Surfing mice and lovelorn pooches brighten up 2005

Dogs went woof over a Brazilian puppy love motel, an Australian trained mice to surf the waves and an Indian village married off toads in bid for rain.

In the world of the weird and wacky, the animal kingdom was the big winner in 2005.

Baby hippo, giant tortoise mark anniversary

The unlikely couple of a baby hippo and a 130-year-old tortoise were still together, a year after the hippo was separated from its family by last year's Indian Ocean tsunami.

The relationship between Owen, the two-year-old hippopotamus, and Mzee, the giant tortoise, surprised conservation workers and made international headlines.

Owen was living with his family on the Sabaki River when massive waves from the Indian Ocean tsunami reached the East African coast. He was washed into the ocean and stranded on a reef.

Residents of Malindi, a small coastal town, used fishing nets to catch him. He was then taken to the Haller Park sanctuary, where he met Mzee and adopted him as a surrogate parent. Owen may have been attracted by Mzee's round shape and gray colour that are somewhat similar to that of an adult hippopotamus.

Pack of angry Chihuahuas attack officer in California

A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home following a traffic stop, authorities said.

The officer suffered minor injuries including bites to his ankle.

Friday Cat Blog

Holiday Visitors

Plato and Pilot are visiting for the holidays. They're spending time reacquainting themselves with Grace, Smoke and Bandit.

You'd never know there are five cats in the house.

Pilot is very low key. He mostly sleeps all day under one bed or another. He comes out in the evening and poses for pictures.



Plato is Mr. Sociable. He's always underfoot, rubbing hair on everything, talking all the time, wanting love and attention.



Plato thinks it's great that there is now enough food available for five cats to eat. He feels personally responsible for cleaning up any leftovers.

There are more cats (and other animals) at Friday Ark.

On Sunday, there will be other nice kitties at Carnival of the Cats, this week at Elms in the Yard.

WWF | Tracking Pygmy Elephants

In June 2005, WWF outfitted five pygmy elephants with satellite collars and began tracking them through the forests of Borneo for two years to learn more about these little pachyderms. They're pint-sized, chubby and gentle-natured - and found nowhere else on Earth.

Fish with Two Mouths

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A rainbow trout fished out of Holmes Lake in Lincoln, Neb., on Dec. 17, 2005, features a double mouth. Clarence Olberding, 57, of Lincoln, wasn't just telling a fisherman's fib when he called over another angler to look at the two-mouthed trout. It weighed in at about a pound. Olberding, who plans to smoke and eat the fish, said the hook was in the upper mouth, and that the lower one did not appear to be functional. (12/22/05 AP photo)

Pet Food Recalled for Deadly Fungus

A pet food company has advised retailers in more than 20 states to stop selling some of its dog and cat food that may be contaminated with toxic fungus. Several dogs have gotten sick and some have died.

The fungus produces poisonous aflatoxin. Symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning include lethargy, loss of appetite, yellowish eyes and gums, and severe or bloody diarrhea.

The 19 varieties of dog and cat food recalled this week were made by Diamond Pet Foods and sold in 23 other states and under the brand names Diamond, Country Value and Professional. The recalled batches have date codes of March 1, 2007, through June 21, 2007, and were made at the company's plant in Gaston, S.C.

Scientists find 'mass dodo grave'

Scientists have discovered the "beautifully preserved" bones of about 20 dodos at a dig site in Mauritius.

Little is known about the dodo, a famous flightless bird thought to have become extinct in the 17th century.

No complete skeleton has ever been found in Mauritius, and the last full set of bones was destroyed in a fire at a museum in Oxford, England, in 1755.

Researchers believe the bones are at least 2,000-years-old, and hope to learn more about how dodos lived.

Hopes Fade for Britain's Missing Penguin

Zookeepers said hope was fading Thursday for a stolen baby penguin whose plight has captured the hearts of British animal lovers. Toga, a 3-month-old jackass penguin, is believed to have been snatched Saturday from a pen at the Amazon World zoo, on the Isle of Wight, in southern England.

Veterinarians estimated the foot-high, brown-and-white penguin would survive only five days away from his parents because it refuses to be fed by human hand.

Snow Leopard Cubs

Two new born Snow Leopard cubs play at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005. The yet to be named twins are the result of a two year breeding program in Sydney between Samarra, originally from Mulhouse Zoo in France and her partner, Leon, of Germany's Nindorf Zoo.

Man takes in Santa's reindeer

Ever heard of Douglas, Santa's other reindeer, Douglas?
Rich Rosko of Lake Villa took in Douglas during the summer after a Mundelein man named Santa Claus died. "Some things are magical," the Lake Villa resident said earlier this month. "They just happen."

No Pets For Sale On eBay

E-Bay has canceled plans to allow pets to be sold on its Web site. That's because it got thousands of angry letters.

