Pets-only airline takes off

A new day in pet-friendly travel dawned Tuesday with the official launch of Pet Airways, the first airline to cater to pets (and only pets). 

The idea behind Pet Airways is simple: Most pets, particularly large ones, traveling on airplanes are required to travel in airplane cargo holds. It's cramped, stuffy, and scary -- and, in thankfully rare but nonetheless notable cases, pets have died as a result. Enter Pet Airways, the brainchild of husband-and-wife business owners Alysa Binder and Dan Wiesel, who told the Associated Press they "wanted to do something better" for traveling pets after a stressful experience shipping their Jack Russell terrier, Zoe, in cargo. 

Their idea was to repurpose small turboprop airplanes called Beech 1900s, removing the seats (there are typically 19) and placing pet carriers there instead (each plane fits about 50).  Fresh air would circulate through the plane, and the "pawsengers" (their cutesy term, not ours) would have regular visits from attendants and bathroom breaks during layovers. Naturally, employees would be animal lovers. (Some are even former veterinary technicians, according to the Baltimore Sun.)

It took four years to get the new airline up and running, but the response from pet owners thus far has been extremely positive. (Flights between the five "inaugural" cities served -- L.A., Denver, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. -- are booked solid for the next two months, and the company's website frequently features an "over capacity" message and encouragement to check out the company's Twitter and Facebook pages instead.) 

Your morning adorable: Reading dogs help some kids learn

Submitter EricnEnzo shares this great photo of a dog who seems just as enthralled with a book as his young owner does. (Plus, he makes a good pillow.)  And, according to some teachers, reading in the presence of a dog actually helps children to improve their reading skills and comprehension. 

As a result, "reading dog" programs are sprouting up all over the U.S. and internationally as well. The Telegraph recently profiled one such program, which has been instituted at St. Michael's Primary School in Dorset, England.  At St. Michael's, 7- and 8-year-old students take turns reading to dogs for a 45-minute period. 

"The scheme works because the dogs are non-judgmental; they won't laugh at stammers or get impatient ... The children who benefit most are those with low self-esteem and often it is not their reading skills that are poor, but their confidence," Julie Lankshear of Caring Canines, a charity that provides the willing dog listeners for the program, told the Telegraph. "Reading to the dogs gives them confidence and enables them to communicate." 

For more great photos of the bond between kids and dogs (or to submit your own), check out the Best Babysitters album at The Times' photo-sharing site, Your Scene.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: EricnEnzo / Your Scene

Teacup dogs vie for 'World's Smallest Dog' title

There was a time when being the runt of the litter was considered a bad thing. (Wilbur, the pig co-star of the title spider character in "Charlotte's Web," was almost killed for being a runt, as any children's literature fan will remember.) But nowadays, tiny dogs are fashionable -- as evidenced by the hotly contested Guinness World Records for smallest dog by height and smallest dog by length.

Scooter, above, is a 6-month-old Maltese whose owner, Cheryl McKnight of New Zealand, believes will one day hold the title of smallest dog by height. Scooter is just over 3 inches tall, measured from his feet to the top of his shoulder blade.  Although he's still a puppy, McKnight says he hasn't grown at all since he was 2 months old, and she believes he won't grow any taller -- certainly no taller than the current recordholder, an American Chihuahua. 

McKnight's sister breeds Maltese and gave Scooter to her as a gift. The tiny animal eats from an egg cup and apparently has his share of challenges as a result of his stature. "I can't take him for a walk or put a leash on him," McKnight told the New Zealand Herald.

Another diminutive puppy vying for smallest-dog status is Tom Thumb, a Jack Russell terrier-Chihuahua mix puppy from Scotland. Tom Thumb is even younger than Scooter, but his owners, Susan and Archie Thomson, are convinced he'll still be shorter than the current record-holder for smallest dog by length when he's an adult. At three weeks old, Tom Thumb measured less than 4 inches from nose tip to tail tip; Archie Thomson, a hobby breeder of Chihuahuas, told the Daily Mail he doubted the pup would grow "much bigger than an inch or two more." The current record-holder, another American Chihuahua named Heaven Sent Brandy, is fully grown and measures 6 inches long.

