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5 cute animals that take therapy to a whole new level

Help comes in many forms!

1. When it comes to being a therapy pet, Wasabi the tortoise is a pro.

Wasabi was recently certified by Therapy Pets Unlimited in Baltimore.

Image via Therapy Pets Unlimited, used with permission.

Sure, Wasabi looks like a rock, but she also is a rock to folks who are ill or who are alone who have access to her companionship.

Her owner, Lisa Chicarella, said to The Huffington Post: "She's not a goldfish in a shell. She is an intelligent animal. She can learn. She has and shows emotions."

As they say, "A therapy pet is born, not made."

This got me thinking. I'm used to seeing visions of adorable Labradors and golden retrievers when I think of therapy pets, and many therapy pets fit that mold.


Image via Therapy Pets Unlimited, used with permission.

These dogs in particular are bred to be friendly and stable, so it's no wonder they're so popular. Dewey-eyed puppies with hearts of gold are no stranger to the therapy pet world, but if Wasabi the tortoise could do it, I thought:

What other animals are out there, comforting us humans with their rock-solid temperaments?

Turns out, quite a few. Dogs have some serious therapy pet competition.

This is just a random image of llamas, but it's kind of soothing. Imaging hanging out with these guys! Image via Sheila Sund/Flickr.

2. You can be a buck-toothed and huggable llama and be a therapy pet.

Yep. There's a llama named Rojo that's been therapy certified. Her human, Lori Gregory, dresses Rojo up in flowers and hats, and they visit local hospitals near her hometown of Vancouver, Washington. As Kelly Schmidt of the Providence Children's Center in Oregon told CNN:

“[Rojo is] such a quiet, gentle, peaceful soul … it's like he really knows how special he is and how special the kids are. ... It's very a contagious spirit to have Rojo around because it's just so unusual."

3. You can be a super tiny mini horse.


On a scale of one to soothed, I'm feeling pretty soothed. Image via Pete Markham/Flickr.

From the website of Therapy Horses of the Gentle Carousel:

"From the children and first responders of Sandy Hook Elementary School / Newtown, CT to the tornado survivors of Moore, OK and child trafficking victims in Washington D.C. these little horses bring their special love where it is needed most."

4. You can be a pregnant dolphin!



In Key Largo, Florida, there's a facility called Island Dolphin Care created by Deena Hoagland, who was also a licensed clinical social worker. Her son, Joe, had a stroke after his third heart surgery. After she saw the incredible progress Joe made after he began swimming with dolphins at age 3, she founded Island Dolphin Care.

Here's just one review of a child named Jack's time with Squirt, pictured above:

"Island Dolphin Care was never a place where I expected Jack to start walking or talking. All we ever hoped for was for Jack to have fun. It wasn't always easy. I waited everyday to see if Jack's sensitivity to the coolness of the water, his allergies, his lack of sleep, his mood in general would affect his swim with Squirt every morning. However, each time we come back, Jack has more fun than the last time. His progress in and out of the water has improved more than I could imagine."

5. You can even be a pig. A big black potbellied pig named Buttercup.


Dramatization of Buttercup as a child. Look into its eyes. See love. Image via Marianne Perdomo/Flickr.

Lois Brady, a speech and language pathologist, was looking for a portable therapy animal who would also be good with the kids she worked with. She researched dogs first but then came upon a unique choice. A potbellied pig named Buttercup.

She told VetStreet:

“Many of our students have aggressive behaviors. A pig can definitely take a blow — and not turn around and want to attack."

And better yet, this pig is so novel, it's opening the minds of her students.

“Students love him because they have no preconceived notion of what a pig should be. He's so visually curious to them that they're immediately drawn to Buttercup. Kids who can't remember how to spell their own name remember everything about him, from where he sleeps to how many siblings he has."

Who knew all these animals have what it takes to be a therapy pet?

Now, don't get therapy pets confused with service animals. A therapy pet is an animal trained to provide comfort and support to people in need, particularly in times of grief, trauma and stress. A service animal is an animal trained to do tasks for a person with a disability. The fact is, the Americans With Disabilities Act only recognizes dogs and some mini horses as service animals. But therapy pets, as we see here, are all around us!

Looking at all of the animals in the animal kingdom that are there to offer a helping paw (or claw or hoof) is a great reminder that help is all around! And to never be afraid to ask for it.

And if it takes a tortoise, a llama, a mini horse, a dolphin, and a pig to give it, so be it.

Art

In 125 years, millions of people have looked at this painting. No one really saw it until recently.

