Odd News
Meet Dr Moose – the therapy dog awarded honorary doctorate degree
Virginia Tech has awarded an honorary doctorate degree to one of its most beloved staffers: a therapy dog named Moose.
Like most other universities, USA’s Virginia Tech celebrated the class of 2020 with a graduation ceremony conducted online amid the coronavirus pandemic.
During the virtual commencement ceremony on Friday, eight-year-old Moose was awarded an honorary doctorate in veterinary medicine.
In a statement released online, the university said it was recognising the work of Dr Moose Davis, who has “spent a career serving and supporting the university community.”
The Labrador Retriever has been with the university since 2014 and is one of four dogs serving at the Cook Counseling Center.
“The students here talk a lot about how Moose has broken down the stigma around mental health care on campus,” owner Trent Davis, a counselor and coordinator of the university’s Animal-Assisted Therapy program, told said.
“Veterinarians are unfortunately a very challenged population. They have high rates of suicide, and this profession can be quite disturbing. He has really helped the students and staff at Virginia Tech and has gotten a lot of recognition for that.”
Dr Moose has been helping students and staff despite his own health problems – he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, for which he has undergone radiation, chemotherapy, and other therapies.
His treatment is ongoing but he remains his usual cheerful self, said Moose’s owner.
Moose has aided in more than 7,500 counseling sessions and over 500 outreach events in his six years at Virginia Tech. When he is not at work, the pooch enjoys swimming, snacking and playing tug-of-war.
– ndtv.com
Odd News
Message in bottle floats from Canada to Ireland in 13 years
A message in a bottle launched by visitors to Newfoundland’s Bell Island was found washed up on an Irish beach nearly 13 years later, after apparently crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Kate Gay said she was walking a Dingle Peninsula beach this week when she spotted the wine bottle with a sheet of paper inside.
Gay showed the bottle to members of Creative Ireland NeartnaMacharaí during a meeting at her house that evening, and they broke the bottle open.
The note, written by a couple named Brad and Anita, was dated Sept. 12, 2012. The letter described the couple’s day trip to Bell Island.
There was a phone number on the letter, but there was no answer when group members tried to call.
The Maharees Heritage and Conservation group posted photos of the bottleto social media on Monday, and within an hour group members were messaging with Anita.
Group member Martha Farrell said Anita reported that she and Brad had married in 2016 and are still together to this day. -upi.com
Odd News
Woman earns world record for collection of 15,485 egg cups
A Spanish woman who has been collecting egg cups for over 50 years earned a Guinness World Record when her collection was tallied at 15,485 items.
María José Fuster recruited two witnesses to help her tally her collection at a community center in her hometown of Campo, Spain.
Fuster’s collection includes multiple patterns, colors, designs and even novelty cups bearing the images of characters including Superman, Betty Boop and Garfield.
Fuster maintains two blogs related to her hobby — one to catalog each piece, and one to list the names of the people who have donated egg cups to her collection.
Some of her most prized egg cups, about 1,143 of them, are currently on display at a local museum.
-upi.com