For years, eBay has banned the sale of live animals except fish and snails. And, now they're scrapping plans to create a separate classifieds category that would have featured free ads from animal shelters and paid ads from breeders.

When the chance of that category was mentioned on a message board, more than two-thousand E-Bay users wrote in, urging the ban on sales of live animals not to be lifted.

Friday Cat Blog

Trunks's Tree



This is Trunks under his Christmas tree. Trunks's brothers, Chopper and Butters, and his sister Babs, are not allowed to sleep under this tree - it belongs to Trunks!

There are no ornaments on the bottom rows of branches of this tree because Chopper has removed them. Soon, there will be no lights either, Trunks is working on that.

Trunks has also decided that it's great to chew on the branches of this tree. Pine needles make an excellent breath freshener and hairball bringer-upper.

The Cats of our family: Grace, Smoke, Bandit, Trunks, Chopper, Babs, Butters, Plato, and Pilot, hope that everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season, full of friends, fun, good food, new toys, warmth and peace.

There are more cats (and other animals) at Friday Ark.

On Sunday, there will be other nice kitties at Carnival of the Cats, this week at Watermark.

Video: Braveheart Animal Battlefield

Animals in a Braveheart battle scene.

Holiday Funnies, Part 2

Holiday Funnies, Part One

Sea Slug Mixes Chemical Defense Before Firing At Predators

When threatened by predators, sea slugs defend themselves by ejecting a potent inky secretion into the water consisting of hydrogen peroxide, ammonia and several types of acids. A team of researchers with the Atlanta-based Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) has found that this secretion is produced from normally inert chemicals stored separately in two glands. The discovery, published in the Dec. 16 on-line edition of the Journal of Experimental Biology, provides insight into a natural chemical process with potential industrial applications.

Purple Frog Pops Up

A new species of frog has been discovered in India. The amphibian is plump, purple, and its ancestors probably lived among dinosaurs 175 million years ago, according to DNA analyses.

Two scientists, S.D. Biju of India, and Franky Bossuyt of Belgium, found the frog in the Western Ghats Mountains of Southern India. The new species, named Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, belongs to an entirely new family of frogs

Beating Malaria Means Understanding Mosquitoes

Researchers have developed a mathematical model that describes the complex relationship between the proportion of people who are infected with Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria, and the rate at which people are bitten by the mosquitoes that carry it.

Some people are bitten more than others because they live where mosquitoes are more common or because the mosquitoes, for various reasons, find them more attractive.

Japan zoo walks portly penguins

Penguins at a zoo in northern Japan have been taken on their first walk of the season in an attempt to keep them trim during the winter.

Asahiyama Zoo on the northern island of Hokkaido take its King Penguins on a 500-metre walk twice a day to stop them getting too fat during the cold months.

Spokesman Tetsuo Yamazaki said penguins gained weight in winter because they stood still to conserve energy.

Ohio Police Dog Named in Lawsuit

Andi, a dog used by the Athens County Sheriff’s Department, poses in this undated photo taken in Athens. The dog is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by a convicted drug dealer. Andi “signed” the paper with a paw print, indicating he’d been formally served with the complaint.

County Prosecutor C. David Warren said to his knowledge, it’s the first time the county’s dog has ever been singled out as a defendant.

Friday Cat Blog

Two Cat Night



Much better than a three dog night.
(That's Mike with Pilot and Plato.)

So, Let's go see what other pets are doing ...

Friday Ark

Carnival of the Cats, this week at Music and Cats.

The Furry, 4-Legged Centerpiece of a Custody Battle in Court

Oliver or Gatsby, depending on who gives his name, is the principal character in a custody case that has landed in State Supreme Court.

Last week, Justice Marylin G. Diamond decided to hold a full trial in the case to determine whether Oliver, who is now known as Gatsby, should be returned to his earlier home or be allowed to stay with a woman identified, as many adoptive parents are, only as Jane Doe.

Although the case might seem trivial in an austere stone courthouse where weighty issues are decided every day, it could be important to the vast system in New York that handles tens of thousands of stray and lost pets, mostly dogs and cats, every year.

eBird - North America's destination for birding on the Web

'eBird, a project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, provides a simple way for you to keep track of the birds you see anywhere in North America. You can retrieve information on your bird observations, from your backyard to your neighborhood to your favorite bird-watching locations, at any time for your personal use.
(via)

Flash: Kitty Cat Dance

Amazingly annoying Flash.

At least 9 whales, 24 dolphins die on Cape Cod

More than two dozen whales and dolphins became stranded on the shores of Cape Cod Bay last week, and experts say the snowstorm may have contributed to their deaths.

In all, at least nine pilot whales and 24 dolphins died. Five of the whales and seven of the dolphins had to be euthanized, while the rest were found dead, according to Kristen Patchett of the Cape Cod Stranding Network, a group that works to free stranded animals.

