A female Doberman pinscher named Ch. Allure Blazing Star Alisaton has won the working group at Westminster, marking a special birthday — she turned 4 on Monday, the first day of competition at the prestigious dog show.
If you’re wondering how C.J.’s owners came up with a nickname so far from her registered name, wonder no longer: It’s short for Calamity Jane, because she has a knack for getting into trouble, according to the Providence Journal.
C.J. beat a female boxer named Ch. Winfall Brookwood Styled Dream, a female Portuguese water dog named Ch. Aviators Luck Be a Lady and a male Alaskan malamute named Ch. Sno Klassic Play the Game to win the working group.
A 5-year-old female brittany named Ch. Willowick Talltean is the winner of Westminster’s sporting group — but perhaps a bigger shocker is the dog that didn’t make the top four.
The dog favored by many to win the group was a 5-year-old golden retriever named Ch. Toasty’s Treasure Island, who’s one of the top-ranked show dogs in the country but is expected to retire after Westminster. (And competing with other goldens, one of the most popular breeds in the U.S., is no small feat in itself.) Treasure won her breed Tuesday, but her sporting-group win was not to be.
The winning brittany, called Tally for short, is owned by her breeder, Catherine Fitzgerald. Tally’s handler, Kellie Miller, told USA Today that the dog is often a bit of a scatterbrain in the ring. She sometimes decides she’d rather play than show, but Tuesday evening Tally "held it together for me," Miller said.
Rounding out the top four sporting group placements were a male Irish water spaniel named Ch. Poole’s Ide Got Water RN, a male Gordon setter named Ch. Firethorn and Sandpiper Easy on the Eyes and a male Labrador retriever named Ch. Beechcroft Study’s Top Secret.
A brittany has never won Best in Show at Westminster — but then, a Sussex spaniel never had, either. (And, for the record, although many people refer to the breed as a "brittany spaniel," the correct name is simply "brittany.")
Top photo: Tally looks to her handler. Credit: Henny Ray Abrams / Associated Press
Bottom photo: Clint Livingston shows Treasure, the golden retriever that was shut out of a group placement Tuesday. Credit: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press
An anti-whaling activist from New Zealand is in custody on a Japanese vessel and will be taken to Japan to face charges after secretly boarding the ship as part of a protest, officials said Tuesday.
Peter Bethune, a member of the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd activist group, jumped aboard the Shonan Maru 2 from a Jet Ski on Monday with the stated goal of making a citizen’s arrest of the ship’s captain and presenting him with a $3-million bill for the destruction of a protest ship last month.
The Japanese government has decided to bring Bethune to Japan for questioning, Fisheries Agency official Osamu Ishikawa said. He will be charged with trespassing and assault and tried under Japanese law, Ishikawa said.
He said officials were working out the details of how to transport Bethune to Japan — whether to keep him on the vessel, which will be at sea for a few more weeks, or to drop him off in a port call and fly him back.
The brazen boarding was the latest escalation of a campaign by Sea Shepherd to hamper Japanese whaling activities.
Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the whale hunt, said that Bethune used a knife to cut the vessel’s protective net to enable him to board and that he told whalers he then threw the knife into the sea. The crew treated him for a cut on his thumb he received while boarding, the institute said.
Under Japanese law, intruding on a Japanese vessel without legitimate reasons can bring a prison term of up to three years and a fine up to 100,000 yen (US$1,100).
Bethune was being held in a room by himself with guards posted outside, Fisheries Ministry official Toshinori Uoya said.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said it seemed that Bethune’s intention was to be detained aboard the whaling ship, but his country nevertheless had an obligation to try to help him and it was seeking cooperation from Japanese diplomats.
McCully met Japan’s ambassador Tuesday, and New Zealand’s top diplomat in Japan met senior officials there Monday.
Sea Shepherd said Bethune demanded the cost of replacing the Ady Gil, an activist ship he captained that was destroyed in a collision with the Shonan Maru 2 last month, and the surrender of the whaling ship’s captain on attempted murder charges.
