Glowing Dogs, Poisoned Pets, Egypt’s Swine Flu Panic, Mummified Cat, and Space Chimp Sanctuary

May 1, 2009 at 8:02 pm | Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

animal friday

South Korea clones glowing dogs to help cure human diseases: dog glowing red under ultraviolet light

The four dogs, all named “Ruppy” — a combination of the words “ruby” and “puppy” — look like typical beagles by daylight. But they glow red under ultraviolet light, and the dogs’ nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye.

Cuba US State Dept: Cuba poisoning diplomats’ pets:

Cuban officials would often try to create dissention within the ranks of U.S. diplomats on the island according to the report, which was prepared and released by the State Department inspector general.

“Retaliations have ranged from the petty to the poisoning of family pets. The regime has recently gone to great lengths to harass some employees by holding up household goods and consumable shipments. The apparent goal has been to instigate dissension within [U.S. diplomats] ranks.”

Egypt Egypt’s call to kill pigs amid flu scare ridiculed: animated gif of baby panda sneeze

Egypt, which has no swine flu cases, is the only country in the world to order a mass pig slaughter in response to the disease. The move mirrored Egypt’s battle with bird flu, in which the government killed 25 million birds within weeks in 2006.

But international health officials said the swine flu virus that has caused worldwide fear is not transmitted by pigs, and that pig slaughters do nothing to stop its spread. The WHO on Thursday stopped using the term “swine flu” to avoid confusion.

United Kingdom Funeral Director Finds 400-Year-Old Mummified Cat in Wall: spock doesn't agree with your logic

“Apparently 400 years ago people put cats behind walls to ward off witches. It clearly works as, since we have lived in the village, we have not seen sight or sound of any witches.”

I assume that’s a joke.

Florida Florida – Astronauts pay respects to ‘space chimps’: Space Chimps movie poster

On Thursday afternoon, the chimps got a special visit from reporters and camera crews, along with two men who share a unique bond with the animals.

The place was a sanctuary run by Save the Chimps, a nonprofit dedicated to providing a permanent home for chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories, NASA facilities and other sources.

The men were astronauts Scott Carpenter and Bob Crippen, two heroes of the U.S. space program. And the chimpanzees — some of them, anyway — were veterans of early test flights by NASA and the U.S. military.