Release the Kraken!

PIGLET VS. DOG

EPIC BATTLE!

Lost in Translation

I so wish I had a Droid so I could get this new Google animal translation app.

They explain how the algorithms work in a cute video:



Update: April Fools, suckaz!

You're Getting Sleeeeeepy

Apparently one can put a chicken to sleep by tucking its head under its wing and moving it in a circle. Martha Stewart demonstrates this trickery (more like chick-ery, am I right?!!!!!!!) (HEY O!).

I wonder if other animals have secret weaknesses like this. Lift a piglet's leg for 3 seconds and it will blow raspberries! Scratch the left hind quarter of a rabbit and it will sneeze!

This Little Piggie Did a Nice Thing

Oh, you guys. This tale of pig friendship had me tearing up at my desk. NERD ALERT!

11-year-old pig Angie was living out her golden years on Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York. She was very social but after her pig buddies died off she withdrew, stopped eating and even stopped walking around in the pasture! Poor little gal. Oh, and she had arthritis, too. Crying yet?

The nice people at Farm Sanctuary tried introducing her to other pigs but she never took to any of them until Fiona came along. Fiona was a Babe-esque piglet full of gumption and stick-to-it-iveness, and Angie accepted her right away. And they became BFFs!

For almost a year Angie ran around with Fiona like a much younger pig, rolling around in the mud and just generally having buddy times (as evidenced below).



Angie eventually died, but in her final days Fiona stuck right by her, sleeping right up against her. (I love it when animals do that! It is their best behavior.)

Sad story! :( But also happy. Sniiiiiff.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Piggie in the Tub

This little piggie got pushed out of prime suckling/warm mama-nuzzling territory, so the farmer put him in a little piggie floatie and gave him a hot bath so he wouldn't get cold.

This video is so dear it almost makes me want to stop eating bacon. Cute little guy!

Little Pig-chers Have Big Ears

This pile of piglets is too much. They're asleep, but they flap their ears whenever they hear a sound.

The Great Cowscape

"The news came over the radio in the clipped jargon of police officers: "Queens. Loose cow. 103 Precinct. 109 Avenue. E.S.U. reporting a loose cow at the location."

Awesome.

The cow escaped from a slaughterhouse in Jamaica, Queens and the cops caught her and handed her over to Animal Care and Control. They're trying to find a spot for her at an animal sanctuary.

From the New York Times (really!):

Since — by early afternoon — no one had called about the cow or come to the sanctuary to claim her, Mr. Gentles said that the cow would not be forced to return to the slaughterhouse.

“Well, somebody can come and claim her, but in our experience, nobody has come forward in the past and asked to claim their cow,” he said. “We haven’t gotten any calls that someone is missing their cow.”

The police spokesman — apparently as uplifted as anyone about the cow’s new lease on life — said he suspected the cow, by escaping, had acted to save its own life. “I think it’s because it made it out,” he said.

Such a sweet story. I was planning on having burgers for dinner tonight, but now I feel guilty. Drat!

(And sorry for the random images. There are no pics of this cow as of yet.)

BFFs: Barnyard Friends Forever

William the piglet and Charles the rabbit are buddies. They live at Pennywell Farm in Buckfastleigh, Devon, in the UK. (Doesn't that sort of look like "Breakfastleigh"? Such a place should exist.)



William was moved to a pen near the rabbit hutch and started following Charles around. Chris Murray, the pair's owner, says, "William is far keener on the friendship than Charles, but Charles is tolerant, even when his food gets taken."



Charles is really looking tee'd off in these photos, but in a bemused sort of way. These two are like a gruff, secretly-kindhearted old man and an energetic young upstart. Oh my god, they're like Babe and Farmer Hogget, if Farmer Hogget were a rabbit!

Tinks, the Sick Sheep

Oh dear. This is so cute.

A family took in a brain-damaged sheep named Tinkerbell with the intention of bringing her to the vet and then giving her back to the farm that owned her. But they wound up rearing her themselves and keeping her. And now they take her for walks with their dogs!

Here's the mother of the family, Chiara Magarotto, talking about Tinkerbell and her daughter Scarlett, who took a liking to each other:

"She follows us about everywhere and enjoys going for walks with the dogs - she thinks she is a dog - and having tea parties with Scarlett. She even came to Scarlett's pre-school and was perfectly behaved."

A sheep having a tea party with a child! That I would like to see.

Turkey Frank

I just happened across a great, albeit tragic, story on CNN's iReport page about a turkey named Frank who thought he was a duck. It's written by Frank's former owner, Jack Scheper, who has a pretty good sense of humor.

Frank was always running into the lake and he couldn't swim, and Jack felt he should be away from water, with other turkeys. So Jack gave Frank back to the lady who ran the feed store. But guess what? The feed store lady ATE HIM!