The Ady Gil sank after the collision, though there were only minor injuries.
Japan has six whaling ships in Antarctic waters under its scientific whaling program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 ban on commercial whaling. It hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales, which are not an endangered species. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.
The Sea Shepherd sends vessels to confront the fleet each year, trying to block the whalers from firing harpoons and dangling ropes in the water to try to snarl the Japanese ships’ propellers. The whalers have responded by firing water cannons and sonar devices meant to disorient the activists.
— Associated Press
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Photo: Peter Bethune, in black, is seen on board the Shonan Maru 2 in an image taken from a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society video. Credit: Associated Press
For the second consecutive year, a 5-year-old male puli named Conrad won the herding group at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Monday night.
Conrad, whose full name is Ch. Cordmaker Field Of Dreams, is owned by Susan Huebner and Jackie Beaudoin and handled by Linda Pitts. He’s an example of a corded puli; pulik (the proper way to refer to more than one puli) can also be shown with brushed coats.
Pitts told USA Today that this year’s Westminster will be Conrad’s last dog show, after which he’ll become a pampered retiree.
A puli has never won Best in Show at Westminster, and Pitts says she certainly won’t be heartbroken if Conrad doesn’t break that streak. "Going best in show would just be extra credit," she told the New York Times. "No puli has ever won back-to-back groups in Westminster, and only one other puli has won the group. He’s done everything we’ve asked."
Conrad beat a male Belgian sheepdog named Ch. Uri De Beauvoir, a male bearded collie named Ch. Tolkien Raintree Mister Baggins and a female German shepherd dog named Ch. Kridler’s Nutmeg V Signature to win the herding group.
Conrad competes for the Best in Show award Tuesday night against a whippet, a toy poodle, a French bulldog, [Spoiler Alert: We’re about to name the winners of the sporting and working groups, which haven’t yet aired on the west coast yet] a brittany, a Doberman pinscher and the as-yet-unknown winner of the terrier group.
Sadie kept her jet-black eyes completely focused on the prize. No, not the prospect of winning America’s top dog show. She wanted whatever treat handler Gabriel Rangel was teasing in his mouth.
Moments later, Sadie was on her way at Westminster. The monster favorite breezed past four would-be rivals Tuesday afternoon and walked off as the best Scottish terrier at Madison Square Garden.
If the early win was a lock, it was hard to tell by watching Rangel.
He hid Sadie behind a black curtain before entering the ring, away from photographers eager to snap her picture and shielded from curious fans who might accidentally step on her paws. Two assistants hovered over Sadie, brushing her coat to assure a perfect appearance.
Rangel constantly wiped his brow while waiting to be judged. After the win, he grabbed a napkin from a concession stand to towel off.
"Expectations? Never expectations," Rangel said. "If you think that way, you get nervous and in trouble."
Judge Elliott Weiss was set to make his pick as best in show shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday. He’s already seen Sadie — he chose her as the winner of an event in North Carolina last September.
The terrier, sporting and working were to be decided shortly before Weiss stepped into the ring. Among the top contenders was a precious golden retriever named Treasure. Always a popular breed in this country, a golden has never won Westminster.
The 4-year-old Scottie with the champion’s name Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot has earned 111 best in show ribbons and was poised to become dogdom’s first Triple Crown winner. Rangel said he’d eased off Sadie’s schedule as the trip to New York approached.
"She’s taking a little rest. Maybe too long," Rangel said. "She wanted to get in there today. She was full of herself."
Then again, maybe Sadie had a reason for being in a hurry.
