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HANOVER, Pa. (AP) -- A mail carrier was trapped inside her car for nearly two hours at a home near Hanover after a pair of dogs attacked her tires, flattening three of them. Robin Barton had to summon help by cell phone on Wednesday. When the police arrived, the dogs attacked the cruiser's tire as well. Authorities were preparing to tranquilize the dogs Judge and Justice, a Rottweiler and a pit-bull mix, before the surprised and apologetic homeowner arrived. Stephanie Dekelbaum, the dogs' owner, called them "generally sweethearts" and blamed the attack on a tire toy the dogs had recently been given.

BERLIN (AP) -- Police dogs in the western city of Duesseldorf will no longer get their feet dirty when on patrol - the entire dog unit will soon be equipped with blue plastic fiber shoes, a police spokesman said Monday. "All 20 of our police dogs - German and Belgian shepherds - are currently being trained to walk in these shoes," Andre Hartwich said. "I'm not sure they like it, but they'll have to get used to it." The unusual footwear is not a fashion statement, Hartwich said, but rather a necessity due to the high rate of paw injuries on duty. Especially in the city's historical old town - famous for both its pubs and drunken revelers - the dogs often step into broken beer bottles. A police dog with foot protection is seen in this undated photo provided by police in Duesseldorf, western Germany, on Monday Feb. 25, 2008. Police dogs in the western German city of Duesseldorf will no longer get their feet dirty when on patrol: The entire dog unit will soo...

AZUSA, Calif. (AP) -- Doggone it, my truck's gone! Police said Charles McCowan parked his pickup in front of a mini-mart Wednesday, leaving his 80-pound Boxer named Max in the passenger seat. When he came out, the truck and Max were gone. McCowan called police, assuming the truck had been stolen. When officers arrived, they found the pickup across the street in a fast-food parking lot but had no idea how it got there. In security video shown Thursday on KCAL-TV, the truck can be seen rolling backward out of the store lot and across the street, threading its way through traffic and out of view. Police said that after McCowan left the truck, Max knocked the vehicle out of gear and sent it rolling backward. Both Max and the truck emerged without a scratch.

HOWELL, Mich. (AP) -- He's donated blood 20 times and is being honored by the Livingston County chapter of the American Red Cross. Not bad for a 200-pound, 2-year-old English mastiff who answers to the name Lurch. He'll receive the chapter's "Pet's Best Friend" award at an event here Thursday. "We're doing something different this year," executive director Diane Serra said. "We're honoring Lurch because he's actually donated blood." Lurch's owner, Joni Melvin-Thiede, said Lurch donates blood for other canines about once every four weeks. His blood has helped dozens, including saving one dog who got into some rat poison. "You really don't end up knowing which dogs he helps, but his little picture goes on each bag so the person that gets it will actually know it." Besides being cooperative with nurses, Lurch is also friendly with his housemates: four pugs, seven cats and the occasional litter of kittens. There...

Dickheads of the Year My picks for the biggest assholes of 2007 by Bill Maher

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A sheriff's deputy who was videotaped dumping a paralyzed man from a wheelchair onto a jailhouse floor has been charged with abuse of a disabled person, a sheriff's official said Friday. Surveillance footage from Jan. 29 shows Hillsborough County deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, dumping Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair and searching him on the floor after he was brought in on a warrant after a traffic violation. Sterner, 32, said when he was taken into a booking room and told to stand up, Jones grew agitated when he told her that he could not. Marshall-Jones was suspended without pay, and three other deputies were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Marshall-Jones is charged with abuse of a disabled person, a third-degree felony, said Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee. If convicted, she could be sent to prison for five years. Gee said Marshall-Jones was aware of the warrant for her arrest, but that he didn't know when she ...

