Free Republic

Gail Collins loves telling the story of how Mitt Romney drove his family to Canada with the family dog strapped to the roof of the car — and telling it, and telling it, and telling it. The liberal New York Times columnist has mentioned the incident in print 19 times, by our count. She devoted a column to it in 2007 when Romney first ran for president. In another column, she suggested John McCain pick Romney for his running mate "so I can repeatedly revisit the time Mitt drove to Canada with the family dog on the station-wagon roof." She...

This image says it all. A Dogs Against Romney Pack Member was stopped by the Littleton, Colorado police yesterday for having a dog crate on the roof of his car. The Pack Member , identified only as "Oredigger," was on his way to protest at a Mitt Romney event yesterday with the crate atop his car carrying a stuffed toy dog when the police officer, believing he was actually transporting a live dog on the roof of his car, stopped him. Says Oredigger, "I was pulled over for suspected animal abuse."

President Obama's campaign strategist David Axelrod chimed in Monday on the scandal surrounding the time Mitt Romney drove to Canada with his dog in a crate tied to the roof of his car in the 1980s. "Crategate," as the stupid pet trick was inevitably dubbed, has been an issue championed by New York Times columnist Gail Collins, who somewhat gleefully drops a reference to the story in as many columns as she can. On Monday, Axelrod tweeted a photo of Bo Obama, the first family's dog, in the back of a limo with the words, "How loving owners transport their...

Some residents at Danville Park Apartments are outraged over police firing at two dogs on the walkway outside their front doors. The residents said the shooting killed one animal, injured another and put the tenants in danger of gunfire that left bullet holes in doors, walls and a wooden deck around 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Witness accounts of the shootings contradict the reports of officers and a supervising sergeant. The shootings by officers Demetrius Hightower and Jarrod Birchfield are being reviewed by Decatur Police’s office of professional standards, police spokesman Lt. John Crouch said. Danville Park resident Steven...

RENO, Nevada — A woman says she was fired as a baggage handler at Nevada's Reno-Tahoe International Airport after she refused to load an emaciated hunting dog on a plane. Lynn Jones says her supervisor told her to load the dog last month because the animal's paperwork was in order and its condition wasn't her concern.

McDonald's Corp. and Target said Friday that they had booted a Minnesota-based egg supplier in the wake of an undercover video documenting alleged animal abuse. The hidden-camera video was shot by the Chicago animal rights group Mercy for Animals at facilities of Sparboe Farms, the nation's fifth-largest egg producer. Taken in Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado, the video portrays crowded cages common in the egg industry, but also shows one worker swinging a chicken by a rope or chain and another stuffing a hen in a co-worker's pants pocket. Sparboe was also cited this week by federal food regulators for serious...

Kalb, or dog, is one of the worst possible insults in the Muslim world. Call a man Kalb or Kalb ibn Kalb, if you want the knives to come out. In Afghanistan, those who fled the Taliban and returned to help the Coalition rebuild the country are called "Sag shouey" or "Dog washers" since Americans are infidel dogs and the Afghans who cooperate with Americans are menial servants of the dogs. Mohammed, in addition to his affinity for pre-teen girls also had a compulsive hatred of dogs. Some Hadiths quote him ordering the killing of all dogs, others show him...

Wearing a plastic protector around his face, 'Blue,' a three year male pit bull, has been shot and wounded in the shoulder and hip. "This is wrong. This is animal cruelty, this is excessive", says his owner Tiffany Reynolds. Reynolds, and her angry and concerned neighbors, say the gunfire came from an MPD officer's service weapon. "It was like pop pop pop pop," recalls neighbor Sheila Love. "We heard five shots," says Kathy Washington, who also lives nearby. "We actually jumped up and ran in the house, because in the beginning we didn't know what was going on," she adds....

DURHAM (WTVD) -- Did a member of a Durham police SWAT team go too far when he shot and killed a dog during a raid in April? Some say it was unnecessary force. ABC11 cameras captured the incident at a home on Dunstan Avenue April 12. Officers were looking for Pete Moses and Vania Sisk. According to search warrants, Moses is a suspect in the disappearance of a woman and a 5-year-old boy. Sisk is the boy's mother.