"She likes to watch TV," he said. "We have dinner together at the hotel and watch ‘Animal Planet.’ "
— Associated Press
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Photo: Gabriel Rangel shows Sadie to a win in her breed competition on Tuesday. Credit: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press
It’s a great day to be a French bulldog lover: Monday night saw the breed’s first-ever non-sporting group win at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Ch. Robobull Fabelhaft Im On Fire, a 2-year-old male Frenchie, bested a male Chinese shar-pei named Ch. Chaoyang Chick Magnet At Asia, a top-winning female bulldog named Ch. Kepley’s Showbiz Razzle Dazzle and a male miniature poodle named Ch. Splash Di Caprio to take the the top prize for the group.
Im On Fire, who goes by the nickname Bru, is owned by Marion Hulick, S. St John and James Dalton. He was bred in Canada.
The popularity of the French bulldog breed in the U.S. has skyrocketed in recent years; it was the 24th most popular breed judging by American Kennel Club registration statistics in 2009, up from 73rd just 10 years before. Here in Southern California, it’s even more popular, perhaps in part because its small stature makes it ideal for apartment living. French bulldogs were among the top 10 most popular breeds by AKC registrations in the city of Los Angeles last year and the fourth most popular in Long Beach.
Bru will compete with a whippet named Chanel, a toy poodle named Walker, a puli named Conrad and the as-yet-unknown winners of the working, sporting and terrier groups for the title of Best in Show on Tuesday night.
A 3-year-old male toy poodle named Walker won the toy group at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the most prestigious show in the U.S., on Monday night.
Walker, whose full name is Ch. Smash JP Moon Walk, is owned by Ron Scott and Debbie Burke. He may be tiny, but he casts a long shadow in the dog-show ring: He’s won more than 30 Best in Show awards and was the top-winning toy dog in the country last year. (He even has his own website, which is lovingly maintained and chock-full of "candid" shots of him cavorting in a grassy area while still managing to keep his impeccably coiffed continental clip neat and unmussed.)
Walker’s a talented show dog, sure, but he has an Achilles’ heel in the show ring, USA Today reports: A tendency to let his tail droop. This weakness, if one can call it that with a straight face, apparently cost him last year at Westminster. Fortunately, he managed to get that pesky tail under control this year — and if he can keep it up, he might even be able to snag another Best in Show for himself. (The last toy poodle to do that was Ch. Cappoquin Little Sister in 1961, although standard and miniature poodles have won more recently.)
Walker beat a male Pekingese named Ch. Linn-Lee’s For The Good Times, a male shih-tzu named Ch. Hallmark Jolei Austin Powers and a male papillon named Ch. Forevr Errol Flynn to win the toy group. Tuesday night, he’ll take on a whippet named Chanel from the hound group, a French bulldog named I’m on Fire from the non-sporting group, a puli named Conrad from the herding group and the yet-to-be-decided winners of the working, sporting and terrier groups in Westminster’s Best in Show competition.
A Brussels griffon named Ch. Cilleine Masquerade won the toy group last year.
Ch. Starline’s Chanel, a 2-year-old female whippet owned by Lori and Carey Lawrence, beat a top-ranked petit basset griffon vendeen to win the hound group at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Monday.
Handler Lauri Wilson, who guided Chanel to Monday’s victories and will accompany her in the best-in-show ring Tuesday night, told USA Today that the dog stays in top athletic condition by chasing tennis balls. (See, show dogs might look nicer than the average couch-potato canines, but they’re not really any different from ball-chasing mutts like ours, deep down.) "She also loves jumping straight up and down," Wilson told USA Today. Well … everyone needs a hobby.
The American Kennel Club categorizes the 164 breeds it recognizes into seven groups. To take the hound title, Chanel first had to be named best of breed in a competition held earlier in the day. Four groups — hound, toy, non-sporting and herding — were judged Monday evening at Westminster. The remaining three groups — sporting, working and terrier — will be judged Tuesday evening, followed by the best-in-show competition, in which the seven group winners go head to head.
Chanel edged out a female greyhound named Ch. Grandcru Clos Erasmus, a female Scottish deerhound named Ch. Foxcliffe Hickory Wind and a male petit basset griffon vendeen named Ch. Rokeena Carte Blanche to win the hound group. (Those dogs came in second, third and fourth, respectively.) Another Scottish deerhound, a male named Ch. Gayleward’s Tiger Woods (a name which, we’re sure, had a much more positive connotation when the dog was given it a few years back), won Westminster’s hound group in 2009.
