First, Second and Third is that a so called 'hunting trap' is the polar opposite of anything relating to hunting. The word hunting and trap should never be a term. Hunting is hunting something down and killing which I do not condone, but trapping something in any way, is not hunting. That is luring, tricking and trapping something before it is tortured till it dies.
Regardless, two brothers Rescued Bald Eagle Stuck in Hunting Trap and Then Took an Epic Selfie. Is there anything better than hearing a story about kind hoomans who jumped into action to help an animal in need? It seems like every day my little floppy ears are filled with negative stories about how humans are mean or abusive towards animals, but deep in my heart of doggy hearts, I know that people can be just as kind and loving as us dogs when faced with the opportunity. Neil and Michael Fletcher, the two brothers in this story certainly fall under this nice category after they sprung into action to help save a bald eagle who was stuck in a hunting trap in Ontario, Canada.
Neil and Michael were in the woods hunting for grouse when they came across a majestic eagle who was struggling to free his talon from the trap. With the help of their brave and extremely courageous dog, the Fletchers thought on their feet and covered the bird with a hoodie to calm it down while they released the trap mechanism. Check them out in action:
Michael explained to the Sudbury Star that while his brother held on to the bird, it was calm and relaxed – almost like it knew they were there to help. There weren’t any signs of injury on the bird, so after snapping a pretty epic selfie, they sent the eagle back to the great blue yonder!
They watched the eagle for a few minutes as it perched in a nearby tree then contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The Ministry is looking into the trap and thanked the brothers for their kind action!
This is an awesome story, and I am sooo glad these two were there to help this amazing bird – but remember that you should NEVER attempt to rescue a wild animal without contacting a professional first. If you come across a wild animal in need, check out these hotlines for help. All image source: Michael Fletcher/Facebook.
Find Out How This Unwanted Cross-Eyed Cat Found Fame, And A Loving Home
The phrase, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" rings so true for this cross-eyed cat. Muni, a kitty with lots of love to give, was likely abandoned solely because her appearance is less than ordinary. But rather than strange, she has proven to be extraordinary, with very little effort on her part. Videos of Muni simply lounging around her house, living a laid-back cat life, doing cat things, have gone viral. This has lead to her becoming a true Internet sensation.
Muni, destined to live out her entire life on the streets of Armenia, was saved by Ani Hovsepian. Her loving new owner notes very few differences in Muni's everyday life in comparison to cats void of any disabilities. This three-year-old Siamese is limited in one way, which serves as a drawback to her but an advantage to all her potential prey. In regards to her hunting capabilities, she says, "Muni being cross-eyed doesn’t particularly affect her vision although it will if she goes to try and catch a bug or a fly. Often, she will look straight past them, so she isn’t the best mouse catcher." Mouse: 1, Muni: 0.
Check out the video below of Muni in action, but be warned: her fun-loving, happy-go-lucky persona is truly addicting!
Who Could Possibly Abandon A Face This Sweet?
Muni In All Her Cross-Eyed Cuteness:
Meet The Badass Women Who Are Protecting Threatened Wildlife in Virunga National Park. Virunga National Park is home to some iconic animals – buffalo, giraffes, elephants, and perhaps most famously, mountain gorillas. The mountain gorilla population is critically endangered and Virunga is home to over half of the last remaining population. The park is 3,000 square miles of breathtakingly beautiful sights, from vast forests and jungles to snowfields to raging volcanoes. But the rangers who dedicate their lives to protecting these lands and the endangered mountain gorillas know that its splendor masks more sinister traits; violence, poaching, and crime. It takes guts, a passion for the environment, and nerves of steel to protect these lands, as corruption runs high in the bid to grab the minerals and oils that lay beneath the soil, as well as the illegal poaching, raids by rebel groups, illegal charcoal harvesters, and the trafficking and slaughtering of wildlife for the exotic artefacts trade.
Virunga is Africa’s oldest National Park and for many years the brave men that defend its habitat have faced a barrage of trials and tests, with many losing their lives, being seriously injured or incapacitated. But now, for the first time, four women have joined these ranks, and their courage and dedication to protecting threatened wildlife and habitat is nothing short of inspiring.
The First Female Rangers
Being a ranger at Virunga Wildlife Park is a prestigious job and one to be proud of, but it is also one of the most dangerous; in the past decade, more than 150 rangers have been killed in the line of duty. What’s more, until only recently, the government often did not pay the rangers regularly, and when they did, their wages barely covered the necessities of life.
Women had applied to become a ranger for many years, but the training regimes are arduous, and so far, none had managed to pass the rigorous physical and mental challenges that had been set. That was until 2014 when fourteen women proved their mettle and began their work guarding and defending their continent’s wildlife.
One of the new Rangers, Francine Bwizabule Muhimuzi, explained to The Guardian, “There is not yet equality, but in the park, we see it is improving because they have begun to recruit women.”
Aline Masika Kisambya became the park’s first female section commander, working up to 24-hour shifts a day guarding visitors, protecting and escorting tourists, and leading patrols deep into the bush and jungles, always alert for armed animal poachers or similar threats.
Every Virunga ranger is pounded into shape by a gruelling six-month training course – including up to nine-mile runs in the heat with full packs – led by Belgian commandos in the open savanna within the park borders. The women undergo the same training as their male competitors, learning battle-zone tactics in order to counter any rebel threats that they may encounter – after all, the Eastern Congo has been ravaged by a civil war since the early nineties, with Virunga slap-bang in the middle, seeing nearly 5.5 million killed, and millions displaced during the conflicts. The rigorous training also covers remote survival techniques, in case a ranger gets separated, lost or otherwise isolated in the deep wilderness.
These threats also test the guards’ inner courage and ability to keep a level head even when under pressure. Sometimes, the rebel militia groups will attack a village, and rangers will witness their own families, friends, neighbors, gunned down in senseless attacks. The rebel groups are fighting against their governments, but in the process they also kill and rape many civilians, poach illegally for bushmeat, cut down its trees, and set up camp in the park. As a result, conflict between the rebels and the wardens happens sometimes, with bloodshed on both sides.
Hope for Virunga
The Virunga Park has been well maintained as the years progress and as more and more influential people begin to take an interest in conservation. Not only are the rangers treated much better – with rangers now paid twice what the government allocates them, maternity leave added, and better living conditions – but the local settlements benefit too, with a project set up called the Virunga Alliance helping to support their communities, by providing aid such as fresh drinking water, medical clinics, and schools. This in turn has encouraged the people of the Congo to protect their wildlife, including the dwindling mountain gorilla species, and think more consciously about how their actions and lifestyles may be impacting the land, and the communities and the park are stronger and beginning to work together. This means great things for our wildlife and the park as a whole.
