Since 2000, Chris Long has been a store associate at a Home Depot in Illinois. Having a pet does not mean you have to give up hopes of having a lush, well-manicured yard. Although dog ownership may pose some challenges in the quest to achieve garden greatness, it’s definitely not a hopeless cause. The key is balance. MORE

Last summer, Alley Cat Allies conducted an analysis of Illinois Department of Agriculture reports collected from the 247 animal pounds and shelters licensed by the state that handled cats in 2006. More than 60,000 cats were killed in Illinois animal pounds and shelters in 2006. Illinois is one of the few states with laws already requiring pounds and shelters to report the fate of animals in their custody. MORE

New Jersey Illinois Massachusetts Colorado Maine WORST STATES Ohio Hawaii Alabama North Dakota Mississippi Idaho South Dakota (worst) According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the states fell this way. BEST Illinois (best) Maine Michigan Oregon California WORST Mississippi Idaho Hawaii North Dakota Kentucky. According to this Technorati article , the Humane Society rated the states on their animal protection laws. BEST STATES California (best-yay!) MORE

About the Author: Monarch Landing is a Chicago senior living community located near the city in Naperville, Illinois. Not all retirement communities are created equal. And while many are similar, there are always certain things that set the best ones apart from the rest. One of these things is how the retirement community regards its residents owning pets. 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. Best Friends Pet Care ( www.bestfriendspetcare.com ) is hosting its own version – the Doggy Olympic Games — at more than a dozen locations across the U.S. Just check out these amazing doggy athletes! MORE

Wildlife conservationists say the freeze will delay and possibly prevent the removal of gray wolves from the federal endangered species list in Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and also in portions of Washington, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Let's keep our fingers crossed. MORE

Best Friends Pet Care is a leading national pet care company and offers boarding, daycare, grooming and training at 42 locations across 18 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. MORE

Forever Home Feline Ranch – Springfield, Illinois. It’s time for the Santa Paws Drive ! The mission of the Santa Paws Drive is to bring holiday cheer to shelter animals around the world. How do they do it? With your help of course! The Santa Paws Drive is an online toy drive dedicated to shelter pets to bring them a little joy and fun while they await their forever homes. This year’s goal is to raise $1,000 in cash donations for each shelter ($6,000 total) plus oodles of toys and treats! MORE

Years later, after he had gone off to teach at Northern Illinois University and I had gone off to teach at the University of Texas at Arlington, we discovered that we had a shared interest in animal rights. Here is a profile of my friend and co-blogger Mylan Engel Jr. We went to graduate school together at the University of Arizona. I didn't like Mylan at the time, and I'm sure he didn't like me. Mylan worked in epistemology. I worked in ethics. MORE

They're from a legal farm in Illinois, so the law isn't the reason. Here's my first problem with this: The number of lions in the wild is not affected by the farming operation in Illinois. Have you seen the ridiculous television show, Wipeout ? There's something hilarious about people intentionally putting themselves in a position to be beaten up like Wile E. Coyote. It's all in fun, with much of the humor coming from the commentators and the special sound effects. MORE

As an Illinois state senator, he backed at least a dozen animal protection laws, including those to strengthen the penalties for animal cruelty, to help animal shelters, to promote spaying and neutering, and to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Not a big surprise considering McCain's VP choice. I’m proud to announce today that the HSLF board of directors—which is comprised of both Democrats and Republicans—has voted unanimously to endorse Barack Obama for President. MORE

In DeKalb, Illinois, that monster is Cavel International, the only remaining plant in the U.S. Cavel, a Belgian company, kills horses in Illinois for export to Europe. In response to citizen outrage over horses being slaughtered in Illinois, the Illinois legislature decided to tie off the loophole for good by passing House Bill 1711. Apparently, Belgian citizens must have a say regarding what businesses can be engaged in in the state of Illinois!] MORE

Among the best: California, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Oregon. The ALDF has released a report on how different states' animal protection laws stack up. And the worst: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, South Dakota, Wyoming You can check out the whole report on their web site. MORE

Such hormones may increase the risk of breast, colon and gastrointestinal cancers, according to a University of Illinois study. To the Editor: Re “ Don’t Cry Over rBST Milk ,” by Henry I. Miller (Op-Ed, June 29): Monsanto’s genetically engineered hormone has not held up to scrutiny. MORE

Since a number of "Animal Ethics" readers reside in the northern Illinois area, I thought I would call your attention to an exciting lecture that is taking place on Northern Illinois University's campus. Professor Jenni made her debut appearance in DeKalb in September 2002 when she presented her paper “The Power of the Visual” at the Northern Illinois Ethic Consortium’s inaugural conference Ethics in Contemporary Life. MORE