Patrick the pit bull: Judge decides abused dog should stay at animal hospital for now

NEWARK, N.J. -- Accusations of greedy motives and arguments over visitation rights made it easy to forget that a recent court hearing centered not on the child of warring parents but on a four-legged animal, albeit one with his own Facebook page and thousands of fans worldwide.

When the rancor had subsided, state Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini III on Thursday ruled that Patrick the pit bull, the popular pooch found nearly starved to death in a Newark trash chute in March, will stay at an animal hospital while the criminal case against his owner proceeds.

The ruling ended -- for now -- a custody battle that has raged since the end of April, when Cassini issued an order that Patrick would stay at Garden State Veterinary Specialists, the Tinton Falls facility where he underwent surgery after he was discovered in mid-March at Newark's Garden Spires apartment complex.

"The judge considered the law and the evidence and ruled accordingly, and that means justice for Patrick," hospital administrator Patricia Smillie-Scavelli, who has been overseeing the dog's recovery, said outside court.

Fat cats up for adoption -- at a discount -- at Ohio shelter

A central Ohio animal shelter with an abundance of chubby cats is having a sale on its fattest felines, hoping a discount entices potential owners to take one home.

The Capital Area Humane Society says the fat cats are on sale this summer for $15 each or two for $20, instead of the usual $70 adoption price.

Development manager Mary Hiser says the cats packed on the pounds before arriving at the shelter, and the extra weight can cause them health problems.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that nine of the shelter's 55 cats are overweight. Volunteers keep them in an area that offers extra room to run and burn off calories.

The largest cat is a 6-year-old black-and-brown shorthair named Zebe, who weighs 23 pounds.

RELATED PET RESCUE NEWS:
• Animal lovers clamor to adopt Oklahoma puppy that survived euthanasia attempt
• OK Go's new music video features talented dogs (and raises money for homeless animals)

-- Associated Press

Pet rescue transports give hope, worry to animal shelters

KINSTON, N.C. — Every day, hundreds of animals are taken in trucks, vans and cars from overcrowded Southern shelters, where euthanasia rates sometimes reach 70%, to states in the North, where puppies and kittens are not as plentiful.

It's a labor of love for those whose main goal is getting the animals off death row, but it can also have a dark side ranging from unscrupulous operators looking to make a quick buck to well-meaning incompetence.

Animal advocates say the transports are here to stay, thanks to a supply and demand imbalance between the South and the North, where spay and neuter programs are far more widespread. These advocates want to create standards to ensure pets aren't taken from overburdened shelters to an even worse fate.

"If you could take a truckload of dogs and cats up to Connecticut, and somebody is going to pay you $100 a dog, you're going to get as many animals as you can on that truck," said Kimberly Alboum, director of the North Carolina chapter of the Humane Society of the United States.

"It's quite a market at this point, and it's really creating problems as far as unscrupulous transporters and unscrupulous rescuers," she said.

Your morning adorable: Oklahoma dog Wall-e survives euthanization

Wall-e, an adorable Oklahoman puppy, is showing the world that cats aren't the only animals with more than one life.

The 3-month-old puppy was euthanized with five brothers and sisters and tossed into a waste bin behind a shelter, only to be discovered the next morning "as healthy as he could be" by an animal control officer.

Wall-e and his brethren, all apparently very sick, had been left at the shelter in Sulphur, Okla. But because of overcrowding and their condition, the puppies were put down. When Wall-e was found "prancing" the next day he was eventually handed over to a veterinary technician who put the story of the black-and-white terrier mix on the adoption website PetFinder.com.

Where to begin with this miracle - pup. .... On Friday 2/18 him and about 5 of his siblings where left infront of Animal Control- due to over crowding and their scrawny appearance they were euthanized that night. ... Wall-e was euthanized twice- once in the arm and then in the heart.... he was believed dead and disposed of in the dumpster "with the rest"..... On Saturday morning (2/19) the animal control officer found him very much alive and hungry...... a young girl gave him the name of Wall-e based on the animated movie since Wall-e was also a survivor/ last of his kind and then came back :)

Prospective owners from all over the United States and Canada have looked in to adopt Wall-e.

