Loyal Dog Clings To Side Of Ambulance With Friend Inside

This pooch really went the distance to make sure his owner was going to be OK.  After experiencing some dizziness, J.R. Nicholson, an 85-year-old rancher from Mason, Texas, was rushed to the hospital late last month, ABC News reported. Little did he know, his faithful furry friend, Buddy, wasn't planning on leaving his side.  A motorist spotted the dog on the side step of the ambulance as it was en route to the hospital, and flagged down the driver. The pup, who was immediately brought into the vehicle after the sighting, had been clinging on for 15 - 21 miles and was thankfully unharmed, according to the outlet.

http://tinyurl.com/ngsmja4

Meet 10 Species Newly Threatened By Extinction

The latest tally of who’s who on the endangered species list includes a few newcomers that we’re responsible for putting there.  Thanks to our love of sushi, the Pacific bluefin tuna, the Chinese pufferfish, and the American eel have all moved closer to the extinction designation on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species.  About a third of the world’s 76,199 known species appear on the Red List.

http://tinyurl.com/kmf76aa

Cat Lovers Demanding NYC Shelters Stop Killing Strays

Cat lovers across the globe have their claws out for Mayor Bill de Blasio, demanding that he stop the city’s Animal Care & Control shelters from killing stray felines.  “He is doing nothing,” former Italian Sen. Carla Rocchi, who heads an animal-rights group in her country, fumed to The Post on Sunday. “He has the power to immediately stop the massacre because AC&C is under his government.”

http://tinyurl.com/o7tyoen

Video: Baby Elephant Fought Off 14 Lions

Here’s a video of lions attacking an elephant that you won’t soon forget.  We’re guessing the elephant won’t forget it either.  In footage shot by journalists in Zambia’s Chinzombo Camp, a one-year-old elephant fends off attack after attack from a pack of 14 lions—charging, kicking, and stomping its way to safety.  At one point, three lionesses are draped on the back of the elephant, which plunges into a nearby river to shake off its pursuers. The baby had apparently wandered away from its mother and herd, and the pack of lions descended on it.

http://tinyurl.com/qglmcpw

What PETA Really Stands For

I am you, only different.  Human beings create temporary and arbitrary boundaries to exclude beings who aren’t like them. Human beings have justified wars, slavery, sexual violence, and military conquests through the mistaken belief that those who are “different” do not experience suffering and are not worthy of moral consideration.These boundaries change throughout history, and we’re horrified now to recall the abuse inflicted on others once classified as outsiders: the extermination of Jewish people by the Nazis, the enslavement of African people by American plantation owners, and the slaughter of Christian people for entertainment by Roman centurions.

http://tinyurl.com/mvzen59

Nature’s Most Incredible Creatures

A Sri Lankan leopard in Slovakia’s Bratislava Zoo uses a wooden post to relieve an itch. The Sri Lankan leopard is endangered in its home country, with no subpopulation of the species larger than 250 individuals. It is one of eight recognized subspecies of leopard—the smallest of the “big cats.”

http://tinyurl.com/lwhrzw7

Video: How Your Cat Sees The World

The vast majority of cat behavior can be attributed to cats being total jerks who know there's plenty they can get away with because of how cute they are.  But some of their weird habits are probably just because they see the world very differently than we do. At least, we hope there's an explanation for why they find hair ties to be so endlessly fascinating.

http://tinyurl.com/m5eefrp

Adventurous Feline Isn't Afraid to Get His Paws Wet

A British veterinary nurse believes she can teach cats to swim, in a hydrotherapy routine used to treat animals struggling with muscle therapy and blood flow.  Nurse Polly Noviss, 30, showed off her orange cat Roy and his swimming skills, as a prototype for a swimming instruction she’d like to bring to felines in need of physical therapy.  A soggy Roy was pictured in a swimming pool, outfitted with a custom cat-sized life vest that includes a handle so he can be quickly placed into or removed from the pool.

http://tinyurl.com/o4snar6

Video: Porcupine Fends Off 17 Lions

Now this is something you don't see every day: a porcupine defending itself from not one, not two, but 17 lions.  The incredible nighttime spectacle was caught on video by Luc Beaumont, a guide at the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. The porcupine can be seen using its quills to ward off 13 lionesses and four male lions at the reserve.  "As a guide I have a bucket list of various sightings that I dream of seeing," Beaumont wrote in a blog post about the unusual encounter. "The more time I spend in the bush, the more amazing things I have seen over the years, the more outrageous my bucket list seems to become. A few nights ago, I managed to tick one major sighting off my bucket list that I have been hoping, dreaming and imagining for many years."

http://tinyurl.com/q6jt442

Meet Six of the Military Dogs to Be Honored on Veterans Day

Popular adages may promise every dog its day, but the sad reality is canines that serve in the US military — sniffing out bombs, mines and other explosive devices — aren’t even guaranteed return transport after multiple tours of duty overseas.  Often, they are left behind with new owners abroad when their handlers return home.  “The dogs and these veterans work side by side. To separate them, I think, is a crime,” says Lois Pope, a longtime veterans advocate who began lobbying last year to return all four-legged defenders to the states for adoption by the servicement with whom they’d bonded.

http://tinyurl.com/ogpudnn

Donkey Rescued From Manhole

What an ass!  A donkey in Switzerland got stuck in a manhole, and authorities needed over an hour to free the poor creature.  Pratteln resident Urs Meyer was surprised when he first spotted the lodged donkey as he walked his dog nearby.  “My initial reaction was it was a stuffed toy, but then I saw it move its ears and shake its head, and [I] realized it was real,” he told Central European News. “I don’t know how the manhole cover ended up being moved but the donkey had clearly fallen inside and was stuck there.”

http://tinyurl.com/q6zcf76

Meet 3 Animals Who Saved Human Children

The new book “Unlikely Heroes: 37 Inspiring Stories of Courage and Heart from the Animal Kingdom” (Workman) will have you looking at dogs, cats, seals, horses and even cows in a different light.  Author Jennifer S. Holland shares unexpected stories of heroism and empathy, from a horse who protects his owner from a pit bull, to a hippo who rescues a wildebeest from drowning.

http://tinyurl.com/njkqlol