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PORTLAND - Nationally recognized cartoonist Brad Anderson - who called the town of Portland his home for a good portion of his life - has sadly drawn his loveable and exuberant Great Dane for the last time. Anderson died unexpectedly on Aug. 30 at the age of 91, according to a Saturday statement on the National Cartoonists Society's website. He is best known for creating the enduring comic strip "Marmaduke," which is syndicated by Universal Uclick in over 500 newspapers in 10 countries, including the OBSERVER. "He really liked to talk to people and his heart was here in the...

Boring old dogs or cats won't cut it for this Texas couple. Melanie Typaldos and her husband, Richard Loveman, of Buda, Texas, share their home with a gigantic 112-pound rodent: Gary the capybara. The couple got Gary from a breeder in Arkansas after falling in love with his kind (the biggest rodent in the world!)

A 3-year-old Great Dane in Sacramento, Calif., has been named the world's tallest dog by Guinness Book of World Records. The award-winning dog, named Gibson, stands 7 feet tall when upright, according to the report. He was officially named the planet's tallest dog Tuesday by officials with Guinness who flew to California from England to see Gibson. Gibson's owner, Sandy Hall, said she never dreamed Gibson would turn out to be the planet's tallest dog. She said the dog is a gift. "I've had Danes since 1981," Hall said. "I've never seen anything like this --ever." Several neighbors in the...

from his lecture given in 1927 One of the commonest charges brought against Islam historically, and as a religion, by Western writers is that it is intolerant. This is turning the tables with a vengeance when one remembers various facts: One remembers that not a Muslim is left alive in Spain or Sicily or Apulia. One remembers that not a Muslim was left alive and not a mosque left standing in Greece after the great rebellion in l821. One remembers how the Muslims of the Balkan peninsula, once the majority, have been systematically reduced with the approval of the whole...