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Dogs can copy each other's expressions in a split-second just like people, showing signs of basic empathy, according to Italian researchers. Mimicking each other's facial expressions is a human habit, which helps people to get along. Dogs do the same to bond with other dogs, scientists report in the journal, Royal Society Open Science. They think dogs may be showing a basic built-in form of empathy, enabling them to pick up on emotions. And the phenomenon may have emerged in our canine companions during the process of domestication, say scientists from the Natural History Museum, University of Pisa.

Large dogs are held in high esteem for a variety of reasons: for their large stature, their strength, and their protective nature and keen watchdog abilities. If you're looking for a reliable canine defender, it's important to consider not only the physical attributes of a dog breed, but its temperament, as well. Using data from Animal Planet, PetBreeds found the 29 best guard dogs and ranked them by popularity, according to the 2014 AKC popularity rankings. (Three dog breeds that had no ranking were put at the bottom of the list.) Criteria used included that the breed must possess a...

On May 1, Jill Dyche was filming dogs at the Carson Animal Shelter in California when she heard a dog crying. When she found the 9 year old Doberman, she saw that his owner was surrendering him. Jill captured the Dobie’s heartbreak on video and shared it on Facebook. It soon went viral.

Fleas kill dog left tied-up and crying for help "That dog was crying for at least eight hours. I had never heard an animal so sad in my life,” said a neighbor.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Mail Carrier Mark Pizzo ... I see the dog struggling with the little girl.. It did not take Pizzo long to realize if he did not act, something terrible was about to happen. I yelled out of my truck. When I yelled out of my truck, nothing happened. Then I heard her scream. I'll never forget the scream. The scream I will never forget for as long as I live, Pizzo said. Pizzo told WBTV he ran towards the seven-year-old, whose head was gripped in the jaws of a neighbor's Pitt Bull. The dog had started to...

The owner of four pitbulls is facing a murder charge after his dogs mauled to death a 4-year-old boy in Detroit, Michigan. Geneke Antonio Lyons, 41, was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and possessing dangerous animals causing death, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. The vicious attack occurred last week as the boy and his mother were walking together down the street. The dogs attacked the pair and dragged the child under a fence and into Lyons' backyard, where the boy was found lying on his back with "massive wounds," according to the prosecutor's office. Three of the dogs...

Police say a pack of pit bulls yanked a 4-year-old Detroit boy away from his mother and mauled him to death. ... The attack occurred while the boy was walking with his mother. A witness, Nyasha Reid, says the mother screamed, "They got my baby." .. the dogs dragged the boy back to where they live. ..the mother tried to fight the dogs off.

A seven-year-old German shepherd named "Louie," bears the painful evidence of neglect on his once regal body. Louie used to live in an affluent neighborhood with a family which was described as "well off." For a time, the purebred shepherd, who had been purchased for thousands of dollars, was a beloved part of his family's life...everything changed when he was banished to live his life outside after the family welcomed a new baby. Louie's life of being a pampered pet vanished and as he endured life outside, his health began to deteriorate. Of little matter was his fine pedigree or...

Russian authorities have gifted France with an adorable police dog in a show of support following the massive terror attack that killed 130 people and a shepherd named Diesel that was blown to pieces by a suicide bomber. Diesel, a Belgian Malinois, died in a hail of gunfire by female suicide bomber, Hansa Aitboulahcen, during an anti-terror raid in suburban Saint-Denis on Wednesday, according to France's National Police. Now, the Russian government is sending over Dobrynia, a furry new companion named after a Russian folklore hero to help "in the fight against terrorism," Russian government officials said.

Dog lover Anthony Riggs was killed by a Rottweiler he had adopted from an animal control centre Anthony Riggs had adopted the dog Photo: Jackson Madison County Rabies Control Tributes have been paid to a Tennessee man who was 'mauled to death' by a stray dog he had adopted on the day he died. Anthony Riggs was attacked by a five-year-old male Rottweiler that had been taken in by a county-run animal control facility. "He never hesitated to be with dogs. Sometimes I thought he related to dogs better than to people," his ex-wife Adrienne Riggs told the Jackson Sun....

The 2-year-old pit bull named Diesel was in the family's living room about 7:15 p.m. Sunday playing with Lisa M. Cittadino's three daughters ages 7, 10 and 12 when Diesel turned on the child, deputies said. Cittadino, 32, toid police she turned her back momentarily and heard screams from her son and daughters. Police said the child was near the dog's food dish, which may have caused the dog to attack. pit bulls are more dangerous than other breeds because they are hard to stop once they have started to attack. "The thing about pit bulls is if things go...

