Is this Your Typical Violent and Aggressive Pit Bull? Take a Look at this Picture!

This picture went viral on Reddit over the weekend. A cute pit bull with a bird on its head surrounded by bunnies!

It's no secret that pit bulls get a bad rap. Myths that the dogs have "locking jaws" and always fight to the death are widespread, and studies have shown that the media sensationalize pit bull attacks.

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IAMS Shakeable Turkey and Lamb Dog Treats Voluntary Recall

Proctor and Gamble has issued a voluntary market withdrawal of Iams Shakeables Turkey and Lamb Dog Treats with certain ‘Impacted Lot Numbers’ listed below. These treats are being voluntarily withdrawn due to potential for mold growth.

According to the retailer, no other products are affected. Proctor and Gamble claims it has not received any reports of human or pet illnesses.




                      What Products Are Being Withdrawn?

To identify the affected lots, consumers should refer to the first 4 numbers of the second line on the bottom of the can.

What Should You Do?
The bulletin warns users to stop feeding the affected products and to return any remaining Iams Shakeables Turkey and Lamb Dog Treats affected by the voluntary withdrawal to their closest PetSmart store for a full refund.

Readers with questions about this event are invited to call Proctor and Gamble (Iams) at 877-894-4458.

You can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

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SPCA/Humane Society of Prince George's County - Baltimore County is Looking to Partner with a Nonprofit to Manage its Shelter - What Do You Think?

Baltimore County is looking to partner with a nonprofit to manage its shelter. The municipal shelters in Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Prince George's County are run by the respective county governments, but many in humane circles believe that nonprofit management produces better results. What do you think?

To read the full story, click here:
Nonprofit is sought to help run Baltimore County animal shelter.



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Miranda Lambert Rescues a Puppy from the Side of a Highway!

It was Miranda Lambert to the rescue this week when the country music superstar – and dog lover – saved an abandoned puppy from a scary fate on the side of an Oklahoma highway.

"I just picked this up on the west side of Tishomingo on hwy 22. Please contact Tish animal shelter if he is yours," the 29-year-old, who recently chatted with omg! about her “five and a half” rescue dogs (she co-owns one with her grandmother), tweeted Tuesday, along with this precious picture.

Lambert, who is married to Blake Shelton, also detailed the rescue mission.

"He was in the middle of the hwy with his food bowl and bed... If it wasn't an accident someone is really sick," Lambert wrote. "I guess the pup is mine till I find him a little boy somewhere to love him!"

When she does find a new owner for the pooch – and we're sure the offers are already flowing in – the four-legged friend will come complete with a new name.

"I'm calling him 'Pistol Andy' in honor of the @PistolAnnies record #annieup being announced today! lil Andy:)," Lambert tweeted, referring to her side gig with the girl group.

Fingers crossed "lil Andy" finds a home soon. Until then, he is clearly in good hands.

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Have You Heard About Rescue Ink? Advocacy, Protection - This is the Army for the Animals

Rescue Ink is a non-profit animal welfare organization with 501c3 status.

We back up animal rescue groups such as the ASPCA, SPCA, The Humane Society and many smaller rescue groups all over the world. When there is a situation that gets out of control you can rely on us. We are comprised of street guys, military personnel, police officers, private investigators and lawyers. Not to mention an amazing network and core group of volunteers that is second to none. Rescue Ink does whatever necessary within the means of the law — that's what our lawyers tell us to say — to fight abuse and neglect of all kinds.

The Facts

Most of the animals we rescue will spend the rest of their lives with us — at the Rescue Ink Facility. As a true non-profit, we rely on donations and support from friends, fans and communities worldwide to keep the shelter alive and provide a safe haven for the animals.

We invite you to explore our home on the web for more in-depth information. It's people like you, with an interest in our mission, who make the difference.

Visit them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rescue-Ink/427323330680560?fref=ts

Visit their website: http://www.rescueink.org/

For ABUSE or RESCUE CASES - rescue@rescueink.org or call our 24 Hour Hotline 1-855- RSCUINK (772-8465)

Rescue Ink was recently in Washington, DC, spreading awareness to their mission:

Joe Panz and Big Ant are just two of the members of Rescue Ink. They starred in the hit NatGeo reality show that followed their work helping pets on Long Island. They're in town to bring more awareness to their mission as part of this year's Super Pet Expo and stopped by FOX 5.

