Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled

O! M! G! This is my new favorite non-profit:

"Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled is a national nonprofit serving quadriplegic and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility-impairments by providing highly trained monkeys to assist with daily activities.

"We raise and train these monkeys to act as live-in companions who, over the course of 20-30 years, will provide the gifts of independence, companionship, dignity and hope to the people they help."

http://www.monkeyhelpers.org/

Spider Misinformation

One of my co-workers told me the other day that there are brown recluse spiders in Washington state and that they are extremely dangerous--that their bites "wither" your skin.

I sort of believed her because this particular co-worker seems down-to-earth and practical...but it still sounded fishy so I researched it online. I found a spider-themed website written by the "Curator of Arachnids" at the Burke Museum. (Nice work if you can get it!) Naturally her story turned out to be wholly false.

Here's an excerpt. I especially love the foot-long "camel spider" in Iraq who runs at 25 miles an hour, screaming like a banshee. Ha ha! Yeah, you gotta watch out for those:

Myths, Misconceptions, and Superstitions About Spiders

Rod Crawford, Curator of Arachnids, Burke Museum

As the only spider specialist in a large metropolitan area, I get many spider inquiries from the general public. Since I'm mentioned on the Internet as a spider specialist, some of the public inquiries come from distant places. When I lecture on spiders, adult and child audiences always have questions and comments. So do casual acquaintances when they learn that I work with spiders.

These people's concerns come from a widespread and surprisingly uniform set of assumptions and "general knowledge" about spiders. And almost all of this widespread information about spiders is false!

I don't really expect that this document, by itself, will make much headway against the flood of spider misinformation. However, I hope that those curious about spiders who find their way here will absorb enough information to ask me some new questions instead of the same old ones. I can hope, can't I?

Opinions expressed here are not necessarily endorsed by the Burke Museum or the University of Washington, but are entirely my own, founded on 39 years experience working with spiders and misinformed humans. Note also that I use "myth" here as a convenient catchall term for any kind of widely believed misinformation about spiders.

Just Plain Weird Stories

• The daddy-longlegs has the world's worst venom, but it can't bite you.
• Near East "camel spiders" anaesthetize sleeping humans and eat their flesh.
• "Camel spiders" in Iraq are a foot long, lay eggs under camels' skin, & run 25 miles/hour screaming like a banshee.
• A potted cactus in someone's home exploded and scattered baby tarantulas!
• A deadly, exotic spider lurks under airport and airplane toilet seats.
• A gigantic, rare, endangered and (of course) deadly spider lives in tunnels under Windsor Castle.
• Spiders can hold their breaths to avoid inhaling pesticides.
• You swallow an average of four live spiders in your sleep each year.
• Spiders drink moisture from the mouths or lips of sleeping humans.
• When black widow spiders mate, the female always kills and eats the male.
• Spider eggs may turn up in human hairstyles or in bubble gum.
• There could be spider eggs inside the tip of that banana.
• Baby spiders can hatch out of spider bite wounds.
• Certain fruits or nuts can be used to repel spiders.
• Jumping tarantulas, ten-legged spiders, poisonous spider urine, and more!

From: The Spider Myths Site at http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/index.html

The Chicken Drama of Big Mama

About six months ago or so, my friends (let's call them J and D) talked their parents (who live in Woodinville, Washington, a pretty rural area) into getting chickens. Actually, they got chicks--the chicks grew up and started laying eggs like crazy. Fresh eggs are different from the kind you can buy in the store. They are lots of sizes and colors--they can be pink and green! Sometimes they can have multiple yolks.

They named the chickens Clara, Big Mama, and Nugget. Big Mama is sweet and stupid; Clara is mean and will peck you; I'm not sure what Nugget's personality is like.

Anyway, Big Mama broke her leg! At this point my friends' parents had become very attached to the chickens, so instead of landing on the dinner table, Big Mama, inarguably the luckiest chicken in the world, was rushed to an exotic vet where the doctor put a cast on her leg to the tune of $300! Lucky, lucky chicken.

Now the family has a dark secret that they have to hide from their uncle, a farmer, whose head would probably explode at the news.

Get well soon, Big Mama!

A Journey Below the Photic Zone

From Wikipedia:

Deep sea fish is a term for fish that live below the photic zone of the ocean. The lanternfish is, by far, the most common deep sea fish. Other deep sea fish include the flashlight fish, cookiecutter shark, bristlemouths, anglerfish, and viperfish.

