Rescuers are renewing their efforts this morning to free the remaining dolphins stranded on Cape Cod. Several teams are in Wellfleet, trying to coax more of the Atlantic white-sided dolphins back into the ocean when high tide rolls in.
Sparky
Prior to Sparky’s escape he had been neutered and a HomeAgain microchip containing a unique ID number was placed just under his skin. After he ran off, his owners posted flyers and combed the neighborhood hoping to find their lost pet. However, following two months of searching, they hoped that someone had found Sparky and would care for him.
“It was difficult to accept, and it crushed my daughter’s heart, but we hoped Sparky was safe and comfortable in someone’s home,” said Sparky’s owner. “We then decided that we would help another homeless animal. We adopted a second cat and had him neutered and microchipped as well. We never expected to see Sparky again.”
During the winter months of 2010, Sparky’s owners began receiving email reminders to update his microchip ID since it would soon expire. It was during this time that Sparky’s owner saw a familiar face in the Boston neighborhood where the cat had gone missing. However, this cat was missing a significant portion of his tail, so the owner pushed aside any final hope of seeing the missing Sparky.
Several weeks later on February 28, a cat was discovered in a foreclosed Boston property and brought to the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center in Jamaica Plain. Following protocol, an MSPCA adoption center counselor scanned the incoming, abandoned cat for a microchip ID and discovered that the feline was once owned. Since the microchip ID remained up-to-date, it was then only a matter of making a quick phone call to HomeAgain that started the ball rolling on reuniting Sparky with his owners.
Nearly one year later, Sparky is now back at home playing with a new feline friend and the dog that had kept him company when he was a kitten.
“It is wonderful to have Sparky back in our lives,” said his owner. “The only difference is that he is missing a portion of his tail.”
“Microchip IDs are crucial when helping us reunite a pet with their owner,” said Meagan Rock, Director of the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center in Boston. “However, it is vital that the identification information is updated regularly.”
In a 2001 study performed by the MPSCA and Dorr Research Corp. it was discovered that approximately 3 percent of stray cats that end up in shelters and adoption centers in Massachusetts are reclaimed by their owners. To learn more about posting information about a lost or found pet, visit www.mspca.org/lostandfound.
(NECN) – You may remember seeing video of a circus elephant named Tyke rampaging through the streets of Hawaii or reading about the day Franklin Park’s gorilla Little Joe escaped.
These incidents couldn’t have been more different and yet we in the public may lump them together and misunderstand them equally.
Joining Vicki Croke on the Secret Life of Animals is John Linehan, head of Zoo New England.
He’s a man whose work Vicki really respects and who can thoughtfully give the viewer a little perspective on why zoo animals may attack or run away
John call also talk about what it does or-just as important-doesn’t mean about them and their life in captivity.
(NECN) – The president of SeaWorld last week defended the park’s killer whale shows following the death of a trainer.
One thing we’ve learned from all the coverage of the incident involving Tilikum the killer whale and trainer Dawn Brancheau is that there certainly are warring camps in the animal world.
Each side reads very different things into what happened.
Joining Vicki with a free-for-all analysis are two men much too civilized to fight — AJ Cady of IFAW and John Linehan of Zoo New England.
(NECN) – So what about the push to Free Tilly the killer whale?
Many scientists say Tilly could never survive in the wild, but are now suggesting the use of a sea pen
A sea pen is an enclosure in the ocean that would give him more space, while also keeping him away from humans.
But others point to the death of a whale named Keiko, star of the movie Free Willy back in the 1990s.
Millions of dollars were spent on attempts to return Keiko to the wild, including supervised swims in the open ocean.
In the end, Keiko died emaciated and suffering from pneumonia in Norway.
But while Keiko did not survive, many still say Tilly could be released to that sea pen we mentioned.
Dr. Naomi Rose is a marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States.
Dr Rose believes Tilly would benefit from the move.
Dr. Rose joins us Vicki from Washington DC to talk more.
(NECN) – Like many viewers, The Secret Life of Animals has been drawn to the story of Tilikum in the last week, the killer whale at SeaWorld who recently killed his trainer.
Did he mean to do harm?
Was he smart and aware enough to understand that trainer Dawn Brancheau was in distress?
Could the incident have been prevented?
Is it possible for a creature like him-or a captive elephant, or a tiger-to be returned to the wild?
Even the experts disagree, it’s hard to know.
With the help of some top specialists from the animal world, The Secret Life of Animal’s is going to analyze this incident at SeaWorld and revisit some similar stories.
On the Secret Life of Animals, Vicki Croke discusses what is known about killer whales in the wild and how much people don’t know about them.
Joining Vicki to discuss them is AJ Cady with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Dogs and cats can become friends, as the folks at the Wildlife Safari in Oregon found out — except for the cat in this odd couple scenario is a cheetah. You can see rhinos and lions at the Wildlife Safari in Winston and also an Anatolian Shepherd. Her name is Ellie and her best friend happens to be a cheetah named Sanurra.
Sanurra was a single cub birth and as abandoned by her mother, so Ellie was introduced to her as a puppy and the two bonded like sisters. This odd pairing was no accident, as an Anatolian Shepard is very protective and that natural instinct could be the key to saving the wild cheetah population.
Video provided by: KPIC-TV.
A victory for animal rights activists.
The Massachusetts House has voted overwhelmingly to ban the surgical “debarking” or silencing of dogs or cats.
By a 150-1 vote, the House approved the bill which prohibits the devocalization of dogs and cats unless a licensed veterinarian certifies that the procedure is medically necessary to relieve an illness, disease or injury.
The bill now heads to the Senate.
Photo by SeaWorld
They were the first two manatees to return to the wild after SeaWorld performed seven cold-weather related rescues during a two-week span in January. Dewey (9 feet long, 895 lbs) and her calf Barros (4 feet long, 205 lbs) were rescued from a canal in Vero Beach, Fla. on Friday, January 22. They spent the last five weeks recovering at SeaWorld’s Manatee Rehabilitation Center where they were warmed up and treated by park veterinarians and animal care specialists.
(NECN) – People in New England are among the top consumers of ice cream in the country.
So of course, we want frozen desserts for our dogs too.
And we’ve got it.
It’s called Yoghund and it’s a totally organic, frozen yogurt for your dog.
Joining Vicki Croke with more is Jody Rodgers, the creator of Yoghund.
