You’ve seen the YouTube video of the crazy cat lady throwing handfuls of food into a room of swarming cats, right? It might be funny when it’s a roomful, but when it’s 1,000 animals, it’s just sad and more harmful than helpful. There are 1,000 animals living at the Haven in Raeford. The Indy examines the no-kill facility’s extensive violation record in “Haven faces state scrutinyagain.”

Here in the Triangle, we’re really lucky to have a dedicatedand sanerescue community. The Indy visited the U.S. Equine Rescue League’s farm in Zebulon, where we found our cover model, Snickers; see “They rescue horses, don’t they?” On the dogs-and-cats end of things, about 4 million are euthanized in U.S. shelters each year, but no longer at the SPCA of Wake County, which became a no-kill shelter on June 30; see “SPCA of Wake County goes no-kill.” If you’re in the market for a new pet, please don’t go to a market; adopt from a shelter or rescue group, starting with the four sweethearts in “Least likely to be adopted.”

Last year in this issue, we reported on the burgeoning field of animal law. Cities in the Triangle have enacted several anti-tethering ordinances in the past year; find out how they’re working in “Grace periods end for anti-tethering ordinances.” For a roundup of animal-related bills in this year’s legislative session, see “Animal welfare and the 2010 legislative session.”

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Dog Days issue without your beloved pets; see readers’ pet tales; and we’re happy to include more readers’ pet tales here online.

Happy tails to you and yours.