If you are like most people then you are likely fascinated with the ocean and all the creatures inside it. While we can talk forever about massive whales, scuttling squids, and scary sharks, we’d rather highlight a cute little crustacean known as the hermit crab. Now, you’ve likely heard of the hermit crab and, perhaps, you even know what it looks like. As a member of the superfamily known as the Paguroidea, hermit crabs manage to stand out all on their own. In fact, after learning about this natural ritual that hermit crabs complete, you might even want one of your own!

In a post shared on Facebook by a user named Melody Flowers, it was revealed that hermit crabs are always looking for bigger shells to live in. While you probably knew this already, what you didn’t realize about this ritual is far more fascinating. According to the post, which has since been backed up by other scientific journals, hermit crabs like to line up next to shells that happen to be too big for them. Hermit crabs can wait for up to eight hours for another crab to come along and try the shell out. Why do these crabs wait next to shells that are too large for them? As it turns out, the first hermit crab is simply waiting for the second crab in line to discard its shell. 

So we outlined a natural ritual that hermit crabs undertake when finding a new home. Why is this so fascinating? While you may have summoned up an image of two hermit crabs swapping shells, that isn’t entirely accurate. As the second crab lines up behind the shell, more will come to follow. Before long, observers would be able to watch as dozens of hermit crabs all trade shells with one another to ensure that everyone has a comfortable home to live in. The smallest shell of the bunch gets left behind while the shell that started the queue will go to the largest hermit crab of the lot. That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? The coordination and cooperation that these hermit crabs have to deploy is nothing short of impressive. If only humans could get along so well when it comes to making to sure everyone is comfortable and safe within their home.

Even though hermit crabs will work together in order to find homes, they are still a competitive species. Gastropod shells can become a limited resource due to a variety of natural and unnatural factors, such as climate change and pollution. When hermit crabs are of a similar size, they are more competitive and violent with one another. When hermit crabs vary dramatically in size, there are more resources available for every member of the group.  Hermit crabs are a fascinating sort of creature because they can come in varying sizes with a lifespan ranging between 12 and 70 years.  The next time that you see a hermit crab, make sure it has the perfect shell to call home. Maybe it will remember you a couple of decades later!

It is no surprise when we hear about another dog who has saved the day and become a hero. Duke is the name of a Belgian Malinois who works with his human partner, Corona Police Officer Michael Neff. They are true partners, spending time together and working hard. One night Duke stepped up and saved the day in a way his human partner couldn’t.

Belgian Malinois Police Dogs

Many people don’t realize that Belgian Malinois are often trained to be police dogs. They have a lot of characteristics that make them really great at the job. One of their best qualities is their highly developed sense of smell, which makes them able to detect everything from drugs to explosives to cheetah scat.

Another great thing about Belgian Malinois is that they’re great running partners. They are medium to large-sized dogs that have no trouble keeping up with even a fit running partner. Belgian Malinois have a lot of energy and quick, active minds, with a strong protective instinct. All those things plus a great sense of smell make them great police dog candidates.

Domestic Offender

A California woman filed a protective order against her estranged husband so she could try to keep herself safe from him. One day, he ignored the order and went to her workplace in direct violation. Not only did he break the law by approaching her after he’d been ordered not to, but he also tried to hit his wife with his car.

Thankfully, the police were quick on the scene to confront the 31-year-old man who was trying to stalk and injure his wife. But when they tried to confront him, he took off in his vehicle.

California Protective Orders

In order to get a protective order in California, you need to be able to prove that you were abused (or threatened) and that you had a certain kind of close relationship, such as husband/wife or parents sharing a child. At the very least, the protective order will tell the offender to stay away from the protected person, including that person’s school or work. If the person violates the order, he or she could go to jail or be forced to pay a fine.

Duke Takes Over

It wasn’t just one officer trying to stop the husband; there were several officers involved in a vehicle chase. They tried to coordinate a pit maneuver to stop the car, but the suspect was still in his vehicle refusing to cooperate. 

