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In ancient Egypt, so many people worshiped Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death, that the catacombs next to his sacred temple once held nearly 8 million mummified puppies and grown dogs, a new study finds. The catacomb ceiling also contains the fossil of an ancient sea monster, a marine vertebrate that's more than 48 million years old, but it's unclear whether the Egyptians noticed the existence of the fossil when they built the tomb for the canine mummies, the researchers said. Many of the mummies have since disintegrated or been disrupted by grave robbers and industrialists, who likely used the...

In ancient Egypt, so many people worshiped Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death, that the catacombs next to his sacred temple once held nearly 8 million mummified puppies and grown dogs, a new study finds. The catacomb ceiling also contains the fossil of an ancient sea monster, a marine vertebrate that's more than 48 million years old, but it's unclear whether the Egyptians noticed the existence of the fossil when they built the tomb for the canine mummies, the researchers said. Many of the mummies have since disintegrated or been disrupted by grave robbers and industrialists, who likely used the...

Scientists in the Russian Far East have carried out a post-mortem examination of the remains of the only mummified dog ever found in the world. Found sealed inside permafrost during a hunt for traces of woolly mammoths, the perfectly-preserved body is 12,450 years old. The dog, believed to be a three-month-old female, was unearthed in 2011 on the Syallakh River in the Ust-Yana region of Yakutia, also known as the Sakha Republic. Experts spent the past four years analysing the body – which included not just bones but also its heart, lungs and stomach – but only carried out the...

On May 27, The Roanoke Times ran a deeply irresponsible opinion piece entitled “Beware of rescue dogs.” According to The Times, it was written by a “semi-retired registered nurse who has never been without a family dog.” That is a bit like allowing me a platform to pontificate on brain surgery because I have had a brain all my life. Bonny T. Lee’s ignorance with regard to shelter dogs, pit bull type dogs and the responsible use of statistics is shocking. She provides dubiously sourced statistics on the numbers of human deaths from dog attacks in terms like “13 and...

<p>MAYNARD, Mass. (AP) — It was a summer day at the dog park when Fred Levy, a professional pet photographer, overheard a conversation that he couldn't shake off.</p> <p>A woman was talking about "Black Dog Syndrome" — a theory that black dogs are less likely to be adopted than those with lighter coats, perhaps because of superstition or a notion that black dogs are aggressive. Experts debate whether it's a myth or reality, but it struck Levy.</p>

The dachshund in the video above is called Lolli. She’s the official model for Disco Dog, an LED vest for your pooch that can be controlled using your smartphone. Party New York, the creative agency behind Disco Dog, just closed a successful $22,527 Kickstarter campaign to create 45 vests for a select band of backers. Bad news though! It has no plans to make more. That means you won’t be able to dress your beloved canine up in colored lights or make use of the iPhone app which lets you choose colors and design custom patterns. There’s even a ‘lost...

A brave dog chased a bear three times his size off his owner's property near Naples and it was all caught on camera. A neighbor in the Golden Gate community filmed the whole thing. The Pitbull mix protected his family and property by chasing the black bear away. The owner says the dog felt threatened by the bear so he did his job. But the owner wasn't surprised to see the video because the dog routinely chases black bears. Florida Fish and Wildlife says bears can be avoided by keeping any food inside and securely stored.

Every little girl loves playing dress-up and enjoys giving makeovers. Normally the person getting the make-over is usually the mother, an aunt, or a doll—but in this case the one getting a make-over is the dog. We all know that doberman are usually potentially dangerous and vicious dogs. But this very tough-looking doberman is such a doll. He enjoys getting his nails done by an adorable little girl. You can see him sitting patiently as the girl paints all the nails of his front paws in different colors. This video shows the lesser-known, softer side of the breed, and just...

Come June 22 and the small city of Yulin, some 780 km southwest of the Chinese capital, comes alive with a food festival. But many people in China and around the world want this festival banned. The reason – dog meat is the main attraction on the menu. Local residents say the practice of eating dog meat with lychee, a popular fruit in south China, is meant to welcome the summer solstice on June 22. Eating dog meat isn't new to the people of Yulin. In fact, it is consumed every day. However, activists say the practice was popularised in...