Activists protest use of pets for food on International Day of Action for Dogs and Cats in South Korea

Today is the International Day of Action for Dogs and Cats in South Korea, an event organized by the group In Defense of Animals to protest the use of pet animals for food. 

In Seoul, members of the group Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth wore dog costumes and climbed  into cages in a downtown plaza to draw attention to the issue. "Dogs and cats are not livestock, but they are our partners. They are not food, but they are our friends," one protester told New Tang Dynasty Television. "We should abolish the bad habits of eating dogs or cats." Other demonstrations were planned at South Korean consulates and embassies around the world.

While only a tiny percentage of people in South Korea eat dogs, reports suggest that about 6,000 restaurants in the country engage in the practice of serving them, according to Slate magazine. And although the practice is illegal under South Korean law, an underground industry continues to flourish.

The group International Aid for Korean Animals attempts to explain what it considers an essential paradox in the consumption of dog meat. "The importance placed on a respect for animals and the environment in Korea has ancient roots and remains powerful in contemporary society," reads a statement on the group's website. 

More than 400 dogs seized in multistate raid on dogfighting rings

The Humane Society of Missouri says more than 400 dogs were seized last week as part of what's being called the largest coordinated raid on dogfighting rings in American history. Rescuers say dogs from Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Mississippi were taken from owners who subjected them to unspeakable cruelty. Dogs that didn't fight well enough, they say, were shot, their bodies sometimes burned in barrels or thrown into rivers. Federal and state authorities, in addition to animal rescue groups, participated in the raid.

Many of those arrested in the raids appeared to live seemingly normal lives apart from their alleged ties to the shady world of dogfighting. One man arrested in Texas is a Little League coach; two men arrested in Missouri were a registered nurse and a teacher in a state-run school for the disabled, the Associated Press reported.

"The Humane Society of Missouri provided initial information that led to the investigation. During the course of the investigation they also cared for animals involved when possible, and they are presently designated to provide continuing care for the seized dogs," said Michael Reap, acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Missouri. 

The Humane Society of Missouri says it is housing most of the seized dogs -- mostly pit bulls -- in a temporary facility to keep them separate from other rescued animals. According to the group, animal behaviorists will evaluate each dog and make recommendations to the U.S. District Court on their chances for rehabilitation. 

Iowa politician who pushed for pit bull ban seeks mercy for his Labrador that bit a neighbor

Sioux City, Iowa, City Councilman Aaron Rochester was instrumental in a successful campaign last year to ban pit bulls within city limits. Among the most damning evidence he presented in support of the ban was animal control department reports showing that pit bulls were the breed most apt to bite people.

Rochester had a bit of egg on his face, then, when his own dog -- a yellow Labrador retriever named Jake -- bit a neighbor and was deemed vicious by the Sioux City animal control department. Rochester maintained that Jake, "a great watchdog," was only trying to protect his young daughter and a friend, who were playing nearby. But the bite required five stitches, and the victim maintained he'd done nothing to provoke the attack.

A city code requires that vicious dogs be euthanized for the public's safety. But Rochester appealed to Sioux City's police captain, Pete Groetken, for clemency. 

"I think it will be very difficult for me to reverse a decision by [animal control] unless there was strong evidence that there was a need for the animal to protect the owner's property," Groetken told the Sioux City Journal before making his ruling. The ruling came last week in the form of a certified letter to Rochester: Jake is vicious.

Five-legged puppy narrowly escapes freak show thanks to good Samaritan

A 3-week-old puppy in the North Carolina town of Gastonia was born with a small problem in the form of an extra, malformed leg.  The puppy, called Precious, has four apparently normal littermates, each with four apparently normal legs.  But Precious, a tan chihuahua mix, has a fifth, inexplicably white and rubbery leg with a six-toed paw. 

Her owner, Calvin Owensby, rejected a veterinarian's suggestion that she should be euthanized because of her deformity and instead told reporters he planned to eventually have the fifth leg amputated to allow her to move around more easily.  But when word spread about Precious, Owensby was given an offer he claimed he couldn't refuse: $3,000 to sell her to a Coney Island freak show.  

