Check out these Return to Home resources
Return to Home (traditionally known as Return to Owner) is one of the most important programs you can have in place. We hope the first thing you do when finding a lost or stray pet is to try and find its home. Whether or not you’re participating in the No Place Like Home Challenge in March, there is plenty of information to be gleaned from our resources page. Below you will find just a few (of many) that can help when it comes to starting or expanding your own Return to Home programs. Does...
Shelter Names Special Cat After Girl Who’s Been Donating to Rescues Across the Country
This story was originally shared in the Clear the Shelters Adoption Story Challenge on ShelterChallenge.com. Create your own free Shelter Challenge account and vote for your favorite shelter or rescue group to win cash and prizes. Every time you vote we’ll give an extra donation to shelters! At the end of July, we received a card and letter from a young lady in Pennsylvania. Her name is Avery, and she is amazing. Avery took her love of animals and started a fundraising page. She then took those donations and purchased gift cards, which...
Foster Fails and Best Buddies Adopted Together: Rescue Cat Success Stories
These stories were originally shared in the Clear the Shelters Adoption Story Challenge on ShelterChallenge.com. Create your own free Shelter Challenge account and vote for your favorite shelter or rescue group to win cash and prizes. Every time you vote we’ll give an extra donation to shelters! Shelter Volunteer Can’t Help But Have a Foster Kitten Fail I fostered these two felines from Huntsville Animal Services located in Huntsville, Alabama. They were sickly and underweight. It was a foster failure; I adopted both. PHOTO: KAREN...
Drone Captures The Moment A Giant Crocodile Leaps From The Water And Snaps At It
Crocodiles are not an animal to be messed with, even from behind the safety of a drone as one man found out. Johani Mamid is a crocodile feeder, but he also frequently films the majestic predators at the Crocodile Park in Broome, Western Australia. He uses a drone since it’s a pretty safe way of getting close to the crocs without much risk. At least, that’s what he initially thought. However, he was in for quite the shock when one of the crocodiles he was filming tried to attack his drone. As shocking a moment as it was when the...
Woman Sets Up Camera To Figure Out Why She Can’t Sleep And Discovers Her Cat Is Pawing Her All Night
Cats can be quite the little pests – especially when it’s the middle of the night and you’ve got to get your sleep but your cat has other ideas. As cat owners, we’ve all been there. Still, as much as our little felines might get under our skin when we’re trying to sleep, we can’t help but love them and their silly ways. One cat owner named Susie, who has the username @susieandmollie on TikTok, had been experiencing some major sleep disruptions. But she couldn’t figure out what was going on, so she...
Pet Cow Loves To Watch Her Favorite TV Show Every Day
Humans love watching TV. And we all have our different preferences when it comes to TV shows. But we’re not the only ones – sometimes animals have their own TV obsessions, as viewers of This Morning found out. Apparently, there is a 10-month old calf named Honey who has an obsession watching The Chase. How cute is that? The sweet little calf was born via C-section on a farm in Cornwood, Devon in England. When Honey was born, she was quite weak. In fact, she wasn’t much bigger than the size of a terrier, which meant that it...
Muskoxen Are Growing In Population After Facing Near Extinction
Muskoxen are quite interesting animals who have been around for ages. In fact, their species have been known to have existed in prehistoric times and shared the world with wooly mammoths and sabertooth tigers! Having been around for at least 2.5 million years, these muskoxen traveled across the Bering Strait land bridge into North America roughly 2 million years ago. They are some of the only megafaunas from the arctic region that have lasted this long – apart from reindeer – as other animals like wooly mammoths, sabertooth...
Do Cats Get High From Catnip?
It’s always fun to watch a cat under the influence of catnip. The herb seems to get them in a silly and sometimes spaced out mood. But why? What is it about this mysterious herb that gets cats behaving like they’re high? Catnip is officially called Nepeta cataria, and it’s an herb within the mint family. It’s common around many parts of the world, however, it’s originally from parts of Asia and Europe. It can be often found growing as a weed beside roads. Because it is drought-resistant, a lot of people will...
US Bird Removed From The Endangered Species List After Populations Found Thriving
The interior least tern is a bird that was classified on the Endangered Species list. They are the smallest bird of the tern family, weighing only two ounces. The species suffered from many different threats. Back in the 19th century, they were hunted down for their feathers which were used in hat making. In addition to that, their nesting habitat along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers were virtually destroyed with dam and levee construction. But as of the 12th of January, there is exciting news. These birds are now able to leave the list...
70 Birds Get Released Into A Room Full Of Guitars
What do you get when you release 70 zebra finches into a room full of amplified guitars? A very unique and noteworthy sound experience. That is exactly the kind of sound project that French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot had in mind when he became inspired after looking out his window one day to the birds perched on a wire. Photo: Pixabay Boursier-Mougenot had seen the birds on the wire and thought to himself what that would be like to make music. Article continues below Our Featured Programs See how we’re making a difference...
