Animals of all sorts at State Museum; 2 homeless dogs

Common loon  

How did turtles’ skeletons move from inside to outside, becoming part of their protective shell, or carapace?  Do you know the two animals in our world who go way back to the Ice Age?  (Hint: they’re both “long in the tooth.”)  What bird is known to use tools and recognize individual humans? 

Answers to these questions and zillions more are easy to find at the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton. What’s more, the place is spacious; its exhibits are interestingly varied; it has great informative signage in the galleries I visited recently; and it’s open for more days and hours than might be expected. (Tuesday-Sunday: 9 am-4:45 pm; some galleries start closing by 4:30 pm) 

a Jersey dino

Yes, this is an undisguised pitch for visiting the State Museum, especially on a Sunday, when there’s free street parking in front of the main museum building (205 W. State St.).  A few weeks ago with a friend, I found far more things to look at, read and think about than there was time.  Return visits are a certainty!

Although the museum includes a planetarium, our visit was about overviewing the collection after some-time away -- but we could only make a stab at that goal via (1) "Written in the Rocks/Paleo Lab/Discovery Den," (2) the exhibition on "Fine Feathered Friends: Birds as Mainstay and Muse," featuring 200 rarely-seen artifacts & specimens," and (3) the Fine Art Collection. 

There’s also a gift shop that, uncharacteristically, we had to pass up that day for lack of time.

For details and news, the place to go is the museum’s comprehensive website, https://nj.gov/state/museum/index.shtml.  And after that, maybe I’ll see you at the State Museum, looking for answers to the questions posed above.

2 shelter dogs who need loving homes

Meet Bishop, now a resident at Easel’s animal shelter, but soon (we hope) a happy dog in a loving home.  It doesn't seem that he’s been kenneled before, so the shelter’s hustle and bustle are both stimulating and confusing for him.  He can appear to be depressed, which is why he’ll be much happier in a home – asap!

A strong, energetic dog, Bishop’s very affectionate and has had some training.  He likes other dogs and is friendly with people.  He has been around young children, but is too energetic for them.  He enjoys going for walks and being outside in the fresh air. And he loves to go to adoption events and meeting new people.  (Maybe that’s how he’ll find his new family.)

In the home, Bishop is relatively calm with enough exercise; he appears to be housebroken; and he would make an excellent companion.  He enjoys loading up in the car and going for rides, especially if those trips  include a stop at the drive-thru for a special treat.  

We think Bishop would be happiest in a home with a calm other dog.  He enjoys playing with puppies and less dominant dogs at the shelter.  In his new home, Bishop would appreciate a couch to curl up on or a dog bed to snuggle in. 

Meet Dozer, a friendly, four-year-old Pointer-Lab-Staffordshire Terrier mix searching for his forever home.  He was transferred to Easel from a high-volume shelter where he was overlooked, so now he has a better chance of finding his new family.  

Energetic and active, Dozer would be a perfect fit for a home where hiking trips and other outdoor activities are frequent pastimes.  He likes going to the park and adoption events.  Although he enjoys playing with other dogs, he can be overwhelming if they can’t match his energy and play style.  

Structure is good for this handsome boy, who can occasionally get antsy when he needs exercise. That’s why an active home is so important.  Not a candidate for a home with young children, he’s still learning manners and not to jump.  Dozer knows his basic commands and has mastered the agility course at the shelter.  

As a resident there for several months now, Dozer is ready for the loving home that all dogs deserve to have.

 

--Info on Bishop and Dozer courtesy of a spokesperson for Easel Animal Rescue League (easelnj.org). 

 

 

Your comments are welcome at 1moreonce.blogspot.com.

At least animals don’t have to endure winter holiday rush

Manatee mom & baby

We’re in the thick of winter holiday season, frantically rushing around shopping, baking, wrapping . . . while in the non-human animal world, life goes on pretty much as usual, for good or ill.  

Relief is coming for starving Florida manatees; bat moms continue teaching their young how to navigate; and an Asian sea eagle has flown far, far off course.  In Ewing township’s animal shelter (as in shelters everywhere), homeless animals wait to be adopted into loving homes.

Food aid soon: People aren’t the only ones who sometimes need food assistance.  Florida’s manatees, already threatened with extinction, are dying of starvation: a record high of more than 1,000 manatees have already died this year.

Sea grass is their main food, but it has gradually been killed by algae blooms fueled by human waste and fertilizer runoff.  As human populations have kept growing, the problem has worsened.  Now officials plan to provide food in hopes of cutting the high manatee death rate.  Feeding will occur at a place on Florida’s east coast where manatees gather in winter, seeking warmer water.

The plan to help the manatees this way required deciding which outcome was the least of two evils: let them continue to die off from starvation or feed them and carefully study the results.  https://tinyurl.com/26chmudp

Bat mom, fruit in mouth & pup below

Outre, but it works:  Some baby bats learn how to get around in the air in an unexpected way: a mom carries her pup to a tree near their cave and leaves him/her there while she forages for food.  On her return, she carries the pup back to their cave.  Repeat. 

