Mountain Goats Are Being Airlifted Out of a National Park Because They Crave Human Pee

Olympic National Park, located in Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, is faced with a daunting challenge: removing a ballooning mountain goat population that's developed a strong appetite for human pee.

Mountain goats aren't a native species in the park. Since their introduction in the 1920s, their numbers have blossomed into a staggering 700 ungulates. Now, with humans flooding the area and routinely relieving themselves on various hiking trails, the goats have developed an insatiable thirst for urine, which serves as a strong source of salt and minerals.

Acting in concert with the National Park Services (NPS) and the USDA Forest Service, park authorities have begun tagging, blindfolding and airlifting the goats to the nearby forests in the North Cascades via helicopter. Fitted with GPS collars, the goats are ferried in pairs to nine sites in the Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, per a Motherboard report. The sites should provide a more hospitable environment for the surging goat tribe where they can roam free of human interlopers.

To read more on this story, click here: Mountain Goats Are Being Airlifted Out of a National Park Because They Crave Human Pee


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Are You Thinking About Adopting a Kitten? - 10 Reasons Why You Should Adopt Two Instead of One!

Are you thinking about adopting a kitten? Here are 10 Reasons why you should adopt two instead of one!

1.  You're saving two lives instead of one.

If it's kitten season, that's one more kitten that will get a home instead of growing into an adult which will decrease its chance of getting adopted." It is entirely true that kittens are much easier to place than adult cats, and the 15-month-old cat you see in the shelter today is very likely a holdover from last year's crop of kittens. Another way of looking at it is that it's better to get all the kittens adopted out right away, to give the older cats a better chance at finding homes.

2.  One kitten can become lonely

A kitten left alone during the day can become lonely and bored, which sometimes can lead to mischief. Two kittens will never be lonely, especially if they are siblings. In fact, you'll often find situations in shelters and rescue group adoption where a cage will contain two kittens with a sign, "These kittens may be adopted only as a pair." Shelter volunteers recognize that siblings really need to stay together. And since shelters are often frightening, unfriendly places to small creatures, unrelated cats often form close bonds that should be respected when adoption time comes.

3.  One kitten can just drive an older cat nuts.

Although it might sound contrary, an older, established cat will probably accept two kittens better than one. One kitten will seek out the older cat as a playmate, or worse, tease and pester the senior cat which can cause stress to an older cat. The kitten in return, will be "rewarded" for his playful efforts with hisses and swats. Two kittens will expend their energy in play with each other, leaving their older "uncle" to relax in peace.

4.  Two kittens will "self-train."

Kittens learn by copying. If one kitten is quick to learn appropriate litter box use, the other will be likely to copy. They also help each other with grooming; washup after meals soon becomes a ritual with two kittens.

5.  They help each other burn off energy.

Even the most devoted human caregiver can quickly become exhausted by trying to keep up with the energy of a single kitten. Two kittens will play until they wear each other out, leaving their human parent free to just enjoy watching them. The downside to this, of course, sometimes you have double trouble, too!

6.  Fewer behavior problems with two kittens.

Many people who experience behavior problems with kittens find that some of them go away when they adopt another playmate. What may be perceived as mischief is often just the result of boredom. Much like their human counterparts, kittens sometimes misbehave because "negative attention is better than no attention."

7.  Curiosity overcomes "food finickyness."

If one kitten is finicky about food, the distaste is often overcome by curiosity at what its sibling is eating. (Feed one cat Same Old, the other cat New Stuff, and they both end up tasting the new stuff.)

8.  They act as pillows for one another.

Kittens will often play so hard that they simply flop where they are, and more likely than not, they will flop next to (or on top of) each other. There is no sight so endearing as two kittens curled up together for a nap. Their peaceful innocence can soften the heart of even the grumpiest curmudgeon, and the sight of that blissful moment will wash clean the slate of their previous misdoings.

9.  Having two kittens is insanely fun.

They're just so much darn fun to watch!

10. They will each have a friend for life.

Two kittens who grow up together will almost always be lifelong friends. Although they will sometimes have their little squabbles (what friends don't?) you will more often see them engaging in mutual grooming, playing together, and sleeping with their best pal.

If you are considering adopting a kitten, think about your best friend and consider whether you would deprive your kitten of the enrichment a friend brings to life.

