Happy Valentines Day!
Amit Dave / Reuters
Albeiro Lopera / Reuters
Georgios Kefalas / EPA
Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP - Getty Images
(via)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Must be love
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Looks like Noah's Ark
In this photo provided by the Samatian Island Lodge, endangered Rothschild giraffe, originally named Baringo giraffe, are trans-located to Ruko Game Conservancy by barge, making this the first ever attempt to carry giraffe across water in Kenya, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011.
Eight giraffes, who number only a few hundred in the wild, were relocated to the native habitat they had vanished from 70 years ago in hopes that they will reproduce.
Source
(AP Photo/Samatian Island Lodge)
A beauty contest ... for horses
Once prized by Alexander the Great for their speed and stamina, Turkmenistan's thoroughbred horses are being groomed for a series of beauty contests, ordered by a presidential decree published Monday.
President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who enjoys sweeping powers in this desert nation of 5 million and is known for his deft horsemanship, said national beauty contests for the ancient Akhal Teke breed should be held every April.
The best horses of the breed, distinguished by shimmering coats, long delicate necks and legs and popularly revered as "the wings of the Turkmen," will be chosen "to promote the glory of the heavenly racehorse worldwide," the decree said.
Source
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
What to do if your pet is missing
This is a great list of what to do if you've had a pet escape or wander off. Print yourself a copy and tuck it in a drawer.
These tips for finding a lost cat or dog are from experts at the Anti-Cruelty of Chicago, PAWS Chicago, Feline Friends Chicago and the Citizens for Animal Protection:
† Act immediately. The longer you wait, the farther your pet can travel. Plus, the chances of your pet getting injured increases.
† Leave items with a familiar scent outside your home. A litter box, pet bed or a shirt or shoes recently worn by the pet owner can attract a pet who has strayed.
† Search the neighborhood. Walk, ride a bicycle or drive slowly through your neighborhood several times each day. Whistle a few times, then call your pet’s name twice. Listen carefully and look around.
† Your pet may be injured, frightened or trapped and unable to come to you. Hearing your voice may encourage your pet to answer you. After you call the pet’s name two or three times, remain in one place long enough to see if you can hear your pet.
† A lost pet may hide during the day, so go out again at night through your neighborhood with a flashlight and call for your cat or dog.
† Ask neighbors, letter carriers and delivery people, anyone you see, if they have seen your pet.
† Post flyers at intersections within a two-mile radius of the area of where your pet was lost. Also, give flyers to local grocery stores, community centers, pet stores, veterinary offices, churches and laundromats.
† The flyers should have a photograph of the pet and how to reach you as well as provide information such as fur color, breed and eye color.
† Advertise in local and community newspapers.
† Visit all local animal shelters and animal-control agencies as well as call or e-mail them. Your pet could show up at any time.
† File a lost pet report with every shelter in the city and suburbs. Check with the shelters every few days.
† If your pet was lost anywhere near a highway, contact the area’s department of transportation.
† Call veterinary hospitals.
† Do not send reward money or offer information to anyone claiming they have your pet.
† File a lost pet report with the Police Department.
Source
via Leslie's Omnibus
This is not right
This is a KatKabin, an outdoor cat house.
"A unique and innovative cat shelter that provides your cat with all the warmth, comfort & safety it is used to indoors. Standing above the ground, it provides a warm, cozy and shaded insulated den for napping, stretching and relaxing. Your cat is protected from the weather in a sturdy and purpose-made home. The opening also has a conventional clip-on cat flap that can be attached or removed depending on the season or your cat’s preference."Why, why, why - would any responsible cat owner allow their pet to live OUTSIDE? Look, here's one, begging to come in!
At Amazon.com for $99.00.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Man Killed at Cockfight by Armed Bird
A central California man previously convicted of illegal animal fighting was killed at a cockfight after being stabbed in the leg by a bird that had a knife attached to its limb, officials confirmed Monday. Jose Luis Ochoa, 35, of Lamont, California, was declared dead at a hospital about two hours after he was injured. Ochoa and the other spectators fled when authorities arrived at the scene of the fight. Deputies found five dead roosters and other evidence of cockfighting at the location. Source
Is there anything cuter?
Is there anything cuter than a Pitbull puppy?
