ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: A Missouri veteran experiencing PTSD received a gift that could give him a new leash on life: a service dog. (CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO)
http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/pets/mo-vet-with-ptsd-gifted-with-service-dog/html_e3f8de8f-e491-5a0e-b7a0-926330237143.html37143.html
Warrior Canine Connection: Dog Applicants Eligibility If you are interested in applying for an Assistance Dog from Warrior Canine Connection (WCC), please review the eligibility requirements below for information on the types of dogs we provide and the application process. http://www.warriorcanineconnection.org/our-service-dogs/dog-applicants/
Clint and Kathy Weaver awoke to 30-foot walls of flames surrounding their Sonoma home at around 1 a.m. last Monday. They knew they had to leave right away.
As Clint, 68, ran down the driveway surrounded by heat and flames to unlock their gate to get out, an explosion knocked him into a ditch, breaking his arm. Kathy, 62, followed behind, while holding the collar of their 9-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, Izzy.
So on Tuesday morning, Oct. 10, Jack and his brother-in-law, Patrick Widen, decided to check on the Weavers’ property and “see if by some miracle Izzy survived,” Beckyjean Widen wrote.
“They were turned away by police officers, but if you know my brother Jack or husband Patrick . . . neither one likes to be told no,” Widen wrote.
Jack, who grew up at the home, knew a way in that would involve jumping a wall, hiking through a creek and walking up a very steep hillside.
The pair wore masks to protect themselves from the heavy smoke. Jack filmed the final minutes of their journey, to show his parents what the property looked like.
So on Tuesday morning, Oct. 10, Jack and his brother-in-law, Patrick Widen, decided to check on the Weavers’ property and “see if by some miracle Izzy survived,” Beckyjean Widen wrote.
“They were turned away by police officers, but if you know my brother Jack or husband Patrick . . . neither one likes to be told no,” Widen wrote.
Jack, who grew up at the home, knew a way in that would involve jumping a wall, hiking through a creek and walking up a very steep hillside.
The pair wore masks to protect themselves from the heavy smoke. Jack filmed the final minutes of their journey, to show his parents what the property looked like. ( CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING )
One of my favorite kinds of news stories is the report of a new scientific study that verifies the obvious. You’ve seen them. New research finds that heterosexual men are attracted to very attractive women. Evidence collected by wildlife researchers has confirmed that bears really do use the woods as toilets.
But some research that corroborates the obvious is exciting because some people refuse to accept the obvious.
Which brings me to the work of Dr. Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University and the author of “What It’s Like to Be a Dog.” (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING)
By Doug Criss, CNN Updated 12:03 AM ET, Tue. September 12, 2017
(CNN)By now, you’ve most certainly seen the video of the flamingos at Busch Garden strutting to safety because of Hurricane Irma. Or the manatees who were rescued after the storm sucked up water from a bay and left them stranded.
But they weren’t the only ones. As Irma ripped its way through Florida and millions of people evacuated, Floridians weren’t just thinking about themselves. They stopped to make sure that creatures – great and small — were also safe from harm’s way.
Some animals simply hunkered down with their owners in pet-friendly shelters, like this one at the Miami-Dade County Fair. (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING & VIEW MORE PHOTOS)
Good Samaritans lent a hand to a Texas woman who spent 14 hours in her attic with dozens of dogs she rescued during Tropical Storm Harvey.
Betty Walter says she was saved by two men walking the neighborhood with a boat Sunday who insisted they could save her and all 21 pups, local station KPRC 2 reported.
“It was scary,” she said. “They saw me in need, and the guy said, ‘We’re going to load all the dogs. … We’re not going to separate you or the dogs.’ ”
Walter, who has four dogs of her own, was pet-sitting for a friend and also saved many of her neighbor’s dogs as Harvey raged Saturday.
The dog lover says neighboring pups were abandoned during earlier rescue efforts but she “refused” to leave them behind.
By News.com.au August 22, 2017 An incredible rare white koala has been born at the Australia Zoo in Queensland, delighting visitors and veterinarians alike.
The famed wildlife park on the Sunshine Coast has been in the midst of “joey season” for the past few months, with a number of new flurry arrivals finally emerging from mothers’ pouches.
But among them was something not often seen — an extremely pale youngster that added an extra element of surprise.
Dr. Rosie Booth, director of the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, explained it’s not a case of albinism, where color is absent from all physical characteristics like skin, fur and eyes.
