If you’ve got a spare couple hundred grand you don’t know what to do with, you’re in luck. For lots of reasons. You could donate it to charity, I suppose, but you’d only be encouraging the shiftless, lazy, drug-addicted masses to remain unemployed. So why not buy Roy Rogers’ horse Trigger instead? Yes, Trigger – who not only became a movie horse legend in the 40’s and 50’s, but also served as the inspiration for the main ingredient at the Roy Rogers Fast Food chain, founded in 1968 in Frederick, MD – is up for auction at Christies. Trigger is one of the four most famous movie horses of all time (unless you can think of somebody besides Trigger, Silver, Flicka, and Mr. Ed – and don’t forget, Francis was a mule). I must say, Trigger looks pretty good for an 80 year old horse.

If you live in San Francisco (and you know who you are) and want to buy a pet companion animal, you may soon be out of luck.

San Francisco’s Commission of Animal Control and Welfare announced today that buying what they call, “companion animals”, could be anyone’s ticket to jail. These animals include dogs, cats, hamsters, mice, rats, chinchillas, guinea pigs, birds, snakes, lizards, and nearly every other critter.

If the ordinance passes San Francisco could be the first city in the nation to ban the sale all pets except fish.

Hey, what’s wrong with fish? Though I suppose in a city famous for seafood, it’d be tough to ban the purchase of something you get for dinner.

I think it’s a good idea – at least where dogs and cats are concerned. There are plenty of great critters out there who need a home, and there’s no reason to buy one from a puppy mill. But I guess if you’ve got a pet snake, you’re gonna have to go out and catch mice yourself.

It’s back to work again today, and back to 90 degree temperatures after a weekend of blessed relief from both. That sucks.