Now that pneumonia shots are being offered at pharmacies, I am asking my doctor to request one for me.

AnnaBell Washburn, a longtime Edgartown seasonal resident whose devotion to saving animals earned her many citations and awards, including from a U.S. president, died on August 12.

Someone was searching for a friendly black cat, missing in rural southern Vermont. Someone who had never been to the Vineyard. So how did Boxer end up in Oak Bluffs?

The Vineyard has a long history of being dog-centric. There are dogs on boats, dogs on beaches, dogs at offices. At the top of Circuit avenue there’s a shop dedicated to all things dog. And, of course, there’s the Island’s most well-known canine — the Black Dog.

A Vineyard organization devoted to spaying and neutering feral cats will be closing its feral cat shelter at the end of the year.

Laurie Huff, the founder of Cattrap Inc., said the organization will lose its lease on a barn sheltering rescued feral cats in December. Cattrap is scrambling to find homes for some of the 15 to 20 cats, now semi-feral, who call the barn home, including Holiday, a friendly calico who was found with a distended colon; Frasier, a big black cat who lived under a porch, and Misty from Katama.