You don’t want to miss the National Calls this month!
How would you like to hang out with your fellow colleagues for an hour each week AND be eligible to win a giveaway from Maddie’s Fund?! Starting in this month, that is exactly what Maddie’s Fund will be doing on the Monday Shelter and Rescue Support call and the Friday Animal Welfare Leadership Roundup call. We’ve heard that these calls have been invaluable to so many of you. And, now, they are going to get even better! If you’re not already registered for the calls, please do so now. And if you are registered, please...
Stray Cat Gradually Brings Seven Kittens to Nearby Home
This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog! Girly Girl, or Girls as we now call her, showed up on our doorstep one afternoon. This was in February in North Dakota, so it was still very cold at night. She was pregnant and was missing the tips of her ears due to frostbite. My wife and I started leaving food and water out under the trailer where it was dry. After having her babies somewhere safe, because we looked and couldn’t...
Betty White Fans Plan To Celebrate Her 100th Birthday By Giving Back To Animals
Betty White, a beloved actress and animal advocate, passed away on December 31 at the age of 99. But her fans still plan on celebrating her milestone birthday on January 17. Aside from being known for her witty sense of humor and role in “Golden Girls”, White devoted much of her time to helping animals. For over 50 years she worked with Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA), the nonprofit partner of Los Angeles Zoo, to help save endangered species and improve conditions for zoo animals. For nearly a century, Betty White was...
Shelter Dog With Permanent Smile Rings In The New Year With His New Family
Jasper, a Chihuahua mix, arrived at Front Street Animal Shelter in Sacramento, California, in August with an unknown condition that caused him to have a permanent smile. He would also tilt and shake his head. The shelter asked for donations to help diagnose and treat Jasper. Thanks to generous supporters, they were able to have him seen by veterinarians at UC Davis who discovered he had a middle ear infection and other medical issues. Posted by Foster Pets of Sac on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 “Since starting treatment for this we...
Sows Spend Their Lives In Gestation Crates Before Going To Slaughter, But Do They Have To?
Imagine being confined to a steel pen without enough room to even turn around, being forced to stand and lay on a slatted floor, and living a couple feet above your own waste. For nearly 6 million pigs in the United States, this is a horrendous reality, the Humane Society of the United States reports. Pigs packed tightly for transport. “Throughout nearly the entirety of their 112-115 day pregnancies, most breeding sows in the United States are confined in gestation crates (also known as sow stalls)—individual metal enclosures so...
Healthy Heart, Healthy Start
Rachel Phelps will never forget the urgent call she got from her veterinarian shortly after she dropped off her beloved Westie, named Preston, for minor surgery to remove a lump. “The vet was like, ‘Something happened. We put him under anesthesia, and suddenly his heartbeat plummeted,’” Rachel says. “I was in total shock. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.” The medical team immediately brought Preston out of anesthesia, but his heart rate remained low. Rachel and her husband raced Preston from their...
What To Do When Your Dog Drinks Coffee
Most people tend to share everything with their dogs. It’s a symbiotic relationship, and our dog gives us more than we could ever give them in return. That being said, it’s also important to be in the know so you can take good care of your dog and don’t kill them with kindness. Believe it or not, there are plenty of food items on the list of those that would be harmful to a dog and must be avoided. Photo: Pexels/Helena Lopes Most of us are aware of the fact that we should not be feeding our dogs chocolate. To do so could be...
Confused Cat Can’t Figure Out Owner’s Magic Trick
Cats are pretty clever animals. All my cats were regular little feline Einsteins. Hardly anything was able to get past them. But every once in a while, it is hilarious to watch them get confused by something silly – usually the elusive red dot. But we all have our weaknesses, right? For one kitten, it seemed that magic tricks were where she became stumped. As much as I chuckled at this video, I can sympathize with this little kitten. There are some magic tricks out there that can be quite confusing. But that isn’t a criticism of...
Betty White: Golden Girl and animal welfare advocate
Her show business career spanned eight decades, but Betty White was an animal lover even longer than that. The remarkable nonagenarian supported a variety of animal organizations, and worked to better the lives of dogs, cats and other critters. Betty White captivated television and film audiences for 80 years. She was well known to fans of The Golden Girls – and also to the various animal organizations she supported. The prolific star’s animal work contributed to advancements in research and veterinary science, as well as animal...
Globetrotting with Cats: How One Woman Travels By Taking on Cat Sitting Jobs
Madolline Gourley has done her share of travel in recent years, even managing domestic trips as the pandemic has disrupted many of our vacations. Even better, she’s done this without paying for lodging. Oh, and there are always cats to cuddle at the end of the day. Did I mention that? How does she make this travel utopia happen? By taking her cat sitting expertise to cities across the globe. The Australia native got her first cat sitting job in 2017 after learning about a coworker who got free accommodation from house sitting. Gourley...
