As workers at the Greater Vancouver Zoo on Sunday mourned the loss of a male spider monkey named Jocko, they expressed hope his female companion of 15 years, Mia, might still be returned by her kidnappers.

"If you have Mia, please bring her home soon," said zoo representative Jody Henderson, visibly upset as she read a eulogy to zoo workers and a few dozen members of the public during a memorial for Jocko.

Jocko touched the hearts of everyone who had the chance to either care for him daily or just be able to hear his greeting," Henderson said.  "His playful manner and longing to touch to you just made my heart big. There is a deafening silence around the zoo now. We all notice it."
Zoo staff arrived at work last Wednesday morning to find a hole in the fence surrounding the monkeys' enclosure, with Jocko dead inside and Mia nowhere to be found.

Langley RCMP has speculated the animal, worth around $5,000, may have been stolen by thieves looking to sell the 20-pound monkey on the black market or by someone who wanted to keep her as a pet.

Preliminary findings from a post-mortem say 17-year-old Jocko died of a fractured skull. Henderson had said spider monkeys have a strong protective instinct and Jocko may have attacked an intruder in order to save Mia.

Beside the now empty primate enclosure, staff set up photographs of Jocko and Mia, lit candles and set out flowers.

Read the complete story

Fond du Lac Commons, music, entertainment and auctions featuring a variety of fun-filled packages will provide the opportunity to enjoy an evening of frivolities while raising money for the Fond du Lac Humane Society.

This year’s event includes wine tasting by Cujak’s Wine Market, music by Jazz ‘n More featuring Joe Scheibinger and Janice Marie, a live and silent auction and raffle. There will be the Pets ‘n Pearls Fashion Show featuring several of the animals from the shelter decked out in the latest pet fashions.

"This is a fun-filled way to get involved and make a difference," said Lucy Mathers, shelter manager. "Not everyone has time to volunteer at the shelter. This event is a way to raise money and have a good time."

With a goal of exceeding last year’s $21,000, organizers of this year’s event have included a variety of vacation and leisure auction items, including a guided kayak tour in Door County, a historical boat cruise of Elkhart Lake, a private shopping evening at TLC Boutique, and many more.

"Each year we try to be more creative and to provide unique items," explained Carrie Stollenwerk, co-chair of the event and a member of the Humane Society Board of Directors. Chris Kaminski is the other co-chair.

"The wine tasting and golf are very popular,” said Carrie. “There are a number of new things this year, as well as another unique jewelry creation by Ron Emanual.

Read the complete story

Delaware Pets editor Jill Fredel brings you updates on pet news and events from across the region, and starts the discussion about all things pets.With the sunny and hot weather apparently directly in front of us, it's a good time to consider how summer affects our pets, especially dogs, who spend time outdoors.

Denise Morrison Yearian, one of our freelance writers, is working on that very story for the next issue of Delaware Pets. She's found plenty of pet owners who deal with the heat side of summer. What she needs is someone who has to worry about their dogs (or other pets) - because of light-colored or thin-coated fur - having problems with sunburn.

But the once-neglected thoroughbred won't be celebrating a win at the track in Mays Landing.

Instead, he'll be there to honor everyone who contributed time, labor and money to build him a shelter at his home, Final Entry Farm in Milmay.

His owner, Debbie Wharton in February made a public plea for donations to build a separate shelter and paddock on her farm for Twister, who arrived there emaciated in June 2005.

She and her husband, Carl, eventually nursed Twister back to health, but Twister had to be separated from the four other horses on the farm because they would steal his feed, Wharton said.

Wharton said the immediate response to her plea was overwhelming.

Employees at Atlantic City Race Course saw news stories about Twister and decided to pitch in.

Members of the track's grounds and facilities crew donated their time to build Twister a shed at the farm using wood from an old stable at the track, said Maureen Bugdon, president of Atlantic City Race Course.

Calvi Electric Co. of Atlantic City donated labor and materials, and members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351 provided labor to wire the shed for electricity, Bugdon said.

Read the complete story

The Brit tabloids, including the Sunday Star and the Online celeb site Showbiz Spy, claim that America's greatest contribution to world culture, Paris Hilton, is headed to London for a prestigious position . . . as the star of Paris' Pooches, a reality show in which she will manage a (real-life) beauty parlor for dogs.

("Bathing a grody, smelly, flea-infested, mangy stray dog some snotty kid just adopted off the filthy street? That's hot!")

An anonymous source tells the Star, "The shop is perfect for Paris. It's a subject she's passionate about." After all, the source notes, in Paris' world, "tiaras for Chihuahuas are of real importance."

Paris has claimed that she has 600 pets scattered across the various mansions, homes, flats, pads and flophouses she owns all across our planetary system.

