We asked our Facebook fans: “Do you talk to your dog (or cat) and does she understand you?“ Anita Martin: My family dog is Layla, a schnoodle, who is almost 2 years old. I don’t know if she understands what we say to her, but she certainly knows the sound of ANYTHING going on in the kitchen, which means FOOD! She can hear forks being taken out of a drawer or a bag of chips being opened!

“It is no coincidence that man’s best friend cannot talk.“—Author unknown Dogs can’t talk, but they’re masters of body language. We all recognize the wagging tail, wriggling body and relaxed forward stride as a welcome greeting. Conversely, a stiff forward stance, with ears forward and low and slow wagging tail, means you may not be so welcome after all.

Chesterfield County leaders are to hear from the public tonight before deciding on proposed changes to the county’s dog laws. Currently, only two dogs are allowed by right on residential properties. The county’s Board of Zoning Appeals must approve a $1,000 special-exception application for a “private kennel” to allow three or more adult dogs.

Police say an 11-year-old Spotsylvania County boy shot a neighbor’s dog because he thought it barked too much.

Every time Eric Kaplan has to give up a dog, he’s happy. It means the dog he has nurtured will have a permanent home. Kaplan provides a foster home for dogs from BARK, the Hanover County rescue group that’s known more by its acronym than its full name of Bandit’s Adoption and Rescue of K-9s. “I can’t say how many people tell me they would love to foster one, ‘but it would break my heart to let them go.‘ That’s not been my experience,“ Kaplan said. “I celebrate when they find a good home.“

A British scientist says some pedigree dogs are suffering from deformity and disease as a result of breeders’ search for alleged perfection.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says a police officer shot two pit bulls to death at Dulles International Airport after one dog got out of its kennel and attacked the other.

Animal welfare activists and pet lovers are demanding that a dog that survived being thrown off a six-story New York building this summer be allowed to live.

The Richmond animal-protection office concluded yesterday that “no willful intent was found” in its investigation of the death of the family pet of Robin Starr. The finding apparently will end all investigations into the demise of Louie, a 16-year-old poodle mix who died of heatstroke after being accidentally confined in the Starr family’s car when the outside temperature was about 90 degrees.

For the second time in less than three months, Danville police have killed a dog. Police issued a news release saying a pit bull attacking other dogs died after officers used a Taser on it Wednesday. The dog’s owner was charged with four counts of having an unlicensed dog and three counts of having an unvaccinated dog. On June 8, a Danville officer fired a single gunshot that killed an 11-year-old miniature dachshund that was growling at him. Police Chief Philip A. Broadfoot initially said the officer had acted in accordance with department policy, but the chief later fired the officer after saying an investigation did not support the officer’s version of events that preceded the shooting.

From short to shaggy, nearly all the differences in dogs’ coat types result from variations in just three genes, according to researchers studying how genes work together.

The new drug, Palladia, manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health Inc., has been approved to treat a type of cancer that accounts for about one in five cases of canine skin tumors.

Sussex County and state officials seized 72 dogs and a potbellied pig from a dog breeder last month, a spokesman for the county Sheriff’s Office said. The animals were seized from dog breeder John Boudiette on March 23 after the state veterinarian’s office received a complaint, sheriff’s investigator W.B. Banty said this week. Most of the dogs are Labrador retrievers, and 39 of them have been taken in by Lab Rescue of the Potomac, said Sterrie Weaver, a member of the group.