Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Dog's birthday

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Pizza delivery


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The Odd Couple

Wildlife Safari in Winston, Ore has rare animals from across the globe - like rhinos, lions and even an Anatolian Shepherd.
And the rare thing about the Anatolian Shepherd female at Wildlife Safari is not her breed, but her roommate - who just happens to be the fastest predator on earth.
"It's a very popular question of why we have a dog and a cheetah out there and it's a common practice that a lot of institutions across the United States are doing right now in an effort to tell this very conservation story," said Dan Brands, Curator at Wildlife Safari.
As a single birth cheetah cub, Sanurra was abandoned by her mother, which opened the door for these two to be brought together.
"Rather than let Sanurra grow up alone we were able to bring in a dog as a sibling, basically like her sister, and they have been together ever since," said Sarah Roy, cheetah supervisor at Wildlife Safari.
This odd pairing was no accident, as an Anatolian Shepherd is very protective and that natural instinct could be the key to saving the wild cheetah population.
"Anatolians will be like that no matter how they are raised, whether it's with goats or whether it's cattle. So the farmers get these dogs as puppies and a big barking dog is plenty to keep a cheetah away from their livestock. And in turn, farmers are shooting less cheetahs because right now they are a shoot-on-sight animal," said Roy.
While these roommates may be considered the odd couple at Wildlife Safari, caretakers says it's like nothing they've ever seen.
"When we take the dog for her daily walk, the cheetah sits on her house and waits for the dog to come back and if we take Sanurra down to the village for the day, Ellie cries and whines for her cheetah to come back, so they do miss each other," said Roy.
That type of bond could change the road ahead for cheetahs in Africa.
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Plane enthusiast's dream date

A 71-year-old woman who visits Manchester airport every week, but has never been on a plane, has finally boarded her favorite jet.
Rosemary Bate, 71, goes to the Aviation Viewing Park every weekend and marvels at the pilots who land the Cathay Pacific 747 cargo plane.
Ms Bate wrote to airport bosses asking them to "fix it" for her to meet the aircraft's pilots.
She was invited on board and said it was "a dream come true".
“I have been interested in the Cathay Pacific cargo plane as it is so large I can't comprehend the skill and talent it must take in landing it here”
Rosemary Bate
Captain John Rands welcomed Ms Bate on board the plane before it headed to Hong Kong.
Ms Bate said she never even expected a reply from the airport.
"I have actually never been on a plane in my whole life so I really enjoy coming to the airport at the weekend for the excitement of seeing the aircraft take off and land," she said.
"I have been interested in the Cathay Pacific cargo plane as it is so large I can't comprehend the skill and talent it must take in landing it here.
"I have felt like an excitable child at the thought of having a look around the aircraft today, it really has made my dreams come true."
Andrew Cornish, Manchester Airport's Managing Director, said Ms Bate's was a "particularly unusual request".
"I am very pleased we were able to fix it so Mrs. Bate got to live out her dream and I'm glad that she enjoyed it," he said.
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Rosemary Bate was on cloud nine when she got to go on board her favorite aircraft.
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