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Her sacrifice paved the way for future human spaceflight, leaving her a lasting legacy as one of the early pioneers of space exploration.Who was Laika? The stray dog who sacrificed her life for space mission The Soviet Union made history by sending the first living creature into space, a stray dog named Laika, on November 3, 1957. The mission was intended to find out if space travel would be safe for humans. Unfortunately, it was a one-way trip, as there was no technology to bring her back to Earth. Found wandering the streets of Moscow a few days before...

Aug. 8 (UPI) -- A British Columbia woman's home security camera recorded the moment a bear that broke into her house was chased back out by her 6-pound Pomeranian. Kayla Kleine shared security camera footage from her West Vancouver home showing the moment a bear wandered into the house Monday while she had the door propped open for circulation amid high heat The footage shows the bear investigating the home's TV before raiding the breakfast Kleine had put out for her small dog, Scout. Seconds later, Scout comes running out from a side room and chases the bear while barking....

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Thousands of frozen hot dogs spilled across Interstate-83 in Pennsylvania, closing the busy highway in both directions after a multi-vehicle collision. State police and four separate fire departments responded to the crash this week at an exit in Shrewsbury, Pa., the Shrewsbury Volunteer Fire Company confirmed on Facebook.

(WLOS) — In downtown Spartanburg’s Morgan Square in South Carolina, you’ll see the "I Love You” statue created by students from The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, and a statue commemorating Revolutionary War hero Daniel Morgan. But the most talked-about piece of public art on the square may be the one that honors border collie Chaser, known as “the smartest dog in the world.” “She knows a thousand words,” said Spartanburg philanthropist Monty Mullen. “She had 1,000 toys and they were all named, and she could identify them.” Chaser was owned and trained by Dr. John...

CORNELIUS, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) – A woman in North Carolina said she helped a dog who was trapped inside a hot car on a 90-degree day, but a responding police officer told her she had “no right” to do so. Suzanne Vella said on June 7, she saw a dog panting inside a hot car that was parked in a shopping center parking lot. She immediately knew she had to do something. Vella said she called 911 and looked in the area for the dog’s owner, but after not finding them, she opened the car door – which was unlocked...

There’s more trouble brewing for an embattled Queens public defender office, as a lawyer there was busted for passing drugs to an incarcerated client just days after group’s founder was charged with fraud. One of the staff lawyers at Queens Defenders was arrested for allegedly attempting to sneak more than 130 pages of paper laced with THC to an inmate during a scheduled attorney visit at Rikers Island. Bernardo Caceres was charged with promoting prison contraband, a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison in New York. During a visit to inmate Luis DeJesus Wednesday afternoon – who’s...

When metal detectorists searching a field on northern Norway's Senja Island discovered two ancient metal brooches and human rib bones, they notified the authorities. Science Norway reports that an archaeological team from the Arctic University Museum of Norway was sent to investigate the site and learned that the two small pieces of jewelry belonged to an elaborate Viking Age burial dating to between a.d. 900 and 950. Given the presence of the oval brooches and other items such as spindle whorls and weaving tools that are typically only associated with women, experts believe the grave belongs to a high-ranking Viking...

A 1-month-old baby girl was tragically killed when the family’s puppy chewed the infant’s face as her mom and stepdad slept in Queens early Tuesday, cops and sources said. The baby’s mother called 911 just after 6:30 a.m. to report that her newborn was lying between the couple inside the apartment within NYCHA’s Queensbridge Houses when the pair awoke to find the 6-week-old German shepherd, pit bull mix gnawing on the baby’s face, law enforcement sources said. EMS workers responded to the unit on 12th Street near 41st Avenue, but the baby could not be saved, cops said... “She told...

Police, animal control seek to address leash law violations.. ... The recent deaths of a cyclist and a beloved family pet, both the result of off-leash dogs, have renewed calls for greater accountability. ... A Durango man who fell off his bike and later died from his injuries while apparently trying to avoid a loose dog on the Animas River Trail has reignited calls for pet owners to leash their animals in public spaces. The collision involving the bicyclist and off-leash dog occurred about 2:30 p.m. March 12 on a section of the river trail near the skate park and...

An 88-year-old man and a dog were killed in apparently separate bear attacks near the victim's home in Florida, officials said. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call shortly after 7 a.m. Monday involving a "bear encounter." The attacks occurred "some time apart" on Monday, and the man and the dog were found within a couple of hundred yards of the area, according to FWC spokesperson George Reynaud. His daughter saw a bear attack the dog and then went looking for her father, who is believed to have been attacked earlier on Monday, Reynaud said.

