Posts tagged "florida"

Florida Pig and Family May Be Pardoned

by Jo Piazza (Subscribe to Jo Piazza's posts): Nov 26th 2009 6:00PM Filed Under: Pets News

Deanna Dent, South Florida Sun-Sentinel / MCT

The Florida family who was ready to move rather than give up their 300-pound pet pig may not have to pack up and leave after all.

After Rob Falk's family and their Yorkshire pig, Strawberri, made national headlines, their local town council in Southwest Ranches, Fla. decided it will consider changing its law banning all swine except for pot-bellied pigs, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The town had originally told the Falk family that they had until December 1 to find a new home for their pet, or face a fine of $100 per day. The Falks, who rent their home, consider Strawberri a part of the family and were prepared to uproot their lives to keep her. A vote on Strawberri's fate could come as early as January, but hopefully the Falk family and Strawberri will be able to enjoy the holidays at home. Town Councilman Doug McKay will testify before a magistrate to help the family get an extension on their deadline until the council can vote.

McKay said that at least ten other pigs who would be in violation of the code also live in the town so it was unfair to single out the Falks. Town officials responded that they don't typically go around counting swine.

"Strawberri is pretty big, but she's like a big puppy," the Falk's 11-year -old daughter Kai told the Tribune. "This is putting a lot of stress on me and Strawberri.

Family Moves to Keep Pet Pig

by Kirsten Taylor (Subscribe to Kirsten Taylor's posts): Nov 16th 2009 2:00PM Filed Under: Exotic Pets

Deanna Dent, South Florida Sun-Sentinel / MCT

What do you do when your house isn't zoned for keeping pigs? If you're Rob Falk of Southwest Ranches, Florida, the decision is simple: You move.

Last week, city council officials gave Falk and his family 30 days to remove their pet pig, Strawberry, from their home, Fox News reported. But Falk balked at the suggestion.

Falk, his wife and their young daughter plan to leave their rented home -- and they're taking Strawberry with them, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

The town does allow one pet pot-bellied pig per household, according to the Sun Sentinel. But Strawberry is no petite pot-bellied. She's a Yorkshire pig, and at nine months old already weighs 300 pounds. As a full-grown porker, she'll tip the scales at 400 to 500 pounds and sport a seriously big pair of tusks -- attributes that led the town council to vote down the pig.

For Falk, the choice was clear. "How do you tell somebody to get rid of one of their animals? The pig is like one of our children," he told the Sun Sentinel.

Kitten Rescue Operation Takes Two Days

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Oct 8th 2009 3:00PM Filed Under: Cats, Pets News

Photo: Kathy Harrison, The Destin Log

"Your car is meowing."

That's what the note on Patrick Mills's car said when he came out of a movie theater in Destin, Fla. this past Saturday. Little did Mills anticipate a two day long rescue of a month-old kitten that had gotten itself trapped in his cylinder block. Here's how the rescue mission went down as reported by the Destin Log:

First, Mills contacted the professionals anecdotally known for cat rescue: firefighters. Their initial strategy involved disassembling portions of the car to reach the cat and remove it from the vehicle's guts. But the spooked kitten wouldn't surrender to her rescuers. Concerned passersby stopped to try their hands; employees from local restaurants brought tuna and milk to use as bait; but nothing did the trick. By nightfall, the firefighters had given up and the cat was still stuck. Not wanting to risk harming the cat by driving the car, Mills called for a ride home where he contemplated new ways to extract the kitten.

The next day, Mills called the other experts who logically seemed suited to help: auto body shops on the one hand, and veterinarians on the other. No one that he called was of any assistance. But finally, real help came from Tami Baker, who was volunteering in the adoption center at a Petsmart close to Mills's kitten-clutched car. Though at first she was as stumped as everyone else who tried to rescue the kitten, Baker ultimately came up with a solution that was simplicity itself.

She chased the cat out of the car by simply rattling a bent wire hanger in the cylinder block.

The cat, now named Lucky, remains in Baker's care while awaiting adoption. It's an apt name, given the kind cat lovers who were around to ensure her safe extraction.

Source

Boozehound Tosses Jellyfish At Teenagers (Headline Of The Year?)

by Eliot Glazer (Subscribe to Eliot Glazer's posts): Sep 21st 2009 11:00AM Filed Under: Exotic Pets

Photo: Deni_Jones/Flickr

One of these things is not like the other: jellyfish, booze, and a pocketknife.

Okay, so maybe none of them are like the other, but for 41-year-old Keith Edward Marriott, grouping them together seemed like a good idea. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Marriott, who had reportedly been drinking since 9 AM, was pretending to drown beachside before he began throwing jellyfish at nearby teenagers. And while we agree that the combination of sea creatures and booze is a surefire way to take out one's aggression on pesky young'uns, it didn't bode well for Marriot who was later revealed to be carrying a pocketknife in his shorts -- no, we're not being cheeky.

Maybe next time he'll stick to seaweed and ginger ale.

Source

Texas Woman's Missing Dog Turns Up... In Florida?

