Life

The letter asking for a dog was written in the curvy, careful handwriting of a grammar-school girl wanting to make an impression. Crumpled drafts were on the floor of her room, explorations of different arguments to press her case.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Help wanted: One trained, easygoing, low-maintenance dog that will work for next to nothing. It was the classified ad that Matthew VanFossan wrote in his head after going blind.

PHOENIX - The children buzz in excitement, boisterous and barging in, their little hands covering seemingly every part of the Australian shepherd's body.

Outside of his career in law, Bob Harman has devoted his time to three areas: children, community and dogs.

Tough on the bum but tender to the soul, antique pews at Shady Creek United Church in Central Saanich still seat parishioners, making services there a living legacy of Afro-Canadian pioneers.

MONTREAL - It can be difficult to walk a city block in Montreal these days without coming across a coyote, lynx, fox or raccoon.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Sick of pizza after the Super Bowl? Pizza Hut is hoping to tempt you with tiny new pies.

The Agriculture Department is proposing new nutritional rules that would apply to most all foods sold in schools.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The boy, named Vladimir, is 5 1/2 years old, struggles at learning to count and draw, and lives in an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Proposing marriage has become an industry of its own with professional planners, flash mobs for hire and elaborate, homegrown surprises to make the moment memorable. And let's not forget YouTube, and our steadfast resolve to share.