To learn more about this iconic park, check out the Virunga Documentary and support rangers on their website. Image source: Monique Jacques/National Geographic.
Rescued Cows Meet New Herd For The First Time and Jump for Joy! Cows Run With Joy After Meeting New Friends
Panda (black and white) and Jazzy (smaller brown Jersey) met the big herd at Animal Place for the first time. Cows are generally easy to integrate, because they LOVE meeting other bovines! Watch at how exuberant Panda is at meeting his new friends. Cows, like dogs and humans, experience joy. www.animalplace.org
Touching video of elephants helping a calf out of a waterhole. An elephant calf gets stuck in a waterhole. The mother struggled to get the calf out as the rest of the herd left. Watch as the herd returns and a more experienced member gives her a helping trunk.
A few people have asked how we know the adult helpers are females. Female elephants have skin folds between the hind legs that can confuse the inexperienced observer and make them look a bit like a male elephant. The easiest way to tell in this video is by the breasts between the front legs, which are visible from time to time (the mammaries can be seen every now and then, but the clearest view is perhaps at 1:48 for the second female, and 1:53 for the first female as she walks away – right breast in both cases). The calf is much harder to call because it is so young, but based on the rounded head and less prominent skin folds we suspect it might be a male. (Females have a more squarely shaped head). Thanks for all the interest shown in this adorable video! http://wild-wings-safaris.com.
Rescued Cow Enjoys a Good Head Scratch.
Hof Butenland is an animal sanctuary located in northern Germany that provides a lifelong refuge for abused, neglected, and abandoned farm animals. Home to over 100 permanent residents, this amazing sanctuary strives to treat these animals with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
Cows are among the most widely disrespected animals on the planet. Because of their calm and generally passive dispositions, humanity has dealt them a number of offenses. These days, most cows are treated as nothing more than commodities, with no thought for the living, feeling animals that they are.
Cows are very intelligent animals, with excellent memories, tight-knit social groups and strong family ties. Like most other farm animals, they enjoy giving and receiving affection, but a good head scratch is one of the things that they like most of all!
By acknowledging that farm animals are capable of feeling happiness and joy as well as fear and pain, just like the rest of us, we may begin to examine the injustice of how poorly they are treated by the meat and dairy industries. Share this video and show others how awesome farm animals really are!
These Rescued Orangutans Don’t Have Moms So They Snuggle Together in a Tire Swing. Orangutans are amazing animals. Speaking as a dog, I would say I have a pretty good perspective of what makes an animal great, and the orangutan has got it in my book! Not only are they fuzzy and cute, but they are incredibly intelligent and emotional animals. Like they have thumbs and they know how to use them … ummmm, needless to say, I’m super jealous of that.
But sadly, it seems like hoomans don’t feel the same way about orangutans – which is kind of crazy considering that humans and orangutans are BASICALLY cousins in the animal world. Rather than loving and protecting these animals, humans are rapidly destroying their homes and leaving them with no food, no shelter –AND to make matters even worse, they’re capturing orangutan babies after killing their mothers so that they can sell them as pets!
Don’t believe me?! This is what happened to these two adorable babies, Budi and Jacko.
Who would ever take these precious angels away from their moms?!
Just thinking about this made me so mad that I just completed shredded my favorite squeaky toy … yeah, I’m that mad!
As much as I love hoomans, they can be reaaaaaal jerks sometimes. Luckily, though, there are kind people working to undo all the badness that some have wrought on animals. International Animal Rescue (IAR) is a group made up of wonderful people who are doing this. These fantastic, amazing, compassionate, phenomenal … I’ve run out of nice adjetives … are raising these orphans and helping them learn all the things their moms should have been able to teach them. Baby orangutans stay with their mothers until they’re two or older! Budi was ripped away from his mom when he was only one month old.
IAR is helping these little ones get used to living in the trees with the help of tire swings. I always thought tire swings were supposed to be fun, but this one just makes me kind of sad.
IAR is doing their very best to get Jacko and Budi back oto the wild where they belong and the little ones are making progress. I sure hope that one day people will stop cutting down orangutans homes and make sure these animals get to live the life they deserve.
Until then, check out IAR and their amazingness on their website and Facebook. All image source: IAR/Facebook.
Extremely Overweight Homeless Senior Dog Gets the Makeover of a Lifetime.
Brazil is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. With its endless beaches, thick rainforest and balmy, tropical climate, Brazil can be a traveler’s paradise. Unfortunately, for the homeless animals who live in Brazil, like the many homeless animals in the U.S., Brazil is anything but paradise.
The poor pup in this story showed up at a rural gas station in Brazil when he was just a few months old. Although no one took him in, he quickly became a staff favorite. They regularly fed him scraps of people food, which really fattened him up. After 13 years of overeating, this canine cutie had developed quite the weight problem! Lucky for him, someone contacted the Animal Protection Organization to help.
When they found him, Bolinha was 30 pounds overweight. Although he was well fed, he had no place to call his own and was living among a bunch of trash behind the restaurant.
Getting this big fella clean was the first line of business when he arrived at the Animal Protection Organization shelter. Aside from the occasional rainstorm, this was most likely his first time ever getting a bath.
Once he was all soft and shiny, they could address his weight problem. Being overweight is as unhealthy for animals as it is for people, leading to diabetes, heart disease and other health problems. It was clear by the way Bolinha was walking that all of this extra weight was putting a lot of pressure on his joints.
He was put on a strict diet and exercise regime, which included walking in water on a treadmill. This was to make things as easy as possible for him.
After lots of hard work and the dedication of shelter volunteers, this sweet pup lost 30 pounds! Now it is a lot easier for this now svelte pooch to get around.
Although there is no doubt that the right family would love him at any size, slimming down was the right health choice for this senior dog, giving him the opportunity to enjoy his golden years. Now, he is as good as new, proving to everyone how much can change with a little investment of time and a lot of love.
Senior dogs like Bolhina are often the last to be adopted at shelters, despite their almost always calm dispositions. If you’re considering adopting a four-legged friend, why not take a trip to your local animal shelter and offer a senior dog like this one the opportunity of a lifetime: To grow old gracefully in a loving family home. Neither one of you will regret it! All image source: Imgur.