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The Decline in the Monarch Butterfly Population Now Marks a Statistical Long-Term Trend

Mexico City - The number of monarch butterflies making it to their winter refuge in Mexico dropped 59 percent this year, falling to the lowest level since comparable record-keeping began 20 years ago, scientists reported Wednesday.

It was the third straight year of declines for the orange-and-black butterflies that migrate from the United States and Canada to spend the winter sheltering in mountaintop fir forests in central Mexico. Six of the last seven years have shown drops, and there are now only one-fifteenth as many butterflies as there were in 1997.

The decline in the monarch population now marks a statistical long-term trend and can no longer be seen as a combination of yearly or seasonal events, the experts said.
But they differed on the possible causes.

Illegal logging in the reserve established in the monarch wintering grounds was long thought to contribute, but such logging has been vastly reduced by increased protection, enforcement and alternative development programs in Mexico.

The World Wildlife Fund, one of the groups that sponsored the butterfly census, blamed climate conditions and agricultural practices, especially the use of pesticides that kill off the monarchs' main food source, milkweed. The butterflies breed and live in the north in the summer, and migrate to Mexico in the winter.

"The decrease of monarch butterflies ... probably is due to the negative effects of reduction in milkweed and extreme variation in the United States and Canada," the fund and its partner organizations said in a statement.

Omar Vidal, the World Wildlife Fund director in Mexico, said: "The conservation of the monarch butterfly is a shared responsibility between Mexico, the United States and Canada. By protecting the reserves and having practically eliminated large-scale illegal logging, Mexico has done its part."

"It is now necessary for the United States and Canada to do their part and protect the butterflies' habitat in their territories," Vidal said.

Logging was once considered the main threat to the reserve, located west of Mexico City. At its peak in 2005, logging devastated as many as 1,140 acres (461 hectares) annually in the reserve, which covers 193,000 acres (56,259-hectares). But a 2012 aerial survey showed almost no detectable logging, the first time that logging had not been found in detectable amounts since the mountaintop forests were declared a nature reserve in 2000.

The loss of milkweed in the monarchs' summering areas in the north can make it hard for the butterflies to lay eggs, and for the offspring that do hatch to find enough food to grow to maturity. In addition, unusually hot or dry weather can kill eggs, meaning fewer adult butterflies. For butterflies that reach adulthood, unusual cold, lack of water or tree cover in Mexico can mean they're less likely to survive the winter.

Lincoln Brower, a leading entomologist at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, said in a statement that "the report of the dwindling monarch butterfly winter residence in Mexico is ominous."

"This is not just the lowest population recorded in the 20 years for which we have records," Brower said. "It is the continuation of a statistically significant decrease in the monarch population that began at least a decade ago."

However, Brower differed on whether small-scale logging, the diversion of water resources and other disruptive activity in the reserves in Mexico are playing a role in the decline.

"To blame the low numbers of monarchs solely on what is happening north of Mexico is misleading," Brower said. "Herbiciding of soybean and corn fields that kills milkweed is a serious problem, but the historical decline over the past 19 years has multiple causes."

"All three countries need to face up to the fact that it is our collective activities that are killing the migratory phenomenon of the monarch butterfly," he said.

Homero Aridjis, a writer and environmentalist, said, "The decline in butterflies in the (Mexico) reserve is truly alarming."

Aridjis is from Contepec, a town in Michoacan state where monarchs used to appear in the fall but don't show up anymore. Six other communities in and around the reserve that once had butterflies saw no detectable numbers this year. Aridjis cited a lack of control on tourists, crime in the area and small-scale logging as threats to the reserve.

The head of Mexico's nature reserves, Luis Fueyo, said there are still some problem to be solved at the wintering grounds in Mexico, including some scale-logging and water availability. The monarchs don't drink any water throughout their long migration until the reach Mexico, and the mountain streams in the area have been affected by drought and human use.

The migration is an inherited trait. No butterfly lives to make the round-trip. The millions of monarchs cluster so densely on tree boughs in the reserve that researchers don't count their individual numbers but rather measure the amount of forest they cover.

