Dogs are part of the fire team

It used to be that the firehouse dog was a pet, a companion for the firefighters, a nice PR touch for the public. No more. Now dogs are a working part of the fire team.

And so on Saturday, Icon and Hattie, fresh from training and testing to Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency standards, reported for duty as disaster search dogs for the El Cajon Fire Department. (Their handlers got the same training and testing.)

The two Labradors are prepared to search through rubble for trapped victims. They can crawl through tunnels, walk up and down ladders and stay stable on wet or wobbly surfaces. They can work with a handler or off-leash.

Technology is great, but nothing can match a trained dog's nose and instincts, says El Cajon Fire Chief Mike Scott. Icon and Hattie are part of a program involving the El Cajon FD and the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: From left, Fire Capt. Steve Swaney, Icon, Hattie and Engineer Marco Maldonado. Credit: El Cajon Fire Department

American zoos seek to raise money for Chinese pandas

The San Diego Zoo, the National Zoo in Washington and two other U.S. zoos that have giant pandas are launching a fundraising effort for colleagues in the earthquake-ravaged region of China, home to a famous panda facility. The Washington Post reports:

The Wolong National Nature Reserve, in Sichuan province, was a short distance from the epicenter of the earthquake that struck May 12. National Zoo officials said five workers at the reserve are believed to have died in the disaster.

Two of the approximately 50 pandas at the reserve's breeding center escaped, though one was found, a zoo official said. There was extensive damage in the region, and staff members are living in tents, the zoo's website says. An appeal for donations has been posted.

Photo: Teh Eng Koon   AFP/Getty Images

Bird dung in demand once again

We know what you're thinking: "Guano? Yuck!"

But the New York Times reports that guano, "the bird dung that was the focus of an imperialist scramble on the high seas in the 19th century, is in strong demand once again."

Surging prices for synthetic fertilizers and organic foods are shifting attention to guano, an organic fertilizer once found in abundance on this island [Isla de Asia] and more than 20 others off the coast of Peru, where an exceptionally dry climate preserves the droppings of seabirds like the guanay cormorant and the Peruvian booby.

On the same islands where thousands of convicts, army deserters and Chinese indentured servants died collecting guano a century and a half ago, teams of Quechua-speaking laborers from the highlands now scrape the dung off the hard soil and place it on barges destined for the mainland.

Guano in Peru sells for about $250 a ton while fetching $500 a ton when exported to France, Israel and the United States.

A baby red-tailed hawk is rescued in Griffith Park

This baby red-tailed hawk was rescued from a tall redwood by rangers in Griffith Park.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the red-tailed hawk is the most common and widespread hawk in North America.  The university's web site also says:

In the courtship display a pair of Red-tailed Hawks soars in wide circles at a great height. The male dives down in a steep drop, then shoots up again at nearly as steep an angle. He repeats this maneuver several times, then approaches the female from above. He extends his legs and touches or grasps her briefly. The pair may grab onto one other and may interlock their talons and spiral toward the ground.

Photo: Albert Torres/Chief Park Ranger, Park Ranger Division, Recreation and Parks

Finding a way to help the fledglings

It's a common scenario in spring: You spot a baby bird on the lawn or on the street. Your first instinct is to try to find its parents or its nest, perhaps to move the fledgling or nestling to safety. What do the experts say?

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers a helpful list of suggestions for fledglings found by humans:

1. Look the young bird over for signs of physical trauma.

2. If it is seriously injured, take it to a veterinarian. If it looks slightly injured, contact your state's Department of Fish and Game for the name and telephone number of the nearest wildlife rehabilitator. The Camarillo Wildlife Rehabilitation organization has compiled a list of rehabilitators licensed by the state Department of Fish and Game.

3. Carry the animal in a small enclosed box, such as a shoe box, lined with paper towels. Poke a few holes in the top of the box for ventilation.

And is that bird really abandoned or an orphan?

Here's what Cornell experts say:

Nearly always, the answer will be no—most baby birds that people find are actually recent fledglings that cannot fly well. The first thing to do is determine whether it is a nestling or a fledgling.

Let the young bird perch on your finger. Is it gripping firmly? If so, it is a fledgling. The best thing to do, to get it out of harm's way, is to place the baby bird in a shrub or tree—somewhere above the ground—and leave it alone.

If the bird seems unable to cling well to your finger or to branches, it is most likely a nestling. Look around in nearby shrubbery or trees for the nest the bird came from. It will probably be well hidden. If you do find the nest, simply put the young bird back in it. If you can't find it, you can provide a substitute nest by tying a berry basket (the kind with holes in the bottom, for drainage) in a tree. Line it with some tissues or other soft material, put the baby bird inside, and leave it alone.

