Science educator, astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson has an incredible talent for taking complex ideas about the cosmos and making them more accessible for the average person to understand.
In a clip from a conversation with Steve Berlett on the “Diary of a CEO Podcast,” Tyson flips the script and uses the cosmos to help us better understand ourselves. But there’s one big problem getting in the way of coming to this universal understanding: our egos.
“Your ego is incompatible with the cosmic perspective,” Tyson says in the clip. “The cosmic perspective shows you how small we are, in size, in time, in space, and if you go in with a high ego, you might resist that. You might say, ‘No, I’m important.’ But I think of it differently.”
Tyson believes we can push past the feeling of insignificance that comes with understanding the vastness of the universe by realizing how we are inseparable from everything in the cosmos.
“We know one of the greatest gifts of modern astrophysics to civilization, dare I call it a gift, is the knowledge that the atoms of your body are traceable, not only to The Big Bang, origin of the universe itself, but especially to stars that manufactured those elements and later in their lives, on death, exploded scattering that enrichment across gas clouds,” Tyson says in the clip. “So that their next generation of stars would have planets. And on at least one of those planets, life.”
“So, we are not just figuratively, we are literally stardust,” he continues. “You have kingship with the cosmos. That feeling to me is greater than any other you could have possibly walked into the room with.”
The notion that we are made of stardust isn’t entirely new, but it needs to be repeated so every generation can understand. Astronomer Carl Saganpopularized it in his 1973 book “The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective” in the following passage:
“Our Sun is a second- or third-generation star. All of the rocky and metallic material we stand on, the iron in our blood, the calcium in our teeth, the carbon in our genes were produced billions of years ago in the interior of a red giant star. We are made of star-stuff.”
Sagan hosted TV’s original “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980-81). Tyson hosted the follow-ups, “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” (2014) and “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” (2020).
Tyson argues that connection with the universe is what makes us special. Not the unique qualities and characteristics that we have been taught to value. For the astrophysicist, being of this universe and made of such formidable material is enough for us to consider ourselves special.
“So why not look around and say, ‘I’m not special because I’m different. I’m special because I’m the same as you, as others, as the tree, as the brook, as the animals, you know, the woodland creatures,” Tyson said. “And we can all sit here and look up at the night sky and say, ‘Yes, we have kinship with the cosmos.’ I feel large because of that, not small.”
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Volunteers raise a wall for the framework of a new home during the first day of building at Habitat for Humanity’s 2025 Carter Work Project.
Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Marsha and her son pose for a photo while building their future home with Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity in Georgia.
Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.
Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:
Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis
Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community
Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or in one of 60+ countries where we work around the globe
Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Something was clearly wrong. Isaacs, an avid diver, looked closer and saw deep red gashes in the dolphin’s skin. Then she and her companion spotted the cause: two remoras, also called suckerfish, had latched directly into the dolphin’s flesh and were feeding on it. Remoras typically hitchhike harmlessly on larger marine animals, but in this case they had attached to wounds and the dolphin was convulsing from the pain.
Isaacs was pregnant at the time. She looked at the other woman. “Should I get in with him?”
the most insane day of my life on the ocean. I trusted my instincts and did what I thought was right, and I’m glad I did. I don’t advocate to touch wild animals but I do think some circumstances are necessary and ok. It was very clear this dolphin was struggling and in a lot of pain, and based on her reaction afterwards as well as the entire pod, I know I made the right decision. Dolphins are incredible animals and so intelligent—the fact that this also happened while pregnant was once in a lifetime 🩵🙏🏽✨🥹🐬 #dolphins#wilddolphins#wildliferescue#dolphin#fyp
What followed over the next several minutes was equal parts chaotic, heartbreaking, and extraordinary, all of it captured on video and posted to her TikTok account @nicoleisaacsofficial on January 28, 2026, where it has since been viewed 13 million times.
The dolphin, to Isaacs’s astonishment, seemed to understand what was happening. When the women entered the water and approached, she rolled over and held still. “She began to fully cooperate and turn over for us to make it easy to grab the remoras,” Isaacs wrote in the video overlay. The rest of the pod circled at a distance while they worked.
