Posts tagged "horse"

You take your dog for walks every day, but how often does the pooch have a new encounter or unique experience? It probably sees mostly other humans walking their other dogs, maybe a couple of joggers, maybe a couple of squirrels and whatnot. Pretty boring, even for a dog.

So it's no wonder this French bulldog goes completely mental when it mets a police horse on Wall Street. You'd probably be impressed to if you'd never seen (or smelled) a horse before and stumbled upon one during your morning walk. The dog is literally doing flips out of excitement! And the horse seems to be taking it all in stride trot. Wait for the moment when they touch muzzles and enjoy the rush of endorphins your brain gives you.

Readers, tell us about a new encounter your dog has had during a routine walk.

Recently, when East Edmond, Oklahoma was swamped with rain, rescue teams mobilized to save animals that were caught in the flooding. Animal Welfare Officer Lacie Smith told KFOR Oklahoma City that the fire department, strapped into life jackets, went swimming to save three horses, neck deep in water. Fashioning harnesses out of dog leashes, they managed to rescue two of the animals. Sadly, amidst the chaos, one of the horses, Reg, was swept down the Coffee Creek that had risen 25 ft. due to the storms.

According to Officer Mike Sullivan, the incident was "heartbreaking." He told KFOR Oklahoma City that "all we could do was hope in God and pray the horse could catch its grip and swim to higher ground and get out of the water."

Sullivan's prayers were answered. About a mile down the creek, Reg -- a retired race horse -- was found alive by Rick Scarberry, an animal lover who pulled the animal to shore, saving its life. Not only did Scarberry have the satisfaction of getting the animal to safety after several hours of tugging and pulling, he also ended up with another special gift. Watch the video to discover what that was.

Why use your own four feet to get around if you can get a piggyback ride from someone else? These darling animals have figured out how to get around in style. Precious, precious style.

We recently wrote about the ASPCA's top 10 pet poisons of 2009. Included on the list were human foods that can make pets sick, including avocados. Little did we know that one little green fruit would inspire such a flurry of comments from people who argue that their dogs love the key guacamole ingredient. So we decided to set the record straight.

According to the ASPCA, the avocado plant contains a substance called persin. "Different species of animals have different toxic reactions to avocados," said Dr. Tina Wismer, the senior director of veterinary outreach and education at the ASPCA. "Animals such as birds can develop respiratory distress, fluid build-up around the heart, and death. Horses, rabbits and goats can develop both mastitis [inflammation of the mammary glands] and cardiac problems. They also get a build-up of fluid under the skin in the face and chest."

"In dogs, cats and ferrets there are no reliable reports of poisoning," she added. "However, dogs commonly ingest the pit and it can get stuck in the digestive tract."

One other thing to keep in mind: different varieties of avocado contain different amounts of persin. So even if your pet rabbit or horse has eaten avocados without a problem in the past, the same might not be true in the future. The common Guatemalan variety seems to be the most worrisome, the ASPCA notes. And avocado leaves contain the most persin, Wismer told Paw Nation.

So what's the verdict? If you have a pet bird, horse, or rodent, absolutely keep it away from the guac. If your dog adores avocados, he can probably keep on enjoying them. Just make sure to keep those pesky pits far out of reach!

Ava and Mio are double trouble. The blue-and-yellow macaws have become local celebrities in their hometown of Hamburg, Germany, thanks to the games they play with their four-legged friends, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The two-year-old birds love to chase their owner's seven-year-old mutt, Flitzer. Sometimes the mischievous birds instigate a romp with Flitzer, and other times Flitzer is the one trying to ruffle his friends' feathers. "It's an interactive game between the birds and our dog," said the animals' owner, Julian Knott.

Knott lets the birds out each morning, where they head straight for an apple tree for breakfast. After spending most of the day lounging among the leaves, the parrots wake up for evening playtime. But Flitzer isn't the parrots' only playmate: Ava and Mio also spend time carousing with a neighbor's 15-year-old horse.

Macaws are large, intelligent birds with a knack for mimicking human speech and forming close bonds with their owners. Despite their impish ways, Ava and Mio don't stray too far from home, Knott reported. They always return every evening -- after playtime is over, of course.

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Remember when we told you about horses with haute hairstyles? Seems some equine decided they needed fashionable clothes to complement their coifs.

Bavarian designer Hildegard Bergbauer has made a name for herself by creating traditional Bavarian clothing for animals. Until recently, this meant Lederhosen and hats for dogs and cats -- but now, she's designing dirndls (traditional Bavarian dresses) for horses.

Although most of Bergbauer's animal designs are just for fun, some of the warmer outerwear proves useful for local pets animals during harsh German winters.

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A horse is a horse of course, of course, unless it's being photographed by Julian Wolkenstein. In that case, a horse is a bewigged beauty perfect for a cheeky, fun photo shoot.

Wolkenstein -- who is an award-winning ad photographer -- says the idea was born of a silly conversation with a friend. But after further consideration, he decided to follow through because, "It is important to do personal projects just for fun," Wolkenstein told the Daily Mail. "Not to sell anything, but just to remind you why you make images, but mostly, and simply, to make you smile."

Who can resist a horse in cornrows? Not us.



So tell us: Do these well-coiffed horses make you smile?

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