What about the fear that if you touch the baby bird, later it will be disowned?

"It's an old wives' tale that the parent birds will reject the baby birds touched by humans, because most birds have a poor sense of smell and wouldn't be able to tell humans have touched them," said Nicky Thole, director of Camarillo Wildlife Rehabilitation, a rescue group that Ventura County Animal Services uses as a reference on bird matters.

Courtesy of the L.A. Audubon Society, a list of local wildlife rehab agencies to call when you find a sick or injured bird is on the jump below.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Kevin P. Casey/Los Angeles Times

A week of remarkable cats

The week started off with Tama, the Japanese cat appointed stationmaster after humans were laid off. Then there was the story of C.C., the feline defender of the Alamo. Have cats always been in the news doing unusual things, or are they just getting a lot of attention lately? And then we discovered the list of storied felines put together by the Pet Blog. "...there are many, many exemplary cats out there -- they just shun publicity," writes Julie.

Probably most legendary was Oscar, a German cat who survived explosions aboard three vessels--a battleship, then a submarine and finally an aircraft carrier--on both the German and British sides during World War II, earning him the moniker "Unsinkable Sam."

And more recently there was Fred, a Brooklyn tabby enlisted as an undercover agent in 2006 to pose as a would-be patient while police investigated a college student accused of treating pets without a license. Looking elsewhere, I found a cat that supposedly dialed 911, an another, named Winnie, who roused her owners with meows and nudges, apparently to alert them that poisonous carbon monoxide was filling their home. She is pictured at right with her Indiana family.

The stories are so ubiquitious that I eventually came to the conclusion that cats are actually in the limelight quite a bit, despite what Julie claims.  Animal Planet even has an annual cat hero of the year award.

-- Tony Barboza

Photo: Audrey Hamlin / Associated Press

Conservation group wants Pacific walruses protected

A conservation group announced this week it will sue to force federal action on a petition to list the Pacific walrus as a threatened species because of global warming and offshore petroleum development, Dan Joling of the Associated Press reports:

The deadline was May 8 for an initial 90-day review of the petition by the U.S. Department of the Interior, according to Center for Biological Diversity attorney Brendan Cummings. The group filed the petition back in February.

Shaye Wolf, a biologist and lead author of the petition, said Arctic sea ice is disappearing faster than the best predictions of climate models.

"As the sea ice recedes, so does the future of the Pacific walrus," she said.

The Center for Biological Diversity was one of three conservation groups that successfully petitioned to have polar bears listed as threatened because of sea ice loss caused by global warming, a decision announced this month by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. That listing also followed court action to force deadline decisions, though.

Listing a species as "threatened" means it is likely to become endangered, government officials said. "Endangered" is more dire and means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or much of its range.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Associated Press

Funerals for pets: a growth industry

Maryann Mott, who writes exclusively about pets for a variety of national publications, will be blogging at L.A. Unleashed from time to time. She lives in Arizona with K.C., a rescued Akita mix, and Sasha, an energetic 8-year-old Belgian sheepdog. You can see more of her work at petwriter.com.

Only a handful of pet funeral homes exist around the country, but that's about to soon change.

Next month, Coleen Ellis, owner of Pet Angel Memorial Center in Carmel, Ind., will begin franchising her pet funeral home business and plans to open 250 to 300 locations nationwide over the next seven years.

Ellis believes that pets, who are treated as family members by most owners, should receive the same quality after-care as humans.

Her service includes picking up the bodies of deceased pets from veterinary hospitals, where they're immediately wrapped in blankets and put into caskets. Back at the funeral home, staff members help guide grieving owners through a vast array of memorial and burial options. Most clients opt for "visitations" where last respects are paid in the chapel or family room, Ellis says.

During the private ceremonies, an urn with the pet's ashes is usually displayed so owners as well as friends, family and surviving pets can pay their final respects. About two visitations take place daily for a variety of furry and finned creatures including dogs, cats, rabbits, goldfish, rats and lizards.

Federal regulators place restrictions on rat poisons

The federal government is placing new restrictions on rat poisons, citing the potential danger to children, pets and wildlife, the Associated Press reports. Among the restrictions approved Thursday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Retail outlets will no longer be able to see four poisons considered the greatest risk to wild animals.

The AP has the details:

     Beginning in October 2009, many rat poisons sold to the public in retail outlets will have to be packaged in dispensers, called bait stations, that cannot be easily tampered with by children and pets. Loose bait such as pellets will be taken off the market for home use.

     The Environmental Protection Agency had proposed tougher regulations 16 months ago that would have required uniform tamper-proof packaging for the rat poisons, but the pesticide industry, public housing authorities and others complained about the cost. Manufacturers will now be allowed to market bait stations with different degrees of tamper resistance.

