Thoughts from the Wild

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And the Award for Best Canine Actor Goes to…

February 22, 2018

As the red carpet unfurls for this year’s Academy Awards (aka the Oscars), once again a hot topic will be “Who was snubbed?” Every year, movie lovers argue about who was left out of the big night. But not too many people will debate about one group of scene-stealers who are perennially overlooked: acting dogs. …

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Need Therapy? The Cat Will See You Now

November 30, 2017

When it comes to helping people, dogs get all the glory. It’s not hard to find awwww-inspiring photos of dogs helping vision-impaired people across the street, warning owners of an upcoming seizure or dutifully carrying the newspaper to the disabled. But what about therapy cats? Do cats just lack the altruism gene? Did their reputation …

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What Happened to Pets in the Path of the 2017 Hurricanes?

November 9, 2017

During the summer of 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Marie and Nate hurled their way into the southern coasts one after another. For a single hurricane season, it was the greatest number of storms to make U.S. landfall in more than a decade. Thousands of people were displaced, and many temporary housing facilities simply couldn’t accommodate …

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Cancer-Sniffing Dogs Are the Best Medicine

July 20, 2017

The dog was obsessed with a mole on his person’s leg. The mixed breed constantly sniffed at the blemish — even when the woman wore pants — and eventually tried to bite it off. Although the woman wasn’t particularly concerned about the mole, her dog’s persistence convinced her to seek her doctor’s opinion. As it …

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Virtual Vets: Taking Health Care Online

June 15, 2017

The pervasiveness of smartphones, webcams and the internet has made face-to-face communication from remote locations commonplace, if not mundane. Even, to some degree, when the other face is sporting a white lab coat. In human health, telemedicine has not only gained traction, it’s breaking records. Which raises the question, can virtual veterinarians be far behind? …

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Urban Search & Rescue Dogs Risk Lives to Save Lives

April 20, 2017

Every time a natural or not-so-natural disaster makes headlines, you can bet that urban search and rescue dogs (USAR) are quietly at work behind the scenes. From Ground Zero and Hurricane Katrina to tornadoes in Oklahoma, floods in Colorado, mudslides in Washington and even earthquakes in Haiti, these trained rescue dogs have applied their noses …

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Do You Have a Disaster Plan for Your Pets?

March 2, 2017

You don’t even want to think about it. But fires, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters do happen, and you need to think ahead to protect your family. But be sure to make those forward-thinking thoughts include your pets. What if you need to evacuate? Many evacuation shelters can’t take pets, and you don’t …

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Pet Cloning Comes of Age

September 8, 2016

Human cloning may be banned, but that hasn’t stopped the sale of gag cloning kits. One kit, for example, promises you can “be the first one on your block to be the second one on your block.” Although it sounds far-fetched, genetic preservation is no longer a joke. In fact, multiple companies now offer cloning …

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