AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The Akron City Council has scrapped legislation that could have imposed jail time on dog owners whose pets bark loudly.

City Council on Monday voted to follow the recommendation of its Public Safety Committee to not approve legislation calling for the increased ...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Volunteers say a “lucky cat” is recovering after she was stolen from a pet store adoption room in Santa Fe and then returned with singed whiskers, dilating eyes and barely able to stand up.

Chanid New, a volunteer coordinator for Felines and Friends New Mexico, tells ...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Peggy Crawford recalls a time 20 years ago while she was working at Springbrook Behavioral Health in Travelers Rest when she encountered a boy who hadn’t spoken in seven years.

A trained canine therapy volunteer, she took her dog to visit the boy and he began ...

Editorials from around New England:

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CONNECTICUT

The Republican-American

Oct. 3

Connecticut policymakers find themselves in the same pickle that has confronted small-time bookies, Mafia dons and other crooks who prey on gambling addicts. A big operator moved into ...

SHALLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police in a coastal North Carolina town say a repairman won’t face charges after he fatally shot a pet monkey that escaped and attacked a woman.

A Shallotte police detective told The ...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Yellow anaconda snakes, mongooses and bush-tail possums could soon be officially banned in Florida.

Those animals were among more than a dozen unwelcome species the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agreed to ban on Thursday under a proposed ...

VALPARAISO, Neb. (AP) — Concerns about rabies have condemned an eastern Nebraska family’s pet raccoon.

The

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is warning waterfowl hunters who use retrieving dogs about potentially harmful algae blooms.

Officials tell WCAX-TV the blue-green algae ...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state will soon make it illegal to finance the purchase of dogs, cats or other companion animals through lease-to-own schemes.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed legislation taking effect in 90 days that will ban the practice of using a pet as ...

Over the past decade 47 dogs have died across the U.S. during grooming, or within days of showing signs of ill health after grooming, at the nation’s leading pet retailer, a New Jersey news organization reports, though what the numbers mean is uncertain.

NJ.com said that its count is based ...

Over the past decade 47 dogs have died across the U.S. during grooming, or within days of showing signs of ill health after grooming, at the nation’s leading pet retailer, a New Jersey news organization reports, though what the numbers mean is uncertain.

NJ.com said that its count is based ...

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Public health officials are warning southeastern Michigan residents to be cautious in two lakes where harmful algae blooms have been confirmed.

Health officials in Washtenaw and Wayne counties issued health advisories Friday for Ford Lake in Ypsilanti and Belleville ...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — In her rubber-floored 2,000-square-foot training facility in Concord, dog trainer Helen St. Pierre meets with clients daily to give them tips on how to limit pet’s aggression, encourage them to obey commands and help animals feel more comfortable around new ...

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A rescue flight has landed in Oregon carrying 125 pets that were living at high-kill shelters in Oklahoma.

The Statesman Journal reported Monday that the ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — In a story Aug. 26 about a new state law, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a law requiring cat owners to have their pets vaccinated for rabies with regular updates from the age of four months. The General Assembly changed the ...

DELAND, Fla. (AP) — People have become emboldened to bring their pets along on public outings thanks to legal gray areas and widespread availability of service animal insignia.

When Eric Jakob’s blood sugar levels are out of balance, Tinkerbell knows.

“She can smell it,” said Jakob, ...

LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii has revised its rules for the rabies quarantine program that aims to prevent the introduction of the virus into the state.

Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, this week signed off on the revision, which reduces the waiting periods for pets complying with the 5 Day or ...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is trying to ensure that when people are evicted their pets aren’t left behind.

A new state law signed Thursday by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo will require officers serving eviction papers to check a property for pets and make sure they leave the property with ...

BOSTON (AP) — Veterinarians say dog owners in Massachusetts should consider having their pets vaccinated following the state’s first confirmed case of canine flu this year.

Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston says a four-month-old poodle was successfully treated at the MSPCA hospital ...

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police have shut down what they believe to be Europe’s biggest illegal turtle farm, selling endangered species worth 10,000 euros ($11,500) each.

Police in Mallorca seized around 1,100 turtles and 750 eggs, including specimens of 14 of the 50 most endangered species ...

Although some cat owners still let their pets roam free, the felines are a leading cause of bird mortality, and bird and cat proponents agree that both species are safer if cats are reined in.

The good news is that cat owners are, increasingly, keeping their felines enclosed.

“The ...

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on a fatal alligator attack in South Carolina. (all times local):

4:50 p.m.

A man staying in a house near the site of a fatal alligator attack in South Carolina says the victim walked her dog on the street daily, and typically carried a bag ...

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Dog lovers can seek insight into their beloved pooch’s behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s new research lab.

The Canine Cognition and Human Interaction Lab will open for its first round of studies this fall,

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A digital marketing company in Minneapolis has adopted a new policy that it calls “fur-ternity” leave, allowing employees with new pets to work from home.

Nina Hale’s policy was inspired by senior accounts manager, Connor McCarthy,

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The state health department is trying to kick dogs out of local craft brewpubs, where they’ve long been as much of a tradition as cornhole, vintage board games and extra-hoppy India Pale Ales.

Brewpubs are banding up to fight back, mounting a petition drive that ...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A pet rescue organization has been finding and treating unwanted dogs that have been dumped in a central Iowa forest.

AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transport discovered last week that dogs were routinely dumped in the forest, abandoned by people who no longer wanted them, ...

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago has a new strategy to return lost animals to their owners more quickly and keep them out of the city’s animal shelter.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday that the city’s animal control officers will now carry mobile microchip scanners. They’ll be able to scan lost pets ...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Pet owners traveling the New York State Thruway now have a cool option for their dogs when taking a break from driving: climate-controlled, temporary shelters.

A Brooklyn-based company called DogSpot has installed its dog houses at the entrances to 10 Thruway travel ...

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan officials are warning dog owners to keep their pets at home if they’re sick to prevent the spread of canine influenza.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development said Thursday that 49 cases of dog flu have been confirmed in six Lower ...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Fido and Rover soon will have another place to frolic in downtown Sioux Falls.

A pop-up dog park opens next week. The dog park will be open Aug. 7 through Labor Day weekend.

The

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Little Gumby was blind, deaf and toothless.

The Silky Terrier lived for years in a ghastly Iowa breeding facility from which he and others were removed.

The people who took Gumby in “didn’t like that he would lie in his poop and pee,” said Deb Wallace, of Long ...

MIAMI (AP) — If you’ve been bringing Fido grocery shopping with you, sticking him in your shopping cart and passing him off as a “service animal,” beware. Florida grocery chain Publix is cracking down.

The grocery store has posted new signs at the store saying only service animals trained ...

AVON, Conn. (AP) — An officer with the Connecticut Environmental Conservation Police has gone head to head with an escaped python.

Authorities say Officer Edward Yescott was called to a home in Avon Saturday for a report of a jungle carpet python sunning itself in the homeowner’s ...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — High school students can help save a pet’s life and get credit from their school at the same time.

Here’s how: Some kittens and puppies are too young for the county pet shelter. High school students age 14 and older can earn mandatory high school community ...

Wells Fargo & Co. is in the process of refunding tens of millions of dollars to customers for products such as pet insurance, legal services and other add-on services that were added to customers’ accounts without their full understanding, a report says.

The Wall Street Journal, citing ...

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Public comment from enthusiastic pet owners helped shoot down a proposal to ban dogs from barbershops and salons in Montana.

The Montana Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists voted unanimously Monday against moving forward with the proposal.

Lee Newspapers of ...