Dogs

Bucking a decades-long trend, Michigan's population is finally growing — even if the increases are small. Also, we talked about the struggle of older Detroiters to keep up with the cost of house repairs.

The Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee opened hearings Thursday on a bill to outlaw medical research and testing on dogs if it could cause “pain or distress.”

The Pollinator Performance Center’s range of projects includes a training program for dogs to uncover a bacterial disease that threatens honey bee larvae.

One of Michigan’s best wood turtle searchers is Mooz, the dog. His owner is an inland fish and wildlife program manager at the Natural Resources Department of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. They search for where wood turtles lay eggs.

"I find myself wishing she didn't have him," writes an NPR listener of his new girlfriend's dog. Podcasters Haley Nahman and Danny Nelson weigh in.

For anyone thinking about adopting or fostering a dog, now could be the time. The Detroit Animal Care and Control Shelter is moving soon and hopes to find homes for as many as 45 dogs before then.

A respiratory illness is spreading between dogs in other states; no cases have been confirmed in Michigan, but vets are encouraging dog owners to look out for symptoms.

What makes the decision important is the determination that a violation of any single element of Michigan’s animal cruelty law can justify a conviction.

You don't even have to own one. Research shows just 5 to 20 minutes interacting with other people's pooches can reduce stress hormones and increase well-being.

Some dogs in areas of northern Michigan have died of a disease which seems to be canine parvovirus, but not all of the dead dogs tested positive for the virus.