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There's a new twist to the perennial argument about which is smarter, cats or dogs. It has to do with their brains, specifically the number of neurons in their cerebral cortex: the "little gray cells" associated with thinking, planning and complex behavior -- all considered hallmarks of intelligence. The first study to actually count the number of cortical neurons in the brains of a number of carnivores, including cats and dogs, has found that dogs possess significantly more of them than cats. "In this study, we were interested in comparing different species of carnivorans to see how the numbers of...

Full title........................Dogs really ARE smarter than cats: Canines have more than twice as many brain cells linked to intelligence............ The debate over whether dogs or cats are the smartest pet has raged for decades, if not centuries. But in a twist that is sure to ruffle the fur of cat-lovers, new research shows that dogs are more intelligent than their feline foes after all. Experts showed that dogs have more than twice as many brain cells in a region linked with thinking, planning and other complex behaviours.

This holiday season UPS drivers will be delivering packages of joy to homes in the form of electronics, toys and ugly Christmas sweaters. But we’re most thankful for what these drivers are gifting us just by looking at our Facebook feed. Every day, a new set of adorable mugs greet us as drivers complete their routes. “During each day, drivers encounter many dogs, most friendly and some not so nice. When time permits, drivers snap a photo and send it in to UPS Dogs. Our followers love the photos and the stories told as we share our love of these...

UPPSALA, Sweden — Thinking of getting a pet, but not sure it’s worth it? Some new research may change your mind. A new study finds that dog owners enjoy longer lives than others. Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden looked at a broad set of data on more than 3.4 million healthy adult Swedes between ages 40 and 80 to determine whether dog ownership could help prevent cardiovascular disease. Man carrying dog A new study finds that dog owners may live longer thanks to lower rates of heart disease and other deadly ailments. (Photo by Jordan Koons on Unsplash) Interestingly,...

If you listen to the nattering nabobs of social media negativity, and you shouldn’t, you might get the false impression that our dreams of a conservative future are imploding. You would be wrong. There is a lot for conservatives to be thankful for, and we’re winning. To paraphrase noted tax reform advocate Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57, always bet on red.No. 1: Be Thankful That Hillary Is Not Our President.Every day, it is a joy to awaken, unlike Hillary Clinton, without a hangover. Oh yes, and also to awaken knowing that Felonia von Pantsuit is not, and will never be,...

Best Friend From Heaven sees Kristofferson voice a dead pooch sent back to earth to arrange his owner’s nuptials. It’s a new low for the ‘talking animals’ genre https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=KfD8nLAeMDQ You would think that, by now, people would have stopped making films about talking animals. You would think that, after witnessing the monstrosities that were Andy the Talking Hedgehog, A Talking Cat!?! and Kevin Spacey’s Nine Lives, producers would run a giddy mile from such a flat-out dismal genre. And yet. Not only is there a new contender in town, but it might be the most inexplicable of them all. The...

Shuwaymis is an area about 370 km southwest of the city of Ha’il, near the town of al-Ha’it, in southern Ha’il province. The petroglyphs were known by local Bedouin for centuries, but only drawn to the attention of authorities by a local school headmaster, Mamdouh al Rasheedi, in 2001. Professor Saad Abdul Aziz al-Rashid, calls Shuwaymis “a unique and very important find.” The setting differs significantly from Jubbah in being surrounded by striking lava flows that impede travel, especially by camels and horses. Wadis are therefore important avenues for herders, and it is in these valleys that Neolithic and later...

Here's to keeping your health on a tight leash: New research suggests that having a dog might boost a single person's life span. The study tracked more than 3.4 million Swedes, middle-aged and older, for 12 years. All were free of heart disease at the beginning of the study. The researchers reported that dog owners who lived alone were 11 percent less likely to die of heart disease and a third less likely to die from any cause, compared with those who lived alone and didn't have a dog. The study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, but its lead researcher said there...

Chicago is said to be the rat capital of America. The city is expected to break last year’s record for the number of rat complaints. “Walking to the subway after work, I looked down and there was a rat walking alongside me,” said a trained journalist not given to exaggeration. “It was gigantic, like a small dog or a fat squirrel. It just walked along without fear.” But don’t worry, Chicago. I’ve got a guy. And I hope Mayor Rahm Emanuel is listening. Jordan Reed, the legendary American rat catcher, is known far and wide in the rat-hunting community for...

