A San Diego company said yesterday that it had created the world's first cat that is free of the allergy-causing proteins that afflict many feline lovers. If true, the feat by privately held Allerca is a new but low-tech twist on using genomic tools to create so-called “designer” pets, which in recent years have included cloned cats and dogs and genetically engineered fish that glow. The sneeze-free kitties will come at a price guaranteed to make a pet lover's eyes water. Customers must fork out $3,500 to “pre-purchase” a 12-week kitten that could take two or more years to actually be delivered. Full Article

A bird lover from County Antrim has been left heartbroken after vandals cut open her aviary and allowed more than 60 birds to escape. Caring for her birds was a labour of love for Lynne Scott from Derriaghy and her aviary was a poignant memorial to her grandmother. But on Saturday night vandals ripped out the aviary's wiring allowing 68 budgies, canaries, parakeets and cockatiels to fly away. Lynne first knew something was wrong on Sunday morning when she was awoken by a neighbour who had found one of her canaries. She went out to her aviary at the back of her house on the Milltown Road to find it had been vandalised and all but eight of the birds had flown away. Full Article

Forget the old joke which starts ''my dog has got no nose...'' - Duo the Staffordshire bull terrier has two. Staff at Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter are having problems finding a home for the three-year-old because of his unique appearance caused by a harelip. The dog, named Duo by shelter staff, was handed in to them by police after apparently being lost or abandoned. Staff at the shelter said vets had not seen a harelip to such an extent in a dog before. Head of fundraising Michelle Pyle said: "We''ve had a few people come and see him and say he''s a freak. "Duo is not a freak, he''s just unusual. Not many people can say they''ve got a dog like that." Full Article

A dog made a Lassie-style rescue after a boy of eight fell 30ft from a rope swing into a river, breaking both arms. Nye Thomas wrapped Bud''s lead around himself to help him out of the water and up the bank of the Tawe in Swansea. Bud, a Welsh border collie and black labrador cross, also barked to alert Nye''s parents as he dragged him home. "You hear about dogs helping people but until it happens to you, you don''t release how grateful you are to have good pets," said Nye''s father Richard. Nye was hurt when he was playing on the swing while taking Bud for a walk. "I was just having fun and I fell off," he said. Full Article

Two new arrivals at a Devon zoo are causing something of a stink. Staff at Exmoor Zoo were delighted when their female skunk gave birth to a new litter of kittens five weeks ago. Normally skunks have distinctive black and white striped coats, but two of the litter of five are albino and are completely white with pink eyes. Staff said the arrival of the albino kittens, who have not yet been named, was "very rare". They will be put on public display in the next few weeks. The surprise pair, both females, were among the first litter of skunks to be born at the zoo although skunks have been part of the zoo for more than 10 years. Curator Danny Reynolds said: "We are delighted, colour mutations like this in the wild are very rare, probably as few as one in 20,000. Full Article

THERE was one dog that really stood out from the crowd at yesterday's Million Paws Walk which raised more than $5000 for the Warrnambool RSPCA Shelter. Judi O'Brien's dog Boru was several times taller than most of the dogs canine on the walk and about half the height of his owner. At 16 months old Boru, an Irish wolfhound, weighs 73 kilograms and takes up the entire back seat of Ms O'Brien's car. Ms O'Brien, of Allansford, adores Boru, which she named after Ireland's first High King, Brian Boru. Full Article

Dogs will soon have more places to run
Somerville located in Boston already has one dog park however plans are underway to create more parks around the city for dogs to run in. Currently, dog owners wanting to take their dogs for some off leash fun use the one dog park located at Nunziato Field on Summer Street, however the Somerville Dog Owners Task Force is pushing for each of the cities 7 wards to have their own park to make it easier for dog owners to use them. Full Article

More and more people are treating their pets as if they were their children - pampering them and shelling out big bucks in medical expenses to ensure they lead a long and healthy life. Pet owner Donna Joy describes her four pampered Pekinese as the children she never had. She even has a 'baby book' filled with pictures of her dogs when they were puppies. "I buy my little girls dresses and my little boys little coats," she says, adding that the coats cost her around $75 each. Pets have never had it so good and never have Americans spent so much on their surrogate kids. Over a lifetime, the average pet owner will spend $10,000 on a cat, $12,000 on a small dog and $23,000 for a large dog, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Full Article

Barney the homeless mongrel has landed a walk-on stage role in a tragic opera just two weeks after he was rescued. The Yorkshire terrier cross found wandering the streets of Gorsedd in Flintshire is to appear in Puccini's La Boheme in Llandudno later this month. He was picked up by the animal rescue centre the same day an opera company appealed for a canine star. Barney will play a part close to his heart - an orphaned dog walking the streets of Paris before being rescued. In real life too, Barney enjoys a happy ending, as he has been found a new home. The dog, who is thought to be about two years old, is to appear in a street scene in an production with the Ukraine National Opera on 29 May. Full Article