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Aug 21st 2009 3:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pets News

Photo: Gio Bentiez, CBS4.com

How would you react if you received a phone call informing you that your missing dog or cat had turned up 1,000 miles away from home? You'd feel the obvious relief, tempered with a great deal of confusion about how your plucky pooch or frisky feline could have traveled such a distance.

That's about how Jodi Head of Dallas, Tex. felt this week when a man found Head's beloved Yorkie, Sunshine, in Miami Beach, Fla., reports CBS4 Miami. Club promoter Micha Porat saw Sunshine roaming the streets and brought her to a vet. Luckily, Sunshine was microchipped and quickly traced back to Head, who reunited with her pup on Monday. Head rewarded Porat with $200, though according to the AP, he spent $100 flying Sunshine home to Dallas.

Reportedly, Head can't explain how Sunshine disappeared from Dallas and reappeared in Miami Beach, but according to the Miami Herald, "neighbors recently hosted some Sunshine State visitors," and "that's the only connection she can make" between Sunshine and Miami. Maybe the aptly-named pup was heeding the call of the Sunshine State!

In the meantime, the real lesson here seems to be: Microchip your dog or cat!

Source

Family's Cat Accidentally Euthanized

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Jul 27th 2009 11:59PM Filed Under: Cats, Pets News, Loss of a Pet

Photo: Corbis

In medicine, even a minor problem can lead to complications or malpractices that result in the unexpected death of a loved one. We are, at least on some level, conditioned for the possibility. But we don't expect to bring an animal companion to a vet for something fairly routine and then find our pet unnecessarily and accidentally put down. But according to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, Maria Velez and her young son lived that very nightmare when their cat, Buddy, was euthanized by a local animal shelter after a paperwork mix-up.

The unfortunate sequence of events that ended with Buddy's untimely death began when Velez asked a friend, Debra Yarzab, to look after Buddy while she was out of town. Yarzab agreed and went to Velez's house each day to feed and play with the lonesome but friendly cat. During one of these visits, Buddy bit Yarzab. She ignored it as a non-incident, but a few days later the bite wound had swelled, sending her to the doctor.

By this time, Velez had returned home. Because Buddy hadn't been vaccinated and his bite required medical attention, the health department ordered Velez to bring him to Hernando County Animal Services for quarantine pending testing for rabies. The tests eventually showed that Buddy was disease free, and he was cleared to go home.

Normally, this is where the story ends.

Source

Pet Python Kills Two-Year-Old Child

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Jul 7th 2009 10:00AM Filed Under: Exotic Pets, Reptiles, Pets News

Photo: Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr

A pet albino Burmese python strangled to death a two-year-old girl in her Oxford, FL. home last week. After the python's owner, Charles Darnell, awoke to find the snake's terrarium empty, he immediately ran to his girlfriend's daughter's crib to find the 8-foot python wrapped around the child. He stabbed the snake in an attempt to pry it from the girl while others dialed 911. Unfortunately, the girl was already dead when emergency crews arrived at the scene. The snake apparently had escaped and attacked the child during the night.

Darnell did not have a permit for his pet python as dictated by Florida law for all pets classified as "Reptiles of Concern" by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), nor was the pet housed under lock-and-key conditions as required. The necessary permit entails an annual $100 fee and an application that demonstrates the applicant understands the requirements for care of a Reptile of Concern. Darnell may face charges for child endangerment as well as FWC violations.

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Camouflage Animals

Madagascar Day Gecko
The green Madagascar Day Gecko lives in the dry regions of forests in Madagascar and neighboring islands. They usually grow to be between four to six inches long. Their tail makes up almost half of their length.

Getty Images

Camouflage Animals

Argentine Horned Frog Reptiles
The Argentine Horned Frog, also known as the Horned Frog or Pacman Frog, originated in South America. The green and black amphibian, which can grow up to six inches long, is a popular pets and can live for as long as 10 years.

Camouflage Animals

Walkingstick
The Walkingstick takes its camouflage abilities to the next level by creating the appearance of a stick or twig to hide from predators. While they normally stand still, these insects are able to walk around as though they were a twig caught in the wind. They can be found in tropical forests or woodlands all across the world.

Camouflage Animals

Dwarf Puff Adder
Found in Nambia, the venomous Dwarf Puff Adder hides from the hot desert sun by burying itself in the sand, where only its eyes show.

Camouflage Animals

Stonefish
Often resembling a rock, the brown colored Stonefish camouflages itself perfectly in the ocean. With 13 venomous dorsal spines on its back, the Stonefish can cause tissue damage and respiratory distress, which can lead to cardiovascular shock if left untreated.

Camouflage Animals

Chameleons
Chameleons, the quintessential color-changers, can transform their skin color when their mood, temperature or the amount of light around them is altered. Their hue, which can vary from yellow and pink to brown and black, is also altered when they communicate.

Camouflage Animals

Green Anole
Often confused with chameleons, Green Anoles turn brown when they're stressed or sick. Found in the trees and shrubs of the Southeastern United States, these lizards are popular pets.

Camouflage Animals

The Eastern Wood Frog
The Eastern Wood Frog tricks competitors by changing colors to match its surroundings. Found in North American woodlands, the frog also has a dark black patch from its eye to the base of its front limb that can change colors.

Camouflage Animals