Rhinoceros Iguana At Steve Irwin’s Zoo Is Declared The Oldest In The World
Congratulations to Rhino! The 40-year-old rhinoceros iguana who resides at the Irwin family’s zoo has officially been named the oldest one in the world. Rhino was given the title earlier in the week, and it’s quite the accomplishment. The announcement was made after Rhino’s age actually doubled the age of the previous longest-living iguana on record. How amazing! Photo: Twitter / Australia Zoo The 40-year-old Rhino was entered into the Guinness World Book of Records’ and their post read, “A rhino iguana residing...
Rescuing Romeo
May 9th, 4 years ago I went to see this poor, abused little dog. He was considered the worst case abuse ever in West Los Angeles history. PHOTO: Nikki May When I first saw him, he was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Matted beyond belief, 3 legs, epileptic, and brain damage. On top of that, he had lost the ball in his left hip. People would walk by and ask what that ‘thing’ was. It was heart breaking. I had to save this little guy that was sure to die if no one rescued him. He had been chained up in the back of a house...
Two Border Collies Set World Record For Most Tricks Performed In One Minute
Border collies are said to be the smartest dog breed and two from California just proved they are the best at tricks too. Wish and Halo, two border collies from El Cajon, California, just set the world record for most tricks performed by two dogs in unison in one minute with the help of their trainer and mom, Emily Larlham. The two dogs performed an impressive 28 tricks in one minute according to Guinness World Records. Screenshot: YouTube/Guinness World Records They did everything from sit, sit pretty, down, and heel to running circles,...
Saving Cookie The Cat From Becoming A Meal
I was living in the suburbs of a large African city and I had noticed there were no street cats. Anywhere. In an impoverished and hungry society, any and all animals were fair game for the stew pot. Horrible on so many levels. There was also a city-wide trap and kill order for any felines that managed to escape the kitchen. As a future crazy old cat lady, this was the stuff of nightmares for me. PHOTO: PEXELS One day as I returned home from the market, I saw three security guards from our cul-de-sac standing in a tight group. I saw that one...
U.S. Coast Guard Rescues Woman And Her Two Dogs From Sailboat Taking On Water Off Coast Of Florida
Coast Guard Station St Petersburg crews immediately responded to a distress call from a woman on a sailboat off the coast of Florida. A woman with her two dogs on a 32-foot sailboat called for help when her boat started to take on water near Shell Key. The boat was rocking back and forth on the choppy water as the two rescue boats approached. Screenshot: Facebook/U.S. Coast Guard Southeast A 29-foot rescue boat pulled up to the sailboat with the woman on the bow and made plans to rescue her and her dogs. The other 45-foot response boat towed...
After 11th-Hour Rule Change, The Environmental Species Act Now Makes It Harder To Save Endangered Species
Since 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has stood as one of our nation’s most effective and important environmental laws. Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, the ESA represents a commitment by the American people to work together to protect and restore our most vulnerable fellow species. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 99% of species protected by the list have avoided extinction. Not until the Trump Administration’s final week in office was it changed. The change narrows the ESA’s definition of...
Dog Owner Shares Warning After 14-Month-Old Golden Retriever Dies From Common Rope Toy
When Indria Tuckler bought some rope toys for her dogs, she had no idea that they would cause the death of one of her beloved pets. Buying toys for our pets is a common and loving thing to do. When our fur babies spot a new toy, their eyes light up, their tails start thumping, and it’s obvious they can’t wait to play. Toys can turn even the eldest of dogs back into puppies, even if just for a moment. It’s the sweetest. Tuckler bought a few sturdy-seeming rope toys made specifically for dogs from HomeGoods, a reputable store....
5 tips for recruiting safety net fosters
As we move toward community-centric animal services practices, many shelters and rescue organizations are considering creating safety net fostering programs. These programs provide temporary care for pets whose owners are in crisis, but who would like to keep their pets in the long term. “I think there’s been a growing interest for programs like this over the last couple years, particularly as shelters began working more in the community and outside the walls of the shelter,” says Dr. Lisa Gunter of the ASU/VTMaddie’s...
Dog Survives Nutrient Issues, Skin Problems, and a COVID Lockdown Before Getting Adopted
This story was originally shared in the Clear the Shelters Adoption Story Challenge on ShelterChallenge.com. Create your own free Shelter Challenge account and vote for your favorite shelter or rescue group to win cash and prizes. Every time you vote we’ll give an extra donation to shelters! Nevada SPCA transferred Barbara Ann, a sweet 6-year-old German Shepherd, in early March of this year from another shelter: she was emaciated with patches of hair missing all over her skeletal body. Our veterinarian determined that she had a...
Man Rescues African Civet Entangled In Wire Fence
African civets look like a cross between a raccoon and wild cat, and although often referred to as African civet cats, they are not felines. These solitary mammals are mostly nocturnal and have dense fur and long tails. They are said to be shy animals and generally don’t attack humans, but can be aggressive when threatened. One unfortunate African civet got its tail and hind leg tangled in a barbed wire fence and was pulling with all its might to get free, but to no avail. Thankfully, a man driving along the road in South Africa spotted...
