verizonringtones-rij

Actress Amy Schumer, the star of Comedy Central’s “Inside Amy Schumer,” has left her fans guessing about whether she and her new beau, Ben Hanisch, have adopted a puppy together. Schumer recently revealed her relationship with Hanisch, and on Thursday, she shared a photo on Instagram of the two with a cute dog and the caption “It’s a girl.” The post now has lots of fans wondering whether the pair’s relationship has moved to the stage of getting a dog together. — Read it at ABC News

Jan. 29, 2016: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.

Image: Dottie Arizona highway

Lost Pup Takes Cover on Median

Workers at the Arizona Department of Transportation were watching cameras trained on a busy highway Monday night when they saw a white puppy dart across the road and climb up on top of a median wall. One of the workers quickly went to the scene on State Route 51 and picked the puppy up, bringing her to safety. She stayed overnight with ADOT traffic operator Jayson Winter, and the agency has been trying to find her owners. "We just didn't want the dog to be in a cage in some shelter. That's stressful on the dog," said ADOT spokesman Tom Herrmann. For now, the puppy, who’s been named Dottie, is staying with another ADOT worker — and Winter says there are several others who are willing to adopt her if her owner doesn’t step forward. — Read it at Arizona Central

Cute Baby Orca Caught on Video

Scientists with the NOAA Fisheries captured a video of an adorable killer whale calf swimming with its pod in Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle, this month. The baby was identified as a member of the J-pod, and is named J55. They said the calf appeared to be “robust and acting normally.” That’s good news for the endangered population, which has seen a bit of a baby boom recently. — Watch it at USA Today

Man Hears Cat Stuck in Pipe

Despite the noisy environment at a cattle auction site in Michigan, one man was able to hear a strange noise coming from a drainpipe. When Kendall Tobias took a closer look, he realized a cat was stuck in the pipe. Bubbles had apparently climbed through 80 feet of pipe but then got her head stuck in a small opening in the drain cover. They helped to free her and took her to a veterinarian. Bubbles was treated for scrapes and swollen eyelids, but she will recover. — Read it at ABC 7 Chicago

Image: Red Panda sweet 16

Red Panda Primps for Video

Like many teenagers, Chori spent a lot of time making sure she looked good for the cameras before she was ready to celebrate her Sweet 16. The red panda, who’s now lived nearly twice the average life span of most of her species, was feted with a custom birthday cake at the Symbio Wildlife Park in Australia this week — and the zoo shared a cute video of her receiving her cake on Facebook. “To celebrate the magic milestone in every girls life, zoo keeper Ash Clarke made a delicious cake consisting of all her favourite fruit and decorated with the freshest of bamboo shoots,” the zoo wrote in the post. But Clarke reveals that the diva was in no rush to get to her party. “[She’s] always spending a good five to ten minutes grooming herself before coming down the tree, even for a cake as delicious looking at this,” Clarke told Australia’s 9 News. — Watch it at Time

Did Amy Schumer Get a Puppy?

Actress Amy Schumer, the star of Comedy Central’s “Inside Amy Schumer,” has left her fans guessing about whether she and her new beau, Ben Hanisch, have adopted a puppy together. Schumer recently revealed her relationship with Hanisch, and on Thursday, she shared a photo on Instagram of the two with a cute dog and the caption “It’s a girl.” The post now has lots of fans wondering whether the pair’s relationship has moved to the stage of getting a dog together. — Read it at ABC News

How will veterinary practices be affected by the influx of millennials into the veterinary workforce? What will be the effect as millennials account for an increasingly large portion of the pet-owning population? AVMA Veterinary Economics Director Dr. Mike Dicks tackled … read more >

We’re aware that there are veterinarians who are angry that Dr. John de Jong, Chair of the AVMA Board of Directors, was quoted in a JAVMA News article as supporting anesthesia-free dentistry (also called non-anesthetic dentistry or conscious dental cleanings) … read more >

With the Washington, D.C., area preparing for an historic blizzard this weekend, one of its most famous residents met the white stuff for the first time. Keepers at the National Zoo took 5-month-old panda cub Bei Bei outside into a small area Thursday morning to explore a light dusting of snow while his mom was busy eating breakfast. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the white stuff — but he certainly was cute checking it out. — Read it from the National Zoo on Facebook

The following message was sent on January 15, 2016 to AVMA members who have subscribed to receive the COE Standard newsletter. To receive news and important information about the veterinary school accreditation process, overseen by the AVMA Council on Education, … read more >

