From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2010:

PHILADELPHIA, HARRISBURG–Main Line
Animal Rescue founder Bill Smith and former
Pennsylvania SPCA board president Harrise Yaron
just before Christmas 2009 lost their gamble that
jetting dogs back from an Ohio dog auction would
produce evidence sufficient to prosecute six
Amish dog breeders.
Two days before a new Pennsylvania dog
law took effect, 12 Lancaster County breeders
either quit the business or significantly
downsized, sending dozens of dogs to an auction
in Baltic, Ohio.

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2010:

MADISON–The Wisconsin Supreme Court on December 29, 2009
ruled unanimously that a homeowner is accountable for injuries
inflicted by a dog who lives in the home, even if the dog belongs to
someone else.
The verdict upheld an appellate court finding that Nancy
Seefeldt of Menasha was the “keeper” of a dog who injured passer-by
Colleen Pawlowski in October 2003, and that Seefeldt was therefore
responsible for the dog’s behavior.

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2010:

LINCOLN–The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled 5-2 on December
18, 2009 that injuries caused by dogs without intent on the part of
the dog to do injury are not actionable under the state law holding
dog keepers liable for dog attacks. The case originated in 2005 when
a golden retriever service dog kept by Shiloh Hobelman bounded up to
Anne Underhill, who is confined to a wheelchair, and collided with
Hobelman causing her a knee injury that required surgery.
The outcome of the case paralleled the 1996 British
Columbia Court of Appeal verdict Shelvey v. Bicknell. In that case a
two-year-old Rottweiler in August 1991 collided with plaintiff Judith
Shelvey while chasing an Old English sheep dog playmate. Shelvey
suffered a severe head injury. The British Columbia Court of Appeal
held that Shelvey was injured as result of an unforseeable accident.

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2009:

MARIN, Calif.–Racing to beat a January 1, 2010 deadline
imposed by the state legislature, cities including about a sixth of
the population of California had banned declawing cats by December 8,
2009, and Marin County was expected to join them.
“I’m leaning very heavily toward going for it, given the
cruelty issue,” Marin County supervisor Charles McGlashan told
Richard Halstead of the Marin Independent Journal. McGlashan
indicated that declawing might be banned at the county board meeting
of December 15, 2009, one day after the 102nd anniversary of the
founding of the Marin County Humane Society. Marin County is also
home of national animal advocacy organizations including In Defense
of Animals, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the Humane Farming
Association.

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