Brad Croft, director of operations for Universal K9, has trained hundreds of dogs for police work. But if you ask him who stands out most to him, without hesitation he replies, “Kiah is one of the top three dogs I’ve ever placed.” Kiah is a pit bull who was rescued from a shelter after she was found as a stray in a grocery market parking lot with a serious wound on her head. Now she’s New York state’s first K9 pit bull officer. She is part of the City of Poughkeepie Police Department’s K9 force and her partner is Officer Justin Bruzgul. Kiah is Bruzgul’s first K9 partner, and together they’re patrolling the streets of Poughkeepsie, making it a safer place to be. K9 police dog, Kiah, with her partner Officer Justin Bruzgul of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, New York Kiah’s adoption to the city was made possible by a grant from Animal Farm Foundation (AFF), associated with the Dutchess County SPCA (DCSPCA) in Hyde Park, New York. To read more on this story, click here:New York’s First K9 Pit Bull Is Top Dog
Coppabella, Australia - An Australian man summoned to his neighbor's kitchen to "see something cool" captured footage of a massive spider carrying its next meal, an adult mouse. Jason Womas of Coppabella, Queensland, posted a video to Facebook of the gigantic huntsman spider carrying the apparently dead mouse up the side of his neighbor's refrigerator. "So I am just about to leave for work... and me neighbor says 'You want to see something cool' and I say 'Hell yeah.' So we proceed to his place and he shows me this. Huntsman trying to eat a mouse," Womas wrote. He said in a follow-up post that he and his neighbor decided to let the spider go about its business unharmed and they gave it a name, Hermie. "OK guys so just letting you all know that the spider is fine. We have named him Hermie, we have adopted him and he is now running his own extermination business out of our town Coppabella. Oh and he is now paying rent," Womas posted.
We Are Humane Rescue Alliance! Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League – Renamed in Historic Moment in Animal Welfare for Washington, DC The Nation’s Capital becomes the only major urban area in the country with all animal protection programs and services unified in one organization.
For the first time in more than 145 years, Washington, DC’s animal welfare organizations will serve the nation’s capital under a new name: Humane Rescue Alliance. The new name was unveiled Monday, October 24, at an event at the organization’s Oglethorpe Street location in Washington, DC. The new name is the culmination of the merger between the Washington Humane Society and Washington Animal Rescue League, which combined operations in February. “Over the past several months we have been engaged in a methodical and thoughtful process, developing a new name and brand,” said Lisa LaFontaine, President and CEO of the Humane Rescue Alliance. “We believe the name Humane Rescue Alliance honors the two predecessor organizations by using the strongest word from each legacy name and represents the strength of the new organization as a bridge from our past to the future.” With the Humane Rescue Alliance serving the animals and people of the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, becomes the only major urban area in the country that has all of its animal protection programs and services—from medical services and adoptions to animal control and humane law enforcement—unified in one organization. The Humane Rescue Alliance, which serves more than 60,000 animals each year, has now become a model for other animal welfare organizations and municipalities around the country. In the months since the combination was announced, animal welfare organizations across the country have reached out for advice on how to more effectively collaborate with partners and serve their own communities.
“We’re combining our proficiency and knowledge in all aspects of animal care, from providing quality, affordable medical services to creating families with each adoption,” continued LaFontaine. “Most importantly, we will continue to tenaciously protect and advocate for the animals in our community and support and celebrate people’s love and compassion for them.” The new Humane Rescue Alliance brand was developed by the Washington, DC office of Ogilvy Public Relations, who provided their services pro bono and led the organization through a six month process of brand discovery, definition and expression. The Humane Rescue Alliance operates two animal care and adoption centers in Washington, DC: one on Oglethorpe Street in Northwest and another on New York Avenue in Northeast. The Humane Rescue Alliance provides a comprehensive set of animal care and protection programs that touch the lives of animals and the people who love them, including:
Rescue and Adoption – With a 90 percent save rate for animals, Humane Rescue Alliance has built a nationally recognized program for effective rescue and adoption. The Humane Rescue Alliance also transports and places adoptable animals from overcrowded shelters and from rescue operations outside the region.
Humane Law Enforcement – Under its 145-year-old congressional charter, the Humane Rescue Alliance serves as DC’s “animal cops,” protecting the District’s animals from cruelty and harm.
Low-Cost Veterinary Services – The Humane Rescue Alliance’s full-service medical center provides veterinary care to all families, regardless of their ability to pay.
Animal Control – The Humane Rescue Alliance serves as the District of Columbia’s animal control agency, responding to nearly 1,500 calls per month for animal emergencies ranging from lost and injured companion animals to injured wildlife.
Behavior and Learning – The Humane Rescue Alliance offers a wide range of education programs and training classes for pet owners to strengthen their bond with their pets and address common animal behavior issues.
