KU grad fails to medal on Paralympics track

A Kansas University graduate competing in the Paralympics in Athens, Greece, has failed to medal in his track events but starts road competition this weekend.

Brad Cobb, who ran track for KU in the mid-1980s, took 10th place in the 3-kilometer track competition and ninth in the 1-kilometer.

Cobb, who had a leg amputated after an auto accident, had said before leaving for Athens he thought the 1-kilometer was his best chance for a medal.

“I was ready, gave it everything I had. The last lap just wasn’t there,” Cobb said. “I did everything right. I warmed up good, got plenty of sleep and felt good. I got to the last lap and was like, ‘Wow, I am kind of fading here.’ I am happy with my track events and I am not going to worry about it.”

He still is slated to compete in road races Saturday and Monday.

Animal cruelty

Puppy in pillow case found near death

A flea-bitten, dehydrated puppy found abandoned inside a pillow case Sunday night raised the ire of workers at the Lawrence Humane Society.

Midge Grinstead, director of the Humane Society, picked up the dog in rural Douglas County after she was called by law enforcement officials.

The 6-week-old female puppy may have spent about two days inside the pillow case before it was found, Grinstead said. It had been thrown from a moving car, she said.

“It was covered with fleas and sores,” she said. “It was so dehydrated there wasn’t any saliva in its mouth. It was about dead.”

Grinstead emphasized that the Humane Society would always take dogs that are not wanted.

“There is no reason for this to happen,” she said.

Owners dumping their dogs is a common problem in Douglas County, Grinstead said. She said the puppy, thought to be a hound or beagle mix, was recovering.

Reading

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