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Pets

The skeleton first emerged from an eroded road cut in 2000 or 2001.

Likely Kicked by a Kangaroo, This Dingo Healed a Millennium Ago Thanks to Help From an Aboriginal Community That Continued to Honor It for 500 Years

New research shows how the ancestors of the Barkindji people in Australia ritually added river mussel shells to a burial site for centuries after the dingo died, suggesting they cared for it deeply

Smell influences food intake in cats, according to a new study.

Does Your Cat Always Leave Behind a Half-Full Bowl of Food? New Research Points to Why Our Furry Friends Can Be Such Picky Eaters

A new study suggests that domestic cats get bored of monotonous meals. Switching up their food—or even just nearby scents—could help them join the clean plate club

The cockapoo, a mix between the cocker spaniel and poodle, had the most behavioral problems of all analyzed crossbreeds compared to its purebred progenitor breeds.

Contrary to Popular Belief, Some Doodle Crossbred Dogs May Have More Behavioral Problems Than Their Purebred Parents

Pet owners often pick “designer dogs” because they think they’ll be easier to train and friendlier with kids than purebreeds. A new study suggests that’s not always the case

Japanese chin dogs had some of the highest rates of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome in the study. 

These 12 Popular Dog Breeds Are at Risk of Breathing Problems Related to Their Short Snouts, a New Study Suggests

Past research on brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome—a chronic, hereditary disease associated with flat faces—has focused mainly on just three breeds

Two livestock guardian dogs, both akbash and Great Pyrenees mixes, stand among their flock at a ranch run by the prominent dog-breeding Buchholz family.

When Coyotes Threatened Livestock on Central Texas Ranches, the Solution Was to Unlock an Ancient Ability in Dogs

Killing the predators is not nearly as effective as the intimidating presence of well-trained guardians, a role some breeds have played for 5,000 years

The study involved pups like Miso, a 6-year-old male border collie from Canada who knows the names of about 200 toys.

New Research

Some Dogs Are ‘Gifted Word Learners’ That Learn Language by Eavesdropping—Just Like Human Toddlers

New research suggests prodigious pups that already have large vocabularies can learn new words by listening in on their owners’ conversations

Black soldier fly larvae grow in a high-tech facility at Innovafeed in Nesle, France. The company, which also has a facility in Decatur, Illinois, is the world’s largest producer of black soldier fly larvae.

Maggots Are an Incredibly Efficient Source of Protein, Which May Make Them the Next Superfood for Humans

Inexpensive to raise and insatiably hungry for trash, black soldier fly larvae are already on the menu for livestock, pets and, maybe soon, people

Excess weight can harm a cat's quality of life and exacerbate health conditions.

Can GLP-1s Help Fat Cats Lose Weight? The First Clinical Trial Testing the Drugs for Weight Loss in Felines Has Begun

San Francisco-based pharmaceutical company OKAVA is investigating an implant that slowly releases a GLP-1 medication for up to six months

Genetic analyses revealed some of the winding paths behind the spread of domestic cats.

When Did Domestic Cats Take Over the World? New Research Suggests They Arrived in Europe and China Centuries Later Than We Thought

Two genetic analyses suggest that our feline friends reached China around 1,400 years ago via the Silk Road, and that they traveled from North Africa to Europe around 2,000 years ago

European starlings were the best at imitating R2-D2's multphonic sounds because they can control both sides of both sides of the syrinx independently, the researchers say.

Birds Are Beeping and Booping like R2-D2. Their Mimicked Sounds Are Helping Unlock the Secrets of Avian Communication

European starlings were better than parrots at imitating R2-D2’s high-pitched chattering, possibly because of their special control over a vocal organ

Chubby the macaw arrived with self-plucking injuries, which are typically caused by stress, boredom, anxiety or life changes. Chubby was 22 at the time of being photographed in 2025, and she has since been adopted.

The Nation’s Biggest Animal Sanctuary Operates Under a Mantra to ‘Save Them All.’ How Could That Be Controversial?

Best Friends Animal Society has a sprawling campus in the canyons of Utah, but its influence has grown to reach almost every shelter in the country

A new study investigates addiction-like behaviors in dogs.

Does Your Dog Love Chasing a Ball? Study Suggests Dog Toy ‘Addiction’ Is Real

The research documents addiction-like tendencies in canines, offering scientific evidence that appears to support owners’ own observations

Yagi (left) and Quinn (right) are searching for evidence of critically endangered Sumatran rhinos in Indonesia's Way Kambas National Park.

Two Sniffer Dogs Might Have Just Found a Lost Population of Critically Endangered Rhinos

Yagi and Quinn identified scat that was likely left by a Sumatran rhinoceros in Indonesia’s Way Kambas National Park, where scientists thought the animals had disappeared

Strongheart “was kind of a Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger [type] action hero,” says film studies scholar Kathryn Fuller-Seeley. 

Strongheart the German Shepherd Catapulted to Fame for His Heroics in Silent Films. Later, Spiritualist Writings Immortalized Him in Death

The beloved dog starred in six movies during the Roaring Twenties. After Strongheart died in 1929, author J. Allen Boone chronicled their enduring connection in a pair of nonfiction books

Boston terriers are said to be affectionate with human family members, good with children and playful.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Celebrate Man’s Best Friend With These 15 Photographs of Good Dogs

Delight in dogs with snapshots from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Metal detectorists found the grave two years ago on Senja, an island in northern Norway.

This Viking Woman Was Buried With a Small Dog at Her Feet 1,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists unearthed the burial site during excavations in Norway. They say the discovery provides unique insights into the bonds humans form with their animals

Researchers monitored the sniffing behavior of 30 cats in a new study.

Cats Can Recognize Their Owner’s Scent Compared to a Stranger’s, New Research Suggests

In an experiment, domestic cats spent longer sniffing cotton swabs with the scents of unfamiliar people than swabs with the scent of their owner

The cats that perished aboard the Emanuel Point II were well-fed and may have served as companions for the sailors.

New Research

Spanish Shipwreck Reveals Evidence of Earliest Known Pet Cats to Arrive in the United States

The two felines—one adult, one juvenile—appear to have been cared for by the sailors before the vessel sank in a hurricane in 1559, according to a new study

Pearl (left) is a 4-year-old Chihuahua, while Reggie (right) is a 7-year-old Great Dane.

When Reggie, the World’s Tallest Dog, Met Pearl, the World’s Shortest Dog

He was a massive Great Dane. She was a pint-sized Chihuahua. During one adorable playdate, the two superlative pups became fast friends

Before she went missing on Kangaroo Island, Valerie slept in bed with her human parents and enjoyed spending time indoors.

Good News

Valerie the Miniature Dachshund Has Been Rescued After Surviving for 529 Days on a Rugged Australian Island

The eight-pound pup is now decompressing after her epic adventure in the wilderness, a feat rescuers say was “just incredible”

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