And it was literally as she was signing the lease on her new apartment in New York that the broker said, “Oh, and I made a mistake, it turns out this apartment isn’t pet friendly.” Robin thought about her options as the ink on her signature dried, and briefly considered biting the broker on the leg. This is a great guest post from Amy Epstien. An important read for pet owners about their legal rights. Enjoy! MORE

Many of Petland's puppies are not supplied directly by breeders but are purchased from a "middle man"—large-scale "pet distributors," otherwise known as brokers—showing that the company may not even know who the breeders are or what their standards of care may be like. The investigation revealed that some of Petland's brokers are also buying from puppy mills. This news story slipped by in November. MORE

said was a welcome step toward brokering peace in the volatile nation. I hope so. We've got to get the gorilla rangers back into Virunga. According to the AP. The U.N. Security Council agreed Thursday to send 3,100 more peacekeeping troops to Congo, while rebels said they remained committed to a pullback from the front lines despite an army attack. There are currently 17,000 peacekeepers in the vast Central African nation — the world's largest U.N. MORE

Class B dealers are animal brokers who acquire animals from places such as pounds, flea markets and newspaper ads for the purpose of selling them to research institutions or veterinary schools. I learned something new from this article. I had never heard the use of the term "Class B." MORE

Once penned, some dolphins are picked out by dolphin trainers and animal brokers for purchase and transport to amusement parks and resorts. We posted about this film a while ago, but it is still inspiring news coverage. Clearly, it is disturbing enough to provoke some real discussions about the ethics of dolphins in amusement parks. Whenever I read about dolphins in places like Sea World, I think of an ex-co-worker named Gretchen who admitted she had "issues" with animals. MORE

Animal welfare groups led by the Humane Society of the United States have agreed to abandon a fall ballot issue against animal cruelty as part of a deal with state farm groups brokered by Gov. To me, it's another example of the Humane Society's growing savvy and clout in the US. I know many will disagree with me and say it's a cop-out, but I'll take what I can get. From the Associated Press. MORE