(The "Ch." before each of these dogs’ names, by the way, signifies that they have all been certified as champions of record by the AKC. To become a champion, a show dog must receive 15 points, including two "majors," worth three to five points each. At each dog show, points are awarded to the best male and female in each breed, with the number of points determined by how many dogs competed. Dogs that continue to compete in conformation classes after becoming champions, like those competing at Westminster, are called "specials.")
If Chanel wins best in show Tuesday, she’ll be the first whippet to have done so at Westminster since 1964, when the award went to a whippet named Ch. Courtenay Fleetfoot of Pennyworth.
A dog collar that belonged to Charles Dickens has fetched $11,590 at a New York City auction.
The leather and brass collar is inscribed with Dickens’ name. It had been estimated to sell for $4,000 to $6,000. The buyer’s name was not immediately disclosed.
The collar was auctioned Tuesday at Bonhams New York’s sale of dog art.
Like many Victorians, the author of "David Copperfield" and "A Tale of Two Cities" was fond of dogs.
Last year, an ivory-and-gold toothpick that belonged to Dickens sold for $9,150 at auction.
— Associated Press
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Photo: Dickens’ dog collar. Credit: Associated Press
Thailand’s 1989 ban on commercial logging sent thousands of elephants to training camps that sprang up around the country — some ethical, some not so ethical. Travel writer Christopher Smith recently visited and profiled the Elephant Conservation Center camp in Lampang Province. (He describes the trip as "the best $2.55 I’ve ever spent on vacation.") Here’s an excerpt:
For less than the cost of a Double Whopper, I spent a day in the company of 55 whoppers — domesticated Asian elephants being rehabbed after lives of labor. No chains, no enclosures, often no distance at all from behemoths within touching range.
For an animal lover like me, it was a pachyderm paradise for the price of peanuts.
As for the elephants, it was probably just another routine day at the 300-acre Elephant Conservation Center in northern Thailand. As part of their schedule, the elephants performed in 45-minute shows that displayed their former tasks, such as hauling logs, and newfound skills, which include painting abstract art that has sold for thousands of dollars at fundraising auctions. After showtimes, the elephants sauntered down a dirt road for a dip in a lagoon.
Beyond the organized activities, there was plenty to see at the center, which is 45 miles southeast of Chiang Mai, the largest city in northern Thailand. The conservation center draws more than 10,000 Thai children annually and a steady stream of elephant-centric tourists.
At an outdoor nursery, three moms were keeping an eye on their calves, ranging from 5 months to 1 year old. Nearby was a veterinary hospital where visitors could see animals being treated.
WARSAW, Poland — The incredible story of Baltic, the Polish pooch rescued from an ice sheet at sea, has struck a chord worldwide.
The seagoing mutt is being bombarded with e-mail and is likely to have a Facebook page soon. One family drove more than 300 miles (500 kilometers) from the Czech Republic in the false hope he was theirs.
Calls and e-mails have come in from as far as Australia and Canada praising the crew of a ship that rescued Baltic and pleading for updates and photos too, Ewa Baradziej-Krzyzankowska, the dog’s de facto spokeswoman, told the Associated Press on Monday.
Baradziej-Krzyzankowska, who works for the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, a co-owner of the scientific research ship, said an official Facebook page is in the works to help respond to the deluge of interest in the playful pup.
Already, one fan page for the dog has appeared on Facebook, though it isn’t clear who is behind it.
Baltic was rescued Jan. 25 after the ship’s crew spotted him floating 15 miles (25 kilometers) from land, trapped on an ice floe. The rescue was difficult because the frightened, shivering dog kept falling into the icy water.
It’s not clear where the dog’s journey began, but he was seen two days before his rescue floating down the Vistula River 60 miles (100 kilometers) inland. Firefighters tried but failed to save him.
