Posted December 06, 2023in People & Pets
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, located in Runnels. She and her family lived in Altoona yet longed for a country home to establish a garden
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Posted November 01, 2023in People & Pets
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 miniature cow, such as the two cows owned by Cindy McGuire, each weigh about 300 pounds. That gives new meaning
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Posted October 04, 2023in People & Pets
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, and her fear dissipated. So much so, she fell in love with the dog. It was then she realized she
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Posted September 06, 2023in People & Pets
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 takes in injured birds and was established by Jenni Boonjakuakul. Jenni rehabbed her first baby crow in 1999 in California.
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Posted August 02, 2023in People & Pets
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 Birds Unlimited, alongside the store owner and Dude’s owner, Scott Knox. As a customer walks into the store, Dude happily
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Posted July 05, 2023in People & Pets
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 be ideal. Then she heard of an alpaca that was ill-kept and rescued the animal. After a pig had fallen
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Posted May 31, 2023in People & Pets
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 dog passed away, she considered taking a break from having pets. “It lasted for two days,” she says. “I was
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Posted May 03, 2023in People & Pets
A beloved childhood horse is now in its golden years of life. When Laura Kersey got her horse, Toby, at age 10, she never imagined him getting as old as he is. Toby, a Palomino, turned 32 on April 12. “It’s a last hurrah for him,” Kersey says. Although he
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Posted April 05, 2023in People & Pets
As a teenager, Amanda Nuzum loved her sulcata tortoise, Daisy. After high school, she kept Daisy, but she was busy, working three jobs. To her dismay, she had to give her up. “I couldn’t give her the attention she needed. It was so sad. I didn’t want her sitting in
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Posted March 01, 2023in People & Pets
Walking into Shirley Harder’s home, friendly corgis clamor for attention, almost saying, “Look at me! See how wonderful I am? Here’s my toy — when can we play?” Meanwhile, two of Harder’s cats scatter to another room, while one cat, Phil, sits on his cat tower throne, oblivious to the
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