A woman swims with two dolphins. Photo credit: Canva
Getting the remoras off was harder than expected. They moved quickly and reattached easily. At one point Isaacs caught one and swam it back toward the boat to hand off to the captain — and it slipped out of his hands and latched onto her instead. “I was pregnant and freaking out,” she says in the video. It eventually released her, swam back, and reattached to the same dolphin. It took multiple attempts before both were finally removed for good.
The dolphin’s response was immediate. She leapt out of the water. Then the rest of the pod, which had been circling at a distance throughout, suddenly reappeared all at once and began swimming in loops around the boat.
“All of the dolphins reappeared out of nowhere and swam around us to celebrate,” Isaacs wrote.
In her caption she was careful to note that she doesn’t generally advocate touching wild animals, but that the circumstances made intervention feel necessary and that the pod’s response confirmed for her that it was the right call. “The most insane day of my life on the ocean,” she wrote. “I trusted my instincts and did what I thought was right.”
One viewer put it simply: “A totally untrained dolphin cooperating and letting you tend to her just out of sheer trust and desperation — I’m just shook.”
Nuns at the Convent of St. Anthony of Padua in Central Spain are on a mission beyond their spiritual calling: to save a rare breed of giant rabbit from extinction. The eleven Franciscan sisters are currently caring for 35 giant rabbits at the convent, which weigh up to 20 pounds each.
Sister Consuelo Peset Laudeña told Global Sisters Report that the rabbits hold historical significance in Spain. During the Spanish War, the rabbits were a crucial source of food for families and orphanages during food shortages.
“Many families have managed to get by thanks to this animal, and now it seems we are forgetting that part of our history,” she told the publication.
The journey to save giant rabbits
The sisters at the Convent of St. Anthony of Padua have worked to preserve the rabbits for over 30 years. But ten years ago, they learned the rabbits were going extinct.
“We contacted an association, I sent some photos, and they told me, ‘You have a spectacular animal, and it’s endangered,’” Peset explained.
Their focus shifted into helping the rabbits breed, so the sisters worked with local Spanish authorities to establish a farm. They raised $5,700 to initially invest in the farm.
Caring for the rabbits
The sisters are tasked with feeding, cleaning, and maintaining the rabbits and their quarters. The rabbits are fed a combination of barley, hay, and corn. At the end of March 2026, a total of 90 births were recorded.
“I do a visual check. I take a walk around and see which animals are listless or lethargic, and if any have died in the nests, they must be removed immediately,” Peset said.
The rabbits live in temperature-controlled cages with proper ventilation.
“Rabbits start to suffer at 26 degrees [Celsius; which is about 79 degrees Fahrenheit]; they tolerate the cold well, but not the heat,” Peset also added.
The nuns feel called to protect the rabbits thanks to a encyclical given by Pope Francis titled Laudato Si’ in 2015. In that message, he called Catholics to care for nature and the environment.
“We have to protect creation,” she said. “We are Franciscans. St. Francis is the patron saint of veterinarians, and that is the source of the love and admiration we feel for the Spanish giant rabbit.”
What are Spanish giant rabbits?
Spanish Giant Rabbits are a cross between the Flemish Giant and Spanish brown-type female rabbits. The rabbits weight up to 20 pounds, and each female rabbit can give birth to 22 pups each month.
According to Farm Show Magazine in 2014, the rabbits are comparable in size to a small lamb. They were first bred in the early 1900s.
The giant rabbits are not for sale. To further conservation efforts, the sisters have chosen to donate the rabbits to local schools, a nearby theme park, and to registered private rabbit breeders.
There are many reasons people love giving their pets goofy names. A big one is that, unlike humans, they’ll never have to put it on top of a résumé, so we’re free to call them whatever we desire. Humans also give their pets adorable names because of anthropomorphism. When we give our pets human traits, they become more relatable.
Giving our pets a truly unique name also makes us feel more attached to them. Research shows that when we give them a name we won’t hear anywhere else, they feel more personal to us, strengthening the bond. It’s the same reason why we give our loved ones nicknames.
