Dog people are doing more and more to make their pets comfortable, from booking a loving pet sitter to making homemade treats. Bringing their dog along to the store is a natural extension of the dog-centric lifestyle! Shopping with a friend is more fun than shopping alone, period. However, it can be hard to tell what a store’s dog policy is (and it often varies by location). For example, is Target dog-friendly? Their mascot may be the beautiful bull terrier Bullseye, but they’re a staunch “service dog-only” environment (along with Sears, Staples, and others). Thankfully, dog-friendly stores are increasing in number. FOR DOG PEOPLE | By James Harleman “Can I Bring My Dog?” The Most Dog-Friendly Stores Across America This post contains affiliate links. Read more here. Dog people are doing more and more to make their pets comfortable, from booking a loving pet sitter to making homemade treats. Bringing their dog along to the store is a natural extension of the dog-centric lifestyle! Shopping with a friend is more fun than shopping alone, period. However, it can be hard to tell what a store’s dog policy is (and it often varies by location). For example, is Target dog-friendly? Their mascot may be the beautiful bull terrier Bullseye, but they’re a staunch “service dog-only” environment (along with Sears, Staples, and others). Thankfully, dog-friendly stores are increasing in number. Note: due to regulation, grocery stores aren’t dog-friendly and food-serving establishments typically don’t allow dogs indoors. If you want to dine out with your dog, look for a location with a patio. Many restaurants welcome dogs in their outdoor spaces. Consider the Starbucks dog policy. Though Starbucks doesn’t allow dogs inside stores, they welcome dogs outside—and even offer them a tasty “puppuccino” if you ask! Now, let’s talk dog-friendly shopping. To read more on this story, click here:“Can I Bring My Dog?” The Most Dog-Friendly Stores Across America
So it was a little while back we heard about a guy who lost his hands and legs after he contracted an infection, in a very rare case, but after it all, he says something truly amazing… Even after he lost his arms and legs because of the infection that ravaged him came from the result of a dog licking him, he says that nothing will keep him away from dogs! The guy, Greg Manteufel, said: – “I can’t just stop liking dogs because this happened … I’ll always love dogs.” The moments leading up to when he arrived in hospital, in Wisconsin’s Froedtert Hospital in the June of this year, were quite scary indeed. To read more on this story, click here: Arms And Legs Lost To A Canine Infection, Says He’ll “Always Love Dogs!”
Julia Heckathorn, 28, adopted two-year-old Boomeroo, a kangaroo from a farm in Texas, when she was just 3 weeks old. The pair have been inseparable ever since. Boomeroo wears human clothing and lets out an excited squeak whenever Julia walks into a room. She says that Boomeroo loves to cuddle.
Julia is a children's author and takes Boomeroo with her whenever she visits a school. She hopes this will help teach the students more about nature. She says Boomeroo loves to wear clothes and has a wardrobe full of tops and dresses, that she purchased from baby stores. Boomeroo got so big that they had to built a temperature controlled barn in their garden. She sleeps with the other animals, an anteater, named Noche, four sugar glider possums, and a cat, named Larry. Although Boomeroo sleeps in the barn at night, she spends her days hopping around the house and garden with Larry. She loves staring out the window, and sleeping and sleeping at Julia's feet while she writes. "When Boomeroo was younger I used to carry her around in a bag with me to the supermarket so she could get used to seeing people," she said. "She follows me everywhere. When she sees me, she makes this little sound, like an excited chortle, just as kangaroos would do in the wild to locate their mothers," she said. Describing the kangaroo's love of human attire, she said: "When we first got Boomeroo, she was wearing a little shirt and has worn clothes ever since. The clothes give her comfort as a thunder shirt would give comfort to a dog." Kangaroos are social animals, living in groups called mobs, so when Boomeroo was a joey, Juila also adopted Larry the cat, to give her 24-hour companionship. Talking about the animals' unorthodox friendship, she said: "Boomeroo and Larry get along very well. They are now the best of friends, and do everything together. They eat grass, lay together, and watch the birds. It's adorable." Julia said that whenever she visits a school with one of her unusual animals, the childrens eyes, light up with excitement, and they become more interested in learning about conservation.
A young two-headed Eastern Copperhead was found in Northern Virginia. The finder emailed the Virginia Herpetological Society for identification; DGIF was then alerted and the state herpetologist picked up the snake. This week, he brought it to the Wildlife Center for radiographs. Dr. Ernesto [who is a big fan of venomous snakes] examined the baby copperhead. It appears as though the left head is more dominant – it’s generally more active and responsive to stimulus. Radiographs revealed that the two-headed snake has two tracheas [the left one is more developed], two esophaguses [the right one is more developed], and the two heads share one heart and one set of lungs. Based on the anatomy, it would be better for the right head to eat, but it may be a challenge since the left head appears more dominant. Wild two-headed snakes are extremely rare – they just don’t live that long. The herpetologist will continue monitoring the snake; if it survives, it will likely be placed in an educational facility. Please note: This snake is not currently at the Wildlife Center of Virginia; it's in the care of the state herpetologist.