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Does Your Dog or Cat Have Allergies That Last All Year Long? - They May Have a Food Allergy

Just as in humans, dogs and cats can have certain allergies to a specific type of food.  In fact, food allergies account for about 10% of all the allergies seen in dogs and cats. It is the third most common cause after flea bite allergies. Food allergies affect both males and females and can show up as early as five months and as late as twelve years of age.  Food allergies in dogs and cats can be cured with a little time, effort and change in diet.

The difference between food allergies and intolerance to food
There is a difference between food allergies and food intolerance. Food allergies are true allergies and show the characteristic symptoms of allergies such as itching and skin problems associated with canine and feline allergies. Food intolerances can result in diarrhea or vomiting and do not create a typical allergic response. Food intolerances in cats or dogs would be similar to people who get an upset stomach from eating spicy foods or sometimes dairy. Fortunately, both food intolerances and allergies can be eliminated with a diet free from whatever food it is that is causing the allergy.

The most common food that causes allergies
Several studies have shown that some ingredients are more likely to cause food allergies than others. The most common food that causes allergies in dogs and cats are beef, dairy products, chicken, lamb, fish, chicken eggs, corn, wheat, and soy. Unfortunately, the most common offenders are the most common ingredients in dog and cat food. While some proteins might be slightly more allergy inducing than others, many proteins are similar and therefore the allergic reactions are associated with the amount of each in the food.

Symptoms of food allergies in cats and dogs
The symptoms of food allergies are similar to those of most allergies seen in dogs and cats. The most common symptom is itchy skin affecting primarily the face, feet, ears, forelegs, armpits and the area around the anus. Symptoms may also include chronic ear infections, hair loss, excessive scratching, hot spots, and skin infections that respond to antibiotics but reoccur after antibiotics are discontinued.  It is sometimes difficult to distinguish food allergies from the more common allergies. One sign is if the allergies last all year round, it is probably a food allergy.

Diagnosis for food allergies in cats and dogs
The diagnosis for food allergies is very straightforward. But due to the fact that many other problems can cause similar symptoms and that many times animals are suffering from more problems than just food allergies, it is very important that all other problems are properly identified and treated prior to undergoing diagnosis for food allergies.  Your vet can determine if your dog or cat is just have a normal skin allergy.

Try to feed your dog or cat a new source of protein
A way to get rid of a food allergy is to feed your dog or cat a new food source of protein and carbohydrate for at least twelve weeks i.e. a protein and carbohydrate that your dog or cat has never eaten before. Examples would include be rabbit and rice, or venison and potato. There are a number of such commercial diets available on the market. In addition, there are specialized diets that have the proteins and carbohydrates broken down into such small sizes that they no longer would trigger an allergic response. Regardless of the diet route you choose, the particular food needs to be the only thing that your dog or cat eats for 12 weeks. This means no treats, no flavored medications, no rawhide, cat nip, only the special food and water.

Treatment for food allergies in dogs and cats
The treatment for food allergies is avoidance. Once you have been identified the offending food through a food trial, then they can be eliminated from the diet. Short-term relief may be gained with fatty acids, antihistamines, and steroids, but elimination of the products from the diet is the only long-term solution. .

If you choose to feed your dog or cat a homemade diet, then you can periodically change the ingredients off your food and determine which ingredients are causing the food allergy. For example, if your dog or cat’s symptoms subsided on a diet of rabbit and potatoes, then you can add beef to the diet for two weeks.

If your dog or cat still showed no symptoms, then you can add chicken for two weeks. If your beloved dog or cat now has symptoms, then chicken is clearly one of the things your dog or cat was allergic to. The chicken could be withdrawn and after the symptoms cleared up, a different ingredient could be added and so on until all of the offending ingredients were identified. A diet could then be formulated that was free of the offending food sources.

You can also you the same principal with very pure pet foods that are on the market and are chicken or beef based, and then add or switch accordingly.

As with all diets, make sure to check with your veterinarian to make sure that they agree with your basic diet and that all other allergies have been ruled out.




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Woman Had to Put Her Dog Down - Boyfriend Gets Her a Puppy, See Her Reaction (Video)

This woman’s boyfriend got her a puppy when her dog had to be put down.  Her reaction is priceless.

