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Not the actual dog killed

​We've told you more stories than we've liked to about animal cruelty and abuse as of late, and much to our dismay, here's one more that's especially difficult to stomach.

According to news outlets, police are looking for a group of men who stomped to death a 4-pound Yorkshire terrier that was trying to protect his owner during an attack in San Jose this weekend.

Here's what happened: The dog's owner said he was walking his pup, Shadow, at Winchester Boulevard and Colonial Way at about 2 p.m. on Saturday when three men approached him and asked if he was a gang member. The owner told the men he was no gang member, but the men attacked him anyway.

The owner, a 32-year-old man, tried to run off with his dog in tow, but tripped and fell. That's when the men started kicking him, and Shadow started barking. When the men ran off, the owner looked over at his pup and saw "a big puddle of blood."

Shadow died on the way to the vet from head trauma, consistent with being kicked and stomped.
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A cat person?

​Unlike Lupita Cortez, the San Jose mom who was charged with child abuse after allegedly tossing her toddler out a window, Danielle Walker, the really mean woman accused of throwing a pup from a third-story window last week, is walking away a free woman.

As the SF Appeal notes this morning, Walker, 22, is getting away with having tossed an adorable Jack Russell terrier from a Mission District window, assuming she in fact did do it.

But therein lies the problem. The dog's owner has refused to cooperate with police, or give a statement that would back up another witness' claim that Walker threw the pup, Stephanie Ong Stillman, spokesperson for the DA's office, tells the Appeal.
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Contrary to what men hope, cat fights almost never end in two girls making out

​Who needs cable when you can view this kind of drama at your local grocery store?

Two women got into a fight while shopping for groceries inside a store on the 5200 block of Diamond Heights. According to police the victim was cruising the aisles when the suspect approached with a small dog in tow.

The victim used sharp language to communicate how she felt about bringing a dog inside a grocery store. The suspect cursed at the victim, telling her to shut up.

The victim shot back with her own string of profanities -- and the cat fight was on.
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What kind of monster would beat a dog?

​Police are asking for the public's help to locate four 3-week-old puppies that were stolen during a burglary in the Double Rock neighborhood earlier this week.

According to Sgt. Michael Andraychak, the burglars broke into a home on the 100 block of Cameron Way sometime between 9 a.m. and noon on Tuesday. The burglars used a blunt object to beat two adult dogs inside the house before grabbing the puppies.
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One of the few movies to depict cats' true character

​It is no secret that cats are a nefarious species of mammal. Dirtier than the pig and more vicious than the wolverine, felis silvestris catus must be applauded for using its estimable wiles to colonize the homes of its comparatively guileless cohabitant, homo sapiens.

The debate over whether love of cats is a matter of taste or a clinical psychological infirmity is still open, but in the meantime it is safe to say that human beings could use some help in relating to this aloof and emotionally draining animal.

On this front, San Franciscans are in luck: Jackson Galaxy, the renowned cat behaviorist who stars in Discovery Channel's My Cat from Hell, is coming to town.

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Not an actual photo of the dog

​Two things you should never throw out your window: Babies and animals.

But alas, a Tiburon woman embraced her cruel side when she allegedly tossed an adorable Jack Russell terrier out her third-story window in the Mission District, police say.

Police told reporters that a witness saw Danielle Walker, 22, throw the pup from a window on the 100 block of Albion Street at just before 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The dog's owner went outside to help his pup, and as you can imagine, an argument ensued between the dog owner and the dog hater.

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No more shark fin soup for you!

​The Chinese community is hoping a federal judge can force California to stop being a bunch of Soup Nazis.

The Asian American Rights Committee of California filed a lawsuit in San Francisco this week, claiming the state's move to ban the sale of shark fins -- which is used to make the gelatinous Chinese delicacy shark fin soup -- is unconstitutional.

The group claims that Assembly Bills 376 and 853, authored by Assemblyman Paul Fong, violate the Constitution's interstate commerce clause and constitute an unlawful taking of private property, according to the claim.

"Shark fin soup is an Asian cultural delicacy with origins in the Ming Dynasty. It is a ceremonial centerpiece of traditional Chinese banquets, as well as celebrations of weddings and birthdays of one's elders," the committee says in its federal complaint.

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Greyhound lovers everywhere want Skechers to dump its new Super Bowl ad before it airs on Feb. 5 -- and it's not necessarily because they'd rather see a sweaty Kim Kardashian on screen.

The group is upset by the fact that the ad was shot at a racetrack in Tucson, Ariz., which the group claims mistreats greyhounds. Already, they've gathered more than 115,000 signatures from supporters across the nation, and next Grey2K -- a greyhound advocacy group -- plans to hold boycott rallies in front of Skechers stores across the nation, including one in San Francisco.

The commercial (watch a brief snippet of it above) stars a French bulldog named Mr. Quiggly, who wins against a pack of racing greyhounds, with the help of his Skechers.
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This tragedy has the Wicked Witch of the West written all over it.

​As if we needed any more reason to doubt the future of humanity, here's yet another horrifying tale. Yvette Acevedo's 12-year-old Yorkie, Toto, was stolen out of her backyard in Hayward early last year. After canvassing the neighborhood, posting "missing" signs, and reporting Toto's disappearance to multiple area dog shelters, Acevedo assumed her dear Toto was a goner.

Well, she was only half right. On November 28, a crate appeared on her front step. Inside was a miserable little creature with missing teeth, a missing ear, one eye missing, and the other eye protruding. Acevedo opened the crate and the poor animal slumped onto the ground, covered in puss and smelling of sewer.

It was Toto - almost dead.
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Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Stopped at the border

​It's always interesting to see the sorts of contraband that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are intercepting in the Bay Area. About a year ago, we heaved a sigh of relief after "destructive" Pakistani insects were detected by the feds in a shipment of rice in Oakland.

But such arthropod invaders seem pedestrian next to the latest scourge discovered by CBP. In a statement this morning, the agency announced that six mouse deer skulls were found concealed in bags of dried fruit peels at the international mail center at San Francisco International Airport. The mail came from Laos, and was destined for Minnesota.

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