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A federal judge on Monday restored endangered species protection to about 700 grizzly bears living in or around Yellowstone National Park just days before Wyoming and Idaho were set to allow the hunting of nearly two dozen of the animals. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen voided a 2017 decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the grizzlies, which had been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1975. He said his order was “not about the ethics of hunting,” but he sided with environmental and tribal groups who argued FWS had failed to consider how removing protections from Yellowstone’s grizzlies would affect the recovery of bears living in other parts of the country. “By delisting the Greater Yellowstone grizzly without analyzing how delisting would affect the remaining members of the lower-48 grizzly designation, the Service failed to consider how reduced protections in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem would impact the other grizzly populations,” Christensen wrote. “Thus, the Service ‘entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem.’” To read more on this story, click here:Federal Judge Restores Endangered Species Protection To Yellowstone-Area Grizzlies
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The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says: When summer comes around, many pet parents are eagerly opening their windows to enjoy the weather. Unfortunately, they are also unknowingly putting their pets at risk. Unscreened windows pose a real danger to cats, who fall out of them so often that the veterinary profession has a name for the complaint, High-Rise Syndrome. During the warmer months, veterinarians at the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital see approximately three to five cases a week. Falls can result in shattered jaws, punctured lungs, broken limbs and pelvises, and even death. Fast Facts: Feline High-Rise Syndrome - Cats have excellent survival instincts, and they don’t deliberately “jump” from high places that would be dangerous. Most cats fall accidentally from high-rise windows, terraces or fire escapes.
Cats have an incredible ability to focus their attention on whatever interests them. A bird or other animal attraction can be distracting enough to cause them to lose their balance and fall.
Because cats have little fear of heights and enjoy perching in high places, pet owners often assume that they can take care of themselves. Although cats can cling to the bark of trees with their claws, other surfaces are much more difficult, such as window ledges, concrete or brick surfaces.
When cats fall from high places, they don’t land squarely on their feet. Instead, they land with their feet slightly splayed apart, which can cause severe head and pelvis injuries.
It is a misconception that cats won’t be injured if they fall from one- or two-story buildings. They may actually be at greater risk for injury when falling shorter distances than by falling from mid-range or higher altitudes. Shorter distances do not give them enough time to adjust their body posture to fall correctly.
Remember that when cats fall from high-rise buildings, they may end up on sidewalks or streets that are dangerous and unfamiliar to them. Never assume that the animal has not survived the fall; immediately rush the animal to the nearest animal hospital or to your veterinarian.
There is a 90-percent survival rate for cats who are high-rise victims if they receive immediate and proper medical attention.
High-Rise Syndrome is 100-Percent Preventable
To keep your cat safe during the summer, the ASPCA recommends that you take the following precautions:
To fully protect your pets, you’ll need to install snug and sturdy screens in all your windows.
If you have adjustable screens, please make sure that they are tightly wedged into window frames.
Note that cats can slip through childproof window guards—these don’t provide adequate protection!
Cat owners should also make sure they keep their cats indoors to protect them from additional dangers such as cars, other animals and disease. People who want to give their cats outdoor stimulation can look into full-screen enclosures for backyards and terraces.
Cat lover, Peter Cohen, turned his Santa Barbara, California, home into a veritable theme park for his 22 rescue cats with dozens of catwalks, cubbies, hideaways and elevated spaces for their indoor adventures. The home is covered in them and his cats — Smokey, Vanilla, Poppyseed, Butter, Nutter, Coffeebean, Donut, Secret, Cheesecake, Chocolate, MiniBean, Climber, Mikan, Mango, Nugget, Smudge, Jupiter Jones, Blackbird, Cookie Monster, The Professor, Crumple and Rumple — spend entire days going on the kind of excursions many kitties only dream of. Cohen designed all the home’s feline-friendly features himself, with his carpenters finishing the work, so it’s an environment that both he and the cats can enjoy. Via: Adventure Cats Click HERE, to check out the video, and to see more amazing pictures from his cat paradise
SCRANTON, Pa. -- There was a lot of pointing, poking and splashing going on as folks ventured through the Electric City Aquarium and Reptile Den in Scranton. "This is very exciting and it's a beautiful aquarium," said Calli Patitsas of Drums. Aquarium staff says the new attraction at the Marketplace at Steamtown is almost complete and now open to the public. This soft opening allows for employees to get their feet wet. After one day, they are thrilled to see such excitement from visitors, hoping it will inspire a passion for marine life. "A young child that could be a future marine biologist, a future conservationist, somebody that gets a good experience growing up with these animals they normally don't see. So that's a huge reward for us," said Gary Walker, director at the aquarium. To read more on this story, click here:New Aquarium Opens in Scranton
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