Van Gogh saw something it took scientists another 100 years to see.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Van Gogh's Starry Night, 1889.

Vincent van Gogh never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist (even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). Van Gogh died in 1890 at the age of 37 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France after shooting himself in the chest with a revolver. It was a tragic end to a turbulent life marked by mental instability and severe self-doubt.

According to the Van Gogh Museum, in a letter to his brother Theo in 1890, just a couple of weeks before his death, Van Gogh wrote, "...my life, is attacked at the very root, my step also is faltering." The man was struggling and exhausted. The high standards he had set for himself and his art were taking a toll. He was unsure about his future and, up to this point, had not received much recognition for his work and thought himself a failure "as a man and as an artist."

His most well-known work, Starry Night, was famously painted while Van Gogh was staying in an asylum in France 1889 after he mutilated his ear during a psychotic episode. According to the Van Gogh Museum, though, this may not be the full story. While it is widely agreed that Van Gogh did in fact cut off his own ear, the museum notes that it was because of a fight between Van Gogh and Paul Gaugin, the artist he had been working for in Aries, that led to the violent explosion that highlighted his deteriorating mental state.

Vincent Van Gogh, artist, 19th century, famous artist, Starry NightVincent Van Gogh's Self-Portrait, 1889Image via Canva.

As one of the best known and most studied artists of the 19th century, Van Gogh's madness and how it influenced his work is not new information. But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years—revealed in the 2010s thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope.

A video at the bottom of the page will explain everything, but before we get there, let's do some backstory:

We known Van Gogh was an artist—and a genius artist at that—but, it turns out, he was also scientist. Kind of.

Whether intentionally or not, fresh eyes have found that Van Gogh's art—aside from being breathtaking—also captures one of science and nature's most elusive concepts: Turbulence.

The concept of turbulence is hard to understand with math, but it turns out art makes it fairly easy to comprehend through depiction. So, what is turbulence?

According to Britannica, turbulence, or turbulent flow, is a concept of fluid dynamics in which a type of fluid flow (liquid or gas like air or water or air) undergoes an irregular fluctuation or energy cascade. In other words, the air or water swirls and eddies as it moves: big eddies make smaller eddies, and those make even smaller ones, and so on. Common examples of turbulent flow include blood flow in arteries, lava flow, atmosphere and ocean currents, and the flow in boat wakes or surrounding the tips of aircraft wings.

It looks like this:

figures, flow, turbulence, turbulent flow, science, movementTurbulent flow illustrated and animated.All Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.

The thing is, scientists only started figuring this out pretty recently.

turbulence, turbulent flow, science, nature, researchAnimation of art referencing science.All Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.

And yet, there was Mr. Vincent van Gogh, 100 years earlier in his asylum with a mutilated ear and able to accurately capture this turbulent flow in what would become his most famous work, Starry Night.

Starry Night, Van Gogh, turbulence, art, art captures scienceAnimated Starry NightAll Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.

The folks who noticed Van Gogh's ability to capture turbulence checked to see whether other artists did the same. Most of the Impressionists achieved "luminance" with their art—a striking and lifelike depiction of light's effect on color. While impressive, they did not capture or depict turbulence the way Van Gogh did.

The Scream, Edvard Munch, art, popular art, history, painting An animated depiction of The Scream.All Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.

Not even Edvard Munch's The Scream, with it's swirling color and movement, could recreate what Van Gogh had accomplished.

Even in his darkest time, Van Gogh was able to capture—with eerie accuracy—one of nature's most complex and confusing concepts 100 years before scientists had the technology to do so.

Who would have thought that the beauty Van Gogh captured was foreshadowing what scientists would observe in the real, natural world in a century's time? To learn even more, watch the TED-Ed video below:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

This article originally appeared twelve years ago. It has been updated.

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Community

Young autistic man gives a scratch off lottery ticket to every passenger on his flight

"Sebbie boarded with one mission: to make it the happiest plane in the sky."

Images via Canva

Who doesn't love a scratch off ticket?

These days, flying on airplanes can be a real drag. Between travel delays and unruly passengers, it can be an anxiety-inducing experience. But a young autistic man from England named Sebbie Hall (@sebbiehall2003) recently made a flight on European airline Ryanair one of the most joyous they will ever have.

Hall, 22, surprised passengers with scratch off lottery tickets with help from the airline's crew (because who doesn't love a scratch off?!).

"POV: you gave every passenger a scratch card on a Ryanair flight," he captioned the post. "Sebbie boarded a @ryanair flight with one mission: to make it the happiest plane in the sky."

