Humans often face a lot of difficulties. Whether it’s
financial, emotional, or physical, life is rarely easy. Joey, a boy with
autism, had a hard time adjusting to many things. He especially had a hard time
expressing love and affection, but that all changed once he met Roxy. Watch
their amazing story unfold right here.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Russia Has Offered to Send an Alsatian Puppy to France in a Gesture of Solidarity After a Police Dog Was Killed During a Raid
Russia has offered to send an Alsatian puppy to France in a
gesture of solidarity after a police dog was killed during a raid on jihadists
linked to the Paris attacks.
Russia's interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said he had
written to his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve offering to send a puppy
named Dobrynya to replace Diesel, a Belgian Shepherd killed in a huge raid
north of Paris last Wednesday.
Kolokoltsev said that as "a sign of solidarity with
the people and police of France," he was offering the puppy, which
"will be able to occupy the place in service of the police dog Diesel
killed during a special operation to neutralise terrorists."
The dog is named after a hero of Russian folk legend,
Dobrynya Nikitch, famed for his strength, goodness and courage, he added.
Dobrynya is two months old and lives at a police dog centre
in the Moscow region, Channel One television reported. He will have to undergo
medical checks and quarantine before going to France.
Two dog-handlers from Moscow police's special forces also
posed with their dogs and signs with the hashtag "Je Suis Diesel" on
the service's Instagram account.
"Our four-legged friends also serve the police,
protecting society from terrorist threats," the Moscow police service
said.
The hashtag #JeSuisChien (I am a dog) trended on Twitter
after French police announced that seven-year-old Diesel died in the raid
targeting Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the November 13
attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.
Three people died during the massive operation at the
apartment in Saint-Denis north of Paris -- Abaaoud, his cousin Hasna
Aitboulahcen, and a suicide bomber who has yet to be identified.
Seven people arrested during the raid were freed on
Saturday.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
An Animal Rights Group is Suing to Get a Chimpanzee Out of an Amusement Park Where She is Given Cigarettes
An animal rights group is suing to get a chimpanzee named
Candy out of an amusement park where, it says, she smokes cigarettes and is
given soft drinks instead of water.
Candy is isolated in an inadequate cage at the Baton Rouge
park, and should be moved to a sanctuary, according to the federal suit filed
in Baton Rouge on Tuesday by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
"Defendants have for decades allowed members of the
general public to throw items into Candy's cage, including lit cigarettes that
Candy smokes. Just as with humans, cigarette smoking is very harmful for
chimpanzees," and letting her smoke violates the Endangered Species Act, the
suit states.
The lawsuit is the first filed under a new federal rule
that requires captive chimps get the same protection as wild chimps, said
Carter Dillard, the group's attorney. That rule, which was made public in June
and took effect Sept. 14, changes captive chimps' classification from
threatened to endangered, the same classification as wild chimpanzees.
Jennifer Treadway-Morris, attorney for park owner Sam
Haynes, said she had not had time to read the lawsuit. However, she said,
government agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cannot make
rules retroactive.
She also cited a letter from a veterinarian stating that an
attempt to retire Candy to the Baton Rouge Zoo failed.
"She was returned because she couldn't adjust and
couldn't assimilate," Treadway-Morris said. "It seems that if they
want her to have company, she doesn't want it."
The animal rights group said it went to court for Cathy
Breaux, 62, and Holly Reynolds, 96, who have campaigned for decades to get
Candy moved from the Dixie Landin' park and its predecessor.
"Cathy and Holly remain upset, distressed and
concerned that Candy is isolated throughout the day, deprived of companionship
with other chimpanzees, and insufficiently stimulated in her empty cage,"
the lawsuit states.
It said the women have seen visitors throw lit cigarettes
into Candy's cage for the chimp to smoke.
City animal control officials cited the park in 2012 for
not providing water for Candy, according to the suit.
"Defendants provide Candy exclusively with Coca-Cola
instead, claiming that Candy does not like water. However, Candy has readily
accepted and drunk water offered to her by visiting experts. Water, not
Coca-Cola, is an essential requirement for chimpanzees," according to the
suit.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Did You Know That These Hybrid Animals Are Still in Existence?
Hybrid is defined as “the offspring of two animals or
plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera, especially as
produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics.” Take
a look at some of these animals that still exist today.
Liger
The animal made famous by Napoleon Dynamite is actually
real. Ligers are the offspring of male lions and female tigers. While there are
legends of Ligers prowling the wilds, they currently only exist in captivity, where
they are deliberately bred.
There is a myth that Ligers never stop growing their entire
lives, which is untrue. They just grow to freakish sizes in their normal growth
window. Ligers are the largest cat in the world. Hercules, the biggest
individual Liger, weighed 922 pounds.
