Links: No Goat Left Behind

And finally: Jump Ball(oon)

More high-flying fun at Cooper and Emma on Instagram. Thanks, Faye!

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23 thoughts on “Links: No Goat Left Behind

  1. Jendeyan October 20, 2017 / 8:36 am

    That brave dog. He saved the goats and some deer. It’s like an animated movie come to life. Seriously, someone should animate this story.

  2. Blue Footed Booby October 20, 2017 / 8:51 am

    One of my neighbors used to drive a truck for Fedex. She was making a stop and this silly little fluffy dog hopped into the truck and sat down, like “where we goin?” He didn’t have a collar, tags, or a microchip, so she had a new dog.

    When I was moving into my place, this dog got out, saw my open door, ran inside, and commenced exploring. I looked at him and said “buddy, it’s no wonder you got lost.”

    Tl;dr: dogs are great

    • Jendeyan October 20, 2017 / 10:23 am

      Sounds like a great dog. There’s no friend like a friendly dog.

  3. allein ? October 20, 2017 / 9:49 am

    The fact that there is a whole facebook page for UPS dogs makes me happy.

    PS Mike you spelled my name wrong. ๐Ÿ™

  4. Emsthemonster October 20, 2017 / 10:20 am

    Awesome links as always.

    Today I maxed out being a crazy cat lady: I caught a mouse in my office ๐Ÿ™‚ Poor mousie must have been ill/poisoned already otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to catch it barehanded.
    My cats should be proud of me!

    • Jendeyan October 20, 2017 / 10:26 am

      The accountants upstair in my office building caught a mouse. I heard about it and begged them to let me set it free. I scooped him up in a paper cup and drove him to a wooded area far enough away and let him go.

      You know, I have a video. I’m gonna submit it to Mike. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of that before now.

  5. debg October 20, 2017 / 10:49 am

    Let’s hear it for Odin the dog–what a hero!

    And pix of shower-loving Meepo had me in hysterics.

    I would like to play balloon with those two puppers.

  6. Claire October 20, 2017 / 12:17 pm

    Excellent batch of links! Odin the dog’s story had me crying at work. And the animal behaviorist in that story about wolf puppies is just awesome! I wanna be like her.

  7. Duckie ? October 20, 2017 / 12:53 pm

    Rant alert:
    I’m sorry, but the wolf story really hurt. As cute as the pups were, the story made me angry. Not the fault of anyone here.
    All I can think of is how much money went into this study to see why wolves and dogs are different. We are inundated daily with stories of the homeless, people whose lives have been destroyed by disasters, sickness, war or greed, and someone wants to know why wolves and dogs differ.
    In the past two months or so, Mike has very kindly posted two GoFundMe stories: one for a human, and one for a dog. Both were for medical reasons. Guess which being received help.
    Don’t get me wrong, I love animals. We need them. But it hurts me to see money going for unnecessary studies, money that should be used to alleviate suffering. Even for animals. How much was spent on this, that could have gone to helping? A man in my town lost his home this summer. He set up camp on the corner of a major intersection, begging for help. And what happened? They took his two cats away, because he could not give them ‘proper shelter’. No one knows what happened to him, but his cats got a new home. It was reported in the paper.
    I’m sorry for going on like this, but I see these as useless studies. I’m sorry, Allein, if it sounds like I’m criticizing your submission. I’m not. I just…
    Rant over.

    • Laura October 20, 2017 / 3:14 pm

      I must admit that I don’t get as upset about wolf studies as others because while wolves have been decimated in so many wilderness areas, they’re learning that if the wolves return, they end up restoring the balance of wildlife and that restores the entire wilderness area, top to bottom! Wolves are *critically* important to maintaining a healthy wilderness. So it’s important to learn more about them.

      Yes, people can get ridiculously gooey about animals; but we can’t ignore them, either, if we want to have a healthy world. And pets can be just as important to people’s health as wild animals are to the health of wilderness areas. I see so many PTSD patients recovering thanks to their pet.

