Top 10 Pet Moments of 2008!

A fat cat named Prince Chunk, an adorable litter of Shiba Inu puppies and the soon-arriving White House pup a were the most talked about animals of the year.

When a feline with extra flub (44 pounds of it!) popped up in a New Jersey shelter, his saga captivated the nation. Dubbed “Prince Chunk,” calls came in from around the country offering homes for the plump cat. The Camden County Animal Shelter found a new family for him close by.

Since President-Elect Obama announced that a new puppy will live with them in White House, the nation ‘s pet-lovers have been giddy. What kind of dog will the First family get? A hypoallergenic shelter dog, “a mutt, like me,” Barack said later.

In November, the puppies’ live stream clocked 3 million tune-ins, but this live video stream also did some serious good. “We’ve received a number of emails from people who are in hospitals who have told us that they look to the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam to liven up their spirits,” said the puppies’ caretaker.

An Illinois couple, Valerie and Ted Rock, brought home a unique 8-week-old kitten. “It had four ears, two normal ones and middle ones that looked like horns,” Valerie told PEOPLE. The cat – who they named Yoda – reached international celebrity status after pictures of him were posted on a photography website.

FAITH THE DOG WALKS LIKE A HUMAN

It’s enough to inspire anyone to do the impossible: a puppy with deformed front legs whose mother tried to smother her at birth was rescued at just 3 weeks old. Unable to walk on its front legs, her owner Caity Stringfellow taught her dog, appropriately named Faith, to walk upright on her two back legs by holding up spoonfuls of peanut butter.

After this footage of Bernann McKinney, who spent $53,000 to clone her deceased dog Booger in Korea, surfaced, so did her rather sordid past. Turns out McKinney had once been accused of abducting a Mormon missionary in England, handcuffing him to a bed and making him her sex slave, the Associated Press reported.

Steve Nicholson / Rex USA

When a paralyzed larynx threatened Cadbury the cat’s life and his meow, his owner Jean Kelly plunked down nearly $20,000 for surgery. Kelly told the Daily Mail in October that her pet insurance plan covered part of the bill but she is struggling to pay the rest.

Robbie McClaran

An animal-lover named Mimi Ausland filled thousands of hungry bellies nationwide when she created freekibble.com and freekibblekat.com. The plucky 12-year-old started her sites after learning about the food shortages animal shelters often face.

AP Photo/SPCA

The Army tried to stop Spc. Gwen Beberg from bringing home Ratchet, the little black puppy her unit rescued in Iraq. After thousands of dog owners petitioned and complained, Baghdadpups.com was allowed to fly Ratchet home to Gwen’s parents’ house in Minnesota. They will be reunited after New Year’s.

Buddy the dog made headlines this year when he saved the life of his owner, Joe Stalnaker, by calling 911 and barking loudly to a dispatcher. The German shepherd service dog had been trained to call 911 when his owner goes into a diabetic coma.

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