I think we are all in need of feel-good stories lately, given the state of the world.
Last winter, a fire chief from Canada shared a video on Facebook of several firefighters and RCMP rescuing someone’s pet dog.
The dog had wandered onto the ice and fell in while he was walking off leash.
They brought the dog to shore by securing one of the firefighters with rope and he crawled onto the ice. The firefighter also fell through, but because of the rope he was able to grab the dog so they could both be pulled to shore.
This serves as a reminder to everyone who lives near water that freezes that ice can be dangerous. Don’t let your dogs on the ice!
From the Facebook post:
“STAY OFF THE ICE!!
Yesterday afternoon, our firefighters were busy at the creek, rescuing someone’s pet. They allowed their dog to run off leash when it ventured our onto the ice and fell through. Quick action calling the fire department helped save their pet. Please keep your pets and children away from the Creek, the ice is thin and it is NOT safe.”
A man who had just hours to live had one wish: to see his dog one last time.
Peter Robson was suffering from fibrosis in his lungs. He didn’t have long. The hospital asked his family if there was anything that he wanted from home to comfort him. They asked if they could bring his beloved border collie, Shep.
They assumed the request would be denied. Animals of any kind aren’t usually allowed in a hospital.
Surprisingly, the hospital said yes.
Shep had been by Peter’s side ever since his wife died. “He really thought he would never see Shep again,” Robson’s granddaughter Ashley Stevens said. “It was an amazing moment to see the two of them together, and Shep was so excited to see him.”
Later, they shared the moment on Facebook. “Still in shock that the wish was granted and they went above and beyond today and made a dying man very happy.”
Austin Forman has a guardian angel, and her name is Angel. She is a golden retriever, and she saved Austin’s life.
One Saturday, Austin was attacked in his backyard by a Cougar. Angel, only 18 months old, threw herself between the cougar and Austin.
Sherri Forman, Austin’s mother, said her son was outside in the evening with Angel, gathering firewood. She explained Angel generally runs and plays around the yard, but that day she was acting differently.
“[Austin] had come in at one point to tell me how cute Angel was being because she was sticking pretty close to him in the yard, which was unusual for her,” Forman said.
In hindsight she realized the dog was protecting her son.
When the cougar attacked, Angel protected the boy.
“She intercepted the cougar,” Forman said. “Austin came into the house very upset, and I had to get him to calm down so I could understand what he was saying. Finally he said ‘there’s a cougar eating Angel.'”
The big cat and Angel fought underneath the porch while Austin’s mother called 911. An officer was in the area and was able to kill the cougar.
When they pulled the cougar’s body off of Angel, the dog sucked in a deep breath. Angel walked over to Austin to make sure he was okay, and sat.
“She had some pretty nasty injuries across the front of her head and neck” said veterinarian Jack Anvik. “If there had been enough time for the two of them together the cougar would have probably killed the dog,” he said.
Austin said “I feel very good now that we know she’s alive and the fact that she saved me and survived is amazing.”
Austin was so grateful the he went with his grandpa and bought a huge steak for angel.
A man walks onto a stage. He claims he can make a dog speak. The audience and judges are incredulous (wouldn’t you be?). At first the dog does not cooperate.
But then the dog opens it’s mouth and speaks. Don’t believe me? Watch the video below.
The act is by ventriloquist/comedian Marc Metral and his dog Wendy. Marc Metral has been performing as a ventriloquist since 1980, but his appearance on Britain’s Got Talent brought him before a bigger audience than ever before.
For those who are worried, the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) checked out the act close up and found that Wendy was happy and well taken care of.
Aurora, a 3 year old, went missing after wandering away from her family property on a Friday night. Luckily for her, the family dog, a 17 year old Australian cattle dog named Max, followed her out into the wilderness.
Saturday morning, 100 police officers, emergency workers, and members of the public were searching for her.
Aurora’s grandmother Leisa heard her yelling, but she found Max first. Max, although deaf and mostly blind, led Leisa to Aurora.
One of the rescuers Ian Phipps said it was a wonderful outcome. “With the weather last night it’s quite lucky she is well because it was … cold and raining,” he told ABC radio.
“She’s a very hardy young lass to survive that without any ill effects and everyone, all the volunteers, are extremely happy.”
Have you ever wondered how they pick puppies that become guide dogs?
Me too. The video below shows part of the process a puppy goes through in order to become a guide dog.
This is how the National Guide Dog Center for the Blind (located in the U.K.) select their dogs.
They begin at Puppy Assessment with a PPA. PPA stands for Puppy Profile Assessment, and consists of 8 tests. Every test is scored on a scale of 1-7, 4 being ideal.
1. Follow
The first test measures if the puppy will follow and stay with a person, an important trait if they are to lead someone around.
2. Retrieve
The next test measures if they are able to retrieve a toy without getting too distracted. This makes sure they can be obedient and that they can focus.
3. Restraint
Next, they will hold the puppy and not allow it to move. This tests patience and obedience.
4. Noise
A guide dog needs to be able to hear everything around them, but not react strongly to every noise. This test makes sure that they can hear but not get scared by new noises.
5. Stroking
The most relaxing of the tests. The dog is pet to ensure they can accept human contact.
6. Squirrel
The puppy is called while a furry rag is dragged across the floor. They should notice the “squirrel” without chasing it down and still going to the person who called.
7. Tunnel
A guide dog should be able to enter unfamiliar or scary places in order to help a blind person through the world. This would include subways, so a puppy is led to a tunnel to see if they will go through it.
8. Ramp
This is the same as above, except with a ramp.