Since his rescue several people have tried to claim him, but the dog has rejected them all. In the latest case, a Czech family drove to Gdynia, the northern Polish city where the ship is moored when it isn’t at sea. They hoped that Baltic was their beloved family pet that disappeared five years ago. But as it turned out, his markings were slightly different and they returned home disappointed.
The spokeswoman said the Czechs appeared sincere in their belief that Baltic could have been their long-lost pet — unlike several people who showed up soon after his rescue making blatantly false claims of ownership.
After the dog’s rescue, a veterinarian declared him to be in remarkably good shape considering his ordeal. Still, she put him on a special diet because of stomach problems resulting from the long stretch without food. But he isn’t really sticking to it because the crew members love to sneak him treats, the spokeswoman said.
"Everybody loves him. All the crew spoils him terribly," she said. "Just imagine — a crew of seasoned sailors who have experienced a lot in their lives, all crazy about a little dog."
— Associated Press
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Photo: Baltic with one of his rescuers, Adam Buczynski, on Feb. 10. Credit: Krzysztof Mystkowski / Associated Press
NEW YORK — By noon, it had been quite a day for Razzle Dazzle.
She’d already walked off with a repeat ribbon as the best bulldog at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Monday, and now it was time for a catnap. So she put her big, wrinkled head down in her crate and tried to take a snooze.
No luck. Minutes later, the backstage crowd at America’s most prestigious dog show kept clamoring for a closer look. The 3-year-old bruiser woke, raised up and unleashed a full, throaty bark.
Co-owner Robert Speiser did his best to shield her from all the commotion, pressing his body against the front of her crate.
"Go back to bed, honey," he whispered.
Madison Square Garden was steamy for the opening session of the two-day event. More than half of the 2,500 dogs were housed right off the main floor and thousands of fans jammed in on a holiday to see them.
"It’s a madhouse," said Jane Bates, co-owner of a top golden retriever called Treasure.
Sadie the Scottish terrier loomed as the clear favorite to win best in show Tuesday night. Treasure, Razzle Dazzle, a crowd-pleasing puli and an alert Doberman pinscher were poised to contend for the silver bowl.
The hound, toy, nonsporting and herding groups were to be judged Monday night. The sporting, working and terrier groups were set for Tuesday evening, with judge Elliott Weiss ready to make his best in show pick shortly before 11 p.m.
Clint Livingston hoped to be in that best of seven showdown.
He handles Treasure, along with 16 other champion dogs at Westminster. It’s a family affair — brother Brian brought 12 and sister Colette had four. Naturally, their mom and dad were in the business.
"She wouldn’t let me show unless I made straight A’s," Clint said.
The valedictorian of his high school class in Texas, Clint began coming to Westminster in 1984 and has done his share of winning in best of breed and best of group judging.
With so many dogs, the family got its own corner grooming area, away from the pack of people and pooches. They also employed five assistants, and the constant whirl of brushes, clippers and blow dryers made it look like Livingston Spa.
This year, Clint is handling a petit basset griffon vendeen, a long-haired dachshund, a German shepherd, a Chinese shar-pei and an Australian cattle dog, among others. Inevitably, the siblings wind up competing against each other.
At one point Monday, the boys found themselves in the same Australian shepherd ring. Brian took the top prize. Clint, meanwhile, dutifully dashed off to show his brother’s Finnish spitz.
Any gloating, bro?
"I might wink at him," Brian said, smiling.
— Associated Press
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Video: Associated Press
Photo: An Old English sheepdog is prepared for the show ring on Feb. 15. Credit: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images
An anti-whaling activist was being held in custody on board a Japanese whaling vessel Tuesday after secretly boarding it the day before, the whalers said.
Peter Bethune scaled the Shonan Maru 2 early Monday with the goal of making a citizen’s arrest of the ship’s captain and handing over a $3-million bill for the destruction of a protest ship last month.
Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the whale hunt, said the boat’s captain had advised Bethune "that in line with the Japanese Mariners Act he was taking necessary measures and restrained Mr. Bethune."
The statement said Bethune used a knife to cut the vessel’s protection net to enable his boarding.
"At that time, Mr. Bethune cut his left thumb and has since received medical treatment from the Japanese crew," the institute said in a statement. It said Bethune told them he had thrown the knife into the sea after boarding the ship.
The statement did not say what would be done with Bethune. The Japanese say his boarding was illegal.
The brazen move was another escalation by the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd activist group meant to hamper the whaling activities of the Japanese.
The Sea Shepherd said Bethune approached the Shonan Maru 2 by Jet Ski and jumped onto the netting to board the vessel early Monday.
His goal was to demand the cost of replacing the Ady Gil, an activist ship he captained that was destroyed in a collision with a whaling ship last month. He also wanted the Shonan Maru 2 captain to surrender to Sea Shepherd, or take his ship to the nearest Australian or New Zealand port to turn himself in to authorities for the Ady Gil’s destruction and the attempted murder of six Ady Gil crew members.
On Monday, Tetsuro Fukuyama, Japan’s state secretary for foreign affairs, called the incident "regretful."
"We have not yet clarified [the intruder’s] intention," Fukuyama said. "Once we confirm the fact and nationality of the ship he belongs to, we would post strong protest and urge them to take an appropriate action."
Japan has a six-vessel whaling fleet in Antarctic waters as part of its scientific whaling program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 ban on commercial whaling. It hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales, which are not an endangered species. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.
The Sea Shepherd sends vessels to confront the Japanese whaling fleet each year, trying to block the whalers from firing harpoons and dangling ropes in the water to try to snarl the Japanese ships’ propellers.
The whalers have responded by firing water cannons and sonar devices meant to disorient the activists. Collisions have occurred occasionally, including the Jan. 6 collision between the Sea Shepherd’s high-tech speedboat Ady Gil and the Shonan Maru 2 that sheared off the protest boat’s nose and caused it to sink. There were only minor injuries.
The governments of Australia and New Zealand, which have responsibility for maritime rescue in the area where the whale hunt is usually conducted, have repeatedly urged both sides to tone it down.
— Associated Press
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Top photo: Bethune aboard the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin on Feb. 10. Credit: Associated Press
Bottom photo: Bethune in a 2006 photo. Credit: Robert Sullivan / AFP/Getty Images
The big daddy of American canine competitions, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, is underway at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Westminster, now in its 134th year, runs for two consecutive days. (For those who, like us, couldn’t make it to New York to see it in person, the show will be televised Monday from 8 to 9 p.m. on the USA Network and from 9 to 11 p.m. on CNBC; and Tuesday from 8 to 11 p.m. on USA.)
Of course, what’s a dog show without elaborately coiffed, trimmed, powdered, rubber-banded and headgear-wearing dogs of all shapes and sizes? Nothing, that’s what. We’ve assembled some of our favorite photos from the first day of Westminster competition, from beagles to bichons frises and Chinese cresteds to Chihuahuas.
Above, a chow chow named Jackson relaxes backstage at the Garden. See more photos of the purebred set after the jump!
Above left, Tate, a 2-year-old French bulldog who traveled from Pennsburg, Pa., to compete at Westminster, waits backstage before his class is called. Right, a 5-year-old Chinese crested named Tommy, fresh from Fort Worth, Texas, prepares for the show ring.
Bingo, a 3-year-old Brussels griffon from Savannah, Ga., is groomed by Stacy Work before his class is called.
At left, a child reaches to pet an old English sheepdog backstage at Westminster. At right, judge Richard Meen examines the head of a whippet during competition.
Powder is applied to a bichon frise named Isabella in the backstage benching area.
At left, an English toy spaniel named Bouncer displays an impressive ear-wrapping job. At right, a beagle waits patiently as its paw is blow-dried.
