by Holle Abee

Created on: August 13, 2008   Last Updated: August 17, 2008

People have pets for a variety of reasons: for companionship, as guardians, or as helpers with chores. Whatever the reason, the relationship is beneficial to both owner and animal. Science has proven again and again that pet owners actually live longer than those without furry friends. And while humans have domesticated animals for thousands of years, pets never cease to amaze us. Man might be the dominant species on Earth, but sometimes even humans are "trumped" by amazing animals in the news.

Take, for example, Wawa, a white pug living in Shaanxi Province, China. This pooch actually does math! It can add, divide, subtract, and multiply numbers up to 10. Taught by owner Mr. Pang two years ago, the deciphering dog barks the answer to oral math problems. To test the veracity of the claim, reporters quizzed the dog while the owner was not present, and Wawa's accuracy was 100%. There's a great idea for a new Olympic sport: mutt math!

Isabella, a resident of Kansas's Safari Zoological Park, is more than pulling her weight around the zoo. The Golden Retriever is nursing three white Bengal tiger cubs after their own mom refused to care for them. Izzy's pups had just been weaned, so she still had milk. Hmm. How will the fierce felines be affected by the influence of such a sweet, laid-back retriever mom? She could always teach them to fetch large game, or maybe they'll grow up to be the kind of animals who attack you then run to get help.

You know those batteries that use the bunny in their ads? Those long-lasting little energy cells would be great in smoke alarms, right? Well, not if the alarm is disconnected. So how about the real thing? A couple in Australia inadvertently depended on their pet rabbit to alert them to a dangerous fire in their home after their smoke detector had been removed because of painting. The pet scratched eagerly on the bedroom door, saving its family. Now if it can just be taught to play a drum and wear sunglasses.

Prince Chunky, a ten-year-old feline living in New Jersey, has made a big splash in the news lately. A really BIG splash. The kitty weighs in at a whopping 44 pounds. He ended up in a local shelter after his original human family was displaced from their home, and now "the prince" has a new kingdom and a new owner. After a visit to the vet, Chunk was pronounced healthy, with no evidence of diabetes or other health issues other than obesity. The fat cat has been placed on a strict diet to help him shed a few pounds, but who serves as the royal taste tester?

In addition to saving lives and entertaining us with their antics, animals often astound us with their amazing will to live. Case in point, Grace, a two-year-old hound that survived a South Georgia shelter's gas chamber. Sent into the death room with three other dogs, Grace should have lost consciousness in about a minute and died soon after. When the staff members opened the door to remove the dead bodies, there was Grace, shaken but alive. Even though the ordeal is terrifying for animals, as the gas hisses and they become dizzy and disoriented, this pooch looked death in the face and smiled, err, wagged her tail, that is. After this Divine Intervention, shelter workers gave the dog a pardon. Donned "Amazing Grace," the dog is living happily now with her new owner in Illinois and proudly serves as a representative of homeless animals everywhere. I don't think she'll be singing "Dixie" anytime soon.

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