It's that time of year again: Take Your Dog To Work Day, an annual event founded by the group Pet Sitters International in 1999. 

Take Your Dog To Work Day was created to celebrate the human-animal bond and promote pet adoption, but there are other notable benefits to having animals in the workplace. One recent study out of Virginia Commonwealth University noted a correlation between the presence of an employee's pet and a lowering of stress levels. Times science writer Eryn Brown reported:

The VCU researchers divided 76 employees into three groups: those who brought their dogs to work, those who owned dogs but left them home and those who didn't have pets. For one week, the scientists measured levels of the stress hormone cortisol in samples of the workers' saliva and used surveys to gauge their stress levels four times during a workday.

There was no significant difference in cortisol levels among the study participants. But by the end of the day, the average stress level scores fell about 11% among people who had brought their dogs to work, while they rose as much as 70% for members of the other groups.

So which workplace is the dog-friendliest in the U.S.? Dog magazine The Bark recently bestowed that honor on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," where staffers' dogs roam freely throughout the office, have designated treat stations and lots of comfortable couches on which to nap. 

As for Stewart himself, he's a big dog lover. Though his own dogs don't come to work with him, his office is a frequent stop for staffers' dogs -- and he didn't even mind when The Bark's photographer took some shots of dogs sitting on his desk. 

One interesting aspect to bringing his dog Ally to work, supervising producer Tim Greenberg notes, is that she "seems to meet an inordinate number of our celebrity guests. I only know any of this because people show me pictures later. She met Betty White and I found out about it when I saw the video on YouTube."

Below, photos from Take Your Dog To Work Day participants:

Photos from Take Your Dog To Work Day

Storified by LA Times Unleashed · Fri, Jun 22 2012 16:20:10

If you can't wait another year to bring your dog back to the office, The Bark offers these tips to creating a dog-friendly workplace year-round. There's even a book, "Dogs at Work: A Practical Guide to Creating Dog-Friendly Workplaces," dedicated to the subject. Its authors are dog-training expert Liz Palika and Jennifer Fearing of the Humane Society of the United States, who successfully used the techniques described in it to persuade her own workplace to allow dogs in the office. 

Or you could just score a job at one of these already-dog-friendly companies. 

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Pets and your health: the good and the bad

Scientists do MRI scans on dogs, asking: What are they thinking?

-- Lindsay Barnett

First photo: Times reader Sandy's boxer just wants some attention. (Incidentally, you can share your own dog photos with us here.)

Second photo: Parker and Ally, dogs belonging to Daily Show staffers, sit atop Jon Stewart's desk. Credit: KC Bailey / Courtesy of The Bark

SEWARD, Alaska -- A beluga whale calf, believed to have been separated from his mother during a storm, has been rescued from Alaska's Bristol Bay.

The calf, estimated at 2 to 3 days old when it was found Monday, was taken in by the Alaska SeaLife Center, after attempts by others to encourage the calf to the open ocean failed.

This is the first beluga the center has housed.

President and CEO Tara Riemer Jones said the biggest challenge has been providing 24-hour care. She said staff from U.S. aquariums with experience with belugas have come or are coming to help.

Jones said a federal agency will ultimately decide placement of the animal, as he won't be released into the wild. Calves in the wild nurse for about two years.

RELATED: 

Japanese rescuers save finless porpoise stranded in rice paddy by tsunami

State troopers escort wayward sea lion off Oregon highway and return it to ocean

-- Associated Press

Photo: A rescued beluga whale calf swims at the Alaska SeaLife Center. Credit: Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — He needed a little push before speeding backward down a makeshift slide. Once in the water, he popped his head up for one last look. And then he was gone. The wayward emperor penguin known as "Happy Feet" was back home in Antarctic waters after an extended sojourn spent capturing hearts in New Zealand.

Happy Feet was released Sunday into the ocean south of New Zealand, more than two months after he came ashore on a beach nearly 2,000 miles (3,000 kilometers) from home and became an instant celebrity.

Speaking from a satellite phone aboard the research vessel Tangaroa, Wellington Zoo veterinarian Lisa Argilla said Happy Feet's release went remarkably smoothly given that the boat was being tossed about in 25-foot (8-meter) swells in the unforgiving Antarctic ocean.

Argilla said crew members from the boat carried the penguin inside his custom-built crate to the stern of the ship for his final send-off about 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) north of remote Campbell Island. The crew had already cut the engines and put in place a canvas slide that they soaked with water from a hose.

But when they opened the door of the crate, the penguin showed no interest in leaving.

"I needed to give him a little a tap on his back," Argilla said.

