Photo via Flickr: Caribb

Open House for Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 6 Animal Care Facility, 245 S. Medina St., Medina. Meet WJW, Channel 8, weatherman Dick Goddard from 1 to 2 p.m. Tour the facility and enjoy refreshments. See cats and kittens. For information e-mail: Char1942@zoominternet.net

Hungry Bowl Pet Food Drive to Benefit Homeless Pets - Pet food collection for area shelters and the Humane Society of Greater Akron. Donations will be accepted Tuesday through Dec. 12 at the following locations: Tractor Supply Co., Alexandria Way and State Route 82 in Macedonia; Pet Supplies Plus, 3732 Darrow Road, Stow; Acme Fresh Market, 116 W. Streetsboro Road, Hudson; Pet Parlor & Friends Northfield Plaza, Northfield; Camp Bow Wow, 1403 Main St., Cuyahoga Falls; Hudson Hydrant, 72 N. Main St., Hudson; In Good Health & Animal Wellness, 9425 Old Eight Road, Macedonia; and K-9 Piper's Place, 9453 Ravenna Road, Twinsburg.

A Washington state family whose turkey was stolen by a dog on Thanksgiving have quite a story to tell about how they eventually got the bird back.

DALLAS (AP) — A North Texas shelter for pit bulls has opened this week, thanks to a Dallas topless club owner's contribution after Newt Gingrich's conservative group snubbed her donation.

The former U.S. House speaker's political organization was set to give Dawn Rizos an "Entrepreneur of the Year" award last month. But the group reneged, saying it had mistaken her business for another. Rizos, who owns the Dallas topless club The Lodge, was refunded the $5,000 fee required to receive the award.

A two-year-old basset hound in Jacksonville, Florida, is recovering after eating more than 100 nails. Her owner says the vet spent roughly an hour removing the nails from her dog's abdomen and fortunately none punctured her organs.

Simply Too Much Fun. Click image below to watch the video

By Ed Meyer, Beacon Journal staff writer

-- Animal thrown against wall during Akron home break-in --

This holiday movie tells the tale of a developmentally challenged young man, with a penchant for caring for animals in need, who sets out to convince his family - and their whole rural community - to participate in a local shelter's inaugural Adopt a Dog for Christmas Program.

A cat-loving chihuahua cross has given hope to a litter of seven abandoned kittens by suckling them as their surrogate mother.

MRI and CT scanners, a pain rehabilitation center and an underwater treadmill - that's just some of the state-of-the-art facilities pets can benefit from at a new animal hospital in the UK.

State health officials say a cat from the Linn County city of Lebanon died from the swine flu. Officials say the 10-year-old male apparently caught the virus from a human family member who had been sick.

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Well as everyone else in the world seems to be doing, let's offer some thanks.

Many of you know that I'm going through life changes recently. Some are easy, some are very, very hard. I am very thankful for friends that help hold me up and support without judgment.

By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer

A Ravenna woman, whose Facebook photo with two drowned rabbits garnered national attention, was sentenced today to probation.

MONROE, La. (AP) — Ohio's "dog-friendly" license plate features a friendly Louisiana dog.

With nearly 2000 animals coming through our shelter doors each year, no one can say that the employees at the Humane Society of Greater Akron don’t have a sense of humor – especially when they choose names. “We all participate in naming the animals and we often choose a name that is ironic. When this five to six month old American Staffordshire Terrier and Shar Pei mix came in with a severe case of mange – it was irony that led the staff to name her Beauty, “said Executive Director Karen Conklin.

By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer

A Texas police officer had his patience tested Tuesday by a friendly feline. The officer was writing a routine speeding ticket when curiosity appears to overcome the cat, who climbs up the officer's leg, his vest and eventually onto his head

By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer

Last year, Spirit, a Great Dane mix, was left on the side of the road in Marietta, Georgia to fend for herself. She was just a puppy and had serious medical problems.

Luckily, Spirit was found by the Homeless Pets Foundation in Marietta. The group took her in, rehabilitated her and taught her how to walk again. Spirit used to walk entirely on her wrists, with her paws bent back.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — When Melvin Hutton first set foot into the cemetery, he was shocked by what he found.

About a dozen trees had fallen to the ground — likely the result of ice storms and high winds that blew through in the past few years.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — A North Carolina animal lover and philanthropist has donated $250,000 to a no-kill shelter in West Virginia that needed the help.

Donna Wellman, a Huntington native who maintains a home in the area, is supporting the Little Victories Animal Shelter in Cabell County.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Federal officials say they'll look into complaints by the animal rights group PETA about the treatment of animals at University of Utah research facilities.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says one of its agents spent eight months working undercover in the labs and documented neglectful and harmful conditions.

SNOHOMISH, Wash. (AP) — Learning science seems a little more relevant when there is a wagging tail and a pair of trusting eyes looking up from the examination table.