There has to be a bill that protects both the animals and owners. It should be done by responsible people and not by people with an agenda to shut down livestock facilities. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. I trust Iowa can get this right.

DELANO (AP) — A California man attending a cockfight has died after being stabbed in the leg by a bird that had a knife attached to its own limb.

PHOENIX — Found tottering alone in the desert with their ribs visible and their heads hung low, horses play a back-breaking, unappreciated role in the multibillion drug smuggling industry.Mexican traffickers strap heavy bales of marijuana or other illegal drugs to the horses’ backs and march them north through mountain passes and across rough desert terrain. With little food and water, some collapse under their heavy loads. Others are turned loose when the contraband gets far enough into Arizona to be off-loaded into vehicles with even more horsepower. “We would pick up 15 to 20 horses a month, and many more...

Someone has slipped sliced-open beer cans around the necks of at least three gulls in the Bay Area, and now an animal rescue group is trying to find the birds and the person or people responsible. "It's sick. What's the next level of this kind of abuse?" said Rebecca Dmytryk of Monterey County-based WildRescue. Dmytryk said she first heard about the birds after getting some disturbing photos at the end of September that showed a gull with half a Budweiser can stuck around its neck like a collar. She has confirmed sightings at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, a beach...

SAN ANTONIO -- A woman is caught on tape beating her dog with a rake and now Animal Control Services is investigating. Joann Espinosa's backyard surveillance camera caught her neighbor striking her dog on two different days this week. She reported the abuse to ACS, who immediately seized the woman's two dogs, even though she was caught striking one.

Crush videos are right at your kids finger tips. You will not see a website that offers them in this article because I don't want to encourage kids. That being said, imagine your child getting on one of these videos. What will they see? They will probably see something like a kitten with its head taped to the floor. The camera will zoom in about the time that some woman with high heels runs it through the kitten's head. Now, is it time to monitor your child's activities on the Internet?

He's a big dog -- still skinny with ribs and hip bones protruding -- but big nonetheless. He's gained almost 30 pounds in 30 days. And he's happy. The ears were loose, the tail wagged eagerly, and his head was butting into hands for affection. Nizato was fired from her job after she was arrested April 16. She has been charged with one felony count of animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of failure to provide care. She will be arraigned on those charges Wednesday (May 12) at the Bellflower Courthouse. Dr. Bill Grant came out to give us a...

A Lyle man must serve 30 days in jail for allowing his two Labrador dogs to starve to death in an outdoor kennel during the winter a year ago. Judge Donald E. Rysavy, who gave the sentencing, found McAlister guilty in November of two felony counts of animal cruelty following a one-day bench trial. According to the criminal complaint, authorities arrested McAlister in April 2009 after a deputy, who had been looking for him on an unrelated matter, found two Labrador retrievers dead in a kennel at a property south of Lyle near a shed. A veterinarian determined the dogs...

BY TARYN FITSIK COLONIE, N.Y.--A Colonie woman faces animal cruelty charges after close to 70 cats are removed from her home. According to the Colonie Police Department, concerned neighbors contacted them regarding the condition of the cats living in Margaret Tomko's home on John Street. Police say they made numerous attempts to resolve the problem, but Tomko refused them all. However, police finally got a search warrant, and the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society went in to get the animals. "Unfortunately it's something we see with quite regularity," says Brad Shear, the humane society's executive director. "It's not even...

Nizato has been charged with one count of felony animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of failure to provide care, according to Capt. Aaron Reyes with Southeast Area Animal Control Authority. She met a $20,000 bail requirement over the weekend, Reyes said, and is due at the Bellflower Courthouse on May 10 for an arraignment hearing. GSROC is now considered the owner of Courage. The evidence provided by the veterinary staffs at both the ER clinic and by Dr. Bill Grant at Community Veterinary Hospital in Garden Grove in Garden Grove was sufficient for Reyes and his team to grant...

A 26-year-old Bellflower woman and part-time veterinary technician who works in Irvine was arrested Friday in the case of a German shepherd found near death in her back yard. Kimberly Nizato went with her father to Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey to complete a request for paperwork on her dog, named Bosco, and was summarily arrested, according to Capt. Aaron Reyes, SEAACA director. Before invoking her right to a lawyer, Nizato admitted to authorities that she is the dog's owner, Reyes said. The 3-year-old dog was taken from her home in Bellflower by a witness on April 7...