At a time when people are fretting about toxins in baby bottles and prescription drugs in the water supply, a new report shows that our pets are teeming with chemicals as well.
The analysis, released by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, used blood and urine samples from 35 dogs and 37 cats collected at Hanover Animal Hospital in Mechanicsville, Va. The study found high levels of numerous chemicals in dogs and cats, including chemicals used in the making of furniture, fabrics and electronics. Mercury was also detected at high levels, likely from fish used in pet food.

Read the complete story

It's quite possible that there have never been so many cute domestic pets available for Americans to adopt as there are now. The reasons are both novel and sad.

The sad reason is a consequence of the 1.5-million mortgage foreclosures in the past year, in which people have lost their homes because they signed up for loans they suddenly cannot repay. One unfortunate result is that these families have had to seek temporary shelter, either with relatives or in rental units. Often that means they cannot bring along cherished family pets, because there's no place for them or because pets are not allowed.

One Humane Society shelter in suburban Washington, D.C., reports that 15 percent of the animals received in the past two months are a direct result of foreclosures. Many of these, in effect, foreclosed pets sent to shelters are older animals that are hard to place with new families. So when family members say good-bye, they know that the animal may not be adopted and will be destroyed. We've had a lot of children in tears, a shelter staffer told the local newspaper.

The novel supply of pets comes through a new enterprise that you might call rent-a-pets. Agencies such as one called Flexpetz rent out dogs, mostly, by the day, week, or month. They cost about as much, per day, as you'd pay to fill an average-sized car with gas. And why would anyone want to rent a pet? To take on vacation. Or to temporarily take the place of a pet that died while you decide whether to replace the animal. Or perhaps you travel extensively but would like a canine companion for the few times you are home.

Not surprisingly, those who rent a pet often bond with the animal. Luckily, they can often rent the same animal again, the next time they need a canine or feline friend. Or in some cases, they can opt to buy the pooch or kitty and bring it home for good.

Hugh Wirth's audience is hanging off his every word. It's an audience of two, and, for Australia's best-known animal welfare advocate, it's only fitting that the two are his border terriers Lachlan and Miss Lexie, sharing a chair in his den.

"The eye is raised just a fraction and then closes again, but they are listening," Wirth says.

In more than three decades as RSPCA president, Melbourne veterinarian Dr Hugh Wirth has been pilloried by his own profession, decried as a thorn in the side of government and industry, and splashed with red paint by animal rights activists who consider him not radical enough.

In that time he has arrived at the conclusion that when it comes to animal welfare, Australia has to be dragged kicking and screaming into reform. And he's often been the one doing the dragging, whether it be over controversial procedures such as mulesing, the transport of livestock, or the treatment of pets, farm animals, zoo or wild animals.

"The issue with farm animals in particular is that you can't change cultures in this country without a crisis," Wirth says. "For instance, if we look at live sheep exports, we've had to have sinkings of ships and refusals of Middle Eastern governments to accept shipments so they're left stranded out on the ocean for weeks on end.

Read the complete story

The door leading to Darcie Luster’s Floyd apartment is filled with pictures of pets up for adoption. The local resident has made it her mission to find good homes for animals.
Luster says she has always had a love for cats that goes back to childhood. The first kitten, actually found by then town manager Rick Lewis, was two days old. “I raised it on a bottle. I was eight. I’ve always been dragging critters home.”
Now president of the Floyd County Humane Society and the group’s main cat foster, she is continuing her interest in an official role.
During days, she manages her parents’ – Bill and Joanne Bell’s – gallery in Floyd. She has also been known to have kittens in the shop, too, occasionally having one occupy a birdcage on the counter.
Luster, also a jewelry maker, and husband Chris, who is a musician, personally rescued 115 cats last year. Most of the animals were brought to them as friendly strays or as kittens from litters, she comments. “One was found right in the middle of town. It fell out from under the carriage of a car.”
A Floyd native, Luster lived away from home while attending college. She got her Bachelor’s degree from Berea College in Kentucky and her Master’s in biology from Eastern Kentucky University. She also has her teaching certificate.
Growing up in the county, she says she and her siblings were raised by their parents to value education for its own sake, not for a good job, but for what they could learn.

Read the complete story

What is it like to be your horse?  What do they feel or think when they see us coming? Is the way in which we carry ourselves in our day to day routine around the barn, while grooming or tacking up that important? Self awareness is one of the greatest challenges in learning to ride.  When we begin as green riders we often are unaware of the position of our bodies or the tension we carry.  The same is true of so many of us on the ground.  We are not taught to pay attention to the subtleties of body language that are of such great significance to prey animals.  We rarely notice the change in the way our horse is breathing or the cadence with which he walks.  When you consider that the horses very survival was dependent upon their innate ability to perceive change, to sense danger and to be constantly aware it is not so strange that they notice the details we ignore.  Its easy to have the mindset that the clock begins when you sit in the saddle. Now you are ready, now your paying attention to your horse and you expect the same in return.  What about the rest of the time?

Read the complete story