Because the photic zone typically extends only a few hundred meters below the water, about 90% of the ocean volume is invisible to humans. The deep sea is also an extremely hostile environment, with pressures between 20 and 1,000 atmospheres (between 2 and 100 megapascals), temperatures between 3 and 10 degrees Celsius, and a lack of oxygen. Most fish that have evolved in this harsh environment are not capable of surviving in laboratory conditions, and attempts to keep them in captivity have led to their deaths. For this reason little is known about them, as there are limitations to the amount of fruitful research that can be carried out on a dead specimen and deep sea exploratory equipment is very expensive. As such, many species are known only to scientists and have therefore retained their scientific name.

The fish of the deep sea are among the strangest and most elusive creatures on Earth. In this deep unknown lie many unusual creatures we still have yet to study. Since many of these fish live in regions where there is no natural illumination, they cannot rely solely on their eyesight for locating prey and mates and avoiding predators; deep sea fish have evolved appropriately to the extreme sub-photic region in which they live. Many deep sea fish are bioluminescent, with extremely large eyes adapted to the dark. Some have long feelers to help them locate prey or attract mates in the pitch black of the deep ocean. The deep sea angler fish in particular has a long fishing-rod-like adaptation protruding from its face, on the end of which is a bioluminescent piece of skin that wriggles like a worm to lure its prey. The lifecycle of deep sea fish can be exclusively deep water although some species are born in shallower water and sink on becoming adults.

Due to the poor level of photosynthetic light reaching deep sea environments, most fish need to rely on organic matter sinking from higher levels, or, in rare cases, hydrothermal vents for nutrients. This makes the deep sea much poorer in productivity than shallower regions. Consequently many species of deep sea fish are noticeably smaller and have larger mouths and guts than those living at shallower depths. It has also been found that the deeper a fish lives, the more jelly-like its flesh and the more minimal its bone structure. This makes them slower and less agile than surface fish.

Sampling via deep trawling indicates that lanternfish account for as much as 65% of all deep sea fish biomass.^[1] Indeed, lanternfish are among the most widely distributed, populous, and diverse of all vertebrates, playing an important ecological role as prey for larger organisms. With an estimated global biomass of 550 - 660 million metric tonnes, several times the entire world fisheries catch, lanternfish also account for much of the biomass responsible for the deep scattering layer of the world's oceans. In the Southern Ocean, Myctophids provide an alternative food resource to krill for predators such as squid and the King Penguin. Although plentiful and prolific, currently only a few commercial lanternfish fisheries exist: These include limited operations off South Africa, in the sub-Antarctic, and in the Gulf of Oman.

Skittles the Tiger

Obviously, a real pet is better. But this does sound majorly cute!:

Microsoft game lets kids tickle tigers

(CNN) -- Microsoft on Monday unveiled the first games for its remote-control-free video game system, Kinect for Xbox 360. Several of the titles were pretty generic: a dancing game, a race car game, an adventure game and a fitness game.

And then there was "Kinectimals."

A demo of this bizarre but cuddly game showed a little girl tickling and playing with "Skittles," a virtual tiger cub. She threw sticks for the tiger to fetch and called it to the screen, where it licked the television and wagged its tail for her.

"Come here Skittles!" she called to her virtual friend.

The game features 40 wild animals and 30 types of interactions, according to Microsoft. Kids just wave their hands and talk to the TV to interact with these virtual pets. Microsoft Kinect, an add-on for the Xbox 360 that goes on sale on November 4, has a camera that watches their movements and a microphone to listen to their voices.

Here's how Microsoft describes the game in a news release:

"A wide-eyed Bengal Tiger cub cocks its head to the side and playfully peers at you. Memories of your first trip to the zoo come rushing back. 'Kinectimals' invites children, their parents and animal lovers of all ages to build lasting friendships with some of the world's most exotic creatures.

"Just like real pets, your 'Kinectimals' will come running when they hear your voice, respond to commands like 'jump,' 'roll-over' and 'play dead,' and purr with joy when you scratch them behind the ears."

Duck

This is a duck that I fed on campus the other day. I brought in some stale cereal to give him.

World's Biggest Beaver Dam Discovered

Until very recently (when Guy visited it), I sort of had this vague notion that the Hoover Dam was somehow a giant beaver dam. I know, I know. I would like to think that if I had ever bothered to examine this belief, I would have realized on my own how preposterous it was. Anyway, because this was on my mind, the timing of this story was funny to me (it's from today):

OTTAWA (AFP) – A Canadian ecologist has discovered the world's largest beaver dam in a remote area of northern Alberta, an animal-made structure so large it is visible from space.
Researcher Jean Thie said Wednesday he used satellite imagery and Google Earth software to locate the dam, which is about 850 metres (2,800 feet) long on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park.

