Winslow is a Louisiana shelter dog who loves to bathe in the sun and greet his fellow shelter pets. These include Karma, a playful and affectionate dog who loves going on walks, Nila, a sweet and spunky chihuahua mix, and Charley, an adorable puppy who can’t wait to find his own home.

But Winslow, Karma, Nila, and Charlie are in danger each day they stay in Louisiana, where overcrowded, underfunded shelters leave homeless dogs and cats at constant risk of euthanasia.

These risks only grow in the spring and summer months, when Louisiana’s marshy wilds pose a constant threat of heartworm infection. Meanwhile, kitten season packs overflowing shelters with even more animals in need.

This shelter crisis led Greater Good Charities, the Animal Rescue Site, and Freekibble to resume our Flights to Freedom, … Read the rest

The New York State Senate approved Bill S.1130, to shut down the puppy mill pipeline and end the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores across the state. The Bill, sponsored by Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, must now be approved by the Assembly, before moving to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

“With so many good animals in need of rescue, there is no need for puppy mills that abuse animals to supply pet stores,” Gianaris said in a statement. “Our four-legged companions should be treated with respect, not like commodities.”

Most of the animals available for sale in pet stores come from notorious dog, cat, and bunny mills, which are known to be inhumane. Offspring of mill animals often have congenital issues resulting from poor breeding and can cost families thousands of dollars in veterinary care.

“We can seize this moment to

A cat came to her foster home with her four precious kittens all born with a beautiful rare brown coat.

Laura Malone

Last month, Laura Malone, a director of Mini Cat Town (in San Jose, California), was contacted about a family of five that needed rescue. A cat mom along with her four kittens had been brought to the city shelter.

There is not much information about where they came from. “Given her weight and her friendliness, I can assume she was cared for regularly by a human, but her paw pads are dry like a cat who has spent quite a bit of time outdoors,” Laura told Love Meow.

Mini Cat Town didn’t hesitate to take the family into their care. They quickly noticed that all four kittens had beautiful chocolate or cinnamon brown fur.

Mars the cat mom and her precious kittens born with brown furLaura Malone… Read the rest

Dogs — particularly rescued dogs, who’ve been adopted in record numbers of late – have helped their humans throughout the pandemic. But one California shelter dog, aka “Professor Ginger,” has offered more than the usual support by helping her teacher ‘dog mom’ teach virtual kindergarten classes.

“I tell people you haven’t lived until you’ve had a kindergarten Zoom or Google Meet,” Jessie Bekkedahl told PEOPLE. “They show you their pet or put their face WAY into the screen. Or they’ll just go off on a tangent and talk about their grandma and Sea World and random stuff.”

So the kindergarten teacher enlisted the help of her 3-year-old rescued Corgi mix, Ginger, to help keep her young students on track. Now “Professor Ginger,” who was adopted several years ago from a local shelter, has taken a leading role in teaching her owner’s students how to spell, recognize different … Read the rest

The first herd of Asian elephants that were retired from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus have arrived safely at their new home at White Oak Conservation in Florida. The refuge for endangered species is funded by philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter, who are also the owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Twelve female elephants, ranging from 8 to 38 years old, will be joined by up to 20 former circus elephants as soon as additional areas are completed at the conservation center.

“We are thrilled to give these elephants a place to wander and explore,” said Mark and Kimbra Walter in a statement. “We are working to protect wild animals in their native habitats, but for these elephants that can’t be released, we are pleased to give them a place where they can live comfortably for the rest of their lives.”

The elephants were moved 200

A kitten showed up in a backyard all alone and found a canine friend to keep her company.

Addie the kitten and Ava the dogJin’s Bottle Babies

A resident from Phoenix, Arizona was caring for community cats when she spotted a tiny kitten in her backyard without a mother in sight.

She waited for a long time, hoping the cat mom would come back to her baby, but she never did. The kind lady took the kitten in and reached out to her local rescue Jin’s Bottle Babies for help.

“She was so worried about the kitten’s constant crying and brought her to us,” Shelbi Uyehara, founder of Jin’s Bottle Babies, told Love Meow. “The kitten was chilled, covered in fleas, and about a third of the weight of what she should have been.”

Addie the kitten was found in a backyardJin’s Bottle Babies

The kitten was severely … Read the rest

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

The largest and most protective mom is the Asian elephant. She carries her baby for 22 months before giving birth. Then the herd steps up to help protect the calf as it slowly matures. Mama will nurse her baby for another 2-3 years as she teaches it the ways of the world.

Mama elephants are often seen playing and being affectionate toward their young. But if danger appears, the herd will form a protective circle around the baby and … Read the rest

Earlier this week, more than 100 groups sent three letters to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service outlining urgent actions that they believe are needed to protect the nation’s wildlife and their habitats from dangerous pesticides.

Conservation, environmental justice, and agriculture organizations, representing tens of millions of people, detailed a range of opportunities to ramp up protections, including calling on the Service to:

• Prohibit pesticide use in designated critical habitat for endangered plants and animals.

• Eliminate use of harmful agricultural pesticides on national wildlife refuges.

• Complete scientific reviews scrapped by the Trump administration assessing the harms that chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon may cause to protected species.

“No nation uses pesticides more recklessly than the U.S., with some of the worst abuses in our most important wildlife habitats,” said Lori Ann Burd, Environmental Health Director at the Center for Biological Diversity in a statement. “To stop the heartbreak of animals

Bonded cat sisters are so happy to find help for their kittens so they can thrive together.

Willow and her kitten RowanKyndra @pnw_fosters

Maple and Willow, sister cats, have never been apart and share an endearing bond. When they came to Purrfect Pals Cat Sanctuary in Washington, they both had a litter of kittens and were in need of foster care.

“They were surrendered pregnant to another shelter by an owner who was not able to care for them. They gave birth at the shelter to eight healthy babies the same night then were transferred to us,” Purrfect Pals told Love Meow. “When the kittens were a day old, they went straight into a loving and experienced foster home.”

Kyndra, a foster volunteer of the rescue, took them in with open arms. She quickly noticed the strong bond between the sisters and how they took care of each other’s … Read the rest

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.

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 were found 4 pit bulls. Three pit bulls in a cage fit for one and 1 pregnant female searching for food in the the compartment. There was none. All dogs were frozen, had sores and were starving.

My Adam was the worst. We initially thought he was a … Read the rest