At that point, the police fired rubber bullets into the driver’s side window, breaking the safety glass. Then Duke did a mighty jump straight through the shattered window to nab the suspect, who stood no chance against the mighty jaws of the Belgian Malinois police dog.

Happily, Duke was fine after the incident, even though he and his partner had a long night. Duke didn’t ask for much in the way of a reward; he was satisfied with some extra hugs and praise before he finally got to go home and get some rest.

Pet Homelessness in the US

It is estimated that about 6.5 million pets enter shelters every year in the United States, and that number is about evenly split between cats and dogs. That number has gone down in recent years, as has the number of cats and dogs euthanized in shelters.

Over 3 million pets are adopted every year, and over 700,000 make their way back to their own families. Clearly, homelessness for pets is a huge problem, and there isn’t a happy ending for every poor animal that ends up on the streets.

Dog Adopts Family

One morning a family woke up to find that they had been adopted by a new puppy. While the family was sleeping, the dog, a lab mix, made his way into the home and got comfortable. 

The dad of the family, Jack, found the puppy and immediately wondered where he came from and how he got in. He checked all the doors and windows, which were closed securely. He also went to social media to see if he could find out what was going on.

Twitter Search

In hope that someone would be able to help with more information, Jack posted a picture of the puppy on Twitter and added the caption “I just woke up to find this puppy in my house and we have no idea how it got here.” 

People found the story very interesting, and the picture and caption were shared among a lot of people. Finally, someone checked the security cameras in the area and found the answer to the mystery.

Helpful Neighbor Helps Sleep-Deprived New Parents

Jack Joniken and his wife had just had a new baby and were operating under a great deal of sleep deprivation. Sleep-deprived people make some careless mistakes, such as forgetting things. One of the things they forgot that fateful night was to close the front door.

Jack was worried enough about security that when he found the puppy the first thing he did was run a security sweep to make sure there was no one else in the house. Leaving the door open was dangerous, but it was a complete accident. 

A neighbor was walking by and saw the door standing open and closed it to help his neighbors stay safe. Caught on camera, Jack doesn’t actually know who he is but is grateful to him. In a time where people are afraid to have presents delivered on Christmas, this helpful soul went by and, instead of taking anything, simply made sure the place was secure.

So Where Did the Dog Come From?

Jack already had one dog, and he had taken the other dog out for a walk that night. After returning home, he didn’t close the door all the way and the wind blew the door open wider. When the puppy walked by, he simply walked through the open door. 

New Member of the Family

Jack took the puppy to a vet, where he found out he had an older girl, about 9 years old. She only looked like a puppy because she was so malnourished. She also had fleas, damaged teeth, and some other problems.

Regardless, she is now Suzyn Pupman and she gets along great with the other dog in the house. Suzy looks and feels a lot better, and she has a loving family and a warm place to sleep. If she had another family before, the clearly did not take care of her. She won’t have to worry about that anymore, though.

It’s unfortunate that the idea persists in society that women are not capable of working as firefighters. As women have become increasingly prominent in other industries that have been traditionally dominated by males such as construction and logging, their numbers on the ranks of firefighting squads continue to remain low. 

Take the Fire Department of New York as an example. In 2018, five women succeeded in graduating from New York City’s Fire Academy. While some progress has been made for women in the FDNY since the fire department lost a gender discrimination lawsuit back in 1982, there are still fewer than one percent of firefighters for the department who are female. While fire departments in cities such as Seattle, Minneapolis, and Miami have more women, the average for fire departments across the nation is only about five percent female. 

Historically, women have long been successfully putting out fires in this country. Back in 1815, Molly Williams volunteered to serve at the firehouse fo New York City’s Oceanus Engine Company No. 11. Williams was a female slave working with a company that was not only all male, but all white as well. Williams was offered a job after she single-handedly handled a call when every man in the company was unable to handle the call because of being infected by the flu. 