In the video shared on Instagram, Sebbie is introduced to passengers by one of the flight attendants on the plane's PA system. "This is Sebbie Hall. Sebbie has done a random act of kindness every single day for 5 years. He started in lockdown to make people smile. Sebbie has a wish to make this Ryanair flight the happiest plane in the skies," he says.

The video shows Sebbie handing out the scratch offs to seated passengers, shaking hands with many. Some have tears in their eyes, and others wipe them away. The flight attendant continues, "Sebbie is buying every group a scratch card today. He wishes to make someone a billionaire. Sebbie has raised over 100,000 pounds to support disabled and disadvantaged children all across the UK. Sebbie was crowned the UK's Kind Hero last year. On behalf or Ryanair and all of us on board, can we give Sebbie a round of applause please?"

In another clip, Sebbie's mom gets on the PA system to add onto the flight attendant's message, "Sebbie wants to say good luck, strangers! No strings attached. If you win, could you please somehow let him know. He doesn't want your money! But he'd like to know. Good luck!" she says.

Sebbie's team shared more about how his act of kindness was received in the caption. "True to form, he surprised every family onboard with a scratch card—hoping to make one stranger a billionaire. It was a flight filled with joy, laughter, and big-hearted strangers. Thank you to the wonderful @ryanair crew and all the passengers who made this journey so special," they wrote.

Sebbie's thoughtful (and fun!) gift to others received overwhelming praise in the comment section.

"THIS IS MAGIC!!! Such a wonderful and fun surprise. 💫."

"We need more Sebbies in this world 🤍 keep shining your light and making this world a kinder and happier place."

"That’s so kind Sebbie!! I bet you made lots of people smile!"

"I would've kept that scratch card forever and hung up somewhere just to be reminded of how easy and wonderful random acts of kindness can be! 🥹"

Sebbie has made it his mission to do random acts of kindness for others. In 2022, he started the Sebbie Hall Kindness Foundation to spread joy to others, and has previously won the UK's Kind Hero award.

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Democracy

Here’s a paycheck for a McDonald’s employee. And here's my jaw hitting the ground.

The federal minimum wage is still less than this.

via JustFrugalMe/YouTube

How can anyone get by on this?

I've written extensively about minimum wage, supported by fact-checkers, economists, and scholarly studies. All of them support raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting them off public assistance. It's slowly happening, and there's much more to be done.

But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don't know how they do it. Ask yourself: Could I live on this small of an hourly wage? I know what my answer is.

(And note that the minimum wage in many parts of the county is STILL $7.25, so it could be even less than this).

paychecks, McDonalds, corporate power, broken systemOne year of work at McDonalds grossed this worker $13,811.18.via JustFrugalMe/YouTube

The YouTube channel Just Frugal Me discussed the viral paycheck and noted there's absolutely nothing wrong with working at McDonald's. More than 2 million people in the U.S. alone work for the fast food giant. The worker's paycheck shows they put in 72 hours over the pay period, making $8.75 per hour. Before taxes, that's $631 for the week. Just Frugal Me's breakdown is even more eye-opening, breaking down this person's pay after taxes and weighing across average rent and utility costs. Spoiler Alert: the total costs for basic necessities far outweigh what this person is making even while working 12 hours per day. But they do make too much to qualify for Medicaid, meaning they will have to go out and buy their own health insurance.

mcdonald's, minimum wage, restaurants, fast food, burgers, big macA photo of a McDonald's in Hartford, CT. via Mike Mozart/Flickr

Even in states like California, where the state's $20 minimum wage ensures that people earn nearly three times as much as the federal minimum wage, which remains as low as when this paycheck first made the rounds nearly 10 years ago.

Still, even for a worker that maxed out at 40 hours per week and took zero vacation or sick time, that's only a little over $41,000 per year. That's barely half the median wage in the state of $78,000 and far below a sustainable living wage in cities like Los Angeles.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The U.S. federal minimum wage is just $7.25 and hasn't been raised since 2009. In April 2025, the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 was introduced in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The bill would increase the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2030 and eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers and those with disabilities. But supporters should be cautious that it's unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Congress.

If the Wage Act of 2025 were to pass, over $22 million workers would get a raise, which is 15% of the U.S. workforce. It would raise $70 billion for low-wage Americans, an increase of $3,200 per worker.