An 11-month-old boy was attacked and killed by the family's pet pit bull last night, according to Oneida County Sheriff Robert M. Maciol. The incident occurred about 7:15 p.,m. at a home at 2700 State Route 12B in the town of Marshall in Oneida County. The 2-year-old pit bull named Diesel was in the family's living room playing with Lisa M. Cittadino's three daughters ages 7, 10 and 12, police said. Cittadino, 32, tolid police she turned her back momentarily and then heard screams from her son and daughters. Cittadino said she saw the dog attacking her son, and began...

A 9-year-old girl died Sunday after a pit bull attacked her while she played with friends in a Long Island backyard, authorities said. Nassau County police officers responded to a 911 call at a Holland Avenue house in Elmont at around 10:30 a.m. and found the dog attacking the girl. When one of the officers entered the yard from the house, the dog charged at the officer, who shot and killed the animal, said Detective Michael Bitsko. "It was a violent attack," he said. "They had to put the dog down." The girl's identity hasn't been disclosed by police. There...

“……..But John Bailey, then the director of Arkansas’s state police, tells NEWSWEEK that Governor Huckabee’s chief of staff and personal lawyer both leaned on him to write a letter officially denying the local prosecutor’s request. Bailey, a career officer who had been appointed chief by Huckabee’s Democratic predecessor, said he viewed the lawyer’s intervention as improper and terminated the conversation. Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee’s office and fired. “I’ve lost confidence in your ability to do your job,” Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was “I couldn’t get you to help me with my...

FLORIDA CITY, Fla. -A woman from Florida City is outraged after she said a police officer knocked on her front door Tuesday morning and shot her dog when it ran outside. The dog's owner, Gillian Palacios, told Local 10 News that the officer knocked on her door at 832 SW Seventh St. to inform her that she had left her car door open. She said her 2-year-old, 40-pound bulldog-mix Duchess, ran outside and was shot three times in the head by the officer. RAW FOOTAGE DISCLAIMER: Video contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Palacios said the officer told...

Sara Domaradzka had just escaped her family's burning two-flat in Portage Park early Tuesday when her dog Bambi scrambled out of her arms and raced back into the flames. Her family believes the 4-year-old terrier-Labrador mix knew Domaradzka's 69-year-old father was still in the home and went back after him. "She ran back into the house to find (Sara's) dad, and then they both got stuck there," said Domaradzka's boyfriend, Alessandro Mininni. Firefighters arrived at the home on the 5100 block of West Grace Street around 1:30 a.m. and carried out Piotr Domaradzka, who did not have any vital signs....

An Okmulgee County family turned to 2 Works for You for answers after their dog was shot and killed by a Morris police officer. *WARNING: Watch the video in the player above, unedited, but it does contain content that could be considered disturbing.* On September 27, Jeana was out of town and her kids were staying with family in Morris. Her dog, Leesie, was at a neighbor's home when something went terribly wrong. READ OFFICER NARRATIVE HERE Leesie had been locked inside the house. But, at some point, the front door was kicked in during a burglary attempt, ultimately letting...

A bomb-sniffing combat dog named Mike survived two tours of duty in Iraq but not the streets of a bucolic little town in Wyoming. The 9-year-old Belgian Malinois was shot and killed in Powell last Saturday by a bicyclist who said he was attacked, leaving Mike’s devastated owner Matthew Bessler, a retired Army Ranger, wondering how he is going to deal with his combat-related injuries alone.

Ah, the fake service dog. Like out-of-sync traffic lights and above-ground power lines, they’re one of those things that make my normally mild British temperament fall by the wayside. Allow me to rephrase that - it’s not the dogs that make my blood boil, but rather their owners. Who are these people? You’ve probably seen them. For me, the most recent was a lady in the grocery store with a teacup poodle in a Coach purse. Before that, there was the guy in the health food store pushing a Yorkshire terrier in a stroller. A few years ago it was...

To Protect and Serve? When Whitehill resident Andrea accidentally cut her arm on glass, her sister frantically called 911, "I need a paramedic." Columbus Police Officer Jon Thomas responded to the house where he pulled out his gun and shot toward the family's dog (which he claims ran toward him), missed, and hit Andrea's four-year-old daughter Ava in the leg, shattering her bone. As The Columbus Dispatch reports, Andrea also revealed that the cop never apologized or asked if Ava was okay and immediately left after shooting her. A Columbus police officer accidentally wounded a 4-year-old girl in Whitehall...