SELDEN, N.Y. (AP) — A mother of seven is accused of running a house of horrors for pets at her suburban Long Island home, forcing her children to help torture them and burying at least 20 dogs in her backyard — animals neighbors now fear were beloved pets that mysteriously disappeared over the years.

STOW: The Humane Society of Greater Akron will hold a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Stow-Kent Plaza, 4301 Kent Road.

Proceeds will benefit animals at the Humane Society shelter.

A cat fight between a Washington state couple could leave their two pet tigers homeless and their lives in jeopardy.

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PROVIDENCE (NY) -- Ed Dandaraw has owned beagles all his life.

The Northern Ohio Labrador Retriever Club, Inc. will be holding a microchip clinic (all dogs) and an eye clinic (purebred dogs) on March 28, 2010. The clinic will be held at the Mogadore Veterinary Hospital, 437 S. Cleveland Ave., Mogadore, Ohio 44260. Dr. Anne Gemensky-Metzler will be doing the eye exams. Please send an e-mail to NOLRCEyeClinic AT aol.com to request an eye clinic flier that will be e-mailed to you. We will begin e-mailing fliers starting in early February.

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- Cats have found another safe haven in Berkeley, where declawing felines is now a misdemeanor crime.

The city joins a growing list of cities, including San Francisco and West Hollywood, that have instituted bans. Los Angeles and Santa Monica also have given preliminary approval to them.

I'm uploading this for family. This was the day I came back from "my" war in Sept. 2005. Life has changed since then. But Gracie is still a good dog.

An archer permitted to hunt deer on Geauga Park District property killed a dog being exercised in Observatory Park on Tuesday afternoon.

The hunter -- whose name has not been released by park officials -- launched an arrow into the side of a 9-year-old black Labrador retriever named Steel, according to the dog's owner. The trained bird dog lived with Robert Phillips at a Clay Street home adjacent to the 1,200-acre park in eastern Geauga County.

The Humane Society of Missouri is sheltering hundreds of pit bulls confiscated in the largest dog-fighting raid in US history. At one point, it cared for more than 400 dogs and 100 puppies at its St. Louis emergency shelter.

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I had a really good time on Sunday supporting the Akron (Ohio) Humane Society. Back last summer you may remember that I wrote about performing at the Bow-Wow Boogie. It was a USO style variety show that supported the AHSociety. It was a fun show (By the way, if you should ever need classy entertainment, Rat-Pack style, check out my "Entertainer side").

After that, the man that produced the event, Ron (Bus) Hill, asked me to sing for the AHS Telethon. So I went and recorded a couple songs, then Sunday went down to Akron Aeros Stadium in Akron for the telethon. As I waited in the "Green Room" (aka: a hallway!), I was right outside the "Dog Green Room". They had a selection of the adoptable dogs there to go "on camera". Many people came in with adoptable dogs, dogs they'd adopted from the AHS. I also took Lexi, my German Shepherd, as she was adopted from a pound too, so she got a few seconds of camera time too!

Our previous editions of dancing with dogs.

Or this could be an Ewok.

Dozens of concerned pet owners have contacted authorities following the gruesome discovery of more than 20 animal carcasses in the backyard of a Long Island home, a scene described by one veteran SPCA official as something out of a horror movie.

BY LINDA LOMBARDI, For The Associated Press

By Kathy Antoniotti
Akron Beacon Journal staff writer

Volunteers for the Humane Society of Greater Akron took a pure white cat to Canal Park for the Save the Animals Imagine the PAWSibilities telethon hoping to find the senior feline a home.

COLUMBIA, IL (KTVI - FOX2now.com) - There were 101 Dalmatians, but not in a single litter. That's why everyone is amazed to learn that an American Bulldog near Columbia, Illinois, delivered no less than 21 adorable pups. Their six-week birthday is Wednesday so they are now up for adoption. Dog owner Shari Ballard says, "We wanted to breed her and have a litter of puppies. But I didn't expect to have this many!"

Daisy Mae is your typical American Bulldog. She delivered 21 puppies over a 20-hour period six weeks ago. Four of them died during delivery but the Ballard family near Columbia, Illinois, can tell you 17 is still a handful.

When asked if they plan to breed Daisy Mae again, Shari responded, "No. We're going to retire her. This is enough!"

A father died after being nipped by his dog during a game of fetch.

Steven Sewell, 55, was on holiday in the Scottish Highlands with his wife Angela and teenage son David when the family’s partially blind dog Judy bit him.

LOGAN, Ohio — A prosecutor expressed frustration Thursday at not being able to file tougher charges against a college student accused in a heinous case of animal cruelty.

According to prosecutors, the student killed and mutilated a stranger's house cat, then used the animal's organs as fishing bait.

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday in favor of an ordinance to ban cat declawing within the city and county. Supervisors are due to have a final vote on the issue next week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The measure had been introduced by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who called the practice torture and a form of animal cruelty.