The penguin slipped down the slide on his stomach, bottom first, she said. He resurfaced about 6 feet (2 meters) from the boat, took a look up at the people aboard, and then disappeared beneath the surface.

"I was really happy to see him go," Argilla said. "The best part of my job is when you get to release animals back into the wild where they are supposed to be."

The 3-foot-tall (meter-tall) aquatic bird was found June 20 on Peka Peka Beach, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of New Zealand's capital, Wellington. It had been 44 years since an emperor penguin was last spotted in the wild in New Zealand.

At first, conservation authorities said they would wait and let nature take its course with the penguin. But it soon became clear the bird's condition was deteriorating, as he scooped up beaks full of sand and swallowed, likely mistaking it for snow, which emperor penguins eat for its moisture when in Antarctica.

With the world watching, authorities finally took action, moving the penguin to the Wellington Zoo four days after he was discovered.

At the zoo, the 3 1/2-year-old bird underwent numerous stomach flushing procedures to remove sand from his digestive system. He was given a makeshift home in a room that zoo staff kept filled with a bed of ice so he wouldn't overheat.

A local television station, TV3, set up a webcam and streamed images of the bird around-the-clock. Soon, Happy Feet had a quarter-million followers.

And, perhaps befitting of a bird from the Internet age, those followers will be able to keep track of him for a while longer. Happy Feet has been fitted with a GPS tracker, and his movements will be posted online. Argilla expects the tracker to fall off the next time the bird molts.

Argilla said the final boat journey, which began last Monday and ran into terrible weather, was difficult for her -- she got seasick -- and the crew. The one who seemed least bothered, she said, was Happy Feet, who rolled with the swells, slept standing up and took nips at the crew when they fed him fresh fish.

Now that Happy Feet has been nursed back to health, Argilla said his chances are as good as they are for any other penguin in the wild.

"He swam away, not caring about us anymore," Argilla said.

She paused.

"And that's a good thing," she said.

-- Nick Perry, Associated Press

Video: Happy Feet's release. Credit: schritzy via YouTube

The felines had been left with a company in Malaysia's central Selangor state that was supposed to take care of them while their owners returned to their hometowns for a week to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr.

Many owners became worried when they were later unable to contact company representatives. Rescue volunteers broke into the company's two facilities Sunday and discovered the emaciated cats lying in their own feces and urine in cages stacked atop each other.

Activists estimated that at least 12 cats were dead and that dozens more were missing. Police have questioned the company owner and an employee, but no arrests have been made.

The case has energized activists to push for stronger prosecution against people who mistreat animals, said Christine Chin, who heads the Malaysian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"There is no deterrent in this country for animal cruelty, so the problem just spreads," Chin said.

More than 7,500 people have joined a Facebook group created Monday demanding government action against the company that abandoned the cats. The animals' owners were also considering suing it for breach of contract, Chin said.

Chin said her organization receives about 200 complaints of animal mistreatment each month, mostly involving dogs. However, it has recorded only about five prosecutions by authorities in the last decade.

Malaysian laws provide for a 200-ringgit ($66) fine and a jail term of up to six months for people convicted of cruelty to animals. However, only one offender is known to have been jailed -- for a day -- after he kept his dog chained so tightly that it suffered a bloody neck wound, Chin said.

Government veterinarian resources are often focused on livestock and the prevention of disease outbreaks, with insufficient attention paid to animal cruelty, Chin added.

Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin, head of Malaysia's Veterinary Services Department, told reporters Monday there were already plans to introduce a law next year to raise the animal cruelty fine to 100,000 ringgit ($34,000).

Chin said activists also want offenders to be forced to undergo psychiatric treatment and be banned from owning pets.

-- Sean Young, Associated Press

Along with most of our sibling blogs here at The Times, we've made the switch to Facebook's commenting system. For most of you, we think this will be good news: It means that your comments will appear on the blog as soon as you post them, rather than waiting for a moderator's approval. Another bonus: The new system allows for comment "threading," meaning you can respond directly to another commenter.

One thing some of you may see as a downside: You do have to have a Facebook account in order to comment. These are free and easy to set up, and you can choose to share very little information about yourself if privacy issues are a big concern for you. When you post a comment using the new system, you'll have the option to either have your comment appear only on the blog or on both the blog and your own Facebook wall. To ensure that it doesn't show up on your personal wall, just uncheck the box that says "Post to Facebook."

Our site's managing editor, Jimmy Orr, went into more detail about the reasoning behind the move to Facebook comments in a post on our Readers' Representative blog in March.

Comments written before the switch are viewable by clicking "Archives" in the comment section at the bottom of each post.