If a puppy successfully passes all of these tests, they will begin the long process of training to become a guide dog.
It’s an age old question: are dogs smarter than cats? Dogs can be trained to do a variety of tricks very well, cats are much harder to train. Yet cats are extremely skilled natural hunters with unlimited curiosity.
A neuroscientist, a dog cognition expert, and a cat behavior researcher got together to answer the question. When brain cells are counted, one animal clearly has more. Still, recent studies challenge our ideas of what it means to be smart.
Suzana Herculano-Houzel (the neuroscientist) studies animal intelligence by looking at their brains. She found that dogs have twice as many brain cells as cats.
“Then the logical implication is that, yes, dogs are much more capable than cats,” Herculano-Houzel said.
Brian Hare, the dog cognition expert, is hesitant to compare intelligence across species. Hare says intelligence in animals is usually put in human terms.
“Asking which species is smarter is like asking if a hammer is a better tool than a screwdriver,” Hare says. “Each tool is designed for a specific problem, so of course it depends on the problem we are trying to solve.”
Every animal has been shaped by evolution to solve the most important problems they face in the wild. So judging cats against dogs is problematic, since they come from different environments with different challenges.
So how should we study animal intelligence?
“A lot of what we already know about intelligence in other species falls on a gradient or a spectrum,” said Kristyn Vitale Shreve, a cat cognition and behavior research fellow at Oregon State University.
Consider hunting skills, for example. Cats are one of the most skilled, dogs are in the middle, and humans around the bottom. But if we test math, humans are on top and both animals are at the bottom.
One of the problems is that we don’t have the right methods to investigate dogs and cats side by side to get meaningful data. So, at least right now, it’s unfair to make too many comparisons.
“There’s this perception of cats being untrainable or maybe hard to work with,” Vitale Shreve said. “Cats display a lot of individual variation and have distinct personalities, which make it hard for researchers to understand them.”
Basically, there is no definitive answer on which is more intelligent, and it really depends on what you need a dog or a cat for.
The important thing is that we all love our pets as much as we can.
When a dog finally gets adopted from a shelter, it’s hard to imagine what is going through their minds. It must be such a relief to be out of a kennel, find someone who loves you, and to move into a nice home.
For some adopted dogs, they have never seen grass, or been outside to play. So when they finally have a yard, their reaction is just so precious. If you ever moved into a new house as a kid, it’s that same desire to go exploring in your new surrounding.
For a shelter dog, especially one that was abused or has never experienced life outside of a shelter, something as simple as a yard can send them into a tailspin. Literally, their tails will be out of control. This is what happened with a dog named Christy.
Christy is a West Highland Terrier, and she was recently able to experience this incredible feeling. Her backyard even came with a treat that most humans don’t have the luxury of owning.
Christy’s reaction is so adorable, and we are so glad her owners were able to catch the whole thing on film. She went from shelter dog to spoiled dog! Christy was adopted by a wonderful family in Florida. As you know, Florida gets very warm in the summer months and many residents need a way to cool off. We are talking about an awesome, amazing, swimming pool!
The newly adopted dog notices the pool, and goes into a frenzy! It’s insanely cute, Christy is unable to contain her excitement. Completely freaking out.
Her owners make her wait patiently, she needs to learn her manners after all. It was a great opportunity for Christy’s first training session. She is very patient in waiting for the door to open.
But when that door opens, oh boy. Let’s just say it’s one of the funniest videos we’ve ever seen. You may have seen excited dogs before, but wait until you see Christy.
Any dog lover will enjoy the video below. It’s hard not to smile when you see a dog so happy! The fact that she used to be in a shelter but now is so joyful warms my heart.
Christy’s excitement over something as simple as a swimming pool is definitely a mood booster. Watch this adorable video, but don’t keep it to yourself! Share on facebook if you love this dog.
I can never get enough videos of rescue dogs. It is so inspiring to see these dogs FINALLY get the love and the homes they deserve. When a dog gets to use a bed for the very first time? Magical.
It’s awful to think that so many dogs are mistreated and abused every year; every day! We will never understand it. With all that heartbreak out there, it is nice to see some dogs get a happy ending. Especially when it is caught on camera.
Expect to have your heart explode with happiness when you see this video. You will see 7 year old Millie get to experience a new bed for the first time. We hope all dogs get to experience this kind of happiness.
Millie has just been rescued, and even at 7 years old she has never had a bed before! This video shows her reaction.
I love hearing the owner laughing in the background, because you can’t help but laugh too! Millie is so happy she doesn’t know what to do with herself.
Can you even stand it? We are so happy that Millie was rescued and can be in a safe home. Rescue dogs are always so grateful, and she is proof of that.
A dog was dying. This dog’s name is Angel, and she was being purposely starved. You should get your tissues ready, but don’t worry, this story has a happy ending. You could even call it a miracle.
The video on the next page will make you cry. At first it will be from sadness and anger. How can people treat an animal in this way? It is sad how frequent it is.
But after that, you will be crying tears of joy. Angel was finally rescued.
The rescuer’s said it was the worst case they had ever seen. When they got angel, she was on the verge of death. She could barely move.
They were afraid it was too late for Angel. They were hoping and praying that Angel would make it through.
The rescuers had a major journey ahead of them. They couldn’t feed Angel too much too quickly, her stomach wouldn’t be able to handle it. But soon they would see the light come back into Angel’s eyes.
After some TLC, professional nursing, and love, Angel was able to make a full recovery. I guess it wasn’t her time to cross the rainbow bridge.
