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Police officers consider K-9 partners members of the force. So it was with great sadness that the West Hartford Police Department learned one of its own, Kora, a police dog, was being put down Monday. The 11-year-old was retired over the summer, after serving in the Department since 2003 with her handler, Officer Eric Rocheleau, according to Lt. David Dubiel. Kora had developed cancerous tumors common with old age, and had to be euthanized Monday, Dubiel said. But Kora got one last chance at being a police dog. Rocheleau took Kora to the vet Monday, and after some tests, was...

Cheeta the chimpanzee, who starred in Tarzan movies alongside Olympic swimmer-turned-actor Johnny Weissmuller in the 1930s and ranked #1 on EW.com’s list of the 10 Best Monkeys at the Movies, died of kidney failure Saturday. According to the Suncoast Primary Sanctuary’s outrach director, Cheeta was “roughly 80 years old, loved fingerpainting and football and was soothed by nondenominational Christian music.” Roughly 80?! Way to live, chimp! That’s amazing! (Cheeta was an anomaly; the average zoo chimp dies around age 35-45.) I sure hope my favorite chimp lives that long.

L/Cpl Tasker was the 358th serviceman killed in the conflict while his dog Theo was the sixth British military hound to die in action in Iraq and Afghanistan In life, they were united in their tireless work saving countless British soldiers in Afghanistan. In death, they were united in tragedy. Shortly after Lance Corporal Liam Tasker was killed in a firefight with the Taliban, his devoted Army search dog Theo suffered a seizure and passed away too. The pair had uncovered 14 home-made bombs and hoards of weapons in just five months – a record for a dog and his...

2/3/2011 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- "Whatever is mine is his," Marine Corps Pfc. Colton W. Rusk wrote about Eli, his military working dog, in the final days of their deployment in Afghanistan. On Feb. 3, Private Rusk's family helped prove his words true when they adopted the black Labrador retriever in a retirement and adoption ceremony at the military working dog school here. After 20-year-old Private Rusk was killed Dec. 5 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, by Taliban sniper fire, Marines officials told Darrell and Kathy Rusk, his parents, that Eli, his infantry explosives detector dog, crawled...

From reading USA Today, I see the Marines have recognized the value of the Black Lab.... Let me tell you about mine: One day I came home. Sam, (the Lab) started dry humping and got up on his hind legs and started doing a jig. That's his way of saying."I know you have been screwing around with the Irish - so where is my chunk of Corned Beef?". Really, if the Marines want a working pair, have them contact me here, or at my place of employment, "Lesbian Pizza company", Eureka, MT

Fascinating collection of rare historic photos of cats serving with sailors and Marines. Cats were not only popular ship mascots, they were often considered important members of the crew because they rid ships of rodents. Some were even issued their own bunks and uniforms.

COUNCIL BLUFFS Terry Markley remembers the glory days of greyhound racing, when gamblers needed a reservation to score a clubhouse table or else stand elbow-to-elbow with other dog enthusiasts. That was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before the whistling bells of the slot machines began to drown out the barking of the dogs. “Before 1995, it was pretty packed in here, before people started to drift away from here to the riverboats,” said Markley, a retired military man who spends his afternoons betting on the dogs in a nearly empty clubhouse at Horseshoe Casino. No longer top dog...

The creature that’s expected to inherit the Earth following a nuclear holocaust might also be well suited to help prevent man’s atomic self-destruction. Researchers at Texas A&M University’s Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute have attached radiation sensors to the backs of cockroaches. They hope public-safety officials will one day send the souped-up insects into situations that are too risky for humans. “Cockroaches really are the perfect medium for this,” says William Charlton, an associate professor of nuclear engineering at the university and a principal investigator on the project. “They can go for extraordinarily long periods of time without food....

YERINGTON, Nev. — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling for the cancellation of a Nevada school's donkey basketball fundraiser, saying it teaches students cruelty to animals. PETA has posted an action alert on its Web site asking supporters to contact Lyon County School School District Superintendent Caroline McIntosh and urge her to cancel the March 1 event at Yerington High School. PETA contends that donkeys ridden by players in the offbeat games are often dragged, kicked, or hit by stray balls, and are sometimes seriously injured in falls.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A peppy Scottish terrier known as Sadie was crowned the nation's top dog on Tuesday, winning Best in Show at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club championship. Sadie, a jet-black four-year-old bitch formally known as Ch Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot, displayed the ideal combination of breeding standards and confidence, beating out 2,500 entrants at the 134-year-old dog show. "She's the total package," marveled Elliot Weiss, of Eagle, Idaho, who judged the Best in Show round before a cheering, capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden. "This is the complete dog ... That's what you want a Scottie to...