One last thing: The fact that our system has changed doesn't mean our standards for commenting have. We still ask that you be respectful of other readers (even if you disagree with their points of view) and refrain from the use of profanity and vulgarity.

We hope you like the change. Thanks!

MORE ABOUT THE TIMES' COMMENTING POLICY:
• Online comments: 'Our goal of civility is falling short'
• On the Media: Your words, your real name

-- Lindsay Barnett

Top photo: Official "office assistant" Mia the kitten helps reader Lauren stay on top of her email. Credit: Lauren / Your Scene

Since my column on comics wunder mensch Stan Lee appeared, I've heard from loads of his fans –- and now, I've heard just what he’s a fan of.

The Primate Rescue Center in Nicholasville, Ky., is the beneficiary of Lee's pen and brain and heart. He and artist Dean Haspiel drew a zinger, a four-panel comic for the online charity graphic anthology called Panels for Primates, to benefit the center. Have a look.

The killing in the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Murders in Rue Morgue," often credited as the first detective story, was committed by an orangutan; maybe it's time for someone like Stan Lee to put the Spandex suit on a simian and make a superhero out of him for a change?

MORE POSTS ABOUT ANIMAL-FRIENDLY CELEBRITIES:
• Justin Bieber's hair helps rescued farm animals -- wait, what?
• Paul McCartney asks India's prime minister to declare a national Vegetarian Day

-- Patt Morrison

Photo: Lee arrives at the premiere of "Thor" in Hollywood on May 2, 2011. Credit: Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images

Nesari died in her sleep of old age on May 26, Dvur Kralove zoo spokeswoman Jana Mysliveckova said. She called the death "an irretrievable loss."

The rhino was brought to the zoo in 1975 from Sudan. Nesari's death leaves the zoo with one remaining northern white rhino, 30-year-old Nabire.

In an attempt to save the species from extinction, the Czech zoo moved four of its northern white rhinos to a game park in Kenya in December 2009, hoping it would be easier for them to breed there than in captivity.

Mysliveckova said few of these rhinos are now left: two at a zoo in San Diego; three or four believed to live in Sudan have not been seen since last year.

RELATED RHINO NEWS:
• Zimbabwe's rhinos are the targets of poachers with advanced technology
• Black rhinoceros who survived being shot by poachers is transported to South African zoo

-- Associated Press

When the rancor had subsided, state Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini III on Thursday ruled that Patrick the pit bull, the popular pooch found nearly starved to death in a Newark trash chute in March, will stay at an animal hospital while the criminal case against his owner proceeds.

The ruling ended -- for now -- a custody battle that has raged since the end of April, when Cassini issued an order that Patrick would stay at Garden State Veterinary Specialists, the Tinton Falls facility where he underwent surgery after he was discovered in mid-March at Newark's Garden Spires apartment complex.

"The judge considered the law and the evidence and ruled accordingly, and that means justice for Patrick," hospital administrator Patricia Smillie-Scavelli, who has been overseeing the dog's recovery, said outside court.

Associated Humane Societies, which initially treated Patrick at its Newark shelter before recommending he be moved to the animal hospital, filed a motion last month seeking to vacate Cassini's order and take possession of the dog. Cassini ruled Thursday that the state has the right to decide how and where to preserve evidence in a criminal case.

"This should not be subject to the whims and desires of those who claim an interest in him," the judge said. "American Humane Societies' interest that it had initially no longer exists."

The fuss can be explained in the context of Patrick's near-instant and startling celebrity: After word of the dog's plight reached the news wires, thousands of letters poured in from around the world to the Essex County prosecutor's office and the animal hospital. Smillie-Scavelli said she had received more than $30,000 within three days and ultimately had to ask people to stop donating. Patrick had hundreds of fans on Facebook before Smillie-Scavelli took the page down when the legal wrangling began.

Harry Levin, an attorney representing the humane society, accused the city of Newark of colluding with Smillie-Scavelli to capitalize on Patrick, whom he called "a cash cow." He added that an AHS vet saved the dog's life initially, and that the nonprofit organization's contract with Newark empowers it to arrange for his adoption.

William Strazza, representing Newark, returned the accusation and noted that AHS trademarked Patrick's name and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Newark last month, seeking to stop officials from mentioning the dog in public as part of Mayor Cory Booker's efforts to build a new animal shelter.

"If you follow the money trail, it leads back to Associated Humane every time," Strazza told the judge. "They're acting like a jilted lover. They should just go away."

Levin said AHS wants to keep the dog at its Popcorn Park Zoo, which caters to abused and neglected animals, and then find a home for him. Smillie-Scavelli has said she is interested in eventually adopting Patrick. Cassini didn't say Thursday how or whether he would rule on custody of the dog after the criminal case against former owner Kisha Curtis is resolved.

