Special Species

Get insights for your birds, small mammals, reptiles, or other unusual pets to give them the special care they need, from dietary to veterinary requirements.
how air scenting products can harm your pet
Special Species

How Air-Scenting Products Can Harm Your Pet

We're bombarded with the message that most homes smell embarrassingly bad. Yet, making your home smell like you just walked into a beautiful meadow or pine forest can raise your pet's risk for malignancy and heart and lung disease. Here are the five worst toxic offenders.
6 min read
death penalty for poachers
Special Species

Kenya Announces Death Penalty for Poachers

Iconic species like elephants and rhinoceros are prime targets for poachers looking for ivory tusks or rhino horns. To protect the threatened species, poachers already face steep fines and jail time in Kenya. Now, an even steeper sentence has been announced in the country: the death penalty.
5 min read
miniature donkey
Special Species

Pacemaker Saves the Life of Cherished Companion Animal

Prince Buttons gave his human a terrible scare when he began staggering, and then collapsing. Dependent on him and his half-brother Rolo for a reason to get out of bed in the morning, Button's very ill owner couldn't have been more relieved when this specialist team stepped in to help.
3 min read
rehabilitation therapy for pets
Special Species

This Pain Relief Protocol for Humans Also Works on Pets

You've probably gained from these protocols yourself. And if our precious animals could talk, they'd ask us to claim the same benefits for them. Especially in these special needs situations and circumstances. Fortunately, it's becoming more widely accepted and available.
5 min read
pets therapeutic exercise
Special Species

Injured or Disabled Pet? Design the Perfect Rehab Program

There are many things to consider when designing a rehab program for your injured or disabled dog, cat, horse, rabbit or other pet. Know the nine conditions for which rehabilitation therapy is a must and one of my favorite types of therapy that can ease pain and help injuries heal.
5 min read
can birds communicate using cellphones tablets
Special Species

Can Birds Communicate Using Cellphones and Tablets?

Unbelievably, these whip-smart birds have taken feathered friendships to a whole new level. Learning how to use tablets and cellphones to make calls in a three-month study (147 calls were actually made by 18 birds), Ellie and Cookie continue to call each other more than a year after the study ended.
4 min read
dolphins alzheimers
Special Species

Beached Dolphins and Whales: Is Alzheimer's to Blame?

Why do large groups of dolphins - and even whales - sometimes get stranded in shallow water? Researchers from the University of Glasgow have a hunch: The leader of these groups may be suffering from brain changes not unlike those that occur in humans with Alzheimer's.
4 min read