oddly enough

oddly enough

Dog gets 2nd chance in Utah after escaping death in Indiana

KANAB, Utah

A dog is getting a new lease on life at a Utah animal sanctuary a month after escaping a worse fate in Indiana: being euthanized and having his cremated ashes mixed with those of his late owner.

Staff members at the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab say the male German shepherd named Bela still has behavioral issues but is doing very well.

“It’s something we do every day: We handle special needs,” Christine Vergallito of Best Friends told KSL. “We handle behavioral issues, and we give them an enriched life here.”

Connie Ley of Aurora, Ind., who died in November, stipulated in her will that Bela either go to the Utah sanctuary or be euthanized, cremated and mixed with her ashes. That’s because Ley felt the 105-pound dog was aggressive and not safe around strangers, particularly children.

Sanctuary workers say although they notice Bela wagging his tail more, they’re working to socialize him with people and other dogs. “It’s just a matter of time before, one way or the other, he’s happy and he lives a full, rich life,” said John Garcia of Best Friends.

Garcia said he grew close to Bela over the past month. He drove 1,800 miles to Indiana and back to get the dog to Utah.

He and others are hoping Bela, who’s believed to be 8 or 9 years old, can be adopted someday. If not, they’ll be happy to have him live out his life at the sanctuary, they said.

Zoo offers creepy way for lovelorn to get even with exes

SAN FRANCISCO

Feeling the sting of rejection? Itching to get even with an ex? The San Francisco Zoo is offering the burned and spurned masses the chance to “adopt” a hissing cockroach or giant scorpion in honor of their special ex-someone for Valentine’s Day.

The zoo is highlighting two of its less-desirable inhabitants through the adopt-an-animal program that usually is used to raise money for the care of more cuddly or attractive creatures, such as penguins, lions and pandas. It has a Valentine’s special comparing the creepy characteristics of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and the giant hairy scorpions native to the Southwest U.S. to the ways of heart-breaking mammals with two legs.

“These invertebrates are aggressive, active and alarmingly nocturnal. Much like your low-life ex, they are usually found in and around low-elevation valleys where they dig elaborate burrows or ‘caves,’” the zoo says on its promotion page for the desert scorpion. “Also just like you-know-who, when a suitable victim wanders by, the scorpion grabs the doomed creature with its pinchers and stings the prey. ... Charming.”

For $50 and up, donors can adopt a scorpion and have the zoo send a certificate and stuffed stinger to the person who inspired the adoption. The cockroach valentine that the zoo says represents “the detritus of your love life” costs $25.

Associated Press