Visit 37 alpacas, free of charge
When offered a handful of grain, Stella, an alpaca, sticks out her long tongue to scoop the food into her mouth, leaving slobbery drops on the offering hand. Within minutes, [...]
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Posted March 06, 2024in People & Pets
Posted January 31, 2024in People & Pets
Love for Luca
A litter of kittens, along with their “street cat” mama, was found nearly six years ago under a busy highway bridge. Hope Animal Rescue of Iowa rescued the mom and [...]
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Posted January 03, 2024in People & Pets
Dogs make her smile, laugh
As a lifelong animal lover, when Patty Lenz turned 60, she pondered her 44-year career training horses. Realizing it was time for a change, she switched gears and began training [...]
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Posted December 06, 2023in People & Pets
What’s all the buzz?
When Ellen Bell started beekeeping with two hives in her backyard, she never imagined she’d have nearly 6 million bees 10 years later. Bell is a beekeeper at Bell Farm, [...]
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Posted November 01, 2023in People & Pets
Miniature cows
When visualizing a miniature cow, what comes to mind? A cow the size of a dog? Or a goat? For reference, a regular cow weighs about 1,200 pounds. However, a [...]
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Posted October 04, 2023in People & Pets
Martini and Frank
When Liz Warner was growing up, she was afraid of dogs and avoided them during her elementary school years. When she went to college, a friend had a miniature dachshund, [...]
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Posted September 06, 2023in People & Pets
Learning to fly…again
In the middle of a Des Moines neighborhood is a bustling place for injured songbirds, sparrows, waterfowl, robins — anything with feathers. The Iowa Bird Rehabilitation is a nonprofit that [...]
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Posted August 02, 2023in People & Pets
Hey, Dude
As store owners get creative with increasing sales and retaining customers, one four-legged friend is all about making guests feel welcome. Dude, a Weimaraner, is the official greeter at Wild [...]
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Posted July 05, 2023in People & Pets
Lagans provide a sanctuary for pet farm animals
Kaitie and Greg Lagan left suburban West Des Moines to raise their family in rural Norwalk. The acreage included room for a pasture, and Kaitie thought a few goats would [...]
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Posted May 31, 2023in People & Pets
Brandi Munch finds cats and dogs therapeutic
Some people might declare they are either a cat person or a dog lover. Brandi Munch likes both. Brandi had dogs as a youth and as an adult. After her [...]
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