“No person working full-time in America should be living in poverty," Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott said in a statement. "The Raise the Wage Act will increase the pay and standard of living for nearly 22 million workers across this country. Raising the minimum wage is good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of American workers, they will spend that money in their communities,”

This story originally appeared ten years ago. It has been updated to reflect new information.

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Heroes

NFL's first openly gay player shares hilarious moment he realized it was 'safe' to come out

Nassib himself made a gay joke, and the reaction from other players told him everything.

Erik Drost - CC BY 2.0 & Canva Photos

It took years and a lot of courage for Carl Nassib to come out. Now he's sharing the surprisingly funny story.

When Carl Nassib told the world he was gay, it was a huge moment for the NFL, sports, and the queer community. At the time, Nassib was a key defensive player for the Las Vegas Raiders and his announcement made him the first openly gay active NFL player.

Before him, a few other players had come out after retiring. And there had also been the news and hype around Michael Sam a few years earlier, who was also openly gay. But unlike Nassib, Sam never saw NFL action in a regular season game and was released before he could make a name for himself in the league. However, there was plenty of debate and rumors that Sam's open sexuality had contributed to him falling in the 2014 draft and ultimately washing out of the league. Though Sam was a good first step forward for the sports world, his experience didn't exactly leave the door wide open for the next person.

Nassib didn't let that stop him. He made his announcement in June of 2021, during the offseason, and on the opening Monday Night Football game of the next season, he made the key defensive play in front of an audience of millions to essentially win the game for his team.


@abcnews

#CarlNassib makes history by coming out as first openly gay active NFL player: “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now.” #news #sports

Nassib was recently interviewed on The Pivot podcast and gave new insight into his decision to come out. One funny story, in particular, stuck out in his memory.

Former players Ryan Clark and Channing Crowder, hosts of the podcast, asked Nassib if he had any stories about his time in the league worth sharing. "I don't want a bad story because everybody thinks football players are these big meatheads who don't understand anything," Crowder said. "I got funny stories," Nassib replied.

Nassib said that during a game against Cleveland in 2020, he was annoyed that the Browns kept running a play called a "bootleg" away from him, which meant he had to expend a lot of energy sprinting full speed across the field to catch up. "I was so mad," he says.

"Stop with these gay ass bootlegs!" he yelled at the opposing team, admitting later in the interview that his own use of the word was pretty ignorant at the time. And that's when the entire opposing offensive line turned around and told him "You can't say that!"

"Oh man, the league is ready for this," Nassib recalls thinking. "They are ready for me. We got some allies here. ...I was like, 'This is so funny. The guy about to come out, saying the word gay, getting shut down by five massive dudes.'"

Watch the whole podcast exchange here:


Of course, there was more to it than that one funny moment. Later in the interview, Nassib went on to explain that the death of his uncle, who was also gay, had a huge impact on his decision.

Nassib grew up in a huge family, and his uncle was the only one of the whole bunch of 44 cousins who was open about being gay. On his Uncle Bill's deathbed in 2019, Nassib came out to him privately, and his uncle was so relieved to not be alone, not be the only one. It inspired Nassib that he could do that for even more people around the world.

"When I came out to him, he was like, 'This is the biggest weight off my chest. I'm not the only one.'" Nassib remembers thinking, "Man, there's probably so many people out there that are going to feel that same way."

Nassib had been wanting to come out publicly for years, but that moment with his uncle was one of the main catalysts that gave him the courage to finally go through with it.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Though Nassib is now retired from pro football, he leaves behind a powerful legacy. There have been no new players to follow in his footsteps per se, but young people all over the world have been quietly following his example ever since.

Nassib and his family still regularly hear from teenagers and their parents that his video gave them the courage to come out, or to participate in sports despite their fears of rejection.

He continues to work closely with the Trevor Project and other organizations that aim to make the world safer for LGBTQ youth. And to think, it all may not have happened if those beefy Browns players hadn't called him out on the field!

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Pets

Videos of dogs acting guilty and snitching have people convinced dogs feel shame

Research doesn't fully support the idea, but the video evidence is hilariously hard to deny.

Photo credit: Canva

Do dogs really feel shame and guilt?

Have you ever seen a dog get caught in the act of doing something they know they're not supposed to do? Some pups get the sad eyes with the raised eyebrows. Some dogs refuse to make eye contact altogether. Some put their tail between their legs and hunker down in a submissive stance. Some do their darnedest to appear all cute and innocent as if nothing actually happened, but slowly their guilty tells start creeping in.

