Orillia

October 14, 2026

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On The Upside with Marley

Learning To Care For Something Besides Yourself

There are plenty of wonderful reasons to give a child a pet, but I think one of the greatest has very little to do with the animal itself.

A pet can teach a child how to care for someone besides themselves.

Children naturally begin life with most things being done for them. They’re fed, protected, comforted and reminded what they need to do. Then along comes a dog, cat, rabbit or even a hamster that needs something from them.

The water bowl is empty whether they feel like filling it or not. The dog needs outside even when their favourite television show is on. An animal can be frightened, lonely, hungry or simply looking for affection.

Slowly, a child begins learning to notice those needs.

That’s where something important happens.

Love stops being only something they receive and becomes something they learn to give.

They discover that caring isn’t always convenient. Sometimes it’s cleaning up a mess. Sometimes it’s being gentle when you’d rather play roughly. Sometimes it’s sitting quietly beside an animal that doesn’t feel well.

And eventually, there is another lesson. Pets don’t live forever. For many children, losing a beloved animal is their first real experience with grief. As painful as that is, it teaches them that loving something deeply is worth doing even when we know we can’t keep it forever.

Of course, children shouldn’t carry the entire responsibility for a family pet. That’s still an adult’s job.

But letting them participate in that care gives them something remarkably valuable.

They learn responsibility. Patience. Gentleness. Empathy.

Most importantly, they learn that another living creature is depending on them.

Learning how to care for an animal can be one of a child’s earliest lessons in learning how to care for others.

— Marley

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Do Our Pets Really Love Us?

Anyone with a dog waiting at the door or a cat determined to sleep directly on top of them probably already has an opinion.

But scientists have actually tried to investigate the question.

Neuroscientist Gregory Berns and his team at Emory University trained dogs to voluntarily enter an MRI scanner while awake and remain still enough for researchers to observe their brain activity.

Among the interesting findings was activity in the canine caudate, a brain region associated with positive expectations and rewards. Researchers also studied how dogs responded to familiar human scents.

The work doesn’t allow us to simply translate a dog’s thoughts into English, of course. But it has provided fascinating evidence that a dog’s relationship with its people involves much more than simply waiting for someone to open the food cupboard.

Anyone who has ever returned home after being gone for ten minutes and received a welcome appropriate for someone returning from a three-year expedition probably suspected that already.

Science is simply catching up.

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Why Do Cats Purr?

Most of us associate a purring cat with one thing: happiness.

And quite often, that’s exactly what it means.

A comfortable cat curled up on a warm lap may purr while being stroked, making the familiar vibration one of the nicest sounds in a pet owner’s home.

But cats also purr in other circumstances.

Some purr when frightened, stressed, injured or even while giving birth. Kittens can purr when they are only a few days old, and mother cats may purr while nursing.

Researchers therefore believe purring can serve several purposes, including communication and self-soothing.

Scientists are still studying exactly how cats produce the sound. Current explanations involve rapid movements within the larynx as the cat breathes in and out.

Whatever the precise mechanism, cats have managed to turn a low rumbling noise into an extraordinarily effective human-control system.

One purr and suddenly we’re rearranging ourselves on the sofa because apparently the cat was comfortable first.

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October 14, 1947: Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1.
October 19, 1781: British forces surrendered at Yorktown during the American Revolution.
October 22, 1962: President Kennedy announced a blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
October 24, 1945: The United Nations officially came into existence.
October 28, 1886: The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor.

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The Tooth Ferry

A group of dentists decided to open a new practice.

Competition in town was fierce, so they wanted something that would make their business completely different.

Eventually they bought a boat and moored it beside the river.

Patients could have their dental work done while being transported from one side of the river to the other.

The unusual business became surprisingly successful.

Before long, everybody in town knew it as…

The Tooth Ferry.

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The Chandelier

Two men were hired to work in an office building.

When the owner returned to check on them, one man was working diligently while the other was hanging from the ceiling.

“What are you doing up there?” the owner demanded.

“I’m a chandelier.”

The owner ordered him down.

A little later, he returned and found the man hanging from the ceiling again.

“That’s it! You’re fired!”

The man climbed down and left.

Immediately, the other worker began packing his tools.

“Where are you going?” asked the owner. “I didn’t fire you.”

The worker looked toward the ceiling.

“You don’t expect me to work in the dark, do you?”

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The Pirate’s Eye Patch

A man met a pirate in a pub and couldn’t resist asking about his injuries.

“How did you get the wooden leg?”

“Shark took me leg.”

“And the hook?”

“Lost me hand in a sword fight.”

The man pointed to the pirate’s eye patch.

“What happened to your eye?”

“Seagull dropping.”

The man looked confused.

“A seagull dropping cost you an eye?”

The pirate shook his head.

“No. It was me first day with the hook.”

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The Penny Scale

A husband stepped onto one of those old-fashioned penny scales that promised to reveal both your weight and your personality.

He inserted a coin and waited for the little card.

Then he read it proudly to his wife.

“Listen to this! It says I’m energetic, intelligent, resourceful and a wonderful person.”

His wife took the card and studied it.

“Interesting.”

“See?” he said proudly.

She handed it back.

“It has your weight wrong too.”

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Ordering At The Library

A man walked up to the desk in a library and announced loudly:

“I’d like two hamburgers, an order of fries and a coffee.”

The librarian stared at him.

“Sir,” she whispered sternly, “this is a library.”

The man looked embarrassed.

“Oh! I’m terribly sorry.”

He leaned closer to the desk and whispered:

“I’d like two hamburgers, an order of fries and a coffee.”

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[Insert “My Udder Half” Cartoon Here]

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Editor’s Quote Book

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

— Anatole France

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Trivia Quiz

(Click Question For Answer)

 

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Your Horoscope

For Amusement Only

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Going To The Dogs

A man walked into a pet shop and said:

“I’d like a pet parrot for my daughter.”

The owner shook his head.

“Sorry, sir. We don’t do swaps.”

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The Seagull

Why are seagulls called seagulls?

Because if they flew over the bay, they’d be bagels.

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The Newt

If I had a pet newt, I’d call him Tiny.

Because he’d be my newt.

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The Crocodile

What’s a crocodile’s favourite card game?

Snap.

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The Baby Ape

What do baby apes sleep in?

Apricots.

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Marley’s Video Pick

How Do Dogs “See” With Their Noses?

Anyone who has ever walked a dog knows that what should be a ten-minute walk can become a half-hour investigation of every tree, post and suspicious blade of grass.

There’s a reason. A dog’s experience of the world through smell is astonishingly richer than ours. In this short TED-Ed animation, canine cognition expert Alexandra Horowitz explains the remarkable biology behind a dog’s nose and how scent allows dogs to gather information about their surroundings that humans completely miss.

It’s a fascinating four-minute look at just how differently our four-legged family members experience the very same world we do.

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The Last Word

“One of the best ways to teach a child about love is to give them something they can love back.”

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