Jessika Edwards told CNN that she and Devin Kelley worked together at Hollomon Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 to 2012. Kelley was released from the military on a bad-conduct discharge in 2014 after serving time for assaulting his wife and stepson. Edwards said that when the two made contact on Facebook in 2014, Kelley said he had been purchasing dogs through Craigslist and then using them for “target practice.” While in the Air Force, she said, Kelley was preoccupied with mass murders and made jokes about killing people. ..." In 2014, the same year he allegedly made...

Slash the chocolate Lab jumped into Kate Rondelli’s bed in the middle of the night Tuesday, licking her face to wake her up. There was trouble. The dog led her to her son’s room, where Rondelli tested her 4-year-old’s blood sugar levels: Over 400 milligrams per deciliter, more than twice the maximum range desirable for the little boy with Type 1 diabetes. Rondelli quickly gave her son, Mylon, insulin to stabilize his levels, averting a possible medical emergency. “His nose is always working,” Rondelli said. Slash is a diabetes detection dog, trained to alert Rondelli when her son’s blood sugar...

Humans love dogs more than their fellow man. Two major studies showed that mankind has more empathy for pooches in dire circumstances than suffering people, according to a report in the Times of London. A UK medical research charity staged two phony donation campaigns – one with a dog and the other featuring a man. Of course, the pooch drew more contributions. “Would you give pounds 5 to save Harrison from a slow, painful death?” the separate ads said, featuring a canine and human “Harrison.” Then a Northeastern University study showed that only a baby human could compete with man’s...

Dogs really do put on their puppy eyes to pull on our emotional heartstrings, new research has found. Experts found that pet pooches raise their brows when they are being looked at, making their eyes look bigger, as well as pulling a number of other expressions. Our manipulative four legged friends do not respond with more facial expressions upon seeing tasty food, however. This suggests that they change facial expressions to communicate and not just because they are excited.

For the first time in the history of the world's most famous sled dog race, several of the high-performance animals have tested positive for a prohibited drug. But race officials have refused to name the musher involved. Several dogs tested positive for the opioid pain reliever Tramadol, the governing board of the nearly 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race said in a statement. The team was tested six hours after finishing the nearly 1,000-mile race in Nome in March, officials said. They estimate the drug could have been administered between 15 hours before the test and right before it.

But the days of having to pick up after your dog could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a bizarre new gadget. The £22 ($29) Piqapoo is a soft clip that holds a collection bag, and clips onto your dog's tail, collecting waste so you don't have to.

Iran’s response to President Trump’s decertification of the nuclear deal, teased all week and finally made official on Friday, includes a mixture of belligerent rhetoric, ominous threats, and uncertainty about whether the deal can survive. Belligerent rhetoric poured in for days as decertification became a certainty. Among the latest examples was Brig. General Esmail Ghaani, deputy commander of the infamous Quds Force, declaring that Iran is ready to “bury” President Trump. “We are not a war-mongering country. But any military action against Iran will be regretted. … Trump’s threats against Iran will damage America,” Ghaani said to Iran’s Tansim News...

A city worker in Tulsa has been fired after a family says he killed their dog right in front of them. Julie Bailey tells KJRH that she was getting ready to take her two dogs on a walk on Friday afternoon when a city worker came to check the water meter. As she reached the front porch, the dogs got away from her. “They were still on the leash. The leash was going down the yard. I immediately got up to chase after the leashes so I could step on them, but they were faster than I was,” she said....

Things We Can Learn from Dogs and Cats Msgr. Charles Pope • October 4, 2017 • Here at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Washington, D.C., we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi with the blessing of the animals. Although most folks bring dogs to be blessed, there are usually some who bring cats and a few other animals like ferrets. Once, someone even brought a snake!In the past I have shared a list of things we can learn from dogs. When I was growing up, we always had a dog, so although I did not compose the...

Jihad Watch reported on September 28 about this incident: a woman got on an airplane, saw dogs on it, and demanded they be removed because she had, she said, “life-threatening allergies.” When she could not produce documentation of that fact, she was herself removed from the plane. “She was later arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey a reasonable and lawful order, disturbing the peace, obstructing and hindering a police officer, and resisting arrest.” It turned out that she was a Muslim and a professor of Islamic studies, which was noteworthy because Islam has a notable hostility to...

The airline says that the woman had complained about two dogs aboard the Los Angeles-bound aircraft last Tuesday, stating that she had a life-threatening pet allergy. But the woman could not provide a medical certificate, without which the airline can deny a passenger boarding... ... The passenger refused requests for her to deplane, and law enforcement was called in to remove her from the flight. ... She was later arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey a reasonable and lawful order, disturbing the peace, obstructing and hindering a police officer, and resisting arrest. ... The woman...has a very...