NEW YORK (AP) -- While the real canines were cavorting across town at the annual Westminster Kennel Club show, a group of dog paintings, statues, fancy collars and other items fetched a total of $700,000 at an auction house. Leading the way was the $66,000 paid for a 19th-century John Emms oil painting of foxhounds and a terrier resting on a straw-covered bench. Two other paintings went for $57,000 each: One, titled "Winter Fireside," was by Arthur Wardle; the other, "The First of October," by James Hardy Jr., showed three hounds after a hunt. This photo of a 19th century painting entitled "Foxhounds and a Hunt Terrier on a Bench," by John Emms was released in New York by Bonhams Auction house, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008. The painting sold for $66,000 as part of Bonham's 26th sale of dog-related items in New York. Tuesday's auction was the 26th sale of dog-related items by Bonhams, a company founded in London in 1793. "We're encouraged by the ...

WINONA, Minn. (AP) -- Bella, a 3-year-old golden retriever/collie mix who was once rescued as an abused puppy, returned the favor to her owners by alerting them to a house fire. With help from Maddie, a 6-month-old golden retriever, Bella helped get Sue Feuling and her 9-year-old daughter, Mckenzie, out of the house last week. The dogs didn't make it. "Those dogs were without a doubt the heroes," said Winona Assistant Fire Chief Jim Multhaup. Bella had jumped on Feuling's bed early Friday morning and started barking, and Feuling then smelled smoke, grabbed her daughter and rushed out of the house. But Feuling couldn't coax the dogs out of the house, even when she tried to run back in to yell for them. "Bella must have thought Mckenzie was still in the house," Feuling said. A firefighter who arrived at the scene tried to save the dogs, but it was too late. The Feulings were taken to an area hospital for smoke inhalation monitoring, but were OK, Multhaup s...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Barking and baying, a precocious beagle called Uno took his first winning steps at Westminster. Uno easily took the best of breed Monday at America's No. 1 dog show, bounding around the ring and trying to grab the lead out of handler Aaron Wilkerson's hand. "Snoopy would be proud," Wilkerson said. A perfectly trimmed toy poodle, a top Sealyham terrier and prize-winning Akita were among the 2,627 entries. The dogs came in 169 breeds and varieties, and there were four newly sanctioned types - the Tibetan mastiff, Beauceron, Swedish vallhund and Plott. Tri-colored and nearly 3, Uno moved into Monday night's judging in the hound group. While best in show will be presented Tuesday night, the playful 15-inch beagle certainly earned one title at Madison Square Garden: noisiest in show. Uno sounded off every chance he got and clearly became the early crowd favorite, wagging his white-tipped tail and taking a flying leap at one of Wilkerson's cooked po...

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities say a Labrador retriever named Jet really can fly. The 65-pound dog survived a six story leap from a Tampa airport parking garage and lived. Police and Jet's owners and vet say the 2-year old dog accidentally leaped over a parking garage railing on New Year's Eve and walked away from the landing - 60 to 80 feet below. Jet spent the night at a vet's office with a collapsed lung and some cuts and bruises. But by the next day, the dog was getting antsy again. His owners are Clayton and Jessica Tieman of Largo. They named Jet for the sheen of his black fur, not for any flying abilities. They say their next dog will get a more earthly name, perhaps Scooter. --- Information from: The Tampa Tribune, http://www.tampatrib.com

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ALICE, Texas (AP) -- A small-town mayor accused of secretly keeping her neighbors' dog after telling them the pet died has resigned, and a judge is set to decide custody of the Shih Tzu. Grace Saenz-Lopez apologized Friday to Alice residents and said she believed her actions were in the dog's best interest. "I am sorry for the division that the events of these last few weeks have caused," Saenz-Lopez wrote in her resignation letter. "It was never my intention to bring any negative exposure to our city." A custody hearing Monday is expected to decide who gets Puddles, who Saenz-Lopez renamed "Panchito" after taking the dog last summer. A neighboring family accuses Saenz-Lopez of refusing to return the dog after leaving it in her care while they went on vacation. A day after her neighbors left, Saenz-Lopez called to tell them Puddles had died. Three months later, a relative of the neighbors saw the pet at a dog groomer. When Saenz-Lopez refused to re...