All Creatures July - August 2018

MY NAME IS GRACE, a.k.a. Gracie, a.k.a. Googoo. Golden retriever. Three years old. We’ve talked before. Remember? I think we are all friends. Today I want to talk about my tail. Dogs have them. Humans don’t. There are reasons for that. I use my tail in so many ways, you wouldn’t believe it. Of course, when I am happy my tail wags like crazy. I have no control over it. Sometimes when I am really happy my whole back end wags. People better get out of the way! I think there is no greater expression of joy in the universe than a wagging tail. We dogs wear our hearts on our tails, for sure. You know immediately when I am sad or disappointed, because my tail droops. It’s as if…

Helen, a blind bison, moved to Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary in Scio, Oregon, because her owner could no longer afford her care. She was used to being alone and showed no interest in the other animals that roamed the six-acre pasture—until Oliver, a calf born to a rescued cow at the sanctuary, made his way out to the field. The first animal he went up to was Helen. “The bond was instantaneous,” says Gwen Jakubisin, the sanctuary’s executive director. “Helen immediately starting grooming Oliver and showing him around.” Now the two spend every day together after the calf’s mother, Betsy, drops him off. Helen is essentially Oliver’s nanny. They share snacks and even take naps together. “When Helen met Oliver her attitude changed completely,” Jakubisin says. “She’s visibly happier and truly…

Snap Happy The snapping shrimp, a.k.a. the pistol shrimp, has a unique weapon: a giant claw. One snap of the claw produces a sound that is louder than a gunshot and can stun or even kill prey. Swat Team A recent study shows that some mosquito species will avoid someone who slaps at them when they try to bite. These bugs associate the human’s scent with danger and stay away from that person afterward. All Eyes Chitons don’t need eyes in the back of their heads. These marine mollusks have hundreds of small eyes, called ocelli, all over their shells. Although less refined than human eyes, the ocelli sense light and detect shapes and movement to help chitons avoid lurking predators. The Big Chill Harsh winter? The wood frog can…

IT’S A RARE DAY when plastic surgeon Coleen Stice, M.D., of Omaha has an animal on her operating table. But in May 2017, when she saw a Facebook photo of a bald eagle with a mysterious black scab on his head, she had to do something. Fishermen had found the injured bird along a riverbank in Syracuse, Nebraska, and he had been brought to a raptor rehab center. Experts there were stumped about how to help him. “I knew the answer,” Dr. Stice says. “I’d seen that kind of scabbing in patients with electrical burns.” Within a week, the lifelong wildlife lover was at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, where the eagle had been relocated. Her examination revealed that the bird had been electrocuted by a high-voltage wire that had burned…

I GOT MY beautiful Standardbred, Stetson, at age eight from a Mennonite man who had used him to pull his buggy and wanted him to have an easier life. I was starting over after a divorce. For 17 years, Stetson and I lived an idyllic life together on my farm in New Jersey. He was such a sweet boy and my closest companion. One day last July, Stetson was struck with colic. He thrashed around the barn in agony. The only way to end his pain was to have him put down. I was heartbroken. For weeks, dreams of his dying moments haunted me. To mark his grave I put up a cross that my friends made out of his old shoes. I planted flowers that my boss gave me…

WALK INTO ONE of Petey’s therapy dog–training classes and you’ll notice a lot of noise and commotion—but not from dogs. At a recent class, the trainer banged on the wall and clapped her hands. One assistant rolled around in a wheelchair. Another pushed a walker and chanted, “Whoop, whoop, whoop!” while a third barged down a hall yelling. Why all the racket? Because the dogs are learning to work in locations like nursing homes and hospitals, where they encounter unexpected sounds and distractions. Petey and I took our turn walking around the trainers. He wagged and pranced but stayed calm. At nine months old, he’s learning to control his puppy exuberance. Petey still has plenty of frisky moments, though, like when he jumps to greet visitors. Eager, playful behavior in…