Officers with the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority have a suspect under investigation in the animal abuse case of Courage, a German shepherd found nearly starved to death April 7. The suspect is a 26-year-old woman who lives in Bellflower, according to Capt. Aaron Reyes with SEAACA. "We will not discount the crime here," he said. "We will go after a felony charge." The dog, which ate dirt to survive, was taken from the home by an anonymous Good Samaritan on April 7 and transported to an animal emergency hospital in Orange County. Volunteers with the German Shepherd Rescue of...

Somewhere in a lonely back yard, a young dog lived chained to a tree without food, water or attention. He waited for that food, and when it didn’t come, he ate dirt. Eventually the dog laid down and he didn’t get up. But still, he didn’t die. An anonymous Good Samaritan stepped in April 7 and rescued the German shepherd from sure death. The animal, not much more than skin and bone, wailed in agony on the way to get help. The dog was taken to an emergency animal hospital in Orange County where a horrified veterinary technician called...

A Yonkers man was arrested by local police after he slashed a German shepherd because it was racist. According to 58-year-old Andrew Owens, Jenna the German shepherd only barked at minorities and bit him in the past because of his race. When the dog began barking at him on Tuesday, Owens reportedly became so furious that he took out a nine inch knife and slashed the dog across the face. The dog was reportedly cut from the right eye down to the eye socket bone. The dog lost an eye because of the incident and was hospitalized.

Trial ordered for man accused of fatally choking puppy By Kelly Wheeler City News Service March 11, 2010 SAN DIEGO - A La Jolla man accused of choking his 10-week-old puppy -- which later died -- as punishment for barking and nipping his girlfriend on the nose must stand trial on two felony animal cruelty charges, a judge ruled today. David Hale Warner, 50, faces up to three years in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Garrett Randall. The defendant was on probation for domestic violence at the time of his arrest, the prosecutor said. Warner and his girlfriend...

A Fruita man accused of dragging a dog to death on Colorado National Monument was ordered on Thursday to be held without bond for the weekend. Steven Clay Romero, 37, is scheduled for a detention hearing and arraignment Monday afternoon at the Wayne N. Aspinall federal building. Romero, shackled and dressed in a yellow jumpsuit from the Mesa County Jail, where he’s being held, expressed bewilderment at the allegations. “I don’t get it,” he said, sitting alone at the defendant’s table. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer then rose from her seat, walked toward Romero and tossed a copy of the...

..Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said that every part of the sacrificial animal attracts rewards for the Muslim who sacrifices it for the sake of Allah. Sacrificial animals are only symbolic, and scholars say what is most important for Muslims is the fear of Allah with which they slaughter the animals. The Quran says: "It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you that reaches Him. Thus have we made them (sacrificial animals) subject to you that you may magnify Allah for His Guidance to you." Scholars are of the opinion that the best...

Court denies appeal in dog case Mary Jo Denton Herald-Citizen Staff Thursday, Sep 03, 2009 COOKEVILLE -- The shooting of a pet dog by a police officer at a traffic stop here six years ago is still being argued over in lawsuits. Just today, Thursday, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals released a ruling denying an appeal by Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper David Bush, who was one of several officers present at the stop that day and who was found guilty of excessive force in restraining James Smoak of North Carolina, the owner of the dog. Police officers here had...

Michael Vic has been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California man accused of decapitating his horse with a chain saw has been ordered to stand trial on animal cruelty charges. A Riverside Superior Court judge said Wednesday there was enough evidence to try 64-year-old Jack Ziniuk.

MIAMI (AP) -- A teenager was arrested early Sunday and accused of committing a string of gruesome cat mutilation deaths that had horrified residents of his Miami area community, authorities said. .... Some of the dead cats were missing fur and appeared to have been cut with a sharp, straight instrument, police said. .... Tyler Weinman, 18, was taken into custody early Sunday at a party, police said. Weinman was charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary.

