Book of the Week - Dewey:The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

Image from MSNBC

This just might be an interesting book to read. The story of "Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter is gaining more popularity.

Dewey Readmore Books with librarian and author Vicki Myron

Dewey was the well loved feline who was abandoned as a kitten in the Spencer Public Library's book-return box one January night in 1988 in Spencer, Iowa. Dewey was adopted promptly by the librarians and his name was chosen by the town in a contest. He had a gala time in the library jumping between shelves, hitching a ride on a passing book cart and sitting on the laps of visitors to the library. Dewey breathed his last after 19 years of rollicking fun in 2006 and his obituary appeared in hundreds of papers. He was buried near the door of the library with a plaque that reads, "In Loving Memory of Dewey Readmore Books: World Famous Library Cat."

A little more

And some

Horsing around

Harschbarger took Gracie's photo before freeing her - Image from DailyMail

If you are too curious you might get tied up. Thats what happened to Gracie the mare. Nobody knows the cause for sure but it might have been curiosity for lack of a better explanation. Gracie was found with her head wedged in between two sections of a tree trunk. The horse was unable to free itself and hearing its frenzied whinnying Jason Harschbarger a neighbour in the town of Pullman, West Virginia, US, came to the rescue. He had to use a chainsaw to slowly cut the wood around Gracie's neck but she escaped with minor injuries and a dislocated jaw. But she is well on the road to recovery.

Woofing down the aisle

Ed in his special tuxedo - Image from Ananova

Sorry for the long gap readers. Thanks to my mom my internet was down for the past one week and I just got it back up and running. She hired someone to hack away portions of intrusive tree branches outside our house and the man happily hacked away the wire too. A few frantic calls to the telephone board and internet provider set things right, albeit at their own pace.

Also, I have added a new badge to the site named "Everywun," where a simple click from you will result in a donation to needy animals and saving the environment. So click away!

Ok, now let me get to the story for today. I guess this is one of the weirdest I have read in a long time. Ed the dog had one of the best times in his life when his owners Harriet and Andew Athay got married. He not just had the best time but also played the part of best man along with the couple's two other female dogs, Humbug and Goulash. The couple felt it was only right that they be there filling these roles since they were the ones who brought them together in the first place. Harriet and Andrew met when they were walking their respective dogs in Mudeford Beach, Dorset, England in August 2007. As their dogs capered around Andrew and Harriet chatted. He admired Ed's shiny collar and found out that Harriet ran a pet accessories company. The next day Harriet got a parcel with a pink diamante dog collar with a note from Andrew asking her out for a drink. That set their relationship rolling and in January Andrew proposed to her.

Spot of Understanding - Wasps pack a sting in memory

A paper wasp nest - Image from Science Daily

Maybe for a good memory your brain needs to be less than a millionth the size of a normal human brain. Atleast its the case for paper wasps. New research from the University of Michigan shows that these tiny insects can remember individuals for about a week even though they would be interacting with lots of other wasps in the meantime. The research, by graduate student Michael Sheehan and assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Elizabeth Tibbetts, impressively proves that these wasps have a long term memory based on their social interactions. Carrying out various tests, Tibbetts showed that these wasps recognize individuals by variations in their facial markings and that they behave more aggressively toward wasps with unfamiliar faces. Aah one must think twice before offending these creatures!