    "With our decision, we are achieving the same goals," said Steven Bradbury, who directs pesticide reviews by the agency. Rat poisons subject to the new ruling are marketed under the brand names d’Con, Eraze, Havoc, Hawk, Jaguar, Just One Bite, Ramik, Rampage, Real-Kill, Tom Cat and Victor.

     EPA said the new requirements will also reduce deaths to birds and other wildlife from eating poisoned rats. Four rodenticides that pose the greatest risk to wild animals will no longer be sold in retail outlets. Professional pesticide applicators and ranchers will still be able to buy them for application around barns and other agricultural buildings.

-- Steve Padilla

Monkeys control a robot arm with thoughts

Now that's a headline that makes you do a double-take to make sure you aren't mistakenly reading the Onion!

We won't be the first to express fascination with the remarkable monkey robot-arm study that has circulated this week, but let us fill you in: Two monkeys have been trained to control a prosthetic arm with nothing but their thoughts, transmitted through an electronic sensor in the brain, as the New York Times reports.

The video, above, from University of Pittsburgh scientists, shows a monkey, with its arms restrained, using, as some have rather sensationally called it, "mind control" to snack on marshmallows.

The results of the study were released Wednesday in the science journal Nature, but have since swept the media, prompting everything from idealism over its practical applications for amputees to fears of a takeover by legions of University of Pittsburgh-trained half-machine, half-monkey soldiers of fortune who slay for marshmallows.

While the footage alone is rather compelling, the research is not so advanced, as Knight Science Journalism Tracker's blog put it, that "docs can just patch Stephen Hawking’s skull and his robot appliance will pick up chalk and start sketching trajectories through the space-time continuum."

We'll give Nature a few more years to publish that study.

-- Tony Barboza

Biodiversity festival this weekend in L.A.

Courtesy of The Guide, The Times' weekly publication about events in Southern California, comes this piece about BioBlitz.

"Biodiversity" may not be a word generally associated with the urban sprawl that is Los Angeles, but an upcoming event rooted in the city's more rustic spots may change all that.

BioBlitz, an annual event organized by the National Geographic Society and the National Park Service, will make its first appearance in California this weekend. For 24 hours beginning at noon Friday, teams of scientists and naturalists will lead members of the public out into the wilderness to begin recording as many species of living organisms as possible.

"The idea is to get people -- and kids in particular -- aware of the nature in their own backyards," says John Francis, vice president of research, conservation and exploration at the National Geographic Society. "With the increasing distance between people in general and the natural world around them, this is one way to awaken an interest in nature, by providing a bridge through the park system and to people who are experts in studying nature."

The event has the vibe of an outdoor science fair combined with a pedigreed and ambitious science experiment.

Some 120 scientists from across the country -- experts in everything from ocean to land, flora to fauna -- will lead a 200 teams, each with 10 to 12 people, through predetermined sections of several state parks for a few hours at a time. Each team will look for something specific -- a species of plant, butterfly, bird, creepy-crawly -- and all the information will be photographed and documented.

Baby giraffes take a bow

The Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert on Thursday introduced its newborn giraffe to the public.

The as-yet unnamed 6-foot, 139-pound male was born Wednesday to mother Dadisi and her mate, Hesabu, said Liz Hile, curator of animals for The Living Desert.

The baby reticulated giraffe will eventually join its older sibling, Mutombo, on display at the zoo.

Reticulated giraffes, one of nine recognized sub-species native to northeastern Kenya and eastern Sudan, are so named because of their chestnut-colored patches connected by a network of white lines.

The markings, which are believed to help giraffes recognize one another, are analogous to human fingerprints because they are unique. Giraffes grow quickly, as much as three feet in the first six months of life.

Mutombo, born on Sept. 27, 2006, and named after Dikembe Mutombo, a humanitarian and NBA player for the Houston Rockets, is considered one of the zoo's premier attractions, Hile said.

Meanwhile, as seen in this video, another baby giraffe also made its debut recently, this time in Rome:

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

State investigating severed bear paws in Riverside

State wildlife investigators want to know whether a legitimate hunter or a poacher dealing in illegal animal parts left a pair of severed black bear paws in front of a Riverside home recently, The Times' David Kelly reports.

The paws, which were in a plastic bag, appeared on the doorstep of a home on Clifton Boulevard on May 4. But who dropped them off is a mystery, Kelly reports:

"The hunter was a friend of a friend of a friend who nobody seems to know," said Riverside police spokesman Steven Frasher. "We don't know if the paws were discarded or what. The homeowner threw them out, but then a neighbor called the police.

"There is speculation that this was a trophy, but leaving meat products on the doorstep in Southern California is not a good preservation strategy."

