Laika, First Dog Astronaut, Made a One-Way Space Trip 60 Years Ago

Sixty years ago, people around the world were enamored with Laika (Russian for “Barker”), a 2-year-old Moscow street dog, who became the first dog to orbit the Earth when Sputnik 2 launched on Nov. 3, 1957. It wasn’t until Laika was well on her way aboard Sputnik 2 that Russian officials disclosed the terrible truth: it was a one-way mission.

“Laika was quiet and charming,” wrote Dr. Vladimir Yazdovsky, who took the “cosmomutt,” as she was called by pundits, home to play with his children before her ill-fated trip. “I wanted to do something nice for her: She had so little time left to live.”

When people found out that sweet little Laika was doomed to die alone and scared, they were outraged.

“The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals averted complete telephone paralysis only when a quick-thinking operator urged all callers to ‘make your protest direct to the Soviet embassy,’” Time reported in November 1957.

In a desperate attempt at damage control, First Secretary Yuri Modin insisted that Russians loved dogs. “This has been done not for the sake of cruelty but for the benefit of humanity,” he stated, according to Time.

Speaking of cruelty, it wasn’t easy for Laika even before the capsule was launched into space. Because of a technical problem, she had to sit in the cockpit for three days on the launch pad. As the temperature dropped, workers heated the capsule using a hose.

According to the official story at the time, Laika survived for a week in space before she was euthanized by a programmed injection. As terrible as that sounds, the end of her life was actually much worse.

At the 2002 World Space Congress, people involved in the project revealed what had really happened. Laika had access to food and water, but she was chained so she couldn’t turn around. Just a few hours after the capsule was launched, she died of overheating and stress.

Laika wasn’t the only dog who died on a Russian space mission. Of the 12 dogs that succeeded her, five died. Finally, in 1960, two dogs named Belka and Strelka made it safely to space and back again.

The last dogs sent to space were Verterok and Ugolyok, who spent 22 days in orbit in 1966. Ever since then, dogs have stayed where they belong – here on Earth.

This story was originally published on Care2.com.

Photo: By user Neozoon, Public Domain

2 Women and Their Dogs Lost at Sea for 5 Months Rescued by Navy

Last spring, Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiaba left Honolulu in a boat with their dogs, intending to sail to Tahiti.

During stormy weather on May 30, the boat’s motor gave out. The women thought they could make it back to land by sail, but that attempt proved to be unsuccessful. So, ever since then, the foursome has been drifting at sea. Every day, the women would send out a distress call, but there were no ships or shore stations around to hear their S.O.S.

Fortunately, Appel and Fuiaba had brought along plenty of water purifiers and a year’s supply of food, including dry goods like oatmeal, pasta and rice.

Their ordeal finally came to an end Tuesday, when a Taiwanese fishing boat crew spotted their boat and notified the U.S. Coast Guard in Guam. The women were thousands of miles from Tahiti, but only about 900 miles from Japan.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy sent out the USS Ashland, an amphibious docking landing ship, to rescue the women and dogs. Their boat was deemed unseaworthy, and its occupants were brought aboard the ship. The Navy provided the four with medical assessments, food and berthing arrangements.

A sailor greets Zeus the dog with his owner Tasha Fuiaba.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay)

“I’m grateful for their service to our country. They saved our lives,” Appel said. “The pride and smiles we had when we saw [the Navy ship] on the horizon was pure relief.”

Check out the smiles and wagging tails in this video.

The USS Ashland’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Steven Wasson, said the U.S. Navy is “postured to assist any distressed mariner of any nationality during any type of situation.”

As Appel said, thank you, U.S. Navy, for your service!

Photo: U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay/Released

R.I.P. Smiley, Blind Puppy Mill Survivor Who Became an Inspiring Therapy Dog

Smiley, a 16-year-old Golden Retriever who spent most of his life inspiring people with special needs, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.

“Dogs can come back from anything. They forget their past,” his dog mom, Joanne George, a dog trainer who lives in Stouffville, Canada, told CBS News two years ago. “We as humans, dwell on the past.”

The particular dog George she was referring to was Smiley, who spent the first couple years of his life in a puppy mill. If that alone wasn’t bad enough, Smiley was born with dwarfism — and without eyes.

George rescued Smiley when he was 2 years old. “He was very scared,” she told ABC News. “[The dogs] had never been out of that barn.”

Although Smiley initially cowered at the sound of George’s other dog, a partially deaf Great Dane named Tyler, the two became best friends as Tyler helped bring Smiley out of his shell. “Tyler was so bouncy and crazy and happy-go-lucky, and [Smiley] turned into the same dog,” George told ABC News. “He came out from underneath the tables where he was always hiding.”

As Smiley blossomed, George noticed the positive effect he had on people who were naturally drawn to and inspired by her special dog. “I realized this dog has to be a therapy dog — I have to share him,” she told CBS News.

Smiley and George joined the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program in Ontario. Smiley helped children with special needs learn to read through a library literacy program, and also comforted people at funeral homes and nursing homes.

Until Smiley came along, the employees of one nursing home had never seen a mute patient named Teddy express any emotion.

