Dog lovers in Washington can now pamper their pets with five-star accommodations as PetSmart PetsHotel opened in the suburb of Bethesda exclusive catering canines. The charge - $23 a night plus tax. Vince Malanaphy, manager of the Bethesda PetsHotel said the building is canine paradise. They offer lactose-free ice cream, indoor recreation and for an extra $10 a night, a pooch can have a bigger "suite" complete with a television set which shows an "animal related movie all day. "

A recent survey of animal shelters across Ohio says that the outlook for sheltered dogs has improved in the last decade more than cats. The Animal shelters reported that, since 1996, the number of dogs they received decreased by about 16 percent, while the number of cats taken in increased by nearly 20 percent, a press release of survey said.

Another dog was nabbed and killed by an alligator on Wednesday. This incident follows several other incidents in May in which both a dog and three humans were killed by alligators in Florida. Eric Johnston was dog sitting a 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier for his brother-in-law, when the dog escaped out of the backyard into the drainage canal. As the dog swam across the canal, a 9-foot, 250 pound alligator grabbed the dog below the water. The dog was never to be seen again.

A man in California has kept over 1,000 rats as pets in his home until recently, when he admitted the rodents 'had gotten a bit out of control' after they had began breeding uncontrollably. Roger Dier, 67, says that despite the reputation of the rodents, they were good creatures and that they loved him the same way he loved them. Despite all the love, Dier had been charged with animal cruelty and had all 1,000 rats taken away from his home.

Animal rights protesters swarmed into a restaurant serving cat meat in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and forced it to shut down. Xinhua reports that 40 or so, mainly female demonstrators-holding banners reading "cats and dogs are friends of human beings"-entered the Fangji Cat Meatball restaurant and demanded the owner free any live cats on the premises.