Doobie Smoking Art Dogs, Canine Jealousy, Bear Battling Terriers, and More

Juan de Pareja, The Hound of Saint Dominic (ca. 1660s)

In Today’s Art History Lesson…
Wait, What’s That Dog Smoking?

If you spend time wandering through museums of European Old Masters or Spanish Colonial art, you may have noticed an odd recurring motif in the background of some religious paintings – little dogs who appear to be smoking big joints. Actually, the dog with the flaming stick in his mouth is known as the Hound of St. Dominic, and it is often paired with Saint Jane of Aza, who is said to have dreamed she was pregnant with a small dog holding a blazing torch that would set fires everywhere.

 St. Jane later gave birth to a human son who would go on to become Saint Dominic, or Santo Domingo, the founder of the Dominican Order of Preachers in 1216, thus setting the world aflame with his faith. In fact, Dominican preachers were sometimes called “Domini canes,” or dogs of the lord.

 That’s why the pup shows up in all these paintings, but it’s not a doobie in his mouth. Like most dogs, he was just high on life.

Source: artnet.com

Don’t Think I Don’t See You Petting That Pug:
New Research Confirms Jealousy in Dogs 

Past surveys indicate that at least 80 percent of dog owners have reported jealous behaviors in their dogs - whining, agitation, leash pulling - when they witness their humans giving attention to other dogs. Now a new study finds that dogs also demonstrate jealous behaviors when they just think their owner is flirting with a potential rival, even if the other dog isn’t real.

The study put 18 dogs in situations where they believed their humans were interacting with either a realistic artificial dog or a fleece cylinder, which served as the control item. Researchers found dogs showed jealous behaviors only when their owner interacted with the perceived social rival (the fake dog), not an inanimate object (the fleece cylinder). They also found that jealous behaviors occurred as a consequence of the interaction itself, not the rival’s mere presence, and that jealous behaviors occurred even when the artificial dog was blocked from sight, but it appeared that the owner was interacting with it.

Animal cognition researchers say dogs are one of the few species to display this type of humanoid emotion. Nice to know you’ve got company when you spot your mate chatting up that hottie at your first post-pandemic cocktail party.

Source: psychologicalscience.org

Our Kitchen, Our Rules:
Tiny Terriers Tell Bear Where to Get Off

Two scrappy terriers recently ran off a large brown bear that had wandered into a California home seemingly in search of a bite to eat. As the bear cruises past the fridge, the family’s security cameras show tiny Squirt and Mei Mei racing into the kitchen, barking frantically, and chasing the bear out to the patio and off the property.

Of course, terriers were originally bred to chase down and kill small animals so at least some of this activity was in their job description. Guess these two didn’t get the memo on the small part.

Source: people.com 

One of the hero dogs at Kenya’s Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

Poachers Beware:
Canine Cops Are On the Case

A remarkable two-dog squad in Kenya has helped drop recent rhinoceros poaching incidents at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to zero. Armed only with their keen sense of smell, scent hounds Ruby and Nasuju are able to sniff out routes used by poaching gangs and detect ill-gotten rhino horn at park gates and airports, stopping wildlife traffickers in their tracks.

 Last year, the daring duo assisted in eleven cases of stock theft, nine cases of road banditry, and eight robbery incidents – all in a six-month period. Now that’s what we call real fur-ensics!

Source: savetherhino.org

Officer Clarence reporting for duty!

Who’s a Good Boy?
Officer Clarence Unites Congress

A Saint Bernard named Officer Clarence was on the scene at the U.S. Capitol recently, serving as an official comfort dog in the wake of the April 2 killing of a Capitol police officer. Weighing in at 150 pounds, Clarence managed to enthrall both sides of the aisle, as well as a besotted Capitol press corps who lost no time documenting the burly behemoth’s charm offensive.

 Clarence is part of a K9 First Responders team that has offered solace during such unimaginable tragedies as Sandy Hook, the Boston Marathon bombings, and the Las Vegas mass shooting. When not on the road, Clarence is based at the local police department in Greenfield, Massachusetts. But after a decade of service, he’s nearly ready to hand off his full-time duties to his successor - another beefy Bernard named Officer Donut.

Source: today.com