SAN DIEGO, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Racers get ready! We're only 18 days away from PETCO's annual Hamster Ball Derby on Saturday, April 24 at 2 p.m. hosted at all of the company's more than 1,000 locations across the country.

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- PETCO, a leading pet specialty retailer, will host its annual, and very popular, Hamster Ball Derby at all of the company's more than 950 locations across the country on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m.

On Thursday an official said that the European Commission is taking France to Europe's highest court for not protecting the great hamster of Alsace, a species threatened by extinction.

An Austrian Airlines jet was forced to land yesterday after a passenger sneaked a hamster aboard and it escaped. The jet will remain grounded until the hamster is found in case it gnaws cables. (c) 2006 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

It wasn't "Snakes on a Plane," but an Austrian Airlines jet made an unscheduled stop Friday after a passenger sneaked a hamster aboard and the rodent escaped.