Thursday, May 28, 2009 (05-27) 14:56 PDT ALAMEDA -- An Alameda police K-9 officer is under investigation after his dog died when he left it in his personal sports utility vehicle for several hours during a training session, authorities said Wednesday. The officer, whose name was not released, left the 6 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois inside his SUV while attending a use-of-force training exercise May 5 on Lincoln Avenue, police Lt. Bill Scott said. The SUV had at least one window down for ventilation, Scott said. It also was not an unusually warm day - according to the National Weather Service,...

Gang kicked dog in air and threatened to do same to owner Lisa Kenyon March 20, 2009 A DOG was viciously attacked by a gang of youths while walking through Milnshaw Park, Accrington, with its owner. William Townsley, 66, was walking his 14-year-old partially-blind Cairn terrier Snoopy through the park at around 1pm on Monday. As he was passing the children’s play area, William said a group of around 18 Asian youths racially abused him, shouting obscenities before kicking the defenceless dog in the face and ribs. William, of Devonshire Street, Accrington, said: "I could hear them shouting racial obscenities...

Gang of children - some as young as TEN - caught slowly roasting puppies over bonfire (See pic in URL) By Jaya Narain 04th February 2009 A gang of children aged as young as 10 were caught trying to roast a pair puppies over a bonfire. Passerby Melanie Johnson spotted them kicking the pups and holding them over the fire on a canal bank. The youngsters fled, abandoning the dogs, when she challenged them. Ms Johnson, 32, took the puppies home, then passed them on to an RSPCA centre where staff treated the dogs and are now looking to find...

<p>When a litter of sickly kittens was born in his backyard last fall, Ben Hoffman and his wife nursed them back to health before putting two of them up for adoption. A man answering his newspaper ad for free kittens jumped at the chance to adopt the 8-week-old sisters. He even went so far as to crawl under a piece of furniture to try to get to their brother, but the Hoffmans told him they were keeping the pet for themselves.</p>

Photos at source

A Lubbock family says someone poisoned their family pet because of their political preference. The Neuling family tells NewsChannel 11 it feels like they've lost a member of their family, and they believe someone intentionally took him away. They believe it's all because they put out campaign signs supporting Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. The Neulings tell us they picked up their Obama signs last Monday and placed them in their front yard. The next morning they discovered their dog Jude was sick. Last Thursday, Jude died. The family says they didn't think about him possibly being poisoned until they...

<p>A blank-faced seven-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock, the zoo's director said today.</p> <p>The boy jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre in central Australia early on Wednesday, then went on a 30-minute killing spree.</p>

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The violent assault on Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo’s home late last month was certainly not the first bungled raid by a government SWAT team, but the bad publicity it generated should make it the last time these trigger-happy squads target innocent civilians. Tracking a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been addressed to Calvo’s wife, Trinity Tomsic, Prince George’s sheriff’s deputies forcibly entered the mayor’s home on July 29 and killed his two dogs before handcuffing him and his mother-in-law. But like so many other SWAT team raids across the country, this one turned out...

Two high school seniors are getting a real-life lesson in the law. John Miller and Dane Rockstead go to Wayzata High School and both are charged with animal cruelty after investigators said they abused a goose and brought it to school. "The bird appeared to be in pretty significant distress," said Chief Mike Goldstein with the Plymouth Police Department. Police said the two seniors had the bird for two days before they brought it to school in a backpack. "They actually shot it with a paint ball gun, put a net around it and then I believe put it in...

RALEIGH - A hearing into the firing of a state trooper accused of mistreating his police dog opened today with a video of the officer kicking the dog as it was suspended from the railing of a loading dock. The 15-second video, taken by another trooper using his cell phone, shows Sgt. Charles L. Jones kicking the dog, Ricoh, five times. The dog was tied to the railing by its leash at the time, with its front paws in the air and its rear paws touching the ground. With each kick, the dog swung about two feet under the dock.

Animal Rights by: Deborah Lambert, April 24, 2008 It used to be so easy owning a pet. You were the boss, Fido was the dog. Today, if you get home late from work, he might sue you. Thanks to a new legal specialty called Animal Protection Litigation, there is a rapidly growing niche for those concerned with the rights of animal companions. Some say it’s growing because animals are no longer just “property,” but have true legal standing as “partial beneficiaries of estates, subjects of lawsuits and victims of abuse,” according to the Raleigh News and Observer. Proponents of the...

