Pets in the paper – unBEARable!
OK, so we only have one animal story in The Oklahoman today. And I wrote it. So this is it -
- Zoo’s Will, Wiley can’t bear any more wintry weather. (Oklahoma City) ( Get it? They can’t bear it, like bare it. They’re bears.)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pets in the paper – smacking the shark
Check out these animal stories in The Oklahoman today -
- Bashing shark saves girl. (New Zealand)
- Groundhogs not welcome. (statewide, page 1D)
- Bee sting helps MS patient feel better. (nationwide, page 2D)
- Exotic pets stalk viewers. (nationwide, page 1D)
- Dear Abby: Older man questions whether to adopt a dog. (Nevada)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Phil must be stopped
I’m anti-Groundhog Day.
It’s not that I dislike the sentiment. Punxsutawney Phil looks cute enough when they take him out of that stump, and I have no more problem with a groundhog weatherman than a human one.
What bothers me is that Phil always sees his shadow, as he did again this morning. According to Wikipedia, the little hairball has predicted an early spring only 15 times in 114 years. That works out to about 13 percent.
I’m a warm weather person. This has been an especially hard winter with all the ice and snow, and I, for one, am ready for it to end. Although I’m not ready to take rash measures like Bill Murray’s character in the movie “Groundhog Day,” I am launching a protest against Phil until he becomes more early-spring friendly.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Furry weatherman to try texting
In this Feb. 2, 2009 file photo, John Griffiths, a handler of the weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, holds Phil in the air after removing him from his stump at Gobbler's Knob on Groundhog Day, in Punxsutawney, Pa. The state's tourism department says Phil will text his weather prediction to those who sign up to have texts sent to their mobile phones. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The world’s most famous animal weatherman, Punxsutawney Phil, will try some new technology this Groundhog Day.
Phil will text his weather prediction to those who text “groundhog” to 247375.
Mickey Rowley, Pennsylvania’s deputy tourism secretary, said he realizes that not everyone can come to Punxsutawney for Groundhog Day, so this is a good way to get the word out.
On Feb. 2, Phil will come out of his home in the morning to make his annual prediction. If he can’t see a shadow, it means we are in for an early spring. If he sees his shadow, prepare for six more weeks of winter.
Each year, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania to find out whether Phil sees his shadow. Members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club pull the marmot from its hiding spot and, they say, listen for his prediction in a language they call “groundhog-ese.”
Thankfully, the text will be translated into English.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