A seven-month-old girl from Columbus, Ohio, has lost her life following an attack by one of her family's three pet pit bulls. The child's mother, Mackenzie Copley, expressed her grief in a Facebook post, writing, “I will never understand why!!!” She also shared images of her daughter Elizah Turner, peacefully cuddling with the dogs. “I am so lost and broken. This was the same dog who was side by side with my baby every single day,” added the mother, according to a report in The New York Post. Elizah's father, Kameron Turner, also poured out his sorrow on social...

Woof. Mother Jones republished an article from fellow progressive outlet The Guardian on Saturday that argued that while dogs may be man's best friend, they're Mother Nature's "villains." The left-wing magazine highlighted new research, originally published by The Guardian, that concluded dogs have "extensive and multifarious" environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions. It pinpointed how canines are disturbing native wildlife, particularly shore birds.

First it was the cow farts. Now it’s dog “sh*t.” Moral of the story: eco crazies will never be satisfied until people start seeing climate change threats in their soup. Leftist newspaper The Guardian published an April 9 story that reeked of being desperate for attention, even if that meant making its writers look like cats that have been overdosing on catnip. “Pet dogs have ‘extensive and multifarious’ impact on environment, new research finds,” read the headline coughed up like a hairball from science writer Donna Lu. The syntax read like a Babylon Bee special, “An Australian review of existing...

A Colorado city plans to seize residents' pet cats and dogs in a bid to limit the number of animals allowed in households. On August 1, pet owners in Northglenn - about 40 minutes outside of Denver - will not be allowed to have more than four cats, dogs, or a combination of the two 'totaling no more than four.' The new pet ordinance was recently approved by the city council 'at the request of residents and after extensive research and discussion,' the city said. The restriction was introduced after concerned residents complained of 'excessive noise and waste caused by...

American Airlines has confirmed that a service dog incident caused a flight from Provo, Utah, to Dallas, Texas, to re-route and make an emergency landing in Colorado Springs. The flight was rerouted around 3 p.m. yesterday. The Colorado Springs Fire Department confirms that they transported a patient from the airport to a local hospital because of a dog bite, but couldn't tell KRDO13 how serious the injury was, or where the patient is now located. KRDO13 is pressing local law enforcement and federal law enforcement to see if a criminal investigation is underway. Colorado Springs Police and the F.B.I. both...

A 2-year-old boy is safe after walking about 7 miles and spending the night in mountain lion territory in northwest Arizona after he snuggled up to a very good dog who had found the boy wandering in the rugged wilderness. His new furry hero then led him to safety in the morning. Two-year-old Boden Allen was reported missing on Monday afternoon after he wandered away from his home near Seligman, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office. The little boy was last seen wearing just a tank top, pajama pants and Vans sneakers. Now enters the hero of this story:...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A woman drowned her dog in a Florida airport bathroom and then boarded her international flight after she was prevented from bringing the white miniature schnauzer with her because of a paperwork issue, authorities said. The woman was arrested in Lake County on Wednesday on a charge of aggravated animal abuse, a third-degree felony. She was released on $5,000 bail. “This act was intentional and resulted in a cruel and unnecessary death of the animal,” said an arrest affidavit from the Orlando Police Department. Online court records showed no attorney listed for the woman from Kenner, Louisiana....

A woman allegedly drowned her pet dog in a toilet and dumped it in the trash in order to make her flight. Alison Agatha Lawrence, 57, was trying to board her plane at Orlando International Airport in Florida but did not have the proper paperwork for her pup to travel with her, WFTV reported. Lawrence is accused of then taking her small white poodle to the bathroom and killing it on December 16. Airport cleaning staff discovered it later, sources told the TV station. Police issued a warrant for Lawrence’s arrest and deputies took her into custody at her home...

NEW YORK — The U.S. still has a major case of French bulldog fever, but a very different breed is staunchly chasing dog lovers' hearts, according to American Kennel Club statistics released Tuesday. For the third year in a row, the comical, controversial Frenchie tops the club's annual rundown of the nation's most prevalent purebred dogs. Frenchies are followed by Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles and some other longtime faves. (Rounding out the top 10: dachshunds, beagles, Rottweilers, bulldogs and German shorthaired pointers.) Yet keep an eye on the cane corso. The powerful, protective breed vaulted from nearly...

A man feared for his life when his rescue dog attacked him in a horrifying 45-minute ordeal, leaving him with no choice but to strangle the animal. Matt Porter was left with horrific injuries, including losing the use of one hand, following the unexpected and brutal attack. While shaving, Matt's Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Karma, suddenly lunged at him, biting him over 70 times on both arms. Fearing he would bleed to death after realising he couldn't use either hand, he was forced to use his forearms to end her life. Before losing consciousness due to blood loss, he managed to...