The paws were put into storage, and the case was turned over to the California Department of Fish and Game. The Humane Society of the United States has offered a $2,500 reward for the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible if, in fact, they were poachers.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Save the cute puppies!

We've tried to avoid Gawker. Really. But now we must urge readers of L.A. Unleashed to read a little essay titled "Please Stop Talking About Puppies" by Hamilton Nolan:

It's one thing to spend your time commenting on a site that has witty, engaging repartee, like this one. But some other places are inexplicable. Like one that came to my attention today: DailyPuppy.com. It exists to post puppy pictures. Okay, fine, I have nothing negative to say about that, dog Nazis. But do said puppy pictures require 90 comments just today, which all sound like this actual example: "Oh baby you are such a cutie-pie. A zillion biscuits and cuddles poppet and have a wonderful life. xxxxxxxxxxx." GOD. It really challenges your ability to even continue liking puppies.

Here's what we have to say to that, Mr. Nolan: Meet Ooltie, left, whose owner sent his photo to Your Scene at Latimes.com.

-- Alice Short

Activists push greyhound protection measure in Arizona

Those who are following the saga of Riley the greyhound on L.A. Unleashed may be interested to learn that officials at the Tuscon Greyhound Park are unhappy about a grassroots ballot measure.

The measure, called the Tucson Dog Protection Act, was drafted by a group called Tucson Dog Protection and is spearheaded by retired Assistant U.S. Atty. Susan Via. To reach the ballot, the measure needs 70 signatures.

The measure would amend the existing animal cruelty section of the South Tucson City Code. (South Tucson is a 1-square-mile community surrounded by Tucson.) The proposed measure contains three provisions that address steroids, confinement and feeding dogs tainted raw meat.

Tucson Greyhound Park would be affected enough by the measure that it could eventually be pushed out of business, said Tom Taylor, the park's chief executive.

Photo: Kevin P. Casey / Los Angeles Times

Goodall's plea to end animal testing in Europe

Jane Goodall and other scientists are appealing to the European Union to end animal testing in medical and other scientific research. The Canadian Press reports:

"We need to recognize at the outset that what we do to animals from their perspective certainly, and probably from ours, is morally wrong and unacceptable," Goodall said. Goodall, the world's best-known observer of the behaviour of chimpanzees, is a longtime campaigner for animal rights.

She presented a petition bearing 150,000 names to legislators from the European Parliament. It called on both the parliament and the EU's executive office to find methods of testing that do not involve animals.

Goodall revolutionized research on primates during the 1960s when she studied them at close range in Tanzania.

Photo: Yves Logghe/Associated Press

Fighting to save the mountain yellow-legged frog

Good news in the fight to save the mountain yellow-legged frog. Sixty-two tadpoles have morphed into frogs at the San Diego Zoo’s Conservation and Research for Endangered Species facility.

Once ubiquitous throughout Southern California, the croaker has been pushed to the brink of extinction by disease, habitat encroachment, and then the fires that have ravaged the San Bernardino Mountains.

A rescue project involving the zoo and several state and federal agencies to save the yellow-legged frog has had its ups and downs. But now with the 62 new frogs, hopes abound that egg production will follow and eggs can be returned to the wild.

No one is declaring victory, but specialists on amphibians report "lots of breeding" going on.

-- Tony Perry, in San Diego

Photo: Ken Bohn/Zoological Society of San Diego.

The Alamo’s latest defender has four legs

When people remember the Alamo, they usually think Davy Crockett or, maybe for less than heroic reasons, Ozzy Osbourne.

But the centuries-old former church -- turned battleground of Texas independence -- turned tourist attraction -- has a new celebrity pawing its grounds: C.C. the cat.

The cat has entered media-mogul status. After news articles ran in Texas newspapers and online on pet websites last year, visitors from throughout the U.S. and Europe have come to see the cat and take photos. One visitor made a quilt in her honor; it's on display in a shrine to the cat at the gift shop (pictured below) and C.C. has a popular line of calendars, bookmarks, ornaments and stuffed animals in her likeness that’s nearly sold out.

Like a true diva, she has gone through drama.

The 12-pound, black-and-white cat with vibrant golden eyes was feral and unkempt when she first pawed her way into the Alamo and hissed at anyone who came near her, said Pattie Sandoval, one of C.C.’s caretakers and the complex’s benefits coordinator. Then she lost her first litter of kittens, which all died shortly after she started frequenting the grounds.

"She was kind of a wild child," Sandoval said. "But she’s reinvented herself –- maybe that was one of her nine lives."

What a baby!