A 2-year-old longhaired Chihuahua named Wendy, from Rosenberg, Texas, is groomed backstage.
At left, a Pembroke Welsh corgi stands on a contraption of some sort to be groomed. At right, a toy poodle named Sunny receives some finishing touches courtesy of groomer Sarah Cooper.
This Maltese isn’t quite ready for its turn in the show ring yet, we’d wager. (But we’re sure it’ll look gorgeous when all is said and done.)
At left, a handler brings his bichon frise to the ring for competition. At right, Cathy Glenn of Shenandoah, Va., brushes an otterhound named Jackson before his class.
At the backstage — how shall we put this delicately? — restroom area, an Afghan hound shows off its pre-show finery. The fur on the dog’s ears and legs are covered to keep it from getting dirty before its turn in the ring. The things we do for beauty!
— Lindsay Barnett
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Photo credits, from top: Chow chow: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. French bulldog: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Chinese crested: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Brussels griffon: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Old English sheepdog: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Whippet: Justin Lane / European Pressphoto Agency. Bichon frise: Justin Lane / European Pressphoto Agency. English toy spaniel: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Beagle: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Longhaired Chihuahua: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Corgi: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Toy poodle: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press. Maltese: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Bichon frise: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images. Otter hound: Justin Lane / European Pressphoto Agency. Afghan hound: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — Federal wildlife officials are hailing an agreement between the U.S. and the state of Idaho as the first of its kind for a bird being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The accord signed Friday gives landowners an incentive to protect the sage grouse. Those who voluntarily restore the chicken-sized bird’s habitat would be protected from future regulations if the bird is granted endangered status.
For now, the incentives apply only to landowners in four southwest Idaho counties, but similar programs are being considered in other Western states.
Once prevalent in the sagebrush steppes from the Dakotas to California, sage grouse populations and habitat are declining from threats posed by energy development, urban sprawl and wildfires.
— Associated Press
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Photo: A male sage grouse performs a dance designed to win him a female. Credit: Los Angeles Times
VANCOUVER, Canada — U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir is staying at the Olympic village because he is concerned about his safety after receiving what he considers "very serious threats" from anti-fur activists.
Weir had talked about staying in a hotel because he didn’t enjoy his experience in the Olympic village four years ago. Weir says arranging security at a hotel would have been too tough, while the village is under tight control. Weir is sharing a two-bedroom suite with ice dancer Tanith Belbin.
Weir drew the ire of animal-rights activists last month after he added white fox fur to the left shoulder of his costume for the free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
— Associated Press
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Photo: Weir competes during the men’s free skate portion of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 17. Credit: Elaine Thompson / Associated Press
Lin Ping, the giant panda born last year at Thailand’s Chiang Mai Zoo, continues to be treated like royalty in her birth country. For Valentine’s Day, a zoo veterinarian even presented her with her very own plush rose toy. (We can’t help but think from the expression on Lin Ping’s face that she’s a bit disappointed that her gift is a toy plant rather than an edible one, but maybe we’re projecting.)
After Lin Ping’s birth — the first successful birth of a giant panda in Thailand’s history — the Thai public became so enchanted by the cub that elephant keepers felt their charges had been relegated to also-ran status. To draw attention back to Thailand’s elephant population, the keepers tried an unorthodox tactic, painting the pachyderms to resemble giant pandas, using water-based paint.
Lin Ping’s name, which was selected by her fans in a contest that received more than 20 million votes, is representative both of her Thai birthplace and her Chinese heritage
(her parents are on loan to the Chiang Mai Zoo from China). The name honors the cub’s mother, Lin Hui, calls to mind the name of Thailand’s Ping River and translates to "forest of ice" in Chinese.
— Lindsay Barnett
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Photo: Pongmanat Tasiri / European Pressphoto Agency
A man holding one person hostage in a West Covina home was fatally shot early Sunday by a SWAT officer, authorities said.