Every year, the Nationwide pet insurance team recognizes the boldest and most unforgettable names among its roster of newly enrolled pets. This year, after over 200,000 votes were counted, the team recognized 10 cats with the wackiest names, and the winner was Cheddar Big Booty Cheeseburger from Benton, Arkansas. Cheddar Big Booty Cheeseburger is hard to beat, but the nine runner-ups have pretty amazing names, too.
2026 winner: Cheddar Big Booty Cheeseburger
“He was one of two orange kittens in a litter of a stray I took in,” said cat mom Chantalece C. “This tiny little kitten grew into a sturdy unit of a cat, so when I would grab him, it was like picking up a triple-stacked cheeseburger.”
Cheddar Cheeseburger is a wacky name in its own right, but she decided to add another quirky twist. “He really loves booty spankings too, so he deserved a big booty title,” she added. Thus, Cheddar Big Booty Cheeseburger.
Small kitties often have the biggest purr-sonalities. Sometimes, that means snuggling, funny sounds, or smiley faces. Sometimes, that means, well, destruction. “If you met this lil’ monster, you would understand,” said cat dad D. D., on naming his frisky feline Bad Kitty 5000.
“We rescued him from inside a car engine,” said cat mom Carly M. “He was small and so scared, we just kept trying to encourage him to be brave and kept telling him he was ‘such a brave little toaster.’ And it stuck. We call him B.L.T. for short!”
Looking for the right recipe for their new wacky pet, cat mom Yan L. and her boyfriend took inspiration from a rat—specifically the furry little chef from an animated classic. The result? A Michelin-star-quality pet name that’s also a little wacky. “I love the movie ‘Ratatouille,’” she said. “My cat is a grey tabby, which is a little like the rat in the movie. And he is a cat, so voila, Catatouille.”
“My girlfriend is a fan of American Dad,” said cat dad Nick R. “There’s a very niche character present in season 13—he’s only mentioned by name and never appears on screen.” Later, when a small orange kitten was discovered falling out of an engine bay, the couple knew they’d found the “embodiment of Goofus McDoof Business Horse.”
“Cats are kind of demonic, but in a fun, charming way,” said cat mom Margot. “We love a good pun and were originally planning to name one cat ‘Lucipurr’ and the other ‘Meowzebub.’ Once we brought our kittens home, it became immediately clear that this orange menace needed both names. Thus, Lucipurr Meowzebub, Lord of Cats.”
Lucipurr Meowzebub, Lord of Cats. Photo credit: Nationwide (used with permission)
Miso Tunacanopolis The First
“Miso is his original name,” said cat mom Phuong N. “The ‘Tunacanopolis’ part is just a funny name I’ve always wanted to use. ‘The First’ alludes to the fact that Miso is my first cat, but also because Miso is the best cat in my admittedly very biased eyes.”
“She was such a cute little munchkin when I got her at 3 months old, but ‘Munchkin’ was too much of a mouthful, so it quickly got reduced to Munchie,” said cat mom Morgan S. “From the moment I got her, she purred like an engine every time she snuggles up—and she does love snuggling very, very much—so, to capture her loud, reliable purr, I added McPurryToes as her last name.”
“We have always liked weird pet names,” said cat dad Steven S. “When we first got Jules, I would call him ‘Orange.’ I thought of names I could keep Orange in—it started off as Orange Julius, then evolved to Orange Julius Ceasar Salad.”
“I’m a biologist, so the term ‘significantly significant’ is used a lot, and I always thought it would be cute for a cat name,” cat mom Renee G. said. “So, when I adopted her, it was the first option on my list.”
Somewhere in southern New Jersey, in a water-filled zoo habitat, two small animals you’ve probably never thought much about are about to take their first wobbly steps into the world.
Born in mid-April 2026, they came into the world with their eyes open and alert; they were standing within hours. By their first week, they were nibbling grass alongside the adults, their tiny muzzles buried in clover as if they’d been doing it forever.