Firefighter rescues dog and his owner from flood water
You Won’t Believe the Transformation of This Skinny, Sick Kitten After Months of Love and Care. Looking at Silas the cat now, you’d never know that life wasn’t always so easy. When he was a kitten, Silas was found homeless on the side of the road by a kind Florida family. Luckily for him, they opened their hearts to the poor sick kitten, fattening him up and nursing him back to health. You won’t believe his transformation!
Poor Silas was all skin and bones when his family found him and his white coat was dirty and matted.
It took a lot of TLC to get him healthy again, but his transformation was amazing!
Today, Silas is an Instagram star, attracting admirers from all over the world.
With the cutest pink paws and that decadent white coat, he has a natural star quality!
But his family adores him because this sweet boy is a total lover!
Who wouldn’t want to cuddle with something so soft? He’s practically a pillow of fluff!
Without the love and devotion of his family, there is no telling what would have happened to this beautiful cat. They took a chance on opening their home to a poor sick kitten in need and now he pays them back every day with love! Silas is living proof that by saving lives, we spread the cycle of love, making the world a better place one animal at a time. To follow this sweet fluffball, check out Silas on Instagram. All image source: sir_silas_kitty/Instagram
Um WHAT?! Senior Dog Abandoned Because Family Remodeled Their House – Help Her Find a Home!
It might seem impossible to believe that anyone could heartlessly abandon a loving animal who has been a part of their lives for a decade, but that is exactly what recently happened to a senior Pit Bull named Lexus in Kentucky. After her family remodeled their home, they reportedly decided that she “no longer fit in the picture.” Yes, we’re not kidding. Apparently, this family decided that their innocent dog was not too different from an old couch that needed to be dumped by the sidewalk because it didn’t match the new wooden flooring in the house.
Thanks to the heartless actions of her owners, Lexus was sent to the Franklin County Humane Society shelter: a terrifying experience, for a lady who had been used to living in a home all her life.
The unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells of shelter life are said to have left Lexus “confused and terrified,” and FCHS are now appealing to anyone who might be willing to take this beautiful girl into their home to contact them. She is a naturally laid back dog, excellent with children, and can live happily either as an only dog or as part of a small group.
The story of how Lexus was treated by those who were meant to care for her is truly tragic, but her rescuers are now hoping that she will soon find a family more worthy of her. To help her find that loving forever home, she deserves, share this post! FCHS may be contacted through their website or Facebook page.
Senior dogs are often ignored by people who visit shelters in the hope of adopting a puppy. However, despite the fact that they may not have as many years to live as a baby dog, they still have plenty of love to give. Their gentleness, loyalty, and calmer temperament. To learn more about caring for an older pooch, check out some of the posts below:
Former Research Chimps Enjoy Their Very First Snow Day! Have you ever been somewhat wary about trying a new food for the first time, before coming to realize that it is, in fact, the best thing EVER, and you can’t get enough of it? This was what recently happened to a group of rescued chimps at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW) when they woke up to find the ground covered in snow.
Three of the chimps – Missy, Burrito, and Annie – bravely ventured to try out this strange new substance first. Their carers reported, “They each took turns stretching out of the doorway to grab handfuls of the fluffy stuff.” The humans then decided to turn the snow into a specular treat, by filling up a number of buckets with a tasty mixture of snow, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Having never seen snow before, the rest of the chimps were alight with curiosity, and immediately set about investigating it!
They were initially bewildered by the strange new snack food before them.
At first, there were a few tentative nibbles…
… but the chimps soon realized that they were in for a treat! Have you ever seen a cuter smile?
A chimp named Jody “inspected her options before relaxing with a big mouthful on the stairwell.”
She wasted no time in gobbling down as much snow as she could.
”Hmm … what’s the best way to deal with all this excitement?”
One of the chimps, Burrito, decided that the best course of action would be “to just grab a bucket and shovel in as much as possible.”
Foxie took the time to explore her options thoroughly.
She investigated all of the buckets, keen to discover which one contained the tastiest snow.
After all the excitement, the chimps were in need of a much-deserved rest!
This sweet story shows that these curious, intelligent, playful animals deserve to be free – not imprisoned in zoos, or used as research subjects for human purposes. Thanks to the kind people of CSNW, the chimps featured in the photographs get to enjoy a relaxed, joyous standard of living, free from the threat of human interference. To learn more about the organization’s work, visit their website or Facebook page. You can find out how to help them here. All Image Source: Chimp Sanctuary NorthWest
11 Dogs Rescued From the Meat Trade Finally Get the Love. They Deserve! Alright, I know this might sounds a wee bit crazy to most hoomans – but in some parts of the world, people don’t think of dogs like dogs, as in the fluffy loving animals that share their homes, they think of them as food. I am literally wincing just thinking about this. How anyone could look into the eyes of a dog – or ANY animal, really – and not understand that we feel pain, fear, and understand our suffering just as readily as people do just baffles me. Sadly, this is just the reality.
While thinking about the people who purposely cage, abuse, and kill pups for eating makes the fur stick up on the back of my neck … I am also super happy to report that there are some awesome people who are saving dogs from these meanies!
ARME’s Beagle Freedom Project is a spectacularly wonderful organization that works to save dogs and all other animals from some pretty horrific place. They focus mostly on testing labs – but recently, they’ve been helping to combat the dog meat trade too!
In their most recent EPIC victory for the puppehs, ARME announced on Facebook that they rescued 11 dogs from the meat trade!
WELCOME TO FREEDOM DOGGIES!
Nothing makes my tail wag more than this news!
Just look at the happiness and gratitude on that face!
Freed from their terrible cages and horrifying future, these pups will be flown from China to the U.S. I am so happy these little ones will get to experience all the wonders of running in the park, belly rubs from nice hoomans, and learning to will people to fork over sweet potato treats with just one look! They have so much happiness ahead of them!
My only wish is that one day all doggies will get to experience this same happiness and freedom, but for now, I will welcome these 11 fuzzy faces to the other side. If I could lick the faces of all the people who made this possible I totally would!
To learn more about ARME’s Beagle Freedom Project, click here. Image source: ARME/Facebook
Heartbreaking Images of Rescued Orangutan Mother and Baby Will Inspire You to Act NOW! The world’s orangutan population is hanging by a thread, sadly, mostly because of human actions. Although this primate species shares nearly 97 percent of the same DNA as humans, their well-being is often jeopardized in the pursuit of palm oil. This oil is is used in nearly 50 percent of all consumer goods, largely because it is cheap and it an extremely versatile. Unfortunately for the orangutan, palm oil grows best in their native habitat, the ancient rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Over the course of the past two decades, over 90 percent of the orangutans habitat has been lost to deforestation associated with palm oil.
