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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Posted February 01, 2023in People & Pets
Zac Fox and his wife, Lindsay, have fostered dozens of rescue dogs the past 10 years, dutifully finding them forever homes. But after a decade, they needed a break, as it was emotionally draining. However, the respite didn’t last long. Lindsay arranged to train a puppy — named Kernel —
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Posted January 04, 2023in People & Pets
An abandoned street dog, a dog with two broken legs, and another dog weighing only 7 pounds all found love and healing with their new owners. Sarah Jennings and Kristen Formanek are advocates for adopting dogs, especially of their shared favorite, chihuahuas. Jennings initially was unsure of the breed. “I
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Posted November 30, 2022in People & Pets
When Brian Connolly was a young boy, his parents raised exotic animals, including a monkey, an ostrich and an emu. So it was only fitting he has axolotls as pets. So, what is an axolotl? Ask any child who plays “Minecraft.” When “Minecraft” featured an axolotl in 2021, the real
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Posted November 02, 2022in People & Pets
The Flash is a sci-fi superhero who is a courageous character in comic book life. Flash is also a German shepherd owned by Eleanor Vestal — and he is her own personal superhero that makes her life better. Vestal obtained Flash as a puppy three years ago. She had just
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Posted October 05, 2022in People & Pets
One Thursday evening at the Valley Junction farmers market in West Des Moines, people of all ages circled around two balls of curly fur with wagging tails. As I clamored to see the spectacle, there sat Reese and Wrigley, two dogs soaking up all the attention. Reese, with his curly
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Posted August 31, 2022in People & Pets
As Hades pounces on Shade, he seems mildly annoyed at the kitten’s antics. Meanwhile, Dresden avoids the spectacle, as he’s had his own tussles with Shade in the past. Regardless of whether the three cats are getting along, they tend to avoid the other two pets in the home: two
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Posted August 03, 2022in People & Pets
Jennie Bailey and her family once had 13 pets in their home, including a hedgehog, chameleon and a gerbil. Today, they are down to just three pets — a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Kevin, a ragdoll cat, Cobalt, and a parrotlet. Kevin, the corgi, is 1 year old and not
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