Thursday, August 21, 2008

Twin Baby Moose, Mom and a Sprinkler

Sometimes, sometimes, you just need to sit back and watch a 4-minute video of twin baby moose, their mom and how they enjoy a sprinkler outside a home in Alaska. All set to the music of Alison Krauss' "When You Say Nothing at All."

Enjoy the beauty of family.

How Myrtle Helped Me Find Grace


I remember the first pet I ever lost. Her name was Myrtle and she was a little painted turtle.

One of my brothers and I had put her in the toilet to watch her swim. I turned my head to yell a question to Mom in the next room. Instead of her response, I heard the sound of disaster: My 6-year-old brother had pushed down the toilet's handle, and Myrtle was swirling away from my reach. Through my sobbing, I heard him tell Mom that he wanted to see if Myrtle could reach the ocean. Neither of us understood that our house was hooked up to a septic tank.

Mom hugged me and brushed away my 5-year-old tears, and taught my brother and me something we could understand: We needed to love our pets every day because we would live longer than they would. We didn't exactly understand why, but we accepted her explanation. She anticipated our next question: "Yes, Myrtle is in turtle heaven."

Alex Guillen, one of our summer reporting interns, writes in the fall issue of Delaware Pets about that unfortunate reality -- how parents must prepare their children for the day when Fluffy or Nemo or Buddy winds up in their specific heaven. On the day we lost Myrtle, Mom said a few words, and we bowed our heads and prayed for a turtle.

It was a lesson in grace and humility, and as I've lost pets as a teen and later as an adult, it was the solace to which I always returned.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Golden Retriever Nurses Tiger Cubs

Yep, you read the headline correctly. This golden does nurse tiger cubs at a Kansas zoo, and she even licks them. It's amazing how adaptable and welcoming one animal can be to another - in the right circumstances.

Maybe, as people, we could learn a little from them.

What's the most unusual interaction you've seen between different types of animals?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Coming in Delaware Pets: What Dreams May Come


The next issue of Delaware Pets, which should start hitting stores and other pet places beginning late next week, will feature a cover story on whether pets, especially dogs, dream.

Reporter robin brown has found out some interesting details about what happens when pooches like little Cooper, the Bichon puppy of Nicole Gravino of Newark, take a snooze. Look for her story and a photo gallery of other sleeping dogs at www.delawareonline.com/pets