"So many people are interested," Kloski told the Associated Press. "Now we're going through and trying to find the adoption applications for the best home."

RELATED DOG NEWS:
• Dead dog walking: Michigan Rottweiler survives botched euthanasia attempt
• Puppy nearly sent through the mail has a new home

-- Tony Pierce
twitter.com/busblog

Photos: Wall-E has had hundreds of offers of adoption. Credit: Associated Press

Animal lovers clamor to adopt Oklahoma puppy that survived euthanasia attempt

OKLAHOMA CITY — Hundreds of people from the United States and Canada want to adopt an Oklahoma dog that survived an attempt to euthanize it.

The puppy was one of five stray dogs that Sulphur animal control officer Scott Prall put to sleep Friday -- or so he thought. Prall found one of the dogs alive Saturday in a trash bin set aside for dead animals and took it to veterinarian technician Amanda Kloski.

"He was prancing around. He heard me drive up, and he looked up and saw me," Prall said Wednesday.

He said he initially found the stray dog near the animal shelter Friday and tried to kill it by injecting the dog with two lethal doses of a sedative in a foreleg and the heart. Each dose should have been enough to kill the dog, and the second injection was meant to ensure it worked.

Kloski noted the dog's survival on a pet adoption website, drawing the attention of Marcia Machtiger of Pittsburgh, who donated $100 so Kloski could board the dog for a week.

Larry the cat takes up residence at London's famous 10 Downing Street

Larry the cat -- a rescue from a London shelter, we're pleased to point out -- has joined the staff at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British prime minister, in response to concerns about the rodent population there. Prime Minister David Cameron's office is now home to the tabby-and-white domestic shorthair, who was adopted from the U.K.'s well-known Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

A rat scurrying around Number 10 was caught on video by the BBC last month, and speculation quickly began swirling that the prime minister would get a cat to take care of any rodent problems. Apparently Cameron's children were hot on the idea, so after some weeks of hesitation, Larry finally arrived at Downing Street this week.

Prior to striking it rich, Larry was a stray found wandering the streets of London. He's believed to be about 3 to 5 years old and appears to have been on the streets for some time, according to Battersea. He had no identification and was not microchipped.

"Larry is a great match, because he is a very sociable cat who enjoys attention and loves human contact," Kirsty Walker, head of Battersea's cat department, said. "I've cared for thousands of cats during my time at Battersea and I can definitely see Larry holding his own at Downing Street."

Asked why Larry was chosen over other cats at Battersea, Cameron spokesman Steve Field told Bloomberg News that the cat "showed a very strong predatory drive and enjoyed playing with toy mice," important qualities for a cat in Larry's new line of work.

MORE POSTS ABOUT CATS:
• University of Nebraska study on feral cats stirs controversy
• Viral cat videos and more vie for Urlesque's Urly award for Animal of the Year

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Larry looks out a window at Number 10 on Feb. 15. Credit: Mark Large / Reuters

Five ways to show your love for animals this Valentine's Day

These animal-centric options will let you show your affection for a significant other, family member or friend on Valentine's Day and help animals at the same time. We'd call that a win/win situation!

• Local group the Lu Parker Project is working to make sure every last dog at the L.A. Department of Animal Services' South L.A. shelter gets a chance to sleep on a comfortable pet bed rather than on cold, hard cement. The shelter has 140 concrete kennel runs, most of which house more than one dog at a time -- and there are nowhere near enough beds to go around. Many commercially available pet beds aren't well-suited to use in animal shelters because they aren't sufficiently durable or become soaked through when the kennel runs are hosed down during routine cleaning. So pet-bed company Kuranda is offering its raised, chew-proof and easy-to-clean beds at a discount through this program. What does it have to do with Valentine's Day? If you donate a bed (cost: $65) before Feb. 14, you'll receive a free bouquet of flowers and a Valentine's Day greeting card. Flowers and cards can be picked up Feb. 13 or Feb. 14 at one of two local locations: Sporteve in Culver City or Peet's Coffee & Tea on Main Street in Santa Monica.