Spay/Neuter Services – The Humane Rescue Alliance runs the region’s only high-volume, low-cost spay and neuter center, helping address the root cause of pet overpopulation.
Help Out, Partner, and Educate (HOPE) – The HOPE program is our community-based initiative, providing people in traditionally underserved areas of DC with a variety of free pet services, such as spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, food, and supplies at periodic community events. This program provides a critical lifeline that helps keep thousands of pets in loving homes – and out of shelters.
Other Programs – Humane Rescue Alliance also offers programs ranging from education programs in DC schools to a “Safe Haven” program for the pets of victims of domestic violence and a pet food bank for families facing difficult financial times
About the Humane Rescue Alliance: The Humane Rescue Alliance (formerly the Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League) has protected and served the people of the community for more than 145 years and serves more than 60,000 animals annually. The broad range of programs offered include: rescue and adoption, humane law enforcement, low-cost veterinary services, animal care and control, behavior and training, spay-neuter services, humane education, and many others. The organization is dedicated to ensuring the safety and welfare of all animals, bringing people and animals together, and working with all communities to support these relationships. HRA is based in Washington, DC, the only major urban area in the country that has all of its animal protection programs and services unified in one organization, making the Humane Rescue Alliance a model for the nation.
The heartbreaking photo of a lonely dog left on the sidewalk next to trash, reportedly left by his family, was taken by a Michigan neighbor who said they never returned for the pit bull named "Boo." A neighbor told Mike Diesel, who eventually rescued the dog, that he witnessed the family move out and leave the dog. “A neighbor that witnessed the family move out a while ago said they came back once for belongings and not Boo unfortunately,” Diesel, founder of the Detroit Youth and Dog Rescue, told InsideEdition.com. Diesel initially saw the sad photo on Facebook page for dogs, which garnerned more than 20k likes. The neighbor reportedly said he’d been feeding Boo for a week and had contacted every dog rescue in the area, but no one would take the homeless dog. That’s when Diesel decided to take action. He drove to where the abandoned pup was and took time to get acquainted with him, not wanting to frighten Boo. “As far as building up the trust that started Sunday the 16th at 2:30 p.m. when I arrived and I stayed that night until 1 a.m. talking and getting acquainted with Boo and feeding him different food items,” said Diesel. The next day Diesel said he decided to show up with two sausage McMuffins and two hash browns to eat with Boo but ended up giving the dog both, he said. “It took another 4-5 hours that day before I ended up getting a leash around his neck and then we just sat on the ground and talked for 45 minutes before I had enough trust for him to allow me to pick him up and we went directly to the vet,” said Diesel. It turned up that Boo has heartworms and as of Saturday he is still at the Groesbeck Animal Hospital getting the help he needs.
"Boo has warmed up to me in an amazing way already and truly shows and proves the Love of the pit bull and Trust they have in humans,” said Diesel.
It’s not just the Key deer being ravaged by a flesh-eating worm in the Florida Keys. Pets are also starting to turn up with gruesome infections. While wildlife managers have focused largely on the endangered herd and the 107 deer killed since August, vets say they have treated at least nine suspected cases in dogs, cats, rabbits, pigs and a tortoise. Two feral cats had to be euthanized, said Marathon Veterinary Hospital’s Doug Mader. Those numbers are higher than the three reported by the Florida Department of Agriculture, which only counts cases confirmed in lab tests, largely because of the confirmation process. “That’s the tough part about this whole thing. You look at them and it walks like a duck, but you have to have confirmation that it’s a duck,” said Keys Animal Hospital veterinarian Kyle Maddox, who treated an infected dog earlier this month. The discrepancy in numbers, and expanded war on the screwworm that now covers eight islands and this week drew a new team of volunteers fanning out with medicated bread to feed deer, has only increased anxiety among pet owners. Vets, however, stress the risk to pets remains far lower than the peril posed to the wild deer. To read more on this story, click here:Screwworm Infecting Key Deer Also Found in Some Sick Pets
Multitudes of feral cats roam New York City's concrete jungle, and some now have a practical purpose: They're helping curb the city's rat population. A group of volunteers trained by the NYC Feral Cat Initiative traps wild cat colonies that have become a nuisance or been threatened by construction, then spays or neuters and vaccinates them. The goal is to return them to their home territory, but some end up in areas rife with rats. Feline rat patrols keep watch over city delis and bodegas, car dealerships and the grounds of a Greenwich Village church. Four cats roam the loading dock at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, where food deliveries and garbage have drawn rodents for years. "We used to hire exterminators, but nature has a better solution," said Rebecca Marshall, the sustainability manager at the 1.8-million-square-foot center. "And cats don't cost anything." About 6,000 volunteers have completed workshops where they've learned proper ways to trap cats. The program is run through the privately funded Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, a coalition of more than 150 animal rescue groups and shelters. It estimates as many as half a million feral and stray cats roam New York's five boroughs. The life of a street cat is a tough one. Some are former pets, abandoned by owners. Plenty die of disease and malnutrition or are hit by vehicles. Others ingest poisoned cat food — set deliberately to get rid of them, cat advocates say. Many of the animals are displaced as a result of New York's development, with new construction creating perilous conditions for those that once inhabited the city's nooks and crannies, from vacant lots, decaying factories and empty warehouses. One