Adding to the orangutan’s struggles are the rampant forest fires that have raged through Indonesia for the past five months. Pushed out of their already dwindling habitat to escape the fires, orangutans are left with nowhere to go and little hope for survival. Thankfully, International Animal Rescue (IAR) has been working around the clock to rescue, rehabilitate, and release orangutans, ensuring their safety.
Mama Novia and her tiny baby Noval are two of IAR’s most recent rescues who were saved from the grips of the wildfires just in time.
Like human children, baby orangutans are dependent on their mothers for the first few years of life.
With orangutan populations hovering around 30,000 left in the wild, many fear that this species will go extinct within our lifetimes.
Once this mother and baby are given the all clear from IAR vets, they will be transferred to a safe section of forest and set free.
Although IAR is determined to save as many orangutans as they can – they have already rescued over 20 in the past few months – the reality of this bleak situation is not lost on them. Karmele Llano Sanchez, Program Director for IAR Indonesia explains, “There are no words to express how we feel about this. All our efforts to protect orangutans and their habitat are in vain when fires destroy everything in an instant.”
If we don’t take action to stop the devastation of Indonesia’s rainforests then we can never expect to give the orangutan a fighting chance at survival. We can all help in our daily actions by cutting ties with palm oil, check out this post to learn how. To help the IAR team and their ground efforts to rescue orangutans, check out their website. All image source: IAR/Facebook
Tuffy - a dog who refused to be beaten by cruelty. As a six-week-old puppy, Tuffy had the shock of his young life – having a pot of boiling water thrown on him for chewing on his former owner’s cell phone.
What happened next would have killed most people. Tuffy was thrown from a fourth-floor balcony, onto concrete.
Thankfully for Tuffy there was a happy ending - read it here: http://bit.ly/tuffydog
Music: "Sentiment d 'amour (Feeling Love)" by Syenta & "The Torn Letter" by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD)
Rescued kitten loves Pomeranian dog.
After being abandoned by his mother, Pancho the kitten was found alone and with his eyes closed. He was taken in by this caring family, who fed and nursed him to the healthy kitten he is today! While living in his new home, the fearless kitten became attached to Jinxy, an adorable Pomeranian dog. The pair couldn't be any cuter! Source & embed code: https://rumble.com/v2zgzl-rescued-kit...
Chilean Horse Rescue with a GoPro (Be A Hero).
On his 21st birthday, Rafael Pease went out to ride some fresh powder in Chile. His plans changed when he found a stranded horse stuck in the snow and he swiftly moved to action.
Follow Rafael Pease on Instagram at: https://instagram.com/rafafarian/
Shot 100% on the HERO3+® camera from http://GoPro.com.
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Music: Gossamer - "For Sleep" - Link to buy: https://goo.gl/eBVIhC
William Ryan Fritch - "Chatter of Birds" - http://www.williamryanfritch.com/
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Keane is responding well to treatment and should be ready to go to his new home soon. If you’re interested in making sure that his future is as sunny as his outlook, e-mail Adopt@peta.org.
Over 30 Dogs Living in Miserable Defunct Animal Shelter in Bosnia Desperately Need Your Help. In Bosnia, the stray dogs population is a huge problem. Because of the concern over dog bites and spread of disease, efforts have been made by various communities to remove dogs from the streets. Unfortunately, these efforts aren’t always the most compassionate. Some of the strategies used in the past include transporting dogs to other areas, shooting them, or dumping them in dismal “animal shelters.” While the latter might sound like the best solution, the reality is that many of these shelters are anything but safe havens for needy animals.
The animal shelter in Jajce, a small town in Bosnia, is just one example that illustrates the conditions found in shelters. Here, emaciated dogs are attached to short chains, day and night, left to hide in fear in the corner of their barren shelters. Instead of comfy bedding, they have only a cold floor. Instead of regular veterinary care, they have to suffer through any health problems they encounter. And instead of tasty, nutritious food, they’re lucky if they even get a meal every day.
Fortunately, this abuse is coming to an end thanks to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world.
The Beginnings of Change
IFAW started working with the Municipality of Jajce in early 2014 as part of their collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bosnia, working under their safer communities program. It soon became clear that homeless dogs – in the eyes of many communities in Bosnia – are a main security threat and one of their most pressing concerns. Because the UNDP lacked the expertise to tackle stray dog problems, they instead partnered to deliver a Humane Community Development Program, a unique and humane way of solving stray dog problems.
“With UNDP as facilitators, we engage a broad set of stakeholders from across the community and help them assess the sources of their community’s concerns about dogs,’’ Kate Nattrass Atema, program director of IFAW, tells One Green Planet. “The group is then led through a process that allows them to design a tailored set of strategies for their community to address those issues. When the community has a plan that is broadly supported and to which they’ve committed their own resources, IFAW helps them overcome immediate barriers to implementation, which is usually veterinary equipment, training, or educational resources.’’
During the process, IFAW soon discovered that they were maintaining an animal shelter which kept dogs in dire conditions and ultimately, not getting to the root cause of the pet homelessness situation in Bosnia, which is mostly animal abandonment.
The community of Jajce agreed that this shelter must be closed down and the dogs re-homed. As a result, the IFAW agreed to help them close the shelter for good and provide forever homes for all the dogs who lived at the dismal shelter.
From Bosnia to Germany: A Journey to Happiness
IFAW have recently partnered with the German organization, Streunergluck, which can be translated to “Stray Luck,’’ to coordinate the fostering and adoption of the dogs from the Jajce shelter as soon as they make the journey from Bosnia. Transporting dogs across borders is always a challenge, but the committed partners in Bosnia and Germany are set on rescuing these dogs and having them placed into loving forever homes.
With around 70 dogs at the shelter, they would have to be taken in at least two phases. Only 34 of the dogs have made the 75-mile journey to their destination while the rest lay in wait in Bosnia.
How You Can Help
There are still more than 30 dogs waiting at the dire animal shelter in Jajce, deprived of health, freedom, and love. The team from IFAW and from Streunergluck will be returning to rescue the remaining dogs but in order to do that, they need your help to cover the cost of transportation and care.
You can help the Bosnian dogs to escape their misery and find forever homes by sending a donation to the IFAW today. All animals deserve to experience loving forever homes, and with the promise of a happy future so near insight for these pups, your help could make a lifetime of difference for these dogs! To learn more about IFAW and their incredible work, check out their website. All image source: IFAW/Flickr
A Kind Person Found an Abandoned Kitten in a Backyard and Did Something Awesome. There is no questioning the fact that cats and dogs are among the most popular pets. But despite the popularity of these animals, there is an astounding number of them who are living on the street as strays. In the U.S. alone, there are over 70 million homeless cats and dogs and only a small fraction of these animals will ever find their way to a forever home.