Read more on the findings

Honeybees have a great memory too but in a different way

Ratchet

Beberg and Ratchet - Image from AP

Ratchet the puppy has hit headlines in pretty much all self-respecting newspapers. But for those of you who haven't yet clued in on Ratchet's sweet story here it is. Ratchet was adopted by Sgt. Gwen Beberg in Iraq after some soldiers rescued him from a pile of burning trash in May this year. Beberg wanted to have Ratchet with her when she flew back to her home in Minnesota after her deployment ends in November. But the military prohibits soldiers from adopting pets abroad and bringing them back to the U.S. and Ratchet was confiscated from a convoy bound for Baghdad airport. The SPCA took special interest and thousands of people across the globe signed online petitions on their site pleading the U.S. military to allow Ratchet into the country. Now finally, an animal rescue group called Operation Baghdad Pups (OBP), have succeeded in reuniting Ratchet with her friend Beburg ending her long struggle. The OBP's first attempt was foiled by the military on 1 October but on 19th Ratchet finally landed in the U.S. with military clearance. The entire effort will cost about $5000 according to the SPCA but then to Beberg, Ratchet is priceless as she says that she couldn't have got through her 13 month deployment without him.

EndangeRed - The Caspian Seal

The Caspian Seal - Image from Science Daily

The future looks bleak for one of the world's smallest species of seal - the Caspian. Recent reports of one in four mammals being in danger of extinction includes the Caspian. Scientists from the University of Leeds along with international partners have studied the species, which is found only in Caspian Sea. A series of surveys have shown that their numbers have sharply fallen by 90% in the last 100 years. These findings have prompted the Internation Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to shift the status of the Caspian from Vulnerable to Endangered on its official IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008. What has caused these sweet looking cuddly beings to disappear? Commercial hunting, habitat degradation, disease, pollution and drowning in fishing nets are a few of the reasons, which have caused their numbers to decline from more than one million at the beginning of the 20th century to just a meagre 100,000 today.

What is the Caspian Seal?

The Caspian Seal Project

Punch drunk horse

Fat Boy struggles to get out - Image from Dailymail

If you are drunk and you go by the name of Fat Boy then its surely not a healthy combo. Poor Fat Boy the horse paid the price for it. The 12 year old Moorland pony, who lives in a riding school in Newquay, England, suddenly had the urge to eat apples. So he broke away from his stables, slunk into his neighbor Sarah Penhaligon's backyard and began gorging on a heap of rotting apples on the ground. The fruit had started fermenting and Fat Boy was soon seeing stars from a high. A drunken Fat Boy lost his footing and lurched with a big splash into Sarah's swimming pool. Hearing the noise Sarah came out to investigate and saw Fat Boy desperately trying to make his way out. Finally, she dialled Emergency and firefighters hoisted him out of the pool with several harnesses after they built a set of hay steps. The entire process took two hours during which, Sarah fed him more apples to keep him calm. He is reportedly dealing with his "morning after."

Book of the Week - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

A book that I have been waiting with bated breath to read. And still waiting. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is about a mute boy Edgar who has an uncanny ability to communicate with his best friend - a dog. Set in rural Wisconsin, home of the author David Wroblewski, the tale is set in a farm in the early half of the 20th century, where the Sawtelle family raises a fictional breed of dogs. Various reviews have gone so far as to compare Edgar's dog to Shakespearean dimensions or the chorus from a Greek tragedy. Whatever it maybe, ultimately its the story of a boy and a dog. And these simple stories fascinate me more.

Edgar Sawtelle's homepage - This also doubles up as David Wroblewski's site

Review1 and Review2

A touching friendship

Tiger Cup guards his little ward - Image from The Metro

Another story of a touching friendship. Jiaozuo city in Henan Province is home to the People's Park Monkey Mountain, where a baby monkey was left defenseless after its parents died. Tired of saving the tiny one from being bullied by other bigger monkeys, Xiaohou, one of the monkey breeders brought in a dog named Tiger Cup to act as its guardian. Tiger Cup instantly took to the baby monkey and they became inseparable. Unfortunately I couldn't get more information on these two so this has to be a small post.

Blue and Black

Image from Wiki

Today as I was sitting in the park after lunch, I was witness to a very sweet exchange between two crows. One of them, whom I will name as Blue for convenience, was foraging on the ground for tidbits and scratching in the dust. After a while it appeared like Blue had caught something in its mouth. A second later another crow, whom I will name Black, came and gently took the morsel out. Blue continued its ferreting and went behind some bushes. A while later Black came from somewhere with its mouth open. Now it was Blue's turn to eat. After a few exchanges in similar fashion the inseparable couple flew to a tree nearby, to pass the gentle afternoon away after a very companiably shared lunch. Ah, if only we were more amiable and got along with each other like them!

