pets

In the 20 years since San Francisco's SPCA guaranteed adoption for healthy dogs, shelters and rescue groups have embraced the no-kill approach. But the term means different things to different people.

In many parts of the country, demand for adoptive pets outstrips the supply of healthy dogs. Many shelters and rescue groups now import dogs from other states — and even other countries.

Dogs pay close attention to the emotion in our voices, but what about the meaning of words? A clever experiment with 250 canines shows that dogs understand more of our speech than previously thought.

Almost 50 U.S. cities and towns have banned pet stores from selling puppies. The laws are aimed at cracking down on substandard, large-scale breeders, but many store owners say the bans are unfair.