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<p>A teacher at Fort Myers Middle Academy pleaded no contest Friday to cruelty to animals and was sentenced to a $250 fine and 25 hours of community service.</p> <p>One dog, a chow, had an infection so bad that animal services had to euthanize it after being unable to nurse it back to health.</p>

Veterinarian admits beating dogs LEBANON, Maine (AP) A veterinarian faces a possible revocation of his license after he admitted beating four dogs that he treated. John Carmody, who works at Lebanon's Forest View Veterinary Clinic, told the state Board of Veterinary Medicine in August that he abused the animals. He signed a document admitting striking a German shepherd in the face, restraining and kicking a black Labrador retriever, striking an Italian greyhound, and repeatedly kicking a second German shepherd. Carmody could have his veterinary completely revoked, or have it revoked for a period of time and face a fine,...

Coon-Dog Cemetery (Alabama) Sep. 3 - While some chose to spend their labor day in the political scene, others decided to do something a little different. More than a hundred tourists and hunting enthusiasts visited the coon-dog cemetery in south Colbert County. It's located in the middle of Freedom Hills Forest. The cemetery has more than a hundred headstones, marking the graves of coon-dogs. The graves have been marked since the first one was buried there in 1937. The coon-dog cemetery is very strict. Before you can bury your dog, you must prove that it was actually a coon-hunter....

City rules define 'dangerous animals' By CINDY TOOPES, Courier staff writer OTTUMWA - City authorities issued a press release Tuesday afternoon about the pit-bull attack and attached copies of city regulations about the handling and housing of pit bull terriers. At a 3:30 p.m. press conference, Ottumwa Police Lt. Jim Clark explained some of the city regulations. Owners must keep the dog in a kennel with a roof and a floor. If there is no floor, the cage has to go 2 feet into the ground, Clark said. If an owner is walking a pit bull, the animal must...

Rottweilers go on 'biting spree' LEWISTON, Maine (AP) A pair of Rottweilers blamed for two separate attacks that sent a man and boy to the hospital with bite wounds have been placed under quarantine while awaiting euthanasia, officials said. ''These two dogs went on a biting spree,'' said Animal Control Officer Wendell Strout. ''And they're both good-sized animals.'' Strout said it did not appear the animals were provoked or threatened in either attack. Don Tremblay said he was moving some boxes outside a friend's house on Sand Hill Road on Sunday when the dogs attacked, biting him on the...

Two Arrested For Allegedly Killing Dog With Ax Suspects Will Be Arraigned Tuesday POSTED: 7:56 a.m. EDT August 27, 2002 UPDATED: 8:57 a.m. EDT August 27, 2002 WESTERLY, R.I. -- Two people are in custody Tuesday for allegedly beating a dog to death. Westerly police said Katonah Perry (pictured below), 43, of Westerly and a 17-year-old male are charged with malicious injury to an animal. Officials began investigating after the dog's body was found in a shallow grave. The dog had been beaten with a pick ax, they said. Detectives said both suspects beat the dog and, if convicted,...

Men Charged With Killing Puppy Investigators Say Dog Was Shot In Front Of Children Posted: 8:12 a.m. CDT August 21, 2002 Updated: 8:28 a.m. CDT August 21, 2002 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two men have been charged with killing a puppy who was stabbed and shot after one of the suspects got mad because the dog wouldn't let him pick it up, authorities said. The dog's owner, Johnnie Parks, 31, was charged Tuesday with two felonies: one count of animal abuse and one count of unlawful use of a firearm. Ray Carabajal, 25, of Richmond, was charged with one...

ANIMAL RIGHTS CAN'T REPLACE HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY By Brent Morrison-Style Columnist"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' " - Genesis 1:26 As I type these words there are three formerly homeless kittens sleeping in the safety of my enclosed porch. They are there because my wife plucked them from the trees of an orchard we pass on our evening walks, apparently abandoned...

Could Annual Animal Vaccines Be Dangerous To Your Pet? There are ongoing studies looking at just how much benefit dogs and cats get from annual rabies vaccines and how many animals, especially cats may be getting cancer because of over-vaccination. Now, the Texas Board of Health is considering changing the rule for vaccinations to every three years. In 1996 there was a rabies outbreak in Texas, the Department of Health mandated that dogs get yearly rabies shots. Cats can get them annually or every three years. Texas is one five states which requires the annual vaccine. 33 other states require...

Man Heads To Prison For Punching Police Dog Incident Stemmed From Domestic Situation POSTED: 5:45 p.m. EDT July 31, 2002 AKRON, Ohio -- An Ohio man was sentenced Wednesday for assaulting a police dog, stemming from a domestic situation in May. Officials said that Robert Dulabhan's daughter called police when she learned her father had a gun. Apparently, when officers came to arrest the man, the police dog bit Dulabhan on the head. The dog was ordered to release his hold, and that's when Dulabhan punched the dog in the nose. On Wednesday, the soft-spoken Dulabhan, 57, learned not...