Dog to God

Conan sits next to priest Yoshikuni - Image from Telegraph

This news is a bit old but I thought I must really write it here! Praying is a good meditative practise. It may also get your wishes granted sometimes. Maybe thats why Conan prays. At a Zen Buddhist temple in the Jigenin temple in Okinawa, Japan, Conan the one and half year old pet chihuahua joins the monks in their daily prayers. The dog takes his position next to the priest, Joei Yoshikuni, sits on his hind legs, raises his paws and joins them together at the tip of his nose. Yoshikuni estimates that the number of visitors, especially younger ones, has increased by nearly 30%. He says Conan might be expressing his gratitude for his treats and walks.

Spot of Understanding

Male zebra finch sings to its mate - Image from Science Daily

Singing has always been one of the time tested ways to attract someone you love. For birds this is a way of life. Researchers at the Riken Brain Science Institute in Saitama, Japan have found that when a male zebra finch crooned to a potential mate certain neurons in the brain got activated. In the human equivalent parts of the brain, these areas are activated when an individual takes drugs and obtains a high, following the release of dopamine. In the finch's brains, singing triggered a feeling of reward. According to Neal Hessler, "It's the clearest evidence so far that singing to a female is rewarding for male birds."

Read more on the findings and watch the video

How birds hold singing contests to obtain mates

EndangeRed - The Bluefin Tuna

Image from National Geographic

My very first post in Red would be about the Bluefin Tuna. Sushi and sashimi maybe exotic and very interesting to eat but most of the consumers are unaware that they are eating away a species, which is on the brink of extinction and is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) after decades of overfishing. This magnificent creature not just graces the ocean but also haute Japanese restaurant tables and they sell for about $100 a pound in Japanese markets. The bluefin tuna population has gone down since the mid-1990s after it captured gastronomic imagination in Japan and the world over.

Now restaurants are slowly waking up to the grim reality of its disappearance. The Michelin star adorned restaurant Nobu, owned partly by Robert de Niro, boasts a clientele that includes Madonna and Kate Winslet. They have now agreed to highlight dishes that include bluefin tuna giving customers a pretty obvious choice to decide between ordering a bluefin tuna dish anyway or save the guilt and go for a greener alternative. Wouldn't it be better if they take if off the menu altogether? Yes, but in Japan bluefin tuna is considered the most delicious of all tuna species.

What is the bluefin tuna?

Ted Danson talks about what happened to the bluefin tuna

How the Greenpeace urged Nobu to point out bluefin tuna dishes on their menu

A helpful list of what you can do to help

Watch a bluefin tuna fish farm

Introduction to EndangeRed

Seeing the news about endangered species everyday I thought I must start a new section on them. Animals are what sustain our planet and by encroaching on their habitats and killing them for food, we are slowly narrowing our own chances of survival in the coming years. The future looks bleak and cold unless our environment is preserved and nurtured. Its all in our hands, each one of us. If each one does his/her bit, it will make a HUGE difference. Else we might one day have to take our children to a plant museum or resort to videos of lush forests to show that these things once existed...

Strange but beautiful

Etheridge with Snowy and Gladys - Image from All-Creatures

Unusual friendships are not a rarity in the animal world. This one is between Gladys the chicken and Snowy the cat who live in Middleton, England. The story begins when Jane Etheridge's bantam hen hatched a batch of 14 chickens about two and half months back. Sadly, that number was reduced to just three chickens after a fox marauded the coop leaving only feathers behind. Two of the survivors died soon and only Gladys was left. Etheridge brought a shaken and traumatised Gladys into the house to help her get her bearings. Thats when Snowy took over. For 10 year old Snowy, Gladys was like a little sibling to be taken care of. He cleaned and washed her and made her comfortable. Now Gladys is two and half months old and is inseparable from Snowy. Etheridge says that they are, "the best of friends, very much so, and when she first started going out she would not go unless they went together."

