Typically, when we think of giant dogs, Great Danes come to mind. We’ve all seen one before and quietly thought to ourselves – that is an enormous dog. Their incredible size is truly something to behold. Freddy is a great dane from Essex, England and he is no exception. Freddy officially stands at 7 feet 6 inches tall and is the tallest dog in the world. When Freddy’s mom Claire Stoneman brought Freddy home, she knew he was going to grow into a big dog – as most great danes do. She knew that the average great dane male can weigh up to 190 pounds and stand at about 33 inches tall. What she didn’t know, was that he’d soon grow to far surpass those measurements. Freddy is over two feet taller than Claire when he stands on his hind legs and he weighs in at over 200 pounds. Last year he was officially recognized as the worlds largest dog by the Guinness World Records. While most owners might be put off by his enormous size, Claire says she has nothing but love for her giant fur-baby. Freddy lives with Claire, her children, and his Great Dane sister, Fluer. Together, Freddy and Fluer consume an unimaginable amount of food to keep them happy and healthy. Their favorite snacks are said to include roast chicken and peanut butter on toast. Claire says her grocery bills frequently cost over $15 000 a year alone. Destroyed furniture and other broken household items add thousands more to Freddy’s expenses tally. “I’d come home and find a sea of foam across the floor. But he’s my baby and I can’t imagine life without him,” said Claire. Claire’s days now consist of long walks and super sized meal prep for her two fur-babies.
A U.S. Air Force installation has enlisted a first-of-her-kind recruit to aid in the fight against on-base sexual assault. Only her rank doesn’t exist among lieutenants and captains. Eielson Air Force Base officials have credited Tessa – a 5-month old golden retriever – with helping seven service members who have come forward to report attacks. "It’s been phenomenal having a tiny member of our team accomplish so much positivity in the short amount of time she’s been here," Air Force Capt. Heather Novus, the 354th Fighter Wing’s sexual assault response coordinator, said in a release. “I hope we can smooth the transition for other bases to adopt a [sexual assault prevention and response] K-9, and we would love to assist supporting this idea across other installations and can ease the process for others to adopt what has been a successful program so far.” Tessa serves as a comfort canine, helping victims of abuse to come forward. “Tessa brings a stability to reconnect with victims who have emotionally disconnected because of the traumatic event they have gone through,” Shellie Severa, the 354th Fighter Wing’s SAPR head victim advocate, said. “Each individual is different on how they are going to handle their trauma, but one of the biggest things we see with almost all trauma victims is lack of trust, and trust can be re-established through the assistance of a dog.” Tessa’s mission began in the winter of 2016. “We are having victims come out of the shadows who were afraid for numerous reasons to report; having a dog in the program is important for them to realize this is a place where they are safe and can rebuild trust,” Severa said. “Tessa has brought many smiles to people engaging with her, and encouraged people to tell their story, which helps them to have a voice again and take back the power they lost.” The canine’s involvement on base is a visible example of the U.S. military’s efforts to address on-base sexual assault since it was reported only about 3,000 of 26,000 bases were report. The number of unreported cases took a nosedive in 2015. You can read it here: Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military
A woman and her Bernese mountain dog became the unwitting stars of a furry convention this weekend after the woman mistook the gathering as an event for pets. Cheryl Wassus of Monroe, Michigan, is a volunteer with Pets for Vets, a nonprofit that matches therapy dogs with military veterans. When Wassus learned that Motor City Furry Con in Novi, Michigan, was raising money for the organization, she assumed it must be a pet-themed convention. It was a reasonable mistake. For those unaware, furries are people who enjoy dressing up in anthropomorphic animal costumes and role-playing. That’s not what Wassus or Link — who has training as a therapy dog — expected. Wassus’ son, New York Media producer Kenny Wassus, tweeted some incredible photos of the mix-up on Saturday. “This is just a whole subculture I wasn’t even aware existed,” Cheryl Wassus told New York magazine. “When we set up tables and do promos and educate the public and do outreach, I had no idea the outreach was going to be other human … furry people. I guess you’re never too old to learn.” (Read her full interview with NYMag, which is amazing, HERE.) Wassus told Cosmopolitan that the convention’s organizers had invited her to do a presentation about Pets for Vets, and that it just never became clear what a “furry con” was. “I usually try to do some research the night before I go to these events but the website was pretty obscure,” she said. But the surprise worked out for the best. Wassus, Link and the furries got along famously. Link was a little confused at first, Wassus said, and did some “serious tail-sniffing” at the sight of all the two-legged animals. But it all ended up being no big deal. “They weren’t offended, though. They just embraced him,” she told NYMag. “It was all good. Just a real interested community.” Plus, the event was a big win for Pets for Vets ― Motor City Furry Con raised $10,000 for the group. The media tends to associate being a furry with a sexual fetish, but most furry fans say it’s really not about that. “In reality, furries are fans of a concept: ‘What if intelligent animals lived among us, or replaced us?’” Laurence Parry, editor-in-chief of furry-centric news site Flayrah, told The Huffington Post in 2014. “From this, all else flows — art, crafts, stories, role-playing and costuming.”
