She's done 4 flights so far with Fred. NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — Ronica Froese's has had a love for animals her whole life. That love also includes miniature horses. "I've loved horses my entire life, they are my spirit animal. 6 years ago I wanted a horse at home and the only property size I have is for a miniature horse," says Froese. That's when she found a mini, affectionately known as Fred, from an online post in Kansas. To read more on this story, click here:West Michigan Woman Approved To Fly With Service Horse
Today, the six living species of sloths are usually found dangling from tree branches, or going viral on YouTube. But sloths used to be a lot more diverse—and a lot bigger. The extinct ground sloths pursued all sorts of different lifestyles and came in just about every imaginable shape and size. Some were cow-like grazers; others might have been accomplished burrowers; and, believe it or not, a few even dined beneath the ocean waves. To read more on this story, click here:10 Big Facts About Giant Ground Sloths
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This VERY good boy is not very good at being a service dog, unfortunately Dogs are angels on earth in every discernible way. Some are great at being lifelong companions, others have talents in the service arena — as K9 police dogs, service dogs to those in need, etc. And some dogs have higher hopes and dreams than they’re capable of achieving, but that doesn’t make them any less Good. Take this guy, for example. In a video that’s quickly gone viral all over social media, a German Shepherd named Ryker can be seen trying so very hard to meet the standards of a service dog. But Ryker, like many of us out there of the human variety who can relate, falls short during his test. In every single way. Please enjoy the funniest, most adorable animal video you will see all day. To learn more about Ryker and see his video, click here:German Shepherd Hilariously Fails His Service Dog Training In Viral Video
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Unless you have the virus, or your pet is spending a lot of time with Covid-19 patients, no precautions are needed, or helpful.
Pet owners may be wondering whether Covid-19, the coronavirus that has infected thousands of people worldwide, is a threat to dogs or cats or can be carried by them. So far, the short answer is no. Unless you are in an area where the disease is spreading rapidly, then there is no action or preparation necessary. Even if you are in an area where many people have been infected with the coronavirus, there’s no evidence that companion animals can be infected with it. Of course, veterinarians can’t be absolutely sure about the infection because it is new, so if you have the virus, or are in an area with many human infections, some precautions might be useful. To read more on this story, click here: No Evidence That Pets Can Get Covid-19, but Wash Your Hands Anyway
It has to be a special connection between dogs and little babies, since it’s really hard to find a more heart-warming duo. Whenever a furry companion and a mini-human team up, the result is simply adorable. And nothing shows this better than the bond between Dilan – a newborn and Farley – a French bulldog. To read more on this story, click here:Baby and French Bulldog Born on the Same Day Think They’re Brothers and They Do Everything Together
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MONROVIA, Calif. - A large bear was spotted early Friday morning in Monrovia, only a day after a bear was reported roaming around the nearby campus of Mayflower Elementary School. It was first spotted around 2:30 a.m. digging through trash cans in the neighborhood of North Mayflower Avenue. SkyFOX first spotted the bear around 4:30 a.m. in the area of Hillcrest Boulevard, near Mayflower Avenue. To read more on this story, click here: Large Bear Spotted Roaming in Monrovia Second Day in a Row
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The story of Romeo, the wolf who flirted with dogs, is an exceptional story of a wild wolf befriending dogs in the Alaskan city of Juneau. Many citizens of Juneau went to see this spectacle for many years until Romeo was killed by sports hunters. My wife, who did not exactly approve of this “miscegenation” because of the potential danger, was looking out the window one frosty morning and there was the wolf curled up out on the lake ice, waiting for Dakotah (our dog) to come out. With that arms folded, slightly protective tone of voice any mother with a cute teenage daughter would use, she said, “There’s that Romeo wolf again.” The name caught on because it fit. He was not only doing this with our dog, he was also flirting with others. But he certainly had favorites, just as people do: dog friends, dog acquaintances, and dog Best friends for ever. To read more on this story, click here:A Valentine Love Story: Romeo, The Wolf Who Flirted With Dogs (And Humans)
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If there were any doubts about whether Joaquin Phoenix was sincere in his Oscars speech advocating for animal rights, this should clear them up. The Joker star rescued a cow and her baby from the Manning Beef facility in Pico Rivera, Calif., and took them to Farm Sanctuary in Acton, Calif., where they can live together in peace, without threat of being slaughtered. The move came a day after Phoenix spent his time at the podium, while accepting the Best Actor trophy for his turn in Joker, decrying the way humans treat all of the natural world. He specifically cited the plight of cows. “We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth, then we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable,” Phoenix said. “And then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.” Grassroots group Los Angeles Animal Save captured Phoenix’s efforts in a moving, 8-minute video. To read more on this story, click here:Watch Joaquin Phoenix Rescue a Cow and Her Calf After Advocating for Animals in Oscars speech
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Croton, Michigan - Fred, a mini service horse flew first class to show what’s possible for service animals. It’s not every day you see a horse on a plane, let alone in first class but Fred the Mini Service Horse went wheels up with a purpose. “This was our first trip via an airplane, Fred has traveled several thousands of miles in my vehicle but this was the first time in the air,” Fred’s Handler Ronica Froese said. Froese has trained Fred to be a therapy and a service horse. He lives in her Newaygo County home, is house broken and is frankly more well-trained than most dogs. “I spent a year of my life training this horse extensively for what he has and I was totally prepared for everything,’ Froese added. Froese put months of work preparing for Fred’s trip, which included two flights each way. “We left in the afternoon, we flew from Grand Rapids, we connected in Dallas and we went to Ontario, California,” Froese, explained. “I purchased two first class seats in bulkhead seating, I paid an arm and a leg for tickets but I did so because it was Fred’s first time and I wanted him to be comfortable, I wanted him to have the most room,” she said. Other than the expected gawking, the trip went without a hitch. “Everyone was sweet as pie, TSA was amazing. The experience was way better than I actually anticipated,” Froese said. With talks of potentially stricter regulations from the Department of Transportation on which species of animals can fly, Froese hopes Fred's trip shows the model for air travel with a service mini-horse. She added that rules are often abused, but for people like herself, a service animal like Fred is a necessary companion. “It is out of control, it’s a very abused process, there are a lot of untrained service animals on the plane that are not trained," Froese said. “It’s definitely an abused system, but the sad part is what the DOT is looking at doing, they are looking at excluding me as a handler from taking my horse on the plane," she added. She’s hoping they reverse course so Fred's first air travel experience won’t be his last. If you want to follow along with Fred or Ronica’s other mini horses, Charlie and George, click HERE.