Average beaver dams in Canada are 10 to 100 metres long, and only rarely do they reach 500 metres.

First discovered in October 2007, the gigantic dam is located in a virtually inaccessible part of the park south of Lac Claire, about 190 kilometres (120 miles) northeast of Fort McMurray.

Construction of the dam likely started in the mid-1970s, said Thie, who made his discovery quite by accident while tracking melting permafrost in Canada's far north.

"Several generations of beavers worked on it and it's still growing," he told AFP in Ottawa.

Mike Keizer, spokesman for the park, said rangers flew over the heavily forested marshlands last year to try to "have a look." They found significant vegetation growing on the dam itself, suggesting it's very old, he said.

"A new dam would have a lot of fresh sticks," Keizer explained. "This one has grasses growing on it and it's very green."

Part of the dam may have been created by naturally felled trees, and the beavers "opportunistically filled in the gaps."

Thie said he recently identified two smaller dams sprouting at either side of the main dam. In 10 years, all three structures could merge into a mega-dam measuring just short of a kilometer in length, he said.

The region is flat, so the beavers would have had to build a massive structure to stem wetland water flows, Thie said, noting that the dam was visible in NASA satellite imagery from the 1990s.
"It's a unique phenomenon," he said. "Beaver dams are among the few animal-made structures visible from space."

North American beavers build dams to create deep, still pools of water to protect against predators, and to float food and building materials.

A 652-meter structure in Three Forks in the US state of Montana previously held the record for world's largest beaver dam.

Thie said he also found evidence that beavers were repopulating old habitats after being hunted extensively for pelts in past centuries.

"They're invading their old territories in a remarkable way in Canada," he said. "I found huge dams throughout Canada, and beaver colonies with up to 100 of them in a square kilometer."
"They're re-engineering the landscape," he said.

Tiny Spider

OMG. I just noticed that the teeniest tiniest spider in the world is sitting in the middle of a tiny li'l spiderweb that it spun right under my computer monitor. It is just the cutest darn thing. But what kind of microscopic bugs does it expect to catch??

This is not my photo, but my spider is about this size.

Now I have the song Private Dancer stuck in my head...except in my version, it's Tiny Spider.

Elijah Wood Is Cool

Lovable actor Elijah Wood has gone and made himself even more lovable. How does he do it??:

Elijah Wood, the actor most known for his role as Frodo in Lord of the Rings arrived in Chile on Tuesday by invitation of Jorge Yarur, the founder of the Yarur Bascuñán Foundation; an organisation that supports abandoned pets.

Wood and Yarur began their tour this morning on Canal 13’s show Viva la Mañana. The actor confessed that, “I am interested in Jorge’s organization. I’m interested in getting involved, because I love animals. I have three dogs, and grew up with dogs and cats.”

Today he will travel to Curepto in the VI Region with the First Lady, Cecilia Morel, to view the damage from the earthquake. Curepto was one of the harder hit areas and many people and animals there are still suffering from the affects of the earthquake.

When asked what drew him to the Yarur Bascuñán Foundation Wood replied; “It’s just a humanitarian act. I like the initiative. As a human being I am interested in the welfare of animals and people. There are many dogs in the streets that are without protection. This is the first foundation I have participated in.”

Wood is in Chile until tomorrow.

The Standing Cat

Larry the Whale

Conclusion? Whales are cool.

Here's what I don't get, though...How did they know the whale was named Larry??:

When Southern California surfer Jodie Nelson set out Sunday to standup-paddle nearly 40 miles from Santa Catalina Island to Dana Point, she hoped it'd inspire her best friend, who has been involved in a long and exhausting struggle with breast cancer, to keep fighting.

Nelson, 34, whose mother and aunt are cancer survivors, also hoped her nine-hour test of endurance would raise money for two cancer charities and heighten awareness about a plight affecting millions of women.What Nelson could not have known was that a 30-foot minke whale would swim alongside her 14-foot board and accompany the surfer as she stood and paddled for two of those nine hours, thus joining the cause.

"It was a day that all of us involved will never forget," Nelson said, in reference to Angela Robinson, her best friend, and the rest of a crew aboard an escort boat. Minke whales are not commonly seen off Southern California, and those spotted by boaters are often elusive. So when a mammal Nelson named Larry joined her endeavor to become the first woman to make this long paddle, she took it as a sign.

