Discovery News has a story today that says a lot about how long humans and dogs have been part of each other's lives.

Remains of a dog who lived in Siberia more than 7,000 years ago suggest the dog lived and died alongside humans -- who thought highly enough of the canine to give him or her a human-like burial.

The dog was carefully laid to rest lying on his right side in a grave pit that, at other levels, also contained five partial human skeletons.

DNA and stable isotope analysis determined the animal was indeed a dog and that he ate exactly what humans at the site consumed: fish, freshwater seal
meat, deer, small mammals, and some plant foods. (Read the full article at DiscoveryNews.com.)

The dog, like the humans, probably had a tough life. The condition of his spine indicates he was used to carry heavy loads, and other bone fractures suggest he was injured many times, possibly by deer he was hunting. "The researchers cannot rule out that humans hit the dog," Discovery News reporter Jennifer Viegas writes, "but its older age at burial, food provisions, and more suggest otherwise."

Ollie's Place, a cat adoption center operated by Mighty Mutts in New York City, recently found a unique way to celebrate a special bond between two adoptable cats: It held the world's first same-sex cat wedding.

The "tail-joining" ceremony united Solomon and Bruno, two adult males who depend on each other and are looking for a forever home they can go to together.

I recently caught up with the man behind Solomon and Bruno's wedding, Ollie's Place volunteer Mike DiCerto, and asked him about the Jan. 27 ceremony. Get the inside scoop -- and watch the video Mike made about Solomon and Bruno's wedding -- after the jump!

Mary Lempert is the founder and manager of The Rabbit Advocate, where this blog post originally appeared. She has served as a rabbit behavior and rehabilitation consultant for the House Rabbit Society, House Rabbit Network and the MSPCA in Massachusetts and, most recently, for the Almost Home Humane Society in Lafayette, IN. She lives in West Lafayette, IN, with her rabbits Graysie and Willoughby and any number of foster bunnies.

Most rabbit-parents know that rabbits are not cheap pets -- their medical care as exotic animals can add up, and they seem to love chewing on your most expensive items (clothes, furniture, equipment, etc.). However, there are several easy ways to reduce the costs of their daily care and manage your rabbit expenses more effectively. Here are just a few:

Hay: Buy in bulk from the farm
Buying small bags of hay from pet stores can get expensive fast! Buying hay directly from a farmer can cut costs way down. Ordering hay in 50-lb. boxes online from farms is already a bargain compared to the small bags from pet stores, but taking a trip to a local farmer to buy a bale is really the way to go. A bale of Timothy hay, which can last several months, typically costs about $10. (Learn more about the types of hay that are good for rabbits.)

Here's another great found-pet reunion story from our partner, HomeAgain.

Learn more about the benefits of registering your pet's microchip with HomeAgain.

Spike Ran Out the Pet Sitter's Cat Door - From Robyn in Clearwater, FL

We took our first vacation since getting Spike and his sister in April of 2009 and went up to New Jersey for a long weekend to visit friends and family. A friend in Tampa (the next city over) was to watch
Spike for the weekend so that he could play with her Boxer. We dropped him off at 10 a.m. on Friday and by 7 p.m. Spike made his way through their cat door and out into the neighborhood.

Today is the Humane Society of the United States' 17th annual Spay Day, dedicated to spreading the word about the importance of spaying and neutering pets.

To celebrate, shelters, rescue groups and vets' offices around the world are holding low- or no-cost spay/neuter clinics. If you know someone who hasn't yet had their pet altered, let them know they can find a clinic near them at HSUS's website.

There are other fun opportunities are out there as well -- the Bayonne Feral Cat Foundation in New Jersey needs volunteers to help put up flyers today, and the Lowell Humane Society in Massachusetts is hosting a "Spay-ghetti" dinner and fundraiser, to name just two. (Find a Spay Day event near you.)

