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East Coast land speed record broken by A All Animal Control’s Dotson
WILMINGTON, Ohio – Even the quickest critters might have trouble escaping the self-proclaimed Fastest PWCO (Professional Wildlife Control Operator) on the Planet.

Mark Dotson, CEO of A All Animal Control in Dunbar, W. Va., knows a thing or two about speed. On July 8, Dotson broke an East Coast Timing Association motorcycle land speed record by topping out at 218.7 mph on his customized Suzuki Hayabusa, in Wilmington, Ohio.

“This is our second year doing land speed racing,” Dotson said. The A All Animal Control Racing team established itself in motorcycle drag racing in 2008, and started land speed racing in 2010. “It took us seven events to get into the 200 mph range. We did that in June, then we took this record here.”

Dotson said he started riding when he was 18, but then stopped for a number of years before buying a motorcycle in 2005. Since about that time, the urge to go faster has driven Dotson and his team.

“It’s kind of hard to describe,” he said in regards to traveling at such high speeds. “If you were to raise (your body) above the windshield, it would suck you right off the bike. There’s a term in land speed racing called ‘crawling under the paint,’ you want to be as close as possible to that machine to stay out of the wind.”

Some may be content with having the record until someone comes along and breaks it — but not Dotson. His mission is far from finished. “We’re going to keep trying to set and reset that record,” he said. — Bill Delaney

Critter fun now on iTunes
Critter Control has just made available a new and fun Critter game app that allows players to squish bad bugs and preserve good bugs. Beta testing has shown the game app to receive a ‘Super Fun’ rating, Critter Control reports.

Here is the description from Critter Control: Let the fun begin. Squishy, messy, exciting and fast paced, the game during beta testing appealed to youngsters, hip teenagers, soccer moms (and dads) and even seniors. The game is fun for everyone. Two versions are available for download at iTunes, “Critter Getter” for $0.99 USD and “Critter Getter Lite” which is free.

Download the app at http://ax.itunes.apple.com/app/id492185932?mt=8

Rat on a Plane
Thanks to Hollywood we all saw what can happen when snakes are let loose on a plane, but who would’ve thought that a little rodent could cause such big problems? An Alaska Airlines flight was grounded for more than an hour last year when a rat was discovered scurrying around a 737.

Thanks to this little pest, passengers had to be transferred to another aircraft and sit through a 79-minute delay before departing from the airport. Rats on planes are considered to be “a very rare occurrence,” and in this case actually required that the plane be taken out of service and turned over to a pest management professional to make sure that the furry fellow was gone before anyone was permitted to come back on board.