Maybe I’m a little biased for headlines that contain the word “saves” and the name of an animal. Whether it’s one animal saving another, an animal doing so for a human, or humans returning the favor, I’m a sucker for these stories. So if I post too often on the topic let me know in the comments section below, along with suggestions for the types of stories you’d rather see more often. If I don’t hear to the contrary, then I’ll just assume you all love these tales as much as I do. Today I’ve got what’s certainly one of … Continue reading →

Bears are moving into cities I first saw this MSNBC story on Facebook where a friend of mine, also a dachshund owner like the woman in the article, linked to it and said she would have done the same thing. What’s the headline? “Alaska Woman Punches Bear in Face to Save her Tiny Dog.” Brooke Collins is 22 years old and lives in Juneau, Alaska. Her wildlife encounter didn’t occur when she was out camping or hiking in the wilderness, but rather in her own urban neighborhood. The Alaskan capital often sees bears prowling its streets for food, but they’ve … Continue reading →

The best unlikely animal friends stories are the ones where predators and their prey ignore the call of nature and become buddies instead. I could fill this blog with such stories, or even just animal friendship stories, but I try to space it out. I couldn’t ignore this 2006 tale from Japan, however, that garnered international attention. BBC News has the details. Aochan is a two-year-old rat snake residing at the Mutsugoro Okoku zoo in Tokyo. He’s a bit of a picky eater; he rejected the frozen rats presented to him by the zookeepers. So instead, in the fall of … Continue reading →

Guide dogs for other dogs aren’t entirely uncommon Months ago I posted about the best animals on the internet, rounding up the latest of the funniest or cutest animal stories I’d seen. Today I want to share two of the most heartwarming stories about dogs I saw in October. MSNBC Today has the first story. Erica Daniel specializes in fostering the dogs that really need help, either for behavioral or health issues. She’s used to not giving up, to pouring everything she can into healing these dogs so that they’re ready to go into homes. This summer she found herself … Continue reading →