A zoo keeper holds a 24-day-old leopard cub at the Nandankanan zoological park on the outskirts of Bhubneshwar, India. The abandoned cub was found by two villagers in the Baghnadi reserve forest of Phulbani when it was about 20 days old.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: EPA

Racehorse euthanized at Hollywood Park

A popular racehorse was euthanized this morning at Hollywood Park after shattering its leg, The Times' Eric Sondheimer reports.

Nashoba's Key, pictured second from left above at Santa Anita Park, was a precocious 5-year-old mare who won eight of 10 starts and was runner-up for the female turf Eclipse Award last year. She had to be euthanized this morning after shattering her hind leg in her stall at Hollywood Park, according to the son of owner-breeder Warren Williamson:

Henry Williamson, in an e-mail, said: "Our family member, Nashoba’s Key, passed away this morning."

Hollywood Park spokesman Mike Mooney confirmed the death.

Nashoba’s Key, a daughter of Silver Hawk, was expected to be one of the favorites for this fall’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.

She was known for her feisty demeanor, and that might have been her undoing, as she apparently kicked the stall, shattering a hind leg. and could not be saved.

The death of Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles earlier this month prompted a debate about breeding practices in the horse racing industry.

-- Tony Barboza

Photo: Benoit Photo

Japanese railway appoints feline "stationmaster"

A train station in Kinokawa, Japan, is unstaffed. But there's now a cat on watch.

Tama, a 9-year-old tortoiseshell who liked to hang out in the station after it went unstaffed because of declining revenue, rose to national stardom when the train line appointed her "stationmaster" last year, Agence France-Presse reports.

"Tama is the only stationmaster as we have to reduce personnel costs. You say you could ask for the cat's help, but she is actually bringing luck to us," Wakayama Electric spokeswoman Keiko Yamaki said.

This talk of good luck brings to mind the "Maneki Neko," the Japanese tradition of the Beckoning Cat, which is considered good luck. You've probably seen the figurines of the cat, like the one here, with its left paw raised.

But getting back to Tama. It's hard to know how serious the company is when it credits her with boosting ridership, saying that it promoted the feline to "super-stationmaster" in January, making her "the only female in a managerial position" in the company's 36-strong workforce."

"She now holds the fifth-highest position in the company," an official joked to AFP.

Tamu sometimes wears an official-looking cap and sits on top of a ticket gate greeting riders. Kind of like a bookstore cat with more responsibility and, we think, a higher pay grade.

But not so, according to AFP, which says she is compensated in food, not salary.

-- Tony Barboza

Photo of railway cat: Toru Yamanaka / AFP / Getty Images

Photo of figure: Kevin P. Casey / For The Times

Lax dog licensing costing L.A. millions, audit says

The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services has lost $2 million because of uncollected fees on dog licenses -- the largest source of revenue for the agency -- City Controller Laura Chick said in an audit released today. The Times' Francisco Vara-Orta reports:

She also said the department needed to tighten spending on equipment -- citing two X-ray machines that cost $150,000 each and are sitting in storage -- and contracts with outside firms without sufficient paperwork.

"The department is not taking advantage of what they're supposed to," Chick said at a press conference at her City Hall office this morning. "I'd say this audit is a strong reprimand to the department."

Chick said the $2 million in losses occurred between July 2005 and this March.

While this audit focused on the fiscal responsibility of the department, it is the agency's sixth audit in the last 10 years. Earlier audits have narrowed on adoption, licensing, and spaying and neutering programs, and the process for hearings on problem pets.

Animal activists, upset over what they view as a lack of reduction in the number of animals euthanized, or "kill rate," in city shelters, have for years been critical of the department.

Chick said a performance audit this summer would focus on the department's spay-neuter program.

-- Tony Barboza

Photo: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Riley the greyhound experiences sibling rivalry

Los Angeles Times Entertainment Editor Betsy Sharkey is in the process of adopting a greyhound named Riley that used to race at the Caliente racing track in Tijuana. She will periodically post updates on his assimilation into her family here on L.A. Unleashed. Today she writes about sibling rivalry.

Score one for the greyhound. Max, my English setter puppy, who for the first five months of his life with me was an only dog, has gone from thrilled -- "It's a dog! I love dogs! Pant, pant, pant," to uncertain -- "You mean he's going to stay?" -- as we head into Week Two of life with Riley, the 4-year-old retired racing greyhound I adopted from Greyhound Pets of America.

Here's how the day unfolds. Alarm clock goes off at 6 a.m. Max, unfortunately goes off about 5:45, and that means he's walked over and occasionally on top of a snoozing Riley and bounced onto the bed, all smiles, kisses and dog breath. I'm desperately fending off the attention. Meanwhile Riley, who I'm convinced studied with Gandhi, is largely unfazed.

