Robot dogs are now scaling stairs, and they might show up in society next year

The yellow robot dogs that so unsettled people in February by opening a door for one another can now easily walk up and down stairs on their own.

Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert — who founded the robot company known for building machines that mimic real animal and human movements — said Friday at the TechCrunch Robotics Sessions conference at UC Berkeley that the robots, called SpotMini, will be ready for purchase in 2019.

While declining to offer a price on the 66-pound, relatively quiet, and uniquely agile robot dogs, Raibert did say that they're designed to be deployed in commercial office building-like settings — and then eventually homes.

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My Toby is not very happy.

Took him down to the vets for a regular check and the vet used a nasty 4 letter word.

Begins with D and ends with T.

He has managed to put on 5 Kg since last time:-(

Gone from 58 to 63 Kg

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Kevin

Blind 12-year-old dachshund, pit bull form inseparable bond

Here's a tale that has the makings of a storybook. The only thing it's missing is someone to write a happy-ever-after ending.

Meet the odd couple of a Richmond, Virginia, animal shelter: a 12-year-old dachshund named O.J. and a 90-pound pit bull named Blue Dozer who resembles a bulldozer.

... "They sleep together, they eat together, they lay together, they walk together, I mean they do everything together," said Christie Chipps Peters, director of Richmond Animal Care and Control.

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Woman adopts a thousand stray dogs, this is where they all live

HEREDIA, COSTA RICA -- She started with only a few stray dogs.

Now she has more than 1,000.

Lya Battle has always loved animals. In 2006, she and her husband Alvaro Saume adopted a couple of dogs from a shelter

... Now, Territorio de Zaguates (“Land of the mutts and strays”) is a paradise for dogs. They are free to roam and play there for the rest of their lives.

"We don't put an expiration date on our dogs," Lya explains. "Some are really ill, some are on their last leg, so it's important to us that they have at least a good memory of their time on Earth when it's time to leave."

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It has been so hot in North Texas this past week, even the dogs have to find a way to keep cool!
It's so hot in Texas, even the dogs can't stand it!

Triple-digit temperatures recently had one pup dragging his favorite sprinkler inside the house.

The dog's family has shared pictures of their dog enjoying the water in the past, but it's always been outside...

"That moment when your puppy drags the sprinkler through the doggie door," Cara Wohr said on Facebook. "Good thing I was wearing waterproof mascara."

Wohr's photo quickly went viral and has more than 110,000 shares.

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Today is Odie's Birthday!
Odie the dog, Garfield's best friend, first appeared on August 8, 1978, in the Jim Davis comic strip Garfield. Trivia buffs: Odie was based on a car dealership commercial written by Jim Davis, which featured Odie the Village Idiot. Davis liked the name Odie and decided to use it again.

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From National Geographic: Delightful Photos Seek to Soften the Image of Pit Bulls
A photographer shines a light on the often misunderstood and controversial pit bull.

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https://twitter.com/jjmacnab/status/1041047101633785856

I am currently visiting my sister in Hanover PA.

For many years she has taken in rescue dogs, smaller ones preferred, sometimes driving to NY (4 hours away to collect them).

She currently has 8, and here are a couple of my favourites,

The first one was Freddie



Who gave me that look when I stopped scratching his head.

Of course where there is a Fred, you also find Barney



And this has to be one of the prettiest dogs I have seem



A Pomeranian, cross between a fox and a teddy bear. However as the newest arrival was not quite as friendly.

Corgi Pup Squares Off With Chicken, Out Of Nowhere 3rd Contender Interferes To Take Action

We’ve all heard about the horrors of animal fights and no one wants to witness such animal cruelty take place. But, what would you do if you saw a cute corgi pup and a stoic mama hen get together for an adorable play fight in the barnyard?

You might not be able to turn your eyes away from this cheeky doggy vs. hen face-off! However, you shouldn’t place your bets on a winner just yet, because there’s a last-minute contender that tries to hone in on the action

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Reminds me of when my beagles were puppies....
Video: Puppy Wakes Up When Breakfast Is Served

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This pit bull was rescued from a dog fighting ring, and now he’s joining a police force

Dallas’s ear-to-ear grin and bright brown eyes seem to sparkle with joy.