When his girlfriend had to put down her beloved 10-year-old beagle, this thoughtful guy knew just what to do to cure her broken heart.

See her touching reaction to his gift below.

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Dog Eats 43.5 Socks and Lives

Portland, Oregon - A 3-year-old Great Dane was retching when its owners rushed him to a northwest Portland emergency animal hospital.

X-rays showed a stomach full of "a large quantity of foreign material." Nearly two hours of surgery later, Dr. Ashley Magee had the answer…the dog had consumed 43 ½ socks.

DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital spokeswoman Shawna Harch said it's perhaps the strangest case in the hospital's history, The Oregonian reported.

The DoveLewis entry summary says the Great Dane was discharged home a day after surgery. Harch says the owners aren't available for comment but she confirms the dog is alive.

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Are Cats Domesticated?

The cat does not offer services," William Burroughs wrote. "The cat offers itself." But it does so with unapologetic ambivalence. Greet a cat enthusiastically and it might respond with nothing more than a few unhurried blinks. Later, as you're trying to work, it will commandeer your lap, keyboard, and attention, purring all the while. A cat will mew at the food bowl in the morning and set off on a multiple-day trek in the afternoon. Dogs are dependent on us to the point of being obsequious, but cats seem to be constantly reëvaluating the merits of our relationship, as well as their role in domestic life. "Are cats domesticated?" is one of the most frequently Googled questions about the animals, based on the search engine's autocomplete suggestions.

It's a question that scientists have been asking, too. The latest answer, based on insights from recent archeological discoveries and genome-sequencing studies, is that cats are semi-domesticated. Conventional wisdom holds that the ancient Egyptians were the first people to bond with the cat, only four thousand years ago. In 2004, however, a team of French researchers working in Cyprus unearthed the ninety-five-hundred-year-old remains of a human and a cat buried side by side. Last year, an analysis of cat bones and teeth from a fifty-three-hundred-year-old settlement in China indicated that the animals were eating rodents, grains, and the leftovers of human meals. It appears that, following the advent of agriculture, wildcats in the Near East and Asia likely began to congregate near farms and grain stores, where mice and rats were abundant. People tolerated the volunteer exterminators, and wildcats became increasingly comfortable with people. Whether this affiliation began five or ten millennia ago, the evidence suggests that cats have not been part of our domestic domain for nearly as long as dogs, which have been our companions for perhaps forty thousand years.

To read more on this story, click here: Are Cats Domesticated?

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10 Things Service Dog Handlers Want You to Know

Many people have a vague sense of awareness that Service Dogs “help” their person and that they’re allowed to be in public, but there’s a lot more to Service Dog handlers and teams than meets the eye. To help fill in the holes, here are the top 10 things Service Dog handlers want every member of the public to know and understand.

1.) My Service Dog Is Working
When you see my partner and I out and about in public, please understand that she’s doing vital work for me, even if she doesn’t “look like” she’s working to you. Just like when you’re working, she just wants (and needs) to be left alone to do her job. Please don’t distract my Service Dog from her job by yelling at her, talking to her, using baby talk at her, touching her, touching her equipment, crowding her, whistling at her, barking at her or otherwise doing anything except politely ignoring her.

2.) My Service Dog Is My Lifeline
Depending on my disability, my Service Dog may be the only thing standing between me and death. She’s my lifeline and she means the world to me. Please don’t distract her from doing her job or her tasks because my life, health, and peace of mind, rests in her paws. If you distract her and she isn’t able to respond appropriately, my ensuing illness or injury is YOUR fault. Please just ignore her entirely and let her focus on her job, which is keeping me safe.

To read more on this story, click here: 10 Things Service Dog Handlers Want You to Know

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Take A Look At These Adorable Mini-Puppies

Puppies are things of pure joy. Everyone loves the big proud dogs they grow up to be, of course, but there is something infinitely soothing about cuddling up beside a newly born pup.

Not only that, but they come in all sorts of precious shapes and sizes! Sometimes they’re fluffy, while other times they’re little short-haired cuties. They only ever have one thing in common: they are all adorable! These 22 puppies are no exception, and they just so happen to be some of the cuddliest and cutest you’ll ever see…

1. You think you’ve seen tiny? Well, you’re wrong, because you haven’t seen this puppy before. And this puppy? He is 100 percent tiny! Thankfully, what he lacks in size he’s more than willing to make up for in attitude.

