Meet the man using dogs and drones to save wildlife in Costa Rica

Good News Notes: “Captain Pete Bethune and his crew are with three armed rangers from MINAE, the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica. They are in a 4.7-metre inflatable zodiac boat racing towards a yacht which is illegally fishing near Cano Island, a biological marine reserve. Using a $4 million (€3,400,00) drone, Bethune…

Rescue Labrador Retriever Adopts Orphaned Kittens

Good News Notes: “A rescue dog is paid it forward by looking after a litter of orphaned kittens. According to a release from the U.K. animal rescue charity Battersea, Bertie, a one-year-old Labrador retriever, is helped the Battersea shelter that found him a forever home raise a group of kittens. Bertie started looking after the seven kittens…

Petting therapy dogs enhances thinking skills of stressed college students

Good News Notes: “Programs exclusively focused on petting therapy dogs improved stressed-out students’ thinking and planning skills more effectively than programs that included traditional stress-management information, according to new Washington State University research. The study was published today in the journal AERA Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association. The paper demonstrated that…

Chicken yoga becomes the newest animal therapy trend

Good News Notes: “Meows, barks and bleats have been common at yoga sessions in recent years, as animal therapy became a trend to soothe participants as they work out. Recently, a downtown business added clucks into the mix with the launch of chicken yoga. Yes, chickens. But not your average Rhode Island reds. These were…

Hospice of the Western Reserve provides peace of mind to pet owners

Good News Notes: “Pets provide comfort during all stages of life, though for many hospice patients, that comfort is accompanied by concerns about routine pet care and the future of a favorite furry friend. Hospice of the Western Reserve’s new Pet Peace of Mind program aims to alleviate such concerns, while also ensuring that pets…

Duluth animal shelter learns positive lessons from pandemic

Good News Notes: “Animal Allies Humane Society in Duluth has had to make some changes over the last year. “Right now with the pandemic, things look a little different.  We are closed to the public which means no browsing and very few volunteers and a lot less of humane education,” said Emily Spurgeon, Animal Allies’…