Sue Manning, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bobby Wright thought he had buried Smoky.

The Cleveland Bachelor needs your help in naming his new puppy.

A chihuahua tossed out by its owner, perhaps because of the way she was born, is looking for a new home and extra TLC to help with the unusual obstacles that lay ahead for her.

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For those of you that follow this blog, you know I've been moving for the last several weeks. While Amanda, my office assistant, helps here and there, much of the work falls on my shoulders. So everything goes slow. Very slow in some cases. Then there's running the business, doing various Chamber events (we support both the Canton Regional and Jackson/Belden Chambers of Commerce), singing at Primavera's Italian Restaurant on Friday nights, teaching for Portage Lakes Career Center - oh yeah and sneaking in some sleep here and there! So my apologies yet again for not being as "on top" of this blog as I'd like to be.

That preamble sets up something we tend to forget: The dog. Lexi, my German Shepherd, is an amazing dog. Incredibly smart, more obedient than I even understand, and a great companion. This week, I finally brought her to the new pad/office; our new home. We tend to think because we understand something, so will the dog. How ignorant we are sometimes! More than that, I think it's how much we take our pals for granted. Even though I had brought her here to visit several times, for the first three days she pretty much had the runs. It's called stress.

Remember that anything outside of your dog's normal routine will cause stress. Sometimes its no big deal, sometimes it is. It depends on the cause of the stress, the intensity, duration and then just how your particular dog will react to those variables. She also ate less food for a couple days. Both reactions are perfectly normal.

We see the signs posted everywhere: "Please Curb Your Dog"  "Beware of Dog", and of course the typical "No Dogs Allowed".  Hey, I hate rules as much as the next pup, but to keep everyone happy, we gotta follow 'em.

But I do wish these rule makers were a little but more off the cuff and fun.  Kinda like these:

By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer

There is a strong movement of utilizing herbs and natural products in almost everything we use, from soaps and lotions, to cleansers and detergents, to pet food and grooming products, and naturopathic or holistic medicine is enjoying a big surge. Many people choose not to vaccinate because of potential problems at the vaccination site. Some vaccinations are, of course, required by law, and with good reason: The potential for harm is greater than the possibility of a reaction.

A few of the reasons pet owners turn to herbs are:

A Presbyterian church in Los Angeles is trying to boost its connection with the community by offering a 30-minute Sunday service for pet-lovers.

Should owning a great dane make you as much of an eco-outcast as an SUV driver? Yes it should, say Robert and Brenda Vale, two architects who specialise in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. In their new book, Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living, they compare the ecological footprints of a menagerie of popular pets with those of various other lifestyle choices - and the critters do not fare well.

As well as guzzling resources, cats and dogs devastate wildlife populations, spread disease and add to pollution. It is time to take eco-stock of our pets.

Kids chase fewer squirrels and postal workers than dogs, but the way we pamper our poodles and great danes and mutts has a lot in common with how we treat our toddlers and teens.

If this story doesn't show you how awesome dogs are, nothing will.

When the weather is bad and outdoor walks, games of fetch or swimming are just not possible, exercise your dog indoors in a different style: “mental” exercise!

Mental exercise can stimulate your dog’s mind and relieve boredom just as physical exercise does. Most importantly, these exercises give you an opportunity to bond with your dog while you spend time together. The attention you’ll be giving your dog will be a huge reward-for both you and your dog!

By MICHAEL J. CRUMB
Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday in what is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline in the United States.

Sunday November 8th the Humane Society of Greater Akron will be hosting its first telethon on Time Warner's Channel 23 from 2 -5 pm.

By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer

Several weeks ago, I was brushing our Golden, Jake, after he had a bath. He looked so pretty and he smelled so good, both of us were enjoying the grooming session, until—I came to his right rear foot.

There is a huge lump, and atop the lump is an open sore that at first looked like an abscess. I wasn’t overly concerned at first; I thought he had got a scratch or was bit by something. However, as I examined it more closely, I knew this was trouble. It didn’t look nor act like an abscess. Gently pushing it didn’t expel any purulent matter. We scheduled an immediate appointment with our veterinarian, and he told us that it might be cancerous. ALWAYS HAVE A VET CHECK YOUR DOG OR CAT FOR LUMPS, SWELLINGS AND ABSCESSES.

An increasing number of animals -- including lost pets and those with registered pedigrees -- sit on death row while animal shelters run out of room and time. Meanwhile, animal welfare groups push to curb the slaughter as pet overpopulation surpasses the critical stage during this recessionary holiday season.

By Katie Byard
Beacon Journal staff writer

Oct 30, 2009

GREEN: The Summit County Health Department will have a rabies and other vaccinations clinic for dogs and cats from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Green Recycling Center, 5383 Massillon Road.

Veterinarians from PetGuards will provide the shots for dogs and cats.