Results tagged “puppies”

Coney Island freak show operator John Strong is entitled to $4,000 cash, but not a five-legged puppy, according to television judge Jeanine Pirro. Strong sued Calvin Owensby, an unemployed North Carolina electrician, whom Strong claimed agreed to sell him the puppy. Strong runs a freak show in New York that displays disfigured animals. He says that he sent Owensby $1,000, and would give him another $2,000 when he took delivery of the dog. "I didn't know it was a freak show," Owensby told Pirro. "He said it was an amazing animal show." Owensby says that he was told it was an amazing animals show, but that when word got out that he had sold the Chihuahua-Terrier mix to Strong he started to get threatening phone calls. The drama culminated when a woman Allyson Siegel of Charlotte, N.C. offered to buy the dog for $4,000. She had the fifth leg removed, and Owensby returned the money.

As it doesn't take an advanced degree to get two dogs to mate, the industry is rife with "backyard breeders" looking to make a buck, while having no idea what they are doing. Often times the dogs are overbred and inbred, overcrowded, neglected, and spend their days in filthy cages. Puppy mill owners have no respect for the animals beyond them being a profit center, and once that usefulness is gone the dogs are euthanized. So if you have to have a purebred pooch, please go to a reputable breeder. Or even better, as regular Chicagoist readers know, we're big fans of adoption.

Humanity could learn a lot from this video...

With all the bad news of late, we felt some feel-good puppy news was in order. Max the Maltese was reported missing from Brandon, Florida several months ago -- the dog's owner assumed that Max had been stolen. Well, thanks to some good fortune, Max has been found -- here in Chicago. Animal control workers picked up the pooch and identified him from an implanted microchip (an important lesson to chip your pets, people), and a Maltese rescue organization in Racine, Wisconsin is in the process of reuniting Max with his family.

The Wisconsin Humane Society had a near-record number of adoptions over the weekend, following its announcement that the animal welfare organization had purchased and closed down the Puppy Haven Kennel in Markesan, WI, rescuing over 1,000 puppies. "We're confident we can provide these animals with a loving family for the rest of their lives," says Jill DeGrave, Education Director of the Wisconsin Humane Society.

With temperatures expected to be in the seventies this weekend, Sunday is going to be a great day to adopt a new best friend.

Whatever blues we were singing have been completely cured by this adorable puppy. In a sweater. Good lord, our hearts just exploded. Thanks, Bowl Rider.

We know winter can be a bummer. And sometimes ... it can be more than a bummer. Chicagoist heartily endorses getting some therapy — help helps, cupcakes — but we know $150 per session can be prohibitive. Luckily, there are other options.