200 year old Farmhouse burnt

Fire crews in Ross Township, Butler County were able to save some pet hedgehogs from a blaze in an historic farmhouse there.

The fire began around 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 28th in a barn in the 3200 block of Morgan Ross Road. The address is in a rural area, about 25 miles to the northwest of Cincinnati.

The fire spread to the home, which is more than 200 years old. Four departments were called to help.

The barn was destroyed and some chickens inside of it were killed. But two people inside the home escaped injury and firefighters also helped to save several pet hedgehogs.

There's no word yet on what caused the fire.

Photo Contest by Michign Humane Society

All Michiganians, do you think your furry friend deserves the title of 'Pet of the Year?' You can enter your pet to win in the Michigan Humane Society "Pet of the Year Online Photo Contest."

Show your pet in either in his/her intelligent look, in a photogenic pose, in a smart act, in lovely smile or a in any cutest/adorable fashion wear and dog clothing.

There is a $20 entry fee to set up your pet’s webpage, with a favorite photo and why your pet should be voted “Pet of the Year.” Then, you can email friends and family to donate in support of your pet’s campaign.

Funds raised by this contest will help transform the lives of so many animals.

If your pet wins they will be featured on the Michigan Humane Society website and will receive a spot as "Pet of the Month" on the Michigan Humane Society 2011 Pet Calendar.

The contest ends February 28, 2010.

To enter, and for more details on the contest visit www.michiganhumane.org

Sandra Bullock - Jesse James dog Cinnabun missing!

Pet Detective Hired..

Sandra Bullock's husband has hired a pet detective to find their missing pit bull pet Cinnabun .

The 'Blind Side' actress and her biker spouse Jesse James - who wed in 2005 - are so distraught their beloved pet dog Cinnabun is missing, they have enlisted the help of a pet recovery service.

Colleen Busch, from pet detective agency Find Toto, told website E! Online: "I'm in contact with Sandra and Jesse all day. We've been going back and forth checking on tips."

As well as hiring a detective, the couple have started an online campaign to raise awareness of the missing mutt and help bring her home safely after she went missing from their home in Seal Beach, California, on Monday (25.01.10).

In a plea for information, Jesse - who runs West Coast Choppers motorcycle company - wrote on the company's website: "We've had a few leads, but all dead ends so far, but the search is still definitely on. She's a great little dog, and we want to find her as soon as possible.

I'm in contact with Sandra and Jesse all day. We've been going back and forth checking on tips.

"Please keep your eyes out for our little gal, she's a light brown and white pit bull, 9 months old, cropped ears, full tail, hazel eyes. Last seen wearing a large pink collar near West Coast Choppers and Cisco Burger on Anaheim St./710 Freeway in Long Beach."

Jesse also offered a $2,000 reward to anyone who safely returns the pooch.

Sandra Bullock and Jesse James Asking for Help find Cinnabun

Mechanic extraordinaire (and Sandra Bullock's husband) Jesse James is asking for your help, as his pit bull 'CinnaBun' has gone missing. James, who calls his canine pal "our shop dog & pet," says that CinnaBun (pictured on the right) has been missing for nearly two days now.

"She has been missing since 2pm yesterday," James said in a posting accompanied by a photo of CinnaBun on Twitter. "If you find her plz call 562-983-6666."



James and Bullock have a reputation for loving dogs, and also preach the benefits of rescue pets. In the video below, James talks to PEOPLE about his brood of dogs.

Teeth of Animal Kingdom - Craziest Animal Attacks Video

Check out this compilation video of predator-prey relationship, the way and life cycle of animal survival..

More Help Came for Haiti Animals

More and more help and delegation are coming to rescue and provide most needs of the victims of quake killer in Haiti. Continuous help and support still needed so if we can help in any way, there are many ways.

Tracy Reis, the American Humane Association’s program manager for Animal Emergency Services, will be in Haiti on Thursday to join the international effort dedicated to animals affected by the earthquake.

Reis will arrive in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as part of the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti, an organization led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Reis will work with coalition members in the Dominican Republic and Haiti to implement a feeding program for community dogs and to offer immediate veterinary aid to animals in Haiti. The efforts are conducted in cooperation with the Haitian government, particularly the Ministry of Environment.

"We are discussing the need for a vaccination program in order to prevent the spread of diseases amongst the animal populations,” said Jean Marie Claude Germain, the Haitian minister of environment.

In addition to deploying Reis, American Humane’s efforts include:

• Identifying volunteers from each group in the coalition and gathering skills and resource information about them so the most effective teams can be sent to Haiti.

• As the first professional animal welfare organization to join the coalition, American Humane donated $25,000 in funding and expects to provide more money.

• American Humane’s Red Star Animal Emergency Services volunteers are preparing for deployment by updating their vaccinations and receiving other medical assessments.

• American Humane notified more than 200 trained and FEMA-certified animal rescue responders on its response roster. Some qualified responders may join teams in Haiti once long-term mission objectives are determined.

To date, $150,000 has been raised to support the coalition’s work. Among the various challenges faced by the coalition members is being able to secure a suitable site for medical supplies for animals while human needs are met first.

News syndicated by Pet Street Mall from VeterinaryPracticeNews.com

Suffering in University of Utah Laboratories

This shocking news of about poor animals first suffering from being unwanted animals, brought and suffering in animal shelters, now in terrible fate being sold by animal shelters and they now as experiment animals in laboratories of University of Utah (U of U). Please help stop this another terrifying suffering..

