An adorable two-month-old puppy was surrendered to the Associated Humane Popcorn Park Shelter in Newark, New Jersey recently; the dog's front legs grossly deformed. Perhaps his birth defect or being locked in a too small kennel as he developed saved his life; his past owner decided the little one's deformity made him unsuitable to be a fighting dog. Named Hulk by his rescuers, the staff at the Associated Humane Popcorn Park Shelter stated the eight-week-old little bundle of cuteness was the meanest, nastiest little critter anyone would have wanted to meet. From the moment he entered the shelter, Hulk would bite, growl and snap at everyone. It was evident he hadn't been socialized; chances are he was already being taught to fight and be aggressive. According to the AHPPS, however the very young life of Hulk is making a positive turn: "...the rough edges have smoothed down with loving hands that hold him. There are two matronly female dogs who play with him so he can perceive that affection and dominance are taught in a favorable and rewarding manner." Hulk will be examined by a specialist this week in hopes of correcting his deformity. If you would like to help, please click here. Follow Hulk's progress on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Rabbits are susceptible to infection by a small oval shaped mite called Psoroptes cuniculi, which has a preference for ears. Rabbits can pick up infection when they contact eggs in hay, straw, or wood chip bedding.[1] Although the mites live in the ear, if the infection is not treated, it can spread to other parts of the body, such as the paws, head, neck, abdomen, or around the anus.[2] Learn how to treat ear mites so you can keep your rabbit healthy. 1- Clean everything the rabbit has touched. Ear mites are very contagious. Because of this, everything the rabbit comes into contact with should be cleaned and disinfected in case they harbor mites or mite eggs.[3] Dispose of all bedding materials and provide fresh bedding every day until the mites have been gotten rid of completely. Scrub and disinfect the hutch and run. Make sure to clean it often while your rabbit has the infection. Ear mites are highly infectious to other rabbits and can spread by direct contact. Therefore, all the rabbits in the household should be treated, too. To read more on this story, click here:How to Treat Ear Mites in Rabbits
People have loved–and even worshipped cats–since the beginning of time. We know Cleopatra of Ancient Egypt and her love affair with cats. In fact, the term “cat eyeliner” was another thing she was famous for. But there are a number of cat lovers throughout history that you may not know. Here we will take a look at some of the most famous cat lovers throughout history. Let’s see how many you already knew! Many of us know the 16th President of the United States for his untimely death and Gettysburg Address. But what you don’t know is that this impressive man was also a crazy cat lover! And better yet, Lincoln was the first president to bring cats to the White House. To read more on this story, click here;Famous Cat Lovers In History
Rare pink dolphin mom gave birth to a cute baby dolphin. People call her Pinky, and the animal has been spotted in the Calcasiey river in Louisiana. The pink calf was there, too. The pink mammal became popular 12 years ago. Captain Erik Rue was the first to spot her. The video of Pinky and her baby was posted on Pinky’s Facebook page. The dolphins were swimming in front of a big boat in the Calcasieu Ship Channel. According to experts, Pinky is a Rare River Dolphin who got the pink color from a rare genetic mutation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed river dolphins as endangered. It’s population is decreasing.
The birth of the calf gives us hope that calves have inherited their mother’s genetic mutation which would help in the effort of increasing the population of rare species.
A once perky pooch may now be listless and withdrawn. Or a dog who previously had the tolerance and patience of Job might have turned aggressive, snapping at the kids or destroying furniture. Could these be signs of depression? “It’s hard to know for sure because we can’t ask what they’re feeling, and have no tests to specifically gauge depression in dogs,” says Bonnie Beaver, DVM, of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and a professor at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “That’s why it’s important to see a vet whenever your dog experiences any sudden change in behavior — to rule out a possible medical condition ranging from GI upset to cancer. But certainly, there are situations where depression seems to be the only explanation.” Leading the list, perhaps to no surprise, is loss of a family member. “We definitely can say we see depression in dogs when there’s a death of a person or another pet in that household, or someone moves out,” notes John Ciribassi, DVM, of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior and co-editor of the book Decoding Your Dog. To read more on this story, click here: Is Your Dog Depressed?
A Niagara Falls, Ont., man has been fined $15,000 after he was caught flying into Canada with a suitcase full of leeches. Ippolit Bodounov tried to smuggle 4,788 live, medicinal leeches in his carry-on luggage on Oct. 17, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). He'd just flown from Russia to Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Bodounov carried the leeches in a large reusable grocery bag, said Gerry Brunet, operations manager of ECCC's wildlife enforcement directorate, based in Burlington, Ont. Within that bag were 10 smaller, dampened cloth bags. A dog working with border agents smelled the leeches, Brunet said. "This is our first large-scale illegal leech import," he said, though the ministry sees a lot of illegally imported reptiles, turtles, tortoises and snakes. The ministry sent the leeches to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, where Sebastian Kvist, curator of invertebrate zoology, identified them as Hirudo verbana, a threatened medicinal leech. To read more on this story, click here:Man Caught Smuggling Nearly 5,000 Leeches In Luggage
Number one canine problem behavior is “home alone.” Don’t panic if someone tells you that your dog suffers from separation anxiety. It’s probably not the case. Anxiety is a serious disorder and most dogs don’t have any anxiety when left alone. They are either under-stimulated and burn their surplus energy by wrecking the furniture, they’re having fun and don’t know that it is wrong to destroy human possessions, or the owners have not taught them the desired routines when left home alone.
'This is unacceptable behavior for dog owners. Why is it OK for cats?' asks Grant Sizemore, a conservation biologist with the American Bird Conservancy. UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Marian Parker pulled her small Hyundai into the parking lot of an Upper Marlboro, Md. strip mall and started her daily mission. In the cluttered back seat, rested an empty cat cage, several bags of dry pet food, and cases of 22-ounce 'Paws and Claws Turkey and Giblets' dinner cans. Parker comes daily to feed a colony of about 20 feral cats. The animals live in a trash-filled, muddy, no-man’s land in the forest behind the shopping center along the banks of the Western Branch near the busy intersection of Routes 301 and 4. Parker and others have set out overturned plastic storage tubs filled with flea-infested straw in the muddy woods to shelter the cats. Holes are cut in the plastic for the cats to enter. To read more on this story, click here:Feral Cat Colony Crisis Pits Environmentalists Against Humane Groups
