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All in Animal Companions
April is a busy month for a certain dog on South Padre Island, Texas. Magpie, a mixed breed rescue pup just over a year old, is on her new job of sniffing out endangered sea turtle nests buried in the sand.
Steven Lawyer spends a lot of time with his pet parrot, Bebe. They’ve been on 500-mile bike rides together, gone skydiving (Bebe strapped to a backpack), and lately, scuba diving in the Bahamas.
A small pack of dogs were spotted walking together this month along the highway in Changchun, the capital of China’s north-east Jilin province. According to multiple media reports, it appears the seven dogs had escaped from kidnappers who were taking them to a dog-meat shop.
The crowd at Portland International Airport is not necessarily in the security line waiting for TSA clearance. It could be the throng that assembles around the airport's therapy animals: llamas and alpacas wearing wacky costumes.
A wolfdog named Nazgul crashed the Olympics last week when he escaped his enclosure and chased down a pair of skiers just as they crossed the finish line. Nazgul had slipped out of his indoor kennel, then squeezed past the eight-foot-tall fence separating him from Olympic glory, then dashed into the race.
A rat terrier in Hoboken, Georgia named Henry celebrated his 25th birthday in January. As he gets his papers together to vie for Guiness World Records’ oldest living dog honors, Henry is using his celebrity to raise money for other senior pets.
This week marks 15 years of service by Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street. The 19-year-old tabby has served at the pleasure of six prime ministers, ostensibly as the official ratter but more practically as the welcoming face of the UK government.
A cockatiel named Sonny has just celebrated his 33rd birthday, cementing his position as the world’s oldest. The old bird – who has experienced more than double the lifespan of your average cockatiel – was recognized last year by Guiness World Records.
The results of the 150th Westminster Dog Show are in, and the coveted Best In Show award goes to Penny, a 4-year-old Doberman pinscher. Penny had to triumph over 3000 other dogs representing 202 breeds to win top honors.
A pet shop that opened last summer in Portland, Oregon has come up with a surefire way to pack the store with customers: snake yoga classes in the lobby. HISSS, a reptile shop that sells snakes, lizards, and arachnids, pitches serpentine yoga as a way to “uncoil your body and quiet your mind.”
A short-haired tortoiseshell cat named Flossie turned 30 years old this week, extending her Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest living cat. Born on December 29, 1995, Flossie was officially recognized as the world’s oldest feline by Guinness in 2022, just before her 27th birthday. She’s still going strong.
“Smart, courageous and determined” is how the American Kennel Club describes the Basset Fauve de Bretagne, a dog breed now recognized by the AKC, meaning the small hunting dog will be able to compete in shows.
French singer-songwriter Plumes has the best gigs. Equipped with his brilliant pink acoustic guitar, he travels to farms, sanctuaries, and zoos to serenade cows, horses, parrots, and any other species willing to hear him play folk-pop. His videos capturing the curious reactions of animals on TikTok and elsewhere have gone viral worldwide.
At least 500 people attended a beloved cat’s funeral last week in Kinokawa, Japan. The 15-year-old calico named Nitama had been the “feline train stationmaster” at Kishi station on the local rail line since 2015.
It has long been thought that cats began to bond with humans around 10,000 years ago and that our love affair with felines arose in the same part of the world, the Levant. New research is upending both of those notions.
New York lawyer James Sexton wants to protect the interests of the most vulnerable parties involved in divorce court: the pets. To that end he’s offering legally binding prenuptial agreements to safeguard the interests of furry and feathered household members on his platform TrustedPetnup.
Marine scientists who study orcas have been busy. They’ve seen the killer whales wearing fish as a fashion statement, using kelp to exfoliate, and of course harassing yachtsmen, just to be jerks. Now comes news that the apex predators are engaging in more altruistic behavior: they’re bringing us gifts.
A 70-year-old Egyptian man traveling on a tourist visa attempted to smuggle more than 100 pounds of undeclared food in his luggage as he entered the country at Dulles International Airport. That was bad, but the man, Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, made matters much worse when he kicked the dog that had sniffed out his contraband, a 5-year-old beagle named Freddie.
A New York judge this week ruled that dogs can be treated as members of a person’s “immediate family” and as such, a dog’s family can sue for emotional damages if the dog is harmed.
Caldwell Cigar Company has just released a new line of smokes they’re calling “Lost & Found Give A F*CK.” It sounds aggressive but they’re not trying to scare aware customers, they’re actually helping out homeless pet owners.
