Virginia Tech researchers are showing that dogs and their owners can help stop the spread of an invasive insect species. The spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, was first detected in the U.S. in 2014, and it’s spread rapidly to 18 states. Catching the bug early is key, and with their keen sense of smell, dogs can be trained to sniff out the egg masses without disturbing the environment. Participant dogs correctly identified the egg masses 82% of the time in the controlled test and 61% in the real-world test. This was still better than rates of success for human-only searches………A CA family had to say goodbye to their rat-terrier mix named Rufus who passed away unexpectedly in April.  They later went to a rescue place called Muttville to look for another dog, and found a pup named Ziggy that looked a lot like Rufus, so they adopted him . . . did a DNA test . . . and discovered he was Rufus’s father. They got Rufus about 10 years ago, and Ziggy is also a senior dog now, happily living with his new family……………..And finally…………….. 

A dog named Blue went missing from her family’s home in Corpus Christi, Texas when Hurricane Harvey swept through the area in 2017.  Now, eight years later, Blue was found in a public bathroom at a park in Waco, Texas, 300 miles away.  A Good Samaritan brought Blue to a local animal shelter, where she was scanned for a microchip, which led to a heartwarming reunion with her family.