Spicy adventure

Simon Carter with Pepper - Image from Tampa Bay

I know I am repeating the animal from yesterday but I JUST had to write this story. If your dog goes missing for months together, then don't worry, for there still is hope as Pepper proved. Pepper the golden retriever went missing from his home in Atlanta, Georgia, a little before Christmas, from the home of Elizabeth Carter. The seven year old dog disappeared when Elizabeth and her family went on a vacation to Mexico leaving Pepper with a dog sitter. When someone lit firecrackers he got startled and ran away and never returned. After long enquiries and searches they gave up hope of finding him.

But nine months later, almost like a rebirth, Elizabeth got a call from St.Petersburg, Floria, 400 miles from Atlanta. Jay Getman who works at a travel agency found Pepper outside the door of the shop, soaking wet, filthy and flea infested. His heart melted at the sight of Pepper and he soon took him home. Pepper was given a nice bath and food and after a couple of days Jay took him to a vet, who found a microchip with Pepper's ownership details embedded. He made the call to Atlanta with some sadness since he had already become attached to the dog and informed Elizabeth. The very next day a still disbelieving Elizabeth hopped into her car and drove all the way to Florida and was soon reunited with her beloved Pepper. But the mystery still remains as to how Pepper traversed 400 miles and landed up so far away.

Sniffing bee

Toby's sniffing capabilities are invaluable - Image from Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Toby is an ordinary looking springer spaniel but what he does is extremely special. He is a trained sniffer dog but not in the conventional sense where he has to go rushing behind criminal scents. He has to sniff something more mundane - bumblebees. Toby is the latest tool in locating the disappearing presence of bumblebees in Britain. He is not the only one of his kind, since Quinn the springer spaniel was there before him. Toby has been trained in the army and is in the employ of Stirling University where researchers have received a grant of $1,96,678 (£112,000) to study bumblebee decline. Bumblebee nests are smaller than a hive and are often located underground. This is where Toby's skills come in. Toby who had been rescued from an animal pound in the Midlands now stays on a farm with his handler, PhD student Steph O' Connor.

Read more about Quinn

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Readers write for World Animals Day

I invited some of my readers to write stories that they found amusing or interesting on the occasion of World Animals Day and here are a couple of them. I will publish any more stories that anyone else wishes to send as and when I receive them :)

Image from Wikipedia

Mocha told me that today is World Animals Day, and asked me to contribute. It didn't take me long to think what I could contribute. Much as I love animals, I loved one in particular the most - my soulmate.You know, just like how we humans go around searching for that elusive soulmate. Well, some don't search, some just assume that it is a concept mired in illusion. But I know - it is real. And unlike those who sadly restrict the concept of soulmates to just the two-legged walking upright hairy kind who also happen to be incredibly dumb (nah, I am not talking of those poor apes - they are not dumb, not they. Ever take a look at our planet? See the frightful mess we have made? Think we can call ourselves intelligent?)

But then, I digress. I wanted to write about one of my soulmates - my dog, Bambi. She came into my life late, I was all of 24, shy of the world, and bound by thoughts of the future. A kind professor who was moving to the US could not take her with them. "I am looking for a house for my dog," she announced one day in class. "She is a Labrador, old but we are just looking for a good home for her, " she said. I must have been out of mind, but then the best decisions in life are those we take when we are out of our mind. I volunteered to take her. What was I thinking? At that time we were staying in my sister's mother-in-law's house - on probation while our house was being built elsewhere. The we implies my mother, my father and I. We had never had a pet before - the only one that arrived some ten years back as a pup had left still a pup. We WERE animal lovers, but preferred them at a distance - NOT animal caregivers. "Well, why don't you come and see the dog then, " my professor said. And so I did. Bambi came wagging her tail as soon as we came to her house. I was with my friend - she was at ease with dogs, and soon had Bambi on her back, giggling with delight as my friend tickled her tummy. I stood nervously. How does one behave around dogs? I had not the faintest idea, considering I was not all that good around humans either. But then Bambi took care of that herself in her own way.