When a male tiger and a female lion mate, the tigon is the
result. It used to be believed that tigons were smaller than their parent
species, but they can grow just as large. They are, however, smaller than
ligers.
Both ligers and tigons are capable of producing their own
offspring, leading to confusingly-named hybrids such as titigons and liligers.
A Zebroid is a cross between a zebra and any other equine.
Zebroids have been around for a long time – they were even mentioned in some of
Darwin’s writings. They tend to be male and to have the physiology of the
non-zebra parent, with zebra stripes adorning parts of their body. Zebroids are
more wild than domestic, are hard to tame, and are more aggressive than horses.
Coywolf
Coyotes are very genetically close to red and eastern
wolves, with whom they diverged only about 150-300,000 years ago. Interbreeding
between them is not only possible, but becoming more common as wolf populations
rebound. Coyotes are not, however, very compatible with gray wolves, which have
about 1-2 million years of genetic estrangement separating them. Some hybrids
do exist, though they are rare
There are a number of different coywolf hybrids, and their
populations dot North America. Generally, they are larger than coyotes but
smaller than wolves, and share behavioral characteristics of both species.
Grolar bears, also called “pizzly bears” by the less
charitable, are a cross between polar and brown bears. Their natural ranges
rarely, if ever, overlap, and most grolar bears live in zoos. However, there
have been a handful of confirmed sightings in the wild. In 2006, an Alaskan
hunter shot one.
They look pretty much like an even split between polar and
grizzly bears. Behaviorally, they are closer to polar bears than to browns.
This uncommon but awesome breed of housecat is a cross
between a domestic cat and a Serval, a kind of wild cat that lives in Africa.
They are exceptionally large and behave remarkably like dogs, following their
owners around the house, wagging their tails to express pleasure, and even
playing catch. Savannahs also do not fear water, and will invite themselves
into the shower with you. Unfortunately, they are extremely expensive.
Wholphin
When a male false killer whale and a female bottlenose
dolphin love each other very much, they produce a wolphin. “Wolphin” is a portmanteau
of “whale” and “dolphin,” which is misleading. False killer whales are actually
not a whale, and are in the same family as dolphins.
Nevertheless, they are extremely rare. They are
occasionally spotted in the wild, and there is currently only one individual in
captivity.
Beefalo are crosses between buffalo and cows. They’ve been
around since the 1800s, when they were called “cattalo.” Beefalo are heartier
than cattle, and do less ecological damage to the prairies they graze on.
However, beefalo breeding has led to conservation problems for wild bison. It
is now estimated that only four total herds still exist that are not polluted
by cow genes.
Hinnies are basically reverse mules. A mule is a product of
a male donkey and a female horse, and a hinny is a product of a male horse and
a female donkey. Their heads look like horse heads, and they are slightly
smaller than mules. They’re also much less common.
Narwhals and Belugas are the only two members of the
monodontidae family of whales, so it should be no surprise that they are able
to crossbreed. However, they are extraordinarily rare. Sightings have been
increasing in the Northern Atlantic recently, which some researchers consider a
warning sign of climate change.
Camas did not exist until 1998. Some mad scientist at the
Camel Reproduction Centre in Dubai decided to cross a male dromedary camel with
a female lama via artificial insemination, and out popped the first Cama. The
intention was to breed them to produce fur that could be clipped and sold, and
to serve as a pack animal. To date, only five have ever been produced.
The dzo (male) and dzomo (female) are hybrids between
domestic cows and wild yaks. They exist mostly in Tibet and Mongolia, where
they are prized for their high yield of meat and milk. They are larger and
stronger than both cows and yaks, and are used as beasts of burden.
The lines can blur – it is believed that most yaks and cows
in the region now carry at least some of the other’s genetic imprint.
If a male leopard is intrepid enough to mate with a female
lion, a Leopon is the result. It’s almost impossible for this combination to
occur in the wild, and every known Leopon has been the product of breeding in
captivity. Leopons appear to have the head and mane of a lion, and the body of
a leopard.
Goats and sheep appear to be very similar, but they are
more different than you might suspect. Natural hybrids between the two animals
are typically stillborn, and if they aren’t, occur extremely rarely. An animal
called a “sheep-goat chimera” has also been produced by artificially combining
goat and sheep embryos.
A Jaglion is the offspring of a male jaguar and a female
lion, and are very rare. The two pictured above were the result of a close
friendship between a jaguar named Diablo and a lioness named Lola, who were
bosom buddies at Ontario’s Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary. They’re named Jahzara
(left) and Tsunami (right).
The Mulard is a cross between a mallard and a muscovy duck.