The Scottish Terrier won tonight.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania's Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.

ELIZABETHTON — A Saturday afternoon incident between five boys and an Elizabethton Police Department police dog led to the death of the dog on Sunday. Three boys were treated for dog bites at the Sycamore Shoals Hospital Emergency Room. The dog, Yoris, was a Belgian malinois and was a two-year veteran of the Elizabethton Police Department. He was euthanized on Sunday after suffering numerous injuries, including knife stabbings. Yoris was the partner of K-9 officer Shane Darling. Darling was in Florida over the weekend on family business when Yoris somehow got out of his kennel. The dog apparently wandered onto...

MEXICO CITY – Some 250 members of the AnimaNaturalis animal rights group staged a protest half-naked and covered with fake blood against bullfighting and to demand the prohibition of the practice in Mexico on the esplanade of Mexico City’s Fine Arts Palace. “Youths from all the states of Mexico, half-naked, covered with blood and with ‘banderillas’ sticking in them showed (on Saturday) with this demonstration the suffering that the bulls are subjected to in the bullfights,” Leonora Esquivel, one of the leaders of the organization in Mexico, said on Saturday. The “banderillas” are the long barbed darts bullfighters stick into...

It is not your imagination. There really are more dogs strolling through public spaces with their owners. Animals are going where they have never gone before. "In San Francisco, it is just so much more in your face," says Emily Simone, a senior field manager for Guide Dogs for the Blind. "In the '80s and especially in the '90s, I've just seen an explosion. We've become animal obsessed. The East Coast and San Francisco are particular hotbeds for advocacy." San Francisco has become a city filled with "service animals," meaning the owner has a permit that allows him or her...

NORFOLK Jurors decided Wednesday that Philip Harvey should get $13,000 for being bitten by the police dog of Gordon Barry, who mistakenly shot and killed a fellow police officer during a disturbance in Young Terrace. Harvey sued Barry, saying the officer acted recklessly when he loosed his police dog in a crowded courtyard on the 400 block of Nicholson Street in May 2006. Barry testified that he believed his actions would save the life of Harvey’s brother, Denardo, who was in a confrontation with an armed man. The armed man turned out to be Officer Seneca Darden, who had responded...

Not an article, just a slide show ("AUTHOR" really a photog). Dogs who are trained by Afghans (no, not the dog) for Afghanistan!

A Minneapolis K9 died after falling off the roof of a three-story building, during a possible burglary call. Police say officers were called to the 200-block of Hennepin Avenue South for a suspected burglary in progress, just after 7 a.m. Monday. The K9, named Chase, was called in to assist after police found evidence that the suspect was possibly still in the building. Chase and his handler, Officer Eric Lukes, were searching the roof when the dog fell and sustained grave injuries. "While Chase was running over to the edge, he leapt over the side of the wall and fell...

ATHENS -- To the Bulldog Nation, the Uga mascot is royalty, the lineage anointed to represent the University of Georgia. But to the Seiler family, the English bulldogs are family pets. That is sadly evident at times such as these. In only his second season as Georgia's mascot, Uga VII has passed away. Uga VII passed away suddenly Thursday morning at his home in Savannah. At 4 years old, he was practically a pup and had served as Georgia's mascot for not even two full football seasons when he unexpectedly succumbed to heart problems.

AN Australian Army bomb dog survived almost 14 months in the Afghan desert after being declared missing in action during a bloody battle with the Taliban. Sabi, a bomb detection dog, was reported MIA after she fled from the same battle in which SAS Trooper Mark Donaldson won his Victoria Cross for risking his life to save an Afghan interpreter in September last year. Nine soldiers, including Sabi's handler, were wounded in the ferocious firefight that ensured after the Australian, US and Afghan army convoy was ambushed by the enemy. The black labrador fled from the chaos and was feared...

