# Animals

Bears Saved From Forced Vodka Drinking

Ukraine's Environment Minister Mykola Zlochevsky vowed last week to free all bears kept in restaurants as entertainment, Interfax news agency reported. Captured and tamed bears are still used for entertainment purposes and often forced to drink alcohol, a tradition that has survived since the rule of Russian emperors.

# Animals

Best Class in Chicago Invites Dogs to Read With Kids

Children in Chicago public schools are being riled up to read in a learning program that involves daily dog visits to their classroom.

# Animals

Helicopter Rescues Dog From Swollen California River (Video)

Epic storms have swollen waterways in California and much of the country was riveted by the rescue of a dog that got trapped on a strip of concrete along the storm-swollen Los Angeles River. A rescue worker was lowered by helicopter to where the dog struggled.

# Animals

Pets Orphaned by Lebanon War Airlifted to U.S.

Some 300 homeless dogs and cats, many left behind by owners who fled Lebanon during the Hezbollah-Israel war, are headed to new sanctuaries in the United States for adoption, thanks to Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, reports the AP.

# Animals

Gala for Animals Lebanon Raises $45K for Critter Welfare

Animals Lebanon took center stage for animal welfare in Lebanon less than two years ago, but the determination of its five founders quickly built a movement involving schools and businesses that has spayed and neutered 600 animals in that time and rescued countless more.

# Animals

(Updated w/ Video) Golden Retriever Adopts 3 Tiger Cubs at Kansas Zoo

A Golden Retriever is nursing three newborn striped tiger cubs at a Kansas zoo after their mother abandoned them.

# Animals

Before City Pool Closes for the Year, They Let All the Dogs Go for Swim

In Idaho, when the 'dog days of summer' are over and the Nampa public pool is about to close, a new clientele comes to play: The "Pooch Pool Party" allows dogs to take a swim before the water is drained for the year. The annual dog-only swimming event began in 2007 as an idea to raise money to help build the Nampa Dog Park

# Animals

Solider and Stray Cat Save Each Other in Afghanistan

In the midst of Staff Sgt. Jesse Knott's lowest moment in Afghanistan, following a suicide bombing, a feral cat climbed into his lap and restored his faith and his humanity. To return the favor, Knott vowed to save Koshka from his pitiful life.