Sandie Dawley wanted to adopt a pet. The Pawtucket, RI, woman has permanent inner ear nerve damage, making her balance unsteady, and the resulting vertigo keeps her from driving.

"It's an invisible disability, but I'm no longer able to work," she says, which means she spends most of her time at home alone.

But what kind of pet? She is allergic to cats and thought a dog would be too much work. "My boyfriend thought of a bunny and started looking online."

She adopted Puddin' through Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue in Foster, RI. Sandy soon learned that life with a rabbit can also keep a person hopping.

Puddin's cage is in the bedroom, but she likes to spend time with the family in the living room. The uncarpeted floors between the two frightened her, so Sandie made a path with throw rugs.

It seems like a no-brainer that smoking around your pet is bad. But how dangerous is secondhand smoke to pets? After all, your pet's not getting that much exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, right?

Wrong. Pets spend a lot more time than you do in your home -- increasing their exposure to carcinogenic substances. And those substances are just as dangerous for pets as they are for humans. "Dog and cat lungs are virtually identical to human lungs," says Dr. Jan Bellows, DVM, a veterinarian at All Pets Dental Clinic in Weston, FL.

Here's what recent studies have to say about the dangers:

While most designers in New York City's Fashion Week stick to the runway, Rachel Antonoff prefers to present her collections in alternative venues, including a townhouse and a school gym. And for the past three years, the fashion elite attending her shows have been in for a special treat: adopted cat Mr. Wendy mingling with the models and their admirers.

Mr. Wendy was inherited by my sister Amy after our grandparents passed away within a month of each other. He was originally adopted from Animal Welfare Adoption Network in West Hurley, NY, after being rescued out of a Dumpster behind a Wendy's restaurant.

After seeing a request on Antonoff's Twitter feed for a friendly cat to take part in her next show, Amy and Mr. Wendy jumped at the chance.

Yesterday a Scottish Deerhound named Hickory was named Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show.

Check out our dog breed guide to learn more about the Scottish Deerhound -- a "low-key and easygoing" dog who likes to "run and chase anything that moves" outdoors -- or browse the 11 adoptable Scottish Deerhounds and Scottish Deerhound mixes posted on Petfinder.

Want to adopt another winning breed? Check out the adoptable dogs of breeds that won Best of Group:

Toy
Winner: Palacegarden Malachy, a Pekingese
Meet the 920 Pekingese and Pekingese mixes on Petfinder.

Non-Sporting
Winner: Miss Jayne Hathaway, a Chinese Shar-Pei
Meet the 1,763 Shar Peis and Shar Pei mixes on Petfinder.

Herding
Winner: Mister Baggins, a Bearded Collie
Meet the 68 Bearded Collies and Bearded Collie mixes on Petfinder.

Sporting
Winner: Thrilling Seduction, a Cocker Spaniel
Meet the 2,151 Cocker Spaniels and Cocker Spaniel mixes on Petfinder

Working
Winner: Luck Be a Lady, a Portuguese Water Dog
Meet the 10 Portuguese Water Dogs and Portuguese Water Dog mixes on Petfinder

Terrier
Winner: Sneak's a Peek, a Smooth Fox Terrier
Meet the 74 Smooth Fox Terrier and Smooth Fox Terrier mixes on Petfinder

The Petfinder.com Foundation's new Train to Adopt program provides shelter dogs with behavioral training to increase their chances of being adopted.

Developed in partnership with The Animal Rescue Site and renowned dog-behavior expert Sue Sternberg, Train to Adopt kicked off on Feb. 1 and will run through 2011 at these four shelters:

• Pennsylvania SPCA in Philadelphia
• Humane Society of Missouri in
  St. Louis
• Pima Animal Care Center in
  Tucson, AZ
• Charlotte Mecklenberg Animal Care and Control in Charlotte, NC

Thanks to grants totaling $176,000 awarded the organizations, all four hired a highly qualified trainer to implement the Train to Adopt program.