Lexi And Porter

Submitted by Jennifer S:
My dog Lexi (standing) and her best friend Porter. We never knew that it was possible for them to be still when they are together. This picture proved it.

Submitted by Jennifer S:
My dog Lexi (standing) and her best friend Porter. We never knew that it was possible for them to be still when they are together. This picture proved it.
Autumn is a season for festivals in Nepal.
Tihar, also known as Deepawali, lasts for five days. The five day festivities mark the worship of various Hindu deities and celebration among families, relations and friends. Pujas(worship), lights, colors, flowers, new clothes, feasts and merriment, all these make up the joyous festival of Tihar.
Every dog has its day. Dogs in Nepal or Nepali homes sure do have their day! Kukur Puja, which falls on the second day of the Tihar festival is dedicated to the dogs. Dogs are traditionally the guardian of people’s houses as well as that of Yamaraj’s underworld. On this day they are worshiped and offered food.

Nepal is celebrating the festival of Tihar, its equivalent of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. In Nepal, on the second day of the feast, special honour is bestowed on dogs.

On this day, called Kukur Puja or Kukur Tihar, its canines are garlanded, adorned with the Hindu powder of blessing, the tika, and given festive food including sweetmeats – jalabis.

According to the Hindu scripture, the Mahabharat, dogs accompanied Dharmaraj Yudhisthir on his journey to heaven. There is also a Hindu belief that dogs guard the underworld.

This training school has 51 dogs on which the rituals of respect are bestowed. They are used for rescue and search, for tracking criminals, explosives and drugs, and patrol work.

Other dogs from the neighbourhood may also be lucky enough to get a look-in. Of the dogs in the training school, many are puppies, some born on the premises, others from outside.

Even Kathmandu’s many street dogs get garlanded. Ironically, for the rest of the year dogs are not generally well treated and many are left to fend for themselves and feed on scraps.

But every dog has his day and here at the Police Dog Training School, it’s recognized that no animal has a closer relationship with people.

10. Stamina
Cats are sprinters, while dogs are marathoners. Dogs who run the Iditarod cover 1100 miles in less than 2 weeks.
9. Harder Workers
Cats hunt, period. Dogs on the other hand, guide the blind, chase criminals, sniff out illegal drugs, identify gas leaks, work with the elderly and disabled, and aid children with life threatening illnesses…I could go on.
8. Faster
Greyhounds can race at about 40 miles per hour, while house cats at about 30 mph.
7. Numbers
Of the 62% of American homes that have a pet, 69% have a dog while 51% have a cat.
6. Sense of Smell
Cats have 45 – 80 million scent receptors compared to dogs who have 149 – 300 million. (Humans only have 5 million.)
5. Intelligence
The average dog can learn 165 words which is about equivalent to a 2-year old human. Cats get approximately 35 words.
4. Sociability
Dogs come when you call. Cats send a staff member to take a message.
3. No Hair Balls
No explanation needed
2. Endless Play Time
Dogs are always up for play time even when they are half asleep. Cats snooze about 80 – 90% of each day.
1. Variety, The Spice Of Life
Dogs come in a wide variety of breeds which means that everyone can find their perfect match. While there are some different breeds of cats, there really isn’t a huge variety like with dogs.
According to the article in Parade, cats win in the following categories: agility, hunting prowess, longevity, and independence.
Based on an article by doggies

Facebook has helped dogs like Patrick
Credit: Facebook.com
Facebook – The Best Tool To Help Save Dogs
Facebook is the ultimate platform for social-networking. It is a place where animal rescuers can come together and work on saving lives. Until now that is.
Banned For Trying To Save Dogs
Many Facebook users who work to save at risk dogs whether in shelters, animal control facilities, lost, found or rescues are being accused by Facebook of posting irrelevant content. Some of these users have been banned by Facebook for 15 days without being able to post anything at all.
The Reason is Unknown
Whether Facebook really is targeting animal rescues or it is an automated Facebook program that is doing the work is unknown. Nonetheless, Facebook needs to be aware of how many lives are being saved due to network postings. Lost dogs are found, death row dogs saved and some are even finding their forever homes.
Many May Leave Facebook
Animal rescuers rely on Facebook as a vital tool. The current disabling of network postings will cost lives and many users will leave Facebook if their networking capability is removed.
You can contact Facebook at: legal@facebook.com, info@facebook.com and/or press@facebook.com to help them understand the good Facebook networking does to save lives.
A Facebook page has been established for this purpose – “Facebook, don’t suspend our animal rescue accounts” You can “like” the page to learn more.
Based on a story by the examiner.com