AVMA’s Congressional Advocacy Network (AVMA-CAN) met with AVMA members in Florida at the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) in Orlando Jan. 17-20. The AVMA Governmental Relations Division staff was on hand to speak with members about the association’s legislative agenda and … read more >

The AVMA Governmental Relations Division is teaming up with SAVMA to host a joint 2016 legislative fly-in that will bring veterinary students and veterinarians to Washington, D.C., to participate in a two-day workshop. The 8th AVMA Legislative Fly-In will take place Feb. … read more >

To provide a look at where and how often the AVMA has been mentioned in the media in the past week, the AVMA Media Relations Division has developed this weekly AVMA@Work blog series, “AVMA in the News,” showing the number … read more >

Headlines flooded social media Thursday with comedian Ellen DeGeneres’ news that she and her wife Portia De Rossi had adopted a 9-week-old “kid.” But it quickly became clear that the new addition was actually a puppy — who they named Kid. “I named him Kid because, ya know, people, there have been rumors forever. When are you and Portia gonna have a kid?” DeGeneres joked on her talk show. “So, now I can say we have a Kid. So it can just stop.” Still, it sounds like DeGeneres has had plenty of sleepless nights, much like she really does have a kid. Luckily, Kid fits right in with the couple’s two older dogs, Augie and Wolf. — Read more at People Pets

Jan. 15, 2016: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.

Image: SWAT Cat returns to BPD

Boston Police Mascot Returns

Exactly a month after they asked the public for help in finding their beloved mascot, the Boston Police Department’s SWAT team had a welcome sight greet them Thursday morning: SWAT Cat. The calico cat had been a stray who started visiting the squad about two years ago, and became “part of the family.” The unit adopted her, getting her spayed, vaccinated and microchipped. But she disappeared in late November, and in December, the BPD put out a photo of her lounging on an armored vehicle in the hopes that the community could help find her. “The SWAT Team wants to thank the community for keeping an eye out for the feline and for all the calls and emails of support,” the department posted on Facebook Thursday with a photo of SWAT Cat. “The officers are just happy that she was safe all this time.” — Read it at Boston.com

Study: Monkeys Spiteful to Those Who Have More

A new study from researchers at Yale University finds that capuchin monkeys will take the time and effort to spitefully punish their peers. Researchers saw the monkeys yanking a rope to collapse a table holding a partner monkey’s food, even when the other monkey merely had more food. In contrast, chimpanzees would only collapse their partner’s table after a direct personal affront like theft. "Our study provides the first evidence of a non-human primate choosing to punish others simply because they have more," said Kristin Leimgruber, the paper’s lead author. "This sort of 'if I can't have it, no one can' response is consistent with psychological spite, a behavior previously believed unique to humans." The study was published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. — Read it at Science Daily

Adorable Panda Cub to Make Public Debut

Having now reached unbearable levels of cuteness, nearly 5-month-old panda Bei Bei will meet his adoring public for the first time at the National Zoo on Saturday, when the doors to the Panda House are finally opened. Although he slept through most of his media debut just one month ago, the little guy has apparently developed quite a feisty personality in the last few weeks. “He’s very active, very boisterous. He’s moved from the baby stage to the toddler stage,” said the zoo’s Brandie Smith. “There are moments when he wants to challenge [his keepers], to show them that he’s a tough male. There are times that he’s more playful. There are times that he’s sleepy.” — Read it at the Washington Post

Image: Ellen DeGeneres new puppy Kid

Ellen Names New Puppy “Kid”

Headlines flooded social media Thursday with comedian Ellen DeGeneres’ news that she and her wife Portia De Rossi had adopted a 9-week-old “kid.” But it quickly became clear that the new addition was actually a puppy — who they named Kid. “I named him Kid because, ya know, people, there have been rumors forever. When are you and Portia gonna have a kid?” DeGeneres joked on her talk show. “So, now I can say we have a Kid. So it can just stop.” Still, it sounds like DeGeneres has had plenty of sleepless nights, much like she really does have a kid. Luckily, Kid fits right in with the couple’s two older dogs, Augie and Wolf. — Watch it at People Pets

Photos Capture Sweet Moment Between Bride and Service Dog

Bella, a 9-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever, is trained to help her owner by alerting her to oncoming panic attacks, anxiety and migraines. So, there was never any doubt that Bella would play a big role in Valerie Parrott’s wedding day. Now, a sweet photo of Bella easing the bride’s anxiety at her Jan. 9 wedding in South Dakota has gone viral. "She will do things like lick my hands or lean and put her weight on me to get me to focus on her instead of my surroundings," Parrott said. "Basically it helps me to take a moment away from whatever is causing the anxiety and keeps me from having a panic attack." The photos of Bella, dressed up for the occasion, have captured lot of hearts after appearing on Reddit. — See photos at the Huffington Post

Jan. 14, 2016: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.

