By SANDY BARNOSKY
The Pet Lady
Lady, a 12-year-old mare, was underweight and suffering from a painful deformed hoof when Brenda Lewis first saw her standing in a paddock, knee-deep in mud. Scars covered her back where she had been beaten. Lewis’s heart went out to her, and she struggled to come up with enough money to […]

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By SANDY BARNOSKY
The Pet Lady
It was a cold day near the end of January when Spencer resident Alice Crawford saw a potbellied pig in her yard on Lovers Lane. She tried to lure it to safety with food, but although the pig accepted her tidbits, she wasn’t able to catch it. Sightings of the elusive […]

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By SANDY BARNOSKY
The Pet Lady
Rosewood Farm is home to four miniature donkeys owned by Sheri and Ron Knorr. They started with just two of them about 12 years ago, but fell in love with the gentle, affectionate equines and began a small breeding operation.
“When we sold one, we were always sure it got a […]

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By JUDY A. TOTTS
Religion Editor
MEDINA — Like children scrubbed and wearing their Sunday best, the baskets line the steps of the altar at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.
Each basket brims with foods reserved for Easter tables: ham or leg of lamb, freshly-baked breads, pastries and cookies. A bottle of table wine peeks out from […]

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By SANDY BARNOSKY
Special to The Gazette
Bob and Susan Spisak have three cars. His, hers and an older model with a license plate that reads 4-Goldens, used when one or all of their four golden retrievers travel with them — and their dogs go just about everywhere, including vacations.
“They’re well behaved, and we’ve found many places […]

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By SANDY BARNOSKY
Special to The Gazette
The total pet population in the United States is reported to have reached a record high of more than 282 million with 60 percent of all homes having at least one pet. Many pet owners consider their pet to be part of the family and are willing to spend more […]

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By SANDY BARNOSKY
Pet Lady
Shadow was the product of a backyard breeder who sold him with American Kennel Club papers for $150 to an unsuspecting buyer.
At 8 months old, he weighed only 19 pounds, but the buyer was told it was because he was the runt of the litter. After having him only a week, […]

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By SANDY BARNOSKY
The Pet Lady
Special to The Gazette
A brilliant scarlet cardinal perched outside a window in a snowy landscape is enough to know why winter is the best season for feeding birds. Aside from the joy they bring us, feeding the birds keeps them alive during severe weather and gives them a healthy start in […]

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By SANDY BARNOSKY
Special to The Gazette
Many people got a new dog during the Christmas season, but first-time dog owners are sometimes unaware of the importance of setting boundaries and teaching puppies what’s expected of them. Basic commands and points of etiquette learned in the first year will shape the dogs they will be as adults. […]

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Pixie-Bob cats are domestic cats that share many of the physical and personality characteristics of bobcats. These original “Legend Cats” are thought to have originally developed from the naturally occurring matings of American bobcats to barn cats.
In the mid-1980s, Carol Ann Brewer of Washington state took two “natural hybrid” kittens and bred them to create […]

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