Southfield (WWJ) -- The FBI will hold a memorial for the K-9 killed during a shootout in Dearborn and the dog's name will be added to a memorial wall. Freddy was a nearly 3-year-old Belgian Malinois who was killed Wednesday during a gun battle between agents and Luqman Ameen Abdullah, described as the radical leader of a Sunni Islam group.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- A Missouri woman whose monkey was denied status as a service animal said having to leave the pet at home will restrict her activities. Debby Rose of Springfield said a federal judge rejected her lawsuit against the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, CoxHealth and Wal-Mart East for failing to recognize her Bonnet Macaque monkey, Richard, as a service animal, The (Springfield, Mo.) News-Leader reported Friday. "It's devastating; it's devastating," said Rose, who purchased the monkey in 2004. "I feel like I'm discriminated against in Greene County. What can I say?" Rose said in her suit that she suffers from...

A German shepherd named Taz, who was almost 2 years old when he was assigned from the city police’s K-9 unit to do search and rescue at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack, has died. Taz was the last of the dogs involved in the attacks to still serve on the force. He died of cardiac arrest last Sunday, the Police Department said. Taz would have been 10 years old on Oct. 31 and had served in the Canine Emergency Service Unit, where his duties consisted of searching for evidence, suspects and missing persons. (The average age of...

A Minneapolis woman is still trying to come to grips with what happened to her guide dog Thursday night at the downtown Target store. Lolly Lijewski and her dog Brook had just gone into the store when a woman kicked the working dog. A stranger passing by stepped in to help. "As I was coming into the foyer of the store, my dog's feet seemed to go out from under her," said Lijewski. Lijewski didn't know what happened to her service dog. "Then there was a young girl to our left who said, 'Someone just kicked your dog,'" said Lijewski....

He saw a squirrel the other day in his new back yard in Derby and chased it up a tree. First time he'd ever done that. He hadn't seen squirrels, or trees, in Afghanistan. It was a big moment for ETTy, a black and white mutt that was adopted in Afghanistan in December by 1st Lt. Chris Corman of Derby and some of his Marine buddies Corman, 28, was stationed with about 20 other Marines in Mehtar Lam, halfway between Kabul and Jalalabad. For nine months, they served as an embedded training team with a unit of the Afghan National...

Saier Bibi, a farmer in the Qaytul village of Kirkuk province, works his new beehives during a visit to his farm by a representative from the United States Agency for International Development and the senior agricultural advisor from the Kirkuk Provincial Reconstruction Team, Aug. 20. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — U.S. development and reconstruction teams recently visited local farmers in the village of Qaytul to check up on those who had received bee farming equipment as part of a year-long project designed to increase the income of small farm owners here. "The Honey Bee Hive...

ATHENS Ohio (WSAZ) -- Barking up the wrong tree -- that's what some say one man did when he threatened a local police dog. But, it's what happened after the comment that's got some people biting and others scratching their heads. “In response to the dismissal, it’s a doggone shame,” said Robert Toy, an Athens defense attorney. Toy is amusing himself with a case he says has gone to the dogs. “It’s a silly charge,” he said. “We take this charge very seriously,” Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said. The incident started at a construction site across the street from...

~ ~ FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Working Dogs Train on Bagram Airfield!! ~ U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Reynolds runs his German shepherd, Baiky, through a training obstacle course on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2009. Reynolds, a dog handler assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron patrols the base with his dog to inspect mail, luggage and vehicles for narcotics. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. U.S....

MIAMI — Since Irwin Stovroff was profiled a week ago on FOXNews.com, the decorated WWII veteran has received thousands of positive letters for his non-profit organization, Vets Helping Heroes, which provides service and therapy dogs to wounded veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. "It is unbelievable," Stovroff said about the growing mountain of support that also include thousands of hits on his Web site, numerous phone calls and — most significantly — tens of thousands of dollars in donations for his cause. "I just can't believe it. It has been overwhelming," he said of the generous response he's received....

1st Lt. John Reed, a platoon leader with 15th Brigade Support Battalion, attempts to evade Capka, a military working dog, during a demonstration at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Aug. 1. The demonstration was to not only entertain Soldiers but to educate leaders on the capabilities of the military working dogs. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. FOB WARRIOR — No matter how fast the dozen or so Soldiers ran, they couldn't outrun Buli and Capka, a pair of German Sheppard military working dogs, during a demonstration here, Aug. 1. Soldiers from the 15th Brigade...

