Former Vice President, Joe Biden, and his wife Dr. Jill Biden, adopted a 10-month-old German Shepherd from the Delaware Humane Association (DHA) on Saturday, after fostering him for several months. The pup’s name is Major. DHA posted about the lucky dog on their Facebook page as the Bidens took him to his new “forever home.” “Today is Major’s lucky day! Not only did Major find his forever home, but he got adopted by Vice President Joe Biden & Dr. Jill Biden!” the post said. “The Bidens have gotten to know Major while fostering him and are now ready to make the adoption official. Best of luck and thank you for being one of our Friends for life!” According to DHA, Major is from a litter of German Shepherd pups that were given up for adoption and are currently “not doing well at all.” “Once we posted about them… Joe Biden caught wind of them and reached out immediately. The rest is history!” DHA said. The Bidens are proud owners of another German Shepherd named Champ. In a statement, the Bidens thanked the shelter for their help finding dogs permanent homes. “We are so happy to welcome Major to the Biden family, and we are grateful to the Delaware Humane Association for their work in finding forever homes for Major and countless other animals,” the statement read.
Across many cultures, people report a dip in happiness during their late-40s, a time when they generally feel less satisfied with their lives than they do in their younger and older years. Apes, too, experience a kind of midlife crisis, found a new study. The surprising result suggests that the middle-aged blues may be a result of biology, not culture, and its evolutionary roots run deep. "It was an astounding thing for us to find this pattern, to be honest," said Andrew Oswald, an economist and behavioral scientist at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. "It may be that the midlife crisis is driven by primate biology in a way we don 't understand, and if that 's the case, we all have to learn how to deal with it." "I think it 's helpful for people to understand this dip," he added. "With luck, this could people them see that this is completely normal and that could help them get through it." Studies in more than 50 countries over the past 20 years have revealed a near-universal pattern. Over the course of life, happiness tends to follow a U-shaped curve, with people ranking their sense of well-being higher in the first and last decades of life than in the middle. The low point generally strikes between age 45 and 50 for both men and women, and the pattern crosses economic and demographic lines. For each animal, zookeepers, researchers or caretakers answered four questions about the well-being of their primate friends, including whether the apes seemed to be in good or bad moods. The humans also ranked how happy they thought they 'd be if they were to become the animal for a week. They had spent time with the animals for at least two years and knew them well.
Apes live to be about 50 or 55 years old and, just like in people, results showed a drop in happiness that reached its lowest point about halfway through the animals ' lives, the researchers report today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The magnitude of the dip was on par with the dips in happiness that people experience in their middle age, Oswald said. He compared the difference between the apes ' highs and lows to the loss in well-being that people report with marital separation. The new findings help rule out some theories for midlife slumps in humans, said Arthur Stone, a psychologist in the psychiatry department at Stony Brook University in New York. For example, a whole generation of people can end up feeling less happy at a certain time in their lives simply because of some external historical situation. But that is unlikely to happen in societies of apes. Instead, it might be chemical or physical changes in our bodies that influence how our feelings morph throughout our lifetimes. "What this really starts to point to is that maybe there are biological things that we just don 't know about," Stone said. "Maybe there are changes in the brain, changes in how neurotransmitters work or changes in how hormones work that relate to how people view their lives and how animals feel. People will be looking at this more seriously, I think."