Dog Leash Law Changes July 30, 2002 By Jim Poston Boise - Boise City Council members voted Tuesday night to reduce the fine for keeping dogs off leash in city parks. It had been a misdeamenor with a $300 fine and the possibility of jail time. Now its an infraction with a $25 fine. Police say officers were reluctant to issue a $300 ticket so city council hopes more citations will be written now and the number of violators will go down. Gary Ann Clohessy says she runs her dog Sissy every day without a leash in open defiance...

Court documents show parents, uncle had role in deathAccording to court records from the Magistrate court in Dona Ana County, here are the events that led up to the murder of 5-month old Brianna Lopez. Wednesday, July 24, 2002 -- Thursday night, July 18th, at 6 p.m., Andy Walters stopped to buy a case of beer, and headed home to 5243 Comanche Trail in Las Cruces. Three people-- Walters, 21, Stephanie Lopez, 19, and her twin brother Steven Lopez, 19, drink through the evening. Stephanie went to bed after about three beers. According to court documents, Andy Walters and Steven...

A Chesterfield man will spend 80-days in jail for allowing six dogs to starve to death. The pictures and the details are very graphic and disturbing. The man and his parents went before the judge today. Authorities say the dogs were neglected to the point that the mother dog had to resort to eating some of her puppies in order to stay alive.

July 23, 2002 Pets In Austintown Austintown Township officials don't want exotic pets as neighbors. And now residents are worried that other pets will also be eliminated. Monday night Township Trustees held their second reading on the new legislation that would eliminate exotic pets. It also includes domestic animals that are considered vicious - like pit-bulls. Many of those dog owners attended the meeting last night. Trustees say that they are currently asking residents for imput to help customize the ordnance to fit their community. Chairman David Ditzler told 27 First News.... " It was not the intention of the...

Show For Cats Coming To TV This Fall Meow Mix Putting Show On POSTED: 4:59 p.m. EDT July 17, 2002 NEW YORK -- An under-served audience gets its own television show this fall. The pet food company that makes Meow Mix is putting on a half-hour aimed primarily at cats. "Meow TV" is the brainchild of David Freeman, the strategy director at the company's advertising agency. He says the components of the show haven't been decided yet, but notes that cats seem to like bright colors and happy voices. As he pointed out, "A narrative thread really isn't that...

Court Tosses Police Dog Bite Lawsuit Suspect Was Bitten By Officer's Dog POSTED: 8:29 a.m. EDT July 12, 2002 CONCORD, N.H. -- A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by a Hesser College student who was bitten by a police dog more than three years ago. Craig Collins was a freshman in November 1998 when he was arrested by a Manchester police officer who was searching for a suspected drug dealer. The officer's dog led her to a wooded area, where she smelled a strong odor of marijuana. Collins, who was sitting on a rock with a...

In the midst of public policy debates about serious issues, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has not been wholly useless. It has often provided comic relief. For example, their recent protest of a game of cow patty bingo as a carnival fundraiser for women's athletic teams at Florida Southern College. Squares on a grid on Barnet Field were sold to contestants, with the winner determined by the spot where Bessie planted a cow patty. Amy Rhodes, a PETA cruelty caseworker, complained that this event and the laughter of people viewing it were an assault on the cow's...

Bees Are Getting Sick A mystery disease is killing bees across the state with some beekeepers saying they have lost 50 percent of their bees. Guy Karr oversees inspections of beekeeping operations in Alabama. He says a recent survey of three dozen beekeepers revealed they have lost more than four thousand colonies of honeybees this year. Karr suspects a virus is killing the bees. He says bees infected with the disease shake uncontrollably, lose their body hair and develop a black greasy appearance. But the disease appears to have skipped northwest Alabama, where beekeepers are hoping their bees will...

Man Accused Of Using Cattle For Target Practice Email story to a friend Date: May 28, 2002 Source: KRQE News 13 / AP Location: Alamogordo, NM An Otero County grand jury has indicted an Alamogordo man accused of using cattle for target practice. Authorities say 24-year old Joe Moreno has been charged with injury to livestock with a firearm enhancement, conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Authorities say two juveniles have been arrested and charged with injury to livestock and conspiracy. Officials say two calves and their mothers were shot in the Fresnal and Laborcita Canyon...

Remains of two thousand animals found in Baldwin County 05/23/2002 Investigators have discovered the remains of two thousand animals, including hundreds of greyhound racing dogs on propery in Baldwin County. Florida officials were investigating allegations that greyhounds from Pensacola Greyhound Park were being improperly destroyed. They alerted Baldwin County officials, who found the remains of dogs on 18 acres owned by Robert Rhoades in Lillian. Rhoades says he's been shooting greyhounds at a charge of ten dollars per animal and burying them on his property for more than 40 years. Police are considering filing criminal charges.