I added a space just for our companions 🤍 Today is our day to share a story, a photo, or something that makes you smile about our furry family and friends. Post it here in Companions so we can all enjoy it with you. Sending pawsitive vibes for a great day 🐾👏

Not all heroes look the way we expect. Like our honorary African giant pouched rat, Magawa, who was trained to detect landmines in Cambodia. Over his career, he became the most successful mine-detection rat in his program, and the first rat ever awarded a gold medal for bravery. Because of his work, land that once held danger became safe again for people to walk, grow, and live on. Magawa retired in 2021 and spent his retirement time helping train the next generation, passing on his mad-rat skills. Rats like Magawa can move quickly across the ground, using their sense of smell to detect explosives. And because they are so light, they don’t trigger the mines themselves. And to continue the celebration of this little hero, in 2026 on International Mine Awareness Day, a statue was unveiled in Siem Reap, Cambodia to honor him. Magawa is a reminder that sometimes the smallest lives can make the biggest impact, often in ways we would never expect. Enjoy this video of Magawa and the unveiling of his deserved recognition.

Is your animal secretly your life coach? 👀 Okay, hear me out for a second. The barking that won’t stop. The dramatic meowing. The “why is this happening again?” accidents. The clinginess. The random chaos between animals. Annoying? Yes. But also, what if it’s not random? What if your animal is trying to tell you something? Or even teach you something? Patience? Boundaries? Slowing down? Paying attention? Sometimes our animals reflect what’s going on around them, or even within us. It might sound a little wild but I’m curious. Have you ever felt like your animal was trying to show you something deeper? If so, what do you think they’re teaching you and why?

Are you like me and get these random curiosity thoughts that you need to go down a rabbit hole with? Today, mine was "how did a gray wolf turn into a Chihuahua? Welcome to my headspace. 😂 Domestication and selective breeding started thousands of years ago with gray wolves that were a little different than the rest. Some were less fearful, others were more curious, and instead of staying away from humans, they came a little closer. They stayed near camps and ate scraps, and over time, those calmer wolves survived better than the others. Not all wolves changed, just a small group, and that group slowly became something different known as the early dogs. From there, little by little, things changed. If a dog was a little smaller, they bred it with another small dog. If a dog was good at hunting, they bred it with another hunter. And over generations those traits became stronger. Dogs have something unique as they can change more than most animals. Their size, their shape, their behavior, all of it can shift over time depending on what is repeated. And what started as survival turned into partnership. They stayed close to us, and we kept them close. And somewhere along the way, they became more than just animals that lived near humans as their helpers, they became our loving and faithful companions. I am including a couple of videos about the history of dogs, one simple and one to nerd out on like me. 🐕

Homing pigeons aren’t just trained to deliver messages, their strongest instinct is simply to return home. No matter where they are released, they can travel hundreds of miles to find their way back using the earth’s magnetic field, the sun, and even scent. They are part of the dove family, and often form long-term pair bonds, staying together and raising their young side by side. Their bond begins in a quiet, simple way, with a gentle touch of beaks. What looks like a small “kiss” is part of how they choose each other, how trust begins, and how that connection deepens over time. That same closeness carries into how they care for their young. Being a wildlife rehabilitator, I always found it fascinating that pigeons feed their babies differently than most birds. Most bird parents feed their young by gathering food and placing it into the baby’s beak, which then goes down into their crop. With pigeons, it’s different. Both parents produce something called “crop milk,” and the baby reaches directly into the parent’s beak to receive it. The same place where their bond begins, becomes the place where life is nourished. And if you have ever fed a baby bird, watching how a baby dove or pigeon feed this way has got to be one of the most precious things I have ever seen. There’s something really beautiful about that. It's a quiet kind of love you don’t forget once you’ve seen it.