      I’m sorry for the man in your town. But we have to maintain a perspective on human vs. animal. We can’t completely sacrifice pets *or* wild animals just for the human world.

    • Faye October 20, 2017 / 3:57 pm

      Duckie, flip the wolf story around a bit… they also want to learn more about the window of time that lets dog puppies bond with humans and where the dna is and why that capacity is not exhibited in wolves.

      Knowing more about how to nurture great dogs like Odin, for example, is a great benefit to humans.

      What is sad is that it is easier to study another species than to make more of our own more compassionate towards their fellows. Of course humans should be spending more money helping other humans. Wolf study or not there is more than enough money to take care of everyone if we changed more peopleโ€™s greed into compassion.

      What happened to the man in your town is horrible. Thatโ€™s a people problem pure and simple. Iโ€™m sorry that happened let alone that you had to even see it. Very traumatizing.

    • Duckie ? October 20, 2017 / 7:22 pm

      I do not deny the need for research, and thank you for not jumping down my throat.
      I just wish that some of these programs seemed more rational, I guess, is what I mean to say. However, Laura and Faye, you do provide another perspective, and it is appreciated.

      • Laura October 20, 2017 / 7:58 pm

        We don’t jump down throats here, Duckie; the rest of the internet may do that, but this is a very safe space where we can disagree without being disagreeable. That’s due to Mike’s wonderful influence, I’m sure!

        But you also made a valid point, one i often make myself under other circumstances: we in the U.S. do a really terrible job of taking care of our own people in the areas of food, health, and a roof over their heads. It breaks my heart on a regular basis with stories like yours.

        But that makes laughing over cute and silly animals even more important! We need Cute to help us maintain a good attitude and treat everyone with respect in our own lives. Maybe it will spread!

        • Duckie ? October 20, 2017 / 8:26 pm

          Amen.

          • Faye October 20, 2017 / 9:06 pm

            Hugs Duckie. No throat jumping. I promise.

        • Kar October 21, 2017 / 12:27 am

          My father frequently vents that our pets get better health care than 90% of the world’s human population.

          Yet this is the guy who nearly punched out the vet when she told him that it was time to put his cat to sleep, they couldn’t help him anymore.

          Luckily he just yelled at her and walked out of the room until he calmed down.

    • Kar October 21, 2017 / 12:23 am

      I found it fascinating.

      There have been other stories about bonding with other canine breeds, how long it takes to imprint etc.

      I file these sort of thing under Anthropology or Forensic Archaeology. They’re trying in part to understand how and how long it took to domesticate ancient canines back in prehistoric days. What constraints, benefits on both side, etc.

      Then again, I’m a history nerd and love to hear about finding domesticated corn in ancient Jerico or how African gold traveled to Norseland, Celtic tribes in the Chinese deserts, American tobacco & turquoise in Egyptian tombs, British glass in ancient Egypt, and tracing Australian Aborigines genetically through Southern India.

      • allein ? October 21, 2017 / 12:43 am

        Heh, me too. When I sent the wolf story to Mike I suggested it could be the start of Cutetropolis Universtiy. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  8. fkaWaldenPond October 20, 2017 / 3:59 pm

    It looks like Meepo is being showered on the toilet. (??)

    • Laura October 20, 2017 / 8:01 pm

      Maybe they have a “wet” bathroom, which is common in many parts of the world. I know they have them in Japan and India, where the whole bathing room is designed to get wet.

      • Smartypants October 20, 2017 / 8:22 pm

        Yes, that’s how it looks to me – they seem to be somewhere in Asia.

        Also, if that’s a standard size toilet lid he’s sitting on…he’s gigantic! Love him in the shower cap.

  9. allein ? October 20, 2017 / 9:23 pm

    Okay, I just watched the video in the Meepo article. Love the full-body mohawk!

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