Rather, the female joey’s white coloration is the result of a recessive gene likely inherited from her mom Tia, who has birthed other pale colored babies in the past.
“In veterinary science it’s often referred to as the ‘silvering gene’ where animals are born with white or very pale fur and just like baby teeth, they eventually shed their baby fur and the regular adult coloration comes through,” Booth said.
Koalas are known to vary in coloration depending on their environment, with southern koalas being much darker and larger than those found in Queensland and New South Wales.
“In the wild animal kingdom, it’s actually quite unfortunate to have unusually light coloration as it makes animals stand out from their camouflage risking being spotted by potential predators,” Booth said. (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING AND WATCH VIDEO)
If you have plans to watch the total solar eclipse that will cross the United States on Aug. 21, you likely have a long checklist of things to do. For example, you’ll want to buy special protective eyewear and plan a way to beat traffic as hordes of people travel toward the path of totality.
But should that checklist include securing protective glasses for your pets?
Animals will probably be fine, as they don’t tend to look directly at the sun. But it doesn’t hurt to be safe and protect cats, dogs and other pets during the eclipse, according to astronomy experts. [Video: How to Make a Solar Eclipse Viewer]
During the Great American Total Solar Eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, the moon will pass between Earth and the sun, casting its lunar shadow across a path that extends from Oregon to South Carolina. As the moon’s shadow begins to block the sun’s light, parts of the sun’s fiery disk will continue to be visible, and can literally burn any eyes — human or otherwise — directed at it.
This condition, commonly known as eclipse blindness, happens when the sun’s powerful rays burn sensitive photoreceptor cells in the retina. “I have seen instances where the patient has eventually shown up with crescents burned into the back of the eye, and you can almost tell exactly when they looked,” Ralph Chou, professor emeritus at the School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of Waterloo in Canada, told Space.com, a sister site of Live Science.
Eclipse watchers can remove their protective eyewear only when the sun is completely hidden by the moon. For that to happen, skywatchers must be in the 70-mile-wide (112 kilometers) path of totality, and even then, totality lasts only up to 2 minutes and 40 seconds depending on the location, according to NASA. (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING)
For nearly 13 minutes on Mon., Aug. 21, 2017, Missourians in a 70-mile swath stretching catty-corner from St. Joseph in the Northeast to Cape Girardeau in the Southeast will witness the totality of the moon obscuring the sun, otherwise referred to as a total solar eclipse. Totality will last anywhere from a few seconds to 2:39 depending upon a viewer’s specific location. During that time, darkness will fall, temperatures may drop 10-15 degrees, breezes may vanish, insects will come out, stars and planets will be visible, and if one lives on a farm, the animals may head toward the barn.
This will be the first total solar eclipse to touch the United State since 1991 when one occurred in Hawaii, and the first coast-to-coast across the southern U.S. since 1918. The last time a total solar eclipse occurred in the greater St. Louis area was 1442. St. Louisans can expect the next one in 2505.
Eclipse-chasers from around the world are expected to converge in St. Louis and the areas beyond as about half of both Kansas City and St. Louis lie within the patch of totality. Consider that more than 43 million people live in large metro areas outside of the totality path where St. Louis is the closest large city, making St. Louis a main destination. Hotel rooms will be at a premium during the period and travelers are encouraged to book their accommodations and travel plans in advance to ensure the best possible experience.
Viewers in St. Louis are recommended to head to parks south and southwest of the city. One notable fact is that Jefferson City is one of only four U.S. state capitals located in the totality path. The others include Salem, Oregon; Nashville, Tennessee; and Columbia, South Carolina. (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING)
STL Lost Pets, is a collaboration of the Animal Protective Association (APA), St. Louis City Animal Care and Control, St. Louis County Animal Care and Control and the Humane Society of Missouri. 90% of lost, stray and unwanted pets in the St. Louis area end up at one of our four agencies, so if your pet is missing, there is a very good chance they could be at one of our shelters. (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION)
We hope you never lose your pet, but if you do, please visit STLLostPets.org, a collaboration of the Humane Society of Missouri, Animal Protective Association of Missouri (APA), St. Louis County Animal Care and Control, and St. Louis City Animal Care and Control.
Browse the database of stray and found pets, report a missing pet and find helpful tips for bringing your lost dog or cat home.
An incredible rare white koala has been born at the Australia Zoo in Queensland, delighting visitors and veterinarians alike.