Image: Rocky recovering

Elderly Dog Rescued From Creek

Rocky, a 15-year-old small white dog, is lucky to be home where it’s warm after a scary 19 hours in Michigan. His owner, Janet Lane, let Rocky outside at about 3 a.m. Friday, and he didn’t come back. She started searching for him right away and continued through the day, checking the wetlands behind her home and a creek several houses away. Nineteen hours later, neighbor Ruel Ramos heard an animal in distress near his home and called 911. Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Faisal Khawaja responded, and the two found Rocky lying in the creek bed with hypothermia setting in. "I started rubbing his chest, giving him chest compressions. Then, I started to see signs of life,” Khawaja told Detroit’s WXYZ. He and Ramos wrapped the dog in blankets, brought him inside — and called the number on his tag, where Ramos spoke with Lane. "Oh my God. It was great," Lane said of the late-night phone call. "We had given up all hope. It's definitely a great ending.” She took Rocky to the vet to be examined, and he’s recovering well. “He’s a tough old guy,” Lane said. — Read it at the Detroit Free Press

Study: Orphaned Chimps Suffer Lasting Effects

A new study finds that when chimpanzees are taken from their parents as infants, there are social effects later. Researchers found that the orphaned chimps had fewer grooming partners and were less inclined to engage in grooming than their peers who were raised by their mothers. They saw this lasting effect both in former lab chimps and in chimps who were raised at zoos. Grooming is a vital part of chimps’ lives. "It serves not only hygienic but [also] many other functions, including the establishment and maintenance of social bonds," said study lead author Elfie Kalcher-Sommersguter, a researcher in animal communications at the University of Graz in Austria. "Less grooming means that these chimpanzees are less strongly integrated in their social groups." The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. — Read it at Live Science

Rocky Mountain Fisher Reconsidered for Endangered Protection

The Northern Rocky Mountain fisher is among 11 species the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will review this year to see if it needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act. This is the second time the small carnivore has been reviewed. The fishers live in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Northern Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes and New England. When the species status was reviewed in 2011, the FWS found that threats including fur trapping and habitat loss weren’t contributing to a significant population loss. The species will now get a new hearing. — Read it at Discovery News

Image: KAT and cat in video

Cat Stars in NBA All-Star Bid

The Minnesota Timberwolves want the Internet to vote Karl-Anthony Towns (whose initials are KAT) into the NBA All-Stars. So, what better way to woo the Internet than with a CAT? The team has put out a clever video showing KAT all over the world (or, in front of a green screen) with a gray-and-white cat. Its message is, “KAT and his cat have been all around the world. Now help send them to Toronto.” Toronto, of course, is the site of next month’s All-Star tournament. Voting closes in four days, so we’ll soon see whether KAT’s cat helps his cause. — Watch it at SB Nation

Australian Helps Keep Hot Koala Cool

With temperatures topping 100 degrees in parts of Australia this week, it seems everyone needs a little help keeping cool. When Adelaide resident Steven Wiltshire spotted a koala in a tree on his property, he thoughtfully set up a sprinkler with a 10-minutes-on, 10-minutes off cycle to him cool off. “I figured he was probably hot and dehydrated so I set up one of my lawn sprinklers that hasn't been used in forever, such that water hit the lower reaches of the tree,” Wiltshire said. When he went back to check, the koala had moved to a lower branch to soak in the water and get a drink. By the next day, the koala had moved on to a new spot. — Read it at People Pets

Image: Orangutan mom Josie and baby GoJo

An endangered Bornean orangutan was born at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo on Dec. 21 after a challenging delivery. Veterinarians were standing by as 30-year-old mom Josie gave birth to her fourth baby, who was in the breech position. “Josie did an amazing job with the delivery under difficult circumstances, and she cleared the baby’s airway herself immediately after birth,” said Dr. Ray Ball, the zoo’s director of medical sciences. The newborn has been named GoJo, which is a combination of the names of his mother, Josie, and father, Goyang. GoJo is doing well resting, nursing and snuggling with his mom. — Read it at Zooborns

Jan. 13, 2016: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.

