Every Wednesday, six to nine dogs get their weekly bath so they’re fresh and ready for the best part of the week. On Thursday, they make the trip to Milesian Manor in Magherafelt, where they’ll make the day a little brighter for dozens of nursing home residents. “Our residents adore the dogs, and many of them benefit enormously from the engagement provided; we see them waiting patiently in reception to welcome the dogs each week when they arrive,” said Caitriona Doole, Specialist Mental Health Nurse and Nurse Manager at Milesian Manor. The nursing home has fully embraced the idea of pet therapy. One of their former residents’ daughters used to bring in dogs all the time for a visit, and since that resident has passed on, she’s continued to bring the furry visitors on a regular basis, because it’s clear that they’ve made a huge difference in the mood of the patients. To read more on this story, click here: Dog Visits Enliven Nursing Home Patients
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Looking for some awesome facts about the Galapagos blue-footed booby? Enjoy these 11 far-out facts about these strange blue-footed birds! Blue-footed boobies are definitely a different sort of bird. The first time I saw them was in the Galapagos when I was only ten. The blue feet and quizzical looks made quite the impression, but the name was what really sold it. If you were ever young, you surely remember laughing like an idiot every time someone said butt, booby or fart. If you're like me and never really grew up… well, then you may still have ridiculous difficulty containing your mirth when you hear such lovely words. Consequently, you end up embarrassing “classy” people that you may coincidentally be acquainted with (because you clearly would not spend time with such boring folk by choice). As many of you already know, the word ‘booby' was used in old English to refer to a dimwit, lunk-head, crazy person, clown, idiot, simpleton, or all around silly fellow. The blue-footed booby's name originally came from the Spanish work ‘bobo‘ meaning ‘stupid fellow.' The boobies walk funny, whistle and honk, and make sarcastic remarks at the tourists, thus earning their name. Okay, so maybe they don't verbalize their quips, but you can see it in their small, beady eyes! To read more on this story, click here:11 Far Out Facts About the Blue-Footed Booby
Two subspecies of giraffe have been listed as 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Numbers for the mammal have declined by 40 per cent over the last 31 years due to humans encroaching their habitat. In an IUCN report the giraffe has been moved from the list of 'Least Concern' to 'Vulnerable' in their Red List of Threatened Species. Two specific subspecies, the Kordofan and Nubian, have been added to the list of 'critically endangered'. According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the Kordofan giraffe is mainly found in southern Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and western South Sudan with just 2,000 of the species existing. Nubian giraffes, mainly found in west central Kenya, South Sudan, western Ethiopia and northern Uganda, and there are 2,645 left. To read more on this story, click here:Giraffes Have Been Added To The Endangered Species List
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A veteran with physical and emotional disabilities was allegedly kicked out of Dollar Tree for using a service dog. Katherine Mera, 51, a Maryland employee of the U.S. Department of Justice, says she uses a service dog to help her PTSD after she was the victim of attempted murder while serving in the Army Military Police Corps in 1987. An attack with a crowbar gave her a brain injury, tremors and speech problems, and Mera’s Chihuahua, K.C., has helped her since the dog was 11 weeks old. As reported by WTOP, on Jan. 1, Mera visited a Dollar Tree in Germantown, Md., to buy a dog bowl for K.C., who was not wearing his service vest. “I went to Dollar Tree the day before and I had no problems with K.C.,” Mera tells Yahoo Lifestyle. However, on the second trip, a manager saw the dog and said that animals weren’t allowed, Mera said. Mera says the employee wanted proof that K.C. is her service dog and asked why Mera needed one, and for details about the woman’s health. To read more on this story, click here:Disabled Veteran Says She Was Kicked Out of Dollar Tree For Using A Service Dog
Eddie, a sea otter at the Oregon Zoo, died this morning, as reported by the Oregonian. He was 20, a remarkably old age for otters, which usually live to be around 15. His main pastimes were dunking a little ball into a hoop, and blowing himself. A clip of Eddie dunking a ball into a hoop became popular when the zoo posted the video in 2013. This wasn’t just for show: The otter performed this exercise to work out his arthritic elbows. As for the purpose behind excessively licking his own genitals—well, he probably liked it. To read more on this story, click here:Dunking, Autofellating Otter At Oregon Zoo Dies At 20 You may be interested in reading:Sea Otter Plays Basketball to Help Alleviate Arthritis Pain
New research has found breeding threatened native animals like quolls as pets could become a lucrative industry that would help prevent their extinction. A team of biodiversity researchers has released the study examining the feasibility of a breeding industry for native mammals, focusing on the eastern quoll and mitchell's hopping mouse. Like the northern quoll, which is threatened by the spread of cane toads, the eastern quoll has been all but eradicated on the mainland by predators such as foxes. The study found that breeding native mammals as pets could lead to them replacing domestic cats, which threaten small native animals. A pet breeding program could also help build a greater understanding of the animals' needs. The study recognises that a breeding industry would have to be regulated but as long as keepers are well trained, there should not be any major welfare issues. One of the report's authors, Rosalie Chapple, says she hopes the research leads to more captive breeding programs. "I do have a fair bit of scepticism about it," she said. "I think to have the debate is really good because that in itself has the chance of raising public awareness of the problems of extinction, but to the extent to which a small initiative like this can make a difference to conservation is very questionable."
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Christmas puppy surprise: Oklahoma parents secretly adopt dog daughter had been caring for at shelter originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Christmas came early for one Oklahoma daughter whose father adopted the dog she was caring for at a shelter — and the moment was caught on camera. Hallee Fuqua had been asking for a dog for years, her father, Lance Fuqua, said in a Facebook post. However, her parents had told her to wait until after she graduates to get one. She began volunteering at the local Humane Society in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in during her Thanksgiving break. She quickly fell in love with Rambo, a Plott Hound and Mountain Cur mix. To read more on this story, click here:Christmas Puppy Surprise: Oklahoma Parents Secretly Adopt Dog Daughter Had Been Caring For At Shelter
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