Officials suspect that high winds and strong tidal fluctuations from Friday's storm caused the dolphins and whales to become trapped in shallow water. Illnesses also could have contributed to the strandings, the network said.
(via)

Continental, American airlines log most pet deaths

More than half of all pet deaths on airplanes have occurred on two airlines in the six months since airlines have had to reveal the number of animals that perish on their flights.

Twenty-one animals stowed in cargo areas of airplanes have died since the Transportation Department began requiring airlines in May to record the number of pets that die on flights. Twelve have died on Continental Airlines or American Airlines flights.

Holiday Funnies

Animals in winter

The weather gets colder, days get shorter and leaves turn color and fall off the trees. Soon, winter is here. Snow covers the ground. People live in warm houses and wear heavy coats outside. Our food comes from the grocery store. But what happens to the animals?

Mod Pod Fishbowl

Wall-mounted lucite fishbowl.
This also doubles as a vase, wall storage, or whatever you feel like putting in there!

Birds Are Living Dinosaurs

A new analysis of Archaeopteryx, the earliest known birdlike animal, shows it had feet like dinosaurs -- a finding that supports the belief that the birds frequenting backyard feeders today are descendants of mighty ancient carnivores.
(via)

The Invasion of the Giant Jellyfish

GIANT jellyfish called Echizen kurage have invaded territorial waters off Japan, China and South Korea, prompting a top-level summit to deal with the menace.

Nearly 2m wide and weighing 200kg, with countless poisonous tentacles, they have drifted across the void to terrorise the people of Japan.

"Echizen kurage" is not an extraterrestrial invader but a giant jellyfish that is devastating the livelihoods of fishermen in the Japan Sea. Nomura's jellyfish, as it is known in English, is the biggest creature of its kind off Japan and, for reasons that remain mysterious, its numbers have surged in the past few months.

The problem has become so serious that fishery officials from Japan, China and South Korea are to meet this month for a "jellyfish summit" to discuss strategies for dealing with the invasion.

Dog genome published

Our faithful, four-legged friends may prove their use once again, now geneticists have the data to study canine quirks.

Researchers have published the full genetic code of a 12-year-old boxer named Tasha.

As it turns out, humans share more ancestral DNA with dogs than they do with mice. Because we also share many of the same diseases—such as cancer, cataracts, epilepsy and heart disease—the dog genome may open the door to identifying these syndrome’s genetic roots.

Friday Cat Blog

Bandit, starring in: A Cat's Christmas



'Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse.

'Cuz the cat had pounced on him
and tore him apart-
Ate his mousey intestines
And chewed up his heart.

Kitty thought he heard sleigh bells,
which made him take pause-
He stopped daintily licking
the blood from his claws.

"Must be Santa" thought Kitty
(that quite clever cat)
'Cuz nobody else climbs down
the chimney like that.

Indeed it was ol' Santa,
so jolly and fat
With a load of presents
and all for the cat!

"Wow, the best Christmas ever!"
Kitty thought with a purr,
Then he coughed up a hairball
and shed some more fur.

More pet humor

Let's go see what other pets are doing ...

Friday Ark

Carnival of the Cats, this week at Quite Early One Morning

Monkeys Have Accents Too

One day, watching geese in Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy, I wondered if an Italian goose and an American goose would understand each other. Do they speak the same language?

I guess that same thought occured to someone else:

Japanese researchers have found that, like human beings, monkeys actually have an accent depending on where they live.

The finding, the first of its kind, will be published Monday in the December edition of a German scientific journal Ethology, the primate researchers said Tuesday.

"Differences between chattering by monkeys are like dialects of human beings," said Nobuo Masataka, professor of ethology at Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute.

Help for deaf humans may come on little cat feet

A new study in cats demonstrates how cochlear implants in very young animals allow them to develop normal nerve fibers to transmit sound and restore hearing by reversing damage to the brain's hearing network.

The findings by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore help explain why such implants are about 80 percent successful in restoring hearing to young children who are born deaf, but rarely work in adults who are congenitally deaf.

English Bulldog Puppies

English Bulldog Puppies are a unique and special breed. Their characteristics, and just plain child like traits, are a pleasure to play with and watch. English Bulldog Puppies are such fat little roly-polies, they remind you so much of holding a chubby little baby. They even have hiccups.

Video: Born to Be Alive

A cat with a big head, rejected by everybody, tries to kill himself.
(via)

Dog cameras to combat gun crime

British Police have collared the latest in technology by kitting out their firearms dogs with cameras.

New recruits to the Northumbria Police force are German shepherds Sammy, five, and three-year-old Zara.

They have been trained to help during armed sieges and wear miniature television cameras with transmitters fitted to their heads or harnesses.

It means they can search buildings and relay the information back to officers.

