Did you know that canines also serve in the military? These dogs served in a variety of ways including: Sentry Dogs, Scout or Patrol Dogs, Messengers, and Mine Dogs.  Today, we remember these brave dogs and I give you the link to the Military Working Dog Foundation.  The foundation works to place dogs in adoptive homes after they have served in the U.S. Armed Forces alongside our other brave soldiers.

Thank you.

A dog rescued from the Nashville flood via No More Empty Fortune Cookies,

Read how you can help the Brown Dog Foundation.

My dog likes to laze around.

But sometimes we let her out front to run with the neighborhood dogs.

Clearly running makes her happy.

Have a marvelous weekend!

“It is not death that alarms me, but dying.” – Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) French philosopher and essayist.

However, if dying is being surrounded by your loved ones as you close your eyes and give up your last breath, squeezing a final fond farewell to your children and family, and knowing that they’ll live on, then death is not be be feared.

When 50+ year old Pansy, a chimpanzee at Blair Drummond Safari Park in England died in 2008, the emotional response of the other chimpanzees with her was caught on tape.

Their gentle shaking and reluctance to leave her side is touching and devastating.  Is there no heaven for animals?

H/T Current TV.

Photo from Eat, Live, Run.

H/T Brittney.

This video is supposed to be funny where the big guy is attacked by a crazed deer, but seriously… deer can be *very* dangerous when the start hoof stomping. Watch… go ahead and click through but then come back.

Crazy Deer Attacks Fat Guy – Watch more Funny Videos

I think he’s fortunate that he’s big so he can defend himself better than someone smaller. Wildlife is WILD, no matter how cute and cuddly the animals look. Always use extreme caution around them.

Thanks to my friend Squirrel Queen, I saw this video of a squirrel protecting one of its fallen friends from a flock of hungry crows.

A squirrel was run over and killed by a vehicle. Its loyal friend keeps scavenger crows from attacking its corpse. This just makes me choke up a little bit.

She’s right… it is a little sad.

This gives me the wiggums!  A 12-foot giant herring has been found off the coast of Sweden.

A maritime expert says a 12-foot (3.65-meter) Giant Oarfish — the world’s largest bony fish — has been found in Swedish waters for the first time in 130 years.

These babies can get up to 36 feet in length.  That’s some creepy stuff, there.

With the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast, perhaps now is a good time to link to directions on washing oil from birds.  The link shows videos on how to wash birds that have been impacted.  But what exactly happens to birds that get oiled?

Firstly, the feathers of a bird help keep it warm and dry.  When oil covers the feathers,  they no longer prevent the bird from developing a dangerously low body temperature.

Secondly, if a bird is coated with oil, the feathers will be matted and sticky. This weighs down the bird enough that it will be unable fly for finding food.

I’m very grateful that the International Bird Rescue has set up rescue centers around the Gulf of Mexico to help these poor animals.

As much as I love human obstacle courses, I think the hamster must equally love his (or hers).