At home it wasn't easy. My father put his foot down. "We don't need a dog," he growled. I was almost in tears...well, I amend that, I was in tears - in private I cried night after night into my pillow. It took my sister's gentle intervention. "She has never asked for anything. Agree this once," she pleaded. My father was never happy. But he could never say no to my sister. So Bambi came home. I took her in an autorickshaw, and the maid in the house fawned over her. My mother loved her, patting her fondly. My Dad didn't. In the evening, I sat, wearied, on the steps in front of the house. And Bambi came over. I was down, I was tired, and I hated life at that moment. She crept closer and kept her head on my knee. I felt understood then. For the first time in my life. There were no questions, no expectations - my dog was just with me, and just be-ing. Since then, every time I felt dragged down, she was there. There was nothing more Bambi loved than scrambling into my lap. So I would get up on a Sunday, wear my worst clothes, go down, sit cross-legged, beckon. And she would, heave her big self on to my lap. Did I tell you she was a yellow labrador? Well-toned, not fat, and with what I still think were the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. We would then lie there, I would stroke her head, and she would give her warmth. At other times I would lie down, and she would put one dirty paw over me in an embrace. Never had I felt so loved. And that I didn't have to do anything to obtain that love. Bambi loved. My sister, who had never been near a dog in her life, would come over just to spend hours with Bambi. She was not an angelic dog - not she. She scratched the house door down - wanting to be let in. She bit my nephew when he was patting her a bit excessively. And she once bolted inside one of the bedroom, went under the bed, and growled at anyone who dare enter the room. Morning saw her on the bed - and we had to forcibly get another dog inside so that she would jump out and defend her territory. She hid under the drain. She was a mad hatter. And she drove my father mad.

And that madness made me treat her badly. I beat her. Not once. But many times for her transgessions. I have mentally beaten a lot of humans too. But unlike them, she came back each time, woofing with pleasure when I extended my hand out for a good rub. She knew no revenge. No grudges. I left her a lot - I went to work in a school far away from home, and used to come home once a month. Each time, the best welcome was from Bambi. She would reproach me for leaving her for so long, and then I would know what love truly was. But she was old - 11 years old - and there came a time when she developed a uterus problem. I was away at school, but took her to the vet each time as soon as I could - he suggested surgery. And no, he couldn't guarantee her survival. But the surgery never happened. One night, Bambi, who was locked in the garage by my father as she would scratch the door (a move that I hated) just died. Just like that. My sister was there. Sick and vomiting on my sister's lap, my dog, my soulmate just left. The what ifs are many but I only know one thing - Bambi was with me for eight months - but love can't be measured in time. I treated her bad, I know. But I hope she knows I loved her. So much so that I cry even as I write this. I hope she will forgive me for those beatings. I hope she knows that she was truly my original soulmate. One day I hope we will meet in a world that makes more sense than the one I inhabit right now. Bambi, my love.

- Thank you Tipsy Tea for sharing that beautiful story

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Image from Daily Camera

The Possessive Cow

I really loved this hilarious story about a cow named Apple chasing off a bear that had climbed into her favourite apple tree. An eye-witness to the incident says that the two animals touched noses for a while before Apple chased the bear off. Apple was upset to see her favourite apple tree being usurped by the bear. She loved to eat apples from there and that’s how she got her weird name too

