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Dogs and humans have a long history of friendship, and hunting has been one of the main reasons people have bred dogs over the centuries. There are ancient cave paintings depicting stories of dogs walking alongside man. The story goes back 20,000 years to the time of pre-agricultural hunter-gatherers. As far back as 12,000 years ago, there's evidence of dogs used for hunting, guarding and hauling weight. In most every culture, dogs have played a longstanding and important role. The ancient Chinese kept dogs as companions and for hunting. In Egypt, dogs held great cultural significance and were often mummified...

After 60 dogs and 11 cats were seized from a hoarding situation in the Antelope Valley last week, the neglected animals were taken to a number of Department of Animal Care and Control shelters across Los Angeles County, including the Castaic Shelter. Despite reports circulating on social media that 160 German shepherds had been confiscated, a department official confirmed Thursday that a total of 60 dogs were seized — 59 German shepherds and a French bulldog — in addition to 11 cats, two peacocks and several chickens.

Every US state has a motto. Some are interesting, like “Live Free of Die,” in New Hampshire, and some are sadly truthful, like, “Our Government is Vampiric” in Massachusetts. Just kidding. It’s more along the lines of “We’ll Tax You to Death,” or something like that. Anyway, some, like the motto for the 49th state, Alaska, are very upbeat and offer a sense of adventure. In Alaska, politicians tell us to look, “North, to The Future.” But, a shocking move by the federal government might inspire Alaskans to change their motto to, “Our Land Is Being Stolen By The Feds!”...

Three rare white tigers have been born at a Polish zoo, just days after the private facility welcomed another rare litter of four white lion cubs.

My unexpected encounter with a live snake lying in wait a few feet from where I was working inside the house, reminds me of what lies on the road to Election 2016. Shrieks to be heard coming from Lake Huron country yesterday morning were mine and not Hillary’s. My little dog Yankee tipped me off to its presence by trying to growl it away, and while someone else was getting rid of it, I was already out on the deck leading from the room where it was found, shivering and shaking. It was only a garter snake, and a little...

A few of our memories, pets. The last pictorial, my wife, swinging on that back yard swing with the rooster R. I. Red, at her right side.

Mason and Joe after a successful day's hunt. As many have learned, teaching a skill can be more enjoyable than exercising it. Last year I took Joe hunting, and he shot his first doves.  In between seasons, I taught him to drive.  This year I asked if he wanted to go hunting again, and he did.  He asked if he could bring a friend, Mason.  Mason had already been dove hunting, he said.  After a few questions, I agreed.  Mason is 16.  The boys were up and ready at 05:30, as I had asked.  It was gratifying to see...

Kim Woodman, dressed as he was when attacked by the brown bear on Humpy Creek (courtesy Kim Woodman) Video from Kim Woodman On 29 July, 2016, about 4 p.m. Kim Woodman was attacked by a sow brown bear at Humpy Creek. Kim had a Glock model 20 10 mm pistol with him.  He was able to stop the attack by shooting the bear as it charged at him.  While backing away from the charging bear, Kim tripped and fell backward.  He instinctively attempted to fend off the bear with his foot, while he concentrated on firing the shots that...

When it comes to dogs, do you think they prefer a nice belly rub or a delicious treat? While the dog from the Beggin' Strips commercial is always thrilled about devouring his treat, chances are he actually would have preferred a nice pat on the head, according to new research. Scientists at Emory University wanted to see if dogs value human companionship more than food. This led them to conduct brain scans of 15 dogs while presenting objects paired with rewards. For example, after the dogs were shown a toy car, their owners would praise them....

Photo from Sumter County Sheriff's Office About 6:30 p.m. on June 21, 2016, a 8.5-9 foot, 300 lb alligator was discovered near some agitated horses that belonged to Reginald Blanton, 74 years old. Blanton shot the reptile with a 9mm handgun, reportedly hitting it two or three times.  Where he hit it is not clear, but the shots would likely have been  mortal, because the alligator was still there, lying in the grass, when the authorities "euthanized it". While the story is two months old, there are important lessons to learn. After the shots, Blanton's stepson, Jack Hildreth, 58,...

