(Family Features) Pets add a lot of love and personality to a home - but they also add plenty that needs cleaning up. From slobbered-on chew toys to pet hair on the sofa, they definitely leave their mark on the home. Here are some simple tips for keeping things fresh and clean, for you and your ...

** - This past weekend's storm on the east coast should be a reminder about planning for your pets during evacuations. The guidelines below apply to all of us. - Ed. EILEEN AJ CONNELLY, AP Personal Finance Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In the rush to prepare for Hurricane Irene, it might be easy to overlook the ...

SLIPOFF HOLLOW, Ala. (AP) — Sometimes a wrong turn is all it takes to end up in the right place. That's how it happened for Carl and Katrina Hubbard when they got lost in 2007 looking for a property in the foothills of the Appalachians in northeast Alabama. Instead they found what they now call Crow ...

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Please, please, please can I have a bunny? The answer is probably yes -- at least for a few days -- if you're asking Everett's Animal Farm. All summer long the city's petting farm at Forest Park allows people to take home a domestic rabbit for three nights. It's an opportunity for families to ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) — While she didn’t exactly squeal with delight, Springfield resident Sarah Wood-Snapp was plenty pleased on a recent Monday night when the City Council approved an ordinance allowing her and other city residents to snuggle up to their favorite pot-bellied pig. “It feels pretty good,” Wood-Snapp said after the meeting. In a 6-0 decision, ...