‘I watched Leo walk over to the phone and stare directly into my eyes.’
A boyfriend’s video phonecall with his sleepy girlfriend has delivered him to viral stardom, after she fell asleep and her dog took over the conversation.
Sam Stine was on FaceTime with Brookelyn Bilski, whose dog Leo walked over into the view of the camera after she had drifted off.
“I watched Leo walk over to the phone and stare directly into my eyes,” Mr Stine, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told the Press Association.
The post of four-year-old Leo on the phone call has been shared tens of thousands of times on Twitter and inspired others to share similar moments with their remote animals.
“I’m really surprised by the amount of attention the post got,” added Mr Stine. “Really glad people appreciate Leo as much as we do.”
Mr Stine said he had a “deep conversation about mental health and our feelings” with Leo.
NEW YORK (AP) — The animal rights group PETA's lawsuit over the health of French bulldogs and some other popular dog breeds has been dismissed, with a judge saying a New York law was misapplied to the case.
The suit, filed last year, marked a new front in the PETA's long-running campaign against dog breeders. The case accused the American Kennel Club of promulgating unhealthy “standards,” or ideals, for Frenchies — the nation's most prevalent dog breed, by the club's count — as well as bulldogs, Chinese shar-peis, dachshunds and pugs. The AKC, the nation's oldest purebred dog registry, rejected the claims and said it prioritizes canine health.
Club President Gina DiNardo hailed the decision Tuesday.
“We remain focused on what matters most, the preservation of purebred dogs, advocating for all dogs and the people who care for them, and supporting the right of individuals and families to choose the dog that is right for their household,” she said in a statement.
PETA, also called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said its lawyers were assessing any legal options.
“Money-grubbing dog merchants flood the market with deformed dogs bred at the AKC’s direction,” founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. She urged people to adopt dogs from shelters instead of buying purebred pups: “No dog should be custom-made for a look that causes pain.”
The suit invoked a New York law that is generally used to challenge state and local government decisions, though it's occasionally applied to private organizations. But those have been organizations with some authority over the people suing them, such as union members bringing complaints about their leadership or co-op apartment residents suing their building's board, state Judge David B. Cohen said in a decision filed Monday.
Since PETA isn't subject to the kennel club's authority, the case “must be dismissed,” he wrote, without opining on the dog health issues at the heart of the case.
It focused on canine ailments that can be associated with flat faces — such as those of bulldogs, pugs and Frenchies — or with the short legs and long backs that dachshunds have. Shar-peis, meanwhile, may suffer spates of fever and inflammation known as “shar-pei autoinflammatory disease.”
The problems aren't universal but can be serious.
PETA had wanted the judge to order the AKC to stop using the “standards” for those breeds. The standards guide dog show judges and many breeders.
The AKC has said the standards — which fanciers develop and the kennel club reviews and circulates — reflect “decades of collaboration with veterinary experts and breeders.” The kennel club says it has given over $40 million since 1995 to its canine health research charity.
FILE - French bulldogs compete in breed group judging during the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, May 13, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)
FILE - A Shar-Pei puppy naps in the back of a minivan in a parking lot in Kalispell, Mont., April 21, 2004. (Robin Loznak/Daily Inter Lake via AP, File)
FILE - The pug group is judged outside at the 145th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, June 12, 2021, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