MIAMI — No one knows first hand the horrors of war more than World War II hero Irwin Stovroff. That's why when Stovroff — who was held for one year in a Nazi POW camp before being freed by allied forces — learned that the U.S. government didn't supply service dogs for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the 85 year old decorated hero from Boca Raton, Fla. made it his mission to overhaul the policy -snip-

LOS ANGELES - Gidget the Chihuahua, the bug-eyed, big-eared star of 1990s Taco Bell commercials who was a diva on and off the screen, has died. She was 15. Gidget suffered a massive stroke late Tuesday night at her trainer's home in Santa Clarita and had to be euthanized, said Karin McElhatton, owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic, which owned the dog. Although she was hard of hearing, Gidget was otherwise in good health up to the day of her death, eating well and playing with her favorite squeaky toys at the home of trainer Sue Chipperton, McElhatton said....

LAWRENCEVILLE - Betty Macaluso doesn't need an alarm clock; she has cats. The Lawrenceville woman is awakened each morning by Tom 2, a wide-eyed orange and white cat, who gently paws at her arm about 6 a.m. wanting his breakfast. If Tom 2 happens to sleep through his job or gets distracted, Tiger, a heavier gray and black tabby, steps in. Since Macaluso can't hear the ringing of an alarm clock - she has been deaf all her life - her cats serve as her ears. She adopted Tom 2 and Tiger, both now about a year old, from PetSmart...

Some dogs will try to eat anything - but for dogs like Toby, based in Afghanistan with the military, swallowing things on the ground can be extra dangerous. Last week Toby ate what experts think may have been an explosive. After ingesting the toxic substance when sniffing out Taliban improvised explosive devices on the front line, he was picked up by a medical emergency helicopter and whisked back to Camp Bastion. Army vet Captain Matt Clark gave him oxygen through a child's mask during the journey. Toby was then treated on a drip with charcoal to soak up the poison...

6/18/2009 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- After three weeks, the newest member of the 37th Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readiness Flight knows her way around the three-story building and often bounds through open doors on surprise visits. Aamee, a four-month old Belgian Malinois, is the first puppy to be fostered by a unit at Lackland through the military working dog foster program. The foster program socializes potential working dogs to different people and environments to prepare them for a life of various handlers and locations. Aamee has been with the flight on a pilot test...

James Symington is about to find out whether you can clone heroism. The retired Canadian police officer – who took part in the rescue operation after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York City – is scheduled to take possession Wednesday of five puppies cloned using DNA from his beloved late German shepherd Trakr, the rescue dog credited with finding the last survivor in the smoking rubble of Ground Zero. Symington, who won the opportunity to have Trakr cloned in an essay contest last year, first met his new pups in an emotional encounter on June 14. "They're...

Ronald J. Chenette, convicted six months ago in the death of a police dog, knew he was going to prison for life well before Friday's sentencing hearing in Clark County Superior Court. Everyone else knew, too. Ronald J. Chenette, convicted six months ago in the death of a police dog, knew what was going to happen well before Friday's sentencing hearing in Clark County Superior Court. Everyone else knew, too. The sentence was dictated by a "three strikes" law that locks away felons for life after three violent crimes. The absence of suspense, then, maybe explains why nobody who didn't...

A Chicago police dog named Bear should be given a new moniker: Houdini, his handler said. The German shepherd has been missing since Wednesday night after he was spooked by thunder and climbed a fence near the officer's Southwest Side home, Canine Unit Officer Rick King said.

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - Last week Google brought in a herd of goats to mow the grass on its Mountain View, Calif. headquarters rather than using lawnmowers. The company said that it wanted to take a more "low-carbon" approach with the goats reducing the company's contribution to air and noise pollution. The cost of hiring the 200-some goats is about the same price as mowing, but the goats were "a lot cuter to watch." PETA responded to a TechCrunch call about the goats saying that though they have no problem with letting goats do what they do, they do have concerns...

What an amazing human being. She cares about this country so much..Check out what she did at the bottom, that outta piss off the libs Operation Military Care K-9 is a program that reaches out to military K-9 teams deployed in the Middle East. Both the dogs and their handlers are recipients of care packages thanks to the effort, which was organized by Beth White, a teacher at Henderson High School in South Carolina. Mud Creek Baptist Church is partnering with Beth to help send such useful items as cooling vests and bandannas for the dogs and sun block and...

Sunday, April 26, 2009 , 12:00 a.m. Rossville toddler gets help from South Pittsburg service dog By: Ben Benton Jada Romans and her new service dog, Murray, are fast friends just a week into their relationship. Jada, a Rossville 2-year-old who has little movement in her arms or legs, was united with Murray thanks to the PALS with Pawz service dog organization, said her parents, Brittany and Dustin Romans. “When I got the call last Thursday that we were going to get Murray, it was kind of a light at the end of a tunnel because I thought we’d never...