Max bounds, bounces, boings, basically spending as much time as he can airborne. Riley unfolds -- slowly and with great grace. He could be a yoga instructor, his downward-facing dog is a masterpiece in perfect lines.

To keep the peace (I'm following Riley's lead here) and order in the pack, Max gets the first round of ear scratches, fur ruffles and toy-tugging time. Riley hangs back for a few minutes before walking over to say good morning. And that's when it begins.

Activists want chimp declared a person

Somehow, as we planned for Memorial Day weekend (hot dogs or chicken? Indy or Iron Man? "Living Lohan" or "Deadliest Catch"?)  we missed some of the most important animal news ever.

Austrian animal rights activists are fighting to get a 26-year-old chimpanzee legally declared a "person," and they say they have filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The International Herald Tribune reports:

The Vienna-based Assn. Against Animal Factories insists the chimp needs that legal standing so a guardian can be appointed to look out for his interests — especially if the bankrupt animal shelter caring for him shuts down....

In January, Austria's Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling that had rejected the activists' request to have a trustee appointed for the chimp. The high court ruled that under Austrian law, only people are entitled to have guardians.

The full name of the chimp, above, is Matthew Hiasl Pan. Last year, the shelter where he lived filed for bankruptcy protection.

(This all raises another question: Can a human be legally declared a chimp? We can offer up candidates if pressed.)

--  Alice Short

Photo: Lilli Strauss / Associated Press

This trespasser was a real turkey

A police officer investigating an apparent break-in at a store in Kalamazoo, Mich., instead nabbed a dead 10-pound turkey, Times wire reports.

Officer Paula Hensell was conducting checks on businesses when she noticed a shattered front window. Hensell entered, assuming a burglar was still inside, but instead found a wild turkey on a table. It apparently flew through the window.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Is arson linked to a cougar death in Chicago?

Perhaps you recall the cougar that was shot last month on the north side of Chicago? There was a great uproar among animal folk about the death and criticism (and praise) for the way the surprise appearance was handled. Now it turns out that authorities are investigating whether an arson fire near the Chicago mayor's summer home last month is linked to threats against Mayor Richard M. Daley from someone who is furious about the cougar killing. The Washington Post has an update:

Chicago FBI Special Agent Ross Rice said that "a number of letters were received at various locations throughout the metropolitan area blaming Mayor Daley and others for what the writer called the unnecessary death of the cougar, and threatening to take revenge against the mayor and other individuals."

Rice declined to reveal more details of the letters, one of which was sent to an elementary school near where the animal was killed. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Daley received a letter mentioning his wife and children and threatening to burn his home.

The FBI is investigating the letters.

--Alice Short

Photo: Chicago Tribune

Steak for dinner?

So I say to hell with tofu. Pass me the cow.

Columnist Al Martinez muses on a healthy diet, tofu salads, and the joys of a big steak and a martini in today's L.A. Times. And he confesses:

Worrying about my health, the planet, animals and the frightening possibility that PETA's efforts might end up turning the world over to humorless true believers who eat nothing but organically grown lettuce and seaweed put me in a blue funk.

We guess that's what the martini and steak are for ... to cure the blue funk.

In the meantime, PETA offers a "free vegetarian starter kit" on its website.

--Alice Short

Rescue dog gets a helping hand

From the Associated Press:

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — After years of helping authorities look for murder victims and survivors of natural disasters, a search-and-rescue dog named Molly has been rescued herself.

Surgeons at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine on Thursday installed a pacemaker in the 5-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever’s heart. She needed the surgery after being diagnosed with a complete electrical heart blockage.

Owners Allen and Alicia Brown of Saginaw were overwhelmed with offers to help pay the more than $2,500 in surgery, vet and travel costs after The Joplin Globe reported on Molly’s need for the pacemaker. Medical technology company Medtronic Inc. donated the device, and a Kansas businessman offered to anonymously pay up to $2,000 of the cost.

Go to the jump for more on Molly from the AP:

Clone wars: Readers speak out

Our item on the California company that plans an online auction to clone five dogs (bidding starts at $100,000) has sparked a rather spirited debate on the merits of cloning. What follows are some of the comments posted at L.A. Unleashed:

There are millions of abandoned and abused dogs in shelters that need homes. Cloning shiny "brand name" dogs is a despicable waste of time, energy and resources. Get a life. -- Tanya

My dog was found living underneath a stairwell. He's not a designer dog but is full of personality and life. A dog like him should be cloned. Frankly, I don't care how life comes to happen, it's a miracle that we can recreate it. Would anyone be willing to loan me 100k? -- Graham

It's not like your bringing back the same dog that died. It would be like a litter mate that is a lot younger than that dog. I think adoption is the more ethical choice with the over abundance of animals in shelters. Plus genetic failures are alot higher when done by means of interference. Costs will be alot higher also. People need to cope better with loss instead of trying to live in the past. Next thing you know they will be stuffing Grandma and Grandpa and posing them in the recliner and in the kitchen. -- John

I am so excited about this, I would do this in a heart beat if I could.... I would spend any amount of money to have another dog like my first show dog. He wasn't perfect, but he was my heart dog. I know all the animal rescue types are going to be whining about the shelter dogs, but no shelter dog in the world could ever replace my darling dog. -- Julia

Keep the comments coming!

