Cover photo credit: Medical Detection Dogs / Neil Pollock Photography

Hey guys, it’s me, your pal Dio. Let’s be honest: we’re barely half way through 2020 and it has been… quite the ride. So let’s check in. Are we staying hydrated? Sleeping during the appropriate hours to maintain our circadian rhythm? Eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s in our “day time” pajamas and passing it off as “self care”? If not, that’s okay. And if so, well… that’s okay too.

But for now, let us turn away from our woes and worries to focus on some good news. Because, there’s always good news to be found, even in the darkest of times. Here at CatGazette, we may have a preference for kitties, but we are lovers of all animals, and we love hearing some good news involving paws and hooves of all kinds. So without further adieu, let’s grab a pint of Cherry Garcia, cozy up with our kitty cats, and read about some feel-good animal stories from 2020.

Goats For Hire

Undoubtedly, many small businesses are facing a lot of uncertainty these days. However, a few business owners are using this down time as an opportunity to get creative. Sweet Farm Animal Sanctuary, for example, has learned to turn the sour lemons of this time into sweet, Sweet lemonade.

How so, you ask? Well, let me ask you this: if you’ve been working from home, all those Zoom meetings can get so dull that they drag on forever, right? That’s where Sweet Farm comes in. For a nominal fee of around $100, you can spice up your team’s conference with an unexpected visitor; one of Sweet Farm’s very own live performers! These performers consist of goats, turkey, llamas, and many of the other farm animals (excuse me, artists) who live on Sweet Farm. Imagine hearing your boss drone on forever about, like, I don’t know, graphs and formulas and… whatever else bosses talk about, only to be interrupted by a bleating sheep announcing her opinion? Priceless.

The project, called “Goat 2 Meeting”, is not only a fun way to liven up your work day, but it’s all for a good cause. Sweet Farm is a nonprofit animal sanctuary, and the proceeds go directly back to the farm, helping to feed and maintain the animals who live there. Clever, right?

Penguins on Parade

If you’re the adventurous type, you might be getting a touch of cabin fever during this quarantine. Well, as it turns out, the penguins at Kansas City Zoo have been a bit stir-crazy as well. So, in order to offer some excitement to their days, the staff have decided to take them on a little field trip, letting them roam around the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Since the viral video of these art aficionados exploded, other zoos all over the world have followed suit. Who knew penguins were so cultured?

But the fun doesn’t stop there. According to MetroTimes, the penguins at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium have been allowed to explore and say hello to their aquatic neighbors. Waddling in their footsteps is the Detroit Zoo with their penguin, Pickles, who was able to explore the zoo grounds on Monday like a real boss. According to the Zoo, “Michigan’s recent temperatures are ideal for letting penguins explore outside of their chilly habitat, which is great for animal enrichment.” Perfect.

Wholesome Heroes

As scientists around the world race to find a COVID vaccine, some unexpected heroes make an appearance in the shape of our goodest four-legged friend-os. That’s right! A charity located in England called Medical Detection Dogs has successfully trained their pups to sniff out many diseases such as malaria, Parkinsons, and cancer, and the next step is to try applying the same training for COVID detection.

A comment on this scientific procedure, as seen on the MDD website states that “the aim is that dogs will be able to screen anyone, including those who are asymptomatic and tell us whether they need to be tested.  This would be fast, effective and non-invasive and make sure the limited NHS testing resources are only used where they are really needed.”

But that’s not the only thing our furry friends are doing for the cause. In Baltimore, Loki the Rottweiler has been hot on the scene, barreling through the frontlines to deliver healing kits to doctors and nurses treating patients with COVID at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. These healing kits include things like lotion, chapstick, and boxes of tea to help ease the stress and discomfort of life on the frontline.

Endangered Animals Make a Comeback

As human activity slows, the earth has been returning to its natural glory. Not only that, but many endangered animals have been growing in number. From the ultra-rare blue bee making an appearance to leatherback sea turtles growing exponentially, our beloved wildlife is beginning to thrive once more.

In Hong Kong, longtime companions Le Le and Ying Ying have lived in the Ocean Park Zoo for over 13 years. Though their species has been on the endangered list for decades, these giant pandas never quite showed much interest in mating. Now that the zoo is closed and the prying eyes of its human visitors have disappeared, the pair finally saw fit to… er… produce an heir, if you will. And I mean, can you blame them for waiting so long? Imagine the time of King Henry, when the consummation of royal marriage was a public spectacle. Wouldn’t you get a little bit of stage fright? Congrats, you crazy kids.

See now, it’s not all so bad. When times get tough, it’s nice to know that our furry friends have our backs. Did we ever have a doubt?