Efforts for such a ballot initiative in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire and Vermont have failed but efforts are currently underway to establish similar legislation in Colorado and Washington. Again, thanks to Farmed Animal Net for this update on California's proposition 2. MORE

But not long ago on a lonely road in northern Connecticut, I stopped to administer similar compassion, only to be stoutly rebuffed by a vicious snapping turtle that refused to be helped. To the Editor: It’s good to know that Verlyn Klinkenborg is among those of us who stop to help tortoises on their way on a busy road (“ Edges and Order ,” The Rural Life, Jan. I have done that, and afterward felt at least virtuous if not godlike. MORE

Canine athletes are jumping through hoops to capture the gold at Doggy Games in Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, New York, New Jersey and Texas. London isn’t the only town where athletes are bringing home the gold this week. MORE

I'm starting to wonder about Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection says he never had the required permit. It's the same state where the Travis incident occurred. However, this time the owner is an oil and gas company president , not some eccentric woman on Xanax. Six weeks before a 200-pound chimpanzee nearly mauled a woman to death, state officials were cracking down on the owner of a 14-pound siamang that was still wearing diapers made for infants. MORE

Travis is the infamous Connecticut chimpanzee that wore clothes, drank wine, attacked a woman, and was shot by police afterwards. It's now confirmed that he had the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system. Did this play a role in Travis' attack? The victim is now blind, with a brain injury, severe damage to her face and the loss of both hands. Doctors say that it could take two years and numerous surgeries to reconstruct her face. MORE

To celebrate National Dog Day 2012, Best Friends Pet Care will be giving away free doggy ice cream treats to every dog who visits any Best Friends facility across the U.S. on Saturday, August 25. The treats are made of yogurt or soy with dog-preferred flavors like peanut butter and honey. MORE

Be aware of areas where Lyme disease (a common tick-borne illness) is prevalent: the eastern coastal states and the north central states, especially parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin and northern California. 5 ways to de-bug your pet this spring: Ticks can be difficult to spot. Ticks are tiny, some about the size of a pin head. They can resemble freckles, moles or even specks of dirt. MORE

Consideration of the needed legislation comes just one week after a woman was critically injured in a vicious chimpanzee attack in Stamford, Connecticut - leaving no doubt that the danger of nonhuman primates in homes and to communities must be addressed. Ya think? House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) announced that, at his request, the House of Representatives will consider on Monday, February 23, the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. MORE

Earlier this week a Connecticut woman was attacked by a 200 pound chimpanzee named Travis who had been kept as a pet for 14 years. What’s more is that the state of Connecticut (and the US as a whole) needs to take some of the responsibility for this. MORE

It’s prom season for teens everywhere — and that includes the canine kind! More than 600 doggy couples – decked out in bow ties and boas, tiaras and tails — will attend one of 38 Doggy Proms hosted by Best Friends Pet Care at its doggy day camp centers across the country. MORE

And Connecticut needs to pass some serious laws to stop this kind of ridiculous behavior. There has been so much said about Travis the chimp this week. It's 1) a gory story with 2) the bizarre tie-in to the New York Post's inexplicable use of Travis' image in a cartoon about the stimulus package. What were they thinking?) That image was wrong on so many levels. But let's stick to the animal rights issue. His death was a tragedy and should not be mocked. MORE

( AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Brian A. Pounds ) A pet store in Connecticut received a shipment of products last week. Products, meaning rabbits. Sentient nonhumans for sale. MORE

Chimpanzees, like Travis the chimp who mauled the woman in Connecticut, are not meant to be family pets. I had forgotten all about Michael Jackson and his chimp Bubbles whom he rescued from a research facility. Apparently, Bubbles is now 26 years old and living at an animal sanctuary. He got too aggressive to live with Jackson's kids. This is not surprising. They are wild creatures and their psychology must suffer from these abnormal arrangements. MORE