"To me it was a total God thing," the San Clemente resident said. "We prayed at 4 that morning that God would reveal his beauty and creation and nature, and allow me to endure this long trek, so for me it's not such a huge surprise that this happened." Larry did not merely swim close to Nelson. He rolled around repeatedly alongside her and blew bubbles beneath her board. A film crew was on the escort boat and CNN, Fox News and ABC are just some of the networks she says are interested in the story and footage.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, an American Cetacean Society whale researcher, said minke whales can be friendly but added: "This type of quality encounter is highly unusual." Nelson raised only about $6,000 in advance of the paddle, disappoingtingly short of her target of $100,000 for the Keep a Breast Foundation and Boarding for Breast Cancer. A few of her celebrity friends let her down, she said, but when this story reaches a national audience she expects the pool to grow considerably.

"I thought, 'I don't need so-and-so,' " she said of a particular celebrity, whom she declined to name. "Because I honestly feel like Larry is going to help us reach the $100,000 mark with our fundraising effort."

Larry or no Larry, completing a standup paddle over 39.8 miles of ocean and sharks speaks volumes about Nelson's strength, stamina and determination. Larry took her mind off the task for two magical hours, but her mind never strayed from the cause. "I can't even begin to compare what I did to what cancer patients are going through," she said. "But I wanted to put myself out there in a dangerous and scary, overwhelming situation; something that was big and just to show people that you can win that battle with that big, scary thing called cancer. "I wanted to draw some kind of parallel and just encourage people to keep fighting."

Those wanting to help Jodie with her mission can do so via her page on the Keep a Breast Foundation website.

Maybe I'm Amazed

"Amazed Cat" is the latest Internet star making the usual rounds. I haven't seen an animal do anything this impressive since the dramatically-reacting Prairie Dog of 2007:

Tiny Miss Fran asks Beebo questions about her blog.

Tiny Miss Fran: I think I can deliver on the squirrels and the cooking, but your fans may have to go elsewhere for their Gaga/Winehouse coverage while you're gone. What other beats do you want me to follow? H1N1? The Middle East?
Beebo: The nice thing about my blog, TMF, is that I basically have no standards and no quality control. So you can do whatever the hell you want! My only guideline has been trying to post at least one thing a day--but you don't even have to do that, if you don't feel like it. Most of my posts are just stories that I lazily jacked from other websites, so there is really no pressure. I'm a very lazy blogger. Just try to not make it ALL about kibble and string, Tiny Miss Fran.

TMF: Are there any words or phrases you would prefer I not use on your blog? Please be very explicit.
Beebo: Heh! Well, TMF, I try not to "go blue" when I can help it, but once in a while, profanity is called for. So just do what "feels right." The internets might be shocked if a cute tiny little cat curses like a sailor...but that sounds kinda cute too.

TMF: Where is it you're going again? What do you expect to be the hi-lites and lo-lites of your trip?
Beebo: We're meeting Glenda in Tennessee and going to GRACELAND!! I expect that to be the highlight. Then she's driving us to Alabama where we will stay with John B et al and possibly see some GATORS. (that could be another hi-lite.) Jennifer and Diana have a trip that will overlap for a few days and they will drive us to FLORIDA BEACHES (which apparently are close by). If one of us gets eaten by a shark, that would be a lo-lite (but also, let's face it, a hi-lite) of the trip.

TMF: Will you send me updates from the road that I can share with your readers?
Beebo: Oooh! I will if I can!! Our computer access won't be great but maybe I'll send you a psychic update or two.

Giant Octopus Cake

Wow! I love the way she used Froot Loops to make the all the little suction cups.

The Moggy Catcher

This morning, while doing some important Winehouse research, I encountered the word "moggy" for the first time ever. As The Sun colorfully informed its readers, Amy "has now got 11 moggies running riot around her north London home "

11 moggies! That's way too many...moggies. Wait: what's a moggy?

Well, apparently, they're cats. It turns out that Amy, in addition to her other problems, is a cat collector. But really, if she can just avoid re-marrying Blake and stay off drugs, who really cares how many cats she has? It's the least of her problems.

Here is a good explanation of the word "moggy" from a British website:

"The definition of a moggy is a cat or kitten that does not belong to any recognised breed...The word was originally a pet name for a cow! The origin of the word moggy is not a corruption of the word 'mongrel', as many believe. It was first recorded in 1911, and was possibly derived from maggie, margie or mog, all short forms of the female name Margaret. It is thought this was first used to describe an ungainly lumbering old cow, and it may even have been a minor rural English name for any cow; since 'moggy' was used in several 1800s English dialects as an 'affectionate name' for a cow.

