Your morning adorable: Chipmunk cleans himself up in slow motion

If you're an alarmingly cute animal, we've got a tip for you on how to make yourself seem even more adorable than you were to begin with: Film yourself in slow motion.

We've seen that tactic work quite well in sending an already precious dachshund puppy named Iso into the cute stratosphere with a slow-motion video featuring him cavorting in the snow. (You can also see Iso taking a bath and playing with a laser pointer, among other things, in slow motion on his YouTube channel.)

With his own video above, Alex the chipmunk has proven that you don't need to be a puppy to look darn cute in a slow-motion video. YouTube user TPSFilmStudio says that little Alex's bathtime was filmed in high-definition at 400 frames per second.

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• Your morning adorable: Baby squirrel kicks like a dog while being scratched
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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: TPSFilmStudio via YouTube

Video goodness: Scottish fold cat sits up straight to investigate a potential snack

There's something about a Scottish fold cat that's downright irresistible, isn't there?

We haven't quite put our finger on just what appeals to us about a cat with folded-down ears; perhaps our admiration for them is based, at least in part, on our affection for Maru, another Scottish fold whose well-documented love of boxes has made him an international phenomenon.

This particular Scottish fold has just discovered a plate of meat on the table and is willing to go to great lengths to investigate. Apparently sitting like a human is nothing new for him, either; owner tansokunyan's YouTube channel is full of videos of him sitting upright.

An interesting side note: Scottish fold kittens are born with straight (not "folded") ears, and some Scottish folds' ears never fold over at all.

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: tansokunyan via YouTube

Your Morning Adorable: Pembroke Welsh corgis play tetherball

We could scarcely believe our eyes when a colleague first showed us this amazing video of Pembroke Welsh corgis Martin and Aston playing a surprisingly intense game of tetherball.

Martin and Aston apparently play the game on a fairly regular basis; their YouTube channel is dedicated exclusively to their tetherball activities.

How would a corgi -- or any dog, for that matter -- learn how to play a modified game of tetherball in the first place? Your guess is as good as ours.

Martin and Aston aren't the only Pembrokes to have attempted to play the game, but they are clearly the most talented corgi tetherball players that have emerged so far. We'd love to see a game of doubles between them and two boxers named Gabby and Griffin.

RELATED CUTE CORGIS:
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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: 2BallardCorgis via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Dachshund puppy plays in the snow -- in slow motion!

A dachshund puppy is cute without even trying. But catch that dachshund puppy doing something adorable on video, slow down the footage and slap on a charming soundtrack and you have a recipe for YouTube success. That's just what the owners of Iso, a 5-month-old dachshund who has recently become something of a Web star, did to earn a large and rapidly growing YouTube following.

"Iso loves the snow (sometimes)," they write on YouTube. "Luckily we caught him on a good day." They've also posted videos in which little Iso receives a bath and plays with a toy -- both in slow motion, of course. Iso's bathtime video has already received nearly 200,000 views since being uploaded Sunday.

Iso's YouTube channel is called, naturally, IsoInSloMo, and we now count ourselves among his many delighted subscribers, eagerly awaiting his next video installment. Come on, little Iso -- we're waiting.

RELATED CUTE DACHSHUNDS:
• Your morning adorable: Sleepy dachshund tucks himself into bed
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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: IsoInSloMo via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Rescued otter pup drinks from a bottle

Ellie, a young river otter pup who was orphaned or abandoned by her mother, is thriving despite her ordeal, thanks to the efforts of volunteers with the group Dorset Wildlife Rescue in southern England.

According to the group, Ellie will soon begin an extensive rehabilitation program, expected to last about a year, through which she'll learn the skills necessary to survive in the wild. When she's "graduated" from the program, she'll be released.

Ellie joins another young otter orphan named Niamh and a host of other rescued animals in various stages of rehabilitation, ranging from bats to deer to birds of prey, at Dorset Wildlife Rescue. 

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: Dorset Wildlife Rescue via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Clever rat plays fetch

The game of fetch is not just for dogs, as a parakeet named Chi-Chi once taught us.

