ANIMALS

Dog Daycare Celebrates Christmas With End of School Nativity ‘Paw-formance’

A dog-led recreation of the nativity was created by a pet daycare as the “paw-fect” way to celebrate the Christmas season.

Owner of Happy Hounds Coventry in the U.K. Emma Green used TikTok to post video of the endearing scene, which featured a variety of adorable dogs dressed as all the well-known figures present during the birth of Jesus.

Green told Newsweek: “Our doggy actors in this Nativity scene were a mix of Doodles, Spaniels, and the Terrier who is playing baby Jesus. They all enjoy the interaction, and they get rewarded very well throughout the shoot.”

Green is also no stranger to spoiling our canine friends. She described Happy Hounds Coventry as taking pride in “providing a unique experience for dogs,” including adventure weekends and beach vacations. She is an ardent dog lover who put her passion for canines into a business.

Dog Daycare Celebrates Christmas With End of School Nativity ‘Paw-formance’

However, the center has been drawing the most attention online with its striking picture shoots, and their most recent nativity endeavor is no different.

At the time of writing, the video showing the dogs decked out in all their adorable nativity costumes had been watched over 400,000 times on social media—and viewers are liking what they see.

One commented: “This is the most adorable Nativity I’ve ever seen” with another simply writing: “The BEST nativity ever!!!” A third called it “absolutely delightful” while a fourth simply declared: “my heart is totally melting.”

Green said the shoots started out of a desire to show clients “how much fun their dogs are having” and have evolved over time to incorporate any number of themes, much to the delight of their followers online.

Dog Daycare Celebrates Christmas With End of School Nativity ‘Paw-formance’

“We celebrate doggy birthdays but also special times of the year, such as Easter and Christmas,” she said. “We did this Nativity shoot to celebrate the dogs’ last week of term before we break up for Christmas. It’s a fun but festive way to end the year, and we’re delighted that it makes people smile.”

Green added that the dogs featured in the clip were chosen for very special reasons.

“All the dogs that take part in our photo shoots are picked for their confidence, so they are familiar with getting dressed up and don’t get stressed during the shooting,” she explained. “The hardest part was sourcing doggy-sized costumes, in the end, we just went for children’s outfits, which worked very well!”

While she’s no stranger to garnering attention with these dog-led recreations, Green is still blown away when the videos she creates do generate such a big response. “It’s amazing that people from around the world also like our content,” she said.

Dog Daycare Celebrates Christmas With End of School Nativity ‘Paw-formance’

The dog trainer notes how many of the people commenting on the clips are often surprised and impressed at how she is able to get the dogs to sit still for so long. “I see a lot of comments saying they wish their dog could do the same and asking how to do it,” she said. “I always say that positive reinforcement, repetition, and high-value rewards are the key.”

The success of this latest nativity shoot could inspire even more elaborate videos in the future too. “The recent success has certainly got me thinking about more ideas and scenes,” Green admits. “Perhaps something from The Godfather (Dog Father) or Jaws (Paws) films.”

ANIMALS

Amazing Video of Unseen Ocean Creatures in the Ningaloo Canyons

The Schmidt Ocean Institute recently explored the Ningaloo Canyons on the western coast of Australia using a robotic underwater vehicle called the ROV Sebastian. Check out the amazing video of what they discovered in the deep parts of the Indian Ocean.

More info: Youtube

ANIMALS

These Pics Are Art and the Artists Are Insects

Flying insects move so quickly that they are hard to follow, but new technology and some smart ideas have helped Spanish photographer Xavi Bou do just that. After spending 10 years focusing on birds in flight for his Ornithographies project, he turned his attention to insects.

For Entomographies, he uses high-speed video footage taken by Adrian Smith, an insect expert at North Carolina State University, to study and record how insects move. Bou then picks multiple frames and combines them into single images that show the fast movements of one or more insects through space and time.

With Smith’s help, Bou has captured the aerial tricks of wasps, the jumps of leafhoppers, and the fluttering of butterflies in amazing detail. He hopes that by doing this, he can make people more aware of the decline in important insect populations around the world.

1. Zebra longwing

This butterfly, which is common in many areas of the Americas, really fits its name. It can fly very high with just a few flaps of its large wings.