Here are the best parts of Jack's recounting. His writing has such a great cranky old man tone.:

Frank truly believed himself to be a duck. For some reason I found this annoying. But tolerance is a virtue, so if he wanted to be a duck that was his business.

. . .

Suddenly the ducks spotted me and excitedly swam in my direction hoping for the usual cracked corn handout. Desperately afraid he'd miss his share of the snack, Frank frantically splashed toward me too. Thrashing, wheezing, gasping,with eyes bugging and tongue hanging from his beak I could tell this turkey was in trouble. I came to the rescue by shoving a leaf rake under his fat butt and maneuvered him to shore. His eyes were crossed and he was hyperventilating but he managed to cough in appreciation. It was heartbreaking and pathetic.

. . .

When I came across these old pictures of Turkey Frank I felt nostalgic so I decided to share his story and the lesson he taught me. I have yet to figure out exactly what I learned but maybe it is this: No matter how much you think you're a duck, people will still eat you on Thanksgiving if you're actually a turkey.

. . .

Every Thanksgiving, because of Frank, I give thanks for who (and what) I am and for all that I have. I also want to say Rest in peace Turkey Frank, I'm sorry they ate you.

R.I.P., T.F.

"I beg your pardon!"

President Bush pardoned his last turkey this morning, and all I could think was, "OH MAN! This is gonna be so cute when Obams does it next year!"

Here's a snippet of Bush's speech at the ceremony. I hate to admit this, but it is so totally adorable. (If you love hokey dad humor and puns, which I do.)

This is a tradition that dates back to the presidency of Harry Truman. Just to be safe, I will be pardoning a second bird-- in the unlikely event the main act chickens out. Turkeys are not only the ones on edge this morning -- you see, it turns out the Rose Garden is Barney's turf. So the press corps is a little nervous, as well.

This is an election year, so it is fitting that the names of these two birds were chosen through the democratic process. After a long, drawn out election season, when the people finally spoke, the name of the ticket sent here to the White House was Pumpkin and Pecan. Pumpkin is right there. Pecan is in an undisclosed location.

Pumpkin and Pecan have an exciting trip ahead of them: Later today, they will fly to Disneyland aboard "Turkey One." Pumpkin will be the honorary Grand Marshal of Disneyland's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Together these birds will gobble the rest of their days in "The Happiest Place on Earth." I just hope they stay humble there.

Isn't Pumpkin hilarious looking? He's so surly. Love it.

That'll do, Pig. That'll do.

Hey guys, remember how good Babe was? What a movie.

I was reminded of it last night when I was trying to think of something heartwarming and holiday-y to rent for Thanksgiving. That plucky little guy just wanted to herd sheep! So he wouldn't get butchered! Cute lil thing.

Just now, I started watching this clip of Farmer Hogget singing "If I Had Words" to Babe when he's sick and (NERD ALERT) I had to stop watching it because I was crying so much! Gotta keep it together.

The comments on this clip on YouTube are so good. A sampling:

Dallouez

People forgot this great part and children who would never know what a cool movie this is. We need more movies like this after all how many times can Jet Li save the day or get killed.

Reply: ESMR

not as many as Babe

letschill99

me jo dillon and lucy harries acted this out in our p.e changing rooms at lunch today!

QueenAreTheBest

Luv this track my favourite part of the film. It was on telly today lol so many memories

So many memories, indeed. Can't wait to watch it this weekend! I forgot it was nominated for Best Picture back in '95. Well deserved!

Also, if you've never seen the sequel, Babe: Pig in the City, you should totally get on that. It is INSANE. It's so inappropriate for children. It was written and directed by the guy who directed Mad Max. It takes place in a dystopian urban setting and it's visually stunning.

It also made me cry more than I've cried at any movie (even more than White Squall or The Man Without a Face, which for some reason really struck a chord with my loser 10-year-old self). I know how pathetic that sounds, but here are two things that happen in the movie:

1) a dog almost hangs himself (by accident)!
2) a Jack Russell terrier named Flealick who ALREADY CAN'T USE HIS BACK LEGS and has a TINY WHEELCHAIR gets dragged down the street by an 18-wheeler. It is so upsetting. I had to turn it off and compose myself. (It's on YouTube if you must see it but it's very upsetting.)

Anyway, you should totally rent that too. Mickey Rooney is CRAZY in it. And there are some really good orangutans.



Happy Thanksgiving all!

Dead Duck

Oh dear. Normally great animal friends stories don't come with video, so this one really takes the cake.

This vid tells the tale of a beagle puppy named Toby and an old duck named Sheila who meet on a farm and become buddies.

Sheila dies of old age, and the MacKenzie family, who own the farm, have her stuffed. You know, as you do.

This video shows the moment when Toby sees the taxidermed Sheila for the first time. So cute! So sad! So gross, frankly. But sweet!