Rescue dog that now only answers to French accent https://t.co/UDbpTrguN7 pic.twitter.com/qCqAdeq28c

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) November 8, 2015

Sacré bleu! Ce petit chien aime le français!

This is Archie, a Jack Russell Terrier was a stray before being rescued by the Dogs Trust in western London. He's lived there for the past 8 months. His most frequent companion has been Marie-Helene Leoni, a teacher who volunteers at the animal shelter on the weekends. She's French, so when she speaks English, she does so with a French accent.

Now, the shelter staff has discovered, Archie will respond to them only when they speak in a fake French accent. The Daily Telegraph reports:

She has been taking Archie for walks near her home in Maida Vale, London, and even started singing French children's songs to him.

And when he returns to the rehoming centre after weekends away with Miss Leoni, he will only react to commands in a similar accent.

This has forced staff at the centre to adopt French accents when interacting with the canine, who was rescued after his owner abandoned him in Ireland.

Rachel Kauffman and her foster dog Hank | Image: Mark Weber 

Rachel Kauffman, a veterinary tech residing in Memphis, Tennessee, already had two dogs at home and another she was fostering. She had no plans to expand her menagerie. Yet when she saw a picture of Hank, a beautiful white shepherd, in a newspaper, his expression of fear and sadness tugged at her every proverbial heartstring. Hank needed a home; he was too thin and sick with heartworm. That was October 22. 

That day, Kauffman brought Hank to her home. Seemingly quite happy with his new surroundings, Hank bonded with Rachel and her animals. She could tell that Hank enjoyed the newfound attention and the walks that they all took. Yet as planned, six days later Kauffman handed Hank over to a longer-term foster care situation in which he could further convalesce. 

But Hank evidently couldn't get his first foster mom and her loving home out of his mind. When his new foster parent left home and locked Hank in, he managed to unlock the door and bounce. 

Read about Hank's eleven mile trek across town to return to Rachel's house and see a video of their reunion (in which Hank is seen beaming, despite the footage being blurry) here. Via Arbroath

T.J. Browne, Jr. celebrated National Cat Day by feeding his many, many cats while wearing a startlingly realistic cat mask.

They were less than pleased that the human had become one of them. You can watch the full video here (content warning: foul language).

-via Gifsboom

Goliath, a calf rescued from a dairy farm by his human Shaylee Hubbs, may think he's a dog, like his housemate Leonidas. Goliath was sickly from birth, and Hubbs saved the calf's life by bringing him home and nursing him to his current healthy state.

Leonidas, the Hubbs family dog, is a Great Dane who took to Goliath immediately. He would often lick the calf in the face and nudge him when he was sick in an attempt to get him to stand. Hubbs told Country Living magazine, 

"He would lay down with the sick little cow for hours just to keep him company. The Great Dane and [Goliath] became the best of friends.​"

Hubbs didn't realize the extent of Goliath's comfort with his new surrounds until one morning when she went to the barn to feed her other animals. Upon returning from the barn, she couldn't find Goliath. Hubbs said she was panicked until,

"We found, lounging ever so comfortably on our couch, Goliath! This was triumph and victory, a nice comfortable place on the couch!​"

Way to assimilate, little guy! 

As it should be for all lovable dog/calf hybrids, Goliath can be followed on social media via Twitter.  

Via My Modern Met | Images: Shaylee Hubbs

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In this beautiful footage, two tiny caracal kittens named Nandi and Nisha warily explore their enclosure at the Oregon Zoo wth their mother Peggy. Caracal cats, native to Africa, Central Asia, Southwest Asia and India, are not a common sight in nature, as the species is shy as well as nocturnal. The cat's name comes from the Turkish word "karakulak," meaning "black ear."

Read more about Nandi and Nisha here. 

Via Laughing Squid

Drake’s new song "Hotline Bling" has become quite the hit. Mike Lavin likes it. Even his cat gets down to the groove!

(vimeo link)

What was that about pets and their owners looking alike? You have to admit the song has a hypnotic beat. These two may have rocked themselves to sleep. -via reddit

If you’ve never kept small furry pets in a cage before, it may be hard to tell a hamster from a gerbil from a mouse from a Guinea pig. Hamsters have some features that make them well-adapted for their former wild environment, but also make them quite unique among pets.

(YouTube link)

The takeaway from the video is that hamsters are basically liquid and can change their shape as needed. -via Digg 

(Photo: Linda Bahnson)

Years ago, David Bahnson, a retired orthopedic surgeon in Vermont, wanted to share his enjoyment of kayaking with his dogs. So he placed his dog, Susie, in the luggage compartment. After getting a second dog, Ginger, he cut another hole in his boat for her.

Those dogs have passed on and now Bahnson has two more dogs. They, like their predacessors, love to go kayaking. The Dodo quotes Bahnson:

"They are trained to get in the kayak themselves on command. They sit down, and off we go. When we come ashore, they'll stay seated until I tell them it's OK to get out. They never hopped out into the water, actually," he said, adding that the dogs are strong swimmers regardless.

"I love my dogs. I love training them, the companionship. We've gone miles and miles of paddling with our dogs," said Bahnson. "They just really enjoy going places."

-via Laughing Squid

You've heard that the best gift you can give a cat is the box it came in. However, a foot warmer appears to be quite popular with these two kittens. There’s your purrfect Christmas gift for the cat! I have four good-sized cats, so I can see having to get four of them to avoid fights, or five if I ever want to use one myself. -via reddit

Baron Vom Herrn (you can call him Baron) is a German Shepherd. He's the caregiver for a little boy named Zander. When it's time for bed, Baron is in charge. He makes sure that Zander takes care of all of his affairs and enjoys a warm and loving bedtime. At the end, he turns off the lights so that the boy can get a good night's sleep. 

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Good dog!

-via Tastefully Offensive

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Willow is an acutely adorable miniature pig who has found a new love in life: leaf piles! The enthusiastic noises she makes and her deliriously happy spins and jumps are quick evidence of her intelligence and ample ability to be playful and experience joy. Via The Dodo

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According to her human Ahon Sarkar, Nyx the Bernese mountain puppy has been timid and anxious since being brought to her new home. In trying things to make it easier on the pup, Sarkar found a winning solution with his guitar. Nyx was having trouble falling asleep in her crate until Sarkar gave the pup her first experience hearing the sounds of soft guitar strumming. It wasn't long before the puppy's eyelids were drooping, then dropping into shut position. Sleep well, little cutie. Via Uproxx

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"Cows, like dogs and humans, experience joy." We are thus informed by Animal Place, an animal rescue sanctuary in Vacaville, California. On this 600-acre facility, neglected farm animals can find new and joyful lives.

In this video, Panda (black and white) and Jazzy (brown) arrive and immediately make new friends. Everyone in the herd, both old members and new, is happy at the new arrivals. They run and romp in the fields together.

-via Tastefully Offensive

Nobody knows what it's like to be a dark and brooding Goth forced to live among the brightly colored masses, but these chicken know all about life on the dark side.

They were born to be full-blown Goths, with feathers as black as midnight and foppish hairdos that would make Robert Smith green with envy.

The Black Silkie and the Ayam Cemani are prized for their unusual jet black coloration, and while both have black skin under their feathers the Ayam Cemani also have black muscles and organs, which makes them the most Goth animals on the planet.

(YouTube Link)

-Via Dangerous Minds

Wayne Burns keeps his cats--and himself--entertained by encouraging them to surf down the stairs in a cardboard box. They need just a bit of encouragement to climb in. A laser pointer is sufficient for the task.

-via Gifsboom