Puppy's Revenge

Invisible Harp

Naki’o is the first dog to be fitted with a complete set of bionic legs that work naturally to allow him to run, jump and even swim. The prosthetics were designed and fitted in a pioneering procedure by Martin Kaufmann, founder of Orthopets.

Abandoned by a family fleeing their foreclosed home and their mother dead, Naki’o and his brothers and sisters barely survived the harsh Nebraskan winter. Weakened by malnourishment, the red heeler puppy stepped into an icy puddle in the basement and got his four paws stuck in freezing water.

At just five weeks old the litter was taken to an animal rescue center. Under the shelter’s care Naki’o's paws, lost to severe frostbite, healed to rounded stumps.

Veterinary technician Christie Tomlinson was on the look out for a playmate for her Jack Russell terrier mix Poki when she came across Naki’o. Fearful of the pain that walking and playing with other dogs would cause, Naki’o resigned himself to crawling along on his belly at home and at the veterinary clinic’s doggy daycare.

Christie organized a fundraiser to pay for Naki’o to have his two back legs fitted with prosthetics. He took to these so enthusiastically, that Orthopets decided to complete the process free of charge. It was the first time they’d fitted an animal with a complete set of new legs.

At first walking on all four prosthetics was challenging, but Naki’o adapted quickly, learning how to use the devices as though they were his natural legs. After just a few days he was running and bounding. The prosthetics are built to mimic the muscle and bone of dog limbs, allowing them to do everything a normal dog would do.

Christie is amazed at her pet’s motivation and joy for life. “Naki’o can now not only chase after a ball with other dogs, but he can beat them to the catch!”

A GOOD Pit Bull Story

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BARANGAY LAPASAN (Philippines) Mar 1, 2007 The children in the Fronteras household refer to their dog as "kuya" ("big brother"), and he certainly proved it on the day he sacrificed his life to protect the family. On Monday, Feb. 12 at around 2 p.m., "Chief", an American Pit Bull Terrier, rescued Liberata la Victoria, 87, and her granddaughter Maria Victoria Fronteras from a deadly cobra which had entered their house through an opening in the kitchen. Liberata la Victoria and Chief had been watching TV on the sofa when suddenly Chief jumped up and alerted her to the presence of a cobra less than 10 feet away. Maria Victoria rushed in and pulled her grandmother into a separate room, hoping the snake would leave. But when Maria Victoria later emerged from the room, she was terrified to find the cobra poised about two feet away. Equally startled, the cobra expanded its hood and appeared to be spitting venom as it prepared to strike. "The snake was in front of us, maneuvering a deadly attack," says Maria Victoria. "I screamed out loud to ask for help." 1 That's when from "out of nowhere", Chief dashed between the cobra and the two women, using himself as a shield against the cobra's attacks. Chief then seized the cobra by the neck and slammed it into the floor, killing it.	GOOD DOG DOWN Four-year-old "Chief", an American Pit Bull Terrier, dashed in front of a venomous snake which was poised to strike at 87-year-old Liberata la Victoria and her granddaughter Maria Victoria. Shielding the women from the attack, Chief saved them but died minutes later from the snake's bite. (Photo: Marc Sabelita)
		But for Chief it was a Pyrrhic victory. In the struggle, he sustained a fatal bite to the jaw, and moments later he began gasping for breath and collapsed. The family sought the help of a veterinarian, but they were told that nothing could be done. According to the vet, the bite was too close to Chief's brain, and the venom had already spread. Maria Victoria called her husband Marlone who, stunned by the news, rushed home immediately. Ian de la Rama, a friend of the family, says it was less than 30 minutes from the time Chief had been bitten that he "went wobbly and lost control of his organs," 2 urinating and defecating uncontrollably. Yet he still kept clinging to life.		It wasn't until Marlone arrived that Chief finally let go. Ian de la Rama describes, "Chief gave his two deep breaths and died. He was fighting and saving his last ounces of breath to see a glimpse of his master for the last two seconds of his life." 1 Ian adds that the last thing Chief did as he gazed up at Marlone was wag his tail. "You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us." Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Sources: 1 Gomez, Herbie. "Pitbull dies saving 2 women from cobra" Manila Times. 24 Feb 2007 2 Gomez, Herbie. "Dog saves family from cobra, is killed." Cagayan de Oro Journal. 16 Feb 2007. "Farewell CHIEF!!" dog-tracker.com

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Walrus Workout

Crazy elephant runs amok

INDIA .Two wild elephants stormed into the city and have spread fear and terror. One person was killed by the giant gray

Giant Spider Eating Bird

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By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney

3:00PM BST 22 Oct 2008

Photographs of a giant spider eating a bird in an Australian garden have stunned wildlife experts.

The pictures show the spider with its long black legs wrapped around the body of a dead bird suspended in its web.

The startling images were reportedly taken in Atheron, close to Queensland's tropical north.

Despite their unlikely subject matter, the pictures appear to be real.

Joel Shakespeare, head spider keeper at the Australian Reptile Park, said the spider was a Golden Orb Weaver.

"Normally they prey on large insects… it's unusual to see one eating a bird," he told ninemsn.com.

Mr Shakepeare said he had seen Golden Orb Weaver spiders as big as a human hand but the northern species in tropical areas were known to grow larger.

Queensland Museum identified the bird as a native finch called the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

Mr Shakespeare told ninemsn the bird must have flown into the spider web and become stuck.

"It wouldn't eat the whole bird," he said.

"It uses its venom to break down the bird for eating and what it leaves is a food parcel," he said.

Greg Czechura from Queensland Museum said cases of the Golden Orb Weaver eating small birds were "well known but rare".

"It builds a very strong web," he said.

But he said the spider would not have attacked until the bird weakened.

The Golden Orb Weaver spins a strong web high in protein because it depends on it to capture large insects for food.

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One week after pictures of a giant spider eating a bird made news around the world, a second Australian arachnid has been photographed devouring a helpless finch.

Tom and Judy Phillips captured startling images of a giant golden orb weaver spider feasting on the bird in their greenhouse.

The couple, of Townsville in Queensland, sent the images to website ninemsn.com. "It was a big spider," Mr Phillips said.

The pictures recall photographs taken by retiree Les Martin. Mr Martin's photos, which emerged last week, showed another a golden orb weaver eating a finch.

In the attack, which took place in Atherton, also in Queensland, the spider "pumped poison into the dead bird's head" but was unable to eat the entire bird.

According to Mr and Mrs Phillips, the spider in their photographs had no such problem.

Before it started eating the finch, the spider had wrapped it up in its web.

"You couldn’t see any of the bird by the end of it," Mr Phillips said.

The spider took three days to eat the bird, Mrs Phillips said.

The finch landed in trouble when it flew into the spider's strong web and became trapped.

"By the time we noticed it, it was dead," Mr Phillips said.

"How long it was there [before the spider came along] is a bit unknown."

Greg Czechura from the Queensland Museum identified the bird in the Phillips' photos as a double-barred finch about 10cm long.

Cases of spiders eating birds in Queensland were rare, and Mr Czechura attributed the apparent increase to "urban sprawl" compacting spider habitats.

"There's no sinister co-conspiring of the golden orb weavers to take out the local bird population," he told ninemsn.