Please vote for one of the following Pet News of the Week candidates by (1) sending an e-mail to jgerber@ideastream.org or (2) calling the WCLV Contest Line at 1-800-343-WCLV (9258) and leaving a message. The winner will be announced on WCLV Monday, May 2 at 7:20 a.m. EDT and posted here. The Contenders:
- An animal park in Bavaria that named one of its wild boars “Putin” years ago due to its Russian genetic heritage, recently re-named the 441-lb. animal for a German literary character in a ceremony that included a marzipan-and-cookie cake decorated with five pink smiling pigs;
- The governor of Maryland recently signed a bill into law recently making Maryland the second U. S. state to ban the declawing of cats;
- An established “escape artist,” 3-year-old dog, Tobie, escaped onto the roof of its Montclair, N.J. home by squeezing between a window air conditioner and a window frame and had to be rescued;
- The city of Charleston, Ind., announced a loose chicken dubbed “Charleston’s Most Wanted” has been safely apprehended after several days on the lam. “Chicken Sue” will be held “for a period of time” to give her owner the chance to come forward before the hen is rehomed;
- Authorities in Colorado said a suspected pack of wolves caught on camera in unclear footage this week turned out to be five St. Bernard dogs, also well-known escape artists, from a home that has 10 dogs. The owner is being cited by the local animal control office for permitting dogs to run at large.