Unknown carnivore found on Borneo

A cat-like creature photographed by camera traps on Borneo Island is likely to be a new species of carnivore, the World Wildlife Fund said Tuesday.

If confirmed, the animal -- which has dark red fur and a long, bushy tail -- would be first new carnivore species discovered on the island since 1895, when the Borneo ferret-badger was found, the fund said.

Cameras set up to photograph wildlife in Kayan Mentarang National Park on the Indonesian side of Borneo island have twice captured images of the animal, said Stephan Wulffraat, a Dutch biologist who is coordinating the fund's research into the species.

Bird lovers cry foul over parakeet killings

Julie Cook came home from work Wednesday night to find utility crews tearing down a parakeet nest from a pole and taking the birds away to be killed.

"I couldn't NOT do anything," said the 37-year-old West Haven woman. "So I started yelling at them and standing under the nest."

Cook was arrested on a breach-of-peace charge.

Bird lovers delighted by the chattering and the brilliant green-and-gray markings of Connecticut's wild parakeets are upset over an effort by United Illuminating Co. to remove 103 large nests from its utility poles and destroy the birds.

Sound of Dog's 'Laugh' Calms Other Pooches

Researchers at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service in Washington state say sometimes a bark is just a bark — but a long, loud panting sound has real meaning.

They say the long, loud pant is the sound of a dog laughing, and it has a direct impact on the behavior of other dogs.

"What we found is that it had a calming or soothing effect on the dogs," said Patricia Simonet, an animal behaviorist in Spokane who has studied everything from hamster culture to elephant self-recognition. "Now, we actually really weren't expecting that."

Dog Laughter

During play encounters dogs vocalize using at least four distinct patterns; barks, growls, whines, and laughs (a breathy pronounced forced exhalation). Although, most dogs will utter these four patterns of vocalization during play, only the laugh appears to be exclusively uttered during play or friendly encounters and not during other encounters.

Rare Japanese stork gets prosthetic beak

Taisa had lost weight since he broke his beak last November because he found it difficult to catch live fish, and no longer got along with his female breeding mate due to stress, keepers at Akita's Omoriyama Zoo told Kyodo News agency.

Dentist Toshiaki Chiba attached a plastic resin prosthetic to the end of Taisa's broken beak using a dental adhesive, according to the report.

Farmer Protects Animals with Orange Paint

With hunters out in the woods, a farmer in Clinton County is making sure they don't mistake his animals for deer. He's painting to protect; painting his dozens of cows, horses and even his dog bright orange.

Friz Konieczka said he doesn't want to take any chances. He heard about a neighbor's horse getting shot during hunting season several years ago and decided to take action by buying some orange paint.

Panda Dog

A dog named 'Columbo', a cross-breed between a poodle and a Maltese and dyed to look like a panda, sits on a chair in Tokyo November 30, 2005. The owner dyed the originally white coloured dog, with a special hair dye to cover up stains around its eyes which was conspicuous when he was first found abandoned. As a result, the panda look-alike became the most popular dog in the neighbourhood and the owner said he hopes Columbo's popularity will help rescue other abandoned dogs like Columbo, where in Tokyo last year, 700 of them were put to sleep.

Greenies Dog Treat May Carry Danger

"Greenies" dog treats may be dangerous for dogs because they are not digestible.

Greenies and products like them can pose a real danger to dogs when the undigested portions of the product become compacted in the animals intestines and obstruct their bowels.
(via)

What are Greenies made of?
Processed wheat gluten (52%) - A grain byproduct. Dogs lack the enzyme necessary to digest grains.
Glycerin - A neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid additive which freezes to a gummy paste.
Powdered Cellulose Fiber - A pulp from fibrous plant, often used in the making of asphalt, latex-based coatings, cement, loose fill thermal insulations, etc.
Monosodium Phosphate
Monoglycerides of edible fatty acids
Magnesium Stearate - A white, soft powder used as a lubricant and stabilizer. used to bind tablets and make them smooth, also used in talcum powder, ammunition, and as a drying agent in paints.
(Source: The Whole Dog News)

Russian squirrel pack kills dog

Squirrels have bitten to death a stray dog which was barking at them in a Russian park, local media report.

Passers-by were too late to stop the attack by the black squirrels in a village in the far east, which reportedly lasted about a minute.

A pine cone shortage may have led the squirrels to seek other food sources, although scientists are sceptical.

Friday Cat Blog

Oops! Sorry, I'll come back later. I see you're busy right now.

Let's go see what other pets are doing ...

Friday Ark

Carnival of the Cats, this week at When Cats Attack

Premier Pet Beds

PremierPetBeds.Com offers dog beds, sofa beds, dog furniture, crate mats, travel accessories.

Happy Hills Animal Foundation, Inc

Incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1989, Happy Hills Animal Foundation has rescued hundreds of dogs and cats, as well as other animals like potbellied pigs, and rabbits.