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The worst news ever has just been released: dogs hate hugs. It stresses them out because they aren't able to run away if they need to. 

Psychologist and noted dog behaviorist, Stanley Coren, analyzed 250 pictures of dogs showing "signs of stress" and found that 81.6% of them seemed really uncomfortable according to his article in Psychology Today. As depressing as the news is, it kind of makes sense when you look at the pictures:



via Psychology Today

When this goat escaped she decided to stop by Starbucks for a quick energy boost. The police department who posted these pictures were searching for the owner and had this to say:

Missing a goat?

Imagine our dispatcher's surprise when she received a couple of calls early this morning advising there was a goat roaming around Wolf Den Plaza... more specifically, the goat apparently needed a caffeine fix and had wandered INTO the Wolf Den Starbucks.

The on duty sergeant promptly responded, took the goat into custody, and transported him to the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter. We're sure the Animal Shelter supervisor will be thrilled to find a goat in a dog's crate when she arrives to work!

Of course, Facebook commenters made jokes about it:



But eventually she was reunited with her owner. 

That is a well dressed horse, but why? Apparently, it's almost time for one of the UK's biggest horse racing events, the Cheltenham Festival, and that merits a horse in a tailored tweed suit. 

Here's how it was made, and even better, you get to see a man in a tweed suit sitting on a horse in a tweed suit: 

Felix used to be an everyday cat, just working her day job keeping mice at bay at Huddersfield Station in West Yorkshire, England.  She was brought in at only nine weeks old to help take control of the pests in the station and she really grew into the role. 



After five years of hard work she finally got the promotion she deserves. No longer is she a simple mouse catcher. She is now Senior Pest Controller, complete with the adorable visibility jacket, name tag and authority that goes with the title.  Let's hope she uses her newly appointed power benevolently. 

Quasimodo has Short Spine Syndrome, a very rare condition among dogs. It's exactly what it sounds like, he was born with a spine that's shorter than a normal dog because he is missing some vertebra. 



His condition doesn't cause him pain but he does need special medical attention for other health conditions. He's been getting lots of love from foster homes since being rescued. Now that he's in the care of Second Hand Hounds he's managed to bring some much needed attention to the organization that rescues dogs (and cats) in dire need and places them in foster homes.

 

This athletic pup is named Ludivine, and according to her owner, she's prone to escaping and taking long strolls around town.  This time she happened to wander into the start line of the Elkmont Half-Marathon in Alabama. 

Attendees, including Tim Horvath who ran most of the race with Ludivine, told Runner's World that she ran the whole race from start to finish.



Although she did make a few pit stops that included meeting another dog and sniffing countless yards and streams, she still managed to finish seventh in the race. 



Volunteers were so surprised that she ran the whole race they gave her an honorary medal for her seventh place spot. 

This adorable sloth just wanted to cross the road but he ran into some trouble. He was found clinging to the median on the highway in Ecuador and rescued by traffic police.  They took a few pictures with him to document the situation, he seems very happy that someone is there to help. 



According to the Facebook page of Ecuador's transit commission he was taken to a veterinarian who gave him the OK to be returned to the wild. 

Ted got a lovely advent calender from his grandma for Christmas but no one was home to pick it up. Unfortunately, when your Christmas cheer is held at the post office you need to bring some identification with you to retrieve it. This is a problem because Ted is a cat so, because the mail was addressed to Ted, his owner couldn't pick it up. 

Although the post office was standoffish over the phone, the workers in person listened to reason. 


via huffingtonpost

Ted got his calendar filled with treats and the whole post office got something to laugh about. 

This nearly five foot long lizard called a goanna was caught climbing up a wall in Australa. Eric Holland is the man who spotted it and took a picture while he was working outside. It's rare to see this kind of lizard hanging out among people. Experts said that it could get even bigger. Apparently this is what Australia has to offer in the way of adorable, surprise house guests. 

If you've never seen a goanna before, you may recognize it as the creepy egg-eating evil sidekick the Rescuers Down Under. 


via Tumblr

Molly the elephant seal has been spending a few weeks in with humans in Tasmania's Bruny Island.  She mostly spends her time relaxing in someone's back yard. 


via Mashable

She just wants to hang out with the locals. Although she doesn't seem to be very dangerous she still leaves a path of destruction in her wake. 



via The Mercury

That's why she has to be lured back to the wild with a big fish on a string. Who knows how long she'll stay away though, this isn't the first time she's come to visit. 


via Mashable

The description of this image posted on Instagram includes a statement from Prince Harry in an effort to bring attention to conservation of elephants and rhinos who are hunted for their horns and ivory. 

Prince Harry has released this personal photo taken during his summer visit to southern Africa. Here Prince Harry shares his story behind the photograph... "After a very long day in Kruger National Park, with five rhinos sent to new homes and three elephants freed from their collars - like this sedated female - I decided to take a moment. I know how lucky I am to have these experiences, but hearing stories from people on the ground about how bad the situation really is, upset and frustrated me. How can it be that 30,000 elephants were slaughtered last year alone? None of them had names, so do we not care? And for what? Their tusks? Seeing huge carcasses of rhinos and elephants scattered across Africa, with their horns and tusks missing is a pointless waste of beauty." Photograph © Prince Harry

He also shared a video where he meets a baby orphaned rhino.  

Prince Harry has released this personal video taken during his summer visit to southern Africa. Here Prince Harry shares his story behind the video... "These baby rhinos are at an orphanage because their mothers were killed by poachers. I can't say where this is for obvious reasons. But I spent an afternoon with Petronel Nieuwoubt who runs the orphanage. The youngest rhino was called Don. He was just two months old when he was found in Kruger National Park. Petronel has students and volunteers from all over the world come to look after these orphans. They pay for this experience and that money is used for milk, food, fencing and rangers for security." For more information go to: www.careforwild.co.za Video ©Prince Harry

A video posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Dec 2, 2015 at 2:35am PST