Cape May County Commissioner Vice-Director Andrew Bulakowski put it simply:
“What a wonderful joy to be blessed with additional capybara pups. Families love this exhibit, and their love will only grow with the sights of these new additions.”
They will not grow up alone. Their extended family—Budette, Marigold, and a group of older siblings from Buttercup’s October litter and Marigold’s November litter—hovers around them like a serene, fuzzy welcoming committee. They are serious about the job, too: someone always stands watch. Someone always seems ready with a nudge or a nuzzle.
Zookeepers and veterinary staff are monitoring Buttercup and her newborns closely, offering the young family regular breaks from the attention of visitors. Visitors who want a glimpse can watch from afar, on a bridge that overlooks the habitat. Patience is the price of admission to one of the sweetest scenes in the zoo.
The new capybara pups are incredibly cute. It’s difficult to look at them and not feel something inside you scream with delight. That feeling is important. In a way, it’s the entire point.
The world’s chillest giant rodent is stranger (and more important) than it looks
Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are the largest rodents on Earth. An adult can weigh up to about 146 pounds and stretch more than four feet long. That can seem intimidating on paper, but in person, capybaras carry their size with a slow, steady ease.
Their bodies are built for life between land and water, and every anatomical detail tells that story: their eyes, ears, and nostrils are positioned near the tops of their heads, so capybaras can survey their surroundings while almost entirely submerged. Their feet are partially webbed, making them powerful swimmers who can hold their breath for up to five minutes—a crucial feature when a jaguar is watching from the riverbank and the safest move is to slide under the surface and wait it out.
Capybaras eat plants. They graze on grasses and aquatic vegetation with an almost comical level of focus. It’s a pretty strict diet, though they will add fruits and tree bark when the mood strikes or the season dictates. And they don’t just look calm; they talk. Capybaras communicate with an arsenal of barks, whistles, clicks, and soft purrs that help keep their tight-knit groups coordinated and close.
How a capybara family does childcare
In the capybara world, Buttercup’s new pups don’t “belong” to her and Goomba, the father. Rather, the entire group claims them.
In the wild, capybaras don’t raise their young alone. The babies don’t rely on a single caregiver; they inherit a whole network of protection. Capybaras are profoundly social animals and live in stable groups where group bonds are maintained through constant tactile contact, mutual grooming, and scent marking. Females nurse each other’s pups. Older animals act as lookouts and babysitters, regardless of whether they share direct DNA. Scientists call this alloparenting: shared childcare built into the species’ survival.
That shared responsibility is crucial. It gives capybara pups stronger odds of survival in those first fragile months. In some field studies, more than 70% of pups raised in stable groups survive their first year, a high rate for animals so low in the food chain.
In New Jersey, Buttercup’s family follows the ancient capybara way, too. While the zoo’s visitors see a cute capybara cuddle pile, this mammalian cluster represents a finely tuned system designed to keep vulnerable animals alive.
Why wetlands depend on capybaras
In the wild, capybaras roam across much of South America and function as quiet ecosystem architects. You’ll find them in the vast Pantanal wetlands of Brazil and Bolivia; they graze in the seasonally flooded savannas of Venezuela and Colombia. Capybaras even venture into the rewilding landscapes of Argentina’s Iberá region. Basically, wherever freshwater meets grassland, capybaras tend to appear sooner or later.
As professional grazers, capybaras help maintain diverse, open wetland vegetation. When they disappear, tall grasses quickly crowd out shorter plants, and overall plant richness drops by 25% or more. Simply put, when capybaras aren’t around, plants suffer. That change is drastic and can be felt through the insects, birds, and every other creature reliant on those important plants.
Within the circle of life, as prey, capybaras also anchor South America’s food chains: they’re hunted by jaguars, anacondas, caimans, and large raptors (such as harpy eagles). They’re a major food source; a jaguar can devour dozens of capybaras in a single year. That stat sounds brutal, but if you remove capybaras from that system, the entire food chain begins to wobble.
They’re also essential, given the way capybaras move seeds as they travel and graze. Constantly nibbling and wandering, capybaras have shaped how nutrients move through the wetlands. In conservation science, animals that hold this many threads together often receive a specific label: keystone species. Pull out a keystone, and the entire system starts to crack.
