Maeve Dunigan

1 week ago | thedodo.com | Maeve Dunigan

Every morning, Hilarie takes her dogs, Emmie and Gunny, for a walk around their neighborhood. Each time, like clockwork, a special visitor appears out of nowhere to join them on the journey. “He always finds us,” Hilarie said in a video for The Dodo. “He’ll just pop out of a shrub.”Of course, by now, Hilarie knows exactly who it is. It’s Oliver, the neighbor’s friendly cat, who insists on joining Hilarie and the pups on their jaunts. After so many walks, Hilarie knows all of Oliver’s preferences.

2 weeks ago | thedodo.com | Maeve Dunigan

In the waters around Southern Australia, extremely rare animals called handfish can very occasionally be spotted swimming through their ocean home. These unique fish are named for their distinctive fins, which look a bit like hands, and which help them walk along the sea floor. According to the Handfish Conservation Project, these fish are currently listed as critically endangered, their populations having dwindled due to pollution and habitat loss.

2 weeks ago | newyorker.com | Maeve Dunigan

This morning, I was a depressed, frumpy loser. But then, in a moment, everything changed. You see, I just purchased a forty-five-dollar bouquet of dried willow branches from a pixie-haired woman at the farmers’ market. Now, miraculously, my life sings with limitless potential. Watch as I parade around town with my elegant twigs! Look at the way my luxurious, spindly sticks reach upward, toward the heavens—but don’t look too closely, because they will poke your eye out.

2 weeks ago | thedodo.com | Maeve Dunigan

Earlier this month, a homeowner in Harford County, Maryland, heard a strange barking sound echoing from the woods behind her house. The next morning, the woman spotted the culprits — a group of three puppies, huddled together in the trees. “They were nervous,” Harford County Sheriff’s Office assistant director of media and public relations Keith Smithson told The Dodo. “She couldn’t coax them.”The woman contacted the sheriff’s office and told them about the situation.

2 weeks ago | thedodo.com | Maeve Dunigan

Meet Brady Oliveira and Alex Blumberg, a couple who specialize in dog rescues and aren’t afraid to go the extra mile for a pup in need. When Oliveira and Blumberg recently heard about a dog found trembling under a house, the dedicated rescuers jumped at the chance to help out. Arriving at the scene, the rescuers quickly realized they wouldn’t just be saving one dog. Hidden behind the pup, deep in the dusty crawl space, a pile of newborn puppies wriggled in the dirt.