Posted February 28, 2018in People & Pets
Bearded dragons and leopard geckos Krys Rankin knew she wanted pets for her classroom at Lincoln RAILS Academy — where she’s taught English and special education since 2013 — but she had one hard and fast rule: nothing that smells. Mice were a no. Hamsters were out. Bunnies, while cute,
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Posted January 31, 2018in People & Pets
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 bought,’ ” says Lacey Swedberg. The Swedbergs’ path to llama ownership came in a rather roundabout way. The couple’s youngest
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Posted January 03, 2018in People & Pets
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 I’m going to have mini donkeys,’ ” Tompkins says. The miniature donkeys found their way to her in the most
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Posted December 06, 2017in People & Pets
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 their troupe across the Midwest and beyond, and that includes reindeer. “We try to spread some Christmas magic,” Jodi Philipp,
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Posted November 01, 2017in People & Pets
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 Moines has eight K-9s, with five dual-purpose patrol dogs, two single-purpose bomb dogs and one single-purpose narcotics dog. Officer Dao Meunsaveng and dog
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Posted October 04, 2017in People & Pets
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 felines becomes even more nefarious. Cat and all-around animal lover Jessica Greenwell doesn’t subscribe to any of the black cat-related
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Posted September 06, 2017in People & Pets
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 eye in 2010. “He got into a fight with our chow mix,” says Wagner. Howie always picked on him, and
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Posted August 02, 2017in People & Pets
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 bees for 10 years and was successful enough to leave his desk job of 13 years to grow his bee
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Posted July 05, 2017in People & Pets
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 family has kept chickens since 2013, and it hasn’t always been smooth sailing in the poultry department. “We started with
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Posted June 01, 2017in People & Pets
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 because it’s injured. For Beth Kuntz, it’s the latter. Kuntz, 24, is part of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Network of Central
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