I have trouble reconciling the "self-respect" and "integrity" with "you were born a sinner, start repenting" message. I figure it's one of those "you can only understand after you believe it" things.

Recall is a constant training issue with my greyhounds — I swear when they are running their brains shut out all unrelated input. We still work on it continuously, any recall is better than none. Someday I will find a treat that is interesting enough to beat out chasing things, but not so interesting that they just…

I wonder how much Ms Torres lost just in terms of financial investment when Raffiki was "re homed" because puppy vet visits aren't super cheap, and I don't think Ridgebacks are either (if she was paid for).

$300 isn't a bargain for an 8 month old potential purebred. Especially with no known history (stray) in a breed that needs really good socialization and training. It's unlikely the rescue 'made' money on this adoption — since she didn't wander the streets with her vet records stapled on. Karma still would have paid…

Yet the group gave the dog to another family, deeming the Torres family not worthy of Raffiki, an 8-month-old Rhodesian Ridgeback.

@Yoga Nerd MD: the solution to the potential choking problem is getting a tag-collar, basically a skinny collar with a breakaway mechanism if it does get caught on something. That way your dog has ID even if he backs out of his collar on a walk or bolts out the door.

@AnnNN: you do realize that dog fighters aren't going to scan your dog for a chip, right? Generally speaking only vets and shelters have access to the chip scanners, and vets only check when putting the chip in (or for fertility treatments).

the standards can vary from shelter to shelter.

Without cloud cover to hold in the warmth, sunny days are actually colder than cloudy ones. 'Too cold to snow' is the really scary weather, although freezing sleet is my personal nightmare.

The idea that dolphins are just wet toys for humans has always confused me. They are intelligent predators that hunt in packs, learn very quickly and have sometimes coordinated with humans for mutual benefit. Dolphins are wolves that live in the water.

For all our sakes, can you retire the "leader of the free world" title? It's insulting to . . . well, the free world really. Plus it makes the presidency sound like a post-apocalyptic title held by the guy with the most goats.

hold up, what? Zohydro aside, you write this like everyone who uses pain pills is a drug addict.

Every time, I have gone to the hospital for this Doctors treat me like a pill addict, and don't believe I'm in that much pain. They also always give me a speech on how they can't do anything for my cramps other than give me pain medication.

Even humans can pick up the scent of high blood sugar, but not low blood sugar (which is more of an immediate issue). And it might even be a mix of scents that they are detecting, since they can separate scents into individual components. Hiding contraband with something else smelly is like putting a banana next to an…

Probably done in stages so that the skin can stretch, though I would bet there's essentially no nerve function.

So the homophobes are sacrificing 2.5 years in order to take 12 years off the lives of the LGBTQ folks nearby. I'm not sure this is good news.

Dogs are also being tested to detect lung cancer, colon cancer, and skin cancer.

On behalf of arctophiles everywhere — nope. There's a long tradition of recreating fictional characters as bears (Cooperstown's Blues Brothers were fantastic) but this is squidgy.

At what point does this behavior go from 'poor job performance' and become 'aiding and abetting after the fact'?

As a long time arctophile, I reject the notion that teddy bears are a poor choice for adults. (My family learned a while ago that I'd be much happier with a bear than another sweater) Frankly, her hair doesn't look too snazzy either, but I wouldn't make a blanket statement that all brides should be bald to avoid it.