THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — An eastern Idaho veterinarian has set up a program where dogs can become blood donors for injured or ill canines.

“We’re ready to move to the next level of veterinary medicine,” Adam Petersen, a veterinarian with the Ammon Vet Clinic, told the Post Register. “We’re not using the same surgical techniques we used 10 and 20 years ago, so why would this be any different? This is the highest level of transfusion medicine available.” (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MARATHON, Fla. — The turtles at this waterfront hospital have been hit by boat propellers, caught in fishing nets, attacked by sharks, stricken with tumors and lost flippers.

Or, as their veterinarian puts it, they’ve had a heck of a lot of luck.

Most injured turtles are never spotted and die at sea. The fortunate ones are brought to The Turtle Hospital — a converted strip club where workers graft the waterproof fabric Gore-Tex to patch badly injured shells and find other innovative ways to save lives. On this particular day, a 13-pound green sea turtle named Fin is being treated for a potentially debilitating tumor. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Big Footsie, head library cat at the Arkansas School for the Blind and ambassador for Feline Rescue and Rehome, has died at the age of 8 1/2.

Librarian Susan Loesch, 62, of Little Rock, rescued Big Footsie from Little Rock Animal Services in spring 2001. The solid-black kitten was past his “kill date,” but had been spared, Loesch thinks, because of his unusually big feet. Big Footsie, who died Wednesday, was so named because he was a polydactyl cat with 22 toes instead of 18. (more…)

THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

Mouse is going to hate the July 4th weekend.

It’s nothing personal against Independence Day, a national holiday that calls for barbecues, parades and stock-car racing. It’s the dreaded fireworks that will worry Mouse, causing him to drool, pant, not eat and try to hide his massive head. Mouse — a 6-month-old, 75-pound English mastiff who is scared of loud noises such as thunder and airplanes — isn’t alone.

Many of our furry friends despise July Fourth, not understanding that all the screaming, brilliant and booming explosions are all in fun. Some pets run away. Some chew the couch. Some urinate in the bedroom. And others shiver and hide in the closet. (more…)

THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

MOUNTAIN HOME — Two Humane Society workers trapped 91 feral cats in and around an elderly man’s mobile home in Baxter County this week and expect to find several more on the property.

Nearly all of the cats were in such poor physical condition that they had to be euthanized, said Robby Lockeby, shelter manager for the Humane Society of North Central Arkansas. (more…)