One of the biggest differences between cats and dogs is that cats will do whatever they want with zero concern over whether their owners like it or not, while dogs (at least most dogs) can be trained to do or not do things with vocal commands. While cats exhibit no shame or guilt, staring right at you while defying you, dogs are eager to please and can't seem to help telling on themselves when they've done something wrong. Some dogs will even tell on each other.

guilty dog, dog guilt, dog shame, dogs, pupsThat is a guilty face right there.Photo credit: Canva

Compilations of dog guilt videos often go viral because they are downright hilarious. Owners don't even have to get mad or yell or anything, and dogs will rat themselves or their friends out every time.

Case in point:

@funnypetsoftiktok59

It wasn’t me. I swear 🐶🦴#dog #funny #foryou #fyp #foryoupage #dogsoftiktok #doglover #funnyvideo #dogs #funnydog #tiktokdogs #pet #puppy #usa🇺🇸 #funnymoments


Sometimes dogs will cower if they've been mistreated or abused, and that's definitely not funny, but none of these owners are even raising their voices much. Just a simple, "Who did this?" question, with some of them even laughing when they ask, and it's enough for the pups to come clean.

Some dogs even exhibit guilty behaviors when they do something they have never been scolded for before, and when they get nothing but encouraging words from their owner, like this pup who puked in his owner's truck for the first time. Listen to how patient and sweet the owner is, and yet how guilty the dog looks:

@southernsam4

oh that guilty fave! poor puppers!#Truckerpuppers #DogsOfTikTok #Keneorthcadburylucas #Labranavigator #zoomiesking #Trucker

Some dogs are just super conscientious, apparently. As one commenter wrote, "I’ve NEVER punished my dog for throwing up. But when he does he acts like he’s been sentenced to death row lol he’s gets extra lovies those days tho."

Some of the funniest ones are the "guilty smile" dogs who exhibit the almost-human trait of nervous smiling when they know they've done something wrong. This dog mama asks in the sweetest voice about the torn up bed, and doggo just guilty grins away.

@emilymacdermottttttt

Guiltiest face I’ve ever seen #goldenretriever #dog #naughtydog


Then there are the huskies, who just argue with you louder and louder until you give up any guilt trip you were attempting.

"Who did this?"

"Owrrrowwwrr owrrr."

"Did you…"

"OWRROWRRRR OWWWRR"

"But…"

"OOOOWRRRR!!! OOWWRR!! OOOWWWRRRR!!!!"

@guiltydoghouse

Blu didn’t do it. #guiltydog #naughtydog #husky #howlinghusky #fyp


And then there are the "If I don't look at it, it doesn't exist, therefore I didn't do it" doggos. In this video, the owner even sets a positive scene, prepping her dog to go for a walk and getting her excited, then just shows her the thing she chewed up and the guilty reaction is instantaneous.

@urfavchickennuggie

The chronicles of Lily 😂 #dog #guilty #guiltydog #guiltydogsoftiktok #shedidthat #shedidit #colgate #funny #funnydog #HPSustainableSounds #PassTheBIC #fyp #foryou #nba #outfitinspo #passover #couplestiktok #gamingskills #perfect #ecofriendly #siblings #petsoftiktok #projectbroadway #familia #PGAtour

Due to evidence like this and people's own experiences with their own dogs, many are convinced that dogs inherently have a sense of shame and guilt when they do something wrong. Is it true?

Do dogs really feel shame and guilt?

While it may seem obvious that the dogs in these videos feel guilty, the research isn't quite so clear. A study of guilty dog looks by dog cognition scientist Dr. Alexandra Horowitz in 2009 found that dogs tend to display "guilty" body language more often when their owners scolded them than if they remained neutral, whether the dog actually did anything wrong or not. “A better description of the so-called guilty look is that it is a response to owner cues, rather than that it shows an appreciation of a misdeed,” Dr. Horowitz concluded.

That would make sense, except for what we see in some of these videos. Clearly, some dogs are not responding to their owners' cues because some owners are simply laughing or even offering words of encouragement.

However, Horowitz clarified that the results of her study do not mean that dog's don't feel guilt.

“My study was decidedly not about whether dogs ‘feel guilt’ or not. I would feel dreadful if people then thought the case was closed on dogs (not) feeling guilt, which is definitely not the case,” she said.

The truth is, we don't know whether dogs feel shame or guilt and we probably never will because we can't get inside their heads. All we can go by is their behavior, which in many case seems to point to at least some sense of understanding they've done something wrong and feel some way about it. Either way, as long as a dog is being well cared for, it's quite entertaining to see.

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