Image: Puppy rescued from ledge by firefighters

Firefighters Save Lost Puppy

A puppy is getting some TLC after a harrowing ordeal in Ohio. On Sunday, the puppy was traveling in a van with his owners when it went off the road and over an embankment. In the chaos that followed, the couple’s puppy escaped and ran off. The next day, a road supervisor was surveying damage at the scene of the crash, when he spotted the dog. But the scared pup ran when he tried to approach her. Windsor firefighters were called, and the crew used ropes to repel down a gorge to a ledge where the puppy was stuck. “We brought her back to a warm station to give her some food and TLC while waiting for her owners,” the fire department wrote in a Facebook post. “Happy ending all.” She’s now been reunited with her owners, and all three are recovering well. — Read it at Ohio’s WKBN

Study: Dogs Really Do Recognize Human Emotions

Dog owners now have some research to back up what they’ve always known: your pooch really does know how you’re feeling. Researchers from London and Brazil showed 17 domestic dogs pictures of both humans and other dogs with expressions that were happy or playful, or angry or aggressive. They also played positive or negative audio clips for the dogs. They found that when the dogs were shown a picture that matched the emotion they heard in the audio clip, they spent a lot more time looking at it. "Our study shows that dogs have the ability to integrate two different sources of sensory information into a coherent perception of emotion in both humans and dogs,” said study coauthor Dr. Kun Guo, of the U.K.’s University of Lincoln. “This cognitive ability has until now only been evidenced in primates and the capacity to do this across species only seen in humans." The study was published in the journal Biology Letters. — Read it at Medical News Today

Crews Race to Save Horse

A beloved retired draft horse is expected to be OK after falling and getting stuck in ice and mud. Charlie, who’s a recent retiree, wandered away from his Westminster, Massachusetts, home on Tuesday. His owner worked with police, firefighters, animal control and neighbors to rescue Charlie, pulling him from the spot where he slipped to a nearby field. After lying on his side for two hours, the horse stood up on his own, to the relief of the crowd around him. A veterinarian who examined Charlie expects him to recover. — Watch it at NECN

Image: Orangutan mom Josie and baby GoJo

Rare Ape Has Tough Delivery

An endangered Bornean orangutan was born at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo on Dec. 21 after a challenging delivery. Veterinarians were standing by as 30-year-old mom Josie gave birth to her fourth baby, who was in the breech position. “Josie did an amazing job with the delivery under difficult circumstances, and she cleared the baby’s airway herself immediately after birth,” said Dr. Ray Ball, the zoo’s director of medical sciences. The newborn has been named GoJo, which is a combination of the names of his mother, Josie, and father, Goyang. GoJo is doing well resting, nursing and snuggling with his mom. — Read it at Zooborns

Stray Who Survived Porcupine Run-In Needs a Home

A 1-year-old Boxer mix is looking for a place to go home to once he heals from surgery to remove porcupine quills. The stray dog was caught by an animal control officer in Colorado last week after he tried to attack a prickly porcupine, and found himself covered in quills. Named Canello, the pup is now recovering from his surgery. — Read it at People Pets

Each year, many veterinary students are among the roughly half million students borrowing Perkins Loans to help finance their education. This low-interest federal student loan expired last September, but was resurrected and passed at the end of 2015. Among the … read more >

Heading to Florida for the North American Veterinary Conference? We’d love to see you at our booth in the exhibit hall, or at a Sunday networking event. Here’s how you can connect with us: Advocacy Staff from our advocacy office … read more >

By: Dr. John de Jong, Board of Directors Chair; Dr. Joe Kinnarney, AVMA President; Dr. Tim Montgomery, House Advisory Committee Chair; Dr. Ron DeHaven, AVMA Executive Vice President  As we bring you news from the Jan. 8 Board of Directors … read more >

The AVMA Group Health and Life Insurance Trust (GHLIT) program, the only personal insurance network inspired by and designed for veterinarians, is changing its name but not its commitment to the individuals it serves. Effective Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, AVMA … read more >

After careful review and examination by several volunteer committees, the AVMA Board of Directors at its Jan. 8 meeting decided to take a position of “no action” on the Veterinarian Payments Sunshine Act, which has not yet been introduced in … read more >

Jan. 8, 2016: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.