While there are a number of organizations working to rescue and rehome needy animals, this is no small undertaking. Luckily, however, for all the organized efforts to help animals, there are also many motivated individuals who take it upon themselves to step in and lend a hand when they find a creature in need. Just take the story of little Simba the kitten from Imgur user letsbebadguys for example.
Meet Simba! He was found abandoned in a teacher’s backyard. He was far too young to fend for himself, but luckily, another teacher took him in.
His little eyes were barely even open when he was first rescued.
The kind person who took him in was instantly smitten (can you blame them!).
It took round the clock care and feeding to help him grow in the first few weeks, but he showed more and more spirit each day!
Simba even had to go to school with his mom so she could keep an eye on him. Hey – you’re never too young to learn after all!
Simba’s brother Parker was a bit unsure about the new kitten arrangement at first. He sat like this, staring at the box the kitten was in for over 30 minutes.
Parker got over his hang ups pretty quickly, though.
Simba’s getting older and stronger every day. You can really see the difference between now and when he first arrived as he catches some Z’s under this laptop.
Some of his hobbies include drinking the droplets from the bathtub faucet. We bet that there’s a clean bowl of water designated for him, but this is just more fun.
Parker and Simba still get along great! Here you can see them playing hide and go seek in the bathtub!
We still can’t get over how the tiny little fluff ball who first came home with letsbebadguys grew up to be such a handsome fella. Just goes to show the transformative powers of a loving home!
If you’re looking to add a new furry member to your family, remember to always adopt! All image source: letsbebadguys/Imgur
Former Rescued Orphan Elephant and Her Baby is Sure to Warm Your Heart.
Taking care of rescued wildlife can be bittersweet. Rescuers spend months or years rehabilitating and bonding with the animals in their care all the while knowing that the animal will eventually go back into the wild. But even though letting go of an animal you’ve come to love can be difficult, seeing them thrive in their wild environment is a powerful rewarding feeling that trumps everything else.
The kind people at David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) understand this feeling all too well. This amazing organization specializes in rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned baby elephants, many of whom have lost their parents to the illegal ivory trade. Around one elephant is killed every 15 minutes of their ivory, so DSWT’s work is incredibly important. In this video, we see one of the many success stories that DSWT has made possible.
Sweet Sally is an ex-orphan who DSWT helped raise and release back into the wild. Now, Sally has given birth to a calf named Safi which is Swahili for “unblemished” – it’s a totally fitting name as the little guy is perfect in every way!
Safi’s birth represents more than just sentimental value for DSWT, it shows that there is hope for a bright future for Africa’s elephants. To learn more about DSWT, check out their website, here.
Regardless, two brothers Rescued Bald Eagle Stuck in Hunting Trap and Then Took an Epic Selfie. Is there anything better than hearing a story about kind hoomans who jumped into action to help an animal in need? It seems like every day my little floppy ears are filled with negative stories about how humans are mean or abusive towards animals, but deep in my heart of doggy hearts, I know that people can be just as kind and loving as us dogs when faced with the opportunity. Neil and Michael Fletcher, the two brothers in this story certainly fall under this nice category after they sprung into action to help save a bald eagle who was stuck in a hunting trap in Ontario, Canada.
Neil and Michael were in the woods hunting for grouse when they came across a majestic eagle who was struggling to free his talon from the trap. With the help of their brave and extremely courageous dog, the Fletchers thought on their feet and covered the bird with a hoodie to calm it down while they released the trap mechanism. Check them out in action:
This is an awesome story, and I am sooo glad these two were there to help this amazing bird – but remember that you should NEVER attempt to rescue a wild animal without contacting a professional first. If you come across a wild animal in need, check out these hotlines for help. All image source: Michael Fletcher/Facebook.
Find Out How This Unwanted Cross-Eyed Cat Found Fame, And A Loving Home
The phrase, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" rings so true for this cross-eyed cat. Muni, a kitty with lots of love to give, was likely abandoned solely because her appearance is less than ordinary. But rather than strange, she has proven to be extraordinary, with very little effort on her part. Videos of Muni simply lounging around her house, living a laid-back cat life, doing cat things, have gone viral. This has lead to her becoming a true Internet sensation.
Muni, destined to live out her entire life on the streets of Armenia, was saved by Ani Hovsepian. Her loving new owner notes very few differences in Muni's everyday life in comparison to cats void of any disabilities. This three-year-old Siamese is limited in one way, which serves as a drawback to her but an advantage to all her potential prey. In regards to her hunting capabilities, she says, "Muni being cross-eyed doesn’t particularly affect her vision although it will if she goes to try and catch a bug or a fly. Often, she will look straight past them, so she isn’t the best mouse catcher." Mouse: 1, Muni: 0.
Check out the video below of Muni in action, but be warned: her fun-loving, happy-go-lucky persona is truly addicting!
Who Could Possibly Abandon A Face This Sweet?
The First Female Rangers
Being a ranger at Virunga Wildlife Park is a prestigious job and one to be proud of, but it is also one of the most dangerous; in the past decade, more than 150 rangers have been killed in the line of duty. What’s more, until only recently, the government often did not pay the rangers regularly, and when they did, their wages barely covered the necessities of life.
Women had applied to become a ranger for many years, but the training regimes are arduous, and so far, none had managed to pass the rigorous physical and mental challenges that had been set. That was until 2014 when fourteen women proved their mettle and began their work guarding and defending their continent’s wildlife.
One of the new Rangers, Francine Bwizabule Muhimuzi, explained to The Guardian, “There is not yet equality, but in the park, we see it is improving because they have begun to recruit women.”
Aline Masika Kisambya became the park’s first female section commander, working up to 24-hour shifts a day guarding visitors, protecting and escorting tourists, and leading patrols deep into the bush and jungles, always alert for armed animal poachers or similar threats.
Every Virunga ranger is pounded into shape by a gruelling six-month training course – including up to nine-mile runs in the heat with full packs – led by Belgian commandos in the open savanna within the park borders. The women undergo the same training as their male competitors, learning battle-zone tactics in order to counter any rebel threats that they may encounter – after all, the Eastern Congo has been ravaged by a civil war since the early nineties, with Virunga slap-bang in the middle, seeing nearly 5.5 million killed, and millions displaced during the conflicts. The rigorous training also covers remote survival techniques, in case a ranger gets separated, lost or otherwise isolated in the deep wilderness.