Driving to the Ranch through the Mohawk valley, east of Yuma, I noticed the gentleman pictured above.  I stopped to take his picture and determine his business. You can see that the soil in this area is a fluffy loam.  It is highly productive, irrigated by Colorado River water.  This area near Yuma is some of the most productive agricultural land in the United States and in the world. Leo did not mind having his picture taken.  I asked him if he were guarding the field from birds that would eat the seeds.  No, he said, ground squirrels. He...

The 10mm is becoming increasingly popular as a wilderness defense gun in Alaska.  Fully loaded it is as light, and a bit more powerful than a loaded, small frame .357 magnum. The Glock 20 holds 15 rounds versus five or six for a .44 or .41 magnum revolver.  In this case near Homer, Alaska, on the Kenai peninsula, it did the job in stopping a charging brown bear sow. It happened on 29 July, 2016, a Monday afternoon about 4 p.m.  From homernews.com: A Homer man shot and killed a charging sow brown bear at Humpy Creek last Friday....

Sebastian County, Arkansas – Greenwood Police K9 Kina has been missing since she was shot in the back of a patrol car on Wednesday. Sebastian County Deputy Bill Cooper was murdered in the same incident. Billy Jones opened fire on officers who were responding to a family disturbance call. Deputy Cooper was murdered when Jones in the shooting. Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells was also shot, but only received a grazing head wound.

Olivia Sievers, a flight attendant from Germany, often travels to Argentina for work. She came across a street dog outside of the hotel she was staying at one time, and gave him a little love. He didn’t forget her, and when she arrived at the hotel during her next trip, he was there waiting for her. She knew they were meant to be together, and before long she made arrangements to bring him home with her for good. She came across the dog while walking around near her hotel in Buenos Aires. Olivia gave him some food and played with...

A friend of mine had a Defensive Gun Use (DGU) a few days ago. He had parked a bike near the front door, cable locked to a metal chair. It is a decent cable lock. The dog started alerting at the door, in the middle of day, during the week.  There was no knock or doorbell. My friend keeps odd hours. My friend accessed his house gun, a S&W N frame model 28, that had been converted to .45 ACP.  The security door was locked.  He opened the inside door with his left hand, the .45 revolver in his...

Published on May 5, 2016 I Think My Dog's a Democrat Music Video Bryan Lewis Hilarious or should we say "Hillaryous" Buy single on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/album/id11114... Category Entertainment License Standard YouTube License

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) convened a needed Task Force on Reducing Regulatory Burdens as part of his legislative agenda, "A Better Way." The Speaker and his colleagues who worked on the task force have rightly identified the massive regulatory burden imposed by federal bureaucrats as an obstacle to economic growth and a distortion of our constitutional form of government. That is why it is baffling that Ryan has failed to bring regulatory reform legislation that recently passed the Senate to the floor of the House for a vote. The tale is one of catfish and courage. The catfish you...

On Tuesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) formally announced the removal of the lesser prairie chicken from the endangered species protection list. They did not take this step voluntarily; FWS lost a court case last year which ordered the agency to remove the bird from the list. However, even as they complied with the court’s order, the FWS issued a threat that the agency’s land grab under the guise of conservation was not over. In the words of Director Dan Ashe, “Responding to this court ruling by removing the bird from the Federal List does not mean we are...

This year, February 27, Pokémon (pocket monster) turned 20. It was created by Japanese game designer Satoshi Tajiri for Nintendo as a video game for the old Gameboy handheld video game platform. My sons still own theirs. It was introduced to the United States in 1998. Nintendo was quick to capitalize on its popularity. The video game soon spawned a celebrated trading card game, books, movies and a television series. The tag line of Pokémon is: “Gotta Catch Em All.” Since then, at least a few of the Pokémon characters have gained international recognition. One of the most recognized characters,...

This is my very first vanity after nearly twelve years on FR. I just want to ask other animal lovers to say a prayer for my cat. I am not normally one to ask for help, but I am stressed out. She is sixteen and over the past week has been going through some bad stuff that came on rather suddenly. I won't go into the details but you might consider buying stock in paper towels and cleaning supplies. The doctors have eliminated everything and seem to think it is a bleeding stomach ulcer. She came home today but I...