When the Gaston Gazette reported his decision to sell Precious, Owensby received a number of angry calls from townspeople decrying the move.  But one caller, Allyson Siegel of Charlotte, N.C., instead offered to buy the puppy for a higher price than the freak show was paying.

"Poor thing, she was headed for a terrible life," Siegel told the Gazette. "As a kid, I'd been to a fair, and I'd been to all these sideshows, and I just didn't think it was right for her."  (For his part, Owensby said he didn't know what lay in store for Precious at the freak show and instead believed he was selling her to "an amazing animals show.")

Siegel is more of a cat person, she told the Gazette, and has never owned a dog; in fact, she may wind up putting Precious up for adoption through the Animal League of Gaston County.  But in the meantime, the puppy is safe from sideshows and will definitely have the surgery she needs to move freely without the encumbrance of her extra leg.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Screenshot from MSNBC video

Police dog escapes during Fourth of July fireworks

The Fourth of July, with its accompanying noisy fireworks explosions, is tough on a lot of animals.  (Here in L.A., the county shelters even extended their hours of operation over the holiday weekend in an effort to deal with the expected increase in lost dogs and cats.)

But, although we expect the unexpected from our pets during the Fourth, we tend to think of working dogs as calm and unflappable.  Not so in the case of J.J., a Spokane, Wash., drug-sniffing dog who escaped from his kennel Saturday night when he apparently panicked at the sound of nearby fireworks.

J.J., a 4-year-old black Labrador retriever, apparently has only one Kryptonite -- loud noises.  His handler foresaw trouble on the Fourth and placed him in a seemingly secure kennel at a police training facility.  But, the Associated Press reports, J.J. managed to bend the metal clasp that held the kennel door shut and jumped over a 6-foot fence to make his escape.

Fortunately, the dog was found near the training facility the following morning, exhausted but otherwise none the worse for wear. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: CNN

Canadian Lung Assn. takes aim at Air Canada's new pet-friendly policy

Last month, we learned that Air Canada, our neighbor to the north's largest airline, was changing its pet policy to allow small dogs and cats to ride in its airplane cabins.

The new policy went into effect last week, and it means that Canada's two largest airlines (with WestJet, Canada's second most popular carrier, which already had a pet-friendly policy) now allow small pets to ride in airplane cabins rather than sequestered in cargo holds.  (Both Southwest and JetBlue airlines have similar pet policies.)

For many small pet owners, this is great news -- there are any number of horror stories out there about the perils of traveling with a pet stowed in an airplane's underbelly.  But others are decrying the move to bring pets onboard on the grounds that they can be health hazards to allergy and asthma sufferers.

"Pets are wonderful friends and companions. But inside the small, confined space of an airplane passenger cabin, they can pose a serious threat to the health of vulnerable people," the Canadian Lung Assn., which has launched an online campaign in opposition to Air Canada and WestJet's onboard pet policies, said in a statement.  The campaign is aimed at convincing Parliament to hold hearings to debate the health ramifications of allowing pets in airplane cabins.

Dogs from outer space invade Roswell's Alien Pet Costume Contest

New Mexico's Roswell UFO Festival was held over the long holiday weekend, and one of the festival's most highly anticipated events was -- you guessed it -- the Alien Pet Costume Contest.  From the Roswell Daily Record:

Diane and Pete Ibarra's four dogs
-- Smeg, Lil Man, Squishy and Binkys -- worked as a team to win the contest. The Ibarras, of Roswell, left nothing to chance, even turning a baby carriage into a canine spacecraft. ...

The dogs -- a standard poodle, teacup Chihuahua, teacup shih tzu and teacup Yorkshire terrier, respectively -- were dressed as aliens from "Planet Poop-a-lot."

Classy.  Real classy.

Second place went to Meatball (pictured), a Chihuahua attired in some sort of alien-inspired headdress as well as goggles, tiny shoes and a cape.  Another Chihuahua, Sophie, took third place; her costume consisted of what her owner described to the Daily Record as a  "platinum, intergalactic jumpsuit, fashioned with the utmost precious gems from her planet."

The Roswell UFO Festival is an annual event with conferences, workshops, film screenings, a parade, a laser-light show and, of course, a human costume contest. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Meatball tries to untie his shoe before the start of the costume contest.  Credit: Mark Wilson / Associated Press