-- Alice Short

Lioness attacks keeper at Detroit zoo*

**5/26/08: 10 a.m.: In the meantime, the Chicago Tribune reports that a zoo keeper in South Bend, Indiana, was attacked by a leopard Saturday as she cleaned the big cat's holding area. Her injuries were not serious.

In case you wonder why we call them wild animals, check out some news from the Detroit Free Press:

In Katie's 15 years at the Detroit Zoo, the lioness has never been in close contact with her keepers thanks to a pulley system that remotely ushers the big cats from outside to their indoor habitat.

But for an unknown reason, the 16-year-old lioness came too close to her handler Saturday.

Katie scratched and bit her keeper shortly after the zoo closed at 5 p.m. The injured keeper, Brett Kipley, who's in his 20s and has worked at the zoo for a couple years, was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak for treatment of his injuries, which did not require surgery. After receiving stitches, he was scheduled to stay overnight at the hospital, zoo spokeswoman Patricia Mills Janeway told the Free Press.

Zoo officials said they were perplexed by the situation. "We don't know what happened to allow the keeper and her in the same space at the same time," said Scott Carter, the zoo's director of conservation and animal welfare. "We will be investigating what exactly happened."

To watch an interview with Scott Carter, check out station WXYZ.

-- Alice Short

American surfer injured in shark attack

The Associated Press reports that a shark has injured a 49-year-old American surfer Saturday off the Pacific coast of Mexico, in the third attack in a month.

The Mexican Navy deployed personnel to warn people about sharks at beaches in Zihuatanejo, a resort northwest of Acapulco, according to a Navy official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

He said authorities have not closed beaches in Zihuatanejo, but people were being advised against swimming. A day earlier, a 21-year-old Mexican surfer was killed by a shark off a nearby beach. The attacks came a month after a shark killed a San Francisco man surfing in the same area.

Local Civil Protection director Jaime Vazquez Sobreira said the American attacked Saturday lost his thumb but managed to get to a hospital on his own and was in stable condition.

Last month, a shark killed a 66-year-old swimmer off the coast of Solana Beach. Days later, a San Francisco surfer was killed by a shark in Mexico.

-- Alice Short

South L.A. backyards are becoming barnyards

Residents of South Los Angeles are discovering that roosters -- and other farm animals -- are joining their neighborhoods. Times staff writer Jessica Garrison reports that not everyone is happy about it.

For many, the image of South Los Angeles is that of a paved, parched, densely packed urban grid. But increasingly, it is also a place where untold numbers of barnyard animals -- chickens, roosters, goats, geese, ducks, pigs and even the odd pony -- are being tended in tiny backyard spaces....

The cacophony of cock-a-doodle-doos south of the 10 Freeway is one of the louder manifestations of a demographic change that has transformed South Los Angeles in the last few decades.

Once primarily an African American community -- and still the cultural and political heart of the state's African American population -- the area has absorbed tens of thousands of immigrants from Mexico and Central America and is now predominantly Latino.

Apparently, one person's comfort (a rooster in the backyard) is another's headache. And in a related story, Times Foreign Editor Marjorie Miller explores some of the wildlife in her Koreantown neighborhood.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times

A ban on imports from foreign puppy mills for commercial sale

The Humane Society of the United States--not surprisingly--was closely following the just-passed Farm Bill (the Senate and the House overrode a presidential veto). HSUS says the bill ushered in "key new protections for animals." According to an HSUS release:

The final bill -- which is now considered law, except for one section excluded due to a technical glitch -- bans the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills for commercial sale in the U.S. The law spares young, unweaned, and unvaccinated pups from harsh, long-distance transport -- during which they are exposed to extreme temperatures and often die in cargo holds -- and will keep foreign breeders from adding to the tragic overpopulation of pets in this country.

The Farm Bill also adds a provision to federal law to make almost any form of animal fighting a federal felony. It's also now a federal crime to knowingly possess or train animals for fighting, and the maximum prison time for a single violation of any section of the law goes from three years to five years. It is hard to overstate what a blow this is to dogfighters and cockfighters, and it brings us one step closer to eradicating these criminal industries.

