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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Canine vs. Cat Saratoga--Carol Carrillo recently found her 20-pound white short-haired cat, Bob, lying dead on her property, the apparent victim of a canine attack. According to Carillo, a neighbor reported witnessing the carnage, done by three mysterious dogs that looked "big and puffy." Carillo called the Humane Society, which can do nothing unless the owner's identity is known. "What we're trying to do is get the average pet owner to understand that there are responsibilities that come with owning a pet," the Human Society's Maureen Strenfel said. "It's not that there are bad dogs. There are irresponsible owners who are not living up to their guardianship of the animals." Teachers Wanted Sunnyvale--It's a seller's market in the education world as Sunnyvale schools attempt to fill a large number of positions with a falling number of applicants. Competition for teachers has led to increasing salaries and severe budget cuts within the Sunnyvale School District, which needs to fill 35 teacher positions by next fall. The district recently decided to raise teacher salaries an unprecedented 10 percent across the board for the coming school year. The starting salary for accredited teachers is now $40,008--compared to $23,500 in 1995. Instant Karma Willow Glen--Seventh-grader Joseph Pineda was surprised to find a wallet containing a small fortune just lying in the road. Pineda tracked down the wallet's owner, Jennifer Lewis, after finding the wallet--stuffed with $3,400 in cash-- earlier the same day. "He didn't take any of it," Lewis said. "He did the totally honest thing. My own roommate said he would've kept it. That's a special kid right there." Interestingly enough, Lewis herself found a wallet containing $400 a couple of months ago, she said, which she returned intact to the police. "Maybe it was karma coming around," she said. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]