So many great bear photos Celia ... thank you.
Man saves Utah reptile center handler from alligator attack | Daily Mail Online
A Utah reptile center employee is recovering after an alligator yanked her into its enclosure during a presentation at a birthday party, thrashing her around before a fast-acting visitor leapt inside and helped free her from its jaws
Video taken Saturday by a guest shows Donnie Wiseman, 48, (pictured in yellow shirt) jumping into the water and climbing on top of the reptile in an effort to assist the handler
An elusive hunter, believed to be an American man, hunted and struck down Mopane, the head of two lion packs at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe on August 5.
Italian Dogs Trained as Lifeguards Save 20 Lives Every Year
Stories about sled dogs hauling medicine and supplies through the frozen wilderness have become the stuff of legends, but did you know pups are proving just as powerful in the waves as they are on the ice?
SICS on Facebook
In Italy, an elite squadron of 350 specially-trained canines from the Italian School of Water Rescue Dogs (Scuola Italiana Cani Salvataggio, or SICS) has successfully been patrolling the beaches, working as lifeguards.
300 SICS units, consisting of one dog and one trainer, are tasked with watching over approximately 30 of the country’s busiest beaches.
Thanks to their willingness to perform, strength, and fearless exploits—including leaping from helicopters into the surf below to rescue at-risk swimmers—an average of 20-30 lives are saved annually by the doggie guards, and that number continues to climb each year.
Earlier this month, when several families, including eight children, were imperiled by strong wind and wave conditions while 330 feet from shore, three canine lifeguards and their trainers rushed in to save the day.
With the help of their human companions, dogs Eros, Mya, and Mira pulled everyone to safety in about 15 minutes.
The SICS program is the brainchild of 59-year-old Ferruccio Pilenga, who got the idea that dogs would make excellent lifeguards back in 1989 from watching his own Newfoundland, an immensely powerful swimmer named Mas.
“He pulled a water-filled dinghy with three people on board for half an hour,” Pilenga told The Times of London. “A human cannot do that.”
The SICS program is an arduous one. After 18 months of basic training, only those dogs successfully completing the required steps are deemed ready to move on to the more intensive aspects of lifesaving techniques, such as jumping from helicopters and leaping from speeding boats.
SICS teams are recognized for being especially effective in the face of large-scale life or death scenarios. Thanks to their special training, they’re better able to carry out the simultaneous rescue of multiple swimmers in situations where the capabilities of one or two lifeguards might be easily overwhelmed.
“To be able to use a dog in a water rescue mission gives the rescuer a leg up. The rescuer who operates on his own is alone. We are never alone. We are always in a team with our dog so it’s a six-legged unit. I can conserve my energy and become a more effective rescuer,” Plienga told Great Big Story.
“To make [people] understand, I always say, ‘To pull a sled, it takes at least six dogs, to pull six people, you only need one dog.’”
While the success of the program can be partially attributed to the dogs’ acutely attuned survival instincts that help them find the safest route to shore, as well as their stamina and ability to follow commands, Pilenga believes the emotional component they bring to their work cannot be underestimated.
“The presence of the dogs helps to lighten up the situation. The biggest reward is the emotion that the dog and the owner feel at the moment of the rescue, which further unites that special bond between dog and human.”
Italy is currently the only country to recognize certified canine lifeguards, but training centers are being set up for dogs in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, and the Azores, with SICS eager to spread its safety net to encompass wider waters across the world.
A couple who subjected their dog to such 'horrific' neglect that it couldn't see, move or go to the toilet have been allowed to keep their other pets.
Magistrate Lynette Duncan said the poodle's suffering would have been 'significant' and convicted the two owners on charges of ill treatment of an animal
'They had been overwhelmed at the time of the offending due to several tragic events within their family, their own health issues and responsibilities for the care of an adult child with disabilities,' the RSPCA said.
Magistrate Lynette Duncan said the dog's suffering would have been 'significant' and convicted the two owners on charges of ill treatment of an animal.
Both were subject to a $500 good behaviour bond and the court also awarded $548.45 vet costs to the RSPCA.
Australia’s oceans are home to a startling array of biodiversity — whales, dolphins, dugongs and more. But not all components of Aussie marine life are the charismatic sort of animal that can feature in a tourism promotion, documentary, or conservation campaign.
The echiuran, or spoon worm, is one such animal.
ANOTHER HAPPY STORY!
Dog Missing for Weeks Wanders Into Walmart and Finds Owner Working at the Register
You can find a little bit of everything at Walmart from produce and groceries to lingerie, big-screen TVs, and auto parts. For one very lucky mutt, if you know where to look, you can also find your misplaced human friend.
When Abby the dog disappeared in Dothan, Alabama, all she left behind was her collar and an empty tie-out line.
June Rountree and her husband scoured the neighborhood door-to-door, searching for their missing 4-year-old black-and-white fur baby to no avail.
Three weeks passed and there was no sign of Abby, then something extraordinary happened.
June was working the weekend shift at the Walmart register when she heard a rumpus.
Somehow, a dog had gotten loose in the store and was artfully dodging the would-be shoppers and staff trying to corral her as she careened through the various departments.
“I was like, ‘What in the world is happening?’” customer service associate Danielle Robinette told The Washington Post.
When the dog arrived at June’s post, register No. 6, it was clear she wasn’t checking out, she was checking in.
Danielle Robinette/Facebook
Although June could scarcely believe it, the dashing doggo in line with 10 items or less was her long-absent Abby.
“I called her name and she came to me,” Rountree told WaPo. “I bent over and hugged her. I completely lost it then. I couldn’t speak. I was in complete shock and just couldn’t believe it.”
No-one is sure where Abby was for the three weeks she went AWOL, but for a dog that had been on its own three weeks she was in remarkably good shape.
The Rountrees believe someone must have been feeding her even if they were unable to catch her, and they’re truly grateful for that.
There’s also speculation that since June had been with Abby in the Walmart parking lot a few times, the dog might have recognized the location when she happened upon it in her travels.
Whether Abby was prompted to brave the superstore’s threshold in search of food, shelter, or something else is anyone’s guess, but we’d like to think the canny canine followed her hunting instincts on a hunch that June would be inside.
While we’re not sure what aisle Walmart generally stocks happy reunions on, we think it’s safe to say when Abby left the store to go home with her mom, she was one pawsomely satisfied customer.
Poor fish, spent all its life to go to this area to lay her eggs and it gets this!
She looks frightened too. I would be!