Dogs Rescued from Hurricane Isaac

The ASPCA and other rescue groups have been working hard this week to save dogs, cats and other animals in the path of Hurricane Isaac. A particularly dramatic rescue took place at the Humane Society of South Mississippi, where 27 homeless dogs, such as Ace, were transported from Gulfport, Miss., to the Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

http://tinyurl.com/cgwed9p

British Boy Stumbles Upon Extremely Valuable Whale Vomit

One whale's trash is an 8-year-old boy's treasure. Charlie Naysmith was walking along the beach at Hengistbury Head in southern Britain when he picked up a large object that looked and felt like a stone. As it turned out, that object was actually a piece of ambergris, a substance which is regurgitated by sperm whales. Ambergris is used to prolong the scent of perfume, and therefore is extremely valuable. The vomit, which weighs a little more than one pound, could be worth as much as $63,000.

http://tinyurl.com/cj4bsey

8 Ways Dogs Improve Your Health

Canines can work medical wonders, from easing the side effects of chemotherapy to helping army veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder A dog is man's best friend in the most ordinary situations, but it's when you're down and out that your canine partner really comes through in the clutch. 

http://tinyurl.com/cwfys98

Lincoln Park Zoo Welcomes New Addition, Puts Name To A Vote

Lincoln Park Zoo staff are seeing stripes after welcoming the newest addition to Chicago's animal kingdom. Early Thursday, five-year-old Grevy's zebra Adia gave birth to a male foal, her second offspring with six-year-old male Grevy's zebra Clayton, according to a release. Grevy's zebras have particularly long gestational periods, so animal care staffers have been awaiting the foal's arrival for more than a year.

http://tinyurl.com/94n59z5

New Rat Species Is Nearly Toothless

A new species of rat that has practically no teeth has been discovered. But no worries, the rat hardly needs them since it feeds on a diet of soft earthworms. The rat, dubbed Paucidentomys vermidax, is a type of shrew rat that lives on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. 

http://tinyurl.com/8rpr5cy

Tiny Animals Slideshow

A look at some of our planet's tiniest creatures.

http://tinyurl.com/8t9ndcb

Help Your Overweight Pet Slim Down

It's one thing to point out problems, and quite another to offer solutions. When it comes to trimming excess weight off America's pets, we veterinarians have gotten tougher about pointing out the problem. Now it's time to step up and offer solutions.

http://tinyurl.com/9ya4bmg

The Truth About Cats: They're Good For Us

News headlines over the past few years have linked cat ownership to everything from cancer to craziness, but new studies suggest that cats are actually beneficial to human health, and may even reduce our risk for cancer and other diseases.

http://tinyurl.com/8ukxpe8

Video: Gorilla Brothers Reunited And It Feels So Good

Two Silverback gorilla brothers, 13-year old Kesho and 9-year old Alf, were reunited at a Longleat Safari park in the U.K. after spending three long years apart. Upon seeing each other, the brothers greeted each other with a gorilla-sized hug. Before they were separated, Kesho and Alf both lived at the Dublin zoo, but eventually, Kesho had to part ways with his little brother in order to carry on the gorilla name.

http://tinyurl.com/8mkoyux

Video: Baby Elephant Named Anchali Welcomed At Berlin Zoo

The Berlin Zoo is celebrating the arrival of an elephant calf named Anchali, which means "greeting" in Thai. The 350-pound calf made her public debut on Wednesday, much to the delight of the big crowds who turned out to see her. Zoo staff members are doing everything they can to protect Anchali from a common elephant virus that has already led to the deaths of three elephant calves at the same zoo.

http://tinyurl.com/9qcylpb

Hook-Legged Spider Found In Oregon Cave

A group of cave explorers and scientists have made a rare discovery:  an entirely new taxonomic family of spider in the caves of southern Oregon. Only two other spider families (the taxonomic group above both genus and species) have been found since 1990, and this is the first newly discovered, native one uncovered in North America since 1890, said California Academy of Sciences researcher Charles Griswold, lead author of the study that described the species. 

http://tinyurl.com/cbgd54c

Video: 19 Dogs Fetching Beer On YouTube

A long time ago, a man (probably) was sitting on a couch (probably) and had a thought: "If my dog can fetch tennis balls, why not a beer?" Lo and behold, the Internet was flooded with videos of dogs fetching beers for their masters. To think: an actually USEFUL pet trick!

http://tinyurl.com/cx7m82m

Video: Kangaroo And Lemur Play Tag

If you hate cute animals you should probably just turn off your computer now, because you don't belong on the Internet. Here we have two cute animals being extra cute. A kangaroo named Bug and a lemur named Lolli are playing tag in this backyard sanctuary. 

http://tinyurl.com/cy2co5h

Sharks Get Worry-Free Tans

Even sharks can get a tan. Sharks' skin turns from dark brown to black as the pigment melanin increases in direct response to radiation. In other fish, the exposure can lead to skin cancer. Sharks, however, just seem to tan. What's their secret? The answer could hold the key to preventing skin disease in humans.

http://tinyurl.com/8m4dczs

Shark Teeth Have Built-in Toothpaste

An in-depth look at shark teeth has found that they contain fluoride, the active ingredient of most toothpaste and dental care mouthwashes. It helps to explain why sharks are so effective at either tearing or cutting prey. Their teeth are perfectly designed for such tasks, never suffering from cavities, according to the study, recently published in the Journal of Structural Biology.

