming you don’t like the children). Probably best used for...

Has anyone else noticed this? There is an ad that has been running on TV for several months, I believe it's for a product called "Move Free". I may have that wrong but that's not my point. The woman in the origional ad said "I feel so good, I think I'll adopt a puppy". Later ads have changed, the same woman now says "I think I'll adopt the puppy that I always planned for". Someone put pressure on this advertiser to change the ad. Does PETA have enough influence to affect ad terminology?

TULSA — While dog-sitting for his mother earlier this month, Bryan Whalen discovered video recordings of his mother and two other people engaging in sex acts with three dogs, according to an affidavit filed Monday in Tulsa County. Authorities have charged Diane Whalen, 54, and Donald Roy Seigfried, 55, with crimes against nature, a felony that includes bestiality, said Capt. John Bowman of the Tulsa County sheriff's office. Seigfried was arrested and released Tuesday on $10,000 bail. Bowman said Whalen had not been arrested, but authorities were in contact with her lawyer. Bryan Whalen was feeding and taking care of...

I live in a land locked area so when I see news like this it makes me jealous. While I get to trek up mountains, carrying my owners lunch and drink on my back, these dogs get to go out and surf. Yeah, that’s right, surf. (This year was the 3rd Annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition at Imperial Beach in California. These canines bring a whole new meaning to the term sea dog.) See last years winner on video...

I flushed my pills down the toilet. The prescription had expired. I had a queasy impulse to jettison the medicine this way because of some vague understanding that expired medicine could be dangerous. It may, but not in the way I imagined. Scientists are now finding a vast array of pharmaceuticals, from sex hormones, to anti-convulsants, to mood stabilizers, in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, the Associated Press found recently. The drugs get there via people like me, blithely tossing drugs into the water system — and through the natural metabolic practices of a country...

A teenage girl riding in an all-night bicycle race suffered severe injuries early this morning when a bear attacked her on a trail ... Police officers with shotguns escorted medics into dark woods to retrieve the girl... "She was cut up and bit pretty good," After the mauling, the girl used her cell phone to call 911 but was unable to communicate... Another rider who came along found her sitting on the ground and said she could utter only one word: "Bear." He then used her phone to make another call for help. Sinnott said he didn't arrive in time...

Any Freepers have any large aquariums? I looking at getting an aquarium to house multiple species such as turtles, fish, frogs, and/or crabs. I have done some research as to what species would get along with each other but I was wondering if anyone maybe does this for a hobby.

Records: SF Tiger 'Frantic For Food' Before Attack SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS) ― The tiger that attacked and killed a teenager on Christmas day had lost 50 pounds since arriving at the San Francisco Zoo as a young and healthy animal two years earlier, raising concerns about whether she was getting enough to eat. A KCBS Radio investigation of zoo records shows Tatiana arrived in San Francisco in December 2005 weighing 292 pounds. She was entering the prime of her life at two and a half years old. When she was shot and killed by police in December...

Deputies Find Missing 3-Year-Old Protected By Family's Pet Dogs Published: 1:43 AM, 06/28/2008 Deeply Grateful Mom Is Quickly Reunited With Son, Thanks To Officers, Neighbors By BILL JONES Staff Writer The mother of a three-year-old boy who was found safe Friday morning after wandering away from his northern Greene County home called The Greeneville Sun Friday afternoon to express heartfelt thanks for the fast response of neighbors and sheriff's deputies when she discovered her son was missing. Kristen (Mrs. Jimmy) Thach, of Roaring Fork Road, told the Sun late Friday afternoon that her son, David, 3, "just took off" from...

In an era of McNuggets and McChicken sandwiches, this bird brings new meaning to the term “fast food.” (A brown hen has taken up residence outside a McDonald’s in Temecula and, try as they might, neither the employees nor the customers can catch her.) That’s like a dog hanging out in front of a Chinese restaurant in Peking. Sure everything seems OK, until they catch you. Next thing you know, you’re the number 12, extra spicy, on the menu. (It has been almost four months...

Difference between cats and dogs: Dogs think, "Wowee, these people feed me, play with me, give me toys, clean up my mess and make me very happy. They must be gods!" Cats think, "Wowee, these people feed me, play with me, give me toys, clean up my mess and make me very happy. I must be a god!".People who have cats really want a dog but haven't got the time to keep one. So they settle for a cat which is vastly inferior because you can't take it for walks, it wont bring anything back to you unless it killed...

June 26, 2008 -- Little dogs -- think Chihuahuas and Dachshunds -- tend to be feisty, while certain breeds, like Golden and Labrador Retrievers, are as mellow as their reputations suggest, found a new study that identified the most and least aggressive common dog breeds.

