The infamous lions, tigers and bears trifecta is complete in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike: The bear was the first on the scene, arriving ahead of the storm on Friday afternoon. It made a brief, mysterious appearance on a beach in Galveston, its emergence from the crashing waves an ominous foreshadowing of the trifecta to come. The lion appeared next, also on Galveston Island. A local exotic animal collector was holed up in a......

The Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows is back in town this weekend, marking 31 years of the beloved canine competition. We can't think of a better or more enjoyable way to spend a hot Houston afternoon than inside the Reliant Center watching some fine canine athletic competitions. Less strict and far more fun than its stuffy cousins, the Reliant dog show offers events such as flyball, agility and obedience, doggie dancing competitions and......

As if you needed another reason to head down to Discovery Green this weekend, here's one more: Dock Dogs! Yes, the time-honored "dog performance sport" of leaping off docks and catching crazy air will be going on all weekend at the downtown park. If you thought the Lumberjack Games were the most ludicrous yet highly entertaining sport you've ever seen, then you haven't witnessed the majesty of Dock Jumping. In this sport, dogs of all......

Good morning, Houston. Nothing to lol at here: the Houston SPCA is rolling out a new policy for pet owners who drop off their pets. From now on, there will be a fifteen minute "counseling session," during which the owners will know if the pet is going to be a candidate for adoption or if it's going to the big litterbox in the sky. The policy is meant to make it harder for owners......

Good morning, Houston. Speaking of problems you didn't know existed, we've got two words for you: Duck dumping. It means leaving domestic ducks in places where they shouldn't be — and it's happening at Hermann Park. People apparently decide their ducks would like to join their brethren at the park, particularly around Easter, but the domestic ducks don't mix with the wild ones that actually live in the park: The domestic ones roost on......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor JMBower. This wonderful reflected nature shot was taken at Brazos Bend State Park just up the road in Needville. Houstonist loves nature but dang we hate running into alligators! If you go, please be sure to read all the warning signs, keep pets on a very short leash and pay attention to your surroundings. If you have a passion for Houston......

Good morning, Houston. Are you planning on taking a summer vacation? Here's something to consider, if you are: Continental, along with several other airlines, raised their fares in 30% of the top U.S. markets this week. Some one-way fares are up $10, some $5, and some remain the same. This was a relatively small increase, but will still hit the wallets of summer vactioners. With airfare increasing and gas prices so high, how about......

Let the good times roll! Tomorrow, from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. as the Museum of Natural Science premieres "Hurricane on the Bayou". Food will be available for purchase from Good Ole Boys Cajun Food Catering. Plus, you can shake your groove thing to the tunes of Willie T and the Zydeco Posse, and Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band - who are featured in the IMAX film. Radio station 104 KRBE will be......

Well, this is unpleasant: According to KHOU, the runoff from the last few days' rain is washing fecal bacteria from the area into the Gulf of Mexico, posing a potential threat to swimmers. Though it won't kill anyone, the bacteria could make people pretty sick, so advisories have been posted at a few Galveston beaches: San Luis Resort Beach Plaza Shopping Center 60th Street Beach 57th Street Beach Fort Crockett Seawall Park West Fort......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA......

It's baaaaaack! No, not Poltergeist. Time Warner Cable revises it's "Movies in the Park" this weekend in Downtown's Sesquicentennial Park. The four-week movie series features outdoor films, concessions, and entertainment. So pull out the blankets and pack the picnic baskets. It's fun for the whole family. 6 p.m. - Concessions Open 7 p.m. - Pre-movie Entertainment 8 p.m. or dusk - Movie Screening Movie Schedule Saturday, April 14 – Bend it Like Beckham Saturday,......

As we noted over the weekend, it's pollen season in Houston — and even if we hadn't mentioned it, we're sure you would have noticed that your car, your house and your pets have all turned yellowish-green from being outside. Turns out, though, that this is no ordinary spring: According to local health officials, Houston is having record levels of pollen this year. "The counts that we are getting now are pretty alarming, and the......

Good morning, Houston. Have you ever looked at your pet gerbil and thought, "Y'know, Nibbles really looks like an ibex?" If so, you might consider seeing an eye doctor — or entering the Houston Zoo's Naturally Wild photo contest. The zoo and KTRK are looking for photos of pets that look like wild animals; if yours makes the cut, you could win a family membership to the zoo and a gift card from Petco.......

