So I am a Deaf Studies major and I work a lot with mentally challenged and handy-capable people. Some of the arguments have come up regarding guide/sight/hearing and working dogs. There seemed to be a divide in this particular gathering at campus (keep in mind, there are varying degrees of handy-capableness and capabilities, along with their aids):

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I just saw on the news a report about a coyote attack on a woman and her dog in Broomfield, Colorado. The worst part about this is that the advice at the end of the report was to throw sticks and rocks at them to scare them away so they don't hurt you. What? What kind of advice is that? How does that solve the fact that you are living on their land ( Read more... )

No, not a crazy vegan cat food post or a "are cats vegan??/" question. Regardless if you believe in communicating with animals, it feels like my cat knows I've been stressed and also seems to know I finally transitioned to vegan, and...okay, even more weirdness. It seems like she really appreciates that I have. Coco has always been affectionate, ( Read more... )

'Pyow-pyow': how the putty-nosed monkey tells its friends there's a leopard coming

By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Tuesday, 11 March 2008

A troop of monkeys in west Africa has been found to use different combinations of calls to convey different meanings in what is believed to be one of the first experimental demonstrations of rudimentary ( Read more... )

This article's 2 years old, but bears re-reading:

The secret life of moody cows

Jonathan Leake, Science Editor ONCE they were a byword for mindless docility. But cows have a secret mental life in which they bear grudges, nurture friendships and become excited over intellectual challenges, scientists have found.
Cows are also capable of feeling ( Read more... )

My girlfriend and I, after weeks of preparation, got three mice this morning from a small-animal rescue.  We've read about what to feed and provide them to keep them healthy and happy while we look after them, but I've also read a lot about mouse 'training' and I'm not sure how I feel about it, exactly.  ( I thought I'd just see how other people here feel about the issue. )

Humans Aren't Much Smarter Than Dogs(Click the link for the article ( Read more... )

Animals do the cleverest things
The chimp who outwits humans; the dolphin who says it with seaweed; the existential dog
By Steve Connor
Published: 07 December 2007

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Human-like altruism shown in chimpanzees
Mon, 2007-06-25 05:58 - BJS
Debates about altruism are often based on the assumption that it is either unique to humans or else the human version differs from that of other animals in important ways. Thus, only humans are supposed to ( Read more... )

Chimps can sustain multiple-tradition cultures
Thu, 2007-06-07 15:27 - BJS
Scientists have long wondered if local animal cultures exist, and now, based on findings by researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University, the University of Texas and ( Read more... )