These threats also test the guards’ inner courage and ability to keep a level head even when under pressure. Sometimes, the rebel militia groups will attack a village, and rangers will witness their own families, friends, neighbors, gunned down in senseless attacks. The rebel groups are fighting against their governments, but in the process they also kill and rape many civilians, poach illegally for bushmeat, cut down its trees, and set up camp in the park. As a result, conflict between the rebels and the wardens happens sometimes, with bloodshed on both sides.
Hope for Virunga
The Virunga Park has been well maintained as the years progress and as more and more influential people begin to take an interest in conservation. Not only are the rangers treated much better – with rangers now paid twice what the government allocates them, maternity leave added, and better living conditions – but the local settlements benefit too, with a project set up called the Virunga Alliance helping to support their communities, by providing aid such as fresh drinking water, medical clinics, and schools. This in turn has encouraged the people of the Congo to protect their wildlife, including the dwindling mountain gorilla species, and think more consciously about how their actions and lifestyles may be impacting the land, and the communities and the park are stronger and beginning to work together. This means great things for our wildlife and the park as a whole.
To learn more about this iconic park, check out the Virunga Documentary and support rangers on their website. Image source: Monique Jacques/National Geographic.
Rescued Cows Meet New Herd For The First Time and Jump for Joy! Cows Run With Joy After Meeting New Friends
Touching video of elephants helping a calf out of a waterhole. An elephant calf gets stuck in a waterhole. The mother struggled to get the calf out as the rest of the herd left. Watch as the herd returns and a more experienced member gives her a helping trunk.
Rescued Cow Enjoys a Good Head Scratch.
Cows are among the most widely disrespected animals on the planet. Because of their calm and generally passive dispositions, humanity has dealt them a number of offenses. These days, most cows are treated as nothing more than commodities, with no thought for the living, feeling animals that they are.
Cows are very intelligent animals, with excellent memories, tight-knit social groups and strong family ties. Like most other farm animals, they enjoy giving and receiving affection, but a good head scratch is one of the things that they like most of all!
By acknowledging that farm animals are capable of feeling happiness and joy as well as fear and pain, just like the rest of us, we may begin to examine the injustice of how poorly they are treated by the meat and dairy industries. Share this video and show others how awesome farm animals really are!
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| In the cruel world of dog fighting, animals are treated as disposable
objects. When we first met Silver, a senior Lab/Shepherd mix, he hadn’t been
valued enough to be given a name—only a number, 205. The ASPCA rescued Silver
from a filthy, wire pen in the middle of a sun-baked yard where dogs were
chained and trained to fight, and at the time, his fur was missing
in patches and he tested positive for heartworm and tick-borne diseases. He was
also underweight and had not had access to fresh food or water. Silver was one of 367 dogs that the ASPCA helped rescue during the second-largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history. It is believed that Silver belonged to one of the 10 defendants, most of whom are now serving time in federal prison. Thanks to supporters like you, Silver will spend this holiday season in a loving, safe home—but there are still animals out there who desperately need our help.  Unfortunately, countless animals across the country won’t experience love this holiday season. When you make a gift to the ASPCA, you’ll help us rescue homeless and abused animals, paving the way for cruelty victims like Silver to become beloved pets. Please consider making a donation today to help animals in need nationwide. | |||||||||||
These Rescued Orangutans Don’t Have Moms So They Snuggle Together in a Tire Swing. Orangutans are amazing animals. Speaking as a dog, I would say I have a pretty good perspective of what makes an animal great, and the orangutan has got it in my book! Not only are they fuzzy and cute, but they are incredibly intelligent and emotional animals. Like they have thumbs and they know how to use them … ummmm, needless to say, I’m super jealous of that.
But sadly, it seems like hoomans don’t feel the same way about orangutans – which is kind of crazy considering that humans and orangutans are BASICALLY cousins in the animal world. Rather than loving and protecting these animals, humans are rapidly destroying their homes and leaving them with no food, no shelter –AND to make matters even worse, they’re capturing orangutan babies after killing their mothers so that they can sell them as pets!
Don’t believe me?! This is what happened to these two adorable babies, Budi and Jacko.
Who would ever take these precious angels away from their moms?!
As much as I love hoomans, they can be reaaaaaal jerks sometimes. Luckily, though, there are kind people working to undo all the badness that some have wrought on animals. International Animal Rescue (IAR) is a group made up of wonderful people who are doing this. These fantastic, amazing, compassionate, phenomenal … I’ve run out of nice adjetives … are raising these orphans and helping them learn all the things their moms should have been able to teach them. Baby orangutans stay with their mothers until they’re two or older! Budi was ripped away from his mom when he was only one month old.
IAR is helping these little ones get used to living in the trees with the help of tire swings. I always thought tire swings were supposed to be fun, but this one just makes me kind of sad.
Until then, check out IAR and their amazingness on their website and Facebook. All image source: IAR/Facebook.
Extremely Overweight Homeless Senior Dog Gets the Makeover of a Lifetime.
Brazil is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. With its endless beaches, thick rainforest and balmy, tropical climate, Brazil can be a traveler’s paradise. Unfortunately, for the homeless animals who live in Brazil, like the many homeless animals in the U.S., Brazil is anything but paradise.
The poor pup in this story showed up at a rural gas station in Brazil when he was just a few months old. Although no one took him in, he quickly became a staff favorite. They regularly fed him scraps of people food, which really fattened him up. After 13 years of overeating, this canine cutie had developed quite the weight problem! Lucky for him, someone contacted the Animal Protection Organization to help.
When they found him, Bolinha was 30 pounds overweight. Although he was well fed, he had no place to call his own and was living among a bunch of trash behind the restaurant.
Senior dogs like Bolhina are often the last to be adopted at shelters, despite their almost always calm dispositions. If you’re considering adopting a four-legged friend, why not take a trip to your local animal shelter and offer a senior dog like this one the opportunity of a lifetime: To grow old gracefully in a loving family home. Neither one of you will regret it! All image source: Imgur.
Firefighter rescues dog and his owner from flood water
Dog thanks firefighter after owner and pet are saved from from Texas flood
Play By Play:
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In scenes following the swift-water rescue early Friday in ... find the man, who was clinging onto his dog in the flood waters, trapped in a tree, according to the Courier-Gazette.
