Max the doomed pitbull was found in Reno yesterday, along with his owner's girlfriend, Melissa Perry, who absconded with the dog to a Reno hotel room to protect him from execution. On Wednesday, if you remember, Max was stolen from the Alameda Animal Shelter by his owner, Richard Cochran and Perry just hours before he was scheduled to die. BCN (via CBS 5) reports, "Perry will be charged with burglary and conspiracy, while Max is in custody of Washoe County Regional Animal services. Both are awaiting extradition back to Alameda County." Cochran was arrested yesterday for burglary and conspiracy after a police interview. more ›

Alameda police arrested the man who allegedly kidnapped Max the dog just hours before he was scheduled to be executed. After confessing during a police interview this afternoon, Richard Cochran was arrested on charges of burglary and conspiracy. more ›

Like the climax of a Disney movie about animals and tolerance, a dog from an Alameda dog pound was rescued from execution on Wednesday night. See, after a Superior Court commissioner ordered the dog be put to death "because it was a dangerous animal," somebody cut through a fence and used bolt cutters to break into the Alameda Animal Shelter sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. yesterday and swiped "Max," a 70-pound dog. more ›

A Berkeley woman was attacked by a deer yesterday while walking her dogs. Actually, the dogs, Chihuahuas, were attacked first, and the owner, Sarah Lopus, was only kicked by the deer after she crouched down to cover and protect the dogs. She suffered a puncture wound, and one dog suffered some scraped up foot pads. more ›

The operation to fly San Francisco's overflow of abandoned chihuahuas to New York has been delayed, due to the high demand for space on flights to the East Coast after this weekend's blizzard. SF Animal Care and the New York ASPCA have been trying to negotiate the airlift with Virgin America, but it looks like it will now have to wait until early January. That means that this excess of chihuahua's are hanging out in town over the holidays, and they all (including Freddy, pictured here at right) remain adoptable. more ›

Oh, the jokes about Chris Daly and/or the Marina bar scene just write themselves -- but seriously, SF Animal Control reports that there's a rabid bat in the Marina. The bat was found alive and wrapped in a towel at Beach, Cervantes, and Mallorca, right off Chestnut Street last Saturday night, and the tests have only just now come back positive for rabies. more ›

Hey, remember yesterday, when everyone at SFist chimed in on the "what to do when a homeless kid's dog bites your friend on the leg" question? We got quite a few interesting answers, and one suggestion that we get in touch with the good folks at San Francisco Animal Control to see what they suggest doing in those circumstances. Deb Campbell was kind enough to answer a few of our questions: What would Animal... more ›

We don't even know where to start with this news item -- we had to read the article like three times before we figured it out. Who has a -war protest in San Francisco??? more ›

An update on the rare snowy plover birds in S.F. more ›

Folks are lining up for rabies shots in San Ramon, after a cute stray kitten turned out to carry the virus. Authorites estimate that about 60 people were in contact with the kitten, and that 35 people would have to get shots (including one person who was bitten). 26 other people are also getting shots as a precaution. One vet noted that the kitten had gotten a lot of attention because it was just so darned cute. "Everyone loves a kitten." Two pit bulls were euthanized in Concord today, after they killed four animals in a neighbor's yard last Friday. The owner had kenneled the two dogs but claims that they escaped when they got spooked by the thunder and lightning last week. The dogs killed their neighbors' two cats, a goat, and a bunny. Animal Control got to the scene right as the dogs were in the rabbit hutch, and they report that the dogs were so intent on the rabbit that they didn't even notice the fuzz. The dogs also killed four other animals in the neighborhood that evening. ...and we know we're stepping a little on SFist Rain's territory here -- but hey! New Animal Cops SF episodes just appeared on our TiVo! Starting next week! Yay, more Lieutenant Michael Scott! more ›

Ay yi yi! The SF Animal Care and Control is asking for your help -- yes, yours! -- in identifying the man outside the recently-renamed Monster Park who threw two helpless chihuahuas out the window of his speeding car yesterday night. more ›

summary of crime in the Bay Area. more ›