2. Aww! What’s better than an adorable, doe-eyed, floppy-eared puppy, you might ask? Why, that would be an adorable, doe-eyed, floppy-eared puppy who is so tiny that you can tuck him into your pocket!

3. Some dogs love taking a bath… that is, once they get used to it! This puppy’s shock and indignation at being forced to take such a dip would be very tragic indeed if it also wasn’t one of the cutest facial expressions around.

4. When puppies are small, it can seem as if everything is so big and exciting. For this little guy, every single day holds a million new discoveries just waiting to be made. Today’s discovery? Shoes.

5. Snuggle buddies for life! They say that being born into a big family can be stressful, but clearly no one told this massive litter of puppies about the stress big families can bring.

6. You’ve probably heard that dogs hate soda (and, to be fair, they shouldn’t be drinking it anyway), but this is just a lie started by a cat. There is, in fact, almost nothing else that makes a pup lick their lips in anticipation quite like a delicious 7 Up!

7. Peekaboo! He sees you. The question is… do you see him? This pup is so teeny-tiny that every time he decides to take a nap it’s like a new installment of Where’s Waldo? Except this time, it’s the Sleepy Puppy Edition!

8. Here’s a little known fact about this utterly adorable floof: If you stare into his eyes long enough, pure candy goodness will rain from the clouds. You might also find that you have developed the ability to levitate.

9. “I shall call him Mini-Me.” Every dog needs a furry friend of their own, and if you’re going to get your pet their own pet, why not make it one that could also double as their very teeny-tiny identical twin? Totally genius.

10. They told this puppy that he was too small to be on the football team. Sure, he was a brilliant offensive lineman, but only against opponents like his tiny stuffed bear, Mr. Stuffy, and his bitter rival, Mom’s Sock.

11. “We’re super cute, huh?” Somebody clearly knows that they are adorable. Normally you would worry about these animals getting big egos, but it’s clear that these two have nothing but more love to share with the world!

12. In France, it’s normal to start your day off with a freshly baked croissant. This big dog clearly heard of this tradition and, in lieu of eating actual croissants herself, she opted to become one… with a tasty puppy filling.

13. This chubby little dog is actually pretty darn small, but you would never know what with that massive ball of floof covering his entire body. A creature that needs to be protected and cuddled? Sign us up.

14. This dog might be way too young to run for president, and also way too much of not-a-human-being. Still, you have to admit that when it comes to posing for presidential pictures, he’s got the look down—and then some!

15. “I really like belly rubs!” And we like giving them! When you’re this adorable and you seem to be constantly begging for scratches and cuddles and pets, how could we not? Thank goodness this little puppy seems keen for all the cuddles she can get!

16. “I’m a fox!” Here is how many people you are fooling with this ruse, little pup: absolutely no one. This adorable doggo might like to pretend that he’s a fearsome beast of the wild, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

17. “How’s it hangin’? Oh, me? I’m just chillin’.” This cool pup knows he’s the cat’s meow, so to speak, and he hasn’t a care in the world. Well, except for whomever he’s looking at.

18. This photograph would almost be picture-perfect were it not for the creepy fingers above the pup placed there to indicate just how tiny she was. It’s almost as if these two are reenacting the claw game at the arcade!

19. “You can call me Dr. Pupper.” You’ve always heard that there is a “secret ingredient” in Dr. Pepper. Now, this puppy isn’t saying that he’s responsible for said “secret ingredient,” but he’s also not not saying it.

20. “I’m a little teacup… wait, shoot, that’s not how it goes!” These puppies may not be very good at remembering the words to little old nursery rhymes, but the fact that they are so itty bitty more than makes up for it.

21. Say “cheese!” This puppy is so cute, that smiling big for the camera just comes naturally to him. Look at him posing like it’s his first day of school! All he needs to complete the look is a backpack and a brown bag lunch.

22. Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, may have been the king of the Rat Pack, but this dog is definitely king of the Pup Pack. It’s better that way. They don’t smoke, drink, or gad about with leggy blondes in Vegas; rather, they cuddle and howl to the sound of their own tunes.

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