McKinney Firefighters Rescue Man, Dog From Flood
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2 days ago - A dramatic rescue of a man and his dog unfolded in McKinney as a round of ... on the shoulders of the gentleman that was his owner,” O'Keefe said. ... to his dog as water rushed around them, and McKinney firefighters tried ...
Man & His Dog Rescued From Flood Waters In McKinney ...
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3 days ago - The McKinney Fire Department arrived on scene after the man called for help due to the rising flood waters. The man and his dog are expected ...
Swift Water Rescues Keep McKinney First Responders Busy ...
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2 days ago - Firefighters got a big thank you from a four-legged swift water rescue victim. ... The dog's owner was also one of two people who had to be rescued in ... and College Street when he and his dog got caught up in flood waters.
McKinney (TX) Firefighters Rescue Man and Dog From Flood
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2 days ago - That's literally all I saw at first was the dog standing on water. Turns out he was standing on the shoulders of the gentleman that was his owner,” ...
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4 hours ago - swift-water rescue early Friday. ... who saved the animal and his owner from chest-deep Texas flood waters has been captured on camera.
Poor Silas was all skin and bones when his family found him and his white coat was dirty and matted.
Um WHAT?! Senior Dog Abandoned Because Family Remodeled Their House – Help Her Find a Home!
It might seem impossible to believe that anyone could heartlessly abandon a loving animal who has been a part of their lives for a decade, but that is exactly what recently happened to a senior Pit Bull named Lexus in Kentucky. After her family remodeled their home, they reportedly decided that she “no longer fit in the picture.” Yes, we’re not kidding. Apparently, this family decided that their innocent dog was not too different from an old couch that needed to be dumped by the sidewalk because it didn’t match the new wooden flooring in the house.
Thanks to the heartless actions of her owners, Lexus was sent to the Franklin County Humane Society shelter: a terrifying experience, for a lady who had been used to living in a home all her life.
The story of how Lexus was treated by those who were meant to care for her is truly tragic, but her rescuers are now hoping that she will soon find a family more worthy of her. To help her find that loving forever home, she deserves, share this post! FCHS may be contacted through their website or Facebook page.
Senior dogs are often ignored by people who visit shelters in the hope of adopting a puppy. However, despite the fact that they may not have as many years to live as a baby dog, they still have plenty of love to give. Their gentleness, loyalty, and calmer temperament. To learn more about caring for an older pooch, check out some of the posts below:
- Why You Should Consider Adopting a Senior Dog
- 5 Reasons Adopting a Senior Pet is an Awesome Idea
- 6 Things You Need to Know About Caring for a Senior Dog
- How to Find the Perfect Rescue Dog for Your Family
Former Research Chimps Enjoy Their Very First Snow Day! Have you ever been somewhat wary about trying a new food for the first time, before coming to realize that it is, in fact, the best thing EVER, and you can’t get enough of it? This was what recently happened to a group of rescued chimps at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW) when they woke up to find the ground covered in snow.
Three of the chimps – Missy, Burrito, and Annie – bravely ventured to try out this strange new substance first. Their carers reported, “They each took turns stretching out of the doorway to grab handfuls of the fluffy stuff.” The humans then decided to turn the snow into a specular treat, by filling up a number of buckets with a tasty mixture of snow, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Having never seen snow before, the rest of the chimps were alight with curiosity, and immediately set about investigating it!
They were initially bewildered by the strange new snack food before them.
11 Dogs Rescued From the Meat Trade Finally Get the Love. They Deserve! Alright, I know this might sounds a wee bit crazy to most hoomans – but in some parts of the world, people don’t think of dogs like dogs, as in the fluffy loving animals that share their homes, they think of them as food. I am literally wincing just thinking about this. How anyone could look into the eyes of a dog – or ANY animal, really – and not understand that we feel pain, fear, and understand our suffering just as readily as people do just baffles me. Sadly, this is just the reality.
While thinking about the people who purposely cage, abuse, and kill pups for eating makes the fur stick up on the back of my neck … I am also super happy to report that there are some awesome people who are saving dogs from these meanies!
ARME’s Beagle Freedom Project is a spectacularly wonderful organization that works to save dogs and all other animals from some pretty horrific place. They focus mostly on testing labs – but recently, they’ve been helping to combat the dog meat trade too!
In their most recent EPIC victory for the puppehs, ARME announced on Facebook that they rescued 11 dogs from the meat trade!
WELCOME TO FREEDOM DOGGIES!
Just look at the happiness and gratitude on that face!
My only wish is that one day all doggies will get to experience this same happiness and freedom, but for now, I will welcome these 11 fuzzy faces to the other side. If I could lick the faces of all the people who made this possible I totally would!
To learn more about ARME’s Beagle Freedom Project, click here. Image source: ARME/Facebook
Heartbreaking Images of Rescued Orangutan Mother and Baby Will Inspire You to Act NOW! The world’s orangutan population is hanging by a thread, sadly, mostly because of human actions. Although this primate species shares nearly 97 percent of the same DNA as humans, their well-being is often jeopardized in the pursuit of palm oil. This oil is is used in nearly 50 percent of all consumer goods, largely because it is cheap and it an extremely versatile. Unfortunately for the orangutan, palm oil grows best in their native habitat, the ancient rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Over the course of the past two decades, over 90 percent of the orangutans habitat has been lost to deforestation associated with palm oil.
Adding to the orangutan’s struggles are the rampant forest fires that have raged through Indonesia for the past five months. Pushed out of their already dwindling habitat to escape the fires, orangutans are left with nowhere to go and little hope for survival. Thankfully, International Animal Rescue (IAR) has been working around the clock to rescue, rehabilitate, and release orangutans, ensuring their safety.
Mama Novia and her tiny baby Noval are two of IAR’s most recent rescues who were saved from the grips of the wildfires just in time.
Like human children, baby orangutans are dependent on their mothers for the first few years of life.
If we don’t take action to stop the devastation of Indonesia’s rainforests then we can never expect to give the orangutan a fighting chance at survival. We can all help in our daily actions by cutting ties with palm oil, check out this post to learn how. To help the IAR team and their ground efforts to rescue orangutans, check out their website. All image source: IAR/Facebook
Tuffy - a dog who refused to be beaten by cruelty. As a six-week-old puppy, Tuffy had the shock of his young life – having a pot of boiling water thrown on him for chewing on his former owner’s cell phone.
Thankfully for Tuffy there was a happy ending - read it here: http://bit.ly/tuffydog
Music: "Sentiment d 'amour (Feeling Love)" by Syenta & "The Torn Letter" by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD)
Rescued kitten loves Pomeranian dog.
