Welcome to my blog.
All in Animal Companions
This week marks 15 years of service by Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street. The 19-year-old tabby has served at the pleasure of six prime ministers, ostensibly as the official ratter but more practically as the welcoming face of the UK government.
A cockatiel named Sonny has just celebrated his 33rd birthday, cementing his position as the world’s oldest. The old bird – who has experienced more than double the lifespan of your average cockatiel – was recognized last year by Guiness World Records.
The results of the 150th Westminster Dog Show are in, and the coveted Best In Show award goes to Penny, a 4-year-old Doberman pinscher. Penny had to triumph over 3000 other dogs representing 202 breeds to win top honors.
A pet shop that opened last summer in Portland, Oregon has come up with a surefire way to pack the store with customers: snake yoga classes in the lobby. HISSS, a reptile shop that sells snakes, lizards, and arachnids, pitches serpentine yoga as a way to “uncoil your body and quiet your mind.”
A short-haired tortoiseshell cat named Flossie turned 30 years old this week, extending her Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest living cat. Born on December 29, 1995, Flossie was officially recognized as the world’s oldest feline by Guinness in 2022, just before her 27th birthday. She’s still going strong.
“Smart, courageous and determined” is how the American Kennel Club describes the Basset Fauve de Bretagne, a dog breed now recognized by the AKC, meaning the small hunting dog will be able to compete in shows.
French singer-songwriter Plumes has the best gigs. Equipped with his brilliant pink acoustic guitar, he travels to farms, sanctuaries, and zoos to serenade cows, horses, parrots, and any other species willing to hear him play folk-pop. His videos capturing the curious reactions of animals on TikTok and elsewhere have gone viral worldwide.
At least 500 people attended a beloved cat’s funeral last week in Kinokawa, Japan. The 15-year-old calico named Nitama had been the “feline train stationmaster” at Kishi station on the local rail line since 2015.
It has long been thought that cats began to bond with humans around 10,000 years ago and that our love affair with felines arose in the same part of the world, the Levant. New research is upending both of those notions.
New York lawyer James Sexton wants to protect the interests of the most vulnerable parties involved in divorce court: the pets. To that end he’s offering legally binding prenuptial agreements to safeguard the interests of furry and feathered household members on his platform TrustedPetnup.
Marine scientists who study orcas have been busy. They’ve seen the killer whales wearing fish as a fashion statement, using kelp to exfoliate, and of course harassing yachtsmen, just to be jerks. Now comes news that the apex predators are engaging in more altruistic behavior: they’re bringing us gifts.
A 70-year-old Egyptian man traveling on a tourist visa attempted to smuggle more than 100 pounds of undeclared food in his luggage as he entered the country at Dulles International Airport. That was bad, but the man, Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, made matters much worse when he kicked the dog that had sniffed out his contraband, a 5-year-old beagle named Freddie.
A New York judge this week ruled that dogs can be treated as members of a person’s “immediate family” and as such, a dog’s family can sue for emotional damages if the dog is harmed.
Caldwell Cigar Company has just released a new line of smokes they’re calling “Lost & Found Give A F*CK.” It sounds aggressive but they’re not trying to scare aware customers, they’re actually helping out homeless pet owners.
The first, and perhaps only, corgi to become a canine cop is based in Weifang, Shandong province in eastern China. The 1 ½ year old short-legged dog named Fuzai will do anything for food treats, for good or ill.
If a movie has both Bill Murray and a gigantic dog in it, it’s got to be a comedy, right? Definitely not, if we’re talking about “The Friend,” a 2024 film about life, death, and grief. Murray plays Walter, a big-deal writer in New York who commits suicide, leaving behind three ex-wives, a couple of girlfriends, and a great dane called Apollo.
A 4-year-old named Juno outran a field of 16 to win the Musselburgh Racecourse Corgi Derby in East Lothian, Scotland. The Easter Sunday event, now in its fourth year, attracts corgis from all over the greater Edinburgh area.
A volcano near Anchorage is expected to erupt soon, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Elevated levels of volcanic gas emissions, increased earthquake activity, and ground deformations all point to the likelihood that Mount Spurr, about 80 miles west of the capital, will blow its stack in the coming weeks or months.
In December 2023, marine biologists in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf came upon an unusual sight: an octopus riding on the back of a shark. The team was looking for “workups,” or feeding frenzies, according to University of Auckland professor Rochelle Constantine.
It took Guinness World Records several months of counting, but finally it’s official: last fall the German town of Regensburg hosted the largest gathering of dachshunds ever. An estimated 897 of the long-eared, stump-legged wieners paraded through the medieval town while their humans marched alongside, many dressed in festive top hats and lederhosen.
