Sealion

Some dogs chase cars, some chase bikes, others chase… sea lions? Yes, it appears that some dogs don’t limit the things they chase to just things on land apparently.

It seems a dog needed to be rescued after chasing a sea lion for over four kilometers out to sea in Southern Australia.

The dog, a crossbreed named Westie, was out taking a walk with his master along the beach when he suddenly took off into the water after a sea lion and simply refused to come back, the Portside Messenger reported.

Soon the sea lion and Westie were out of sight, somewhere over the horizon as the sea lion led Westie farther and farther from the shore, leaving his owner feeling helpless.

Craig Van Tenac, a Semaphore Surf Life Saving Club captain, was part of the efforts to rescue Westie.

“I’d say it was four kilometers offshore – that dog swam forever,” he commented when asked about what happened.

Westie apparently was having a good time, frolicking around and rubbing his nose against the sea lion, who was busy rolling about playfully in the water, he continued.

Despite Westie’s amazing stamina, Van Tenac commented that he had his doubts that Westie, who had been chasing after the sea lion for more than an hour, could have possibly made it back to shore.

He continued to say that Westie’s owner was very much relieved that he came back to the shore safe and sound, and no worse for wear.

The mysterious deaths among dogs visiting the beaches of Auckland have now been solved; they were caused by tropical pufferfish.

Tropical pufferfish contains a highly potent toxin known as tetrodotoxin. They are considered a delicacy in Japan, but will be a deadly indulgence unless prepared by an expert pufferfish chef. Even just touching a pufferfish can be lethal.

Tests done by the Cawthron Institute found tetrodotoxin in the vomit of one of the dogs that died after visiting Narrow Neck beach, and the toxin was also present in a sea slug sample taken from the same beach. How the toxin got into the sea slug remains unknown.

If members of the public find unusually large numbers of fish and other dead animals they should report these to the MAF Biosecurity New Zealand emergency pest and disease hotline 0800-809-966.

Last Friday, 53 year old Florida Keys resident Greg LeNoir saved his dog Jake from being devoured by a shark by jumping into the water and punching the predator.

The incident happened when LeNoir and Jake visited the Worldwide Sportsman’s Bayside Marina pier in Islamorada and Jake jumped into the water for his daily swim. According to LeNoir, Jake is a fast and fearless swimmer who loves to retrieve soaked coconuts and jellyfish. But this day, the playful swimming session took a turn for the worse when a five-foot (1.5 m) long shark showed up and chomped its teeth into the 14-pound (6.3 kg) rat terrier.

As LeNoir watched his dog suddenly disappear under the surface, he didn’t hesitate to come to his rescue. ”I clenched my fists and dove straight in with all my strength, like a battering ram,” says LeNoir. ”I hit the back of the shark’s neck. It was like hitting concrete.”

While being pounded by LeNoir, the shark decided to let go of Jake, who frantically swam back to the shore, leaving a red trail of blood behind him in the water. Jake was rushed to the VCA Upper Keys Animal Hospital in Islamorada, where his wounds were attended by veterinarian Suzanne Sigel and emergency on-call assistant Callie Cottrell. The sharp teeth of the shark had punctured Jake’s skin and some muscle, and skin was hanging like ribbons from his right side and front left leg, but he wasn’t in critical condition.

”He looks great and is recuperating well,” Sigel said on Monday. ”I was worried he may have inhaled salt water when he was pulled under, but there’s no evidence of infection or pneumonia.”

The hungry shark has not been identified, but LeNoir believes it to be a bull shark or lemon shark. Sharks are not uncommon in these waters, partly because the Islamorada Fish Company has an open saltwater pool which attracts large tarpon – a yummy treat for many species of shark.

Switzerland has adopted new strict animal cruelty laws. The new law contains more strict rules regulating how to keep most pets and domestic animal. An example is that many animals such as hamsters, lamas, alpacas and sheep no longer can be kept alone. They need to have visual contact with other specimens of the same species. Another example is that people who want to buy their first dog have to go to compulsory classes for “want to be dog owners” before they can legally buy a dog. The law details how all domestic animals should be kept regardless of whether they are kept as pet, for scientific research or in zoos.

I will not go into depth about exactly what this new rule stipulates but I will say a few words relating to fish keeping (If you live in Switzerland and want to know more about I recommend reading the original law text or contact a local authority).

The law bans the flushing live fish. You need to kill the fish before you can legally flush it. The law does not state exactly how the fish should be killed before being flushed.