If you have a picture of anything cuter than Knoxx, send it to me & I will post it.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Scuffle Over Dog Biscuit Leads To Arrest
LIVINGSTON, Mont. -- A Montana man who took exception to someone else giving his dog a biscuit faces a misdemeanor assault charge. The Livingston Enterprise reports one man had reached over a fence to give a dog a bone Thursday when the dog's owner grabbed him and threw him up against a garage. Livingston Police Chief Darren Raney says the dog's owner believed the other man was trying to poison the dog. He was not. The biscuit giver was not injured. Source
Wanna Move it, Move it?
via
Well, maybe we disagree!
PHOTO CREDIT: Burrard-Lucas Photography
For more photos of lemurs and lots of other wonderful animals from around the world, visit the website of William & Matthew Burrard-Lucas. They are brothers from the UK specializing in wildlife photography.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Tug-of-War!
A six-and-a-half-ft long African rock python became the unwilling 'rope' in the game, after being captured by a female leopard in the long grass.
But as she dragged it, still wriggling, along behind her, she was ambushed by her over-zealous son who wanted to land the kill for himself.
The young male snatched the end of the enormous snake in his powerful jaws, and tried to tug it away from his mother.
The two big cats fought ferociously over their prey for half an hour, in front of stunned guests at the MalaMala game reserve, South Africa.
Source
Pets on Furniture
Modernica Furniture has been conducting an on-line contest showcasing pets on furniture.
I'm not sure if the contest is still open or not for more entries, but you can still vote on the ones already posted. Here are some of my favorites:
(Thanks, Cherie)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Insane Pet Products for Crazy Owners (Who have too much money)
People like to spend money on their pets. That's obvious, isn't it? There are whole stores dedicated to nothing but treats and toys and supplies for our favorite companions.
Joanne, at Ranker.com, has compiled an insane list of 20 insane pet products - things most of us would not be insane enough to buy. Or would we?
My favorite from this article is the "Rear Gear. Butt Covers for your Cat and Dog," (I found it at etsy) which comes in many designs including a disco ball, air freshener, heart, flower, biohazard, smiley face, number one ribbon, cupcake, sheriff's badge, dice, and you can even make yours custom.
What? You can't mail puppies?
A Minneapolis woman is being charged with animal cruelty after police say she tried to send a puppy through the mail without food or water. The poodle-mix pup was discovered after its movements knocked the two-day priority Post Office box off a counter. The puppy is now doing fine. It will go up for adoption if officials turn down the owner’s appeal to get it back. Source
The Penguin Bath House
Brothers and photographers Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas traveled from London to Saunders Island in the Falkland Islands to take pictures of albatrosses, but quickly became distracted by the irresistible antics of an amusing troop of Rockhopper penguins.
The Rockhopper Penguins form colonies of up to 100,000 in the Antarctic summer when they come ashore to lay eggs and raise their chicks.
"Along the main route between the penguin colony and the sea is this fresh water spring with a small waterfall," said Will.
This was an irresistible attraction for the penguins and throughout the day it was busy with squawking, squabbling, splashing birds.
For more of Will & Matt’s photographs from the Falkland Islands, please visit: www.burrard-lucas.com/falklands/
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Is this an educational toy, or what?
Watch this video for Kackel Dackel, a pooping Dachshund game made by the German toy company Goliath.
You can play online, too!
(via Laughing Squid)
The world’s rarest birds through caught on camera
The winners of The World's Rarest Birds international photo competition have just been announced. The competition, launched in 2010, aimed to secure images of the 566 most threatened birds on Earth for a new book highlighting their plight.
Thousands of images were entered into the competition and hundreds will be featured in The World's Rarest Birds to be published in 2012 by the ethical publishing company WILDGuides. Profits from sales will go to BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme to help support conservation projects worldwide.
The winner in the "Endangered (372) or Data Deficient (62) species"
is Quan MinLi: a beautiful photo of a flying Asian Crested Ibis from China.
Asian Crested Ibis (ENDANGERED)
A medium-sized water bird that once bred in Russia, Japan and China but underwent a major population crash. It is now restricted to Shaanxi province in central mainland China, where just 250 individuals survive.
PHOTO: Quan MinLi
Source
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
OMG - This is how we treat man's best friend?
Due to a slow winter season, and because of a downturn in the sled dog touring business after the 2010 Winter Olympics, Howling Dogs Tours, based in Whistler BC, authorized the cull of 100 sled dogs from the 300-dog pack in an appalling manner - so appalling that it may even be judged to be criminal when the investigation is finished.