Somehow, the babies – Egyptian fruit bat babies, anyway -- learn directions this way, despite being carried upside down and never flying the route themselves.  When they start flying on their own, pups head right to the last tree where mom had left them.  That becomes their starting place for future trips. https://tinyurl.com/ycktm597

Go east, young eagle:  A traveling Asian sea eagle is either a great explorer or very lost.  This bird,  whose native range is China, Japan, Korea and east-coast Russia, turned up in eastern Canada last

Steller's sea eagle

month – nearly 5,000 miles from home.

A rare arctic bird with a bright orange beak, the Steller’s sea eagle displays a 6-8-foot wingspan and can outsize the bald eagle.  The latest report on his whereabouts has him possibly in Texas.

The wandering eagle is considered an “avian vagrant,” or one who veered off course, then kept roving in search of others of his kind.  So far, apparently, no luck.   https://tinyurl.com/2p8a9eym

 

Meet Bessy, a 4-year old Staffordshire Terrier mix who’s an 80-pound bundle of love. This big girl has an even bigger heart, but unfortunately, she’s been overlooked for the 10 months she’s been here.

While in foster homes, Bessy was described as calm, affectionate and easy to manage. Because foster homes aren’t permanent, she was shuffled around a bit, but responded well to each move. She must be the only pet in her adoptive home and would be happiest with children at least 12 years old.  As a strong gal, she needs an owner who could physically handle her.  

Bessy loves to go for walks and roll over for belly rubs.  She has become a shelter favorite, and every volunteer who walks her enjoys spending time with her.  She’s housetrained and very neat in both foster homes and her kennel.  She’s accepting of the crate, is not a big fan of the vacuum, and loves stuffed toys.

          She has been so patient day after day,                waiting for her forever family.  We                      know they're out there somewhere, but              they just haven't met Bessy yet.  We                    don't want to see her at the shelter in a                few months because that would make                her homeless time exactly a year.  Please            adopt this big sweet girl! 

          --an Easel Animal Rescue League                      (easelnj.org) spokesperson. 

 

 

Your comments are welcome at 1moreonce.blogspot.com.

Happy: a dog-in-waiting for his person & his home

 

The sign was irresistible.  Once we saw it on a fence along the canal in Lambertville, the next step was easy.  I texted the number and connected with a woman who is a giant advocate for “Happy,” a happy (yes!), and lovable hound mix puppy who needs a home.

Young Happy

Then I met Happy himself, and he lived up to his billing.  He’s a handsome young guy now nearly a year old, and he weighs about 45 pounds.  With his siblings, he came to Animal Alliance some months ago.  They were all adopted.

But Happy is still waiting for his person and his home.

He’s special: he was born with an underdeveloped cerebellum, so his vision and motion are both impaired.  Not that this upbeat boy behaves as if anything like that holds him back!  

Happy is an animated walker – partly puppy energy, partly free from his AA crate and loving being outside, partly his impairment.  His walk can be more of a prance or a dance than a typical dog walk.

When I took a walk with him and 2 of his biggest fans (one, the creator of the sign about him), his manner was frolicsome: while covering ground, he throws out his front legs to the side and front, and -- maybe because we gave him occasional treats -- he’s an enthusiastic grass-sniffer at the same time.  

Happy isn’t in pain, nor will his condition shorten his life span.  As far as he knows, this is life – and he appears to love it.

But Happy is still hoping for his person and his home.

A dog who shows no trace of aggression, but just joie de vivre, Happy seems always to be smiling and ready to go, to play, to . . . drink water.  That’s right: at the mere mention of that possibility, Happy got excited.  So, out came the water bottle and portable bowl, which he would have dived into if possible.  He settled for a looooooong slurpy drink.

All that enthusiasm for the simplest things, and yet when he relaxes, it’s easy to believe he could cuddle with his friends forever.

But Happy still needs a person and a home.

“Super sweet” is one descriptor used for this dear dog, who “wants to be everyone’s friend.”  Imagine how ecstatic Happy would be in a loving home with someone taking the time to work with him, savoring how smart and how quickly he learns. 

Who among us can made this claim about ourselves or people we know: What stands out about Happy is “his amazing personality and its effect on the mood of everyone who comes in contact with him.  He is so full of joy, you can’t help but be happy around him.”

But Happy still needs, and deserves, his person and his home.

Visit Animal Alliance (animalalliancenj.org) to learn about adopting from the Lambertville-area facility.  Start with the “About” section for an overview of its history, services and regulations.  Here's AA's link to Happy on Petfinder:    https://www.petfinder.com/dog/happy-50540490/nj/lambertville/animal-alliance-nj290/

Happy & friends

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Please comment: Animal heroes are all around us, and they should be recognized.  For instance, Francine,” who organized a group of women to walk Happy and help enrich his life while he’s still at Animal Alliance.  Then she made the sign I saw (and hope many others did too), and invited me to a get-acquainted walk last week.

Readers, maybe you're animal heroes too.  I’m inviting you to name I or 2 others in a comment here: who do you regard as an animal hero and briefly what does s/he do for animals?    

Thank you.