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. Due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, the winner will be announced on WCLV Tuesday, May 31 at 7:20 a.m. EDT and posted here. The contenders:
- In the German town of Walldorf, pet owners have been ordered to keep their cats indoors from April through August to protect the endangered crested lark. The bird nests on the ground during its April through August breeding season. Those who ignore the rule could face a $500+ fine, and if a cat kills a crested lark, the fine can be up to $53,000;
- Charlotte, an Australian Huntsman spider, who has lived with an Australian family for the past year. Charlotte was discovered in the home, and the father was happy to let Charlotte, who was named by his children, co-habitate with the family. Hunstman spiders are known to grow to six inches across, but they rarely bite – they use speed to escape predators;
- Bunny, an adopted pit bull mix dog that helped her Canton, Ohio, owner summon help when he suffered a stroke;
- Students at a Conrad, Mont. High school, who played a senior prank on the principal by riding their horses to school. An old Montana law provides that if a student rides a horse to school, the principal must feed and tend to the horse throughout the day;
- Randy, a bearded dragon from Massachusetts who made an emergency trip to the veterinarian when he got his head stuck inside a toy pineapple – the undersea home of Sponge Bob Square Pants. He came out fine but doctors had to break the pineapple in order to free Randy’s head.