"As rural people flocked to the cities during the latter part of the Industrial Revolution, it seems likely that the cow moggy became maggie, applied as a term of abuse for a dishevelled old woman or older prostitute.The origin is obviously confused, but as the early 20th century streets of London became filled with very many unhealthy looking stray cats, it would have been natural to apply the term moggy to describe these unfortunate creatures.

"In parts of Lancashire, England the word 'moggy' means mouse, not cat. A cat was known as 'the moggy catcher'. It has been suggested that this could be the etymology of the word moggy meaning 'cat' - over time the catcher part was dropped from 'the moggy catcher' and so moggy now means both 'mouse' and 'cat'. In New Zealand the term 'moggy' is popularly assumed to be a reference to the letter M formed on the forehead of tabby cats by their striped markings. However it was most likely introduced by English immigrants."

The Amazing Abilities of Oscar the Therapy Cat

I don't think Oscar sounds creepy at all. I think he sounds comforting. We all have to go to that big litter box in the sky eventually. Why not have a little cat by your side to ease the way?:

Doctor casts new light on cat that can predict death

Tue Feb 2, 12:00 pm ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) – When doctors and staff realized that a cat living in a U.S. nursing home could sense when someone was going to die, the feline, Oscar, was portrayed as a furry grim reaper or four-legged angel of death.

But Dr. David Dosa, who broke the news of Oscar's abilities in a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, said he never intended to make Oscar sound creepy or his arrival at a bedside to be viewed negatively.

Dosa said he hopes his newly released book, "Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat" will put the cat in a more favorable light as well as providing a book to help people whose loved ones are terminally ill.

"After the New England Journal article you got the feeling that if Oscar is in your bed then you are dead, but you did not really see what is going on for these family members," said Dosa, an assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

"I wanted to write a book that would go beyond Oscar's peculiarities, to tell why he is important to family members and caregivers who have been with him at the end of a life."

Dosa said Oscar's story is fascinating on many levels. Oscar was adopted as a kitten from an animal shelter to be raised as a therapy cat at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, which cares for people with severe dementia and in the final stages of various illnesses.

When Oscar was about six months old the staff noticed that he would curl up to sleep with patients who were about to die.

So far he has accurately predicted about 50 deaths.

Dosa recounts one instance when staff were convinced of the imminent death of one patient but Oscar refused to sit with that person, choosing instead to be on the bed of another patient down the hallway. Oscar proved to be right. The person he sat with died first, taking staff on the ward by surprise.

Dosa said there is no scientific evidence to explain Oscar's abilities, but he thinks the cat might be responding to a pheromone or smell that humans simply don't recognize.

Dosa said his main interest was not to delve further into Oscar's abilities but to use Oscar as a vehicle to tell about terminal illness, which is his main area of work.

"There is a lot to tell about what Oscar does, but there is a lot to tell on the human level of what family members go through at the end of life when they are dealing with a loved one in a nursing home or with advanced dementia," he said.

"Perhaps the book is a little more approachable because there is a cat in it. We really know so little about nursing homes, and this tries to get rid of this myth that they are horrid factories where people go to die."

Dosa said the story of Oscar, who is now nearly five years old, initially had sparked a bit more interest in families wanting to send their loved ones to Steere House.

Oscar has even been thanked by families in obituaries for providing some comfort in the final hours of life.

But he said Oscar remains unchanged by the attention, spending most of his days staring out of a window, although he has become a bit friendlier.

"The first time I met Oscar, he bit me. We have warmed over the years. We have moved into a better place," said Dosa.

"I don't think Oscar is that unique, but he is in a unique environment. Animals are remarkable in their ability to see things we don't, be it the dog that sniffs out cancer or the fish that predicts earthquakes. Animals know when they are needed."

Avoiding Shark Attacks

Some teenager was in the news this morning, after surviving a shark attack (she got away by hitting it with her boogie board), so AP news helpfully provided some links to remind us all of your basic shark attack avoidance tips. Let's review.

I just hope these tips don't interfere with my exercise regimen. I like to get up bright and early--or else wait until dusk--then take a refreshing ocean swim while clutching a dead trout in each hand, wearing my flourescent yellow striped bathing suit, strands of rhinestones around my neck, and a bleeding head wound. I find that this form of exercise really clears my mind:

Shark Avoidance Tips

Don't carry dead fish when swimming or diving.