This is a TV program that reports on an organization that trains and donates Service Dogs to disabled veterans. A wonderfully moving short film about the program and how it serves our vets. And the charity serves a double purpose. Some of the trainers are female inmates of the Texas Dept. of Corrections--and they are learning something too. Go to> https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=13&v=K8w9nrvaEgw

The ancestors of modern wolves and dogs split into different evolutionary lineages 27,000 to 40,000 years ago, much earlier than some other research has suggested, scientists reported Thursday. The new finding is based on a bone fragment found on the Taimyr Peninsula in Siberia several years ago. When scientists studied the bone and reconstructed its genome — the first time that had been done for an ancient wolf, or any kind of ancient carnivore — they found it was a new species that lived 35,000 years ago. Based on the differences between the genome of the new species, called the...

Dogs have been man's best friend for up to 40,000 years, suggests new research. The study shows dogs' special relationship with humans might date back 27,000 to 40,000 years. The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, come from genomic analysis of an ancient Taimyr wolf bone.

[Warning: photos at link are graphic.] Abandoned and abused, 36 Golden Retrievers were rescued from the streets of Turkey before authorities could poison them, shoot them or bury them alive. They are now in America, awaiting adoption. Sadly, these Turkish dogs were not so lucky: Hurriyet Daily News - Fifteen dogs were found dead, cast out in the depths of Istanbul’s Beykoz forests with poison frothing from their mouths in what has been yet another stray dog massacre. A dog genocide took place in the Kepez, Konyaalti and Muratpasa areas of Antalya in Turkey It was so appalling that animal...

A stray dog adopted an orphan kitten after losing her litter of puppies. They were discovered in a roadside ditch on March 17. The dog couldn’t let her baby out of her sight. The unlikely pair were rescued and taken to the Mercy Animal Clinic in Garland, Texas. The little baby kitten, less than 10 days old, has been nursing on the dog mama for milk. They named them Pittie and Kitty. [Scroll down for videos] “Each morning and when I go in to get Kitty for a feeding she is usually snuggled with Pittie,” said Dr. Rick Hamlin. “Every...

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas veterinarian has kept a dog from going out with a bang after the animal ate 23 live rifle rounds. Benno, the 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, had surgery last week to remove the .308 caliber ammunition from his stomach, The Baxter Bulletin ( http://bit.ly/1QoyXHL ) reported.

Officials rescued three abused pit bulls in the middle of an illegal dog fight this weekend taking place in a car wash in Paterson, New Jersey. One of the dogs, which was found bleeding and severely injured, has been given a 50/50 chance of living after being whisked away from the fighting pen on Friday. Four men have been arrested after the fight, including the ringleader and landlord who rented out the building. Officials rescued three abused pit bulls in the middle of an illegal dog fight this weekend taking place in a car wash in Paterson, New Jersey. One...

When one is looking to bring home a dog, one of the things that factors into the decision is their intelligence. Finding out the intelligence level of specific dog breeds is important in terms of how easily a dog can be trained and how obedient and responsive they will be based on their ability to understand commands, which will give one the best chance of having a happy life with their new pet as opposed to having it be an added stress. Dogs with the highest levels of intelligence are very well-suited for work as service dogs for those with...

A police officer investigating a report of a burglary in northern New Jersey went to the wrong address and killed a dog that lunged at him. Wyckoff police received a report of a possible break-in at 621 Lawlins Road on Wednesday. Police Chief Benjamin Fox tells The Record ( http://bit.ly/1bYaZVi ) newspaper that Officer Kyle Ferreira went to 622 Lawlins by mistake.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The discovery of a tomb filled with decapitated bodies suggests Mexico's 2,000 year-old "Pyramid of the Moon" may have been the site of horrifically gory sacrifices, archeologists said on Thursday. The tomb at Teotihuacan, the first major city built in the Americas, whose origins are one of history's great mysteries, also held the bound carcasses of eagles, dogs and other animals. "It is hard to believe that the ritual consisted of clean, symbolic performances -- it is most likely that the ceremony created a horrible scene of bloodshed with sacrificed people and animals," said Saburo Sugiyama,...

(‘They came with a battering ram.”) Cindy Archer, one of the lead architects of Wisconsin’s Act 10 — also called the “Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill,” it limited public-employee benefits and altered collective-bargaining rules for public-employee unions — was jolted awake by yelling, loud pounding at the door, and her dogs’ frantic barking. The entire house — the windows and walls — was shaking. She looked outside to see up to a dozen police officers, yelling to open the door. They were carrying a battering ram. VIDEO: David French Discusses ‘Wisconsin’s Shame’ She wasn’t dressed, but she started to run toward...