“One day, Smiley put his feet up in front of [Teddy], and he started smiling and making noise,” George told CBS News. “All of the nurses rushed into the room and said they’ve never seen him smile — never seen any kind of reaction.”

Smiley touched hearts around the world when he became a social media sensation, with nearly half a million followers on Facebook and Instagram.

In July, veterinarians found tumors on Smiley’s liver and stomach. As his health quickly deteriorated, George made the difficult decision to end his suffering. “It’s the only way we can repay him for all he’s done,” she wrote on Smiley’s Facebook page yesterday. “He’s had enough.”

Farewell, sweet Smiley. All around the world, many of us are shedding tears for a dog we never had the privilege to meet. My heart goes out to George and her family. How lucky Smiley was to have such a loving and devoted dog mom.

“Please, in honor of Smiley — see the world around you with your ❤️, be kind to others and give back in any way you can,” George wrote on Smiley’s Facebook page today in her announcement of her beloved dog’s death.

Let’s all do it.

Photo via Twitter

With Her Pit Bull in a Duffel Bag, Woman Escapes California Wildfire on a Bicycle

Natasha Wallace wasn’t about to flee from a devastating wildfire in Santa Rosa, Calif., without Bentley, her beloved 4-year-old Pit Bull.

“I would never part ways with my dog, ever,” she told FOX40. “That’s my ride or die — oh my God, literally.”

Wallace, a student at Santa Rosa Junior College, had been studying across town Monday night. As she drove home around 2 a.m., she could see the flames near her home and knew she’d have to evacuate.

She managed to put Bentley in her car and tried to drive away from the fast-moving fire, but got stuck in traffic. So she ran back to her house and grabbed her bicycle and a duffel bag, which became a sidecar for Bentley.

“I told him, ‘Hey man, this is serious, you need to just sit in the bag,'” Wallace told FOX40. “And he hopped right in.”

Carrying her 70-pound dog, she was able to ride her bike a few miles away from the fire. Fortunately, a good Samaritan named Paul Johnson stopped his pickup truck and gave Wallace and Bentley a lift to a safe evacuation area.

Unfortunately, Wallace — who turned 24 yesterday — lost her home and everything she owned, but thanks to her quick actions, she and her beloved Pittie survived.

“I don’t even know how to express how grateful I am,” she told FOX40.

Here’s how to help pets left homeless by the devastating wildfires in Northern California.

How to Help Pets Displaced by the Devastating Northern California Wildfires

The deadliest wildfires in state history continue to burn in California’s wine country, destroying more than 120,000 acres. Over 30 people have died so far, and hundreds remain missing.

Thousands of people have lost their houses, and shelters are taking in their pets until they have a place to call home. Here are some of the ways you can help them.

Sonoma Humane Society

The Sonoma Humane Society has been overwhelmed by the generosity of donations of pet food and other items, which are being distributed to displaced pet owners. It currently does not need additional supplies. “We are thankful for the outpouring of support we are receiving,” it stated on its website Oct. 12.

Veterinary care for burn victims is also being offered free of charge. “Owned or stray animals affected by the fires can come to Sonoma Humane for basic treatment,” its website states. “If the care required is greater than we can provide, we will recommend referral to a critical care facility.”

You can help by:

  • Adopting a dog from the shelter to make room for incoming strays and injured pets.
  • Making an online cash donation, which is especially needed and appreciated. “You can choose to restrict your gift to ‘NorCal Fire Relief’ or consider giving a gift to ‘Help where it’s needed most’ to ensure we have the resources to support our fire relief efforts as well as the animals who were already in our shelters,” Sonoma Humane said.

Napa Humane

“We are so proud of our community and the way that everyone has come together and the outpouring of love and support,” stated Napa Humane on its Facebook page Oct. 12. “So many have lost so much and many are still here to help their friends and neighbors. Please stay safe.”

The humane society is providing temporary housing for an evacuated pet hospital. “Several kitties have come to us with burned paws, but most of them are still purring and allowing us to love them up,” according to an update.

Napa Humane also has a mobile unit available at the Napa County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center that’s being used to house evacuated pets.

You can help by making an online cash donation.

Petaluma Animal Services

“Our employees are sleeping in their cars, rescuing in the fire area, staffing the evacuation center and handling the shelter,” Petaluma Animal Services reported on its Facebook page Oct. 12.

While it currently has enough supplies, what it needs most is “monetary donations for fuel and overtime costs plus supplies needed in the field (hardware). Any amount is helpful and we appreciate your support right now.”

You can help by making an online cash donation.

Marin Humane

Marin Humane has been offering emergency boarding for pets free of charge. To reduce the stress on this and other shelters in wine country, its animal control officers in fire zones are helping non-injured animals “shelter in place” in burned areas, “meaning we leave food and water for them and record the animal’s location,” according to the Marin Humane Facebook page Oct. 13. “Injured animals are brought to veterinary hospitals or shelters.”

As with the other animal shelters impacted, thanks to generous donations, Marin Humane currently has enough food and supplies.

You can help by making an online cash donation so Marin Humane can continue offering free emergency boarding.

Photo via Petaluma Animal Services/Facebook

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