He’s mostly just a pile of wrinkles,
this canine heap of folds and crinkles;
a Size M skin would fit him well,
instead he’s wearing X-X-L.

The Bard of Sherman Avenue (Wikipedia photo)

Correction: Wild dogs attack Rottweiler in Wallace/Mike Perry, KHQ

Domestic dogs were attacked by four wolves around 6 p.m. Wednesday night on the 600 block of Burke Road, just outside Wallace. One dog died and another sustained a facial bite, said Shoshone County Sheriff Mitch Alexander, and there were many wolf tracks in the area. A neighbor reported the dog that died was a Rottweiler. Idaho Fish and Game notified residents in the area and informed them that it is legal to shoot the wolf pack. Calls made to Idaho Fish and Game official Josh Stanley about the attack weren't returned. Mullan resident Barry Sadler didn't just have his dogs attacked by wolves a few years ago - they chased his daughter into the front door and came right up on his porch. Sadler shot and killed one of the offending wolves/Kelsey Saintz, Hagadone News Network. More here.

Question: Do you still think Br'er Wolf is harmless?

Spokane sheriff’s deputies have arrested a 19-year-old man who allegedly killed his mother’s dogs and held his mother and grandmother hostage with a butcher knife after his mom refused to give him money.The incident happened Monday night along Deer Creek Road in Chattaroy. Deputies said the teen, Michael Shartle, was holding his mother and grandmother hostage in their own home. Shartle doesn’t have a job, and relatives said he “mooches” money off of them for the things he needs/Jeff Humphrey, KXLY. More here. And: Meghann Cuniff’s Sirens & Gavels story here.

Question: Am I the only Huckleberry who shakes his head sadly after reading a story like this?

Statistically,http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2010/10/13/mug-stevecrump.jpg a Republican is far more likely to be a dog owner than a Democrat. As a political independent, I take strong exception. None of my dogs — and I have three — has ever voted for a Republican. I know because Ichecked their paw prints. Yet according to the BBC, 33 percent of American dog owners identify themselves as Republican, whereas only 28 percent of cat owners lean to the right. This is a slander and canard, related to the fact that cat owners are perceived as being smarter than dog owners/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.

Question: Does this finding fit your situation? Are you a Republican who owns a dog? Or A Democrat who owns a cat? Who does your pet support in the 1st Congressional District race?

Moscow dog owners love their animals and seem to enjoy showing them off any chance they get. Some owners take their dogs, no matter how small or large, to public gatherings. This has become a bone of contention - no pun intended - with some attendees of the Moscow Farmers Market. Arguments against dogs at the market make sense, as did the banning of dogs at the recently held Moscow Renaissance Fair. There is little demonstrable benefit to taking dogs to an event attended by hundreds of people. Some people don’t like dogs and some are downright afraid of them. Those folks are entitled to the same market access as others and should reasonably expect not to be scared by an animal/Murf Raquet, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.

Question: If you were ruler of the universe, would you ban dogs from public gatherings, like a farmers market, or 4th of July Parade, or Car d’Lane?