Free Republic

Police, animal control seek to address leash law violations.. ... The recent deaths of a cyclist and a beloved family pet, both the result of off-leash dogs, have renewed calls for greater accountability. ... A Durango man who fell off his bike and later died from his injuries while apparently trying to avoid a loose dog on the Animas River Trail has reignited calls for pet owners to leash their animals in public spaces. The collision involving the bicyclist and off-leash dog occurred about 2:30 p.m. March 12 on a section of the river trail near the skate park and...

An 88-year-old man and a dog were killed in apparently separate bear attacks near the victim's home in Florida, officials said. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call shortly after 7 a.m. Monday involving a "bear encounter." The attacks occurred "some time apart" on Monday, and the man and the dog were found within a couple of hundred yards of the area, according to FWC spokesperson George Reynaud. His daughter saw a bear attack the dog and then went looking for her father, who is believed to have been attacked earlier on Monday, Reynaud said.

A seven-month-old girl from Columbus, Ohio, has lost her life following an attack by one of her family's three pet pit bulls. The child's mother, Mackenzie Copley, expressed her grief in a Facebook post, writing, “I will never understand why!!!” She also shared images of her daughter Elizah Turner, peacefully cuddling with the dogs. “I am so lost and broken. This was the same dog who was side by side with my baby every single day,” added the mother, according to a report in The New York Post. Elizah's father, Kameron Turner, also poured out his sorrow on social...

Woof. Mother Jones republished an article from fellow progressive outlet The Guardian on Saturday that argued that while dogs may be man's best friend, they're Mother Nature's "villains." The left-wing magazine highlighted new research, originally published by The Guardian, that concluded dogs have "extensive and multifarious" environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions. It pinpointed how canines are disturbing native wildlife, particularly shore birds.

First it was the cow farts. Now it’s dog “sh*t.” Moral of the story: eco crazies will never be satisfied until people start seeing climate change threats in their soup. Leftist newspaper The Guardian published an April 9 story that reeked of being desperate for attention, even if that meant making its writers look like cats that have been overdosing on catnip. “Pet dogs have ‘extensive and multifarious’ impact on environment, new research finds,” read the headline coughed up like a hairball from science writer Donna Lu. The syntax read like a Babylon Bee special, “An Australian review of existing...

A Colorado city plans to seize residents' pet cats and dogs in a bid to limit the number of animals allowed in households. On August 1, pet owners in Northglenn - about 40 minutes outside of Denver - will not be allowed to have more than four cats, dogs, or a combination of the two 'totaling no more than four.' The new pet ordinance was recently approved by the city council 'at the request of residents and after extensive research and discussion,' the city said. The restriction was introduced after concerned residents complained of 'excessive noise and waste caused by...

American Airlines has confirmed that a service dog incident caused a flight from Provo, Utah, to Dallas, Texas, to re-route and make an emergency landing in Colorado Springs. The flight was rerouted around 3 p.m. yesterday. The Colorado Springs Fire Department confirms that they transported a patient from the airport to a local hospital because of a dog bite, but couldn't tell KRDO13 how serious the injury was, or where the patient is now located. KRDO13 is pressing local law enforcement and federal law enforcement to see if a criminal investigation is underway. Colorado Springs Police and the F.B.I. both...

A 2-year-old boy is safe after walking about 7 miles and spending the night in mountain lion territory in northwest Arizona after he snuggled up to a very good dog who had found the boy wandering in the rugged wilderness. His new furry hero then led him to safety in the morning. Two-year-old Boden Allen was reported missing on Monday afternoon after he wandered away from his home near Seligman, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office. The little boy was last seen wearing just a tank top, pajama pants and Vans sneakers. Now enters the hero of this story:...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A woman drowned her dog in a Florida airport bathroom and then boarded her international flight after she was prevented from bringing the white miniature schnauzer with her because of a paperwork issue, authorities said. The woman was arrested in Lake County on Wednesday on a charge of aggravated animal abuse, a third-degree felony. She was released on $5,000 bail. “This act was intentional and resulted in a cruel and unnecessary death of the animal,” said an arrest affidavit from the Orlando Police Department. Online court records showed no attorney listed for the woman from Kenner, Louisiana....

A woman allegedly drowned her pet dog in a toilet and dumped it in the trash in order to make her flight. Alison Agatha Lawrence, 57, was trying to board her plane at Orlando International Airport in Florida but did not have the proper paperwork for her pup to travel with her, WFTV reported. Lawrence is accused of then taking her small white poodle to the bathroom and killing it on December 16. Airport cleaning staff discovered it later, sources told the TV station. Police issued a warrant for Lawrence’s arrest and deputies took her into custody at her home...

