Pets | featured news

New laws going into effect Sunday cover some of the nation's most contentious issues, from immigration to abortion, while others deal with tanning beds, tuition and where you can sell a pet.

People are obsessed with their pets. There are actually more American households that own dogs than there are married households. All together, pet owners spend about $50 billion dollars a year to care for their pets. And an average life time cost to own and raise a dog can range from $16,000 to $250,000. And if you really can't live with out your precious kitty, just clone him or her for $40,000.

Frank and Louie the cat was born with two faces, two mouths, two noses, three eyes - and lots of doubts about his future. Now, 12 years after Marty Stevens rescued him from being put to sleep because of his condition, the exotic blue-eyed rag doll cat is not only thriving but has made it into the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as the longest surviving member of a group known as Janus cats, named for a Roman god with two faces.

Avoid common errors, and keep your four-legged pal healthy and well-behaved.

Even on a bad day, I can't imagine life without my dog Lulu. My mother enjoys reminding me that Lulu has no reason to leave -- even if the door stood wide open. Evidently, the dog has trained me well. But neither of us is getting any younger, and I think about would happen to Lulu if I weren't around.

The team behind Diapers.com has made a new e-commerce site aimed at the other baby in the American household: the family pet. Quidsi, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, is announcing Wednesday the launch of Wag.com, an e-commerce site selling pet-related products.

Behold the "bionic dog." (View video, below.) At just five weeks old, Naki'o was abandoned by his owners and wandered into an icy puddle, getting his paws stuck in the frigid water. All four frostbit paws had to be amputated, but in a "heartwarming" twist, the malnourished red heeler puppy was rescued by an animal shelter where, a veterinary technician raised funds to fit him with two prosthetic hind legs. Naki'o took to the prosthetics so "enthusiastically" that the organization Orthopets threw in the other two prosthetics for free. "Naki'o can now not only chase after a ball with other dogs," says vet tech Christie Tomlinson, as quoted by Incredible Features, "but he can beat them to the catch!"

Sleeping with your pets can make you sick.

A man filmed on a mobile phone putting his nephew's cat in a microwave then tumble drier and finally a freezer is jailed.

A 4-day-old infant child died after being attacked by his family's pit bull terrier Sunday evening at his home in Jacksonville, Florida, according to John Harrell, a spokesman with the Florida's Department of Children and Family.