Cynthia Moss, a member of the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science program at the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., talks about how bats emit sounds and use echolocation to picture environments, cue memory and assist flight. Credit: University of Maryland and National Science FoundationWhen a bat pursues prey such as a moth, it computes the 3D location of objects in its environment from information carried by the echoes of its voice. Credit: Photo by Jessica Nelson Bats' vocal sonar does more than locate objects; it cues memory and assists flightNot many people think about what it's like to be a...

(You can’t get much happier than a pig in muck, or so we are told. But when this little piggy arrived in the farmyard she showed a marked reluctance to get her trotters dirty. While her six brothers and sisters messed around in the mire, she stayed on the edge shaking. It is thought she might have mysophobia - a fear of dirt.) A pig, fearing dirt. That’s like a dog fearing social interaction, a cat fearing afternoon naps or Rosie O'Donnell fearing an all you can eat buffet. It’s unheard of. (Owners Debbie and Andrew Keeble were at a...

Crime, I don’t condone it, but sometimes you do feel sorry for the perp. Take for instance this story of an animal lover looking to provide for his pets. ( TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese animal-lover on welfare went to extremes to provide for his many pets by robbing convenience stores while wearing the mask of a dog, police said Monday. Takaharu Kawata — branded by Japanese media as “The Dogman” — was caught on a surveillance camera wearing an oversized black-and-white canine mask while brandishing a knife.) OK…I feel I need to step in here. Please take a look...

KEYSTONE — One afternoon in mid April, Cindy Adams heard rustling. She knew there was a swamp nearby, so she didn't pay the noise any mind. Then about 4:30 p.m., she looked up and saw what she initially thought were two big German shepherds. A closer look revealed something else. Something unshaven. Something with big ears and a furry tail. "It was the coyotes," she said. Adams didn't know if she should stand still, run or scream. "They just totally ignored me, went off the back end of the property and left," she said. It wasn't Adams the coyotes wanted....

If your owners use mulch in the yard, please have them read the below letter. There’s danger in that there mulch they might be purchasing. Buyer beware. Over the weekend one of our friends experienced a tragedy with one of their dogs and wanted me to pass a special message along to all of our dog loving friends and family. Please tell every dog owner you know. Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from

People in the Silver City/Pinos Altos, New Mexico, vicinity are nervously looking over their shoulders these days, fearing they may be the next meal for a mountain lion prowling the area... On Friday, the body of Robert Nowojski, 55, was found about 75 yards from his Pinos Altos home, severely mauled and partly fed upon. The animal would not leave until Game and Fish officers shot at it. Although not yet confirmed with an autopsy, authorities suspect the lion is responsible for the fatal attack. Hunters with hounds are now tracking the animal. Several people reported sightings of the mountain...

This tiny puppy may have been born without front legs but there's no way that is holding her back. Hope, the appropriately named two-legged Maltese puppy gets around by using a specially-designed device which features wheels from a model aeroplane. The energetic pup uses her hind legs to boost her body forward onto her chest and operate the wheeled prosthetic limbs. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE...

Bo (woof) In Commentary: I consider myself an above average escape artist. I’ve dug out beneath a fence, eaten the slats off of a fence and run through a fence but I’ve never flown over one. I thought you need to be a bird to do that. Well, Harvey the Bull Terrier has just proven me wrong. (One moment Harvey, a three-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was alone in the garden, the next he disappeared. “He couldn’t get over the fence on his own and must have used the trampoline to...

<p>When we think of Wisconsin, we think of it as the nation's Heartland -- a placid place where you can park your car anywhere and leave it unlocked, with the key in the ignition, knowing that no matter how long you're gone, when you return your car will be covered with cheese.</p>

A three-legged, one-eyed, cancer-afflicted dog named Gus has been crowned the World's Ugliest Dog at a fair in California. Gus, a Chinese Crested dog, beat allcomers to take the title at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. Owner Jeanenne Teed, from Florida, said she would spend the $1,600 prize on treatment for Gus's skin cancer. The competition has been running for 20 years, and is one of the fair's top attractions, organisers said. Vicki DeArmon, marketing director of the fair, said that in the past few years, winners had been dogs that had been abandoned or neglected before being adopted by dog-lovers. "They...

Boris the cat's temporary guardian has a tough decision to make. The Fraser Valley Humane Society's Christine Reed is combing through the requests made by Vancouver Sun readers to adopt the two-year-old cat recovering from a broken back. Many have been moved by the story of the orange cat who was found injured on a Mission construction site and endured a full body brace and a hydrotherapy regime to learn how to walk again. "Boris's story has touched me so much that I am writing in hope of being considered in adopting this special kitty," wrote Thelma, half of a...

Sahara and Alexa are the best of mates, but they have a very unconventional friendship. That is because Sahara is cheetah and Alexa is a giant Anatolian Shepherd guard dog. Destroying the notion that cats and dogs can only be the best of enemies, these two residents of Cincinnati Zoo in the US have been old muckers since they were both barely two months old. Both seven years old now, Alexa and Sahara were raised together as part of a conservation programme at the zoo designed to help ensure Sahara's African cousins survival in the wild. Linda Castaneda, 31, who...

