Pet Store

First two cockatoos were rescued from the darkened store. Then a chinchilla, followed by a snake and a turtle. Noah's Ark met bankruptcy court yesterday as a local pet-store chain's owners claimed the animals at another pet store, birdcatdogfish. . . in the 202 Marketplace, a strip mall here. The mission ended the strange exile of the animals - four puppies and assorted fish, birds, reptiles and rodents - left in the store after the owners, Adam and Kerri Lehrhaupt of Montgomeryville, filed a Chapter 7 petition Tuesday.

An unlicensed pet store in North Philadelphia was raided by authorities last night, and 28 dogs housed in excrement-covered cages in a back room were seized. The dogs, for the most part pit bull mixes, were being sold for as much as $1,000, said George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA. Also participating in the raid at Brickyard Pet Supply, at 2208 Cecil B. Moore Ave., were four state dog wardens, who oversee kennel licensing, and Philadelphia police.

Bozo is back. A little hungry, but still talking his head off, said one of his owners. Bozo, a parrot-type bird called a chattering lory, was stolen from his home at Beasties Unlimited in Exton, Chester County, on Thursday. Acting on a tip from another pet-store manager, Uwchlan Township police and one of Beasties' owners, John Kauffman, found the bird in the home of a St. Vincent Township woman yesterday afternoon. "The bird appears to be just fine, although it seemed a little on the hungry side" said Doug McLaughlin, another owner of Beasties.

In one of the more harrowing moments of yesterday's fire at the Moorestown Mall, a frightened brown puppy shivered in the back of a Maple Shade ambulance with an oxygen mask on its face. An emergency medical technician clutched the sad-eyed dog, wrapped in a blanket, in her arms as pet store workers, security personnel, employees of the nearby Sears store and police officers rescued animals from the Docktor Pet Center. The animals in their cages became a concern as soon as the disastrous fire was discovered about 8 a.m. Helpless in their cages, the puppies, kittens, exotic birds, hamsters and other tiny pets were barking, mewing and chirping in alarm as rescuers rushed inside the shop, where at least one worker had already arrived.

It was bad enough just being human and enduring last weekend's ice storm, but if you're a true native of the tropics, like Oliver the Iguana, then when the lights go out and the heat shuts off you're in trouble - deep freeze trouble. Barbara Cassidy arrived at her Cherry Hill pet store that Saturday morning to discover the power had been lost. Oliver, 3 years old and four feet long, was evacuated when the temperature in his heated tank dropped to 55 degrees. About 50 tropical fish died, however, after another night in the store.

A shipment of exotic fish, destined for a pet store in Northeast Philadelphia, was exotic in a wholly different way. Because of a communications mix-up yesterday with US Airways, the box turned out to hold the body of a California man who died last week and had willed his body to medical researchers trying to unlock the mysteries of Alzheimer's disease. According to Philadelphia police, an employee from Pets Plus USA, a locally owned chain of pet stores, went to the US Airways cargo facility near Philadelphia International Airport on Monday night to retrieve three boxes holding the live fish.

Who is that sly dog? He is Merv, a 2-year-old costumed cocker spaniel owned by Tom and Donna Junod of Northeast Philadelphia. Merv was one of many four- footed guests at the Halloween costume party for pets held at at Lick Your Chops, a pet store in Richboro.

Bordentown Township police and fire officials are investigating a three- alarm fire that destroyed four shops early yesterday, including a pet store in which all of the pets fell victim to the smoke. The blaze wiped out the small one-story brick shopping center on Route 206 that housed a Pizza Hut, the 206 Deli, Trophies Unlimited and Kraus' Aquarium & Pet Store. Among the dead animals was Lucifer, an 18-year-old green macaw who was popular with customers and neighbors, authorities said.

Making friends with a baby rabbit is Sean Fast, 2, of Maple Shade. Sean's buddy was among hundreds being sold at Martin's Aquarium and Pet Store in Cherry Hill for Easter today. The store says it usually sells at least 400 bunnies during the Easter season. The price of a Peter cottontail this year? $9.95 and up.

It is apparent by Deborah Lawson's pets column of Nov. 23 that people sorely need to reassess the value they place on a living thing. If people can imagine themselves giving up a pet because of "financial reverses, job changes" or "prohibition of pets in rental properties," they are people who should not own pets. If they cannot commit to the care of an animal through good times and bad, they should do life on this planet a favor and not take it from the breeder, pet store or humane shelter in the first place.

