As capitalism implodes, a related item in today’s Denver Post caught my eye. Apparently, Greeley resident Paula Harding could no longer afford the vet bills for her sick 15-year-old dog and, after trying OD him on anti-anxiety pills, she shot him. (Ironically, The Humane Society offers euthanasia starting at $35 and Harding is being held on a $5,000 bond.) This sad story is yet another facet in this desperate financial crisis and a new term is born: "foreclosure pet."   

Thomas Dörflein died this week leaving behind one very confused bear. Dörflein, a keeper with the Berlin Zoo, was known to the world as the surrogate father of Knut, a polar bear rejected by his mother, Tosca, at birth. Born in December 2006, Dörflein actually moved into the animal's enclosure to provide round-the-clock care.

As Hurricane Ike bears down on Texas, it's hard to suppress those Hurricane Katrina flashbacks. With the bulk of my family living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Hurricane Season brings anxiety. I worry for the humans I love, the humans I've never met and all the animals in between. During Hurricane Katrina, nearly 10,000 animals were rescued but an estimated 600,000 pets were killed or left without shelter.

For this week's DNC, my city is infiltrated with throngs of patriotic die-hards, angry protesters, street performers, law enforcement and LOTS of t-shirt vendors. Beyond the expected red-white-blue banners, balloons and streamers, DNC attendees are expressing their political beliefs in their own way. I tried to stand firm and remain a blank canvas but have caved.

Growing up in LA, I was so accustomed to helicopters that I never really noticed them until I moved away. The chop-chop-chop was just a part of the urban jungle landscape. So it was with great alarm when I first noticed helicopters circling my beloved 'metro cowtown' of Denver the last month or so. It was the local law enforcement practicing emergency drills for the Democratic National Convention - the biggest party to come to town since ... since the 1908 Democratic National Convention.