Okay, so in total Leona Helmsley, the “Queen of Mean” isn’t exactly someone to emulate. But news reports today revealed that Helmsley, who died earlier this month and is buried in Westchester, left $12 million to her Maltese, Trouble. Click here to read the Associated Press story on Lohud.com.
While most of us don’t have $12 million to leave their animals, it’s important to make sure they are cared for in the event something happens to you. My dogs have had homes lined up in the case of my demise since they were puppies. I am also the beneficiary of one friend’s Italian Greyhound should something happen to them. That provision is even written into their will.

I wonder how Trouble, Helmsley’s dog, will spend the $12 million. Caviar for breakfast? Silk sheets? Cashmere sweaters?

Alice Gomstyn, a staff writer for The Journal News, reported today on a family’s decision to find new homes for its beloved peacocks after the feathered creatures got into trouble one too many times at a nearby school.

You can read more on the story here.

So far, looks like readers are siding with the Hodosh family on this one. What are your thoughts?

So Michael Vick has announced he’ll plead guilty to dogfighting charges.

What a prince.

The Vick case, which involves his dogfighting co-horts, has drawn much attention to the world of dogfighting, but it’s certainly not going to stop it. There’s too much money being made, with some purses going as high as $100,000.

What I’m hoping it will do is prompt law enforcement to pay more attention. It’s not enough to know that dogfighting exists. There needs to be more fines and more prison time handed out.

Think it’s not a big deal? Imagine your family pet being bashed into the ground until it dies. That’s just one of the ways Vick was accused of killing dogs that didn’t meet his standards, according to several media reports. How about hanging them? Electrocuting them?

Hopefully the Vick case will make prosecuting dogfighting participants a new fad. And I hope the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons make an example out of him and boot him from the team and the league. Sad though, because even if Vick does see the inside of a prison for this, some media reports have issued opinions that he’ll likely be back with the NFL at some point.

Is your hamster or small critter bored with cage life? Do you feel your hamster or critter would benefit from exercise and endurance training?  Do you feel they should do more than just sit there and look cute?

PETCO has scheduled a “Hamster Ball Derby and Critter Run” for 2 p.m. on Sept. 8.  Practice runs begin at 1:30 p.m.

You just can’t make up stuff like this.

A flier with the details even gives a training schedule for your little competitor: put the hamster in the ball for 15 minutes a day (supervised of course!) for three days each week leading up to the event.

And those “critters?” That applies to gerbils, mice, chinchillas and guinea pigs, according to the PETCO flier. No ferrets, rabbits or exotic animals will be allowed to race.

For more information on the event and store locations visit PETCO’s Web site.

So tell me readers—are there any LoHud hamsters and critters Paws ‘n Claws should be rooting for?

State Sen. Thomas Morahan has proposed tougher penalties for people guilty of participating in or watching animal fighting. Read more about his proposal in this story.

For that story I interviewed John Goodwin manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States. While dogfighting is the most prevalent form of animal fighting here in the U.S., cockfighting is still fairly common in parts of the south and southwest.

Shortly after our converstion, John e-mailed me this picture of himself at a raid in Virginia.

So sad.