- From Wistful Vandy

World Animals Day Special

Sam with his mother Antonia - Image from The Brampton Guardian

On the occasion of World Animals Day I have chosen a story that proves animals to be not just the ultimate compassionate companions but also the best sources of healing. Animals are always thought to be savage and wild while humans more cultured and perceptive. But one wonders sometimes if this definition is true. I have found that more often than not its always the other way round. Case in point. Three year old Sam Spiteri who lives in Caledon, Brampton, Ontario will agree with me too. He has been struggling with cerebral palsy, which limits his physical capabilities to a great extent. Three years ago, Sam's parents purchased Emily, a retired pony to give company to Sam and also as a therapeutic measure. Therapeutic horseriding is now beginning to be a popular diversion for children and adults with handicaps, which prevents them from participating in normal muscle building activities. For Sam, Emily was invaluable because his diagnosis as a Spastic Quadrapalegic Cerebral Palsy patient meant that maintaining his balance and gait was an extremely tough job. The most difficult areas to build his developing muscles were the core areas of the body - the torso, the back and the abdomen, which can be developed through riding. Emily is maintained on their one-acre land and the issue now is that the family has received a complaint from a neighbor asking them to remove Emily from the premises. According to Antonia Spiteri, Sam's mother, the town of Caledon informed her that barnyard animals are not allowed to be kept within city limits. She has been given the option of following up with the Town's committee of adjustment, and as long as the family does follow up with the committee, there won't be any action taken as of yet. Readers of my blog will recall and similar incident with Scott and his horse in Hickman, Nebraska. Sometimes animals are not only the best companions but also the most sensible of all too.

Read more about Sam and Emily

What is Therapeutic Horseback Riding?

Information about North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, Inc. (NARHA)

Animal Book of the Week - Two Bobbies

Image from Amazon

This is a book that I haven't personally read but I am really looking forward to. "Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival," written by Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery", has got lovely reviews as a heartwarming story of a cat and a dog who survives Hurrican Katrina. Both the animals got their names from people in the rescue shelter, because both were missing their tails. The dog Bobbi was left chained on the porch when the hurricane struck and Bob Cat apparently stayed with her. Both were rescued after several months and were housed in Celebration Station in Metairie. Being a true story, the survivors have touched more than a chord with young as well as adult readers. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Home page of the Bobbies

Review1 and Review2

Parroting swears

Max-imum curses - Image from The Sun

What do you say when a parrot curses? More often than not you are speechless. Thats pretty much the reaction that Max the African Grey parrot gets when he hurls filthy words at visitors to the zoo where he stays. Max was donated to the zoo by his previous owner after getting thoroughly tired with his vocabulary. The five year old parrot has also learnt to mimic car alarms and mobile phone ringtones. Peter Hansom, the keeper at the zoo in Darlington, Durham, UK, says that the local schoolchildren are the ones who taught Max all the words. Hansom says he has to "hold my breath" when parents with small children in tow come and admire Max. Many times its just an innocent "hello" or "bye" but more often than not its nastier, punctuated with a lot of f*** offs. Max's favorite trick is to stick his head in tin cup in his cage and swear, probably knowing that it makes a louder sound.

That sinking feeling

Chalupa will not take a bath easily again - Image from Digitriad

I couldn't write this week because of this bizarre new system in our workplace, where all the sites that we visit are tracked and sent to the big boss. Ugh. So from now I have to write my posts in the evening :( Anyway here goes today's.

Bathing can become a trauma as Chalupa the chihuahua discovered. What should have been a leisurely bath turned into a troublesome irritation when one of her rear paws got stuck in the kitchen sink drain when her owner was bathing her. Ruth Gallagher who lives in Homer City, Philadelphia, said her daughter was bathing Chalupa when the dog got wedged. Everything from ice to cooking oil to liquid soap was poured down the drain in a rescue efforts but to no avail. Finally they had to turn to the fire department for help, who had to dismantle the entire plumbing system beneath the sink to un-stick Chalupa's paw. It took 30 minutes to dismantle and Gallagher is grateful for their efforts but it may take hours to put the sink back together and Gallagher is on the lookout for a good plumber.