Alex the Weimaraner has quite the unbreakable spirit.
After surviving by eating only sticks and rocks, Alex was rescued in October by the Southern Animal Foundation. Alex had been living at an Iberia Perish animal shelter and was so thin that almost every bone in his body was visible. He weighed a mere 45 pounds, and officials from the shelter were sure he was going to die, so he was not given the proper treatment he needed to recover.
When a representative from Southern Animal Foundation came across Alex’s image, they knew that they had to step in to help this pup. An X-ray of Alex’s stomach revealed that he was completely filled with rocks, but they were confident they could help him. His recoveryhas been miraculous.
Now, Alex has beaten the odds and has finally found a forever home. He was adopted by Diane Lundeen, who owns two other Weimaraners, and said she fell in love with Alex as soon as she met him.
After undergoing surgery and intensive de-worming, Alex currently weighs close to 80 pounds and loves playing with his brother and sister.
“He is doing great. He loves his brother and sister,” Lundeen told SAF in her most recent update. “He is the peacekeeper in the family, so if play gets too rough between the baby and Anya, he speaks up. The three went through all of the new squeaky toys I bought them, filling my living room with stuffing snow.”
Check out the video below to see more of Alex’s amazing transformation.
Enjoy your new home, Alex! All image source: Fido4Ever
Rescued Grizzly Bear Has a Blast Playing With Hay Bale (VIDEO)
Do you have a friend who can have fun, no matter what? You could be sitting at a table in the middle of nowhere with only a paper clip and a stack of napkins and they somehow make it into an amazing game. It’s really quite the incredible talent to have.
Hugo, the bear in this video is kind of like that friend. This playful Grizzly was rescued by the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center when he was a little cub. Nearly 15 years later, Hugo has not lost his cub-like tendencies at all.
When Hugo comes across a lone hay bale, it’s on. We imagine that Hugo’s hay bale is a little bit like Don Quixote’s windmills. Envisioning the stack of hay as his arch-nemesis, Hugo steps in to protect his Alaskan home from this menacing threat. After about 10 minutes of tussling, Hugo emerges as the victor! That’s right hay bales, you mess with the wildlife preserve and you’ll have to answer to Hugo!
Clarabelle the Former Dairy Calf Finally Gets to Keep One of Her Babies! (PHOTOS)
Edgar’s Mission Farm Animal Sanctuary has rescued over 300 animals. In addition to providing a loving and respectful home for these animals to happily live out their days, theyprovide the public with the opportunity to meet and interact with farm animals. By showing visitors that the animals they might typically think of as “food” are actually dynamic, social and emotional beings, Edgar’s hopes to change the public perception of farm animals for the better.
The stories and photos they share of the animals who reside at their sanctuary are undoubtedly adorable, but they serve a much larger purpose in conveying a message of kindness. Operating under the slogan, “If we could live happy and healthy without harming others … why wouldn’t we?” Edgar’s is on a mission to make us all fall in love to the world’s most abused animals.
One of these lucky residents is Clarabelle, a rescued cow who is a former victim of the dairy industry. Since coming to Edgar’s Mission, Clarabelle’s life has completely changed for the better. This is her story.
Milk Life is No Life At All
Similar to the U.S., Australian residents consume about 23 gallons of milk and 28 pounds of cheese each year. While many people think that the dairy industry is somehow less cruel than the meat industry, because the cows don’t have to die to produce milk, this is hardly the case.
Like all mammals, cows only produce milk to feed their young. To keep dairy cows producing the milk, they are forcibly impregnanted multiple times during their lives. With the arrival of each calf, the cow will begin to lactate, providing the milk desperately sought by the dairy industry. This milk would be “wasted” fulfilling its actual purpose of feeding the calf, so these babies are immediately taken from their mothers. Males are put into small, restrictive crates and sold for veal, and females are funneled into the meat industry or destined to become dairy calves like their mothers.
Without being given ample time to mourn the loss of their precious babies, mother cows are hooked up to milking machines where they will be expected to give around 10 times more milk that they would naturally. The drain that constant milking puts on a cow’s metabolism also makes them prone to painful teat and udder infections.
