Volunteer Violet Celebrates 90th Birthday
Slowly and painstakingly, Violet Clermont coaxed the dog up to her by holding out small pieces of hot dog treats. The dog was not only frightened but extremely uncomfortable.
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Do Pets Prevent Sudden Death in Children with Epilepsy?
A group of Brazilian researchers wondered if the presence of a pet in the home of a child with epilepsy might reduce their risk of dying from SUDEP. They found that of the 1,092…
Crustacean Rights: The Case of the "Lucky" Crabs
Blessings Galore at St. John the Divine
Do All Bugs Go to Heaven?
Why the Caged Bird Does Not Sing
Like POWs, concentration camp inmates, and victims of domestic violence, caged and confined birds are all candidates for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Visit to Grave Helps Grieving Dog
During my husband’s illness, Friday lay beside his bed, provided support when my husband walked and never left his side. Friday obviously knew that something was wrong. He was devoted to his master.
A Dog Wedding in the Park
I had never before been invited to a canine wedding, and I smiled as I returned the R.S.V.P. card, saying that I would certainly be attending.
Why Cats Should Teach
Our society places much stock in being intelligent and having smart children, which is why schools administer so many different kinds of tests. But over the last decade, educators and parents have seriously challenged such approaches, standardizing tests, and the premise upon which they are based.
Dolphin ‘Therapy’ Is a Scam
Fueled by feel-good media reports such as Prager’s, dolphin therapy is a magnet for desperate parents who will pay whatever it takes to help their kids with disorders like autism and Down syndrome.
Could Grandma Come Back as a Squirrel?
Aithor Ptolemy Tompkins discusses the views of different religions, particularly Christianity and Buddhism, about whether nonhuman animals have souls and afterlives.
Furr No More
There is broken glass on the street, a vacant lot on the corner, and, tethered where I cannot see him, is Furr. I know exactly what he is doing, because he is unable to do anything else.
Should Tom Otterness Ever Work in This Town Again?
In 1977, a young man named Tom Otterness adopted a shelter dog, tied him to a fence, and shot him to death. He captured the entire episode on film, ran it on a continuous video loop, and called it art.
Pets Are Good for Your Health. Really?
As pet lovers, we’re convinced that our pets make us a happier and healthier person. I thought “the pet effect” was an established scientific fact.
Stepford Wives and Gargoyle Pits
For the town, we were here to eliminate a threat to the children. For us, we were here to protect animals who were at risk of unfair persecution.
Kisses from Wolves
You haven’t been kissed till you’ve been kissed by a wolf – the four-legged kind. I had the pleasure of experiencing this when I volunteered at Wolf Sanctuary in Colorado.
Top Ten Tool Users
Scientists once thought that tool use was the defining feature of humans. Animals using tools is a a sign of extraordinary intelligence that shows an ability to manipulate an object.
Gorilla Warfare in Rwanda
Dian Fossey would probably have been turning over in her grave…if I hadn’t been standing on it. It’s in a small cemetery and you have to get close to read the gravestone.
What Pit Bulls Taught Me about People
It wasn’t revolution, however, that I encountered when I started working with animals again; it was humility, reality and the knowledge that issues of animal welfare are far from black and white.
Clean Your Boat but Save the Ocean
People cleaning their boatsinvolves chemical products that drain off into the ocean and are highly toxic to the fish and other animals.
Japanese ‘Nuclear Rabbit’ Fears
The latest nuclear disaster to hit Japan may have actually spawned a real mutated animal – a rabbit without ears. Skeptics, among them prominent scientists, believe that may be too much of a leap.
Why Do Most Vegetarians Backslide?
According to a survey, three times as many American adults admit to being “ex-vegetarians” than describe themselves as current vegetarians.
Where Snow Leopards Meet Tourists
In areas like Ladakh, whose intact ecology makes them habitable for animals such as snow leopards, a lot of wildlife conservation work is occurring.
Who Trains Whom?
“What is it about my personality that allows the dogs to dictate my behaviors?” asks Dr. Ruby Benjamin. How dogs seem to have a way of training us.