Barn Owls Are Befriending Local Farmers For All The Right Reasons
We don’t often see a barn owl make a public appearance but when they do, they really deserve our admiration. They are rodent eating machines, and they are a welcome part of any farm. This is more than just a convenience for the farmers, the US government is now reporting that up to 20% of the crops are consumed each year by rats. Farmers are going to greater and greater extremes in order to control those populations but the barn owl does so willingly. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Professor Matt Johnson has been taking part in an ongoing...
Fireworks Created A Crisis For Pets This New Year’s
Animal charities around the world are looking forward to the New Year, just like the rest of us. The difference is, they are concerned about our furry friends while the rest of us are concerned about bringing in the New Year’s with a bang. Many people will be celebrating New Year’s Eve with fireworks. This can be a fun way to welcome in the year, provided you aren’t a dog or cat that panics when the fireworks start going off. Photo: Pixabay/nancy sticke Since October, the RSPCA has fielded more than 10,000 complaints about...
Sweet Cat Adopts Litter Of Orphaned Hedgehogs
The maternal instinct is strong – not just in humans but other animals as well. It is also what helps animals adopt the orphaned young of other animals. Sometimes these adoptions range across species. For one litter of eight tiny hedgehog babies, they needed a surrogate mom. Sadly, their own mother had gotten killed in a pretty gruesome accident which involved lawnmowers. Photo: flickr/Pete O’Shea While they might have struggled to survive on their own, they wouldn’t have to. One very maternal cat named Musya turned out to...
Cat Doesn’t Know What To Think When Baby Tries To Hold Hands
Cats are pretty cute animals. One cat can come with an array of different personalities, which means you’ll never be short of laughter when you own a cat. My own cat can go from super sweet to sassy psycho within seconds. It’s so darn adorable. But perhaps the best version of cats is the confused cat. Anyone who has ever had a cat before knows that they can sometimes become confused by the silliest of things – and the facial expressions and body movements that accompany their confusion are always so hilarious. Photo:...
Cat Can’t Handle Himself When His Arch Nemesis Shows Up At The Door
Growing up, I had a cat named Patch. He was the runt of the litter and was quite small for a male cat. He was almost always misgendered by people in our neighborhood who thought he was a girl cat because of his small size. Regardless of how little he might have been, he was actually the toughest cat on the block. No other cats wanted to cross paths with him – especially this one cat across the street who was his mortal enemy for some reason. That is the thing about cats. They have a sweet and soft side to them, but they can also be...
Abandoned Puppy Tries To Follow New Puppy Home From The Park
We often don’t think of animals as being highly developed emotionally, but they’re actually much more emotionally intelligent than we give them credit. One perfect example is the little stray puppy that knew to stop a family out for a walk in order to ask for help. It all started when one family was taking an evening stroll at their local park in Ukraine. They were surprised when a seemingly abandoned puppy approached them. Photo: Pixabay/Manuel Darío Fuentes Hernández The little black and white pooch had been trying...
Elderly Dog Lived Her Until Life As A Stray Until She Was Hit By A Car
All dogs deserve to live in a home where they are loved. Sadly, this isn’t always the case. There are loads of homeless dogs out there in the world, some of whom have never known a caring household in their whole life. It’s heartbreaking to think about. For one elderly dog, she had spent her entire life living as a stray in the streets. Unfortunately, one day she got hit by a car and was immobilized. Photo: flickr/aiko vanhulsen Unable to walk, her future looked quite grim. Luckily, she was found by a Good Samaritan who was...
Tiny Poodle Suffers “Worst Case Of Neglect” Until Help Arrives
I’ve never understood how someone can neglect an animal. If you cannot care for the animal, then why did you get it in the first place? It’s so selfish and I will never understand people who treat pets like commodities rather than living beings. We’ve seen a lot of cases of neglect, but perhaps one of the worst happened to be a little small poodle named Ginger Bread. Dr. Karri from the Vet Ranch was the one who cared for the small poodle who was suffering from a horrible case of neglect. Photo: Pixabay/user698 The vet had...
A Very Grumpy Cat Meets Santa For The First Time
The other day I read something along the lines of plants are the new pets and pets are the new kids, and children are like exotic animals – you got to be a little rich and a little crazy to have them. And it’s so true. For many millennials my age, pets are replacing children because they’re far less expensive to maintain. You’ll never have to sweat saving for a college fund when you’ve got a cat instead! And with that comes the rise in more proud pet parents taking to social media to show off their fur babies....
Western Washington Animal Shelter Inundated with Freezing Dogs After Winter Storm
This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog! On December 27, Pierce County Animal Control brought six dogs from a property in Graham to the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County. The dogs had been left outside in the freezing temperatures. Two dogs were found deceased on site. PHOTO: LINDSEY HEANEY One of the dogs arrived in such horrific shape that the shelter’s veterinary team had to humanely euthanize it. The...