The 3-year-old pit-bull-type dog’s radiance makes it difficult to believe he was once a member of a fighting ring and later the subject of multiple court battles, narrowly escaping a death sentence.

Now Dallas’s demeanor is leading him to a new chapter in life: He is among the first pit bulls ever rescued from fighting to train as a police K-9. Next month, after about six weeks of training to sniff out narcotics, he is set to join the force in the southwest Virginia town of Honaker.

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German Shepherd Terrified Of New Sprinkler Until Toddler Helps Him Overcome Fear In Hilarious Way

Who could have thought that the big and brave German shepherd could be afraid of water. Although this breed is known for their courage and their service in the army and the military forces, they are allowed to be vulnerable at times and to have their own fears. This particular dog hesitates to go near the family’s new water sprinkler. He barks at it not knowing it will become the best ‘toy’ he’s ever played with.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/EeIN1UdCIkw

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This is one SMART POOCH!
Dog Scams McDonald’s Customers Out Of Burgers By Pretending To Be A Stray

A woman in Oklahoma City has resorted to dog-shaming after she caught her pet sneaking out at night to beg for hamburgers at a nearby McDonald’s.

In an expletive-laced Facebook post, Betsy Reyes said of her dog, Princess:

“If you see my dog @ the McDonald’s on shields, quit feeding her fat a$$ bc she don’t know how to act & be leaving the house all the time to go walking to McDonald’s at night. She’s not even a stray dog. She’s just a gold diggin a$$ b***h that be acting like she’s a stray so people will feel bad for her & feed her burgers.”

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Man fined after letting dog poo pile up in garden so much neighbours couldn't open windows for smell
Alan Morse, 46, was prosecuted under Environmental Health laws after failing to clean up the mess in his back yard over the summer

A dog owner ignored requests to clean up his pets’ poo for so long during the summer that neighbours could not open their windows for the smell, a court heard.

Alan Morse, 46, let his three Staffordshire bull terriers do their business in the back yard until it built up to such a disgusting state environmental health officers were called in.

But Morse, from Radcliffe, still did not remove the mess and he was handed an abatement notice – ordering him to keep his yard clean – by Bury Council.

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Trump Saves Helpless Puppies

For the second year in a row, President Trump has signed legislation restricting and de-funding invasive and deadly dog testing at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The effort was spearheaded by Freedom Caucus member Representative Dave Brat after veterans at his local VA hospital and national veterans’ groups criticized the VA’s outdated and unproductive dog testing, including giving puppies heart attacks and making them run on treadmills to stress their impaired hearts. Brat’s PUPPERS Act is a bipartisan bill that has support from 86 cosponsors and would defund these experiments permanently.

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Chicagoans Rescue Bleeding Dog From Busy Lake Shore Drive Traffic: ‘It’s Just Amazing’

... Mesok said he didn’t think twice about jumping from his car to rescue Domino and would have adopted or fostered the dog if he didn’t have owners.

“I didn’t think about myself getting hurt at all. … I wasn’t even concerned about being hit by a car. I was just so focused on saving him that I don’t understand people who wouldn’t,” Mesok said. “Everyone was so kind and patient about it, for the most part. It was wonderful to see everybody being concerned for this dog.

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Dog with 'psychotic tendencies' escapes home to poop on his neighbours' pillows

Writing on the Beach Haven and Birkdale Community Facebook page, an apologetic Rick Didham exposed his Bichon Frise-Shih Tzu cross, Jack:

Hi, Im [sic] so embarrassed and ashamed to say this but Jack has somehow gotten out of the property more than once. We're trying to figure out how he is doing this and we will seal the hole when we find it. Apparently he has been caught by more than one of our neighbors sneaking in their cat door and doing number twos on peoples [sic] bedroom pillows.

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Dog that survived California wildfire guarded home for weeks

A dog that survived the catastrophic wildfire in Northern California apparently guarded his home for nearly a month until his owner returned.

Madison was there waiting when Andrea Gaylord, who fled on Nov. 8, was allowed back onto her burned property in Paradise this week.

An animal rescuer who responded to Gaylord’s request to check on Madison first spotted the male Anatolian shepherd days after fire broke out.

Shayla Sullivan said the outdoor guard dog was apprehensive and kept his distance. Sullivan left food and water for him regularly until Gaylord got back on Wednesday.

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