Not endangered, but not untouchable
Right now, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists capybaras as a species of “Least Concern.” But that broad label can hide a lot of trouble.
For example, the capybara’s habitat is disappearing rapidly as people drain or convert wetlands into farmland at alarming rates. Hunters target capybaras for their meat and skins, which are used to make leather. Climate change creates more intense droughts and wildfires in places like the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland. In 2020, fires burned an estimated 30% of the Pantanal biome in a single season, scorching millions of acres, as jaguars and charred caimans fled their home.
So yes, there’s real danger here, despite the capybara’s “Least Concern” conservation label. But there’s also hope.
In early 2026, Brazil expanded its Pantanal national park, adding more than 116,000 protected acres to a landscape that badly needs institutional buffers. In Argentina, a long-term rewilding effort brought jaguars back to Iberá after roughly 70 years. Those jaguars now hunt capybaras again—for the first time in living memory—restoring a predator‑prey relationship that’s essential for local ecosystems.
The picture is complicated and is always evolving, but crucially, there’s still a window for change.
What a small New Jersey zoo has to do with all of this
On a map, Cape May County Park & Zoo looks like a sweet coastal stop between beach towns. In practice, it’s part of a much larger conservation network.
The zoo is free to visit and cares for more than 550 animals across over 200 species. Cape May County Park & Zoo holds accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which isn’t an easy feat: it signals that a zoo meets strict standards for animal care, conservation work, and education. Fewer than 10% of licensed animal facilities in the United States achieve accreditation, for context.
Buttercup and Goomba’s family exists, in part, because those in charge decided that capybaras deserve space, resources, and long‑term planning.
Picture an excited four-year-old, hands sticky from Dippin’ Dots. She presses her face against the enclosure as Buttercup nudges her new pups towards the water’s edge. This child doesn’t know what the Pantanal is. She’s never heard of the term “keystone species.” There is no word for “alloparenting” in kindergarten. But she does know this: there’s a mother, and those little animals matter to her. They also seem to matter to the zookeepers who clean, feed, and check in on them every day.
That simple realization—that another creature’s life is important, has value—is often where the seeds of conservation are planted.
Two pups, one bigger story
Right now, Buttercup’s newest pups are exploring their habitat one cautious step at a time. They nose at the water and trail behind older siblings as they wander through the grass. When something inevitably startles them, they retreat back into their capybara family—a pile of warm bodies and damp fur—where they’ll find safety, tucked beneath the chins of adults and between their sturdy shoulders.
These tiny capybara pups are unaware of the fact that, very far away, others just like them graze the floodplains of the Pantanal and Iberá. They have no idea of their importance, no way to know that their species is the key to holding the entire wetland ecosystem together, one blade of grass at a time.
But they don’t need to know that. Humans can own that knowledge—and do something about it. That’s the power of a story like this. Two baby capybaras in a New Jersey zoo aren’t a trivial subject; it’s a doorway. You start with Buttercup and Goomba’s adorable little family, and suddenly, context floods in. “Wetlands” are no longer a concept or a word in a textbook. They’re real, faraway places where animals like the capybara live, graze, and contribute to the ecosystem.
It’s not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem to have the same face? It’s like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.
Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That’s why it’s not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn’t notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.
The cats were the first ones to notice
See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn’t fooling her feline siblings.
Once the dog was in their house, they noticed that their cats started behaving strangely towards their canine sibling. The cats started attacking the dog, likely trying to get it to tell them what they did with their real dog sister. Cat slaps and a house full of strange people didn’t dampen the imposter’s spirit though, in fact, that’s what helped reveal the switcharoo.
This dog kept handing out face kisses and had no interest in seeing her favorite neighbor. After putting all of those things together, the owners decided to hightail it to the vet’s office to scan the dog’s microchip. Alas, they indeed had the wrong dog.
It would have been a great prank, though.
