CA's Top 21 Dog Beaches, Frenchie Lawsuit Tossed on Technicality, Giant Newfie Digs Gardening, and More!
Image: The Fisherman's Dog, (1800) Engraver Samuel William Reynolds, the elder, © Creative Commons
Road Trip! California's Top 21 Dog Beaches
Just in time to plan your summer vacay, the folks at the Fast Food Club have come up with a list of their Top 21 California Dog Beaches. Of course, Bay Area dog lovers already know all about Fort Funston. But what about Westport-Union Landing State Beach way up on the Mendocino Coast? Or the Del Mar Dog Beach down San Diego way?
In fact, why not make your own Pup Passport and see how many dog beaches you can hit this summer? From the North Coast to the southern border, there's a sandy sojourn just waiting for you and your pal.
Source: fastfoodclub.com
Frenchie Breed Standards Upheld for Now:
PETA's Lawsuit Tossed on Technicality
In 2025, the animal rights group PETA filed a major lawsuit against the American Kennel Club. In essence, it accused the AKC of pushing unhealthy breed standards for French Bulldogs - now the nation's most popular dog breed - as well as for Shar-Peis, Dachshunds, Bulldogs, and Pugs.
But last month, a New York judge tossed the case on a technicality, finding that the state law on which PETA based its claims didn't apply because PETA isn't subject to the AKC's authority. Notably, the judge did not rule on the dog health issues at the heart of the case.
PETA had argued that the well-documented canine ailments associated with the breeds named in its suit inflicted suffering on dogs, and it asked the court to order the AKC to stop using its standards for those breeds. The AKC held that its standards are based on "decades of collaboration with veterinary experts and breeders" and pointed to the $40 million it's given to its own canine health research charity since 1995.
In the wake of the ruling, PETA is continuing to assess its legal options, while urging people to adopt dogs from shelters rather than buying from breeders. Says PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk, "No dog should be custom-made for a look that causes pain."
Source: abcnews.com
Can You Dig It?
Giant Newfie Helps Grandma Garden
Barbara is a frail great-grandmother who loves to garden. Chewy is a 150-pound Newfoundland who loves to dig.
At 96, Barbara no longer has the strength or balance to kneel and dig holes to plant her spring flowers. But now she can simply stand in her garden and point to the spot she has in mind. "And dig," she commands, and Chewy does, right where Barbara wants the hole. Teamwork.
Once Chewy has the hole completed, Barbara plants her marigolds, pansies, and dianthus, patting them carefully into place. She sometimes pays the pup for his labor with grilled cheese sandwiches or shared ice cream, but he'd happily do it for free. Digging is his jam.
Chewy actually belongs to Barbara's adult granddaughter, Amy Savino, who lives next door to Barbara in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with her husband and three kids. "They're just best friends," Savino says about Chewy and her grandmother. "He's always had such a sweet, sweet bond with her."
Chewy now has almost half a million followers on TikTok and Instagram, but Barbara knows there are more important things than her furry gardener's internet fame. "He's my baby dog," she says. "I love him very much. I'm a lucky person"
Source: washingtonpost.com
From Skittish Stray to Suburban Couch Queen:
The Tale of Susan Badger
One cold day this past winter, some construction workers at a project near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway noticed a tiny black-and-white Terrier mix wandering loose without a collar. The fearful little dog wouldn't come near them so they started tossing her bits of their sandwiches and doughnuts. Before long, they had built her an insulated shelter complete with a water bowl, blanket, and dog bed.
Still, no one could get close enough to capture the small pup, who managed to outrun and outsmart animal services workers for more than two months. Meanwhile, the construction crew continued to leave food outside her shelter, helping her survive as she dodged traffic and weathered a storm that brought over six inches of snow to the DC area. Soon other nearby residents joined the cause, posting sightings of the little dog on a local Facebook group dedicated to finding lost pets.
Then in late March, a driver spotted the small black-and-white pup on a nearby highway and texted the location to his wife who immediately shared the information on Facebook. Armed with some particularly delicious fried chicken, another local woman and a county animal services worker promptly responded, finally succeeded in catching the 16-pound pup who was soon transported to the local shelter where employees named her Susan Badger (we would've gone with Susan Dodger, but we're sure they had their reasons).
Ms. Badger has since been adopted by the driver who spotted her, Rob Mark, and his wife Jill-Ann, whose speedy FB post led to the dog’s rescue. Today, the formerly skittish stray spends her time lounging on a suburban couch, accepting morsels of turkey treats and demanding ear scratches.
"The degree to which she has made herself comfortable is both heartwarming and hilarious to us," reports Jill-Ann. "Because she just is already a queen."
Sources: washingtonpost.com, capeargus.co.za
Are We Talking Salami?
What That Cute Head Tilt Really Means
Does your dog ever tilt its head when you're talking to them? That's not just an adorable pose, according to the authors of a recent study. In fact, your dog is actively engaging in a communication exchange with you, trying to process those strange sounds coming out of your mouth - and do any of them mean salami?
In dogs, as in humans, language processing generally occurs in the brain's left hemisphere, especially in males, so a rightward tilt may mean the dog is engaging the left side of its brain to try to understand what it's hearing.
But human women "tend to process things a little more bilaterally," notes the study's author, and it appears the same may be true for female dogs. In fact, the male dogs in the study were noticeably more apt to tilt their heads to the right than the female dogs were.
While this research raises more questions than it answers, the bottom line is clear. A head tilt means your dog is listening - and that it's undeniably cute.
Source: popsci.com