The Associated Press reports that about two-thirds of the law would pay for nutrition programs such as food stamps, which would see increases of around $1 billion a year. About $40 billion is for farm subsidies and almost $30 billion would go to farmers to idle their land and for other environmental programs.

--Alice Short

Photo: Craig Mathews/Associated Press

After the crash, a family is reunited

Emmy is back with her family in San Diego.

The 11-year-old Jack Russell terrier was ejected from her owners' car as it crashed and rolled off Interstate 15 early Thursday. MaryBeth Zmuda and her husband, Timon Martin, were not injured but soon became frantic when they couldn't find Emmy.

They searched, they called. Finally they placed an ad, with Emmy's picture, on Craigslist and called KUSI-TV. Complicating matters, the couple has just moved to San Diego and not had time to get tags for Emmy.

A woman recognized Emmy as the dog she had spotted about three miles from the crash site and had called county Animal Services to report. Calls were made, and pet and people were reunited Friday.

"It's really beyond belief, it's heaven," said Zmuda.

Before they took Emmy home from the Animal Services shelter in Carlsbad, Zmuda and Martin got some insurance against her being lost again: a microchip implanted in her skin. If she ever shows up at a shelter, workers can use a scanner to read her address and phone number.

--Tony Perry

Photo: Zmuda/Martin family album

Animal events for the holiday weekend

 

It's a three-day weekend, which means more time for animal-themed enrichment. Our suggestions:

On Saturday you can join L.A. City Councilman Tony Cardenas and actress Linda Blair for a Pet Care Fair at Woodley Park in Van Nuys. It starts at 11:30 a.m.

If you have kids between the ages of 7 and 10, you can take them to the Aquarium of the Pacific's Junior Biologist program at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, where they have a hands-on program on sharks.

And all weekend long you can go to the L.A. Zoo for a Kung Fu Panda scavenger hunt, where kids are challenged to find three species of animals that are found in China (Disclosure: Pandas not included--you'll have to watch Panda Cam for that.)

You can also ring in the summer season by taking your dog--if you have one--to run in the sand and surf at a dogs-permitted beach in Long Beach or Huntington Beach, the latter pictured above.

-- Tony Barboza

Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times

Riley the greyhound digs 'American Idol'

Los Angeles Times Entertainment Editor Betsy Sharkey is in the process of adopting a greyhound named Riley that used to race at the Caliente Racing Track in Tijuana. She will periodically post updates on his assimilation into her family here on L.A. Unleashed. Today she writes about how Riley's personality is starting to emerge.

I think in another life Riley must have been a cat burglar, or a spy, or maybe he's more spirit than flesh and bone. All I know is that at 73 pounds and climbing, he can slip into a room without making a sound. You just suddenly feel him there.

In the week since I brought home Riley, the 4-year-old greyhound I adopted through Greyhound Pets of America, he's eased into our days and nights as soundlessly, as softly as a cloud. No thunder or lightning with this one.

It's an amazing thing to see his personality emerging as he adjusts to life beyond the regimen of the track with its endless hours in a crate, broken up by little more than feeding, exercise, training, and a race on occasion.

At a nearby dog park the other day, Riley tried out his legs -- probably the first time he's run just for the fun of it since he was a puppy. Seeing a greyhound running, for the sheer joy of it, is truly poetry in motion.

Canada, U.S. agree on salmon protection

The U.S. and Canada have reached a new 10-year agreement aimed at preventing overfishing of salmon off the western coast of Canada and southeast Alaska, Rachel La Corte of the Associated Press reports:

The plan announced Thursday by the Pacific Salmon Commission could most affect chinook salmon, which migrate from Washington to the waters of British Columbia and Alaska, where they are often caught by sport and commercial fisheries.

Under the proposed change to the existing Pacific Salmon Treaty, the U.S. would give Canada $30 million for its effort to reduce commercial salmon fishing; Alaska would receive about $7 million. Washington would receive about $7 million to improve chinook habitat.

Alaska will reduce its catch of wild salmon 15% over the next 10 years; Canada will make a 30% reduction.

The agreement comes less than a month after federal authorities declared the West Coast ocean salmon fishery a failure, opening the way for Congress to appropriate economic disaster assistance for coastal communities in California, Oregon and Washington.

The declaration stemmed from the sudden collapse of the chinook salmon run in California's Sacramento River, where the salmon return to spawn.

Scientists are studying the causes of the collapse, with possible factors including ocean conditions, habitat destruction, dam operations and agricultural pollution, but the agreement does not address the the issue.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times

Pet food companies agree to $24-million settlement

Companies that were sued over contaminated pet food linked to the deaths of perhaps thousands of dogs and cats have agreed to pay