Baby elephant debutes in Houston
Pets in the paper – rabies found in Texas
Check out these animal stories in The Oklahoman today -
- Puppy may have rabies. (Texas)
- Online only: Mood: Dogs strut their stuff in last bark at Bryant Park. (New York)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Drink beer, save a salamander
As if beer drinkers needed an excuse to drink beer, here’s a new one: it helps wildlife.
A Fort Worth brewing company has created a series of beers called Rare Species. Read the full story on our beer blog, The Thirsty Beagle!
By the way, The Thirsty Beagle himself gave the brewer a thumbs up. And if a dog says it’s good, you know it’s the truth.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Meet Fluffy
Fluffy is an animal created by Melissa Bech, a Houston pet-blogger, who used the shed hair of her dog Tony to create a furry ball with a face to prove she wasn’t joking when she said she could make a small animal after brushing him.
I’m lucky. My pup, Huey, is small and short-haired. My apartment is certainly filled with tiny black hairs, but it is not nearly as noticeable as the hair my friend and fellow Pet Show blogger Carrie has to deal with. Her two larger dogs, Deter and Skye, shed like it’s going out of style.
At least now she has an idea for something to do with that hair — make them a new friend.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Texas couple sentenced in mauling
A Texas couple who owned dogs that attacked and killed a 7-year-old boy will spend seven years in prison.
They’re the first to be convicted under a new Texas law that holds dog owners responsible for violent dogs.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Texas couple convicted of allowing boy’s mauling death
A Texas couple have been convicted of “attack by a dog resulting in death,” a new felony in that state that holds dog owners responsible for the actions of their dogs.
Four dogs owned by the couple, Jack Smith and Crystal Watson, killed a boy May 18. They face up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors have to prove four elements to convict someone of the new crime: the attack was unprovoked, the attack happened somewhere other than the owner’s property, the owners failed to secure the dogs and the defendants own the dogs.
What do you think of the new law? The pro: negligent dog owners who put dogs and people at risk can be prosecuted. The con: responsible dog owners could get caught up in a bad situation. Good idea or bad idea?
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Nearly 100 dogs abandoned in southern Oklahoma
A rancher found nearly 100 dogs someone had ditched on his ranch, and luckily authorities have already found homes for all but three of the pups. Read Staff Writer John Sutter’s storyonline today, and read The Oklahoman tomorrow for a more in-depth look at state regulations of breeders and kennels.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Leapin’ Lizards
A friend of mine forwarded this YouTube video of a newscast in Texas.
I don’t own any reptiles, and I think that might be best for me. I’d lose it just like this guy did.
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Gator madness
It seems like lately there’s been a bizarre wave of gator hijinks. First, police pulled over a Texas man with a 6-foot alligator in his back seat. Imagine driving down the highway and noticing this:
Then, five kids were arrested for trying to steal a gator. I’m not a reptile owner, but I’m guessing that taking an alligator anywhere it doesn’t want to go is a bad idea. Everyone’s mad – the police and the reptile.
Long story short, let sleeping gators lie.
- Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
