Free Republic

Full title........................Dogs really ARE smarter than cats: Canines have more than twice as many brain cells linked to intelligence............ The debate over whether dogs or cats are the smartest pet has raged for decades, if not centuries. But in a twist that is sure to ruffle the fur of cat-lovers, new research shows that dogs are more intelligent than their feline foes after all. Experts showed that dogs have more than twice as many brain cells in a region linked with thinking, planning and other complex behaviours.

SONOITA – In the shadow of the foothills of the Whetstone Mountains, Kurt Licence, a birds and mammals biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, reached his hands into a metal cage and firmly grabbed ahold of a black-tailed prairie dog in front of a small yet electrified crowd. “Welcome home,” he said, as he carried the animal to another enclosure and prepared to push it down a plastic tube leading to its new home. “You ready?” The animal was the first of 94 black-tailed prairie dogs released in the Sands Ranch area east of Sonoita on Oct. 13...

Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A New Jersey family who took their dog to be euthanized were shocked to discover five months later that the canine was alive and living with a veterinary worker. Keri and Lonnie Levy said they took their 15-year-old miniature pinscher, Caesar, to be euthanized May 17 at the Briarwood Veterinary Hospital because he was suffering from a long-term illness that left him in declining health with a poor quality of life. "[Keri] picked up the collar. And actually paid her bill and received, even, a letter from the veterinary offices stating their condolences on the loss...

Japan says lunar chasm measuring 50km long and 100 metres wide could be used as a base for astronauts and their equipment.Scientists have fantasised for centuries about humans colonising the moon. That day may have drawn a little closer after Japan’s space agency said it had discovered an enormous cave beneath the lunar surface that could be turned into an exploration base for astronauts. The discovery, by Japan’s Selenological and Engineering Explorer (Selene) probe, comes as several countries vie to follow the US in sending manned missions to the moon. Using a radar sounder system that can examine underground structures,...

A city worker in Tulsa has been fired after a family says he killed their dog right in front of them. Julie Bailey tells KJRH that she was getting ready to take her two dogs on a walk on Friday afternoon when a city worker came to check the water meter. As she reached the front porch, the dogs got away from her. “They were still on the leash. The leash was going down the yard. I immediately got up to chase after the leashes so I could step on them, but they were faster than I was,” she said....

SLIPPERY ROCK (KDKA) – Three African nationals from Cameroon are facing charges in an organized, intra-national internet fraud scheme uncovered in western Pennsylvania. According to police, large amounts of money were wired through Western Union and MoneyGram at various locations in Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties. Authorities say among the allegedly crimes, the men were selling boxer puppies online out of a student housing complex in Slippery Rock. Police say the total is at least $20,000, but it is expected to grow. “We have at least 10 victims, and we’re expecting a lot more,” said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper James...

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." Berns has, from what I can...

As much joy as a pet can bring to the life of its human, when a beloved dog or cat falls ill, the emotional toll can be high. In fact, caring for an ailing animal often ends up placing a significant "caregiver burden" on its owner, new research finds. "Think of the phrase, 'Giving until it hurts,'" said study author Mary Beth Spitznagel. Essentially, it's the heavy emotional burden one can experience when the act of caring stretches a person's physical, emotional or even financial capacities to the breaking point. "We found that individuals with a chronically or terminally ill...

Idaho’s Lakeview Park lets their favorite four-legged friends run through the “sprayground,” on final day of its summer season – all for a worthy cause!

St. Francis’ Feast Day and the Things We Can Learn from Cats and Dogs Msgr. Charles Pope • October 3, 2016 • Here at Holy Comforter-St Cyprian Parish in Washington, D.C., we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi with the blessing of the animals. Although most folks bring dogs to be blessed, there are usually some who bring cats and a few other animals like ferrets. Once, someone even brought a snake!Over the years, I have shared with the dog owners a list of “Things we can learn from dogs.” When I was growing up, we always...

What Are Our Pets Really Saying? A Meditation on the Eager Expectation of All Creation Msgr. Charles Pope • August 11, 2016 • I am often struck by the mystery of the relationship that dogs and cats set up with their owners. While I realize that we humans often project what we want their behavior to mean, I am still fascinated by the reality of how our pets come to “know” us and set up a kind of communication with us.Dogs, especially, are very demonstrative, interactive, and able to make knowing responses. Cats are more subtle. My cat, Jewel,...

A dog owner accused of abandoning his pet found frightened and alone atop a car surrounded by rising Harvey flood waters wants him back. And rescuers have agreed to return the animal. CBS11 reporter J.D. Miles shared video of the pit bulls’ plight, which quickly went viral. People were outraged by the implication that his owners left their 3-year-old dog named “Blue” behind. But Blue’s owner Charles Rogers says rescuers are the ones to blame – not him.

The SPCA of Texas is putting every available resource behind assisting pets and people who have evacuated the Gulf Coast to the North Texas area. We are deploying staff, volunteers and supplies to support evacuees housed at the mega shelter opening today in Dallas, working with city and county disaster officials to care for the pets of evacuees. We also took in 123 cats from The Cattery Cat Shelter in Corpus Christi on Friday in advance of the storm. These cats were un-owned, and we cleared their shelter to ensure the cats’ safety. People can help us help the hundreds...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - When the total solar eclipse hits in a couple weeks, you'll need to have legit glasses to view it to protect your eyes. But what about our animals' eyes? Dr. Wendy King of Spears Creek Veterinary Clinic says, “The short answer is nothing because animals have an inherent knowledge of not looking at the sun and they just don't look up at the sun and stare. So they don't need special glasses.”

Fido and Fluffy are to blame for Global Warming, according to UCLA study First it was the cows of the fields being blamed for global warming/climate change by the more-bovine-than-them environmental activists. The United Nations targeted belching and gas-passing cattle as the world’s biggest source of ruining the environment. Their methane, the UN loudly lamented, gave them the biggest global warming footprint of them all.

Since 1980, PETA has made a name for itself as the number-one authority on animal welfare. UK-based YouTube vlogger Calum McSwiggan, however, wants people to consider otherwise, and recently used a scathing Twitter rant to sound off on the organisation’s true colours. After recent investigations, PETA has come under fire for a lot more than just the scantily clad women they use for marketing. In a March 2017 press release, the Center for Consumer Freedom revealed that PETA euthanized more than 1400 cats and dogs at its Norfolk, Virginia shelter in 2016. PETA defends their actions as ethically and economically...

We all get moved by images we see. Some images make us angry, some make us sad, yet others will make us laugh. Here is an image of two dogs, and only God knows what is going through their heads. We can all speculate, yet 99% of us will be wrong. Why? Because no one but God knows. People anthropomorphize animals in many ways, but often times the animals just do things themselves (without training) which remind us of human behavior. This behavior probably helped our ancestors understand other creatures that would help us get to where we are....

Couple sues dog food manufacturer after pet death June 22, 2017 - by Erica Shaffer SEATTLE – A couple in Washington State recently filed a lawsuit against Wheeling, Illinois-based Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Company Inc., owned by Holly and Joel Sher, after one of their dogs was poisoned by pet food tainted with pentobarbital, a euthanasia drug. Nicole and Guy Mael of Washougal, Washington, filed the lawsuit against Evanger’s and Nutripack LLC, a pet food company owned by members of the same family, in US District Court for the Western District of Washington. The couple is seeking a jury...

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