Distemper

Five customers of Adorable Pets on East Lincoln Highway have filed suit against the pet store's owners, contending that the owners knowingly sold dogs infected with a deadly virus. The dogs they bought are now dead. Bruce Sobel, a Philadelphia attorney who initiated the suit against Adorable Pups and its owners, Debbie and Charles Guthrie, contends that the mixed black Labrador puppy that he purchased there Jan. 30 had distemper. Sobel says that the puppy was diagnosed in March as having distemper, and subsequently had to be euthanized March 23. Sobel also said in the suit that from the onset of the puppy's illness Feb. 3 until its death, the Guthries contended that the problem with Sobel's dog was an isolated incident.

Raccoons, raccoons everywhere. For animal-control officer Nelson Short, hardly a day goes by without emergency calls about the ring-tailed critters. He cannot even drive down the road without spotting one. When Short drove away from the Nether Providence police station last week after dropping off some citations, there was a raccoon in the middle of the road. "It was falling down, going around in circles," Short said. "It fell off to the side of the road, and I shot it. " Since early spring, Short and other animal-control officers and wildlife pest-control agents in Delaware County have been swamped with calls from alarmed residents who have spotted raccoons, many of them sick, staggering around in their neighborhoods.

Raccoons, as any game warden will explain, are animals of the night. But in the last two months, these scavengers have been making daytime appearances all over the place: ambling along busy roads, in Neshaminy Valley back yards, even in the picnic area of the Torresdale Swim Club in Andalusia. Rich Bolinski, Bensalem's animal control officer, fears that this is a sign that distemper, a viral disease most common in dogs, is spreading through the local raccoon population. In the last 2 1/2 months, Bolinski has captured 17 or 18 raccoons, according to his estimate, "which is a lot of raccoons to be out during the day," he said.

Jan. 30 was a special day for Bruce and Annette Sobel. The Sobels, recently married and the owners of a new home, believed their dream was complete when they brought Jessie home that day. But after a brief and uncomfortable existence, Jessie, a mixed Labrador Retriever puppy, died. The Sobels were heartbroken. Now they are angry. Bruce Sobel, a Philadelphia attorney, says he intends to take legal action against Charles and Deborah Guthrie, owners of the store that sold Jessie.

Two women who sued King Kennels on Baltimore Pike, saying the firm sold them infected dogs, were awarded $500 in Small Claims Court in Concordville yesterday. It was the ninth civil suit against the kennel since 1988 in which the courts have ruled in favor of customers whose dogs got severely ill or died after being purchased from the Concordville kennel. Two others successfully sued after their dogs fell ill after boarding at the kennel. Tara Shapiro and Lisa Sofio filed the most recent suit, contending that a puppy purchased Jan. 11 had to be returned the next day because it was ill and vomiting.

Kudos to Minneapolis City Council for striving to give cats equal protection under the law. I agree with Howard Means in his May 26 Op-ed Page article on leashing felines that there is a fundamental order of things. Although he describes his belief that cats need to roam "free," the Women's SPCA shelter where I work experiences the sad results of that unleashed behavior - lacerated cats stuck in car motors, felines torn up in "cat fights," the spread of feline distemper, peritonitis, homelessness and starvation.

The owner of King Kennels, a Baltimore Pike business that sells 230 dogs a year, has been ordered to pay $1,046 to a Middletown woman for veterinary bills incurred over a sick puppy bought in June at the kennel. The ruling, by District Justice Richard M. Cappelli, came Friday in Concord District Court against Kathryn Arroyo. It stemmed from a suit filed in Small Claims Court in Concordville by Cathy Wood, who bought a dog of border collie mix on June 14. It was the 10th civil suit against the kennel since 1988 in which the courts have ruled in favor of customers whose dogs got severely ill or died after being bought at the Concordville kennel.

Harp seals, which tend to be found from the Arctic to southeast Atlantic Coast of Canada, are venturing more and more to the waters of New Jersey and other East Coast states, and a federal agency is warning residents to stay away from the animals. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that so far this year the most southerly reported sightings have occurred off North Carolina, "In the spring, the Western North Atlantic harp seal population migrates to the waters around Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence to give birth to their young on pack ice," said Gordon Waring, head of the seal program at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Mass.

Cenote de las Espinas, the title of Gregory Amenoff's series of new paintings at Janet Fleisher Gallery, translates as "well of thorns. " The images refer to myths and legends of the American Southwest that are informed by a mixture of Indian, Spanish and Anglo culture. The semiabstract paintings are loaded with symbolism, particularly stylized thorns and wells, that appear in several variations. The thorns establish an attitude of sorrow and suffering that's enhanced by images of cataclysm such as volcanos and whirlpools.

Police ID slaying victim Police identified a man stabbed to death Thursday night after arguing with a friend over money as Bryant Bell, 52, of Wanamaker Street near Race. The argument occurred inside a house on Wanamaker Street near Girard Avenue shortly after 7 p.m., police said. Bell died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at 9:42 p.m., police said. Police have a man in custody and expect to file charges. Probation for food-bank thief Kim Bacone, a former Philly cop accused of selling items at Cheyney University that she had obtained for free from the Philabundance food bank, has pleaded guilty to theft by deception in Chester County.