A crime-fighting kitten has been given a special award for undercover work that helped cops snare a bogus vet. Fred, a former stray, lined up with 20 police, fire and court officers being recognised for heroism to get a plaque from Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes. He helped arrest Steven Vassall, who had allegedly performed a botched operation on a dog, Burt the Boston terrier. Vassall, 28, was called to an apartment rigged up with a hidden camera where he was to pick up Fred to neuter him. He was allegedly caught on tape telling an investigator posing as Fred's owner he could do the operation for $135 (£71).Full Article

A yellow lab saved a boy from downing on Sunday. Ryan Rambo was rafting with a family friend along the Roaring Fork River when his raft hit a log and flipped. Thirteen-year-old Chelsea Bennett was playing along the river with her yellow Labrador retriever, Zion, when she heard a boy screaming for help from the water. Rambo, who was wearing a life vest, was floating down the river when Zion jumped into the water and swam to the boy. He grabbed the dog's collar and was pulled to shore. The friend with Rambo also fell into the water but is fine. Rambo and his family had recently moved to Glenwood Springs after Hurricane Katrina devastated their home in Marrero, La. Full Article

Becoming a Veterinarian is no easy task Thomas McDavitt is a perfect example of somebody who has not let his disability stand in his way of achieving greatness. Totally deaf, Doc. McDavitt is a Veterinarian practicing in the Chicago area, taking care of hundreds of dogs and cats, and has been a vet for the last 13 years. He went deaf at the tender age of 5 do to complications from meningitis, and since then has been beating back the critics who kept telling him that he would amount to nothing: "When I was growing up, I got discouraged by a lot of people saying that I was wrong and it just made me stronger in my faith I could be one," said McDavitt, referring to his life long dream of becoming a veterinarian. Full Article

A boggle-eyed pooch tucked into a Balenciaga handbag; an elite greyhound tearing around the track in a flash of fur and claws; a sniffer dog on the trail of illicit drugs. Given that dogs come in every shape, size and colour, it is strange to think they are all wolves under the skin. According to DNA studies, domestic dogs owe their origins to a wolf cub that probably fell into the hands of humans some 40,000 years ago somewhere in Southeast Asia. Over the course of thousands of years, they were shaped by humans for hunting, guarding and herding into the 400 or so modern breeds. Full Article

Girl survives vicious dog attack A Staffordshire Bull Terrier is in the dog house tonight after it unprovokingly attacked the 4-year-old girl of the family that owned the dog, also biting the little girl's mother on the hand as the woman tried to get her daughter away from the dog. The girl was taken to hospital, and will survive although she did sustain serious cuts to her head. The family dog has been remanded to the local pound, where its fate is undetermined at this time. Full Article

Does your pet itch and scratch all summer long?
Allergies are common for many people to have to endure each and every summer. Some people will even be able to tell when the heat is about to begin due to the annual flare up of those annoying allergic reactions that they deal with each and every year. Pets like humans are also susceptible to the allergic bug. Coughing Sneezing and watery eyes, common symptoms of human allergies are also very common in pets. Full Article

Never mind ‘meet the parents’ – if you really want to impress a girlfriend it is her pet you need to win over, according to a new study. Over 70 per cent of women say they monitor the early stages of the relationship between their pet and a new partner for signs of friction or hostility. And a devoted 51 per cent of females said they would consider dumping their partner after a first date if he didn’t get on with her smaller but no less significant other. The statistics emerged from a survey of 2,000 pet-owners conducted by the organisers of National Pet Week, which ends on Sunday 7th May. More than three quarters of women claimed their pet is more important than any man – and a third have actually given a boyfriend the elbow because they didn't hit it off with their furry friend. Full Article

When Rose Moya fled her home and an abusive partner with her 17-year-old son four months ago, she didn’t want to leave her two dogs behind. But once they were out of the house, Moya (who asked that her name be changed in this article to protect her identity) couldn’t find a place that would shelter them all. She and her son initially found refuge at Alexandra House, a battered women’s shelter in Blaine, but her dogs ended up at the Animal Humane Society. Moya worried that her dogs would be adopted before she could find a new home and she would never see them again. Full Article

Humane Society to the Rescue
The sudden flooding of a northern Ontario reserve, has prompted the Cambridge and District Humane Society to take steps in order to save the many pets that call the reserve their home. In total there are over 130 pets that need to be taken care of while the flooding is being delbt with, and in the meantime, the animals will be housed in and around the Sudberry area. This is the same Humane Society that took in many pets following the horrific hurricane that rocked New Orleans, and at present, have adopted out 175 dogs with more on the way. Full Article

