Baboons Identifying Words? Really?

Just this past week I read a short article in our local area newspaper, The Herald-Times, about an experiment with baboons and identifying words with four letters.  The baboons were shown groups of four letters, some of which made actual words, and others which did not.  Astonishingly, the baboons were highly accurate in identifying the real words!

Image provided by Classroom Clipart

Now this big guy doesn't look as if he is too interested in being involved in the reading experiment.  However, those that were did an amazing job of picking out the groups of four letters that made an actual word.  They indicated that it was a word by pushing a green button.  It was noted in the article that this is a form of pre-reading, and that pre-reading may be more instinctual than first thought.  However, in my opinion, this test of animal "intelligence" is just another example of how smart animals really are, and that the reason we aren't aware of it is because we don't speak their "languages." 

This post written by Pam Todd, whose Art Fire Studio, Bags and More by Pam features high-quality hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes.  Pam is a member of the Crafting for Animals guild on Art Fire, loves learning about animals of all kinds, and supports the Elephant Sanctuary  in Hohenwald, Tennessee.  Here is one selection from Pam's Art Fire Studio. Click on her studio name above to see more.

Cat Collar Chaos by Jobi Harris

(from 4.6.2012 blog on Ask Fisher)

We have had a time with Scooter! We moved into our new apartment (no yard) and out of the house (yard), and staff was worried Scooter would scoot out the door and get into trouble.

One day when staff was emailing back and forth with her cool crafter friend, Debra from Sleepy Cat Designs, the idea of trading products came up. My staff loved the idea and they set out to make it happen. She chose a perfect collar for Scooter.

Scooter, however, was not convinced. When my staff put the collar on her, she went silly nuts. She ran into the bedroom and hunkered down in a closet. She was overwhelmed. To all of us, it is such a sweet collar, beautifully crafted with a small bell. To Scooter it was a ball and chain around her neck and she just did not want to deal with it at all.

•              She rushed to a bedroom closet as fast as a cat can run with her belly almost touching the floor

•              Came out of closet in the evening, rushed to staff person on the couch and burrowed under her arms

•              Spent Saturday night in closet with the door open

•              Sunday morning when peeps returned from errands, Scooter was missing!

•              Found under a heap of covers on the bed, just before emergency outdoor search

•              Would NOT come out and stayed until after evening dinner guests left the premises

•              Had a few bites of food and water and retreated to her “modified hiding place”.

Finally, a viable explanation to her behavior – she was embarrassed! As the man of the house explained it, she was acting like a teenage girl who had a pimple on her nose and refused to leave her bedroom!

The very thought of her feeling embarrassed was so descriptive of her behavior it made us all laugh. Scooter’s greatest contribution to the household is that she is our comedy cat, and she does make us laugh a lot.

She is a lot better now, fully recovered and moving around normally - and still entertaining!

P.S. Please visit  Sleepy Cat Designs to view all sorts of wonderful hand-crafted kitty items!

Editor's Note:  Jobi Harris specializes in animal portraits such as the one below and supports various animal related organizations.

 You may see her more of her work at www.watercoloryourworld.com

Cleo my newfie girl!

Today's blog post is about my little girl Cleo. Cleo is maybe not such a "little" girl, she is about 140 pounds. A big and happy Newfoundland dog, she is not a recognized AKC color, although she really is 100% purebred newfie. AKC recognizes black, gray, brown and landseer (black and white). The brown and black can have some white though. Cleo is my friend and business assistant. She makes sure we play and get exercise and she keeps me company when I draw. Cleo isn't camera shy either, in fact she LOVES getting her picture taken. So, one can forget about "sneaking up" on her to take that perfect pictures. Soon as she knows I'm getting the camera, she perks right up! :)

Gunilla Wachtel - Kanweienea Kreations

National April Pet and Animal Days

These days it seems that each month has so many things being observed, commemorated, celebrated, etc. Here are the ones for April related to animals that I found on several different pet-related websites:

National Pet First Aid Awareness Month
Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month
Prevent Lyme Disease in Dogs Month

April 7 - Tag day
April 11 - National Pet Day
April 15-21 - National Pet ID week
April 26 - National Kids & Pets Day
April 27 - National Hairball Awareness Day
April 28 - International Guide Dog Day
April 28 - World Veterinary Day

Your local shelters and rescue groups may be doing some special events and activities related to some of these special observances. So get involved when and if you can.

Of course, for all pet and animal lovers, every day is a day to celebrate the love and friendship our pets give us and to appreciate the wonder of animals in general. So we'll keep celebrating and caring for the animals we love every day no matter what else is going on!

Written by Debra of Sleepy Cat Designs where you will find her specialty: handmade safety cat collars using cotton fabrics in many designs that are comfortable, non-irritating, and affordable. Debra adopted her cat, Chester, from The Hermitage No Kill Cat Shelter in Tucson, Arizona, and encourages everyone to adopt homeless pets from a shelter in their area, too.

Barn Cat ... Not on Duty Right Now!

Stopped by my friends' house a couple of weeks ago to get some fresh eggs.  As I was walking up to the door, Patches came running from the direction of the barn.  I graciously held the door open until he got there,  bounded into the kitchen at Bill and Clarice's house, and promptly sprawled out on the floor next to Clarice's chair.

A couple of hours earlier I had phoned and said I would be there in about an hour to get some eggs.  Well, it turned out to be closer to two and a half hours before I arrived.  Thank goodness, my eggs were still there.  Nothing like farm fresh brown shelled eggs!

Clarice offered me a piece of persimmon pudding, which I declined, although I know it would have been delicious.  I started out the door, and Bill said, "Wait a minute.  I'm not through with you yet!."  I laughed and turned around, and then we discussed a place called Odon, Indiana and how good the fresh meat was at a butcher shop there. I said that would be a nice summer drive for Bob and me to take to check it out. Again, I started to leave.

Then I saw Patches lying on the floor, and thought how regal he looked. The iphone promptly came out of my pocket, focused on Patches, and kaboom, here he is!  So handsome!

Patches

So I asked a few questions about him, but mainly, how they came to acquire Patches.  Well, they said they were on the look out for a barn cat, and they got him when he was a baby.  His duties are to catch the mice and keep them out of the feed.  They both laughed and said, "You can see what a good barn cat he is, lying here on the kitchen floor."  Then Clarice said, "He herds the chickens, too!."  I told them about the rabbit I have written about previously who was herding the chickens.  They laughed.  Clarice went on to say they had let the chickens out the other day because the weather was so warm.  Patches thought they should be in the barn, and so he started herding them that way.  Marty (who we at first thought was Mary) and another chicken looked at Patches, as if to say, "We have had about enough of you!"  So Clarice shooed him away.

Animals are such amazing creatures and so much fun to watch! Wouldn't it be great  to watch Patches herding those chickens?

This post was written by Pam Todd, a member of the Crafting for Animals Guild on Artfire, and whose studio, Bags and More by Pam, features hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes.  Pam loves all things related to animals and nature.  She is a supporter of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, as well as donating items to other animal related charities to support their causes.

20 Things You Can Learn From Your Pets

Great title, right? Got your attention, right? Good...it did mine as well! I found this amazing slide show on the WebMD website and enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it (link is below). The title intrigued me, so that made me click. Shows how important keywords in titles are, right?

I was reminded of some things I already knew but I also learned some things while viewing it. And that was the purpose of this slide show, to teach me something that would benefit me healthwise, not just entertain. It is a medical information website, after all!!

But...it IS very entertaining, too! And most people will agree that when learning is also entertaining, we will be able to retain and remember what we learn more easily. And that means we may actually apply what we learn by changing behaviors or adding new ones that will help us live better lives.

So, I hope you enjoy this and also learn something from it as well - I sure did. And I'm positive you could add many things to the list of:

20 Things You Can Learn From Your Pets


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Written by Debra of Sleepy Cat Designs where you will find her specialty: handmade safety cat collars using cotton fabrics in many designs that are comfortable, non-irritating, and affordable. Debra adopted her cat, Chester, from The Hermitage No Kill Cat Shelter in Tucson, Arizona, and encourages everyone to adopt homeless pets from a shelter in their area, too.

Who Rescued Whom?...............by Lisa of OBXPuparazzi

Stormy was a dog I rescued from a horrible living situation.  Her owner neglected her terribly and kept her tied outside, with an extension cord that was plugged in and was wrapped several times around a post, to keep her from escaping.  The owner fed it whenever he remembered to, which was apparently not often, and never groomed her.

When my favorite dog, Navajo, had to be put down, I was devastated at his loss.  Stormy's owner offered her to me, and I couldn't say no to her.  She was supposed to be a Golden Retriever and Collie mix, but she was muddy, matted and emaciated.

She patiently tolerated being bathed and clipped nearly bald to release her from a felted mass of fur that encased her like armor.  I nursed her through a very tough heartworm treatment that I wasn't sure she would survive.  Stormy slowly recovered from the treatment, and filled out from a scrawny 46 pounds to a healthy 75-pound dog with flowing golden fur.  You could see both the Golden Retriever and Collie in her then.  She learned how to play with dog toys and developed a sly sense of humor.

Nearly two years later, she returned the favor when I found out I had cancer.  It was found late, totally by accident, and the doctors were concerned that it might not be treatable.  Stormy stuck to me like Velcro while I cried my way through the first few days after the diagnosis.

After my surgery, which was successful, she stayed next to the recliner or laid next to me on the bed as I slowly recovered.  She grew to hate Wednesdays, which were my chemo days.  She would pace and huff when I was getting ready to go, and glare sternly at my husband.

When I returned home, with often barely enough energy to crawl off to bed and sleep until the next day, she would give my husband the most disgusted looks, as if to say, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you to keep her safe!" and she would curl up next to me, giving Dave "The Look" every time he came to check on me.  If I was restless at night, she was up to follow me around the house.  She took to laying on top of my slippers, to make sure I didn't sneak off without her knowing.  Several times, when I woke up feeling very ill, she would wake my husband.  He and I both appreciated her attentiveness and her good nurse instincts.

Having Stormy's company made a tough time in my life a lot easier to bear, and I like to think she was paying me back for rescuing her from hell on earth.  Stormy had been 9 years old when she was rescued, and lived to the surprising age of 19.  I've always thought that the Lord gave her a whole other life to make up for the first part that was so awful.

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Written by Lisa of OBXPuparazzi on ArtFire where you will find many handmade dog bandanas sewn by Lisa (the crazy dog lady!) and delightful wooden toys made by Dave who is a self-taught woodworker whose intarsia pieces are sought out by galleries in their local area. Be sure to check out these items and more in Lisa's studio and contact her with any questions.