1. When Athena D'Amato decided to book an appointment for her Aussiedoodle, Broui, to see an animal communicator, it was supposed to be a fun activity for her husband and dog to do together. But after the session in 2022, the Toronto resident said she realized the animal communicator — otherwise known as a pet psychic — had much more to offer. D'Amato said pet psychic Angel Morgan told her that it really bothered Broui when they left him alone at home without telling him where they were going, and that he needed to know how long they would be gone. While it all may be hard for some to believe, there seems to be increasing demand for pet psychic services across Canada and the United States, even with rates as high as $500 for a house call and sometimes months-long waitlists. (via CBC)
2. BarkBox, the service that assembles and ships care packages for dogs to millions of subscribers each month, is expanding into a new market: pet-friendly charter flights. This spring, the company will begin transporting dogs (and their owners) on private planes via Bark Air. Starting on May 23, Bark Air will fly weekly between Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., and Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles. The following week, it will kick off bimonthly service between Westchester and London Stansted Airport. Reservations at dogsflyfirst.com will go live Thursday, on National Pet Day. The one-way cross-country flight costs $6,000 for one dog and one owner; the transatlantic flight goes for $8,000. By comparison, for the same date as the launch, nonstop air on a major carrier starts at $220 one way from New York to Los Angeles and from $525 to London. (via The Washington Post)
3. Could rodent-killing dogs help make a dent in Boston’s flourishing rat population? Unique Pest Management, based in the Washington DC area, believes its pest-exterminating canines would be effective. The company’s specially-trained Patterdale terriers dogs sniff out rats and eliminate them. Founders Scott and Angie Mullaney visit the Boston area monthly with their dogs to serve clients and educate people about the rodent removal technique. “Our current record is 88 rats in three hours,” said Scott Mullaney. “We use them for detection. We use them for reduction. We also use the dogs to harass the rats off a property.” The strategy has been used in Cambridge and other cities and towns across the northeast. (via Boston 25 News)
4. The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is arguably the most majestic cat species found throughout Europe. Its domain on the continent is wide, but evidence of its existence within human culture is usually found in the form of claws and pelts—likely tokens and garments possessed by ancient peoples. However, a new archeological study details a truly strange burial—dating around the fifth or sixth century CE—that includes four dogs and lynx. In addition to being odd, it’s the only complete archeological lynx skeleton ever found in Europe. (via Popular Mechanics)
5. In 1997, a forensic examiner in Berlin reported one of his more unusual cases in the journal Forensic Science International. A 31-year-old man had retired for the evening to the converted garden shed behind his mother’s house, where he lived with his German shepherd. Around 8:15 p.m., neighbors heard a gunshot. Forty-five minutes later, the man’s mother and neighbors found him dead of a gunshot wound to the mouth, a Walther pistol under his hands, and a farewell note on a table. Then police made an even more gruesome discovery: bite marks on his face and neck. That mystery was cleared up quickly, when the man’s German shepherd vomited human tissue including skin with still-recognizable beard hair. This wasn’t a case of a starving dog resorting to eating its owner to survive; a half-full bowl of dog food was still sitting on the floor when police arrived. The disturbing implication: Maybe man’s best friend isn’t so loyal after all. (via National Geographic)
6. In a groundbreaking study conducted by researchers at Eötvös Loránd University, scientists have taken significant strides in understanding the organization and aging patterns of our canine companions. Their findings provide evidence that dogs possess a key component of intelligence known as the general cognitive factor, or ‘g factor,’ which mirrors the human version, especially in relation to aging. The research was recently published in GeroScience. The ‘g factor’ represents a core intelligence that influences an individual’s overall cognitive performance across a variety of tasks. This concept stems from the observation that people who perform well on one type of cognitive task tend to perform well on others, suggesting the existence of a common underlying ability or factor that contributes to these performances. (via PsyPost)
7. About two weeks after the first injection in January, however, Daisy wobbled on both hips and limped. A week after her second dose, the dog couldn’t walk, became lethargic and lost her appetite. She gained back some mobility, but her kidney function plunged. In March, the Jordan family euthanized their dog. Librela and a similar treatment for cats were the first antibody drugs for pets approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They promised to relieve a painful arthritis in animals and become an important new franchise for maker Zoetis, the world’s largest animal-health company by sales. Now they are at the center of a medical mystery. Some pet owners blame the drugs for sickening their animals, some of which then died. Was it the drugs? Were they being used the wrong way? Or were other illnesses afflicting the pets at fault? (via The Wall Street Journal)
8. The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to temporarily stop issuing new dog breeding licenses because of overcrowding at city-run animal shelters. The city’s six shelters have 737 kennels, but more than 1,500 dogs were living at the shelters in February, according to the most recent available data. The shelters are more than 200% over capacity, which has led to dogs tripled up in kennels or being housed in crates in hallways for months on end. Euthanasia of dogs by the city are up 22% so far this year compared with the same period last year. The Times has chronicled poor conditions at shelters, including a lack of dogwalking and inadequate food supplies for small animals. (via The Los Angeles Times)
9. Back in 2023, a six-year-old black lab named Vespa set an impressive achievement in keeping Australian agriculture safe! Vespa is a sniffer dog who works at the Sydney International Airport and the Australia Post Sydney Gateway Facility. She uses her powerful snoot to sniff out biosecurity risks such as khapra beetles, African swine fever, and foot-and-mouth disease. Last year, she made over 730 interceptions at the airport and over 570 at the post office. Her airport detections were the most by any biosecurity sniffer dog. This year Vespa was awarded the 2024 New South Wales Service Dog Award at the Sydney Royal Easter Show for her hard work. The Royal Ag Society of NSW awards amazing dogs who make a difference in their community with their Canine Hero awards. (via RFDTV)
Dog Photo of the Week
Photo by Grace Chon, “How This Dog Photographer Captures the Best Smiles” (via The PhoBlographer)
Dog Video of the Week
By Business Insider, “Why Puppies Bred and Trained to be Seeing Eye Dogs are so Expensive”.