The massacre only came to light because of a successful workman's compensation [WorkSafeBC] claim for post-traumatic stress by the employee who killed the dogs over a two day period in April 2010. The worker said he suffered panic attacks and nightmares because of the grisly scenes that unfolded as he carried out the company’s orders.
The employee ...
shot the dogs one at a time over the course of two days in front of the other dogs. Often he missed or only wounded a dog with the first shot. At least one of the dogs tossed into the pit that served as a mass grave was still alive. Susie got away after being shot in the face and sought refuge among the other dogs. While shooting her again to finish the job, the man wounded one of the dogs that was to have been spared and it had to be killed as well.
In the past, his practice when "euthanizing" a dog was to take it for a walk in the woods and give it a nice meat meal to distract it. That would make for a calm environment and kept the dogs away from the general population so as not to disrupt them. He would use a gun to euthanize the dogs,
but because of the large number of dogs he said he was forced to euthanize the dogs in full view of the other dogs and by about the 15th dog it appeared to him “the dogs were experiencing anxiety and stress from observing the euthanasia of other members of the pack and were panicking.” His last memory of killing the final dogs was "fuzzy" and in some cases he felt it was simpler to "get behind the dogs and slit their throats and let them bleed out."
By the end, as he told the workman's comp review board, he was covered in blood. When he finished, he cleared up the mess, filled in the mass grave and tried to bury the memories as deeply as he could.After the news broke with the predictable shocked reaction from the public, the race was on to duck responsibility. WorkSafeBC refused to confirm or deny any of the details, arguing that they constitute medical records. Outdoor Adventures, one of the agents for Howling Dog Tours, said they were aware of the cull, but had no idea of how it was carried out and they are now as shocked and appalled as everyone else to learn what happened. The BC SPCA and the RCMP are now on the case. Marcie Moriarty, head of the BC SPCA cruelty investigations division, said “many people will be shocked” not only about the culling but how sled dogs are treated in general. “There is a problem with the sled dog industry in general. People see these 20 sled dogs, an idyllic setting with snow in the background and think how great. But what they don’t see is the 200 dogs tethered and sleeping out back, chained to a barrel.” She said the SPCA plans to uncover the mass grave to examine the dogs’ remains but can’t do that immediately because the ground is frozen under several feet of snow. Moriarty said she’s “glad a light is finally being shed on this industry. I just shudder whenever I see the ads for sled dog tours because I know how the majority of dogs are living. There are a few good operations but on a smaller scale.” Sources: Vancouver Sun, also from the Vancouver Sun (this one with additional horrific details), an opinion column from the Vancouver Sun, Calgary Sun, Pique newsmagazine, and the blog post that made me aware of this story: Miss Snow it All
Staying warm in Chicago
Mr. B and Miss M know the proper attire for long walks in the cold Chicago weather.
And they have a blog, Two Pitties in the City
Portrait of Queen Victoria’s dog up for auction
A portrait of Queen Victoria’s favorite dog, a collie named Sharp, is to go under the hammer at Bonhams New York in February. Sharp rarely left the queen’s side after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, but was known by others for his ill temper – the faithful dog was buried in Windsor Home Park, Berkshire, after his death in 1879.
The oil painting will feature in Dogs in Show & Field: The Fine Art Sale on 16th February 2011 at Bonhams New York.
Created by the Norfolk artist Charles Burton Barber, it is estimated the oil painting could attract a pre-sale estimate of £2,500 to £4,000.
His tomb stone reads: "Sharp, the favourite and faithful Collie of Queen Victoria from 1866 to 1879. Died now 1879 aged 15 years."
Source
Three new dog breeds recognized by American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club announced that they now recognize three new breeds of dog.
They are:
the Xoloitzcuintli -- which can be used like a hot-water bottle. When hugged, the hairless dog radiates heat -- providing not only warmth but relief from arthritis.
the Norwegian lundehund -- which boasts six toes on its paws. That came in handy for hunting puffin birds on remote cliffs -- the job they used to be bred for.
the Entlebucher -- which requires a great deal of exercise -- and attention -- so it's not a good match for, say, a single person who works long hours. It's a good family dog, extremely loyal to the family and can be used as a watchdog.
Source
Photo Credit
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