NEW YORK — The U.S. still has a major case of French bulldog fever, but a very different breed is staunchly chasing dog lovers' hearts, according to American Kennel Club statistics released Tuesday. For the third year in a row, the comical, controversial Frenchie tops the club's annual rundown of the nation's most prevalent purebred dogs. Frenchies are followed by Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles and some other longtime faves. (Rounding out the top 10: dachshunds, beagles, Rottweilers, bulldogs and German shorthaired pointers.) Yet keep an eye on the cane corso. The powerful, protective breed vaulted from nearly...

A man feared for his life when his rescue dog attacked him in a horrifying 45-minute ordeal, leaving him with no choice but to strangle the animal. Matt Porter was left with horrific injuries, including losing the use of one hand, following the unexpected and brutal attack. While shaving, Matt's Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Karma, suddenly lunged at him, biting him over 70 times on both arms. Fearing he would bleed to death after realising he couldn't use either hand, he was forced to use his forearms to end her life. Before losing consciousness due to blood loss, he managed to...

💢 "you hear that, it's empty"

Despite his misdemeanours, Fu Zai was honoured for his exceptional service in 2024 as an explosives-detection dog and received a Lunar New Year gift package, including gourmet pet treats. China’s first-ever corgi police dog, Fu Zai, has become an internet sensation for both his achievements and his recent run of trouble at work. The small but determined canine officer lost his year-end bonus for sleeping on the job and urinating in his food bowl, sparking widespread amusement and sympathy on Chinese social media. According to domestic media, corgi joined the Weifang Public Security Bureau in Shandong province as a reserve...

An apocalyptic video shows two men and a dog in a home surrounded by roaring flames as wildfires spread throughout the Los Angeles area due to extreme winds. The now viral video shows the blaze roaring dangerously close to the home. Huge flames and smoke can be seen outside of the window behind the living room and wrapping around the home. One can hear the winds whipping and whistling in the background. “It’s going to be ok,” the man says to a dog wagging its tail.

The designation makes the breed eligible to compete for many best in show trophies, and it likely augurs more widespread interest in the small, sprightly dogs. The prospect both gladdens and concerns their biggest fans. ... Called the farmdog or DSF for short, the breed goes back centuries in parts of what are now Denmark, southern Sweden and some other European countries, according to the Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America. ... In their original homelands, the dogs’ main job was rodent patrol, but they also would herd a bit, act as watchdogs and play with farmers’ children. Some even performed...

Saturday Night Live veteran Dana Carvey, who was known for his impression of President George H.W. Bush on the sketch show, once had an interaction that the late politician didn't find very funny. "So I'm in the White House having dinner, my wife and I, with George senior, the president of the United States at the time, and his wife Barbara," Carvey recalled on a recent episode of his podcast, Superfly, cohosted by David Spade. "And the dog, Ranger, kept coming around looking for food. So I was kinda sneaking some food to the dog." "And then at one point...

A Yuletide greeting/warning/ query to Freepers! We bought a Christmas Tree, a Frazier Spruce at a nursery in Pennsylvania North of Philadelphia. The trees were nice and symetric and full. We got it home and stood it up and my wife noticed it had an uncharacteristic smell--not like spruce, but like a chemical. This morning our Shiba Inu was trembling. Then she became lethargic. Her nose was warm. We wondered if it was the tree. A friend of ours came over and confirmed my wife's suspicion about the smell. I took the tree outside and the stand/basin as well. The...

A dog mauled its owner to death at her home in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday before attacking police, NBC10 Boston reported. Police identified the woman as 73-year-old Jeriline Brady-McGinnis. Her husband was also badly injured during the attack, but is expected to survive. Civil rights leader Jean McGuire, the couple’s landlord, lives above their apartment. “She’s a wonderful person,” McGuire said about Brady-McGinnis. “She was generous and kind, always thinking of other people … We all miss Jeri. You don’t want anything horrible to happen to anybody, anywhere. She was a wonderful mother and a fine person, very respected.” When...

A Tennessee man is grieving the deaths of his seven dogs who were shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy while the owner and his wife were out to dinner. On Monday, Nov. 4, Kevin Dismuke and his wife left their home in McNairy County to go to dinner, Fox 13 reports. When his wife returned to their home on Finger Leapwood Road, she called him with shocking news. “She said, ‘Poe is dead,’” he said, referring to one of their pet dogs. According to News 3, Dismuke said he returned home to find all of his dogs except one...