Oregon.

Good news for Scooter Givens of Hillsboro, Ore. -- the 10-year-old autistic boy no longer has to leave his service dog, Madison, at home when he goes to school. After a three-year battle with the Givens family, Hillsboro School District officials have decided to allow Scooter to bring Madison to class at Patterson Elementary for a trial period. According to KATU Hillsboro, the debate over this pup hinged on whether Madison was, in fact, a "service dog" or a "therapy dog." Though the distinction may seem minor from the outside looking in, the service dog factor is apparently no small issue in the eyes of the law. Though service dogs are covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act, ...

Her legs may only be a few inches long, but Missy the dachshund proved that she can run like the wind -- when she has to. Her owner Charlie Burdon, who had recently had heart surgery, collapsed inside his Oregon home last week. Missy, who was in the yard, immediately sensed something was awry, ABC2 news in Baltimore, Md. reports. Normally, the 11-year-old dachshund never leaves her yard unless Burdon is with her. But this time, she sprinted across the street to the home of neighbor Charles Mitchell, who was working outside. Mitchell told Missy to head home, but the loyal pooch refused to budge. Finally, he began following the little dog. "Missy was right in front of me, letting me know ...

"I'll wait here. Don't forget the biscuits!" Photo: alui0000/Flickr Portland, Oregon, is a dog-crazy town. "It's more dog-friendly than any place I've ever lived," Andrea Schneider told Paw Nation. Schneider should know. She's a resident of Portland's hip Pearl District and founder of a Portland social networking site for dog owners, pdxdog.com. This year, as Paw Nation reported, Portland made Rent.com's top-ten list of pet-friendly cities. But the hip hub of the Pacific Northwest might get a little less dog-crazy, reports the New York Times. In the last year, the Oregon Agriculture Department has gotten 600 complaints about pets traipsing through food stores. In response, the NY Times ...

Bunnies are cute. But worth going to jail for? Photo: notsogoodphotography/Flickr What's up, Doc? This lady needs help! She's got a bunny obsession that just won't quit. In 2007, 47-year-old Miriam Sakewitz of Oregon was arrested for housing over 250 rabbits in squalid conditions. She was convicted and forbidden to own any animals for five years, reports Breitbart.com. Sakewitz's compulsion is so strong that while awaiting sentencing, she broke into a holding area to try to get at her rabbits. And just three days after the plea deal, police busted her with a rabbit and jailed her for three days. This week, Sakewitz did it again. She barricaded herself in a hotel room with over a dozen ...