Driving home that point is Twiglet, a domestic rat who has been taught a series of impressive tricks (jumping through a hoop, for one) by YouTube user MasterOfTheMidgets.

"My rats used to run off with the ball," MasterOfTheMidgets says, "but with persistent training they seemed to decide they would rather have the treat."

You can see more of Twiglet's tricks and watch rat-training tutorials at MasterOfTheMidgets' YouTube channel.

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: MasterOfTheMidgets via YouTube

Video goodness: Hey, that's no midfielder! Terrier crashes soccer game, tries to catch the ball

We know dogs -- particularly terriers like this one -- like to chase things. Chasing a soccer ball seems like a natural activity, but chasing a soccer ball when human players are barreling down on you with no intention of stopping? That seems like a bad idea to us.

Bad idea or not, though, this terrier seems to have had a great time running his little heart out on the soccer pitch -- right up until he gets unceremoniously picked up by the scruff of his neck, that is. (He doesn't appear to enjoy that part one bit.)

Apparently this dog isn't the first of his kind to think it would be fun to crash a soccer game; another dog crashed a World Cup game in 1977 (but he was ejected much more quickly than this guy was).

If you, like us, were wondering about this sport with a somewhat mysterious style of play, commenter SteveC at the Arbroath blog gives a bit of background. According to SteveC, this is International Rules Football, which combines elements of Gaelic football and Australian rules football for matches between Ireland and Australia. "I saw this match on telly as it happened," SteveC writes. "It was brilliant. Everyone was rooting for the dog."

(Hat tips to the fine sites the Daily Wh.at and Arbroath for alerting us to this amazing video, which we could happily watch for hours on end. In fact, that's probably what we'll be doing this weekend.)

RELATED ATHLETIC ANIMALS:
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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: Jezza46 via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Deer and cat are best friends

How many cats do you know who have their own personal hairstylist?

We don't mean a groomer who attends to their fur every now and again in between appointments with shih-tzus and poodles. We mean a single-minded stylist with only one client and ample time to attend to that client's every follicle and cowlick.

We can count only one cat with such a devoted groomer: Tiptree, the orange-and-white kitty above. It just so happens that Tiptree's stylist is a deer named Hoppy.

Hoppy was found alone and ailing when he was just a tiny fawn. He was raised by a Canadian couple -- with the assistance of Tiptree, of course -- and is even the subject of a documentary.

RELATED UNUSUAL ANIMAL FRIENDSHIPS:
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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video credit: hoppythedeer via YouTube

Video goodness: Piano-playing dog sings -- or howls, to be precise -- the blues

OK, so Tucker the schnauzer-poodle mix doesn't have the musical chops of a real piano virtuoso like, say, Nora the Piano Cat. His performance in the above video is all about his contagious enthusiasm, and we'd be the first to sing along if only we were able to howl like he does.

Unsolicited advice for some animal-loving booking agent out there: Hire Tucker, Nora, Beamin the piano-playing beagle and Elissa the piano-playing Flemish giant rabbit to perform in some sort of dueling-pianos show. Get Maru the cat on tambourine and we bet you'll have a hit on your hands!

Tucker "plays the piano and sings along at least 3 or 4 times every day," his owner writes on YouTube. "In spite of all of his practicing, he really isn't getting any better at it."

RELATED MUSICAL ANIMALS:
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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: KennedyFamily99 via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Rottweiler induces a fit of laughter in dog-loving baby

We love YouTube user jillyvicky's video of her son, Dylan, "having a giggle fit [while] being licked by our Rottweiler, Brodie. You can't help but laugh along with him when you watch this video."

We just can't get enough of animals who watch out for the human children in their families -- like the husky who registers his sympathy for his crying "brother" by howling along with him, the boxer who "shakes hands" with a baby, the Sheltie who runs around the room to the delight of his young human companion and the puggle who teaches his "little brother" how to high-five.

If your own pet has a similar nurturing streak, show us! Share your photos (.jpg format) or video at The Times' photo-sharing site, Your Scene, and be sure to include a caption that tells us a little about your pet!

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: jillyvicky via YouTube