Maddie’s Weekly Roundup: New marketing course, reputation management and more!
Happy Monday! Below is a brief round-up of new blog posts and resources we’ve added over the past week. Improve your marketing skills with this new self-paced courseWant to learn more about how to market your animal welfare organization, or just sharpen your skills? Now available on Maddie’s® University, The FUNdamentals of Marketing course is for you! It’s designed for people with a rudimentary understanding of marketing, who want to elevate and improve their organization’s brand, voice and audience and have...
Adam, One Of The Uhaul Dogs
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! I am a Detective for an Upstate NY Police Department. It was January 26th, 2013, one of the coldest days of the year. Our dispatchers received a call for dogs locked in the back of a Uhaul truck, and that they had been for days. PHOTO: Pexels.com Units were dispatched and when they arrived approached a male in the area of the Uhaul and asked him to open it. He begrudgingly did. Inside...
8 Devoted Animal Moms
A mother’s love, no matter the species, is unlike any other. Aside from providing food, shelter, and comfort, moms will do whatever it takes to protect their young. These devoted animal moms never get a day off, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. As Mother’s Day is just around the corner, learn more about eight fierce animal moms that go above and beyond for their offspring. Elephant Photo: Pixabay The largest and most protective mom is the Asian elephant. She carries her baby for 22 months before giving birth. Then...
After Being Returned Twice To Shelter, Unwanted Dog Becomes Police K-9
Arrow, a rescued dog from Burlington, New Jersey, knows all about second chances. According to the Burlington County Times, the 2-year-old Belgian Malinois mix was surrendered twice to a local shelter, first for failing to befriend a fellow pet, and then for acting overprotective of his second owner’s wife. But shelter workers could tell Arrow wasn’t a bad dog. He was just a young and energetic Belgian Malinois who struggled with life in a cage. “Their brains, especially in the Malinois, are continuous, and when they are...
Giant California Condors Descend On Woman’s House And Won’t Leave
California condors are an endangered species with just 160 flying free in California. They are the largest bird in North America and often roost on the branches of tall trees, but a flock of roughly 15 have found an even better place to roost – on the roof and deck of Cinda Mickols’ home. The giant birds invaded the home in Tehachapi over the weekend and refuse to leave. Mickols couldn’t believe her eyes when she looked out her window and saw the giant birds perched on her deck. Photo: Twitter/Seana Lyn However, they have...
Abused Dog Left To Die In A Trash Bag Makes An Incredible Transformation
One German Shepherd puppy got a new chance at life after being rescued near-death from being thrown into a ditch in a trash bag. According to a Facebook post by Animalluvr’s Dream Rescue, 9-month-old Cora was spotted by a “good Samaritan” before her former owner had the chance to throw her away into a ditch. Cora had been stuffed into a trash bag and was about to go into the ditch and to her death when the kind-hearted bystander pleaded with the man to give them the dog. The man initially threatened the good Samaritan with a...
Irish Conservation Program Seeking Someone Who’s ‘Goat’ What it Takes to Herd Endangered Species
Scrolling through job listings can be a pain. It can really get your goat. A new job in Ireland will literally get you goats, though. The Old Irish Goat Society is looking for a full-time goat herder on Howth Head, located in the Dublin Bay UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The aim of the job is to help conserve the endangered Old Irish Goat while utilizing their grazing to help reduce wildfire risk. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/OLD IRISH GOAT SOCIETY A Facebook post from the group says, “This project builds on over a decade of work to save Ireland’s...
Influencer Loses Fans For Euthanizing Dog When She Could Have Just Rehomed Him
Nikki Phillippi is a popular lifestyle blogger on Instagram and YouTube, where she has over a million followers. But the social media influencer drew viral scorn after she and her husband, Dan, admitted to euthanizing the family dog, Bowser, instead of trying to re-home him. Photo: Instagram/nikkiphillippi “Bowser had an aggressive side that reared it’s ugly head a few times over the years,” Nikki wrote on Instagram, explaining how the dog had nipped her young son after the boy grabbed at his food. “Recently he bit...
A Little Ray Of Sunshine After Losing My Thunder
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 March 22, 2008 I said goodbye to Thunder, my black lab of 15yrs. It left a huge hole in my heart. PHOTO: Pexels.com December 25th, 2009 I am on my way to work in my patrol vehicle when I observe a vehicle stopped on the freeway by a bridge. An amazing young woman had stopped because she thought she saw an animal in distress. She was was right. It was a black lab. He looked like...
Hawaii About To Become The Sixth State To Ban Animal Cosmetic Testing
Hawaii has taken a stand against animal testing and is waiting for Governor David Ige to sign Hawaii Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act into law. The bill would ban cosmetic manufacturers from selling any cosmetic product involving new animal testing starting January 1, 2022, states Cruelty Free International. Photo: Pixabay Over 40 countries have banned cosmetic animal testing, but the U.S. is not one of them. Individual states are taking matters into their own hands in hopes of influencing a nationwide ban on the inhumane testing. Hawaii will be...