A North Coventry Township gas station was ordered closed Thursday because of concerns that a diesel leak has contaminated area wells. The state Department of Environmental Protection ordered Coventry Mart, at 1453 S. Hanover St., to shut off its pumps until further notice and empty its three diesel tanks, one of which appeared to be leaking into a shared well. The DEP reported in March that fuel from the facility had seeped into a storm-water basin and a tributary of Pigeon Creek in the northern Chester County township.

An unlicensed pet store in North Philadelphia was raided by authorities last night, and 28 dogs housed in excrement-covered cages in a back room were seized. The dogs, for the most part pit bull mixes, were being sold for as much as $1,000, said George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA. Also participating in the raid at Brickyard Pet Supply, at 2208 Cecil B. Moore Ave., were four state dog wardens, who oversee kennel licensing, and Philadelphia police.

A shipment of exotic fish, destined for a pet store in Northeast Philadelphia, was exotic in a wholly different way. Because of a communications mix-up yesterday with US Airways, the box turned out to hold the body of a California man who died last week and had willed his body to medical researchers trying to unlock the mysteries of Alzheimer's disease. According to Philadelphia police, an employee from Pets Plus USA, a locally owned chain of pet stores, went to the US Airways cargo facility near Philadelphia International Airport on Monday night to retrieve three boxes holding the live fish.

DELAWARE COUNTY can be a dangerous place for a defenseless dog. A Ridley Township man is to be sentenced today for killing his wife's bulldog with a samurai-style sword, and a Southwest Philly man is facing charges in Upper Darby of drowning his ex-boyfriend's Pomeranian in a bathtub. Now, Springfield Township police are on the hunt for the puppy-bandits who hit a Baltimore Pike pet shop Tuesday night. Two unidentified men walked into We Love Pets shortly before 7 p.m., grabbed a black pug and a maltipom out of their pens, then hopped into a white Cadillac Escalade that was waiting out back, according to police Lt. William Clark.

It was a dog day afternoon in Cherry Hill yesterday as pets showed off the stupid tricks their owners have taught them in open auditions for the Late Show with David Letterman. The tryouts, which took place at the Cutter's Mill pet store on Route 70, were part of a nationwide talent search for "Stupid Pet Tricks," the late-night talk show's popular segment that features animals performing humorous and bizarre stunts. "We're looking forward to seeing what the people here of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, have to show," Ryan Williams, a talent assistant on the Late Show, said before the auditions began.

When a Downingtown pet store closed last week, hundreds of animals, from furry hamsters to baby ball pythons, were suddenly without a home. Luckily, the Chester County SPCA gave them a new one, for the short run. Now the question is: Does anyone out there want to adopt them? SPCA handlers retrieved hundreds of fish, two cats, four kittens, six puppies, and close to a hundred smaller animals such as lizards, iguanas, snakes, turtles, hamsters, gerbils and chinchillas from All About Pets.

It was a cool, clear fall night and my daughter and I were burying her goldfish in the backyard. The trees rustled and creaked around us as if they were talking to each other, and we realized that soon winter would be here. You could smell it. This wasn't just any ordinary goldfish. This was Swimmy, a pet that had lived in silence on my kitchen counter for eight years. He (we assumed it was a "he" although we never really knew for sure) was the palest tangerine color, with a translucent white underbelly, and he spent his days swimming in circles in a large, round goldfish bowl.

Visits to pet store, doughnut shop are not field trips The education system has always been a trusted institution in the community, but to allow businesses to market directly to children through "field trips" ("Instead of zoo, it is off to Petco for field trips," May 25) is completely unacceptable. In my mind, children attend schools to learn subjects, how to get along with others, and lessons about the world around them. The quote of one educator in the story - "I don't care where anyone goes, as long as the reason is logical, purposeful," referring to school-sponsored trips to such places as Toys R Us and Krispy Kreme - is beyond belief.

Environmentalists here are looking to show off a hot-button political issue the best way they know how - naturally. Members of the group Saving the Environment of Moorestown (STEM) have been on the front lines in passing open-space initiatives in the township and supporting like-minded candidates. Today, they will host an Open Space Tour of three properties acquired or maintained with public preservation funds. The jaunts will include guided walks on township nature trails, a primer on stream life, and gourmet coffee.