This is nothing like the “happy cow” myth the dairy industry would have us believe.
As a dairy cow, Clarabelle had numerous calves stolen from her, she also suffered through tail docking and branding. However, once she set foot at Edgar’s Mission, everything changed. Clarabelle was pregnant at the time of her rescue and little did she know, this time, she would actually be able to keep her baby.
A Valentine Surprise
“Little did she know,” is the key phrase here. There was no way to communicate to Clarabelle that this go around would be different, and about a week before her calf was expected to arrive, the staff at Edgar’s mission sensed something was off.
Clarabelle, normally first in line for food, was hanging back, nervously glancing over her shoulder. Her swollen udders gave her away. She had given birth, but was hiding her beloved calf to protect it from the men who had come to take her other calves away.
The staff went out to find the calf and it didn’t take them long to see the little brown creature hidden in a tiny patch of woods at the far end of the sanctuary. Clarabelle had given birth and cleaned her baby girl. She was determined to keep this calf a secret to protect her from the fate she was sure would come. Cows have great memories, and the pain of losing calf after calf was enough to force Clarabelle into action.
Discovered on Valentine’s Day, the little calf was aptly named Valentine and was born into a life where she would live happily with her mom. They would be able to graze together and Valentine would be well cared for just as this little family would have done all along if it weren’t for the cruelty of factory farming.
Help for Other Cows Like Clarabelle and Valentine
Thanks to Edgar’s Mission, Clarabelle and her adorable calf will be able to live their lives happily, teaching the public about the cruelty of the dairy industry. There are millions of other cows currently suffering in the dairy industry to provide us with milk and cheese, two product that we don’t even need!
Please, consider Edgar’s Mission motto and consider picking a dairy alternative. We can all lead happy, healthy lives without causing harm to others, so let’s get started!
If you would like to learn more about this mother-daughter duo or Edgar’s Mission, you canvisit their website here.
All image source: Edgar’s Mission
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Kitten and Puppy Who Kept Each Other Warm in the Rain Have Been Rescued Together! (VIDEO)
A friendship that can brave a Michigan winter is quite the warm and loving one.
When Michigan Humane Society rescue driver, Chris Ouwerkerk, received a call that a puppy had been left out in the rain near an abandoned house, he went to the scene quickly — as he usually does — but what he found was anything but usual.
He called to the puppy, and the little one ran out to the street from his hiding space in between two trashcans. But when he picked the puppy up, he heard frantic meowing. If he could’ve translated it, the kitten probably would’ve been saying “Hey, don’t you take my cuddle buddy!”
Ouwerkerk found the kitten hidden between the two trashcans and figured that he had beensnuggling with the puppy to stay warm and protected from the wind and rain.
Now, the puppy, Camarin, and Tomas, the kitten, can resume their friendship out of the scary winter winds. They’ve continued to snuggle and show affection for each other at the animal shelter, and it’s clear that it will take more than a bad storm to break their bond.
Rescued Orangutan Climbs His Way to Recovery – With the Help of Some Yummy Snacks (VIDEO)
They say it’s not about reaching the top of the mountain, it’s the climb. This analogy works perfectly to describe the journey of Budi the orangutan. When we first met Budi, he was malnourished, extremely weak and in unimaginable amounts of pain. His caretakers atInternational Animal Rescue worried that this 10-month-old orangutan would not be able to overcome these physical ailments, but time and time again Budi has proven that he’s a fighter.
After starting physical therapy to help reduce the swelling in his limbs, resultant from being fed only condensed milk for months, Budi is starting to climb. Climbing is an important skill that Budi will have to perfect if he is going to thrive in the wild, so his rescuers are working as hard as they can to get him up and swinging (literally).
With some snacks to motivate him to keep on climbing, Budi scales the frame of his hammock with the ease of a true pro. While all this work and physical therapy might be exhausting, we know that Budi will keep climbing towards the ultimate prize, his release back into the wild. Good luck, little buddy!
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