47 Cats and Kittens Rescued From Hoarding Situation In Santa Cruz Are Looking For Forever Homes
Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is an open door shelter that never turns away a pet in need. Even if that means taking in 47 cats and kittens at the start of kitten season. The shelter recently rescued 47 cats and kittens from a hoarding situation. They received a tip that roughly 50 cats were living in poor conditions in a small RV. The owner surrendered all the felines and the shelter is now looking for loving forever homes. Photo: Facebook/Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter “These cats did not get the resources they needed in their...
Improve your marketing skills with this new self-paced course
Want to learn more about how to market your animal welfare organization, or just sharpen your skills? Now available on Maddie’s® University, The FUNdamentals of Marketing course is for you! It’s designed for people with a rudimentary understanding of marketing, who want to elevate and improve their organization’s brand, voice and audience and have FUN while doing it. Touching on the basics of branding, audience, communication tools and strategy, this self-paced course will give you a better understanding of how to...
Missouri To Allow Restraining Orders To Protect Pets Of Domestic Violence Victims
A new bill just passed in Missouri that grants added protection to domestic violence victims, including protecting their pets. Bill SB 71 will allow judges to add pets to protection orders issued for domestic violence cases. Previously, judges could issue protection orders for a person involved in a domestic abuse situation, but not for their pet(s). This could sometimes put animals in dangerous situations where abusers would use the pet(s) against the victim, or neglect/abuse a pet due to mental health or behavior issues. But thanks to the...
After Spending 200 Days At Shelter, Rescued Dog Finds His Perfect Home
Chuckie is a sweet and loving dog, even though humans haven’t done much to deserve his affection. The rescued dog was saved from the side of a highway in Georgia, where Chuckie was first abandoned, then struck three times by cars as traffic whizzed past. Sadly, none of the drivers bothered to stop and help him. By the time Chuckie was rescued, the dog had suffered such serious wounds he’d experience permanent neurological damage. Photo: Facebook/Dog Orphans Humane Society “Chuckie had been struck by a vehicle three times...
All Busted Up
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! A couple months after my faithful companion of 15 years passed away, a very broken and busted stray showed up at a friend’s salvage yard on the outskirts of town. He was hiding under a junk car, injured and unapproachable. I brought food and water daily and it would be gone the next morning. But he would only growl and try to back away if I got close. I could see that he had bees...
Missing Cat Reunited With Owner 3 Years After She Disappeared
Cookie is a sweet cat who lived in San Antonio, Texas, with her loving family. But that changed the day Cookie and her fur sibling, while being watched by a pet sitter, got lost and couldn’t find their way back home. As the days turned into months, and then years, Cookie’s heartbroken owner began to fear she’d ever see her cats again. The woman was eventually reunited with Cookie’s cat sister, but it broke her owner’s heart knowing Cookie was still lost and alone. Photo: Facebook/City of San Antonio Animal Care...
Veteran Scours His Town Every Day For Scrap Metal To Sell To Feed And Care For 71 Feral Cats
For the past 27 years, Willie Ortiz has spent his days searching for scrap metal to sell to feed and care for feral cats in Hartford, Connecticut. He drives his pickup truck from town to town looking for any scraps that can be sold to pay for cat food and vet bills for over 70 stray and feral cats. Photo: GoFundMe/Kathleen Schlentz The 80-year-old U.S. Army veteran makes sure no cat goes hungry and visits the community cats daily to feed and check in on them. Providing for the stray and feral cats has become his life mission, and it all began...
Will YouTube Ever Clean Up Its Dog Fighting Problem?
Dog fighting is a heinous crime, but when it comes to monitoring their own platform for dog fighting videos, YouTube is falling far short of its obligation. In just a few clicks, visitors to YouTube may find instructional videos about dog fighting and hours upon hours of material related to it. A 2021 investigation, conducted by animal welfare organization Lady Freethinker, found 2,053 video that depicted animal abuse, garnering a collective 1.2 billion total views. The videos were posted across approximately 146 channels amassing 30.8...
Meet Long Boi, The Tallest Duck At The University Of York
What do you get when you cross a mallard and Indian runner duck? A really tall duck named Long Boi. The friendly duck has become a local celebrity to students at the University of York, where he lives among other mallard ducks and feathered friends. He stands out in a flock with his bottle-shaped body and most people do a double take when they first spot him on campus. While he towers over his mallard friends at 70cm, he is a normal height for an Indian Runner duck. Males can reach up to 30 inches in height and weigh about 5 pounds. As if his...
Veteran Reunites With Lost Rescue Dog After 4 Years
Four years after his dog went missing, veteran Michael Joy received the call he thought would never come – his dog had been found! According to the Clarksville Now, Joy rescued Sam when he was in the Army. Sam’s old family no longer wanted him due to his attitude, so Joy stepped in to give Sam a proper home. Sam was welcomed into the Joy family home in Georiga where he began obedience training along with Joy’s two other dogs. Unfortunately, while Joy was deployed, all three dogs escaped the house and ran away. Photo: Pixabay...