• When you purchase flowers through Teleflora's ASPCA page, 20% of the cost will be donated to the animal protection organization. Prices start at $29.99 and go ... well, pretty darn high. Just make sure to check the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center page to determine which flowers are nontoxic to your pet, or be prepared to be vigilant about keeping the flowers away from your animals if you opt for something harmful if swallowed. (For instance, lilies can cause liver failure if ingested by cats, and some varieties are also toxic to dogs; daisies can cause vomiting, diarrhea, loss of coordination and other symptoms in dogs and cats; and irises can cause vomiting, lethargy, diahhrea and excessive salivation in both dogs and cats.)

Tech company makes it possible to play with shelter kittens via webcam

SEATTLE — A company that has developed technology for controlling remote robotic arms over the Internet has adapted the system so that people around the world can play remotely with kittens.

The company first tested its system by building a paintball shooting gallery. But while Apriori Control, a tiny Boise, Idaho-based company, waits for paying customers, it's putting its systems through their paces at animal shelters in the West.

Scott Harris, head of Apriori, thought the systems would be used to meld real-world and online gaming, or as part of military training. A "beta" test drew more than 2,300 people to a website to shoot a paintball gun by pressing computer keys and watch their results splatter in real time.

Afterward, Apriori went to work on software improvements. It also decided to donate time and spare equipment to a good -- and very cute -- cause.

The Idaho Humane Society and the Oregon Humane Society now have kitten play rooms equipped with cat toys attached to robotic arms. Web surfers can visit the animal adoption groups' websites, download a browser plug-in and get in line for a turn at moving the toys. While they wait, they can watch over a live webcam as others try to catch the kitties' attention with a flick or bounce of the toy.

Oklahoma man's attempt to break his poodle out of the pound lands him in jail

HYDRO, Okla. — An elderly Oklahoma man landed himself in jail after using bolt cutters to break his prized pooch out of the pound.

Instead of paying a $100 fine for not having his poodle on a leash, 73-year-old Edwin Fry of Hydro decided to bust Buddy Tough out. Authorities say Fry drove his lawnmower to the city pound Oct. 13 and broke into the cage with bolt cutters. The pair were intercepted by police.

Officer Chris Chancellor told The Oklahoman newspaper that police had received numerous complaints about Buddy Tough, who had been in the pound before. He says Fry had been told he could retrieve the dog and sort out the fine in court.

Fry spent several days in jail and faces a municipal charge of allowing an animal to run at large. Buddy Tough was euthanized while Fry was in jail.

RELATED STRANGE PET NEWS:
Labrador who ate an entire beehive wins pet insurance company's award for oddest claim
Russian diver attempts to teach his dachshund to scuba dive

-- Associated Press

Tea Partiers barking mad over puppy-mill humane measure in Missouri

The state of Missouri is known throughout the humane community as "puppy mill central," a state which by some reckonings is home to nearly a third of the nation's wretched breeding factories that churn out litter after litter of puppies that can be high-priced and sometimes less than healthy, from mothers that are kept like brood sows and wind up exhausted and ailing after delivering endless litters -- I know; I've adopted one or two of such poor exploited ladies.

Dog-loving groups have been hopeful that Missouri's Prop. B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, would help to put a stop to some of this, by requiring commercial breeders with more than 10 breeding females who produce puppies for the pet trade give those dogs clean facilities, enough food and water and exercise, and what I would call decent intervals between pregnancies.

Simple, right?

Well, not according to some. As reported on Talking Points Memo, Tea Partiers are claiming that this is a manifestation of the Humane Society's sinister plan. Some, including people who either can't read or won't read -- to paraphrase Mark Twain, the latter has the same disadvantage as the former -- are applying Tea Party politics to this, declaring that the Missouri measure saving animals from misery and exploitation is part of a "radical" agenda.

The group calls itself the Alliance for Truth -- don't you love the grandiose labels these groups bestow on themselves? -- and one member, astonishingly, told the TPM site that Prop. B supporters "don't like animals."