“We just never even thought that that would happen, and of course we thought we would know right? Like we’re her parents, we would know something was wrong, we would know right off the bat that it wasn’t Ehmi,” Kebby Kelley told Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Seems both golden retrievers got to go on a really strange adventure that deserves a lifetime of delicious dog treats for the confusion.
This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.
Here at Upworthy, we often look for stories that will make you smile and warm your heart, and few things do that more quickly than a good doggo and an adorable kiddo. So when we ran across a ridiculously sweet story on The Dodo about a Golden Retriever and his little human sister, we simply had to share it. Taco (full name Taco Bell—seriously) is a good boy who had been lovingly waiting for his new baby sister, Vanora, to be able to play with him. And when the day finally came? Oh. My. Goodness.
Claudia Hughes is the proud mom of the furry pup and his squishy human sibling. She told The Dodo that Taco had been smitten with Vanora ever since she came home from the hospital. “When we would lay her down on the floor or our bed, Taco would just lay down next to her,” Hughes said. That’s one attentive pup. Pet parents know there’s nothing more comforting than your fur baby looking out for your human baby, and Taco has been the ideal gentle watchdog.
Hughes told The Dodo that the pooch would even get up for late-night feedings. Now that’s just beyond sweet. It’s no wonder the pup was itching for his playmate to get big enough to actually play with, and his reaction to his doggy dreams coming true is pure joy. The video of 3-year-old Taco seeing his toddler sibling taking some of her first steps has amassed more than 2 million likes on TikTok. Finally his sister can run around with him! Finally he can teach her the fun of having a dog for a big brother! Finally he gets to play! At least, that’s what I think he was thinking from his excited reaction.
And how do we know dogs are excited? Well, they get the zoomies, and if you’ve never been able to witness the absolute unadulterated joy of the zoomies, just check out his reaction in the video. It’s like he’s silently screaming, “I’m so excited!!!”
According to Hughes, Taco first started getting excited when he saw Vanora take steps in her walker, and more so when he saw her pushing the walker. But his excitement went off the charts when she could actually take steps unassisted. Don’t worry though, he was sure to keep his distance so as not to knock her down. He’s such a good doggy brother.
Teaching kindness goes both ways
Hughes told The Dodo, “We have shown Vanora that we hug Taco, we pet him gently and we give him kisses on his head.” She went on to say, “But if we get mad at him, we don’t hit him.”
It looks like both Taco and Vanora have learned important lessons in kindness. Since the video of Taco’s “Yay, she’s walking!” zoomies went viral, the two have continued to be best pals. Vanora has since perfected the art of throwing the ball for Taco to fetch, having practiced since she was barely able to walk.
A family dog can be a source of joyful companionship for all, but sometimes a special bond is formed between a child and a pup. It’s clear that Taco and Vanora have that bond, which hopefully both will enjoy for many more years. Golden Retrievers come by their friendly, fun-loving, gentle reputation honestly, and it’s just delightful to see that energy in action.
You can follow @_mostlyadorable_ and @tacothepolarpup on Instagram for more sweet photos and videos of Taco the good doggo and his family.
This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.
Sometimes taking care of our beautiful home planet looks like big, broad policies tackling issues like plastic pollution and habitat destruction. And sometimes it looks like taking the time to help one tiny creature stuck in an environmental bind.
In a YouTube video that’s been viewed a whopping 20 million times, we see an example of the latter in action as some kind and compassionate divers attempt to convince an octopus to abandon the plastic cup it’s using for protection and trade it for a sturdy shell. Pall Sigurdsson has shared dozens of underwater videos on YouTube, but watching this particular video from his dive off the coast of Lembeh, Indonesia, in 2018 almost feels like watching a Pixar short film.
“We spent a whole dive and most of our air saving this octopus from what was bound to be a cruel fate,” Sigurdsson wrote in the description of the video.
“The coconut octopus, also known as veined octopus, is born with the instinct to protect itself by creating a mobile home out of coconut or clam shells. This particular individual however has been trapped by their instincts and have made a home out of a plastic cup they found underwater.”