A panicked mama goose pecks to get cop’s attention, leads her to baby tangled in balloon string Police sergeant James Givens is a Cincinnati PD veteran with over 26 years of service on the force, but he has never seen a distress call quite like this one. At least, James thought it was someone. It was just a regular Monday morning when he was in his car and received an unexpected visit from a mother goose. The animal wanted to grab the attention of the police officer at all costs. “It kept pecking and pecking and normally they don’t come near us,” He told to WKRC. “Then it walked away and then it stopped and looked back so I followed it and it led me right over to [a gosling] that was tangled up in all that string.” When the goose looked behind his back a second time and clearly wanted to communicate with the police officer, he decided to follow her. One of her children was trapped in the rope of a balloon. His little feet were moving, but he wasn’t able to set himself free. Givens wanted to help the little goose himself but was afraid that mother goose would attack him. Luckily, he had some help from specialist Cecilia Charron. Even though they called the SPCA Animal Rescue for help, nobody was available to help at the time. That’s why Cecilia decided to help the little animal herself. Sergeant Givens recorded the entire thing and shared a video of the little goose being freed from the balloon and reunited with the mother, which has quickly gone viral. Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate also praised Sergeant Givens and Charron for a great job.
You may have seen a chicken or two in your day, but we’re pretty sure these glorious winged creatures are about to blow your mind. The Silkie is basically the glamorous supermodel of domesticated fowl. These ornamental chickens are more than just a pretty face; they’re also total sweetie pies. And legend has it that their feathers feel just like silk.
The texture of their feathers resembles a luxurious fur pelt. They’ve also been known to grow a mowhawk-esque crest of feathers on their heads. The ‘do, the glare... You’re looking at the future frontman of an anarchist-chicken punk-metal garage band. Don’t make eye contact:
Some of them sport elegant pompadours that would put Elvis to shame:
Are these chickens using Pantene, or are they just pure magic? It’s no wonder they inspired their own fan club: The American Silkie Bantam Club was established in 1923 to celebrate the majestic bird. Chickens have become popular house (or yard) pets, and the Silkie chicken is basically the dream breed. They can survive in warm and cold climates, though they should be kept inside during the winter. They’re sweet, amiable, and so dang cute that they’ll make your friends squeal:
They come in tons of shades, like this stunningly pillow-esque brunette with a baby on board:
Or this snow-white beauty:
And yes, you can even acquire a ginger Silkie. (And they have souls, too:)
Although we don’t know the exact origin of the Silkie, Marco Polo apparently described a bird just like it during his 13th century exploration of China. These chickens caught the eye of the early explorer. It is said that the Silkie was brought to Europe about 200 years ago, where Dutch breeders apparently told prospective buyers that they were a crossbreed of rabbits and chickens. We can understand how they pulled that off. Today, the majority of Silkie chickens are sold for ornamental reasons, cause they’re basically the royalty of fowl. The chickens have dark blueish-black skin and a majestic wattle:
Although sometimes, they kind of just look like Chewbacca.
They grow feathers all the way down to their toes! Their fluffy feathers make them unable to fly and can be a real pain to clean, but whoever said being beautiful was easy? And they don’t look quite so proud when their ‘dos get rained on:
Oh, the indignity! They emerge as mowhawked-little tykes, like hipster babies in Brooklyn:
Slowly but surely, they start to fill out, like this wee little chick:
Silkie chickens have a lifespan of about nine years, so it’s not a commitment to be taken on lightly. Sadly, in recent years, a growing number of chickens have been abandoned in animal shelters. But if you’re ready for the responsibility, you can raise your Silkie as a real pet. Think of it as a kitten who can also produce the eggs for your omelet! Once they grow up, female Silkies make excellent mothers, and even have been known to adopt baby ducks, turkeys or chickens into their brood: Go ahead and revel in the fluffy wonder that is the Silkie!
The country’s legislature passed a legal amendment to the Animal Protection Act state that offenders could be punished with a monetary fine of NTD 50,000 to $2 million (A$2178 to $87080). The amendment's sponsor, Kuomintang Legislator Wang Yu-min, said that while some localities already had measures banning dog and cat meat consumption, national legislation was needed. Several other amendments were also passed, in a step towards making the country more animal friendly. Stiffer punishments will be enforced for those who intentionally harm animals which include a maximum of two years’ imprisonment and fines of between NT$200,000 and NT$2 million. Pet owners will now be penalized if they are seen with their leashed dogs running alongside their scooters. It is now illegal to ‘walk’ animals via motor vehicles with offenders facing possible fines up to NT$15,000. Before taking effect, the amendments still need to be signed into law by the Cabinet and Presidential Office, which could take place before the end of the month. The amendments come in response to several high-profile incidents of animal cruelty. Just last year, a video went viral of a group of Taiwanese marines viciously beating a dog before hanging it and throwing its lifeless body into the ocean, triggering an investigation and sparking public protests. Last October, Chan Ho-yeung – a student from Macau studying in Taiwan – was sentenced to 10 months in prison after being convicted of killing two stray cats.
Taiwanese photographer Tou Chih-kang and his assistant steady a scared dog for a portrait in a makeshift studio during the final moments of its life before being put down by lethal injection at a shelter in Taoyuan.
A dog stands on a scooter with his owners as they wait at an intersection in Taipei, Taiwan.
Tourists stop to view one of the hundred or so resident cats resting on a wall in the small town of Houtong, Taiwan.