Islam’s Animal Gulag   By Jamie GlazovFrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Frontpage Interview's guest today is Robert Spencer, a scholar of Islamic history, theology, and law and the director of Jihad Watch. He is the author of seven books, eight monographs, and hundreds of articles about jihad and Islamic terrorism, including the New York Times Bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book is Religion of Peace? FP: Robert Spencer, welcome to Frontpage Interview. Spencer: Thank you, Jamie. Always a pleasure. FP: An Iranian man was recently sentenced...

Using absolutely poor judgment and acting un-professionally, PGA tour golfer Tripp Isenhour is about to pay the consequences for his selfish act from last December 12 when, at the Grand Cypress Golf course, he purposely killed a migratory bird. Showing no compassion for the habits of creatures, Isenhour, who was filming a segment for 'Shoot Like A Pro,' apparently got frustrated when the red shouldered hawk began making noises and forcing take after take. In a rage, Isenhour,

Police: Dog shows signs of rape It's a crime so disgusting that Sheriff Joe is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone who can help catch these sick criminals. Police say a year-old Russell Terrier was dropped off at a valley animal hospital where vets determined the dog had been raped. Witnesses have described to police who they saw going into and leaving the clinic around the time the dog was dropped off. Anyone with information about this case can call the Sheriff's Department. Note: Click on the MyFoxPhoenix.com link to watch the video news report of this story.

Now that Michael Vick is going to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge related to the dog fighting allegations against him, he is likely to be suspended from the National Football League, possibly for life. He and his co-defendants (who have already pleaded guilty) should rest assured, however, that a multitude of job opportunities await them that will make extensive use of their unique talents. As reported by the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082402081.html?hpid=topnews), In or about April 2007, PEACE, PHILLIPS, VICK, and two others “rolled” or “tested” additional “Bad Newz Kennels” dogs by putting the dogs through fighting sessions at 1915...

Atlanta Falcons Quarterback To Plead Guilty To Lesser Charges (CBS News) RICHMOND, Va. The National Football league has suspended Michael Vick indefinitely after he pleaded guilty to charges related to dogfighting on Friday. Vick filed his plea agreement in federal court Friday admitting to conspiracy in a dogfighting ring and helping kill pit bulls. He denied ever betting on the fights, only bankrolling them. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is scheduled to formally enter his plea Monday in U.S. District Court. He signed the plea agreement Thursday. "Most of the Bad Newz Kennels operation and gambling monies were provided by Vick,"...

During an April raid of Vick's property in Virginia, authorities seized 66 dogs and equipment commonly used in dog fighting. The indictment handed down Tuesday against Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and three others describes in detail how they procured a property in Virginia for the purpose of staging dogfights, bought dogs and then fought them there, and in several other states, over a 6-year period. With at least three cooperating witnesses providing the details, federal authorities compiled a detailed case that traces the birth and rise of Bad Newz Kennels. But not a single line in the 18-page indictment will...

Editor's Note:Eric Sakach attended about a dozen dogfights as an undercover investigator for the Humane Society. Here, he gives AJC reporter Drew Jubera an insider's account. The precautions taken to avoid detection are pretty extraordinary. In one case [in Arkansas], we were told to arrive at a motel the day before. Most of the people there were there to attend the same fight. The day of the fight, later in the afternoon, we all received a call and were told to stand outside by our vehicles. A lone pickup truck with a couple of occupants made a slow pass by...

(04-16) 15:54 PDT Ocala, Fla. (AP) -- A man living in a home with a layer of animal feces between 2 and 3 inches deep and as many as 300 cats, both alive and dead, was arrested Friday, authorities said. Jonathan Terpstra, 61, was charged with 55 counts of animal cruelty, two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of resisting without violence, the Ocala Star-Banner reported. Authorities had to break some windows to ventilate the home. Oxygen levels inside the home were low and ammonia levels extremely high, said Lt. Ron Baroni, with Marion County Fire Rescue. Animal...

Afghan Hound abused, animal shelter director covers up for her friend and the friend walks away free