With visions of sugar plum fairies dancing through their heads, the -Ists began to get into that holiday mood. Well, some did. Austinist wasn't as the NY Times dissed them and a local Tex-Mex institution sold out. Making them feel better was music, sweet music and the local theater getting name checked on "Heroes." Chicagoist tried to wrap their heads around a religious movie being banned from a Christmas themed park. To wash that......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

Hoist a pint, go home with a hound (aye-chihuahua)- or thinking of rescuing one. The Ginger Man Pub is the place to be on November 11th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., especially if you are interested in Animal Rescue. Besides, what goes better with a pint of your favorite beer, ale or lager than, (yep - that tired old line - again) a warm fuzzy! The sad fact is that some people dump......

Houstonist likes pets and pet charities (animals in general - really. Well, iffy on the reptiles - that's just us). We advocate promoting pet adoption, spaying/neutering or just hooking up a homeless pet with a meal, worthy causes, all. To that end, we are bringing to your attention a wine and warm fuzzy event benefiting animals. Houston PetSet, along with the Houston Humane Society, is hosting a wine tasting at The Tasting Room Midtown......

Add another local resident to the list of people bitten by rabid bats. This time, it's a north Harris County man who was bitten Friday while raking leaves in his yard in the Oakwood Village area. KPRC reports the man was picking up leaves when the bat flew out of the leaf pile; he caught it and the bat bit him on the hand. Though he didn't see the bite occur, it broke the skin.......

Houstonist loves its pets – well, some of us don’t have one, but we love our friends’ pets! Finally, our city is getting recognition for our pet fondness. According to AAA, Houston is now the most pet-friendly city for travelers. The survey is mainly based on the number of hotels and motels that accept pets. Houston leads the pack with 108 lodging choices for pets and their owners. We also have two off-leash dog parks......

If you’re a pet lover with too much time and money on your hands, a fun way to spend some of it would be to get a reading from a pet psychic.* We found a website for one based in Houston who was also used by KPRC Local 2 to do a reading for Radar, the weather dog. Her name is Lisa Greene, and she can give the reading over the phone or in......

For many of us, our pets are our kids. Unfortunately, our employer doesn’t offer pet insurance, so when the furry one gets sick we end up blowing a paycheck on fixing them. Sometimes, of course, they just need to be fixed. Good news: Grocery chain H.E.B. has partnered with Pethealth, Inc., and will be offering pet health coverage to its Texas customers by the end of the year. Not only will your pet receive health......

The City of Houston's has euthanizied fewer dogs and cats and adopted more this year than last according to a report from the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC). The city's shelter has come under intense scrutiny over the past year from animal welfare advocates and city officials for being too quick to put animals to sleep and not aggressive enough in promoting its adoption program. In the fiscal year that ended June 30,......

Houston women had the chance to get a chance to become a princess over the weekend. (Yes, that confused us a bit, too.) There were open casting calls for the reality show The Bachelor: Rome on Friday at the local ABC studios and on Sunday at Katy Mills Mall. We’re a little surprised the casting wasn’t held outside of some fancy schmancy store in the Galleria, considering the social status of the new Bachelor.......

A Tyler boy discovered when police evicted his parents from the industrial warehouse in which they were living will be reunited with his dog in foster care. The Chronicle seems to be with us on the movie idea, as we have camera-ready images of "the little boy and his brown-spotted dog scamper[ing] around outside the building" as police dealt with trash, rotting food, human waste, and piles of drug paraphranalia. The kid, described as "a......

One of the most disturbing and heartbreaking images from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were the pets who were left to wander the city and die if they weren't rescued. Not because their owners wanted to leave them there, but because they had no choice. At the time, people evacuating were not allowed to bring their pets and had to decide whether to risk their lives and stay with their animals or to leave them......

A bat found in Clear Lake is being tested for rabies after a woman found it in a neighborhood park this week, KTRK reports. Susan Hathaway was walking her dog at Whitlock and Mabry Mill, off Clear Lake City Boulevard and El Camino Real, when she noticed the bat didn't look right: She says it was on a bush near the ground. She used a pine cone to scoop it into a container, took it......

So you've probably heard about the recent spate of alligator attacks in Florida, right? Yeah, nasty stuff. Fortunately, if you should find yourself be-bopping through some wetlands in the near future, KHOU has some tips on how to keep yourself from becoming gator food. After what we're sure was hours of research, Channel 11 offers the following advice based on a visit to Brazos Bend State Park, which has some gators of its own:......

Houstonist's out-of-town friends have long chided us about what a crappy town we live in. And statistically, we guess they're right, sort of: According to a national survey, Houstonians are the nation's worst at scooping their dogs' poop. Well, there go the 2016 Olympics. The survey, conducted by animal health company Merial, was meant to promote awareness of health threats that come from failing to pick up after your pet (hookworms and roundworms can be......

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scene. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorito bananas and white guys shopping for wives. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. Bostonist sees Boston and Somerville each whip out their art and face off. A plagiarized novel is the......