West Covina police responded to a report of shots fired in the 1800 block of West Badillo Street about 10:20 p.m. Saturday, L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Lillian Peck said.
After their arrival, the man took one person hostage while three other people remained inside the home. A hostage negotiator was brought to the scene, who spoke on the phone with the suspect and the hostage, Peck said.
Just after midnight, a shot was heard from inside the home and the suspect was seen through an upstairs window holding a handgun to the hostage’s head, Peck said.
A West Covina SWAT team member fired one shot that struck the suspect in the upper torso, Peck said.
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not released, pending family notification.
The four people inside the home were unharmed. No other information was available. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is investigating.
— Corina Knoll
Photo: A West Covina police officer stands guard as emergency response clean-up workers view the bullet hole and shattered upstairs window at the scene of an officer-involved shooting in West Covina. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times
Learn more about more than 100 fatal officer-involved shootings in L.A. County since January 2007 on The Times’ interactive Homicide Report, which documents all deaths determined by the county coroner to be at the hand of another person.
Catherine Zeta-Jones may be just about the prettiest thing on two legs, but she’s far from friendly to the four-legged set, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The ever-vocal animal rights group has placed Zeta-Jones at the top of its annual Worst-Dressed List with the explanation that her "creepy cow-skin pants, ugly fox coat and icky alligator bag" make the actress look "like she’s working her way through Noah’s ark with a knife."
Although Zeta-Jones nabbed the Worst-Dressed title, a number of other stars were hot on her heels. Also on PETA’s list were perennial fur-wearer Jennifer Lopez ("She looks like Jenny from the butcher block in her old-school corpse coats," the group complains), Aretha Franklin (whose so-called "fur Snuggie" rivaled even her Inauguration Day hat in the audacity department), Rihanna, Jessica Simpson and mother-daughter fur-wearers Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson. (Also called on the carpet by PETA was a "Real Housewives" star that, frankly, we’ve never heard of.)
Three crew members of a Japanese whaling vessel suffered face and eye injuries from acid fired by anti-whaling protesters during their latest clash in the Antarctic Ocean, their Japanese employers said Friday.
The Sea Shepherd protesters said they shot butyric acid, produced from stinking rancid butter, which they often aim at the whalers to try to disrupt the annual Japanese hunt. The activists maintain that butyric acid is nontoxic.
The injuries Thursday were the first to Japanese whalers this year during confrontations with Sea Shepherd, although there have been two ship collisions that each side blamed on the other.
Japanese Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu lashed out at the activists on Friday, telling reporters: "I am full of rage. I could not believe they did such a thing."
Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the hunt, said the injuries were not serious, but he cautioned that butyric acid can cause temporary blindness.
The injuries occurred during a several-hour confrontation between two Sea Shepherd boats — the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker — and four Japanese vessels.
Locky Maclean, first mate on the Steve Irwin, told Associated Press that the Nisshin Maru, a whale processing ship, started the altercation when it turned its water cannons on the activists' vessels.
The protesters targeted the Japanese ships Shonan Maru No. 2 and the Nisshin Maru, dragging wires across their bows in a bid to tangle their rudders and propellers, the Institute of Cetacean Research said in a statement.
Japan has a six-vessel whaling fleet in Antarctic waters as part of a research program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling. It hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales, which are not an endangered species. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.
Sea Shepherd, a U.S.-based activist group, sends vessels to confront the Japanese fleet each year, trying to block them from firing harpoons at the whales.
"It's been a successful week," Maclean said. "No whales have died for the last eight days we have been trailing the Nisshin Maru."
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Top photo: A handout photo provided by Sea Shepherd shows the ship Steve Irwin, left, exchanging water-cannon fire with the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru in Atlantic waters on Feb. 8. Credit: Glenn Lockitch / AFP/Getty Images
Bottom photo: A photo released by the Institute of Cetacean Research of Japan shows a Sea Shepherd activist, bottom left, holding a chemical launcher on Feb. 11. Credit: Associated Press