Animals Who Work Harder Than You

Do your friends tell you all the time they'd give anything to do what you do? Well, your employment doesn't hold a candle to the gigs of some dolphins, hogs, and ponies, but it especially pales in comparison to the job of the Wendy's Motivational Chicken.

Homing Pigeons

Pradeep Shakya / CC BY http://2.0 / Flickr: navin-s

Soldiers in WWI and WWII used homing pigeons to deliver messages to each other by rolling notes up and putting them inside tubes that were attached to the birds' feet. Get these guys to an Early Bird Special; they are veterans!

Hypoglycemia-Detecting Dogs

George Hawkins / CC BY http://2.0 / Flickr: georgehawkins

Some dogs can detect when a diabetic person has a low blood sugar, and alert them of when they are on the verge of hypoglycemia. Can YOU do that? Thought not.

Fishing Cormorants

Byron Howes / CC BY-ND http://2.0 / Flickr: nimdok

Fishermen in China, Japan and Macedonia frequently rely on cormorants (a type of seagull/crane hybrid) to help them fulfill their daily fish quota. Let's hope they also get a cut of the sushi dinners.

Detection Dogs

http://U.S. Army / CC BY http://2.0 / Flickr: europedistrict

Detection dogs keep our country safe by using their noses and alerting the police of any bombs or explosive materials that might be present.

Guide Ponies

Cate Gillon / Getty Images

Much like guide dogs, guide horses lead the visually impaired around obstacles. They are more patient, kind, and reliable than you, AND quite possibly look better in purple shoes than Prince.

Rescue Dogs

MarkScottAustinTX / CC BY-SA http://2.0 / Flickr: elchupacabra

Since the 1800s, Saint Bernards have used their thick coats and unique sense of direction to help rescue lost hikers in the Alps. They are essentially professional Snuggies.

Police Horses

Ludovic Hirlimann / CC BY-SA http://2.0 / Flickr: lhirlimann

Police horses maintain crowd control at protests and other gatherings by using their size to intimidate the masses into dispersing or calming down. Not to mention they have actual police officers on their backs, so you might wanna move along and stop wondering about the visor. It was a custom job.

Wendy's Motivational Chicken

Impressed by all these animals? Don't worry, you're still a valued member of society! Click here to hear a speech about how great YOU are from another animal with an impressive job — the Wendy's Motivational Chicken.