UPDATE: After breaking our shocking investigation, PETA received confirmation from the University of Utah that Robert would be retired from the laboratory and adopted into a new home. While this is excellent news for Robert, other homeless cats and dogs from animal shelters are still languishing in the University of Utah's laboratories, and they are relying on you to speak out in their behalf.

An eight-month PETA undercover investigation at the University of Utah has documented the daily suffering of dogs, cats, monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, and other animals in the school's laboratories.

Homeless dogs and cats—who were bought for $15 to $25 from local animal shelters through a Utah state "pound-seizure" law, which requires government-run shelters to turn animals over to laboratories that request them—were used in cruel, invasive experiments. In one study, a litter of kittens born to a cat bought from an animal shelter died after they had a chemical injected into their brains to cause fluid to build up.

In other experiments, mice whose back legs were paralyzed, rats suffering epileptic seizures, and mice with huge, ulcerated tumors covering their bodies were left to suffer without adequate veterinary care. Many animals died and were left for days before anyone noticed.

Please be a voice for the animals suffering in labs at the University of Utah. Take a minute of your time to urge the university to stop taking advantage of the animal overpopulation crisis and stop acquiring animals from shelters, which are supposed to protect animals from harm. Also, please call on administrators to release to the public complete records on all the animal experiments at the University of Utah funded by tax dollars, including grant proposals, experimental protocols, veterinary records, and minutes of oversight committee meetings.

Pet Street Mall supports the fight for animal rights. Shop at PSM, get discounts and you can share in donations to animal rescue organization.

Dogs: It's Survival of the Cutest

Look at how cute and adorable Claudia and Johnny are! Don't they just melt your heart?

It's possible that how we view Claudia, Johnny and other dogs' appearances could be influencing the variation and evolution of domestic dog breeds.

The University of Manchester released a new study today that compared the skull shapes of domestic dogs with those of different species across the order Carnivora, to which dogs, cats, bears, weasels, seals and walruses belong.

Researchers found that the skull shapes of domestic dogs varied as much as other species across the whole order. In other words, a Collie's skull shape is as different from a Pekingese's skull as a cat's skull shape is distinct from a seal's skull.

The researchers believe that human intervention has played a powerful role in dog breed evolution and diversity.

According to the press release, Dr. Abby Drake, one of the researchers involved with the study, explained: "We usually think of evolution as a slow and gradual process, but the incredible amount of diversity in domestic dogs has originated through selective breeding in just the last few hundred years, and particularly after the modern purebred dog breeds were established in the last 150 years."

In layman's terms, today's domestic dogs can get away with having several hundreds of different breeds because of human care, protection and managed breeding. Many dogs live very protected lives, and we get to choose which breeds are appealing enough to continue on.

Most owners feed their dogs specially prepared food from a can or bag on a daily basis, so the animals have little need to perfect their hunting skills to ensure their survival.

Owners also often take their dogs to the vet for regular check-ups and shots, and administer monthly meds to prevent their pets from getting infections or parasites.

As a result, domestic dog breeds don't have to be any particular size or shape. They don't even need fully functional limbs.

Left alone in the wild, nose and mouth structures would have to evolve or today's domestic dogs would become extinct, the research shows. Consider the breathing problems Pugs and English Bulldogs have, or the tiny size of a Pomeranian's mouth.

Today, the American Kennel Club officially recognizes 150 dog breeds. With humans continuing to take dogs in as our pets, who knows how many more breeds will make the list in the future?

By : Lauren Effron of Discovery News

More animal news and information on effective dog training equipments like collars at Petstreetmall.com

Ways to Help Animals - Haiti Earthquake

You can help the animals of Haiti out, by donating to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which will be dispatched to the area to take care of injured animals as soon as the humanitarian effort has been stabilized. The IFAW website says that donations will go towards “bandages, vaccines, antibiotics and other pet supplies for our mobile veterinary clinic.”

Of course, you can also donate to the human relief fund by texting HAITI to 90999, to donate $10 to the Red Cross that will show up on your cellphone bill. You can also donate to the Red Cross online. Anything you can give helps, countless livestock, strays and wildlife that need medical help.

A rare animal specie Solenodon that burrows top soil was found in Haiti, probably their homes were destroyed too of the 7.0 Haiti earthquake.

In the past few days, several organizations have joined forces to create the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), with the goal of raising funds to help animals in the earthquake-stricken country and to provide direct aid to animals once rescue teams can be assembled in Haiti.

The ASPCA has joined ARCH with the belief that partnering across organizations is the most effective way to address the serious and enormous problems facing animals in Haiti. There are an estimated 5 million head of livestock in the country (mostly goats), a large stray dog population, and an untold number of companion animals and native wildlife all adversely affected by the earthquake.

The ASPCA has committed to providing logistical support to the disaster responders from the U.S. In addition, the ASPCA stands ready to deploy highly skilled and specially trained members of our own Field Investigations and Response Team to the area.

As part of ARCH, the ASPCA urges you to donate directly towards the animal welfare Haitian relief efforts by visiting IFAW or WSPA.

In addition to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ARCH now includes The International Fund for Animal Welfare, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, American Humane, Best Friends, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International.

According to the ASPCA, "There are an estimated 5 million head of livestock in the country (mostly goats), a large stray dog population, an untold number of companion animals and native wildlife all adversely affected by the earthquake."

"Currently, a team is staging in the Dominican Republic waiting to get into Haiti to begin work. IFAW and WSPA have also begun to stock a mobile clinic with vaccines, antibiotics, bandages, food, and other supplies in anticipation of bringing direct aid to animals," the release adds.

The society has also set up a website where visitors can donate funds to help support the new coalition's work.