My father travels for work every now and again. He’s always complaining about the airlines and getting stuck sitting next to a big guy, that smells and loves to talk. I think he just likes to exaggerate. Then this morning I get up and read this story as I’m downing my cup a joe. Maybe air travel really does suck. (MIAMI - An uninvited passenger created a smelly situation on a plane in Miami. American Airlines Flight 915 from Miami to Bogota, Colombia, was delayed Wednesday night after a skunk was found in the back of the cargo hold, discharging...

We will be sending our current Rescue Pooch on, on Saturday. We'll be meeting his next Humans near St Joseph, MO. I need quick advice on a SWAP spot. We want to lunch or picnic with "Vinnie's" next set of Humans. This is a Summer Swap. We can't just let Vinnie nap in a cooling car, as we do with Winter meets. We want time to tell HIS story, rather than a "drop & dash" at PetCo send off. Something near I-29, and easy to find; would be best. A Subway, or similar, that allows pooches at their OUTSIDE tables...

On Father's Day last Sunday afternoon, a Chilmark police officer pumped several bullets into a wild male turkey he feared was a threat to public safety. Chilmark patrolman Jeff Day and Special Police Officer Matthew Gebo responded to a call at 12:26 pm from two people who said the bird attacked them as they tried to deliver rental baby equipment. The turkey, however, happened to be "Tom," a bird familiar to next-door neighbors Jonathan Haar and his wife, Linda, who had been feeding him since he was an orphaned chick. According to a police report, Mr. Haar's protest over the...

Congo, the Princeton Township German shepherd whose mauling of a landscaper last year grew into a canine cause celebre, was put to death yesterday after joining in an unprovoked attack on a family member, police said.

You May Want To Pass This On To Your Enemies....I’ll admit that sometimes I may get on my parents’ nerves, especially when I bark incessantly at the children getting off the school bus. But compared to this parrot, I could bark for 24 hours straight and still be considered the lesser of two evils. Take a look and see what you think....http://boknowsonline.com/2008/06/18/soothing-baby-parrot-sounds/

My brother has selected a puppy for his family's pet—a Parson Russell terrier pup he'll call Wrigley (he's a Cubs fan)—but even before all the kids play with it I'm wondering how I'll feel the day Wrigley gets married. Will the "bride" wear white? Will I begin to cry, like a big fat baby? When the "reverend" performing the pet marriage says, "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you dog and . . ."—is that when Satan pops out of the wedding cake and takes us all straight to hell?

New York dog owner Robert Machin has described himself as "devastated" after a street cleaning truck made short work of one of his two Boston terriers, sucking the unfortunate mutt into its rotating brush mechanism, the New York Daily News reports. Machin had been walking Buster and Ginger on Thursday when tragedy struck. He'd opened the door to his car and was about to get in when said truck ingested Ginger. Machin, who'd been holding the poor pooch by its lead, recounted: "It happened so fast. It spun me around, and as it spun me around, I caught a last...

Quick little story showing that I’m not the only one who doesn’t listen to his owner. Thankfully for a Bridgeport, Ct police officer, neither do snakes. (Police officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut, responded Tuesday to a report of domestic disturbance. Apparently, 21-year-old Victor Rodriguez was threatening his girlfriend with his pet python. As the officers entered...

After years of stomping around the grizzly haunts of the wildest coast of North America without a serious bear encounter, forester Rick Rogers never imagined the first and only close call of his life would come in an Anchorage park visited by thousands of people. SNIP . . . He thought his maximum heart rate was 180. He later looked at the monitor and realized he'd hit 193.

This animation is to reveal how demoralizing it must be to wildlife in hunting season’s first day.

A peregrine falcon named Cielo has died after the 2-month-old bird likely crashed into San Jose City Hall where she and her family have been living on a ledge. She is believed to have died late Monday night or early Tuesday morning after being driven to an animal hospital that specializes in birds on Monday morning. Cielo's siblings, Meyye and Mercury, are alive and well. In fact, her sister and brother, respectively, are flying about, and expected to leave the nest - literally - sometime this summer. The falcon family has drawn widespread interest from bird watchers throughout the world...

You ever notice the annoying voices that owners use to speak to us? I can live with that but here’s a trend I’m happy they stopped dead in its tracks. (Jayna Hutchinson, a 33-year-old Vermont woman, was charged with cruelty to animals and resisting arrest after a police officer caught her staring at his dog in a “taunting/harassing manner.”) Dogs on the scene have reported to...

Bridgeport police say they arrested a city man after he ordered his pet to attack two officers. Lucky for them that 9-foot-long pythons aren't very obedient. Rodriguez and his pet were both taken away: Rodriguez to jail on a $10,000 bond, and the albino python ...