Nearly half of pet owners say they treat their pet like their children, with some preferring them to family members, a survey has found. Two out of five people said they preferred the company of their pet to other humans. Five per cent said they considered their pet to be more important than their family. A fifth of owners said they planned to leave their pets money in their will to ensure they were looked after when they died, according to the research. Half of dog owners allow their pets on the sofa, while one in two cats sleep on their owner's bed every night. Nearly two-thirds of dogs and 45% of cats receive a gift for their birthday and Christmas. Full Article

The PDSA have recognised the bravery of Canine Partner, Orca, by awarding him the prestigious PDSA Gold Medal for outstanding devotion to duty. Orca saved his human partner, Cheryl Smith’s life after she fell into a water-filled ditch from where she could not get up. Orca was trained as an assistance dog by charity, Canine Partners, who specialise in providing highly trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities. Partnered for only 2 months prior to the accident, Orca and Cheryl were enjoying an afternoon in the countryside, with Orca running beside Cheryl in her wheelchair. Then disaster struck, as Cheryl’s wheelchair hit a rock, pitching her down a 15-foot embankment into the water-filled ditch. Full Article

Now in its 18th year, National Pet Week was conceived to raise awareness of the importance of responsible pet ownership, its many benefits and the importance of working and companion dogs to help the disadvantaged. National Pet Week is a registered charity supported by trustees, National Office of Animal Health, Pet Food Manufacturer’s Association and the Pet Care Trust. The charity also raises vital funds in support of their campaign of awareness. Full Article

The world's first and only cloned dog celebrated its first birthday on Monday, as the leader of the South Korean team that produced the Afghan hound faced a criminal investigation for possible fraud and ethics violations. The team led by scientist Hwang Woo-Suk unveiled the dog named Snuppy last August amid global fanfare. Time magazine named Snuppy one of the most amazing inventions for 2005. Hwang once basked in acclaim for his scientific achievements, with some in the country labeling him "the pride of Korea". Full Article

Mike and Joanna Brown said they weren't sure if they should nickname their cat "Bunny" or "Sheetrock" after she was found two weeks after vanishing inside a neighboring home's walls. Miss Kitty was returned to the couple on Easter, hence the nickname "Bunny." Ten years ago, the Brown family found the stray cat stranded and alone in the street. Ever since that day, Mike Brown said the cat has been somewhat of a lovable nuisance. "I think she's had three eye surgeries," he said. "This has been the most expensive stray of any cat in the world, but she's worth it." Full Article

Pets Are Surely Missed When They Leave This Earth Behind When pets leave this earth, they leave behind in most cases a loving family that for a considerable amount of time, do not know what to do with themselves. Grieving for a lost pet may sound silly to some, but true pet lovers, grow very attached to their animals and are very sad when the day comes that their beloved dog or cat takes their final breath. Many pet owners have different ways of dealing with the death of their pets. Some will simply berry the animal in the yard and do their best to move on, while others will take a more sentimental approach, and keep the ashes of their pet. Full Article

Fire Departments Receive Treatment Tools for Pets Stony Hill, as well as Bethel Fire Department are the latest Fire Departments to become equipped with oxygen masks that are to be used solely for treating pets that are rescued from fires. More and more Fire Departments across mor and more of the USA are receiving the masks through donations or purchase, as the need is rising for them, due to the constant need for pet treatment after one or multiple animals are removed from a burning building. Smoke inhalation is the number one cause of death for pets that are trapped in a firey situation, and with the special masks allowing them to receive fresh oxygen, the hope is that many of these pets can be saved before it is too late. Full Article

The campaign for drivers and passengers to `belt up` has been a long and successful. But what about passengers of the canine kind? New research has revealed that almost three quarters of company car drivers receive no safety guidance about transporting pets. When asked if their company insists any pets are stored securely during transport in a company vehicle, 74.3% of those questioned said no, car firm Lex Vehicle Leasing found. In a 30mph accident, an unrestrained 50lb border collie would be thrown forward with a force equivalent to nine 12-stone men. Full Article

Accessibility is the name of the game
In an attempt to improve the ability of its visually impaired employees to access and update information without assistance, Gide Dogs for the Blind has launched a new and improved intranet structure which will allow for compatibility between the intranet structure and popular screen reading magnification and speech programs. Before the intranet launch, only 6 individuals of the entire employee list were able to without assistance ad, update and otherwise work on the non-profit company structure, which now can be readily accessed by all employees. Full Article

Why not support a very worthy cause?
Fort Francis is the spot for an upcoming fundraiser which will surely benefit the thousands of Canadians that have the pleasure of working with a "seeing eye dog." The upcoming “Purina Walk for Dog Guides" being held at 1:00 PM on May 28, is to raise funds to help support Canada's biggest dog guide school based in Oakville Ont, the National Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, who serve Canada's visually impaired population with a valid service in the form of trained guide dogs to help people with their mobility and independence, serving a valued purpose since 1983. Full Article