Curtis has pleaded not guilty to two fourth-degree animal-abuse offenses and two disorderly-conduct offenses.

-- David Porter, Associated Press

The Capital Area Humane Society says the fat cats are on sale this summer for $15 each or two for $20, instead of the usual $70 adoption price.

Development manager Mary Hiser says the cats packed on the pounds before arriving at the shelter, and the extra weight can cause them health problems.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that nine of the shelter's 55 cats are overweight. Volunteers keep them in an area that offers extra room to run and burn off calories.

The largest cat is a 6-year-old black-and-brown shorthair named Zebe, who weighs 23 pounds.

RELATED PET RESCUE NEWS:
• Animal lovers clamor to adopt Oklahoma puppy that survived euthanasia attempt
• OK Go's new music video features talented dogs (and raises money for homeless animals)

-- Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG — From giant palm trees to mouse-sized lemurs, unique plants and animals are threatened on Madagascar as political deadlock drags on after a 2009 coup.

The World Wildlife Fund conservation group drew attention to the Indian Ocean island's natural wealth in a report released Monday that looks at the more than 600 new species discovered on the island between 1999 and 2010. Many of the new finds are already endangered, the group said, in large part because deforestation is destroying their habitat.

"We as a species, the human race, we don't understand the complexities of the natural world around us," Richard Hughes, the WWF's Madagascar-based regional director, said in a telephone interview. Yet "we people are the one species with the most power to destroy or protect what's there."

Madagascar's rain forests, with their precious rosewood and other timber, were pillaged amid the instability and political and economic isolation that followed the 2009 coup, the WWF said in its report "Treasure Island: New biodiversity in Madagascar." The killing of forest animals, including lemurs, for food also increased, as did poverty as the crucial tourism trade suffered, the environmental group said.

Others have raised similar concerns. Shortly after the coup, Conservation International reported a "massive upsurge" in the illegal hunting of lemurs.

Russell Mittermeier, Conservation International's president, is a lemur expert, but said it's not just lemurs that are threatened. He has seen endangered tortoises from Madagascar offered for sale as pets on Chinese websites. Since the coup, Mittermeier said by telephone, "poaching of endangered species is rampant."

Mittermeier, who was not involved in the WWF report, called on international donors who have cut all but humanitarian aid in protest of the coup to resume support for environmental projects, through private development groups if not through the government. By the time the political crisis is resolved, the natural resources that draw tourists and drive the economy will have disappeared without the support, he said.

Since independence from France in 1960, stability and democracy have eluded Madagascar. Street protests toppled the first president two months into his second term, and the army has been deeply involved in politics.

In 2009, Andry Rajoelina, a former disc jockey then 34 years old -- too young to be president under a constitution he has since rewritten -- seized power with the army's backing.

Before taking over Rajoelina had led street protests for months accusing the democratically elected president, Marc Ravalomanana, of doing too little to help the impoverished majority. At one stage, Rajoelina supporters set fire to several buildings. Scores of people were killed. Days later, soldiers opened fire on antigovernment protesters, killing at least 25. The incident cost Ravalomanana much of the support of the military.

Ravalomanana has fled to exile in South Africa, and Rajoelina has resisted efforts by regional leader South Africa and other neighbors to restore democracy.

Hughes, of the WWF, said Madagascar's international isolation was understandable, but with dire environmental consequences.

The WWF has continued to work with government officials and local communities, trying to expand protected areas. But Hughes said the challenge has increased as the economy deteriorates.

Monday's WWF report describes recently discovered plants such as the massive Tahina palm, each of which produces just one spectacular flower before dying. The WWF says the Berthe's mouse lemur, discovered on Madagascar in 2000, weighs just 30 grams (about an ounce) and resembles a character in the DreamWorks cartoon "Madagascar."

A snake was discovered in Makira National Park but illegal logging may have reduced its population, the WWF said. Scientists also discovered a gecko that can quickly change its skin color from a subtle brown to a bright blue during courtship.

Mittermeier of Conservation International said his first survey of lemurs in 1994 identified 50 kinds found nowhere but Madagascar. His most recent survey identified 101.

"In spite of all the destruction, we're continuing to discover new species hand over fist," he said.

RELATED CONSERVATION NEWS:
• Captive orangutans in Indonesian sanctuary may be released thanks to development company
• Zimbabwe's rhinos are the targets of poachers with advanced technology

-- Donna Bryson, Associated Press

Photo: Ring-tailed lemurs, a species native to Madagascar, huddle next to a man-made baobab tree at the Expedition Madagascar exhibit at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo in 2010. Credit: Nati Harnik / Associated Press