While there was an unexpected uptick in the February sales of existing homes at 2. 9 percent, home foreclosure filings across the U. S. grew by 60 percent and bank seizures more than doubled for the second month of the year. Aside from Americans struggling with the economy, the subprime crisis also hit a vulnerable sector who could do nothing about losing their roof, except whimper. Homeowners and their pets are being separated by escalating incidents of home foreclosures across America. According to USA Today, thousands of pets are being sent to animal shelters although no exact figures are available due to the lack of accounting standards for recording pets affected by foreclosures.

The Livingston County American Red Cross honored a 2-year old English Mastiff, who according to them had donated blood more than 20 times. The donations of the dog, named Lurch, had reportedly been of great help to the organization, as it had even aided in the recovery of a dog that ingested rat poison.

Loneliness is painful and potentially deadly, according to new research at the University of Chicago that found animals, gadgets and spiritual beliefs - not just friends - ease the sense of being alone. "It's actually a greater risk for morbidity or mortality than cigarette smoking is," says Nicholas Epley, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at the university's Graduate School of Business and lead author of an article on the subject in the February issue of the journal Psychological Science.

A cat called Wild Oats went for 19 whole days with a jar on its head, to the frustration and the concern of a woman who has been feeding it for years. Tabitha Cain recalled seeing the cat with an empty peanut butter jar on its head, and tried to catch it to get the jar off.

A one-year-old cheetah in the St. Louis Zoo escaped from its exhibit Monday, stumping zoo officials the day after as to how it was able to do so. According to zoo staff, the cheetah must have managed to go over a wall at least 10 foot in height, before arriving at a rocky area that served as a separator between people and animals at the River's Edge exhibit.