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Mange saved this dog's life. Now he needs your help. Despite the claims of his owner, Keane’s mange was not “getting better.” Having
gone for months without treatment, the 18-month-old pit bull’s condition was
much worse than it was when PETA’s fieldworkers last visited him.
Keane’s owner is a pit-bull breeder, and his junk-strewn yard is peppered with a rotating cast of pit bulls and puppies, all of them chained or confined to dilapidated pens.
Keane’s owner is a pit-bull breeder, and his junk-strewn yard is peppered with a rotating cast of pit bulls and puppies, all of them chained or confined to dilapidated pens.
Keane
before.
On
PETA’s most recent visit, our fieldworkers saw that the mange had eaten away
most of Keane’s fur, revealing bright pink skin and making him resemble a piglet
more than a dog. Belatedly realizing that Keane was in urgent need of veterinary
care, his owner surrendered him to PETA.
After spending all his life on a chain, surrounded by mud and filth and with little social interaction or affection, Keane has every right to be shy, distrustful, and fearful, but he’s none of those things. Instead, he acts like a tourist on vacation, exploring his new surroundings with avid curiosity, reacting with tail-wagging glee to every new toy and treat, and greeting everyone he meets—humans and canines alike—like long-lost relatives. Bright pink and hairless, Keane can hardly be described as handsome, but his ebullient personality immediately melts the heart of everyone who meets him.
After spending all his life on a chain, surrounded by mud and filth and with little social interaction or affection, Keane has every right to be shy, distrustful, and fearful, but he’s none of those things. Instead, he acts like a tourist on vacation, exploring his new surroundings with avid curiosity, reacting with tail-wagging glee to every new toy and treat, and greeting everyone he meets—humans and canines alike—like long-lost relatives. Bright pink and hairless, Keane can hardly be described as handsome, but his ebullient personality immediately melts the heart of everyone who meets him.
Keane
now!
Keane is responding well to treatment and should be ready to go to his new home soon. If you’re interested in making sure that his future is as sunny as his outlook, e-mail Adopt@peta.org.
Over 30 Dogs Living in Miserable Defunct Animal Shelter in Bosnia Desperately Need Your Help. In Bosnia, the stray dogs population is a huge problem. Because of the concern over dog bites and spread of disease, efforts have been made by various communities to remove dogs from the streets. Unfortunately, these efforts aren’t always the most compassionate. Some of the strategies used in the past include transporting dogs to other areas, shooting them, or dumping them in dismal “animal shelters.” While the latter might sound like the best solution, the reality is that many of these shelters are anything but safe havens for needy animals.
The animal shelter in Jajce, a small town in Bosnia, is just one example that illustrates the conditions found in shelters. Here, emaciated dogs are attached to short chains, day and night, left to hide in fear in the corner of their barren shelters. Instead of comfy bedding, they have only a cold floor. Instead of regular veterinary care, they have to suffer through any health problems they encounter. And instead of tasty, nutritious food, they’re lucky if they even get a meal every day.
The Beginnings of Change
IFAW started working with the Municipality of Jajce in early 2014 as part of their collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bosnia, working under their safer communities program. It soon became clear that homeless dogs – in the eyes of many communities in Bosnia – are a main security threat and one of their most pressing concerns. Because the UNDP lacked the expertise to tackle stray dog problems, they instead partnered to deliver a Humane Community Development Program, a unique and humane way of solving stray dog problems.
During the process, IFAW soon discovered that they were maintaining an animal shelter which kept dogs in dire conditions and ultimately, not getting to the root cause of the pet homelessness situation in Bosnia, which is mostly animal abandonment.
The community of Jajce agreed that this shelter must be closed down and the dogs re-homed. As a result, the IFAW agreed to help them close the shelter for good and provide forever homes for all the dogs who lived at the dismal shelter.
IFAW have recently partnered with the German organization, Streunergluck, which can be translated to “Stray Luck,’’ to coordinate the fostering and adoption of the dogs from the Jajce shelter as soon as they make the journey from Bosnia. Transporting dogs across borders is always a challenge, but the committed partners in Bosnia and Germany are set on rescuing these dogs and having them placed into loving forever homes.
With around 70 dogs at the shelter, they would have to be taken in at least two phases. Only 34 of the dogs have made the 75-mile journey to their destination while the rest lay in wait in Bosnia.
There are still more than 30 dogs waiting at the dire animal shelter in Jajce, deprived of health, freedom, and love. The team from IFAW and from Streunergluck will be returning to rescue the remaining dogs but in order to do that, they need your help to cover the cost of transportation and care.
You can help the Bosnian dogs to escape their misery and find forever homes by sending a donation to the IFAW today. All animals deserve to experience loving forever homes, and with the promise of a happy future so near insight for these pups, your help could make a lifetime of difference for these dogs! To learn more about IFAW and their incredible work, check out their website. All image source: IFAW/Flickr
A Kind Person Found an Abandoned Kitten in a Backyard and Did Something Awesome. There is no questioning the fact that cats and dogs are among the most popular pets. But despite the popularity of these animals, there is an astounding number of them who are living on the street as strays. In the U.S. alone, there are over 70 million homeless cats and dogs and only a small fraction of these animals will ever find their way to a forever home.
While there are a number of organizations working to rescue and rehome needy animals, this is no small undertaking. Luckily, however, for all the organized efforts to help animals, there are also many motivated individuals who take it upon themselves to step in and lend a hand when they find a creature in need. Just take the story of little Simba the kitten from Imgur user letsbebadguys for example.
Meet Simba! He was found abandoned in a teacher’s backyard. He was far too young to fend for himself, but luckily, another teacher took him in.
Parker got over his hang ups pretty quickly, though.
If you’re looking to add a new furry member to your family, remember to always adopt! All image source: letsbebadguys/Imgur
The kind people at David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) understand this feeling all too well. This amazing organization specializes in rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned baby elephants, many of whom have lost their parents to the illegal ivory trade. Around one elephant is killed every 15 minutes of their ivory, so DSWT’s work is incredibly important. In this video, we see one of the many success stories that DSWT has made possible.
Sweet Sally is an ex-orphan who DSWT helped raise and release back into the wild. Now, Sally has given birth to a calf named Safi which is Swahili for “unblemished” – it’s a totally fitting name as the little guy is perfect in every way!
Safi’s birth represents more than just sentimental value for DSWT, it shows that there is hope for a bright future for Africa’s elephants. To learn more about DSWT, check out their website, here.
