Rosemary Peterson intended to spend a leisurely afternoon cleaning out closets upstairs in her bayfront home. The temperature outside was rapidly declining from a high in the 50s to what would be the coldest night of the year at 29 degrees. The wind was whipping off of the bay at 25-30 mph with whitecaps visible. Her husband, John, was downstairs on his computer. Rosemary was deep in thought when she heard what she thought sounded like a door opening or closing.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Malcolm Clements watched as a 2-year-old Chihuahua with paralyzed hind legs zipped along the halls of the Animal Care Services clinic in a customized wheelchair.