Image: Twenty the FDNY Dalmatian dies

Firefighters Mourn Beloved Dog

New York’s Ladder 20 is paying tribute to a very special Dalmatian who had resided at the firehouse since the days after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Seven members of Ladder 20 died at the World Trade Center that day. Days later, two sheriffs from Rochester, New York, arrived at the station with a Dalmatian puppy named Twenty. “She became our mascot and companion,” Lieutenant Gary Lorio said of Twenty, who died Tuesday. “She really helped to build the morale in the years following 9/11. I can’t say enough about what she did to help us. She went on all the runs, she’d jump in the truck, stick her head out the window and bark. She became a local celebrity.” Those who’d met Twenty shared their memories on Facebook. “My next door neighbor, Sandra R., is one of the Monroe Co. Sheriffs who showed up with this puppy,” wrote Lisa Woodhouse Baker. “I remember Sandra telling me about the flight to NYC … the flight attendants found out where she was headed and why and she became a celebrity on that flight.” It’s clear she’ll be missed by many people who’s lives she touched in nearly 15 years. “Today, Twenty has taken her final run to Heaven. Rest in peace, man’s best friend,” Lorio said. — Read it at AKC.org

Manatee May Lose Endangered Status

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the manatee should no longer be classified as endangered because its population has rebounded, especially in Florida. The sea cows have been protected for nearly 50 years after being killed due to overhunting and collisions with boats. In the first aerial survey of the population in 1991, about 1,200 manatees were counted in Florida. Now, 25 years later, there are more than 6,300 in Florida and an estimated 13,000 when the rest of its range is included. In the FWS’s proposal, the manatee’s status would be downgraded to threatened. — Read it from Agence France Presse via Yahoo

Crews Pull 700-Pound Horse From Pool

Firefighters in Upshur County, Texas, had to use all their strength — and their firetruck — to hoist a horse from his owner’s swimming pool on Wednesday. The owner wasn’t home when a neighbor noticed one horse stuck in the pool while three other horses surrounded it. With the horse “shivering pretty badly,” five firefighters and two sheriff deputies pulled him out, using recovery straps attached to the firetruck. It’s unclear how the horse found himself in the pool, but he’s safe now. — See photos at Today

Image: Fisherman and dog Jack reunited

Fisherman Reunited With Dog

A fisherman in Australia jumped for joy and cried as he was reunited with the dog he’d feared dead on Wednesday. The fisherman thought he’d lost Jack when his boat capsized off Victoria, but when water police towed it back to the dock hours later, the dog was safe and sound on the vessel. News cameras captured the emotional moment that the man picked up his dog and shouted, “I got him!” He hugged the small dog, repeating, “He’ll be alright, he’ll be alright.” — Watch it at Australia’s 9 News Perth via Facebook

Famed Cat Returns to Grocery Store Shelves

You might remember Olly, the cat who made himself at home in the middle of a candy shelf at a London supermarket in November. Well, he’s back to his old tricks! This time, he’s taking more control of the situation from a higher perch. New photos on social media show him glaring down at customers from the top of a refrigerated shelf, and they’ve gone viral. “Cat of Sainsbury's, Mantle Road, continues reign of terror,” Tweeted @CatsofBrockley with the photo. The feline has a happy home next door to the grocery store, and delights customers when he shows up, despite the sometimes grumpy look on his face. — See photos at the U.K.’s Independent

The World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependency has once again recommended that ketamine not be placed under international control, citing concerns that international scheduling could limit medical access to an important treatment drug. The recommendation is in … read more >

The Practice Advisory Panel (Practice AP; part of the Advisory Panel Pilot Program) was charged by the AVMA Board of Directors in September 2015 to provide guidance to the association regarding telemedicine. The Practice AP is moving forward with developing … read more >

As veterinarians, we know how important dental care is for pets’ overall health. But do our clients? February is National Pet Dental Health Month, and the AVMA has great resources to help you celebrate in the clinic and on social … read more >

To provide a look at where and how often the AVMA has been mentioned in the media in the past week, the AVMA Media Relations Division has developed this weekly AVMA@Work blog series, “AVMA in the News,” showing the number … read more >

Image: Great dane 19 puppies AP_487731639735

Velma, a 4-year-old Great Dane, shocked her owners when she gave birth to 19 black and white puppies on Dec. 5.

Velma’s owners, Josh and Terri, said the puppies “just kept coming” for 19 hours. The litter was nearly twice as large as they were expecting it to be.

Luckily, all of the adorable puppies are healthy as they ring in the New Year. — See more photos at The Little Things