Tests are being carried out to try to discover why 21 polo ponies collapsed and died ahead of a major tournament in Florida at the weekend. The horses, from a Venezuelan-owned team and valued at $100,000 (£69,000) each, became dizzy and disoriented. Several died on the spot at the ground in Palm Beach County, while others died hours later as they were being treated. Veterinarians say they suspect some kind of toxin but say it may be several days before the source is identified. Polo enthusiasts had gathered on Sunday for the US Open Polo Championship at the polo club...

Top veterinarian pathologists expect to find that some sort of toxin caused the deaths of 21 polo horses in Wellington Sunday, but exactly what the poison was and how it was delivered may not be known for several days. "Was it hay, feed, bedding, water? There are a lot of unanswered questions," said Mark Fagan, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture. "Horses may be big, but they are delicate animals." Six of the horses from the Lechuza Caracaus polo team have been delivered to the department's Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab in Kissimmee and 15 others arrived at the University...

MIAMI - Twenty-one horses from a Venezuelan team competing at the U.S. Open Polo Championship died after collapsing before a match in Florida, officials said on Monday. The International Polo Club of Palm Beach said the Lechuza Caracas team was preparing its horses for an afternoon match when two collapsed and others began "exhibiting dizziness and disorientation." "From the reports I've received, they came out of their trailers and they were dizzy ... and began toppling over," said Terence McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture. "It's my understanding that all of these horses have died, 21 in total."

(CNN) -- Fourteen thoroughbred horses dropped dead in a mysterious scene Sunday before a polo match near West Palm Beach, Florida, officials said. State and local veterinary teams are trying to figure out what happened at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, as team Lechuza Caracas prepared to compete in a U.S. Open match. Two horses initially collapsed, and as vets and team officials scrambled to revive them, five others became dizzy, said Tim O'Connor, spokesman for the polo club. "A total of seven died on our property," O'Connor told CNN. Seven other horses died en route...

/17/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- It is often said a dog is a man's best friend. For a Joint Expeditionary Tasking, or JET, Airman here, his dog is not just a friend, but a tool that could mean life or death for servicemembers patrolling the Iraqi streets. Senior Airman William Bailey, a military working dog handler and JET Airman from the 732nd Air Expeditionary Group attached to the Army's 1st Calvary Division here, and Robby, a nine-year-old Belgian Malinois, work together to keep servicemembers safe. Robby's military working dog specialty is explosives detection. "My mission here is...

Officials say a K9 was shot and a suspect killed after an office-involved shooting Monday in St. Paul. The incident happened in the 1500 block of Iowa Avenue East on a report of an armed intoxicated man in an alley around 6 p.m., according to St. Paul Police. St. Paul Police spokesman Pete Panos says three officers responded and opened fire on 34-year-old Robert Jerome Jeske, of St. Paul. Jeske died at the scene. During the confrontation, the dog Boomer was shot. He was taken to the University of Minnesoeta were he underwent surgery and is in stable condition, according...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, March 26, 2009 – She takes a few steps forward and then glances over her shoulder. A few feet up the road she stops and lies down on the ground, a sign of possible danger. Army Sgt. Stephen Netzley, a K-9 handler with 3rd Squadron, 71st Calvary Regiment, and his German shepherd, Lady, search for explosive devices during a route clearance patrol in Afghanistan’s Logar province, March 9, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Thompson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Lady is a German shepherd trained to sniff out explosives and their components. Her...

Has PETA gone too far? Word is that last week the animal rights activists showed up unannounced and uninvited at a Hempstead elementary school, chosen for its proximity to the Nassau Coliseum, where Ringling Bros. Circus sets up shop starting tomorrow. Their plan was to school the children in circus cruelty, handing out stickers and coloring books that declared, "Circuses are no fun for animals." While this may be true, many are criticizing the organization for their tactics, saying their method is inappropriate—a psychologist noted that the children "might go home and be very anxious" because they "are less mature...

Gorontalo. A villager in Bone Bolango district, Gorontalo Province, had to be rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after a horse bit off one of his testicles. The incident occurred when the 35-year-old victim, Haris, was unloading sand from a horse-drawn cart at a construction site. A witness told the state-run Antara news agency on Wednesday that the animal suddenly lunged at Haris and sank its teeth into his crotch. As bystanders tried to load the injured man into a vehicle to take him to Aloe Saboe Hospital, one person spotted a piece of flesh on the pavement, which proved...