Llama Mama
A tale of love-filled guard llamas “I don’t know how many times my husband and I would talk, and I would be like ‘I think she’s the best thing we’ve [...]
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Posted January 31, 2018in People & Pets
Posted January 03, 2018in People & Pets
Magnificent miniature donkeys
A teenage dream comes true Courtney Tompkins was destined to own miniature donkeys. “I saw them as a teenager and just thought they were super cute and said, ‘One day [...]
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Posted December 06, 2017in People & Pets
Dashing through the snow
Real reindeer Jodi and John Philipp aren’t your average Santa and Mrs. Claus. You won’t find them at the local mall either. For 17 years, the couple has been touring [...]
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Posted November 01, 2017in People & Pets
Crime-fighting duo
A police officer and his canine partner The K-9 unit of the Des Moines Police Department was first established in the 1980s. A small and specialized unit, the city of Des [...]
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Posted October 04, 2017in People & Pets
Black cat fever
Not a crazy cat lady Black cats are the source of several myths and legends. As the spookiest holiday of the year approaches, the stigma surrounding the darker variety of [...]
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Posted September 06, 2017in People & Pets
One-eyed wonder
A one-eyed dog named Howie “He owned it,” says Brooke Wagner of her one-eyed dog. “It didn’t seem to affect him much.” Howie, an 11-year-old shih tzu, lost its left [...]
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Posted August 02, 2017in People & Pets
The bee’s knees
Backyard bee breeding Jason Foley’s Des Moines home and the 1.72-acre property it sits on is entirely devoted to his bee breeding business, Foley’s Russian Bees. Foley has been breeding [...]
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Posted July 05, 2017in People & Pets
Why did the chickens cross the road?
Nine chickens and counting Backyard chickens may be a trend of urban hipsters, but for Des Moines resident Nicole James and her family, they are beloved backyard pets. The James [...]
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Posted June 01, 2017in People & Pets
The call of the wild
In-home wildlife rehabilitation Once in a while, one comes across a wild animal and has the urge to take it home. It could simply be because it’s cute, or maybe [...]
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Posted May 03, 2017in People & Pets
Love at first squawk
Michelle Conkling’s Des Moines home contains many animals, but perhaps the most exotic of them all is a 10-year-old Congo African grey parrot named Kanoni. Conkling and her husband purchased [...]
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