Pockets Warhol Painter
An artist, Pockets’ paintings helped raise money for a Canadian primate sanctuary.
From This is True for 8 March 2026
non-human
Animals, spacecraft, etc.
Norbert Tongue-wagger
Let’s get this out of the way right up front: Norbert was a dog — a mutt, even.
From This is True for 2 February 2025
Chaser Good girl!
First things first: Chaser was a dog, but indeed a special one. She was owned by Dr. John W. Pilley, a psychology professor at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. One of his favored fields of research was animal cognition, so perhaps it is not surprising he loved animals; Chaser was a gift from his wife, … Read more
From This is True for 28 July 2019
Hanabi-ko “Koko” the gorilla
Born on the Fourth of July, Hanabi-ko (Japanese for “Fireworks child”) was better known as Koko — a western lowland gorilla born at the San Francisco Zoo. While very young, the female gorilla was stricken with a serious illness, and put into the care of Francine “Penny” Patterson, who was studying for her doctorate in … Read more
From This is True for 24 June 2018
Sudan The last of his kind
Sudan had been in captivity since he was 2 years old.
From This is True for 18 March 2018
Koala Sam Australian bushfire survivor
Sam was rescued from a bushfire in the forests of Mirboo North in Victoria, Australia.
From This is True for 9 August 2009
Rocky Mountain News The honorable tabloid
Two newspapers couldn’t survive in Denver.
From This is True for 22 February 2009
Pioneer 10 Pioneering spacecraft
A little spacecraft that could.
From This is True for 23 February 2003
Mir Space Station The Intrepid
During Mir’s lifetime 23,000 experiments were conducted in technology, medicine, astronomy, Earth sciences and biology.
From This is True for 18 March 2001