1. “More and more big dogs are illegally riding the trains amid dwindling enforcement of the MTA’s rules for canine commuters. While subway ridership remains stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels, the authors of this newsletter – and numerous commuters we spoke to – have noticed a recent uptick in New Yorkers bringing their furry friends on trains. The MTA says it’s impossible to know how exactly many dogs ride the rails — but it’s been hard to miss the increase in large pooches flouting the agency’s rule that any animal on the subway must be “enclosed in a container and carried in a manner which would not annoy other passengers.” (via Gothamist)
2. Two Ohio lawmakers are looking to ease a looming financial burden on law enforcement agencies in their state that will have to replace marijuana-sniffing dogs after voters approved a plan last year to legalize recreational marijuana use. Nearly 400 police dogs in Ohio trained in the detection of marijuana will need to be retired because they cannot be reliably retrained. That means any alert they give to the presence of drugs could be challenged in court because they cannot unlearn the smell of cannabis. State Rep. Sean Brennan, a Democrat from Parma, called that an “unintended consequence” of the decision by Ohio voters in November to legalize recreational use. (via Fortune)
3. They were small, white, and fluffy. For thousands of years, they were treasured for their unique wool and respected as if they were human. Then, in a matter of decades, they were gone. The Coast Salish woolly dog was once a fixture in communities across what’s known today as the Pacific Northwest. With pointy ears and an upturned tail, the canine looked a bit like the modern Samoyed. And now, recent genomic sequencing echoes what many members of Indigenous nations surrounding the Salish Sea have always said: that their ancestors carefully bred the dog for many generations—long before the arrival of European domestic dogs—shearing their thick hair and weaving it into blankets imbued with cultural and spiritual significance. (via National Geographic)
4. Scottish terriers exposed to cigarette smoke at home were six times as likely to develop bladder cancer as their counterparts in nonsmoking homes, a recent analysis found. The long-term study, published in the Veterinary Journal, followed 120 Scottie dogs over three years. The breed is known for its high rates of bladder cancer: Scottish terriers have 20 times the risk of most other breeds, and most dogs that do get bladder cancer have the most invasive form of the disease. (via The Washington Post)
5. Owners of adventure dogs tend to be pretty adamant that their outdoorsy pooch is not just great, but the best adventure dog ever. A sweet and understandable sentiment, if an entirely subjective one. But now, the world’s biggest fitness app is making it possible for people to back up their talk with some cold hard numbers. That’s right: Strava for dogs is here. Owners can now show off their canine companion’s athletic feats on the same platform they do their own accomplishments. On Thursday, February 22, Strava announced a new partnership with a smart dog collar brand, Fi. Fi collars sport built-in satellite positioning systems, like in a sport watch. They’re designed to help find lost pets, and monitor a couple basic health metrics like sleep and number of steps taken. And now, the same technology can be used to log exercise for posterity online. (via Outside Magazine)
6. Take care of the dogs, sleep, eat and repeat. That’s the mantra for mushers on their 24-hour breaks during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The 24’s, as they’re called, are mandatory and a welcome reset for the weary teams. They can be taken at any checkpoint, although it makes the most sense somewhere near the middle of the race. Many Iditarod mushers opt to take their 24 in this village of about 50 people, at race mile 329, due to the outsized amenities it provides. Number one is the legendary food: Hamburgers, soup, stew, enchiladas, pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs and a revolving variety of homemade pies are all on the menu. The pies alone include cherry, banana cream, apple and more. Plus, there’s plenty of room inside to sleep and dry clothes and a wood-fired boiler outside near the dog lot providing hot water. (via Alaska Public Radio)
7. A legendary musher shot and killed a moose shortly after the start of the 2024 Iditarod after the moose injured one of his dogs, race officials said Monday. Dallas Seavey, a record-tying five-time Iditarod winner, told officials with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race early Monday morning that he was forced to shoot the moose with a handgun out of self-defense, “after the moose became entangled with the dogs and the musher,” a statement from the race said. Seavey told an Iditarod Insider television crew he then “gutted it the best I could, but it was ugly.” According to Iditarod Rule 34, if an edible big game animal — like a moose, caribou or buffalo — is killed in defense of life or property, the musher is required to gut the animal and report it to race officials at the next checkpoint. (via The Athletic)
8. Pets can’t report their dreams, but scientists have some evidence about what is happening when Sparky and Mittens sleep No matter how much trouble your pet gets into when they’re awake, few sights are as peaceful as a dog curled up in their bed or a cat stretched out in the sun, snoring away. But their experience of sleep can feel impenetrable. What fills the dreams of a dog or cat? That’s a tricky question to answer. “No one has done research on the content of animals’ dreams,” says Deirdre Barrett, a dream researcher at Harvard University and author of the book The Committee of Sleep. But Rover’s dreamscape isn’t entirely impenetrable, at least to educated guesses. (via Scientific American)
9. If your Labrador retriever seems hungry all the time, it may be because they are. These dogs are notorious among veterinarians for their tendency to pack on the pounds. And in previous research, scientists found that one quarter of Labradors—as well as two thirds of a less common breed of dogs called flat-coated retrievers—carry a genetic mutation that is associated with obesity in other animals. And in new experiments, researchers found that dogs with this mutation both feel hungrier between meals and burn less energy than their counterparts do. (via Scientific American)
10. Just call him the next Al Pawcino or Spaniel Day-Lewis. Messi, a 7-year-old border collie, has bow-wowed critics and audiences with his stirring performance as Snoop in the Oscar-nominated “Anatomy of a Fall”: sitting, speaking and playing dead better than most A-listers. The blue-eyed scene-stealer joins a long list of four-legged thespians who have woofed their way into best picture nominees, from Toto the terrier in “The Wizard of Oz” to Brandy the pit bull in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” With so many awards-worthy animals, it begs the question: Is it time the Academy rolled over and gave these dogs a bone? (via USA Today)
Dog Photo of the Week
Photo by Jacob King, “Canine hopefuls on the second day of Crufts – in pictures” (via The Guardian)
Dog Video of the Week
By Crufts, “Dogs love breaking the Rules”.