Hero Dog Calls Ambulance For Owner
Posted on | September 27, 2008 | No Comments
‘Man’s best friend’ doesn’t go far enough for Buddy — a German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner’s life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure. And it’s not the first time Buddy has been there for owner Joe Stalnaker, a police officer said.
On a recording of the 911 call Wednesday, Buddy is heard whimpering and barking after the dispatcher answers and repeatedly asks if the caller needs help. Police were sent to Stalnaker’s home, and after about three minutes Buddy is heard barking loudly when the officers arrived.
Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said Stalnaker spent two days in a hospital and recovered from the seizure. “It’s pretty incredible,” Clark said. “Even the veteran dispatchers — they haven’t heard of anything like this.”
Clark said police are dispatched whenever 911 is called, but that Stalnaker’s address was flagged in Scottsdale’s system with a notification that a trained assistance dog could call 911 when the owner was incapacitated.
Clark said Stalnaker adopted Buddy at the age of 8 weeks from Michigan-based Paws with a Cause, which trains assistance dogs, and trained him to get the phone if he began to have seizure symptoms. Buddy, now 18 months old, is able to press programmed buttons until a 911 operator is on the line, Clark said.
Clark said Buddy has made two other 911 calls when Stalnaker was having seizures.
Animals never cease to amaze with their devotion and intelligence towards humans, and especially their owners. This is one of those stories that warms the heart and makes you want to go and hug your dog! And please, no matter what the weather, take your dog for at least one walk a day, they deserve it and will be much happier for getting out of the house.
Whale whisperer teaches beluga to ‘talk Japanese’
Posted on | September 25, 2008 | No Comments
A Japanese researcher says he has taught a beluga whale to ‘talk’ by using sounds to identify three different objects, offering hope that humans may one day be able to hold conversations with sea mammals.
Nack, a whale at the Kamogawa Sea World marine park near Tokyo, emits a short, high-pitched sound when he sees a swimming fin, a long, high-pitched sound when he sees goggles and a short, low-pitched sound when he sees a bucket!
He correctly chooses the right object when the three sounds are played back to him.
Tokai University professor Tsukasa Murayama started training Nack after he became dissatisfied with hand-signals currently used to communicate with dolphins and whales.
“I have always wanted to talk to whales, and as I thought more and more about it, I realized that they already communicated through sound,” he told the Reuters Agency.
“That is why I thought I could train them to name certain items using sounds they already make.”
Murayama said he hoped one day to train whales to express their feelings in a way that humans could understand.
“It would be great if they would be able to tell us not only of their likes and dislikes but also their desires, like whether they are hungry or if their backs are itchy. So the next step would be to teach them a wider range of vocabulary,” he added.
Lost cat returned home after 9 years
Posted on | September 10, 2008 | No Comments
A couple have been reunited with their missing cat after nine years, the RSPCA said Wednesday. Dixie, a 15-year-old ginger cat, disappeared in 1999 and her owners thought she had been killed by a car.
She was found less than half a mile from her home in Birmingham after a concerned resident rang the animal charity to report a thin and disheveled cat who had been in the area for a couple of months.
RSPCA Animal Collection Officer Alan Pittaway checked her microchip and confirmed it was Dixie. She was returned to her owners, Alan and Gilly Delaney, within half an hour.
“In 29 years of working for the RSPCA I have never seen anyone so excited and happy as Mrs Delaney,” Pittaway said. “It made my day to return Dixie to her owners.”
The couple were “overjoyed” to be reunited with their missing cat after so many years.
“Dixie’s personality, behavior and little mannerisms have not changed at all,” said Gilly Delaney. “We don’t think she has stopped purring since she came back through the door.”
The RSPCA hope the story will encourage owners to have their pets microchipped.
New Ultra Thin iPods Debut
Posted on | September 10, 2008 | No Comments
Apple has unveiled the latest version of its iPod Nano, featuring what it says are the thinnest measurements yet. The fourth generation Nano was launched at a US press conference by Apple chief Steve Jobs, who announced new shuffle and library features. He also listed the Nano’s environmental credentials, including arsenic-free glass and a mercury and PVC-free body that is “highly recyclable”.
The Nanos are expected to sell in the UK for £109 for the 8GB version. The 16GB version will retail at £149. Speaking live in San Francisco, Mr Jobs unveiled Apple’s new Genius function which allows users to create automatic playlists from the iPod’s library with the click of a button. He said the function worked by taking one song and creating a playlist based on the user’s song library and could also suggest other tracks the user might want to buy.
Mr Jobs described the new Nano as “highly recyclable” and said the new Nano also had a “shake to shuffle” mode, which sends the gadget to shuffle mode with the flick of a wrist allowing you to go backwards and forwards on your playlist.
The Apple chief executive officer said the company had sold more than 160 million iPods since its introduction seven years ago.
An updated iPod Touch – the closest cousin to the iPhone – was also announced at the event. It is thinner than previous models and has integrated volume controls and a built-in speaker for “casual listening” and will also include the Genius function.
New software for the iPhone – which will be available free to all users – would “fix a lot of bugs” including dropped calls and connection problems reported by customers. Mr Jobs said: “We’re really, really excited about all these products. We think people are going to have a lot of fun.”
Gizmodo’s Jesus Dias was not disappointed and said “iPod touch second generation rocks our socks off.” Michael Gartenburg, vice president of Jupiter Media said “These are evolutionary products with some revolutionary new features. Apple has done it again. They have reinvented the line in a way to capture mainstream consumers’ hearts and minds and doing at a price point that is extremely affordable.”
Hugging Reduces Stress
Posted on | September 8, 2008 | No Comments
If you have just had a big falling out with a colleague, there is nothing better than the comforting and consoling arm of a good friend. Chimps, it seems, feel the same way, according to a study at Chester Zoo.
The research is said to provide the first evidence that consolation in primates, such as hugging and stroking, can reduce stress levels after a fight.
The behaviour could indicate some level of empathy, Dr Orlaith Fraser told the British Association Science Festival. “We can’t actually say what’s going on in a chimpanzee’s mind; we can only deduce from their behaviour what’s going on,” the Liverpool John Moores University researcher said.
“Because this behaviour is actually reducing stress levels and it’s being offered by a valuable partner, it seems likely that this is an expression of empathy.”
Dr Fraser and colleagues spent 18 months observing 22 adult chimps at Chester Zoo. They watched closely what happened immediately after the animals had a scrap – perhaps a fight over food, a mate or simply where to sit. In about 50% of cases, the victim in the fight would be consoled by another member of the group. The soothing was always done by a valuable – or best – friend, a chimp with whom the victim would routinely play or share food.
The consolation usually took the form of a kiss or embrace, a grooming session or even play. The scientists could see that this activity had the effect of reducing stress levels, indicated by the return to the animals’ normal activities of self-scratching and self-grooming.
“Sympathetic concern” has also been observed in gorillas, bonobos, dogs and even rooks – but it is the calming effect that it had on the Chester Zoo chimps which is said to be a new observation. “If these chimpanzees are actually motivated by empathy to console victims of aggression, they must first of all be able to recognise that the victim is distressed and then they must know what to do in order to act appropriately to respond to this distress,” said Dr Fraser.
“This is something often thought to be a unique trait to humans, so understanding the link between consolation and stress reduction in chimpanzees is an important step towards understanding whether or not chimpanzees are capable of this level of empathy.”
So let’s have more hugs all round!
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