Last Post Date Animals Blogs (473)

...all that different?....Sure, physical appearance differs, as does propensity toward various health issues. But behaviors? Over the years, my dogs, mostly all Golden Retrievers, all rescues from families in tough times, have been wonderful and intelligent companions. Really sucks that they only live 8 to 15 human years. But I
digress. Breeding by traditional selection, soon to be 'aided' by genomic modifications, does yield different traits. The Hounds seem to track at scent better, and the Chihuahuas are champions at at biting ankles, and tearing up sofas. But we hear all the talk of the exceptional intelligence and loyalty of the GSD, and while our beloved Bravo is smart enough, I'm not really sure he's so much more bright than any of our Goldens. Hard to talk much along these lines with such small sample sizes. But balancing this is the constant ability to watch for things over long periods of time. In our Bravo's case, he is protective and watchful, loves to watch TV---especially animal shows, is a good tracker, learns "tricks" easily---just taught him to roll over and to howl/sing, a hoot to watch.Yet he is aloof at times, still retains some traces of doggie and odor distraction syndrome (a distant cousin of certain Trump syndromes), and loves everyone, except men with hats. Lots more to ponder, and it's all healthful and fun. WOOF WOOF!

A redtail hawk was raised by a bald eagle pair along with 3 of their own eaglet chicks.
Indeed, originally there were 2 redtail chicks in that nest, but one did not survive.
It became the talk of the town and much wider.

A raptor expert was brought in to battle through the many theories as to how 2 redtail chicks
could have gotten into a bald eagle nest. It turns out, that similar circumstances have
actually been documented 3 times prior to this.

The eagles raised their own and the redtail chick to fledge from the nest and the redtail was quite healthy.
The mayor even announced a day in the town for the bald eagle redtail chick, who is actually male and
retained some eagle behavior.

I hope you enjoy the video;

The beginning and misadventures of a dog named Wall-E.

....Miss Angel, one of a neighbor's cats, is 17 YO, and is fading. The vets think she had an occult cancer over the past half year, and she was down to under 5 pounds. But still eating, purring, playful, and feisty, as Maine Coons can be. Excellent huntress, she brought in a bedazzled little chipmunk not too long ago, even in her poor state. One of the girls got her to drop it and it ran. But she too quickly? gained about 2 pounds on some antidepressant the vets gave to calm her and to stimulate her appetite. The weight gain seems to have placed her into heart failure, and her breathing is compromised. Other medicine is helping, but her time is short. So I'm working next door and watching her, while her mistress, a nurse practitioner, is working. Our Bravo has a few more years, but he'll face this soon enough, as do we all. I hate it, but these animals all have fun long lives. This is sad, but has to be better than some political rant.

Well, perhaps that's not the very best title for a blog on a dating site.
Or is it.

Nonetheless, this is a live CAM feed of 1 or 2 beautiful young chicks... and their mom.

Well, to explain better, it is a live view of an eagle's nest high in a tree in Duke's Farm in Bridgewater, NJ, USA.
Mom (as I type this) is currently in the nest on top of her 1 to 2 tiny new hatchlings,
keeping them warm and safe from being blown out of the nest, as it has been cold & windy lately
here in NJ.

So, click on the play arrow and see what's happening right now.
I did think I saw 2 cute hatchling eaglets for a bit last night, but either one
got blown out of the nest, or the other was still an egg.
I'm sure that at some point today dad will be back to the nest with some food,
perhaps fresh caught fish and mom will
feed the chick(s) sashimi and you're invited to watch.
If all goes well, you can check back from time to time and watch the youngsters grow up and eventually fledge from the nest live.

Note - after the initial play quickly expires, click on the live play arrow at the bottom left.

Lets go to the video

The last time I saw Leonardo, he was aging gracefully. His once
dark hair had turned to silver, and his countenance was quiet
and refined. His home was on a quiet block, but one that I
happened to walk down daily on my way to school. I very often
would see him sitting in his favorite chair by the window,
staring out as if to take in all he sees. And yet when you looked
in his eyes, they carried the wisdom of a thousand years,
perhaps a thousand lives.
It was an odd circumstance by which I happened to meet
Leonardo in my younger days. I was at our local train station
waiting to meet my aunt Olivia who was arriving shortly. It was
a favorable chance of fate that Leonardo would be there at that
precise moment. He was wearing his traditional travel attire, THERE is more tell me --& I`ll post more........

... The vets think it is a lesion in the brain, as apparently older cats get Meningiomas. Her eyesight is down some, but she's walking around with no apparent motor losses. They say that with strokes and such, cats, and some animals "wall point". They walk up to a wall, and just put their noses close and stand there. She did this some for a day right after the event, but now walks about the house, fairly steadily, but occasionally bangs into stuff, with the possible decrease in vision. But eating a bit, and peeing/pooping OK, and clearly recognizes us all. No vocalizations though. Enjoys light brushing, as usual. So all in all, she's not out of the woods by any means, but looks much better than a few days ago. So to me, it might just be a mild stroke, in evolution, hopefully soon to resolve, with only minor remaining disabilities. Angel still treats her like crap, each time they come close to each other, but is wasting away, so Lilly may live longer. Both nice kitties---tough to lose ant pet. Much easier to rid oneself of a woman.

Everywhere I go I see the Super Bowl now this lol ..
The Superb Owls....the Great Horned Owl in Spanish Moss looks comfy n cozy...

Photos: Superb Owl Sunday IV—via @TheAtlPhoto

....and now Miss Lilly.... Two cats next door, who lived here, all in the family, with the big dogs, before human, and then animal separations, a decade ago. Several years ago, after a costly diagnostic work up, the vets pronounced Lilly to have a splenic tumor, and was therefore circling the drain, so to speak. They prescribed palliative medication, and a little fluids, and we took her home to die. That was 2016. Tough old girl. But this AM, out of the blue, she was having trouble walking, with other signs of a kitty stroke. Last night spent in the Vet hospital, and after steroids and lab tests, was only a bit better. We'll all go to see here, but are expecting the worst. 16 years old, so a long and happy life. Her pal, Angel, a Maine Coon mix, and 17, and superb huntress, has been on a downward course for several months, daily more cachectic, but still chowing down, and feisty as ever. The crab, no doubt. Brought home a chipmunk a few weeks ago to show off to the ladies, playing with the bedazzled poor little thing, till one of the girls took it away to set free, in total PTSD, we're sure..Hard as it is to imagine any female actually liking me, both did, and I taught them lot's of fun tricks. So now it looks like both will soon be leaving us. One door closes, another opens. The ladies next door watch Bravo, while I'm away, as I've done for their kitties, and they love this big dumb Shepherd. They've expressed interest in adopting him, which he'd certainly love, then getting spoiled in not one, but two households. Frees me up to work overseas again.Oh, well.

Hope everyone has a weekend to remember.