Animal Shelter

MILTON - An animal shelter here received an early Christmas present when a local charity gave it a $1 million grant. The Milton Animal League announced at the town's Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday night that the Copeland Family Foundation granted it $1 million to build a new shelter at its current Governor Stoughton Lane location. The foundation is a private, not-for-profit group based in Milton that has made large donations to the town over the last 30 years.

The New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter has gone green. The shelter on Portsmouth Avenue has been refitted to improve its insulation and convert from oil heat to wood-pellet boilers and solar thermal collectors. The improvements are expected to save the facility $50,000 annually. The work was funded in part by a $13,000 rebate from the utility company Unitil, and $11,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Tom Long

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The city's animal control officer and four employees have been fired, following the exposure of some 50 people to a rabies-infected raccoon at a city-run animal shelter. City Manager William Fazioli announced the firings Friday, citing the employees' "willful failure" to protect visitors and animals from the rabid raccoon. The firings followed a three-week police investigation into how and why the raccoon and five others were illegally housed at the shelter, where they were petted and touched by more than 50 people.

Now that spring has arrived in New England it's not just plants that are popping up. It's kitten season. Because of the warm weather, cats are having litters of kittens and filling up animal shelters, which are looking to find them homes. Marianne Gasbarro, manager of the Animal Care and Adoption Center with the Animal Rescue League of Boston, said this is the busiest time of year for the organization. Between May and October roughly 1,000 kittens will go through the system, she said.

A mechanic was the one doing the surgery at an Ohio animal facility when a woman drove in with a cat stuck behind her minivan's dashboard. WBNS-TV reports ( http://bit.ly/nXgnpB) the mechanic had to take apart the dash during a three-hour rescue operation Thursday in the Columbus suburb of Hilliard. Driver Nehal Dhruve (NAY'-hahl DROOV) says she hit the cat with her van and decided to take it to the local humane society. The brown and black cat wouldn't stay on the van's seat but instead hopped down and climbed up under the dashboard.

A Cape Cod woman who bought two rats so they wouldn't be eaten by snakes at a pet store found her hands full when they went forth and multiplied over the next three months. The woman on Thursday surrendered 71 of the rodents to the MSPCA-Angell Adoption Center in Boston, the MSPCA said in a statement. The rats, which appear to be young and in good health, are undergoing veterinary exams and then will go up for adoption, the MSPCA said. "Initial analysis of these rats leads me to believe that they're mostly healthy, despite the owner's inability...

The Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts will hold a winter book sale on Feb. 11 and 12 at the animal shelter, at 1300 West Elm St. Extension. A large selection of books for all ages will be offered at bargain prices. Book donations for the sale can be made until Feb. 5. Proceeds will help defray costs of caring for homeless animals. - Christine Legere

The Board of Health is holding a rabies clinic March 31, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at the town's highway department barn, 8 Montgomery St. Dogs will be taken from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and cats from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $10 per animal. Dogs and cats must be at least 3 months old. Dogs must be leashed and cats must be in carriers. The town clerk will be available as well for dog licensing, and the animal shelter will be open for adoptions. - Paul Kandarian

A Maine animal shelter is suddenly swamped with cats. In a 48-hour period this week, more than 50 were surrendered at the Bangor Humane Society. The organization now has 250 cats in its care — 100 of them are in foster care, not at the shelter. Stacey Coventry, Humane Society spokeswoman, tells the Bangor Daily News ( http://bit.ly/oWubQE) summer is always busy for shelters because many cats have litters. Too, the tough economy has made it hard for owners to care for their pets or pay for spaying.

Because of financial losses and an effort to reallocate resources, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will close its Angell facility on Nantucket in December, officials said. "Based on the number of animals seen and treated at the facility versus the amount of money the organization has spent to maintain the building and staff, it's clear that the right decision for the organization is to close the hospital," said Carter Luke, president and chief executive officer of the MSPCA-Angell.

Re "A new leash on life: Concord bird lover's proposal has cat owners fit to be tied" (Page A1, April 25): I've never owned a cat. However, having had dogs all my life, I can safely say that if my dog were going into a neighbor's yard and killing animals there — small or otherwise —­ then the neighbor would certainly have a right to be upset. Yet someone had a cat that was prowling the neighborhood and killing birds in other people's yards, that person might say the cat was just being a cat. Responsible cat owners keep their cats inside, where they will not be eaten by a...

