Meet the dogs, cats and birds who have led us to greater knowledge about learning, language, prosthetics, archaeology and genetics
By Kim Campbell Thornton
Andrews McMeel Syndication
You’ve probably heard of Pavlov’s dogs, but are you familiar with some of the other animals who have contributed to scientific knowledge?
Alex the African grey, whose name was formed from the words “avian learning experiment,” had a vocabulary of more than 100 words, could identify 50 different objects, and was able to distinguish multiple colors and shapes and understand the concepts “bigger,” “smaller,” “same” and “different.” He showed that it didn’t take a large primate brain to demonstrate cognitive and communicative abilities, including answering -- and asking -- questions. Alex died in 2005, but Griffin, another African grey, is continuing to teach us more about intelligence in birds and humans.
The cave paintings at Lascaux in France reflect Paleolithic human use of images to tell a story. But we might not know about them if a dog named Robot, exploring with his owner Marcel Ravidat, hadn’t disappeared down a shaft that opened into a cave with walls covered in stunning depictions of animals, including horses and large wildcats. From it, archaeologists have gleaned new information about the technological and artistic skills of Paleolithic humans as well as new perspectives on hunting practices and implements and the changing environment of the time.
Chaser was a border collie with a big vocabulary, thanks to owner John W. Pilley, a retired psychology professor, who taught her to identify and retrieve more than 1,000 toys by name. She recognized words such as “house,” “tree” and “ball,” and she could use her skills to understand and respond to sentences containing multiple grammatical elements. An example of her intelligence was the ability to infer the name of a new object by excluding objects with names she already knew.
Bionic cat Oscar earned his scientific bona fides in 2010, when he became the first feline to receive prosthetic legs attached directly to his anklebones after his hind paws were severed in an accident with a combine harvester. The technique, called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthesis, is now used in humans and works by fusing flesh and metal together, sealing out dirt and bacteria. Other animals have benefited from the prosthetic technology as well.
Mr. Green Genes, born in 2008, was the first fluorescent cat in the United States. Certain cats have been genetically modified to glow green -- not to serve as nightlights, but to aid in research to prevent HIV in humans and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) in cats. In 2011, five kittens modified to glow received a gene that may make them resistant to FIV. The fluorescent green color results from a separate gene that was added to indicate whether the anti-FIV gene was incorporated into the genome. The genetic modification doesn’t harm the cats and may one day help cats with FIV and humans with HIV.
CC, which stands for CopyCat or Carbon Copy, was the first feline clone, created in 2001 from Rainbow, a calico domestic shorthair, and carried to term by an unnamed tabby. CC herself was a tabby-and-white domestic shorthair, not a carbon copy of Rainbow at all, thanks to X-chromosome inactivation, which occurs normally and randomly in female cats. The random nature of X-inactivation meant that CC developed without any cells that specified orange coat color. In 2006, CC gave birth to four kittens, fathered naturally, three of whom survived. She lived to be 18 years old, dying in 2020.
Snuppy, the first canine clone, was developed from a single cell taken from the ear of Tai, an adult Afghan hound. He was born in 2005 at South Korea’s Seoul National University, hence his name. Snuppy lived to be 10 years old, dying of cancer. Tai, his cell donor, lived to be 12 years old and also died of cancer. Snuppy “fathered” four more clones, and three survived puppyhood. Their health and longevity are being studied in comparison to that of Snuppy and Tai.
Q&A
Beware of plastic
bag hazards
Q: My dog got his head stuck in a potato chip bag, and if we hadn’t noticed quickly, he could have suffocated. Can you warn people about that, please?
A: Absolutely. That’s such an important reminder as we’re heading into warmer weather and spring and summer barbecue season. And, of course, most of us keep bags of chips and other snacks in our homes year-round. For tips, I turned to my colleague Jason Nicholas, DVM, at preventivevet.com, because I know he sees sad stories of this type on a regular basis.
Plastic snack bags filled with chips, pretzels and other goodies (or even empty bags) can be serious risks for curious or hungry pets. They don’t have hands, so their method of exploration is to stick their head inside to get at those tasty, salty crumbs. And if they can’t get their heads back out, pets can suffocate in just a few minutes if their people are out of the room or unaware of their predicament, he says. Be sure all family members, including kids, are aware of the risks and don’t leave bags -- empty or otherwise -- lying around.
The best thing to do with empty snack bags -- especially if your dog has a habit of raiding the trash -- is to open them at the bottom and then tear along the side of the bag so that what you end up with is a flat sheet. Get in the habit of doing that with every bag: pet food bags, pet treat bags, chip bags, cereal box liners. That’s a great preventive step not only for pets, but it can also protect wildlife and stray animals who may get into your garbage.
You can find more safety tips at preventivevet.com/pet-suffocation and at preventpetsuffocation.com. -- Dr. Marty Becker
Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.
THE BUZZ
Maine shelter
finds cats jobs
-- Is your office hiring? If you’re in Waterville, Maine, the local animal shelter may be able to help. Because every workplace needs an office cat, right? The Humane Society Waterville Area has a “hiring” program to suit any cat-seeking business, from warehouses to daycares to nursing homes and more. Cats are paid with food, water and shelter, and businesses benefit from the presence of a furry stress reliever and mouse deterrent. For more information, go to hswa.org, or contact your local shelter about starting a similar program.
-- A bird’s posture can tell you a lot about how they’re feeling. Here are some clues: A bird who’s crouching, head downward, wants a nice head or neck scratch. But the same bird who’s crouching, head downward, with eyes flashing, is not so happy. The message: “Make my day!” Save yourself from a bite and back off until he’s more relaxed. A bird who is crouching, head down, with a relaxed body and raised or fluttering wings, desires your attention, in a come-hither kind of way. Body and head up, both relaxed, signal a bird who’s being friendly, especially if she’s moving toward you.
-- Many Victorian-era artists made their living painting the prize-winning dogs and family pets of the aristocracy. One of the best known was Sir Edwin Landseer, whose work even today is highly sought after by dog-loving art collectors. Landseer’s canine portraits of the Newfoundland were so popular that the black-and-white variety bear his name; they’re known as Landseer Newfoundlands. Landseer is also responsible for the idea that Saint Bernards carried small casks of brandy hanging from their collars to revive lost travelers. That image came solely from Landseer’s imagination, but after he painted it, people with Saint Bernards began attaching casks to their dogs’ collars. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker
ABOUT PET CONNECTION
Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts. Veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker is founder of the Fear Free organization, co-founder of VetScoop.com and author of many best-selling pet care books. Kim Campbell Thornton is an award-winning journalist and author who has been writing about animals since 1985. Mikkel Becker is a behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/Kim.CampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.