This winter, the butterflies covered just 2.93 acres (1.19 hectares), down from 7.14 acres (2.89 hectares) last year. (AP)

Take a look at the videos below to see these beautiful butterflies.











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Dog Swallows Over 100 Pennies

New York City, NY - A  cute little Jack Russell Terrier,  appropriately named Jack, swallowed at least $1.11 in change last weekend while his owner, Tim Kelleher, wasn't looking, according to Dr. Amy Zalcman, the senior emergency doctor at BluePearl Veterinary Partners who oversaw Jack's treatment.

Kelleher took Jack to the BluePearl clinic in Manhattan Saturday afternoon after he noticed the pennies were gone and his dog was sick and vomiting.

X-rays performed on the 13-year-old dog immediately showed a collection of pennies inside his body so veterinarians performed an endoscopy, using a camera to locate the pennies.  It took an internal  medicine specialist nearly two hours to remove all of the 111 pennies still left in Jack's system.  The doctor removed them four to five at a time, grabbing them with the scope and placing them in an attached basket, according to Zalcman.

"I would say he's a very lucky dog," she told ABCNews.com.  "First, that we were able to get them all out by scope and not surgery, and that he hasn't had any secondary signs of zinc toxicity."

Owner Kelleher told the New York Daily News his "voracious Tasmanian devil" of a pet was going after a bagel when he got the pennies instead.

"He climbed on my desk to get at the bag with the bagel and knocked the change all over the floor," said Kelleher, who could not be reached today by ABCNews.com.  "While he was licking up the crumbs, he swallowed the pennies."

Zalcman said the zinc pennies could have caused damage to Jack's kidneys, liver and red blood cells and eventually blocked his intestines, especially given the amount that he swallowed.

"We certainly see pennies consumed by dogs but not in this magnitude," she said.  "That's what is so extreme about this case."

Jack's owner said his dog is back to his normal self after the nearly $2,500 procedure, part of which was paid for by Tampa-based Frankie's Friends, an animal charity.

"He's driving me crazy again," Kelleher told the Daily News.



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Diamond Pet Foods Issues Cat Food Recall in 25 States

Diamond Pet Foods issues recall due to low levels of thiamine. Cats fed product long-term could be at risk for thiamine deficiency.

Select Diamond Pet Foods products may have low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1) prompting the voluntary recall of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat Formula dry cat food, Premium Edge Senior Cat Hairball Management Formula dry cat food, Premium Edge Kitten Formula dry cat food, Diamond Naturals Kitten Formula dry cat food and 4health All Life Stages Cat Formula dry cat food. According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) release, cats fed the recalled product exclusively for several weeks may be at risk for developing a thiamine deficiency.

The following production codes have been recalled:

• Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat Formula, 18-pound bags, distributed in Massachusetts with a “Best by” date of July 10, 2013, and production code NGF0703.

• Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat Formula, six-pound bags, distributed in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, with “Best by” dates of Aug. 15, 2013, and Aug. 16, 2013, and production code NGF0802.

• Premium Edge Senior Cat Hairball Management Formula, six-pound and 18-pound bags, distributed in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, with “Best by” dates of Jan. 3, 2014, and Jan. 4, 2014, and production code NGS0101.

• Premium Edge Senior Cat Hairball Management Formula, six-pound and 18-pound bags, distributed in Florida, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, with a “Best by” date of July 10, 2013, and production code NGS0702.

• Premium Edge Kitten Formula, six-ounce samples, six-pound and 18-pound bags, distributed in Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, with “Best by” dates of Sept. 26, 2013, Sept. 29, 2013, Sept. 30, 2013, Oct. 2, 2013, and production code MKT0901.

• Diamond Naturals Kitten Formula, six-ounce sample and six-pound bags, distributed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, with a “Best by” date of Sept. 30, 2013, and production code MKT0901.

• 4health All Life Stages Cat Formula, five-pound and 18-pound bags, distributed in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, with “Best by” dates of Aug. 14, 2013, and Aug. 18, 2013, and production code NGF0802.

At this time, there have been no complaints regarding thiamine levels, or any other health issues, related to these products. However, after tests conducted by the company indicated low levels of thiamine, the FDA says Diamond Pet Foods tested all other Diamond brands for thiamine deficiency to ensure product safety. No other product manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods is involved in this recall.

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