Harp seals, which tend to be found from the Arctic to southeast Atlantic Coast of Canada, are venturing more and more to the waters of New Jersey and other East Coast states, and a federal agency is warning residents to stay away from the animals. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that so far this year the most southerly reported sightings have occurred off North Carolina, "In the spring, the Western North Atlantic harp seal population migrates to the waters around Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence to give birth to their young on pack ice," said Gordon Waring, head of the seal program at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Mass.

Police ID slaying victim Police identified a man stabbed to death Thursday night after arguing with a friend over money as Bryant Bell, 52, of Wanamaker Street near Race. The argument occurred inside a house on Wanamaker Street near Girard Avenue shortly after 7 p.m., police said. Bell died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at 9:42 p.m., police said. Police have a man in custody and expect to file charges. Probation for food-bank thief Kim Bacone, a former Philly cop accused of selling items at Cheyney University that she had obtained for free from the Philabundance food bank, has pleaded guilty to theft by deception in Chester County.

In what advocates say is a banner day for dogdom, Gov. Ridge yesterday signed the puppy lemon law, giving consumers a better chance to recover medical costs if they buy a sick dog. The bill, which took nine years to pass because of opposition from dog breeders, is expected to help change the state's reputation as "the puppy mill capital of the East Coast. " That distinction arose with the emergence of vast dog kennels in Lancaster County in the early 1980s. With Ridge's signature, Pennsylvania becomes the nation's first large puppy-producing state to provide protection for dog buyers.

The owner of King Kennels, a Baltimore Pike business that sells 230 dogs a year, has been ordered to pay $1,046 to a Middletown woman for veterinary bills incurred over a sick puppy bought in June at the kennel. The ruling, by District Justice Richard M. Cappelli, came Friday in Concord District Court against Kathryn Arroyo. It stemmed from a suit filed in Small Claims Court in Concordville by Cathy Wood, who bought a dog of border collie mix on June 14. It was the 10th civil suit against the kennel since 1988 in which the courts have ruled in favor of customers whose dogs got severely ill or died after being bought at the Concordville kennel.

Raccoons, as any game warden will explain, are animals of the night. But in the last two months, these scavengers have been making daytime appearances all over the place: ambling along busy roads, in Neshaminy Valley back yards, even in the picnic area of the Torresdale Swim Club in Andalusia. Rich Bolinski, Bensalem's animal control officer, fears that this is a sign that distemper, a viral disease most common in dogs, is spreading through the local raccoon population. In the last 2 1/2 months, Bolinski has captured 17 or 18 raccoons, according to his estimate, "which is a lot of raccoons to be out during the day," he said.

Two women who sued King Kennels on Baltimore Pike, saying the firm sold them infected dogs, were awarded $500 in Small Claims Court in Concordville yesterday. It was the ninth civil suit against the kennel since 1988 in which the courts have ruled in favor of customers whose dogs got severely ill or died after being purchased from the Concordville kennel. Two others successfully sued after their dogs fell ill after boarding at the kennel. Tara Shapiro and Lisa Sofio filed the most recent suit, contending that a puppy purchased Jan. 11 had to be returned the next day because it was ill and vomiting.

Raccoons, raccoons everywhere. For animal-control officer Nelson Short, hardly a day goes by without emergency calls about the ring-tailed critters. He cannot even drive down the road without spotting one. When Short drove away from the Nether Providence police station last week after dropping off some citations, there was a raccoon in the middle of the road. "It was falling down, going around in circles," Short said. "It fell off to the side of the road, and I shot it. " Since early spring, Short and other animal-control officers and wildlife pest-control agents in Delaware County have been swamped with calls from alarmed residents who have spotted raccoons, many of them sick, staggering around in their neighborhoods.

Five customers of Adorable Pets on East Lincoln Highway have filed suit against the pet store's owners, contending that the owners knowingly sold dogs infected with a deadly virus. The dogs they bought are now dead. Bruce Sobel, a Philadelphia attorney who initiated the suit against Adorable Pups and its owners, Debbie and Charles Guthrie, contends that the mixed black Labrador puppy that he purchased there Jan. 30 had distemper. Sobel says that the puppy was diagnosed in March as having distemper, and subsequently had to be euthanized March 23. Sobel also said in the suit that from the onset of the puppy's illness Feb. 3 until its death, the Guthries contended that the problem with Sobel's dog was an isolated incident.

Jan. 30 was a special day for Bruce and Annette Sobel. The Sobels, recently married and the owners of a new home, believed their dream was complete when they brought Jessie home that day. But after a brief and uncomfortable existence, Jessie, a mixed Labrador Retriever puppy, died. The Sobels were heartbroken. Now they are angry. Bruce Sobel, a Philadelphia attorney, says he intends to take legal action against Charles and Deborah Guthrie, owners of the store that sold Jessie.

There are many fascinating legends about the St. Bernard, the giant canine that has experienced wild swings in popularity since its arrival in America in the 19th century. Once in the top 10 among breeds in the United States, Saints now are the 44th-most-popular purebred dog, with 4,099 registered by the American Kennel Club last year. Dogs kept by monks at the Swiss hospice founded by St. Bernard of Menthon in the 10th century are credited with saving the lives of more than 2,500 Alpine travelers.