The Goodnewspaper The Dogs Edition

The relationship I have with my dog, a 5-year-old cream Shiba Inu named Mirio, is what most would consider to be ridiculous. We wear matching outfits. He has a birthday party every year. I have been told, on more than one occasion, that I make other people feel like they don’t actually love their dogs. I am a dog mom in a way that almost feels primal — like walking Mirio around my neighborhood park is the thing I was born to do. And maybe it is. Most historians believe that dogs descended from gray wolves during the Ice Age, at least 15,000 years ago, with stories of domestication varying from continent to continent. Earlier this year, researchers found an 8,100-year-old canine jawbone in Alaska. From it, they studied its…

Recently, the Universities of Bristol and Manchester enlisted the help of a golden retriever, Bumper, and a black Labrador, Peanut, for an important task: detecting Parkinson’s disease by smell. The canines, trained by the nonprofit Medical Detection Dogs, participated in a double blind trial in which they sniffed cheek swabs from people with and without Parkinson’s disease. Bumper and Peanut correctly identified Parkinson’s in 70% and 80% of patients, and were over 90% accurate in ruling out healthy individuals. “Sensitivity levels of 70% and 80% are well above chance, and I believe that dogs could help us to develop a quick, non-invasive, and cost-effective method to identify patients with Parkinson’s disease,” said researcher Nicola Rooney, an associate professor at Bristol Veterinary School. This isn’t the first time researchers have tested…

A new study from researchers at Chiang Mai University in Thailand reaffirmed what many dog owners already suspected: Spending just 15 minutes with a dog can significantly reduce a person’s stress. “Even brief interactions with dogs can significantly reduce stress levels among university undergraduate students,” wrote lead author Jaruwan Khonmee. The researchers tested the blood pressure, pulse, and saliva of 122 student participants. Then, after 15 minutes of playing and petting a pup, the students were tested again. “Compared to immediately before, students’ self-reported stress levels decreased by 33.5% after interacting with the dog,” the researchers reported, adding that their pulse rate and cortisol levels had also improved. The researchers also noted that the dogs participated in the study without their owners present to reduce the risk of distracting their…

Dolly, a 7-year-old black Labrador, is a regular at the DoveLewis blood bank in Portland, Oregon. In fact, she’s one of 94 dogs — and 48 cats — that regularly donates blood. “[She’s] not crazy about the actual donation, but she gets a treat of baby food after and a toy, so that’s what she’s looking forward to,” dog owner Denise Duncan told Oregon Live, pointing to Dolly’s wagging tail. Kelsey Reinauer, the DoveLewis blood bank manager, said that donations play a critical role in stabilizing dogs and cats during life-threatening emergencies. “There’s a very large deficit between the need and the supply in veterinary medicine for blood right now,” Reinauer explained. “There’s maybe just a handful of blood banks our size in the United States.” Reinauer provided a demonstration,…

01 Keep your dog’s vaccinations up to date to prevent the spread of major, often fatal, diseases. Petco Love Care teams up with shelters across the country to provide free vaccinations. petcolove.org/care 02 Ensure your dog is microchipped with up-to-date contact information. According to the American Kennel Club, missing dogs with microchips are twice as likely to be reunited with their owners. akcreunite.org 03 Spay or neuter your dog. Not only does it lengthen their lifespan and lower the risk of various health risks, but it also reduces overpopulation. Consult with a local vet to see what’s best for your pet.…

At Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Hartville, Wyoming, John Ramer tends to a farm of dogs, cats, pigs, horses, sheep, goats, cows, and llamas rescued from testing facilities. All of them were slated for euthanasia — until Ramer convinced the research laboratories otherwise. “It’s so easy to be against something. I could tell everybody that I’m against euthanasia and that they need to change their ways to appease me, but that doesn’t get anything done,” Ramer, the executive director of Kindness Ranch, told Cowboy State Daily. “But then I have to figure out what I’m in favor of.” “I’m for building relationships with these facilities and informing them that there’s alternatives to euthanasia,” he reasoned, “and we can do it while still objecting to the practice of animal testing, but…