Why a plastic cup is so dangerous for an octopus
It’s not just that the flimsy plastic cup didn’t provide the octopus adequate protection. Sigurdsson explained that a predator like an eel or a flounder would probably end up swallowing the cup with the octopus in it, likely killing both of them. Plus, even if the octopus abandoned the cup on its own, plastic simply doesn’t belong in the ocean.
“We tried for a long time to give it shells hoping that it would trade the shell,” he wrote. “Coconut octopus are famous for being very picky about which shells they keep so we had to try with many different shells before it found one to be acceptable.”
The tentacles reaching out to test the weight of each shell, the divers searching for more options to offer it, the suspense of wondering whether the octopus really would abandon its pathetic plastic pollution protection… it’s just too much.
Sigurdsson’s other underwater videos are also fun to watch. He shared one of another veined octopus who seemed to have no interest in him but became intrigued with his diver friend, Gary. The way it reaches out to touch just the tip of his finger and then shyly retreats feels like such a clear communication with no words being said.
Just how smart are octopuses?
Perhaps it is the fact that an octopus has nine brains that make them far more intelligent than anyone would have guessed before we started studying their behavior in earnest. They are known to solve puzzles, escape complicated mazes and traps, and take apart just about anything. It does make you wonder what these little guys were thinking when these divers were interacting with them. Was it curiosity? Judgment? An attempt at connection between species?
It’s funny how one small interaction in one tiny portion of the vast ocean can say so much about us, for better and for worse. Human pollution is an enormous problem and saving one little octopus won’t save the world, but it sure gives us hope and motivation to keep trying for the sake of the vast number of creatures that live in the ocean as well as our own.
Molly, an adorable, affectionate 10-year-old pit bull, found herself tied to a tree after her owners had abandoned her. According to The Dodo, Molly had “always been a loyal dog, but, unfortunately, her first family couldn’t reciprocate that same love back,” and so when the house was sold, neither Molly nor the family’s cat was chosen to move with them.
While the cat was allowed to free roam outside, all Molly could do was sit and wait. Alone. Luckily, the young couple that bought the house agreed to take the animals in as part of their closing agreement, and as soon as the papers were signed, they rushed over to check in.
In a TikTok video, April Parker, the new homeowner, walks up to Molly, who is visibly crestfallen with teary eyes. But as soon as Parker begins cooing, “Baby girl…you’re gonna get a new home,” the pitty instantly perks up, all smiles and tail wagging.
Welcome to the family
“We are going to make her life so good,” Parker wrote in the video’s caption. “She will never be left all alone tied to a tree.”
The people that sold our house to us left behind their 10yr old dog they had since it was a puppy. I was so stressed we wouldnt get the house and something bad would happeb to her. We are going to maje her life so good. She will never be left all alone tied to a tree. 😭😢@roodytoots
The video has been seen upwards of 4 million times. Countless people commented on how enraging it was to see a dog treated so carelessly.
“I’ve had my dog since she was 7 weeks old. She just turned 10 a few days ago. I literally cannot imagine doing this,” one person wrote.”
Another added: “The tears in her eyes…she doesn’t understand why they could just leave her, it breaks my heart. People like that shouldn’t be allowed to be pet owners.”
A new beginning for Molly
Subsequent videos show Parker freeing Molly from her leash and introducing the sweet pup to her husband, with whom she was instantly smitten. It’s clear that this doggo was both relieved and elated to be taken in by her new family.
Since being rescued, Molly has accompanied her new mom and dad everywhere.
“She’s sticking to our side,” Parker wrote. “She won’t stop following us around. It’s so sweet.”
Parker has created an entire TikTok channel documenting her newfound pet’s journey, aptly named “Molly’s New Life,” showing Molly enjoying warm baths, plenty of treats, cuddles…all the finer things in life.
But what Molly seems to enjoy most of all is car rides:
Molly also has two indoor cat siblings who instantly welcomed her into the family. The video below shows one of them, Joofus, comforting a trembling Molly with kisses during a thunderstorm.
We had a big storm this morning and Molly was having a hard time. Joofus got on the bed and started comforting her. It was the sweetest thing. They got snuggled up and Molly went to sleep. Animals are amazing. mollysnewlife petsarefamily
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