colony of two dozen cats living in a lot on Manhattan's West Side are about to be displaced by construction on a new $3 billion office tower. A City Council member is working with residents and developers to make sure the creatures are moved to a safe location. The Javits Center's quartet of cats — Sylvester, Alfreda, Mama Cat and Ginger — were lured to its 56 loading docks about two years ago with pet food brought by animal-loving employees. On a recent fall morning, Sylvester stationed himself next to a commercial truck, ready to pounce if needed. The cats are predators but don't necessarily kill rats. Instead, experts say the feline scent and droppings repel the rodents. "A mother rat will never give birth near a predator because the cats would eat the babies," said Jane Hoffman, president of the mayor's alliance. The cat population is controlled through spaying and neutering, provided free of charge by the Humane Society of New York and the ASPCA. In most cases, adoption is out of the question for feral cats because they are just too wild to be domesticated. Thanks to the volunteers, says Marshall, "we're protecting wildlife in the city, and the cats get a second chance at life."
It’s 5:30 in the morning. You’re asleep when you suddenly find yourself bolting out of bed, ninja style, after hearing that all too familiar lurching, retching sound. This response is commonly known to dog parents as jumping out of bed because the dog is about to barf. It is normal for dogs to get an occasional upset stomach just as we do. Causes vary from environmental to physiological related changes due to weather, seasonal or food allergies, eating something they shouldn’t have, or aging. Dogs cannot tell us that they are sick or just how sick they are, so unless your dog has a diagnosed stomach or intestinal issue, it can be difficult to really know if the issue is mild or severe. Check for Signs and Symptoms Eating grass Vomiting Diarrhea Change in appetite Profuse salivation Passing gas (more than usual) An audible gurgling stomach Dehydration from vomiting or having diarrhea To read more on this story, click here:3 Great Home Remedies to Settle Your Dog’s Upset Stomach
Washington, DC - Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League to Operate Under New Name for The First Time in More Than 145 Years: Named to be Revealed, Monday, October 24th at 11:00 AM For the first time in a major urban area, Washington, DC’s two iconic, combined animal welfare organizations operate every aspect of animal protection programs and services in one unified organization
WHAT: Historic announcement of new name for the combined Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 24th TIME: 11:00 a.m. WHO: Lisa LaFontaine, President and CEO, Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League,WHS-WARL staff and adoptable animals
WHERE: Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League 71 Oglethorpe Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 NOTES:
Washington Humane Society and the Washington Animal Rescue League, the two iconic animal welfare organizations in our Nation’s Capital will have a new name for the first time in more than 145 years.
The two organizations merged in February to form the driving force in animal welfare, caring for more than 60,000 animals each year.
With the merger of the Washington Humane Society and Washington Animal Rescue League, Washington, DC became the only major urban area in the country with all of its animal protection programs and services unified under one organization.
Over the past six months, the organization has worked through the process of determining a new name and brand, both of which will be presented at the event on Monday, Oct. 24th.
Austin, Texas - A veterinarian who used a bow and arrow to kill a feral cat has lost her license for now. Kristen Lindsey, the Austin veterinarian who bragged on social media after shooting and killing a feral cat with a bow and arrow, has had her license suspended for a year. She'll also be on a probationary period for four years. During that probation she is to have a board-approved supervising veterinarian to watch over Lindsey and submit quarterly reports to the board. In addition, Lindsey will have to take continuing education classes in animal welfare. In the Facebook post, Lindsey is seen holding a dead cat by an arrow lodged in its head. "My first bow kill. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through its head," she allegedly wrote. After the post surfaced, Lindsey was fired from her job at a Brenham animal hospital, which faced heavy public backlash. "Those actions don't any way portray what we're here for at Washington Animal Hospital," the hospital's Dr. Bruce Buenger told abc13 at the time. "We put our heart and soul in this place." Lindsey's attorney issued the following statement: "Dr. Lindsey and I are disappointed that the Board ordered suspension of Dr. Lindsey's license based on an action that had nothing to do with the practice of veterinary medicine. We are also disappointed that the Board has, for all intents and purposes, chosen to take sides in the culture war between the animal rescues zealots - who have campaigned to destroy Dr. Lindsey and her family - versus rural property owners who have the right to protect their property and their own animals from feral animals who are destroying their property and threatening their own animals. Dr. Lindsey did what she did to protect her property and her own cat from an animal that was trespassing on her property, damaging her property, and endangering her domestic cat and her horse. It is also disingenuous - if not absurd - that the individual who now claims she owned the cat didn't care enough about the cat at the time to give it a collar and tag - or any evidence of ownership, or to get the animal vaccinated for rabies (in an area where rabies was pervasive), or to prevent the animal from roaming wild in an environment where it was likely to be eaten by coyotes or otherwise suffer and perish. It should be very troubling to regular people that the State of Texas is spending precious tax dollars on the prosecution of someone who killed was simply protecting her property from a free-roaming feral animal, and that this Board doesn't have the integrity that the District Attorney in Austin County had to stand up to an irrational - but loud - lynch mob of zealots. We will be appealing the Board's decision to the District Court and we are confident that common sense and justice will prevail."