The Board of Health is holding a rabies clinic March 31, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at the town's highway department barn, 8 Montgomery St. Dogs will be taken from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and cats from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $10 per animal. Dogs and cats must be at least 3 months old. Dogs must be leashed and cats must be in carriers. The town clerk will be available as well for dog licensing, and the animal shelter will be open for adoptions. - Paul Kandarian

A Cape Cod woman who bought two rats so they wouldn't be eaten by snakes at a pet store found her hands full when they went forth and multiplied over the next three months. The woman on Thursday surrendered 71 of the rodents to the MSPCA-Angell Adoption Center in Boston, the MSPCA said in a statement. The rats, which appear to be young and in good health, are undergoing veterinary exams and then will go up for adoption, the MSPCA said. "Initial analysis of these rats leads me to believe that they're mostly healthy, despite the owner's inability...

Helping Hands for the Plymouth Animal Shelter has donated nine wooden dog houses to the town's shelter in Cedarville, which will protect the animals when they are outdoors in their runs. The group also paid to have a section of broken fence at the shelter repaired. Helping Hands for the Plymouth Shelter is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for the daily care and treatment of animals at the Cedarville shelter, where homeless and abandoned dogs and cats are kept. Anyone interested in adopting a pet or supporting the shelter can call 508-273-3472.

The Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts will hold a winter book sale on Feb. 11 and 12 at the animal shelter, at 1300 West Elm St. Extension. A large selection of books for all ages will be offered at bargain prices. Book donations for the sale can be made until Feb. 5. Proceeds will help defray costs of caring for homeless animals. - Christine Legere

MILTON - An animal shelter here received an early Christmas present when a local charity gave it a $1 million grant. The Milton Animal League announced at the town's Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday night that the Copeland Family Foundation granted it $1 million to build a new shelter at its current Governor Stoughton Lane location. The foundation is a private, not-for-profit group based in Milton that has made large donations to the town over the last 30 years.

SPOKANE, Wash. - The mysterious mewing in Vickie Mendenhall's home started about the time she bought a used couch for $27. After days of searching for the source, she found a very hungry calico cat living in her sofa. Her boyfriend, Chris Lund, was watching television Tuesday night and felt something move inside the couch. He pulled it away from the wall, lifted it up, and there was the cat, which apparently crawled through a small hole on the underside. Mendenhall contacted Value Village, where she bought the couch, but the store had no information on who donated it. So she took the cat to...

NEWPORT, R.I. -- John R. Drexel III, the head of a powerful Philadelphia banking family and a noted socialite, has died, his daughter said. He was 87. Mr. Drexel died April 13 of heart failure at his Newport estate, said his daughter, Noreen O'Farrell. Mr. Drexel was a great-great-great-grandson of Francis Martin Drexel, who founded the banking house Drexel & Co. in the early 19th century. His great-great-grandfather was a business partner of financier J.P. Morgan and founded Drexel University in Philadelphia.

GREENDALE, Wis. - In a reversal of fortunes, a once-unwanted cat has come to the rescue of an animal shelter in need of a new home. However, this orange-and-white tabby named Daniel is no typical cat. He has a near-record 26 toes, a phenomenon that is helping the nonprofit Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center raise money to relocate to a new building. Normal cats have 18 toes, but Daniel has two extra on each foot due to a genetic mutation called polydactylism. Officials at the center found out their rent at a Milwaukee-area mall was being doubled on Jan. 1. So, the shelter is...

A 71-year-old woman suffered severe injuries to her nose and mouth after being attacked by her relatives' pit bull in Bridgewater yesterday, and the dog was later euthanized, authorities said. Bridgewater police said officers responded to 5 Brian Road about 11 a.m., where the dog had attacked the victim, Normanda Torres. Her grandson, Daniel Joseph, 20, subdued the dog before it was taken into custody by animal control, police said. Torres, who had recently moved into the home, was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital by MedFlight, according to a statement from police.