The muscovy duck is native to South and Central America, and is easily
recognized by its bright red Darth Maul face. Mulards are bred for food, and
are unable to produce offspring of their own
The żubroń is a cross between a domestic cow and a European
bison (also called a “wisent”). They are, in many ways, superior to the
domestic cow, as they are stronger and more resistant to disease. They were
thought to be a possible replacement for cattle, but now only exist in one
small herd in the Bialowieski National Park in Poland.
Until recently, there were no known hybrid shark species.
But the Australian black-tip shark is mating with the common black-tip, and are
regularly spotted on the Eastern Australian coast. Opinion is divided about
exactly why they have begun to hybridize.
Facial Recognition Technology Now Being Used to Track Lost Pets
Los Angeles, California - Facial recognition technology
used by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies is now being used to track
lost pets.
A new app can now help pet owners search through a smart
phone or computer. John Polimeno, CEO of the app Finding Rover, said people can
upload a photo of a lost or found dog along with some key information. Then a
database will conduct a facial recognition to help find the animal's location
or its owner.
The app uses similar technology used for human facial
recognition and pinpoints certain characteristics on the animal's face.
Polimeno partnered with the Society for Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles and VCA Animal Hospitals to unveil the free app.
In a couple of weeks, the Finding Rover app will also
include cats in its service.
FOLLOW US! A Rare Pygmy Hippo Calf Was Born at the San Diego Zoo
A rare pygmy hippo calf was born at the San Diego Zoo on
Wednesday—the first surviving hippo birth at the zoo in over a decade.
The little hippo weighs about 12 pounds and was born to its
mother, Francesca.
The significant birth adds to the world's smallest species
of hippo which is currently on the endangered species list. There are
approximately 2,000 pygmy hippos left in the world, according to the San Diego
Zoo.
"Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is
the mission of San Diego Zoo Global," the zoo said in a press release.
As of now the sex and name of the calf is unknown.
Francesca and her baby will be alone in a private barn until the calf is ready
to swim in the larger pool on exhibit, the zoo said.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
The Poughkeepsie Police Department is Adding a New Member to Its K9 Team: A Pit Bull, Named Kiah
The Poughkeepsie Police Department (located approximately
85 miles outside of New York City) is adding a new member to its K9 team – a
dog named Kiah.
But what makes this canine so special is the breed. While
must dogs that join the police force are German shepherds and Belgian malinois
to chase suspects and sniff out drugs, or beagles and bloodhounds to track
scents, this police department decided to welcome a pit bull to the team.
Kiah (pronounced KY’-uh) will be used to sniff out drugs
and find missing people. It is reported that she is also an ambassador for her
breed and police.
“The breed isn’t important,” Brad Croft, a dog trainer for
law enforcement agencies and the military, told The AP. “It’s what’s inside of the dog that’s
important.”
Croft rescued the dog from a Texas animal shelter after her
previous owner was arrested for animal cruelty. In partnership with Croft’s
company San Antonio-based Universal K9, an Austin animal shelter and Animal
Farm Foundation, a sanctuary in New York, Kiah was provided to the police
department free of charge (often K9-trained dogs can cost up to $15,000.)
Croft told the AP he often looks for dogs in shelter to
train for police departments and chose Kiah after a staff member “recognized
something special in the dog.”
The dog’s human partner is Officer Justin Bruzgul, who told
the AP, “She wants to work. She’s high-energy. Affectionate. I couldn’t ask for
a better partner.”
While often pit bulls get bad raps, they are also known to
be very sweet, loyal and eager to please. George Carlson, the Ulster County
sheriff’s deputy who trained Kiah in Stone Ridge, N.Y. told the outlet he
believes she is the only pit bull on the East Cost working for a police
department and is a sweetheart. He added,
“Dogs are individuals. They have their own personalities, just like
people.”
FOLLOW US! Friday, November 13, 2015
Coolridge Animal Hospital: Bring Your Fur Baby to Take a Picture with Santa – December 12
Guess who's coming back to town for a visit? That's right!
Santa
When: Saturday December 12th
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Where: Coolridge Animal Hospital
6801 Old Branch Ave
Camp Springs, Maryland
Cost: $7.00 donation which will go to our " It takes a
village" fund, to help those pets in need of medical services.
You will receive a framed photo of Santa and your fur baby,
and Santa is bringing goodies for all!
Santa has asked that all the fur babies write to Santa via
Facebook or by email coolridgeah@gmail.com, and let Santa know if you have been
naughty or nice this year, and what your little heart desires from Santa.
The best Dear Santa Letter will receive a special gift from
Santa!
Website: Coolridge Animal Hospital
Coolridge Animal Hospital
6801 Old Branch Ave
Camp Springs, Maryland
(301) 449-1610
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