Let’s get down to business with another fact set. We consistently bring you the facts that you make you think about our world and ponder our past, present, and future.
All of our cat friends out there are a never-ending source of laughs for us owners. And if you’ve had a feline companion for any significant amount of time, you know that they like to sit awkwardly sometimes.
Are they trying to mimic us humans? Or are they making some kind of other, independent statement?
We’ll never know, but at least we can snap photos of them and they’ll make us laugh!
I love a wholesome story about animals and this one certainly checks all the boxes.
In the city of Niš, Serbia, a man named Sasha Pesic has been running a shelter for dogs since 2008. Pesic originally came up with the plan for the sanctuary after he discovered four abandoned puppies on his way home from work one night. Pesic enlisted six volunteers and opened a shelter in Niš to feed and give dogs a home. He runs his shelter from contributions and donations from around the globe.
In addition to feeding and sheltering the dogs, Pesic sterilizes them, vaccinates them, and microchips them. Today, the shelter has roughly 750 dogs. Here’s a video of Pesic rescuing some abandoned pooches.
Pesic’s shelter has taken in about 1,200 dogs over the years, and roughly 400 of them have been adopted by people around the world. Pesic said, “I receive zero assistance from the government and some vets are actually charging me more than regular prices because they think I have a lot of money from donations. I’m all on my own and I cover the veterinary treatment and everything necessary out of donations and my own pocket.”
When I was a young boy, I dreamed about my dog Quincy being able to talk. I’d think about the conversations we’d have and all the great adventures we’d go on together. He was my best pal, and his being able to talk would just be the icing on the cake…
As you’ve probably figured out by now, Quincy never learned how to talk and my childhood was ruined. But this story gives me hope for the future!
Christina Hunger is a speech-language pathologist who is working on teaching her 18-month old dog Stella to speak…seriously. Hunger (what a name) says that Stella already knows 29 words…which is 29 more than Quincy ever knew…
Stella is using a system that has a number of buttons, each of which plays a particular word out loud when it is touched. Hunger started teaching Stella how to use the device when the pup was only eight weeks old, and Stella can now let her owner know when she needs help, when she wants to take a walk or go play, if and when she misses a certain family member, and if she’s feeling distressed.
Hunger said, “The way she uses words to communicate and the words she’s combining is really similar to a two-year-old child.”
Hunger is basing the training off of Augmentative and Alternative Communication, known as AAC. Hunger has learned that even though dogs can’t speak like humans do, they can express themselves in other ways, such as barking and jumping. Hunger also said that she wants to eventually teach other dogs to “speak” as well.
You have to admit that this is a pretty incredible story and the progress that Hunger has made is very impressive. Follow her Instagram page to follow this excellent journey. Go Stella!
It’s so sad to think about how many abandoned, stray, homeless animals there are across the country. Dogs and cats that are just waiting to find a safe, warm, loving home where they can live out their days in peace and comfort.
And while there are countless shelters and organizations doing great work out there in regard to rescuing and adopting animals, there’s always room for more help, right? Damn right, there is. Fargo Brewing Company in North Dakota recently joined forces with a local animal shelter called 4 Luv of Dog to create beer cans featuring perfect pooches who are looking to get adopted.
The dogs featured on the six-pack of cans are referred to as “Oneders” because they have had a harder time getting adopted due to socializing issues with other canines. On their Facebook page, Fargo Brewing Company said, “It’s our hope that through this event we can raise a little awareness about these ‘one’derful pooches and hopefully find them homes of their own!”
The pups featured on the six-pack are Nyx, Bizzy, Jensen, Hobie, Moby, and Virginia.
The idea for the collaboration came from a man named Jerad Ryan who volunteers at the dog shelter and also works at a company that produces beer labels. Ryan said,
“I approached my boss about donating beer can labels to a brewery willing to feature our dogs. He loved the idea. I asked Fargo Brewing if they would be willing to do this for us and they loved it too. They have gone above and beyond with donating profits and having an event where the public can come and meet our Oneder dogs, as they don’t get to attend events with the other dogs. The response from the community has already been amazing and heartwarming.”
Dog people love that pups are super loyal, always waiting by the door for their arrival, and never leaving their side. While kitty owners may feel the same way about their pets, cats’ loyalty has always been a little bit…questionable.
Not any more!
In a recent study about “secure attachment,” scientists found that dogs and cats are actually very similar.
Oregon State University researchers found that cats attach to their humans and affixing a sense of overwhelming security to them. The basis of this study came from a series of experiments exploring bonding between parents and children done in the 1970s. These researchers decided to test cats for similar emotional bonding.
They used 70 kittens, 30 adult cats, and, of course, their owners to test the theory.
Surprisingly, scientists found that 64.3 percent of the cats shows signs of “secure attachment” when left alone in the room for two minutes. When the owners were in the room (for the same duration of time), the cats exhibited a security in exploring the room’s surroundings and appeared more relaxed.
The other 35.7 percent showed “insecure attachment,” meaning they “shunned their owners altogether or exhibited extreme clinginess.” This is, perhaps, a way to punish their owners for leaving them in strange surroundings. Side note: these secure/insecure bonding percentages are actually very similar to the percentages that appear in both human babies and puppies.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Kristyn Vitale said,
“It’s important for owners to think about that. When they’re in a stressful situation, how they’re behaving can actually have a direct impact on their cats’ behavior. Cats that are insecure can be likely to run and hide or seem to act aloof. There’s long been a biased way of thinking that all cats behave in this way. But the majority of cats use their owner as a source of security.”
