Everything looks spectacular at 1000 frames a second :

Dolphins Save Doberman

A beloved Doberman went missing in Florida and wound up in a canal, unable to escape. It took refuge on an almost submerged sandbar, and there it might have died when the tides rose.

But two dolphins decided they could help by alerting humans to the dog's precarious location.

At least, that's how this story read to me, you tell me I'm wrong :

It all started when D'Alessandro and her husband, Sam, walked out of their home....to go fishing. Behind the home is a canal where "we saw these two dolphins and they were splashing and making this big commotion.

Dolphins usually swim through the canal behind the home, as it leads into the Gulf of Mexico, but this time the dolphins weren't just passing through.

"They were just there, in one place, splashing water against the canal wall," she said.

Why would dolphins help a dog in distress? Compassion? Empathy? Maybe one just wanted to prove to the other that he knew how to get humans' attention.

Or maybe it's a mammal code of behaviour not as preciously human as we once imagined.

Chihuahua Adopts Baby Squirrels



In the animal world, mothers are mothers, it seems, and it doesn't matter what infant creature needs a feed, and some life-saving warmth, even ones from other species :

At first glance, the scene appears normal: a Chihuahua mother appearing to cuddle with her pups as they nurse. A closer look at the days-old babies reveals they aren't canines, but four tiny squirrels...

A Columbia County family said its dog's maternal instinct kicked in when 10-year-old Mimi laid eyes on the baby squirrels.

Mimi took the motherless squirrels in as if they were her own, making for one mix-and-match family.

Their eyes are still closed, but their tails are a dead giveaway that Mimi's babies are squirrels -- three females and one male.

Derek Varnes, who works for a tree-cutting company, said he found the squirrels' nest last week on a downed limb. "I didn't know what to think. They looked like rats at first," Varnes said. "I wasn't going to leave them. They say after they're out of the nest or the tree, the momma won't mess with them anymore. I wasn't going to let them die."

He gave the squirrels to his fiancee's mother, Jeanette Young."My 10-year-old Chihuahua would come and watch me and start whining and carrying on," Young said. "I thought she was going to eat them. She said that when she eventually put the squirrels down, Mimi started licking them to clean them and then began nursing them. Young said although Mimi's last litter was born four years ago, the dog is still able to make enough milk to keep the baby squirrels full. Mimi doesn't venture far from her new little ones."

"...she seems like it was just meant for her to have them and take care of them," Young said.

She said a veterinarian told her as long Mimi is able to feed the squirrels, the babies would continue to grow and be healthy.

But will the squirrels grow up thinking they're dogs? And how will Mimi be able to follow them up the trees when the natural instinct kicks in?

Dog Blocks Traffic To Stand Guard Over Dead 'Companion' - Future Uncertain

The story of what will happen to a dog found standing guard over the corpse of his dead 'companion', in the middle of a busy road, is riveting the readers of the Rocky Mountain News. Will he find a new home, or will he have to be put down, for being 'un-adoptable'?

A male chow mix lay down in the middle of a busy street Tuesday morning to keep watch over its companion, a female German shepherd mix, after it was hit and killed by a car on Chambers Road near East 52nd Avenue.

The dogs lacked any identifying tags and had been reported running loose together for the past two days, according to Doug Kelley, director of Denver Animal Care & Control.

"When a companion animal is hit, they'll stand vigil. It's sad," Kelley said. "It's kind of uncommon to see it in the middle of the road."

He speculated the two dogs, neither of which had been spayed, had been involved in a "romance."

Denver police were called to the scene just after 6:30 a.m. to help direct traffic until animal control could respond, police said.

Patrolman Bill Tyler said two "good Samaritans" helped out at the scene.

One driver blocked the lane with a car and turned on the vehicle's flashing lights after a couple of cars narrowly missed hitting the chow.

Another person was able to get the surviving dog onto the median between the northbound and southbound lanes of Chambers, Tyler said.

"The chow didn't want me to get anywhere close to the dead dog," Tyler said. "I guess you could say (the dog was upset)."

The male dog wore no collar; the shepherd had a blue nylon collar.

Animal control had received a call about the dogs Monday because they were on the loose in the area, but officers were unable to find them when they responded.

The chow was not happy and was taken back to a local animal shelter.

A few days later, the newspaper supplied an update to the story :

The dog who kept watch over his dead female companion earlier this week began to show improvement in his behavior toward people, making it possible for the animal shelter to work with him today to determine whether he can be adopted.

"He wasn't growling anymore," Doug Kelley, director of Denver Animal Care & Control said today. "He's actually kind of bonded with me."

The department received several phone calls from people offering to adopt the dog, regardless of any issues he has with people. But despite rolling onto his back, taking some treats and letting a stranger hold his leash for a walk today, the dog still wouldn't be able to pass a behavioral test required for adoption.

The chow did make "some very small steps forward now that he's around people," said Ellen Dumm, spokeswoman for the Denver Department of Environmental Health. "We're going to wait for a few days to see if he improves."

It seems unlikely the dog will be put down now. At worst, it may be moved to a shelter where it can live out the rest of its life. But you get the feeling someone will give it a new home.

Man Bites Dog, To Death

The puppy was in the process of being mauled to death by a fierce dog. The Chinese man loved that puppy. So he did what any normal person would do. He mauled the attacking dog to death :

Awakened by the puppy's yelps, a villager named Geng first tried to chase the dog away by hurling watermelons at it, a local newspaper reported today.

The farmer then threw himself on the dog, clamping his teeth around its neck and eventually killing it.

“The two were rolling around on the ground and fighting for nearly 10 minutes,” the Yanzhao Cosmopolitan News in the northern province of Hebei said.

The puppy lived through the ordeal. As did Geng, with some deep wounds on his arms.