Also known as the nictitating membrane or haw, the dog's third eyelid is something most owners aren't aware of until they see it for the first time. All dogs have this membrane found in the inner corner of the eye but it is typically noticed only when it is drawn horizontally across part of the eye. Its color varies depending on the dog's breed and can range from clear to cloudy. Also known as the nictitating membrane or haw, the dog's third eyelid is something most owners aren't aware of until they see it for the first time. All dogs have this membrane found in the inner corner of the eye but it is typically noticed only when it is drawn horizontally across part of the eye. Its color varies depending on the dog's breed and can range from clear to cloudy. What Does the Third Eyelid Do? Deborah S. Friedman, D.V.M. and diplomate with the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists has several explanations. The third eyelid acts as the dog's "windshield-wiper" for the cornea, effectively removing debris or mucus off of it. This membrane is responsible for producing about one-third of the dog's tears, since it has one of the most important tear glands attached at its base, and its lymphoid tissue acts like a lymph node producing antibodies to fight off infections. It also helps prevent injuries to the dog's cornea. In dogs and cats, this membrane is not normally visible other than when the animal is sleeping or suddenly awakens from sleep. Indeed, if you lift the eyelid of a sleeping dog you'll likely see the whole eye covered by the third eyelid. The dog in my pictures awakened suddenly after resting on my legs, and once she was fully awake, her third eyelid re-positioned normally. However, the prolonged presence of the third eyelid, even when the dog is bright and alert, often denotes some sort of medical problem. In the next paragraphs, we will see some common and not-so-common medical issues associated with the abnormal appearance of the dog's third eyelid. To read more this story, click here:Why Is My Dog's Third Eyelid Showing?
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Inappropriate Urination Cats typically want to urinate in their litter boxes! Naturally, a cat wants to bury its excrement so that predators cannot find it (or them!). It's instinctual and it makes the cat feel safe. If a cat urinates inappropriately, especially in its owner's bed, there has to be a problem. The main culprits usually involve: Medical conditions such as Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) or kidney infection Stress or anxiety Problems with the litter box itself Medical Concerns: Consider These First! The first issue to consider if a cat has begun to urinate inappropriately and/or on the bed, is the possibility of illness or injury. Cats usually want to use their litter boxes and feel most comfortable using them, so it is not a good sign if a cat stops using theirs. A complete check-up with a veterinarian is the best first step. Oftentimes a cat with a urinary tract infection (UTI) or kidney infection will urinate while sleeping, and our beds are a common place for cats to sleep. Elderly cats may have difficulty getting in and out of the litter box, and may need some adjustments to help with this. Medical issues can be complicated, so it is best to check for these first in order to be sure that the problem is not a physical one. To read more on this story, click here:Why Does My Cat Pee on My Bed?
Are you curious to know why dog howl and why they howl mostly at nights? Actually, dogs howl is their natural mode of communication. Also, there are some other reasons, about dog howl, but the most accepted belief is, "dogs are successor of wolves and they carry a couple of wolves’ characters and howling is one of them". There are some other concepts also, regarding dog howls like, 1. Vocal Communication Wolf howl in the wild is their natural way of vocal communication. They howl to send a message to their separated pack members to inform about their presence and current location. This method helps them to find each other. And the dogs had inherited this behavior from their ancestors. Though this way of communication can be the one reason, but there are a couple of other reasons also when a dog can trigger howl. To read more on this story, click here:10 Reasons Why Dogs Howl
November is National Adopt a Senior Month. Donatello has a message...please adopt or foster a senior dog or cat. Let’s save more lives together. Donatello would like you all to follow him on FB & Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/donatellothedog/ https://instagram.com/donatellos world (Click twice on arrow to start video)
A two-headed snake that wowed biologists and residents when it was found in a Northern Virginia yard in September has died, The Washington Post reports. The two-headed baby Eastern Copperhead was found in Woodbridge in early September, the Wildlife Center of Virginia said. According to The Post, JD Kleopfer, the state’s herpetologist, announced the reptile's death early this week. The snake had two tracheas, with the left one more developed, and two esophagi, with the right one more developed. The snake also had a single heart and one set of lungs. When the snake was discovered, Kleopfer said the find was extremely rare because "they just don't live that long." You may be interested in reading:A Young Two-Headed Eastern Copperhead Was Found in Northern Virginia
The Camp Fire, the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California history, has destroyed hundreds of homes, put thousands of lives at risk and separated pets from their owners. People have been using social media to look for and share images of their lost animals in hopes of finding them, and it's working. Lost animals following Camp Fire To take a look at the animals, click here:Photos: Pets, Owners Reunited Following Deadly and Destructive Camp Fire