Adorable animals make all of us happy – that’s 80% of the reason the internet was invented.
And you know what’s better than just pics? Random facts that maybe you never knew!
Here are the top ten cool and cuddly facts about all animals that we’re betting will make you smile.
10. Penguins are ticklish
When touched in certain areas, penguins and other animals can give off a laughter response.
9. Bees and harvest mice sleep in flowers when tired.
Bees can get so drunk on nectar that they need a nap. And some harvest mice just like the soft, confined space of flower petals for their rest.
I just learned that there are harvest mice that sleep in tulip petals. There is good in the world. pic.twitter.com/L30fJLxcXk
— Kelli Russell Agodon (@KelliAgodon) May 31, 2018
8. Dogs probably dream about their owners
A Harvard psychologist says, “Humans dream about the same things they’re interested in by day, though more visually and less logically. There’s no reason to think animals are any different. Since dogs are generally extremely attached to their human owners, it’s likely your dog is dreaming of your face, your smell and of pleasing or annoying you.”
7. Elephants will trumpet the arrival of a new calf
Elephants for Africa explains, “The female elephant community is social and supportive, with young calves being tended to not only by their mothers, but also by other females in the herd. When a new baby is born, all of the females in the group trumpet the news and announce the new arrival.”
Aa recent study at the University of Northampton explains the physical changes in heart rate among cows that have been separated.
“Social bonds do occur in domesticated dairy cattle and can be found when living in large dynamic group systems, but they are significantly affected by separation at the time of regrouping. These social bonds are important to the welfare and wellbeing of cattle; practices that promote stability and positive associations will be beneficial to the welfare of animals.”
5. A lot of times, mean looking dogs in film are actually really happy
During the making of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, CGI was used to hide wagging tails.
“The dogs are happy, their tails wagging, tongues hanging out. They’re not thinking about the drama, they’re not wondering where are those kids? So, we had to replace their wagging tails in a bunch of shots to make them look more menacing.”
It’s crowded in a hive and bees bump each other all the time. What’s funny is that they make a “Whoop” sound when it happens, per this video.
3. Squirrels hide a lot of nuts that grow into trees
Squirrels hoard the nuts they don’t eat right away. In fact, they hoard so many nuts that they forget where they stashed them all, which results in millions of new trees, according to this Purdue University study.
Not only must a new born elephant learn to stand and walk, they also have to learn how to control their trunks, just like a baby has to learn to grab things with their hands.
1. The Giant Panda is no longer endangered
Great news! The Giant Panda population has increased 17% over the last ten years, putting them out of immediate danger and in the “vulnerable” status.
An Etsy shop is now selling customized pet cookie cutters, designed to look exactly like your precious dog or cat. Anyone who loves their pet enough to be tempted to eat their face will totally get the appeal.
Bakers Street Cutters personally customizes a 4-inch cookie cutter based on a pet photo of your choice. Their designer creates an illustration from the photo, then renders that illustration into a 3D cookie cutter. The result is truly precious. Because while you could always buy a regular pet cookie cutter from the store, those off-the-track cutters will never capture the unique essence of your fur baby!
One customized pet cookie cutter from Bakers Street costs $27 plus shipping. Is that a lot to pay for one (1) cookie cutter? Maybe, but when you consider that it’s an edible version of your pet’s face, it does seem pretty worth it. The turnover is one to nine business days, plus up to two weeks for shipping.
There are a lot of ways to use these cookie cutters. You could make themed cookies for your pet’s next birthday party (you throw your pet birthday parties, right?). You could make holiday cookies shaped like your pet. You could even make cookies FOR your pet, using pet-safe ingredients.
“These cookie cutters are absolutely adorable. They look just like my kitties,” one buyer wrote.
“Adorable product! Made to order and looks just like my Hope!” another wrote.
Bakers Street Cutters also creates customized cookie cutters for people portraits, so you can make edible versions of your entire family, fur babies included.
Those are people who talk the talk, and then there are those who walk the walk. And a priest in Brazil named Father João Paulo Araujo Gomes definitely falls into the latter category.
Father Gomes heads a parish in the city of Gravatá, and he allows stray dogs to come into his church during mass. Why, you ask? So the dogs can hopefully find homes with his parishioners.
Any dogs who wander the street are given ample opportunity to participate in mass so guests can get a look at them and decide if they’d like to give these forgotten pooches permanent homes. Father Gomes says, “They will always be able to enter, sleep, eat, drink their water and find shelter and protection, for this house is of God and they are of God.”
Father Gomes has taken the dogs into his rectory and during services they wander around, sleep, and sometimes even get in on the action, looking to be petted by the priest and his flock.
Der Priester Juan Pablo aus Brasilien fängt streunende Hunde ein, badet und versorgt sie und empfiehlt sie dann der…
Because of Father Gomes’ charity and kindness, dozens of stray dogs have found forever homes in Gravatá – the kind-hearted priest has even adopted some of the dogs himself. He said, “I helped several dogs with serious health problems. Some of them I brought to the parish house, and they were later adopted. Three of them stayed with me. Today, they are my children and sleep in my bed.”