Animal-archy in the U.K.

Oh British media, always with the delightful animal stories. What's that all about, anyway? The Telegraph is always on top of the latest animal friends. Like this owl and basset hound:



They always describe these creatures in the most charming way. For instance:

"Beryl the Basset Hound, who is a grand old dame at 16 years old, and four-year-old tawny owl Wol struck up a friendship when their owner realised they both loved watching television in the evenings."

This seems like an apropos time to introduce my newest theorem, which I have deemed "Gretchen's Theory of Across-The-Pond Cuteness". Inter-species animal friends + British colloquialisms ("grand old dame??") = Near-Unbearable Snuggle Feelings Inside One's Heart.

Even stories just about one animal (sans animal friends) tend to be more interesting than the ones we have here in the U.S. Lest you forget, this is the country that brought us Fat Boy, the drunk pony who fell into a swimming pool.



In a similar vein, how often do you see a headline like "Escaped Horse Bursts into Cinema" in your local American rag?

And look at how the Telegraph describes the incident:

"The horse was one of three which escaped from a farm and ran through the automatic doors at the Cineworld complex in Boldon, South Tyneside.

The incident was caught on CCTV and was put on the YouTube website [emphasis mine], but it has since been removed."

Oh, and the section of the Telegraph's site that houses many of these articles is called "How About That?"

I wonder if they even realize how adorable they're being. Sigh.