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The collective heart of the Internet melted this week when photos surfaced of a disabled college graduate with her service dog, both wearing a cap and gown. The dog, Hero, delighted graduates at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's commencement ceremony when he appeared in full academic regalia. A Reddit user posted a photo of Hero and his owner, Bridget Evans, at their graduation ceremony. The Redditor wrote, "One of the graduates today had her service dog with her who was also in a cap and gown." Evans saw the photo and identified herself, sharing another photo of herself and Hero in their academic dress. Evans, who uses a wheelchair, offered more information about Hero, ...

There's compelling evidence that dogs experience "runner's high," a euphoria-inducing buzz experienced by regular runners and other athletes. The discovery, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, could mean that nature rewards many animals with this pleasant feeling, encouraging them to run and jump around. David Raichlen of the University of Arizona and his colleagues wrote that "a neurobiological reward for endurance exercise may explain why humans and other cursorial mammals habitually engage in aerobic exercise despite the higher associated energy costs and injury risks, and why non-cursorial mammals avoid such locomotor behaviors." In short, we're fools for exercise ...

Two bald eagles found themselves locked together by their talons after colliding during a midair battle, crashing to the ground at Duluth International Airport in Minnesota, according to the Associated Press. Minnesota conservation officer Randy Hanzal told Grind TV that it's not unusual for mature eagles to battle over territory, which they do by fighting in midair and grabbing at each other with their talons. Typically, the eagles will let go of one another before they hit the ground, but this time, the two birds found themselves stuck together. Hanzal said that the eagles were fairly calm when he brought them to the wildlife rehabilitation center. He covered them with blankets and ...

The art world is going bananas for a strange set of blurry photos. According to Metro UK, out-of-focus photographs taken by a chimpanzee named Mikki are about to go on the auction block, and they are expected to sell for some major cash. Mikki was trained to operate a camera after contemporary artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid took the primate from the Moscow Circus. The chimp can click using a Polaroid, an analog and an antique camera. Although Mikki can operate the basics of a camera, his photos show he isn't familiar with the focus feature. A selection of Mikki's photos titled "Our Moscow Through The Eyes Of Mikki," which features the capital's famous Red Square, will be ...

The image of harried letter carriers running from overprotective suburban guard dogs is sometimes used for comic effect, but canine attacks on postal workers make for a genuine hazard, and the U.S. Postal Service keeps track of those attacks. The service has released its ranking of U.S. cities by number of dog attacks, just in time for National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Los Angeles easily topped the service's list, with 69 recorded dog attacks in 2012. Here are the 20 top-ranked cities along with their number of attacks: 1. Los Angeles - 69 2. San Antonio/Seattle - 42 3. Chicago - 41 4. San Francisco - 38 5. Philadelphia - 34 6. Detroit - 33 7. St. Louis, Mo. - 32 8. ...