Another early female firefighter in the US was Emma Vernell. She was 50 years old when she became the first woman to work as a firefighter in the state of New Jersey. 

Some people continue to wonder if women are really capable of working as firefighters. One needs only look at statistics to find an answer to this quandary. Consider statistics from the national Candidate Physical Abilities Test that firefighters need to pass. In 2008, 70 percent of all women who took the exam passed. This figure is not significantly far behind the percentage of men who passed the exam. In the same year, 75 percent of men passed. This shows that women are not statistically far behind men in taking the exam and passing or failing is more a matter of individual capabilities than a question of gender. 

It’s likely that women remain underrepresented in the firefighting profession because of traditionally perceived gender roles. Fire departments all over the country have been found to have testing and qualification procedures that not only discriminate against women, but also against minorities as well. Available equipment is often designed to fit men rather than women. Also, harassment toward women is rampant in some departments. 

Nevertheless, women succeed in careers as firefighters. In fact, hundreds of women have attained the rank of captain or lieutenant in their careers as firefighters. In fact, the city of San Francisco fire department was led by a woman, Chief JoAnne Hayes-White, as of 2004. 

It’s important that people realize that females are perfectly capable of serving as firefighters because, as a female Wisconsin firefighter once remarked, “No one cares if you’re a woman when their house is on fire”. 

This is a true account of how a young mother persevered and went on to become a lawyer.  The concurrent story here is how an empathetic judge came to her rescue while conducting her swearing-in ceremony.  Read on for the heartwarming details.

The young lady in this feature is Mrs. Juliana Lamar of Tennessee.  Juliana had three main goals in life.  She wanted to be a wife, a mother and an attorney.  Little did she know that all three were going to come true within a relatively short time span. 

Not long after marrying, Juliana enrolled in law school.  The facility she had chosen was “Belmont University College of Law,” which was located in Tennessee.  While she was plugging along and religiously attending all of her classes without interruption, she became pregnant.  However, Mrs. Lamar did not let that slow her down. 

Throughout her pregnancy, Juliana worried about what would happen when it was time to deliver her baby.  Would she have to miss her classes?  How would she make up that time?  Like a true champion, she resolved all of her issues.  In October of 2018, Mrs. Lamar delivered her precious baby boy, Beckham.  Much to the surprise of her loved ones and professors, she was back in the classroom the very next day. 

Fast forward a little bit to the recent past.  At only 27 years old, Juliana Lamar was about to be sworn in as a lawyer during an impressive ceremony.  At the Tennessee Supreme Court she was preparing to do just that.  As her family and friends gathered to attend her big day, her son Beckham (who was now 1 year old) became incredibly fussy.  Nobody else could calm him down, Beckham wanted Mommy.

The good Lord only knows if any other judge would have done this; however, Judge Richard Dinkins was an extremely compassionate judge.  He spotted little Beckham in the crowd and noticed the baby was particularly fussy.  So he went into action.

This kind judge went right over to the baby and picked him up.  Judge Dinkins said aloud that this was an important day for Beckham too and he needed to take part in it.  So the judge held the baby boy all through the ceremony as he swore in Juliana.  How fantastic was that?  Mommy became a lawyer and baby Beckham was comforted by the very judge that performed the service. 

One lesson can be imparted from Juliana Lamar herself.  That is to all young women, even those who are experiencing motherhood, do not let anything stop you.  Have goals and dreams for yourself and do not allow anyone or any issues deter you from making them all come true.  Whatever those dreams are – GO FOR THEM ALL!!!

This is for the other adults in the lives of those young women.  That is to provide unequalled love and support for them.  Help young women, and young men too, achieve their goals and dreams.  Using Judge Richard Dinkins as an inspiration to yourself, go above and beyond your duties to help someone else succeed.  Make their success a team effort.

No matter what walk of life you come from, no matter what has gone on in your world, you can turn that around and become successful.  You CAN definitely dare to dream and do everything in your power to make those dreams come true.  Take control of your life and live it well.