Don't swim at night, early in the morning, or early in the evening. These are the times when sharks are hunting.

Stay out of murky water.

Don't wear contrasting colors or flashing objects.

Avoid wading or swimming in offshore sloughs or channels, such as might occur between sandbars, and in waters that drop off steeply to greater depths.

Never molest a shark of any kind, regardless of size.

If you spot a shark:

Stay calm, as sudden movements may attract a shark.

Swim calmly and rhythmically back to land or boat.

Keep the shark in sight, particularly if you are swimming underwater. In most shark attacks, the victim didn't see the shark. Sharks seem to shy away from people who look directly at them.

If all else fails, try to look prepared to fight back.

Always swim in a group. Sharks most often attack lone individuals.

Don't wander too far from shore. Doing so isolates you and places you away from assistance.

Don't enter the water if bleeding. Sharks can smell and taste blood, and trace it back to its source.

Don't wear shiny jewelry. The reflected light looks like shining fish scales.

Don't go into waters containing sewage. Sewage attracts bait fishes, which in turn attract sharks.

Avoid waters being fished and those with lots of bait fishes. Diving seabirds are good indicators of such activities.

Don't enter the water if sharks are present. Leave immediately if sharks are seen.

Avoid an uneven tan and brightly colored clothing. Sharks see contrast particularly well, so use extra caution when waters are cloudy.

Don't splash a lot. Also, keep pets out of the water. Erratic movements can attract sharks.

Use care near sandbars or steep drop-offs. These are favorite hangouts for sharks.

Don't relax just because porpoises are nearby. Sightings of porpoises do not indicate the absence of sharks. Both often eat the same foods.

Don't try to touch a shark if you see one!

If attacked by a shark, the general rule is "Do whatever it takes to get away!"

Heartwarming Rescue of Cute Polish Dog

Dog drifts 75 miles on ice, rescued in Baltic Sea

WARSAW, Poland – A frightened, shivering dog was rescued after floating at least 75 miles (120 kilometers) on an ice floe down Poland's Vistula River and into the Baltic Sea, officials said Thursday.

Now his saviors just have to figure out who really owns him.

Four people have already claimed him, but so far rescuers say there's been no wagging tail of joy from the miracle dog they nicknamed "Baltic."

The dog's frozen odyssey came as Poland suffers through a winter cold snap, with temperatures dipping to below minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 Celsius).

The thick-furred male dog was found adrift Monday 15 miles (24 kilometers) out in the Baltic Sea by the crew of the Baltica, a Polish ship of ocean scientists carrying out research.

Researcher Natalia Drgas said Thursday the rescue was difficult and at one point it seemed the dog had drowned.

"It was really a tough struggle. It kept slipping into the water and crawling back on top of the ice. At one point it vanished underwater, under the ship and we thought it was the end, but it emerged again and crawled on an ice sheet," Drgas said.

At that point, the crew lowered a pontoon down to the water and a crew member managed to grab the dog by the scruff of his neck and pull him to safety.

Too weak to shake off the frigid water, Baltic was dried and wrapped in blankets. After he warmed up, he was massaged, fed and soon got on his feet to seek company, Drgas said.

A firefighter in Grudziadz, on the Vistula river 60 miles (100 kilometers) inland from the Bay of Gdansk, told The Associated Press the dog was spotted Saturday floating on ice through the city. Firefighters tried to save him but could not approach the dog due to shifting ice sheets, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Baltica crew, now moored in the port city of Gdynia, have been searching for the dog's owners, ship captain Jerzy Wosachlo said. So far four people have claimed him, but Baltic has not claimed any of them back, Drgas said.

The dog didn't welcome the first two people to come for him, keeping his distance and showing no recognition toward a couple on Wednesday and a woman on Thursday who both said he was theirs. Two other would-be owners were still en route to Gdynia for a possible reunion.

Once in port, the brown-and-black mongrel was taken to a veterinarian, who found him in surprisingly good condition and estimated his age at around 5 or 6 years old. Veterinarian Aleksandra Lawniczak said the 44-pound (20-kilogram) dog was clearly frightened but in strikingly good shape and had suffered no frostbite.

A dog with thick fur and a layer of fat can survive such cold conditions for as long as eight days if it has water to drink, Lawniczak said.

She described Baltic as a friendly dog who was clearly well treated before getting lost. Wosachlo said the research team is prepared to adopt Baltic if his original owner is never found.

Portrait of "Deebs"

Teddy Hilton

Even if you don't like Perez Hilton, you have to like his dog. That little guy is ridiculous: