Free Republic

They may not look as threatening as some of the larger canine, but research revealed that the dachshund is the most aggressive breed of dog. Citing a study published by Applied Animal Behavior Science, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that one in five dachshunds has bitten or tried to bite strangers, and one in 12 has shown aggression toward its owners. The study involved researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. About 6,000 dog owners were questioned about their dogs' behavior. Thirty-three breeds were ranked on their aggression. Ranking below the dachshund was an even smaller dog, the Chihuahua....

Woman mauled by home-invading pit bulls 07:45 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 KING5.com Staff Animal control officers say the victim was covered in blood after the dogs attacked PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - In what deputies describe as the worst mauling they've ever seen, two pit bulls entered a Wauna-area home via the pet door and attacked a woman in her bed. Pierce County Sheriff's Dept. spokesman Ed Troyer said a neighbor's Jack Russell terrier also entered the home in the 10600 block of 132nd St. Court NW through the dog door and the pit bulls attacked the terrier...

<p>Leadership: What possesses a former vice president of the U.S. to travel to the birthplace of Islamist terrorism and denounce his country? Only a special breed of demons, apparently, can explain Al Gore.</p> <p>The chief demon, of course, surely must be Gore's continuing quest for the presidency. Embittered he may well be by his loss of the highest office six years ago. But showing such supreme disloyalty to his country, as he did in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, cannot be condoned as an honorable means of pursuing the prize once more.</p>

How's this for size? The 10ft Liger who's still growing... He looks like something from a prehistoric age or a fantastic creation from Hollywood. But Hercules is very much living flesh and blood - as he proves every time he opens his gigantic mouth to roar. Part lion, part tiger, he is not just a big cat but a huge one,standing 10ft tall on his back legs. Called a liger, in reference to his crossbreed parentage, he is the largest of all the cat species. On a typical day he will devour 200 lb of meat, usually beef or chicken,...

SUQUAMISH -- The Pattens thought they were insurance-savvy, avoiding homeowner's claims by paying for repairs and household accidents. But a month ago, Mathew Patten and Wiccan York-Patten discovered that they had been dropped by their insurer two months earlier because of the family pet, an aging German shepherd named Allison. Allison had never hurt anybody, but the insurance company deemed her an "unacceptable liability exposure." Not only because she is a dog, but because she is a German shepherd. Some insurers have prohibited homeowners from harboring dangerous dogs for years. But in the past five years, some companies have developed...

THERE is a knock at the door. A uniformed official says he has come to take your dog. The dog has done nothing wrong, but his breed has been outlawed in the town where you live. You've had this dog since he was a puppy. He is obedience-trained, licensed and vaccinated. He never runs loose. He has never bitten anybody. And you love him. But it's bye-bye, Buffy, if he's the "wrong" breed. All over this country - and in Allegheny County - owners of pit bull terriers and rottweilers have been ordered to get rid of them or have...

BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION "Legislation is due, laws are in order, and the situation is out of hand. Let's be sure of our focus. Laws are for humans, not for animals who have no say about the captive environment they must endure." Rod Jones Banning Pit Bulls would be like banning cars because people get killed in car accidents! Who's responsible, the car or the driver/manufacturer? All cars can be deadly in the wrong hands or if built with defective parts. Same thing with dogs... Pit Bulls are no more responsible for the way they are bred, raised and trained, than...

Russians breed superdog with a jackal's nose for bombs and drugs By Ben Aris in Moscow (Filed: 15/12/2002) Part Siberian husky, part Turkmen jackal - a super sniffer dog with an enhanced sense of smell was unleashed last week by the Russian airline Aeroflot in its fight against terrorists and drug smugglers. The animals are the product of a Russian scientific research project, launched 27 years ago, to produce the ultimate sniffer dog. Their breeders claim that they are much more effective than the labradors or alsatians that are more commonly used in the West. A name for the new...

Iowa man hoping to moooove into tiny cow business   The Associated Press ROCKWELL, Iowa (June 17, 2002 10:09 a.m. EDT) - Dustin Pillard is betting his farm on compact cows. Pillard has 50 tiny cows on his northern Iowa farm, all about 3 feet tall. He's hoping they'll catch on as pets, and so far inquiries have come in from as far as Europe, Mexico and Argentina. "I like them," said Pillard, 30. "If nobody else does, that doesn't really bother me. We're breeding just for the novelty end of it." The smallest full-grown animal is a 3-year-old...