Puppy Dog Eyes Are REAL, Says Science

You know that look your dog gives you when he wants something—whether it be food, a walk, a toy, or maybe just attention. His eyes get bigger and droopier, and he looks so sad that you just have to acquiesce to his wordless request. But how does he DO that? It turns out science can tell us a lot more than we ever thought we’d learn about puppy-dog eyes.

The answer, it seems, lies in two muscles, called the retractor anguli oculi lateralis muscle and the levator anguli oculi medialis muscle (RAOL and LAOM, respectively). These two muscles connect the ring of muscle around the dog’s eye to either end of his eyebrow. By using these muscles, he can tilt his eyebrows so the inner corner is lifted, giving him that wide-eyed sad look that we all know and love.

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Maternal Gorilla Received Box Of Kittens For Her Birthday

Koko was one special gorilla. She could communicate very well with her handlers and loved taking on a mother role to other animals. After becoming a part of the longest experiment to teach language to another species, Koko had become an icon for The Gorilla Foundation. Aside from art, Koko also loved kittens.

According to The Gorilla Foundation, Koko loved babies. Although her handlers weren't able to find Koka a baby gorilla, they did find her the next best thing. As a gift for her birthday, her handlers got Koko a box full of adorable kittens.

To read more on this story, click here: Maternal Gorilla Received Box Of Kittens For Her Birthday

9-Year-Old Boy Sells Custom Pet Paintings For Food and Supplies For Shelter Animals

You don’t have to be supersized to do something wonderful. In fact, even the smallest of people can make a difference in this world. That is what you will see with this young child, who is stepping up to the plate and making a difference in a big way.

The nine-year-old Russian boy, Pavel Abramov, is doing his part to help animals at local shelters. He is an artist at such a young age who lives in the small city of Arzamas in Nizhny Novgorod. He has been busy painting pictures of pets but he isn’t collecting money to buy the latest gadget, he is exchanging the pictures for supplies and food to be donated to a local shelter.

To read more on this story, click here: 9-Year-Old Boy Sells Custom Pet Paintings For Food and Supplies For Shelter Animals

People Are Crocheting Adorable Tiny Couches For Their Cats

All cat owners know that when you have a cat, your house is not your own. In the cat’s mind, it’s their home and you’re just paying either the rent or mortgage on it. But they’re so adorable, you don’t mind. Let’s face it, a cat’s assertiveness is a big part of why we love them.

However, even though the cat runs the household, we still sometimes try to keep them off the furniture since they shed a lot and it makes keeping up with the vacuuming a little easier if they don’t constantly lounge on the good sofa or the good chair.

To read more on this story, click here: People Are Crocheting Adorable Tiny Couches For Their Cats

Mara The Ex-Circus Elephant Retires To Brazil

Brasília (AFP) - Mara, an Indian elephant rescued from an Argentine circus, arrived at an animal sanctuary in Brazil Wednesday to start a new life at 50-something -- beginning with a celebratory frolic in the dirt.

Mara, who weighs around 5,500 kilograms (more than 12,000 pounds), spent much of her life as a circus attraction, then was brought to the Buenos Aires Zoo in 1995.

To read more on this story, click here: Mara The Ex-Circus Elephant Retires To Brazil

Bird With Deformed Feet Gets Tiny Casts Made By Veterinarians

A tiny Mockingbird that doesn’t even have a name recently ended up with the California Wildlife Center. They rescued him and took him in after they saw his feet were deformed.

The little bird had ‘knuckled feet’, meaning that they folded in on themselves so it was impossible for him to walk or even perch comfortably.

If the rescue group wouldn’t have stepped in, the little Mockingbird would probably have died.

In addition, the bird probably had to deal with painful sores constantly. Thankfully, a solution was only one creative decision away.

A team of veterinarians got busy creating a little set of shoes for the tiny bird. They made the shoes out of cardboard.

The shoes were designed to help realign the little bird’s feet so that they were back in shape again. It took only one week and his feet were fixed. He was then able to get back to life as normal.

They removed the little makeshift shoes and released the bird into the wild. I guess we could all use a little help sometimes.

Man Finds Giant Bird-Eating Spider Guarding His Garage

Australia, The Land Down Under, is full of beautiful beaches, incredible landscapes…and scary things that can kill you.

Speaking of scary, meet Martha, the giant golden orb spider who made herself right at home in someone’s garage in Buderim, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Golden orb spiders typically eat flies, beetles, and moths – as well as small birds and bats.

To read more on this story, click here: Man Finds Giant Bird-Eating Spider Guarding His Garage

Rottweilers Save Horses From Intruders Who Planned On Slaughtering Them

This is awful: authorities in Florida have recently been warning more owners about a statewide increase in horses being slaughtered and harvested for their meat.

Horse theft and slaughter cases in various counties across Florida have left owners reeling and searching desperately for solutions.

Brena Kramer of Zephyrhills knows about this horrific crime firsthand. She claims three intruders tried to slaughter her beloved horses for their meat.

If it weren’t for Brena’s two rottweilers, she says things would have ended much differently. She believes the dogs chased off the intruders.

Brena ran to their barn as quickly as she could and found one of the horses was left with a rope still tied around its neck.

The horses were left with cuts and scrapes all over their faces, especially near their eyes, along with rope burns near their mouths.

Brena is now sharing her story to warn other horse owners in her area and beyond.

“It is common down South. It’s something most horse owners know about, especially in Florida,” she told Fox13. “They will bleed them out and start butchering while the horse is bleeding.”

Thankfully, there are a couple of heroes who were watching over the horses during the incident.

Learn more in this video.