Herald Still #1 in Animal Reporting

With all the news surrounding the Big Dig and the upcoming gubernatorial election, the Herald could be forgiven for slacking in the area of animal reporting. But the newspaper game in Boston is too competitive for the Herald to neglect a niche it has controlled so completely, and any doubters are advised to check out today's edition, in which two, count 'em, two dog tragedy articles (pitbull pup gets ears cut off, 60 puppies die in fire), both out of Lowell, are accompanied for good measure by a cat tragedy story out of Buffalo (man sautees kittens in oil, with pork chops). Admittedly, the Globe covered the local stories too, but didn't give nearly as much detail or provide a picture of the earless puppy. The Globe also failed to refer to the puppy's owner, who was arraigned yesterday in Lowell District Court, as either a "backyard butcher" or a "sicko." Advantage: Herald.

Image: The Herald also leads the Globe today in instances of the words "jerk" and "creep" on the front page.