Offers have been flooding in from around the world - including Canada and America - to give homes to the hundreds of Yorkshire Terriers found in "appalling" conditions in a remote house in Sussex at the weekend. Rescuers discovered 250 dogs, many dead, in a shed with no windows. The grisly find came after breeder Elizabeth Stevens, 73, died of a stroke on Sunday. Many of the animals were in cages so small they could not stand up. Experts described the scene as the "worst conditions ever seen". Animal rescue charities from across the south-east were called to the outhouse behind Mrs Stevens' cottage in Malthouse Lane, Hurstpierpoint. Full Article

Will the law be revoked?
Salt Lake City, is one city in which a limit to the amount of pets that one family can own is enforced, seeing the maximum number of domesticated pets that one family can own being set at 2 dogs and 2 cats. Many pet owners do not like the limit siting that their pets are their family and they would be lost without them, and they are urging the council to relax the law to a degree, noting that if they have the resources to look after multiple pets, then there is no reason why they should not be allowed to do so. Full Article

Hundreds of dogs have been found in squalid conditions in a windowless 40ft (12m) garden shed in West Sussex. 204 starving Yorkshire terriers and six dead dogs were found in small carrier boxes full of excrement after the death of their 73-year-old female owner. Lisa Gooch, from Brighton Animal Action, said: "I've never seen anything so horrific in my life. "They were dripping from the urine they had been in for so long. Six of them were dead," she added. Full Article

The stars of a new local television show aren’t looking for fame, but a new home. The Scott County Humane Society is featuring its collection of animals in half-hour episodes on public television. The first episode of “Animal Orbit,” has been running on Mediacom’s Channel 19 at 6 p.m. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Thursdays and all day Saturday. A new episode starts this week. Pam Arndt, executive director of the Scott County Humane Society, said “Animal Orbit” was something she had wanted to try previously, but it didn’t become a reality until she had the proper help to produce it.Full Article

Pet lovers rallied at the State Capitol on Monday to promote a bill that could make Louisiana the first state in the nation with a hurricane evacuation law for cats, dogs and other animals. Sen. Clo Fontenot, R-Livingston and chief sponsor of the plan, said the bill’s $6 million price tag is the key hurdle. “The biggest issue is going to be a question of funding,” Fontenot said. The proposal, Senate Bill 607, is scheduled to get its first hearing at 1 p.m. today in the Senate Judiciary B Committee. Full Article

They have wandered down this path before but the city seems serious this time about cracking down on wayward dog owners. Beginning July 17, those caught without a licence dangling from their dog's collar will get an immediate ticket instead of the 48 hours warning to buy a licence, as they do now. And fines will be hefty, starting at $235 and going all the way up to $5,000. That makes the licence seem like a bargain, at $26 for a spayed or neutered canine and $61 for dogs that aren't fixed.From now until the new "zero tolerance" policy takes effect, the city is waiving the fees normally applied to delinquent or overdue dog licences. Full Article

Take the time to get to know your pets. Dog health is probably something that a lot of dog owners do not spend a lot of time thinking about. With work, children, bills and other life issues to deal with, finding the space in ones mind to devote to the health of your dog or cat is something that not a lot of people can afford to do. Unlike human beings, dogs and cats do not have the ability to tell us humans when there is something wrong with them. We as pet owners need to understand also, that even if our pets are feeling under the weather, they will most likely attempt to mask their symptoms trying to appear as if there is nothing wrong when in actual fact there is. Full Article

Some savvy business people are using the instant charm of furry companions as a smart marketing tool. Pictures of pets are popping up on business cards, leaflets and fliers around the Denver area as small-business owners look for ways to stand out and drum up new clients. Sometimes, the pet owner poses with his or her pet. Or, more often, a single photo of the animal's cuddly face and friendly disposition gives potential customers the only hint about what services they can expect, from real estate agent to chiropractors. Full Article

Dogs are part of the Canidae, a family including wolves, coyotes and foxes, thought to have evolved 60 million years ago. Domestic dogs are derived directly from wolves which entered villages in the Northern Hemisphere in search of food about 12,000 years ago. People exploited them for their own needs, such as to guard, herd and hunt. Particular characteristics were selected, which has resulted in the huge diversity of breeds today. A breed of dog called the Saluki appears on the ancient tombs of Egypt from around 2100 BC and is thought to be the dog mentioned in the Bible.Full Article

Dozens of dogs face being put down after RSPCA raids at 16 homes across the Birmingham area. The animal charity said this was its largest ever single operation. Some 47 dogs were seized by animal welfare inspectors and West Midlands Police across the city, but the animals face an uncertain future. Ten men were arrested for possession of dangerous dogs and alleged dog-fighting offences. The dogs are said to be so dangerous that they cannot be rehomed.