Free Republic

This husband must have a ruff life. A Canadian woman was caught walking her partner on a leash as if he were a dog, a hilarious but illegal attempt to get around Quebec’s newly imposed curfew to slow the spread of coronavirus, local media reported Monday. The woman was spotted walking alongside her fake-dog husband in the city of Sherbrook around 9 p.m. Saturday, an hour after the curfew went in effect, according to CTV News. They were each given a $1,500 fine for violating the rules. The new measures prohibit Quebec residents from leaving their homes between 8 p.m....

A Montara man walking two lapdogs off leash was hit with an electric-shock gun by a National Park Service ranger after allegedly giving a false name and trying to walk away, authorities said Monday. The park ranger encountered Gary Hesterberg with his two small dogs Sunday afternoon at Rancho Corral de Tierra, which was recently incorporated into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said Howard Levitt, a spokesman for the park service. Hesterberg, who said he didn't have identification with him, allegedly gave the ranger a false name, Levitt said. The ranger, who wasn't identified, asked Hesterberg to remain at...

Kane County Forest Preserve District officials on Friday worked to calm dog owners growling about a proposal that would require off-leash park users to buy a permit — and to wear a lanyard proving they have done so. "They took offense and thought we were kind of making the owners wear a leash, which is not the case at all," said Laurie Metanchuk, community affairs director for the forest preserve. About half a dozen residents complained a day after officials introduced the idea of charging Kane County residents $40 and nonresidents $80 to use the off-leash dog parks at Fox...

BARRE, Vt. (AP) -- A clause in a city law that requires cats to be on leashes has sparked a hissing match among fans of free-roaming felines....

"Hidin' Biden: Reining In a Voluble No. 2" Senator Joe Biden listens to his iPod aboard the Obama campaign plane en route to Washington, D.C., from Greensboro, N.C. Callie Shell / Aurora for TIME

Obnoxious cats laughed at us when dog leash law fever spread throughout this country’s cities, but now we canines are the ones chuckling as the first kitty leash law shot comes across the bow. If it passes, cats can say goodbye to freelance pooping and hello to being watched while doing their business. (Howard Feiner is so annoyed with the cat droppings in his yard, he has logged the kitties’ leavings and put flags up to mark the spots. He has done this for a couple of reasons. He’s in court with his neighbor...

CHINA’S willingness to allow the yuan to rise above the key eight to the dollar level marks no real change in its gradualist currency policy, disappointing those wanting faster and sharper gains, analysts said yesterday. Beijing has long resisted pressure, mainly from the United States, to let market forces determine the value of the yuan, saying that to do so would pose unacceptable risks for its financial system at this stage of reform. Nothing suggests that position has now changed. Perhaps significantly, the yuan's central parity rate was set at 8.0150 to the dollar early yesterday, down from the 7.9982...