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(CNN)An orange tabby cat got a new lease on life and a name to go with it after veterinarians removed an arrow that someone had shot through his head. Cupid, as the cat is now named, is on the road to recovery after a surgery at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington in Virginia last weekend. "We believe the arrow may have been there for up to a week," spokeswoman Chelsea Jones told CNN. She said the arrow had gone through the cat's head and lodged in his shoulder. To read more on this story, click here:A Cat Shot Through The Head With An Arrow Is Recovering After Surgery. His Rescuers Named Him Cupid
Fort Worth, Texas - A woman recently found that what she thought was a dog turned out to be a coyote. Cheyenne Harboe says she just wanted to do a good thing for a dog in need. But when it comes to wild animals in large cities, cute can quickly turn to dangerous. "I thought it was a puppy at first,” said Harboe. “Then I got closer, and he was really skinny, and I thought he was probably sick.” Harboe says when she saw the baby animal on her way into work, right behind a Posados Café in north Fort Worth, she wanted to help. “When i got up to it, like I could tell, ‘I don't think this is a dog, or if it is, it's a really, really skinny dog,’” said Harboe. With the animal wrapped in a blanket, Harboe named him Taco and took him to Summerfields Animal Hospital. There, it was confirmed that Taco was, in fact, a coyote. “The fact that he just even let me come close to him, I knew that something was probably wrong with him,” said Harboe. Again, her suspicions were confirmed. Dr. Karen Metzler, who works at Summerfields, saw several signs of rabies in the little coyote pup. Woman Found What She Thought Was a Stray Dog, Called Animal Control - Turned Out it was a Baby Coyote - It Had to be Euthanized Because it Showed Signs of Rabies Ft. Worth, Texas - "The lack of fear in this puppy sets off alarm bells for the potential for rabies,” said Metzler. That revelation means the coyote is a danger to anyone it's exposed to. "The potential for rabies exposure is present in wildlife, and coyotes are known to be a high reservoir host for rabies,” said Metzler. Animal control was called, and the little guy was taken away. It’s not exactly the ending that Harboe had envisioned. "I kind of regretted like trying to help him out ‘cause of the whole animal control thing,” she said. State law says coyotes are a high risk animal for rabies. The only way to test for rabies is to sample the brain tissue, so the coyote was euthanized and will be tested.
Why do guinea pigs belong in the Zoo? Here in the United States, guinea pigs make wonderful family pets. Visitors may be surprised to learn that these adorable creatures also play an important role in many South American cultures! They are celebrated at festivals, given to couples as wedding gifts and raised as livestock. We hope that our guinea pigs here at the Zoo teach visitors something new about this species’ origins and open up discussions with our visitors about proper pet choice and care. Also, why wouldn’t they belong in a Zoo — they are just adorable and are amazing ambassadors! Although these animals are not found in the wild today, the montane guinea pig — a likely ancestor — still resides in the Andes in South America. To read more on this story, click here:New at the Zoo: Guinea Pigs
Dog houses used to be fixtures in the American suburban landscape. That doesn't seem to be the case today. I couldn't find any statistics regarding dog houses' possible demise, but I did note that no less a source than the American Pet Product Association recently acknowledged that dogs are "moving from the dog house into our houses." Dogs are pack animals that thrive on companionship. Much like their wolf ancestors, dogs are very social. In fact, dogs are more social than humans and need to be part of human families. When you own a dog, you become the dog's pack and he wants to be with his pack. Forcing a dog to live outside with little or no human companionship is one of the most psychological damaging things a pet owner can do to a dog. I think dogs tend to sleep inside now in a crate or on a dog bed, as opposed to being put out for the night to sleep in a doghouse. It was once rare to have the family dog spend the night inside. Take a look at dog houses of the past...
...and present!
Doggy Doors With more people keeping their dogs indoors, they still want them to have access to the backyard. For several years people have started installing doggy doors in their homes to give their pets access to the yard when they are not home. Do you have a doggy door? Would you consider having a doggy door? Take a look at this doggy door:
As the deadly coronavirus outbreak continues to ravage the country, pet owners in China are putting on makeshift masks on their furry friends. Photos on the Chinese social media app Weibo show pets – namely cats – wearing the makeshift masks, many of them made from traditional surgical masks. Owners are cutting holes in the material to accommodate the animal’s eyes while the rest of their face remains covered. To read more on this story, click here: Cats Are Wearing Coronavirus Masks In China
