Pets

The bill that would outlaw abandoning a pet outside during a natural disaster – prompted by a viral video of a bull terrier rescued last year ahead of an approaching hurricane – passed its first hurdle Tuesday in the Legislature with unanimous approval.The Senate Criminal Justice Committee approved the bill 8-0 during a brief hearing in Tallahassee. The bill’s sponsor and his colleagues in the Senate referred to the proposal as “Trooper’s Law,” named after the dog tied to a pole in standing water along Interstate 75 near Tampa before a Florida Highway Patrol trooper saved him.

It's cat-mating season and that can only mean one thing: kittens, kittens and more kittens, all in need of homes. Collier is trying to empty the shelters using incentives.

When the sun is shining, and you're not expecting a storm, that's the time to prepare your pets for a hurricane be they furry or slithery, feathery or finny or whathave you.

The dog days of summer have been sweltering for the Gulf Coast Humane Society.Three air conditioners at the no-kill shelter wheezed their final breaths in the past 10 days, putting an unexpected financial burden on the non-profit.

Updates Post-Ian Recovery Resources, an ongoing feature post-Ian

Collier Mosquito Control District is giving county residents two-inch, guppy-like fish to place in flooded yards, swales, and other small areas of standing freshwater left behind by Hurricane Ian to eat mosquito larvae before they grow up and start bothering everyone.

Pet owners who need care for their animals may feel lost right now, because so many local veterinary clinics are closed. But free emergency care is being offered at Terry Park in Fort Myers, thanks to a mobile clinic from the University of Florida.

The Lee County Domestic Animal Services will turn October into #Dogtober this year and provide the chance for those looking for a canine companion to make a choice in celebration of Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.

Cabin fever. Anxiety after layoffs. Social Isolation. As people seek companionship under Florida’s stay-at-home order, it has led to a record-breaking...

Most four-legged patrons of pet-friendly restaurants would have to remain outside, under a bill proposed this week by state Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando.