Good Living Guide

Animals

Quackers The Duck and Max The Malamute Become Best Friends

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Some people say that loneliness is a power that we possess to give or take away forever. Apparently, the animal world understands that too. Witness the unusual friendship of Max the malamute and Quackers the duck.

Quackers The Duck and Max The Malamute Become Best Friends

John Lauritsen / CBS Minnesota

Small Town Charm Gone Viral

The unlikely pair live in the small town of Strout, MN, population 25, with their owners Patrick and Kirsten Riley. On most days, passersby will see Max and Quackers wandering together on their owners’ property on Highway 28 or sitting on a favorite patch of grass. When passing by, locals hope to catch a glimpse of the duo and snap a photo, which ultimately gets sent to the Rileys.

Max was five years old when the Rileys adopted him and for a time he was pals with Sasha the Husky. After Sasha died, however, Max was lost without his canine companion. Everything changed when the Rileys brought home Quackers one day. Quackers had lost friends too, which could explain their inseparable bond.

Friendship Blossoms

Max started by sitting near Quackers’ cage everyday. Eventually, once Quackers grew, the Rileys let him out of the cage and the two have been inseparable ever since. The duo does everything together, eat, drink and sleep. You name it. Max is getting old, so the pair may not have much time left, yet their journey together has made memories for many.

Baby Skunks Practice Their Stomping Routine And Make Adorable Noises

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Most animal babies are ridiculously cute, but a group of stomping skunks show that these striped babies may be the most adorable of them all. A series of videos from a Texas wildlife rescue reveals that these little guys spend their playtime developing fierce dance moves.

Baby Skunks Practice Their Stomping Routine And Make Adorable Noises

MoonShine Wildlife Rehab / Instagram

How Skunks Attack

We all know how skunks defend themselves. They lift up their tails and blast their attackers with a truly foul smell.

Before that, they do a little stomping motion to warn their attacker about what’s coming.

Skunk School

Did you ever wonder how baby skunks learn to do that?

Footage from the Moonshine Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Austin, Texas, shows that they first practice a stomping routine they try on each other. They follow it up with warning shrieks that are cute as heck.

 

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Skunks growing up together learn to “play fight” to develop skills that they’ll need when they’re all grown up.

 

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The Joy of Skunks

Moonshine Wildlife posted these adorable videos to share the joy of skunks with everyone.

One video shows an infant skunk being fed from a bottle while others show the little critters playing and just being cute.

 

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The center is a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization that depends on private donations. If you want to help them help more cute critters, here’s how.

Judge Gives Animal Abuser Humiliating Punishment To Fit Her Crime

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When Alyssa Morrow landed in Judge Michael “Chic” Cicconetti’s courtroom in Painesville, Ohio, she received more than the jail sentence she was likely expecting. Authorities found her pit bull named Moose emaciated and living in a home overrun with trash, leading to charges of animal neglect and cruelty.

Judge Gives Animal Abuser Humiliating Punishment To Fit Her Crime

ABC News

The home was compared to a “hoarder house” by the local media, and Judge Chic asked Alyssa how she imagined her dog felt in that environment. She claimed that she only left Moose in the house for a week, but she still accepted guilt in court when standing before Judge Chic.

Judge Gives Animal Abuser Humiliating Punishment To Fit Her Crime

ABC News

The judge, well-known for his creative sentencing, gave Alyssa the option of spending 90 days in jail or living like Moose. She accepted the nontraditional punishment, which required her to spend eight hours in the “stinkiest, smelliest, God-awful odor place,” which meant the local dump.

Alyssa arrived for her punishment wearing a sundress and sandals, claiming she was running late and couldn’t find anything else to wear. The punishment continued despite her wardrobe, showing why Judge Chic’s repeat offense rate is only 10% compared to a national average of 75%. Moose fully recuperated from his injuries and was placed for adoption.

Judge Gives Animal Abuser Humiliating Punishment To Fit Her Crime

ABC News

Artist Brings Ordinary Stones To Life With Adorable Animal Paintings

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When most of us see a stone, we kick it aside as nothing special. For an artist named Akie, a stone is the perfect medium for one of her tiny, exquisite works of art.

stone animals

Making Magic from Stones

Akie has made a name for herself as a “stone artist.” Using only paint, she transforms ordinary stones into beautifully detailed, amazingly lifelike animals.

Nakata’s versatility is astonishing. Her stone animals include a pair of cuddling koalas, a mother opossum with her babies, a snowy owl, a hippo, a sleeping fox and a dog playing with a ball.

These Tiny Stone Animals Are Perfection In Miniature

The faces on these animals are expressive and alive. The brushwork is fine and detailed.

Even more remarkable, Akie says she never reshapes or cuts the stones. She only cleans them, files any rough edges and paints whatever the stone’s natural shape and texture have inspired.

Akie recently had an exhibition at Seizan Gallery in Tokyo, which she says was a lifelong dream.

 

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Yes, You Can Adopt One

Would you like one of these precious creatures for yourself?

Akie gets many requests to buy her art, but she notes that she can’t do custom work because she never knows what type of stone she’ll be working with. Her Facebook page displays the stones up for “adoption,” as she calls it, each week. You’ll have to discuss pricing and shipping directly with her.

 

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UPS Driver Adopts Pit Bull On Her Route After Owner Passes Away

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As a UPS delivery driver, Katie Newhauser made friends with people and pets along her route. One day, she went an extra mile for one of those friends.

UPS Driver Adopts Pit Bull

Facebook / Katie Newhouser

Delivering Smiles

Newhauser lives in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where she has been a UPS driver for several years. Over the years, she has become friendly with customers and their dogs on her regular delivery route. She developed a particularly close friendship with a woman named Tina and with Tina’s dog Leo.

Newhauser posted a picture of Leo riding shotgun in her UPS truck on the UPS Dogs Facebook page. The page is dedicated to dogs and other critters that UPS drivers have befriended on their delivery routes.

UPS Driver Adopts Pit Bull

Facebook / UPS Dogs

Sad News

Newhauser told People magazine, “Leo would hear my truck come into the condo complex and start barking and scratching at the door to come down to the truck. He loved coming to the back of the truck to look around.”

One day, Newhauser got the devastating news that Tina had died. She also learned there was nobody in Tina’s family who could adopt Leo.

A Truly Special Delivery

At that moment, Newhauser decided to adopt the big, friendly pup herself. She picked him up and delivered him to his new home. Newhauser said he’s getting along great with her other dogs and is truly part of the family.

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Watch: Playful Cat Tests Buddhist Monk’s Patience During Prayers

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When a cat wants cuddles, you may as well give in. That’s what a Buddhist monk learned when he interrupted his prayers to pet a persistent cat.

A story that charmed viewers in Thailand and across the world started at the Udomrangsi Buddhist temple in Bangkok. The cat in question is a regular guest at the temple.

Feline Feelings

On this particular day, the friendly feline wanted an extra helping of affection.

There was only one problem. The cat’s visit happened during the temple’s prayers for the New Year, which take about five hours of chanting and require intense concentration.

Persistence Pays Off

The cat wasn’t going to let a thing like that stop him, and he climbed into the lap of a young Buddhist monk. The cat probably knew that respect for all living things is a key teaching of Buddhism.

A video of their encounter received over 300,000 views and made it onto Thai television.

Resistance Is Futile

The young man, who goes by the monastic name Luang Pi Komkrit Taechachoto, told Reuters News that he tried ignoring the cat, tried pushing him away gently and finally just gave in.

That sounds like a wise decision. After all, is there a better way to reach Nirvana than with a purring cat on your lap?

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“Angel Dog” Appears In Photo Of Woman Spreading Her Pet’s Ashes

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A woman traveled halfway across the country to scatter her beloved dog’s ashes at his favorite park. In return, her golden retriever apparently returned as a dog-shaped angel to share a final, ghostly romp.

She Lost a Lifelong Friend

Ashley Lang called her golden retriever Wagner the “love of her life.” When he was alive, his favorite place to play was a park in Aspen, Colorado.

When Wagner died at the age of 12, Lang knew what she had to do. Although she was living in Chicago, she traveled to Aspen to scatter Wagner’s ashes at his favorite park. The evening sun was setting behind the mountains as she tossed the ashes and a friend snapped pictures.

A Ghostly Image Appeared In the Photos

When the picture appeared in her friend’s phone, it revealed a shadow clearly shaped like a dog floating in the air near Lang. The dog appeared to be facing Ashley and taking one last, playful jump before heading to heaven.

Lang told newspaper reporters she believed this was Wagner’s way of saying goodbye.

A Message of Comfort

The amazing photograph was posted on the Facebook page of the rescue organization Amanda’s Amazing Animals. It has since gone viral, and many people say the “angel dog” has comforted them when recalling their own lost pets.

What do you think? Is it just a trick of lighting and shadow, or is it a ghostly messenger of love?

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Ghostly White Giraffe Caught On Film With Her Adorable Baby

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A remote nature reserve in Kenya is home to a family of white giraffes. They are extremely rare and the first ones known to be captured on film.

Local Legends

Local villagers first spotted the white giraffes in 2017 at the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in Kenya. They alerted conservationists, who traveled to the reserve to capture the rare giraffe family on video.

This is the first time a white giraffe had ever been filmed or photographed.

The conservancy has invited wildlife biologists, giraffe specialists and other scientists to study the giraffes. The giraffe family’s otherworldly beauty has captured the world’s attention.

The White Giraffe Family Is Growing

As the newspaper All Africa noted, “The giraffe, described as one of a kind and believed to be the only one in the world, has continued to dazzle the local community, scientists and wildlife enthusiasts globally.”

In 2019, the Hirola Conservancy announced that Mama Giraffe had given birth to a second white baby.

Why Are They White?

Residents have since reported that another white giraffe was living at a nature reserve in Tanzania.

Biologists say the giraffes are not albinos. They probably have a condition called leucism that prevents pigmentation of skin cells. Animals with leucism can still develop dark pigment in their eyes and other organs.

Experts don’t think the condition will cause medical problems for the giraffes, but it might make them easy for predators to spot.

The giraffes appear to get along fine with the other giraffes at the reserve. With luck, they’ll continue delighting and dazzling the world for many years to come.

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Planes Drop Over 4,000 Pounds Of Food For Starving Animals

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In an effort to save starving animals displaced by the recent wildfires, the Australian government dropped 4,000 pounds of food in areas devastated by the fires. Food dropped included carrots and sweet potatoes.

Australian Wildfires

The Australian wildfires began in September. In the state of New South Wales, the fires are difficult to extinguish due to excessive heat and drought. Fire season in Australia begins in July. Natural causes such as lightning strikes are cited as the most common reason wildfires begin.

Animals in the Bushfires

In addition to the homes that have burned as well as the 28 people who have died during the fires, around a half billion animals have been affected. Conservationists believe that number is conservative and that there may be as many as one billion animals who have been either killed or displaced by the fires. As many as one-third of the koalas in New South Wales are estimated to have died and one-third of their habitat is now gone.

Endangered Species

Koalas are not in any immediate danger of extinction. However, many of the animals in Australia could be in danger due to their niche environments and lower populations. The food dropped by the government was specifically targeting the brush-tailed rock-wallaby as the animals were already on the endangered list prior to the fires. The wallabies were already under stress due to the ongoing drought. With their habitat now damaged or destroyed, finding food was nearly impossible for them. According to officials, wallabies typically survive bushfires but are often left stranded with very little natural food.

The Australian government has indicated that it plans to continue the food drops in various regions where wildfires have destroyed habitat until the areas can recover.

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Rare Baby Zebra Born With Polka Dots Filmed In Kenya

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Zebras wear the most dramatic, fashionable stripes in nature, but one baby zebra is bucking the fashion trend by sporting polka dots instead. A zebra foal named Tira apparently has a rare genetic mutation that gives him dark fur and spots instead of the classic stripes.

Spotting the Spots

The unusual baby zebra was born at Maasai Mara Nature Reserve in Kenya. When reserve tour guide and photographer Anthony Tira was making the rounds of the zebra community in September, he spotted the unusual foal.

The reserve has a rule that whoever finds a rare or unusual animal can name the animal, which is how Tira got his name. Tira is a draw for hundreds of visitors at the reserve and millions of fans online.

We’re All Talking Tira

Tim Caro, a zebra expert at the UC Davis, said a zebra’s stripes are important for keeping cool, hiding from predators and warding off biting flies. Since little Tira lacks this striping, he might be more susceptible to bites and predators.

For the moment, Tira is living happily at the reserve with his mother and doing all the normal zebra things. Meanwhile, the world is pulling for this special spotted baby.

 

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