Rats are being trained to assist human rescuers locate survivors stuck in earthquake debris. The animals are a part of The Hero Rats Project.
Category: Animals and Human Health
Kids who live with dogs may get protection from Crohn’s Disease
New research findings suggest that children living with a dog may have an advantage of developing protection from contracting Crohn’s Disease (a common inflammatory bowel disease) later in life.
Reptiles Threatened with Extinction: Scientists
One in five reptiles faces extinction in what scientists say would have a ‘devastating’ effect on humans and the planet. With 21% of reptile species (from lizards to snakes to geckos and turtles) currently facing extinction, such a loss could have disastrous impacts on ecosystems around the world.
Pet Separation Anxiety High among College Students: Study
Pets are not the only ones that experience separation anxiety. A survey of a sample of new first-year college students leaving pets at home and found that 75% experienced some level of pet separation anxiety — with one in four reporting moderate to severe symptoms.
Kids Sleeping with Pets? No Problem, say researchers
A new study has revealed that the sleep quality of the surprisingly high number of children who share a bed with their pets is indistinguishable from those who sleep alone.
Renting with Pets: Resources for Tenants and Landlords
FIREPAW’s Companion Animal Renter’s Program [CARP] was recently referred to readers by a Washington Post op-ed written by award-winning journalist S.E. Smith. It was a piece about the reported spike in post-pandemic pet dumping in which, rather than pointing fingers at the pet-owners, the author offers more expansive, socio-cultural contextual factors as explanations for pet abandonment in the U.S. Read on for Resources for Tenants and Landlords…Rental Housing and Pets…
Laboratory Animals and Useless Suffering: Essay
A cancer patient contemplates the value and suffering of laboratory animals used for medical and scientific research … “The 75,000 … More
Kids Love Therapy Dogs and Learn Social Skills Too: Study
It turns out there is a lot to be gained from matching therapy dogs with children. The results of a new study demonstrated that children not only reap the benefits of working with therapy dogs, they enjoy it too.
Caring for Pets during COVID: Study
The results of a new study have revealed that animal owners frequently report concerns and worries relating to caring for their animal during the pandemic. The study also revealed pet owners had increased their appreciation of their animals during the first lock-down phase.
Dogs Only: New Rules for Service Animals on U.S. Airplanes
Under final U.S. Transportation Department rules issued December 2, 2020 only trained dogs qualify as service animals on U.S. airlines.
Pets are Lifesaving Heroes of the Lockdown
A new study has recently revealed the lifesaving role that pets have played in 2020. In addition to helping people cope with loneliness during the lockdown, one of the key ways pets are helping their human family members is by providing a much overlooked necessity for humans: physical touch.
Cats as Carriers of Corona Virus
New scientific research has found that domestic cats can be asymptomatic (no symptoms) yet still be carriers of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.