http://tinyurl.com/ck5epnu

Video: Great White Slam Dance

This great white shark wants in. When an 18-foot great white shark named Curly "slam dances" on top of a shark cage, how long can it keep her out? 

http://tinyurl.com/8mwvruj

Video: Cat Escapes From Dog With Surprise Leap Onto Surfboard

In this video, a house cat makes a daring escape from a dog chasing it through a backyard. At the beginning of the video, a male narrator appears to be taking video of his property when he catches the animal chase unfolding in real time.

http://tinyurl.com/9jsva6a

Olympic Horse Used Stem Cell Therapy

Ravel, a horse competing at the 2012 London Olympics, underwent stem cell therapy treatment that helped heal a possibly career-ending injury to one of his legs, according to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in California. Ravel, a regular client of Rodrigo Vazquez of Equine Surgical Services at the center, is believed to be the first Olympian to benefit from a stem cell-based treatment. Ravel is now the highest scoring horse on Team USA at the Olympics.

http://tinyurl.com/97h4jts

Cuteness Motherlode: Orphaned Kangaroo And Baby Wombat Are Best Mates

Could this possibly be the plot for a new Disney film? Anzac, a five-month old kangaroo, found himself alone after his mother was hit by car just north of Melbourne, Australia. Even though Anzac was with his mother when the incident took place, the pouch he was tuckered into kept him safe and sound. When rescuers found the little joey, they figured the young orphan would need a friend to grow up with, so they brought him to the Wildlife Kilmore Rescue Center and introduced him to another lonely orphan, Peggy, a five-month old wombat, whose mother was also killed by a car.

http://tinyurl.com/cs2s29o

Video: Baby Hedgehog Take A Nap

Hedgehogs have somehow become a pop culture animal, with video games and internet memes popping up around them. This is completely separate. This seven-day-old hedgehog was simply sleepy. 

http://tinyurl.com/cqmcq87

Smithsonian National Zoo's Cheetah Cubs Named For Olympic Sprinters

The results are in! The Smithsonian National Zoo's two cheetah cubs have been named for the fastest male and female American sprinters from the 100-meter race in the London 2012 Olympics this past weekend. The 3-month-old cubs will be named Carmelita and Justin after Carmelita Jeter and Justin Gatlin. On Saturday, Aug. 4, Jeter ran the 100-meter sprint in 10.78 seconds, winning her the silver medal. Gatlin ran the men's 100-meter on Sunday in 10.64 seconds, taking the bronze medal.

http://tinyurl.com/bodbj3w

Service Animals Helping Troubled GIs Adjust

The newest addition to Josh and Lori Hufty's home doesn't pass judgment when the man of the house has nightmares or is having a bad day. It's with unconditional love that Kane, a 4-year-old purebred German shepherd, spends almost every waking hour with Hufty. "He gives me a set of ears that is 100 percent nonjudgmental," said Hufty, 35, a veteran of nearly 15 years in the Marine Corps who was discharged in 2010 due to post-traumatic stress disorder. He told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill (http://on.cpsj.com/MlELzb) that Kane "never calls me an idiot or says I'm doing weird things. He just sits there and listens. In the worst-case scenario, he just wants a pet."

http://tinyurl.com/c3zp8wf

Nothing to Sneeze At: Cats Worse Than Dogs for Allergies

If you have pet allergies, chances are it is Fluffy rather than Fido that's making you sneeze. While an estimated 10 percent of people are allergic to household pets, cat allergies are twice as common as dog allergies, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Among children, about one in seven between ages 6 and 19 prove to be allergic to cats. Contrary to popular belief, it's not cat fur that causes those itchy, watery eyes. Most people with cat allergies react to a protein found on cat skin called Fel d 1.

http://tinyurl.com/cymo2h3

Family Reunited With Rare Cat

A Chicago family that lost their rare cat while vacationing in San Diego, Calif., has been found and returned to the family. The Foscos said a family from the La Jolla section of San Diego found their cat, Ivy, on July 29, about three miles from where it was first reported missing, according to ABC News affiliate KGTV. The Foscos says the cat's microchip led him to being properly identified. Ivy went missing July 17 when the Foscos were visiting the San Diego area. In a hurry to find their cat, they offered a $5,000 reward and hired a bloodhound team from Los Angeles to sniff out the cat. 

http://tinyurl.com/cat4ucg

Pets May Help Kids With Autism Develop Social Skills

Introducing a pet into the home of a child with autism may help that child develop improved social behaviors, new research finds. The study, from French researchers, is the first strong scientific evidence that animals may help foster social skills in individuals with autism, but it also reinforces what clinicians have been hearing anecdotally for years. "We hear from parents a lot that having a pet or interacting with an animal really helps their child's social behavior, but there hasn't been a study so far that has looked at that scientifically," said Alycia Halladay, director of environmental research at Autism Speaks. "This offers some intriguing evidence to confirm what parents have been saying."

http://tinyurl.com/c7fzfjr

L.A. Bear Who Became Twitter Star Back in Wild

A bear which became a minor star in Los Angeles, with over 24,000 Twitter followers, was returned to the wild Sunday after being found asleep in a tree, officials said. The bear was nicknamed "Glen Bearian" after the Glendale neighborhood where he had become a regular visitor, with residents posting pictures taken on cellphones. Others called him Meatball. The Los Angeles Times wrote about him Friday, calling him a "social phenomenon" who had built up an affectionate following via his Twitter persona, created by a local resident and embraced by thousands of others.

http://tinyurl.com/6w6cdfu