Believe It Or Not Animal Stories

Knee-On Lights:  In Israel’s Negev Desert, camels are required to wear reflectors on their knees at night. Better Late Than Never:  Clem, a cat, returned to his owner, Kurt Helminak of Bancroft, Wisconsin, after an eight-year absence.   Pod Squad:  In 1991, a pod of dolphins protected a group of shipwrecked sailors from circling sharks off the coast of Florida. Purr-fect Foster Mom:  A cat owned by A. W. Mitchell of Vancouver, British Columbia, nurtured 25 baby chicks. Guard Goose:  A Canadian goose on a farm near Yakima, Washington, has bonded with a Siberian Husky.  It sleeps in the doghouse, shares the dog’s food, and fights other dogs that try to enter their doghouse. Seeing Eye Horse:  A miniature horse named Twinky has been trained as a guide animal for the blind.  A horse has a life span four times that of a dog, a 350-degree field of vision, and an inexpensive diet – the bale of hay it eats per month costs just four dollars.  Twinky tends to slip and slide at the mall, so he has been fitted with little sneakers to improve his traction. Did You Miss Me?  Popcorn, a cat owned by Nancy Beecham, disappeared when her family moved from Oahu, Hawaii, to La Mesa, California.  The cat was found seven weeks later in a cat carrier, elated to see her owners after having gone 49 days without food. Gorilla Grief:  Koko, a gorilla who understands the meaning of at least 500 words in sign language, cried for two days when she was told of the death of her pet cat. Canine Cat-Scanner:  Ginny, a dog owned by Philip Gonzalez, seeks out and rescues stray cats from Dumpsters, air conditioning ducts, and other dangerous places.  Sometimes she rescues as many as eight injured cats in a week.  There’s even a charity named after her, the Ginny Fund, that provides money to help cats find good homes and to help pay their veterinary bills. Snooze Alarm:  Novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870), who wrote many fine classics, including A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, had a deaf cat that reminded him when it was bedtime by snuffing out the candle on his desk. Ruling The Rooster:  O. J. Plomessen of Luverne, Minnesota, owned this rooster named Golden Duke, who could actually pull a carriage containing Plomesen’s baby daughter down Main Street. My Dog Did My Homework:  Isaac, the calculating canine, is a five-year-old golden retriever that can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and even do square roots.  When Isaac was a puppy, his owner, Gary Wimer, began spending 20 minutes a day teaching him to count.  The puppy loved his lessons and soon began astounding everyone who came into contact with him.  All Wimer has to do is ask the little genius what the square root of 36 is, and Isaac will bark six times.  He even helps Wimer’s six-year-old with his arithmetic.  Now that’s a dog you can count on. Good Mews:  Fluffy, a kitten owned by Mrs. Clyde McMillan, appeared at the newspaper that had published a want ad asking for its return. I’m Back!  Trixie, a collie lost from John Eaton’s car in Oklahoma, appeared a month later at her owner’s home in Phoenix, Arizona, a distance of 1,000 miles. It’s A Good Thing I’m So Smart:  Bobby, a parakeet lost for 18 hours in Withywood, England, was returned to its owner after announcing its name and address. Leave It To Beavers:  In 1938, 60 beaver colonies in Stony Point, New York, fought back rampaging flood waters.  The dams they built – many of which measured up to 600 feet long and 14 feet wide – were responsible for saving major highways, bridges, and hundreds of acres of valuable land. Tree Service:  In 1997, Sergeant Cyril Jones, attempting to parachute into Sumatra, crashed into the forest and was suspended in the trees for 12 days.  He survived by eating fruit brought to him by a monkey.