The DogChannel Newswire (05-20-08)

Trained Dogs Offer Sniff of a Chance for Quake Survivors
As time runs out for survivors of China’s devastating earthquake, rescue workers are pinning their hopes on dogs to guide men and machines to trapped people. In Dujiangyan, a rescue team with seven dogs from Shandong province has soldiered on for almost 80 straight hours since last Tuesday and almost scoured the entire city, China View reports.
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Tale of Stolen Dog Gets a Happy Ending
One week after a thief snatched an 8-year-old boy's beloved pet Yorkshire Terrier off the street, detectives reunited the bubbly canine with his family Sunday evening. The pup, Joci, suffering from a patchwork haircut and shave, was found Sunday afternoon at a home in Norwalk, Calif., the (Long Beach, Calif.) Press-Telegram reports.
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Pet Sterilization Laws Raise Health Concerns
As legislators push for more mandatory spay and neuter laws for pets as young as four and six months in hopes of reducing the number of unwanted animals, critics are crying foul over research showing that such surgeries may raise certain health risks in dogs and therefore shouldn’t be required, MSNBC reports.
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Police Say 14-Year-Old Girl Killed Two Dogs Over Bad Grades
The incident erupted Sunday afternoon when the parents reportedly told the 14-year-old girl they weren't happy with her grades. When the parents left the girl home Sunday evening, the teenager apparently fed her sister's medications to a Yorkshire Terrier and a larger dog, police said. The dogs died later at an emergency pet clinic, the Orange County (Calif.) Register reports.
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Behavior Test Used to Cull Shelter Dogs
Former workers and volunteers at a Galveston County, Texas, pet shelter say hundreds of dogs and cats have been euthanized because they failed to pass a new temperament test imposed by the manager, who wouldn’t say how many animals the shelter has euthanized since it began temperament testing, the Houston Chronicle reports.
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