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Dog finalists are Jackson and Gretel; Cat finalists are Lori and Jonas.

We've had hundreds of thousands of votes in the three rounds of Paw Nation's Battle of the Cutest Pets and we are coming down to the wire. The voting ends Friday, July 30th and we will be announcing the cutest of the cute at 3 p.m. EDT. If you haven't voted for any of the adorable finalists above, go here to select your favorites among Jackson, Gretel, Lori and Jonas.

Be sure to come back Friday afternoon to discover which dog and cat are going home with the Grand Prizes. Each winner receives a trip to a pet friendly destination (go here for all the great prize details and rules) and semi-finalists receive a pair of movie tickets to go to a hot summer flick (perhaps "Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore").




Here at Paw Nation, we know that every pet has a story, and it's usually a story their owners just love to tell. So we decided to hit the streets to ask pets (and their owners) about everything from how they were adopted to what was the naughtiest thing they've ever done. It's our weekly series, "Pet On the Street."

This week we're in Los Angeles, movie star capital of the world, to ask pet owners which celeb reminds them the most of their dog.





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dalmatianAnna Westhoff

Each week, Ben Westhoff shares the ups and downs of owning Pippi, the dalmatian mix he and his wife Anna adopted as a puppy in late 2009, and the first dog Ben's ever had.

Anna wrote this week's column.

It was mid-winter when we adopted Pippi. From the very beginning, I checked her ears dutifully to be sure they were clean and clear, and in those months rarely found any wax or residue. When I did, I swabbed them gently with a white-vinegar solution, and after that, she was always good to go. Her ears never bothered her.

In the past few weeks, however, temperatures and humidity levels in northern New Jersey have reached a sultry plateau, and Pippi's floppy ears have become a smudgy mess.

I first noticed that she was flapping them excessively after her backyard romp on the Slip 'N Slide with our nephew. I thought some water might have gotten into her ears, but to my dismay I found a dark, waxy buildup all around the opening of her ear canal.

For a couple of days I tried wiping them clean with soft paper towels, but the buildup seemed to reappear -- even multiply -- almost right away. Stumped, I searched the Internet and found a pair of products called Vet's Best Ear Relief Wash and Vet's Best Ear Relief Dry. The former is supposed to break up the wax and soothe the skin inside dogs' ears, while the latter prevents the recurrence of buildup by keeping the inside of the canal dry and pH balanced.


Dave Parsons, Denver Zoo

The Denver Zoo welcomed its first baby orangutan in a quarter century on June 19. However, the little one's first few weeks have been anything but smooth sailing.

Just 11 days after birth, Hesty had to be placed in an incubator by the zoo's primate care team. The baby hadn't been nursing, according to the Denver Zoo, and even though the staff had been doing all they could to get Hesty nursing on her own, they found her nearly unresponsive and severely dehydrated on July 1. At that point, they knew the best thing for the baby was to put her in an incubator near her mother's quarters so they could still see each other while Hesty received the care she needed.

Hesty almost doubled her weight over the next 18 days under the zoo staff's careful eye, while her mother watched closely from her enclosure. Hesty was reunited with her mom on July 19. She still didn't know how to nurse, however, so the staff sedated her mother and trained Hesty on the basics of nursing. She seems to have it down pat these days, but the staff is still monitoring the baby 24 hours a day, and are ready with formula just in case. To see an adorable video of Hesty and her mom, go here.

On the off chance that little Hesty doesn't bring enough cute to the table for you, check out the adorable animals in the gallery below!





betty whiteGetty Images

Betty White Creates Charitable Clothing Line
This octogenarian isn't only "Hot in Cleveland." She's hot everywhere! In news that won't surprise any of White's fans, she's found yet another way to use her fame to help animals; this time via the medium of fashion. White is launching a line t-shirts and hoodies with her face and name, reports WWD. A portion of the profits will benefit one of the actress's favorite organizations: the Morris Animal Foundation.

Iams Prescription Cat Food Recall
Proctor & Gamble is recalling two lots of Iams prescription cat food due to salmonella concerns, reports the New York Times. The recall includes Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal in 5.5-pound sizes. According to the Iams recall notice: "Consumers who have purchased dry cat food with these codes should discard it. People handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product." If you're concerned about your health or you pet's health, seek medical advice. For more information including affected lot numbers and UPC codes, go here.

Escaped Tiger in South Africa Has Been Found
What do you do when your pet runs away? If you're Rose Fernandes, and your pet is a tiger, you go on a local radio show and tell people to treat it like a dog. At least, that's what she did when her 310-pound, 17-month-old tiger, Panjo, escaped his enclosure on the way to the vet in South Africa, reports Reuters Africa. Police employed helicopters and microlight aircraft to search for the big cat, which was finally found at a farm, scared and stressed but happy to hear his owner's voice, reports BBC News. While the tiger was on the lam, Fernandes suggested that anybody catching sight of Panjo hold a big stick and loudly say, "No." Also, feeding him meat, particularly chicken, will have him purring like a pussycat in no time. Good to know in case he makes another Houdini-like escape!

Drug-Sniffing Dogs Now Sniffing Out Cell Phones
Finding narcotics is great, but drug-sniffing dogs in Tennessee are adding another skill to their olfactory arsenal: cell-phone sniffing. Prison inmates breaking the law from behind bars via cell has become a major problem, the Tennessean reports, and the Tennessee Department of Corrections hopes that training three dogs to sniff out phones will help them eliminate the problem.





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