My mission when I went to New Orleans? Hold a baby gator.

Crossing that one off the bucket list. 

Getting personal for a minute here.

This is Addy. She is my best friend. I chose her (she chose me) at a shelter last year in March. Though I had not been planning to get a dog until that summer, I had to have her. She had heart-worm and was horrifyingly skinny when I got her. Now she is a healthy 50lb pup who struts around like she owns the place. 

My Dad passed away over the summer. He had been sick for a long time, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch him suffer. Needless to say I’m still trying to figure out how to make life feel normal again. I’ve felt stuck in this unproductive rut, and just want to figure out how to make myself motivated and happy. I decided the best way to do this was to set a goal- find something that *I* want to do, something that will make me happy. 

Now here’s where these two things come together. I’ve found myself recently very interested in therapy dogs. Having felt first hand the emotional relief a dog gives you, and having watched my dog sit with my Dad (who refused to admit he loved her) when he was sick really reinforced this mindset that dogs have an incredible ability to help. I’ve now decided I want to become a therapy dog partner team with Addy. It’s going to be a long process. Though she’s incredibly well behaved most of the time and sweet as can be (I have no doubt she’ll be an amazing therapy dog), we have a lot to work on training wise before I can even consider having her evaluated. 

So this is my new goal, and everyone knows you’re more likely to follow through if you tell people- so here goes nothing!

Catfish… who knew?

The kiwi is the only bird which uses both sets of ovaries. Other birds only use either the right or the left side. 

Did you know: over 10 pigs played Babe because the little guys kept growing out of the part!

A recent study shows that the lights on fireflies may not be for mating purposes as previously thought. This study stated that male fireflies have a certain chemical that makes predators avoid them. The females will flash their light to attack the male, and then eat the male so that she then has the protective chemical. 

Rare White Penguin! Despite pigment issues, this bird is perfectly healthy. They’re so rare because they usually get picked off young by predators. As you can see, they don’t blend very well. 

I’ve been volunteering at Second Chance Animal Shelter in MA since I was a senior in high school. The past two summers I’ve had internships there working with the techs and vet through their low cost spay and neuter program. It’s a (very) small shelter, but has many great programs that help animals everywhere. As a small shelter and a non-profit organization, it’s not always easy. They’re currently part of a competition with other shelters in the area to receive more funding. 

So if you have a moment, you should go to this website: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3&link=ctg_ars_shelterchallenge_from_ourprojects

You click to donate, and one of their sponsors donates a bowl of food to a shelter per click. Once you’re through that you can vote for Second Chance (or any participating shelter). It only takes a minute and you can do it once a day if you want! :)

without a gassy puppy sitting half on me. In the ongoing argument of cats vs. dogs I’ll have to give cats a point for not farting nearly as much (if at all) compared to dogs. 

I am so sick of people going on about something they don’t really know about. Everyone is all up in arms about the lift on the ban of horse slaughter in the United States. Now I understand where they’re coming from- we all think of horses as pets. The idea of slaughtering them for food is icky (especially since we don’t eat them in our country). However, while everyone is going on about animal welfare and humane treatment of horses, no one seems to be paying attention to the current situation. 

Horses ownership varies with the economy. Suddenly everyone who previously bought horses can’t afford them anymore. So what do people do with them?

1. Release them into the wild- This is inhumane because horses are not equipped to survive in the wold.

2. Let them starve to death- I don’t think I need to explain why this one is inhumane.

3. Ship them down to Mexico to be slaughtered there- Mexico does not have humane slaughtering laws. No one knows what happens to them once they’re there, not to mention the travel stresses them out.

4. Euthanizing them- This is obviously the most humane method. I personally think killing a perfectly healthy animal because you can’t afford to keep it is very sad, but such is life I guess?

My point in all this is horse slaughterhouses in the US, though sad, is really a much better option for a lot of these animals. I don’t mind if people disagree with me on the issue, but they should at least know what they’re talking about.