Here's an intriguing burglary from a couple nights ago. Why do YOU think this happened? According to state agriculture authorities, a horse was found infected with a parasite on June 8 at an equine center in Raytown, Missouri (near Kansas City). flickr.com/photos/librarianavengersThe parasite, piroplasmosis, is not endemic to North America, the USDA says. It's a blood-borne parasite transmitted by ticks. There's no cure for it. In acute cases, horses will suffer fever, a swollen abdomen, labored
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Studies show that family dinners curb adolescent drug abuse. No study yet on the effects of study-induced guilt. (The New York Times)Big food website offers food bloggers cash to shut down. (The Los Angeles Times)New Missouri Department of Agriculture program aims to help small farmers and the needy. (Ozarksfirst.com)Drinking wine from baby bottles the new trend in separating hipsters from their money. (Firstcoastnews.com)
This November, if a group called Missourians for the Protection of Dogs gets its way, Missouri voters will have a chance to vote on the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act. The Act proposes to curb the worst abuses in high-volume commercial dog breeding operations, known as puppy mills.flickr.com/photos/cheezyluTwo dogs rescued from a puppy mill.​Animal rights groups, including the one Riverfront Times profiled last winter, have described the conditions of these puppy mills in graphic details. D