A conservation officer in Canada has been put on suspension — not for violating his duty to protect wildlife, but rather for heroically saving the lives of two helpless animals his higher-ups wanted killed. Following reports of a female black bear who had broken into a home in rural British Columbia in the company of her two young cubs, Officer Bryce Casavant and local firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Unfortunately, the responders decided to put the mother bear down, though when it came to dealing with her now-orphaned offspring, the conservation officer took a more sympathetic approach. Defying orders to euthanize the 8-week-old bear cubs, Casavant instead collected the frightened youngsters and had them sent to local animal hospital, the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. That simple show of kindness has now put his job in jeopardy, reports Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile, conservation services released a statement saying that Casavant's actions are now under investigation, but supporters say the officer should be lauded, not suspended. A petition on Care.org has garnered more than 150,000 signatures calling for Casavant to be reinstated. Given the bears' age, staff at North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre are optimistic the cubs will eventually be released back into the wild — all thanks to the sympathy shown by Casavant, who defends his actions on their behalf, telling the Vancouver Mirror: "I think it is important for the community to know that I am here to do the right thing." UPDATE: Officer Casavant was originally suspended without pay, but in light of the overwhelming public response to his case, he has since been placed back on they payroll, CVT News reports. He is currently still under suspension.
A complex rescue effort involving a Coast Guard plane is helping return a pregnant manatee to the wild. The 800-pound marine mammal was rescued in September off the coast of Massachusetts. Less than a month later, veterinarians gave the go-ahead to make the journey from a base in Groton, Connecticut back to Florida, where the manatee is beginning the next phase of her recovery, reports CBS News correspondent David Begnaud. The manatee – named Washburn for the island where she was rescued – returned to the Sunshine State after a 1,300-mile flight aboard a Coast Guard transport plane. Escorted by police, a slow procession moved through the streets of Orlando to her temporary new home at SeaWorld. There, a crane hoisted Washburn into a private rehab tank. You could almost see the relief as she hit the water. The once anonymous manatee became a summer celebrity. She was spotted bobbing in the choppy waters off Cape Cod in late August. Conservationists with the International Fund for Animal Welfare sprang into action, capturing Washburn three weeks later, and taking her to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. When Washburn arrived there, it became clear that this rescue operation was even more important than first thought. Veterinarians discovered this manatee was a mom-to-be. “It’s not only one manatee but it’s two so the stakes are pretty high,” said Dr. Jen Flower, a veterinarian at Mystic Aquarium. Manatees, also known as “sea cows,” can weigh over 3,000 pounds, eating a diet comprised mainly of sea grass. The animals, native to Florida, spent nearly 50 years on the endangered species list, but the population is recovering. Sea World veterinarian Lara Croft accompanied Washburn on the flight south. She said just saving one has proven to be worth the extraordinary effort. “We did have one orphan calf that was hand-reared, returned to the wild and she gave birth to nine calves,” Croft said. “And who knows how many calves that those calves had. One manatee can have a huge effect on the population.” Now that Washburn is back home in Florida, the staff at SeaWorld is working hard to prepare her return to the wild, where she’s expected to give birth in about four to six months. SeaWorld has released 17 manatees back into the wild thus far.
The photographer Sasi Smith, captured these owls in all of their splendor and the pictures are breathtaking. The birds are magnificently expressive and photographed in their natural environment. Owls are somewhat difficult to photograph since they are nocturnal, mysterious and have a spectacular camouflage. So when we saw these adorable Owl photographs, we couldn’t help but share them with you guys. Below are pictures of Sasi’s most adorable owls.
Mother's milk from the marsupials known as Tasmanian devils could help the global fight against increasingly deadly "superbugs" which resist antibiotics, Australian researchers said Tuesday. Superbugs are bacteria which cannot be treated by current antibiotics and other drugs, with a recent British study saying they could kill up to 10 million people globally by 2050. Scientists at the University of Sydney found that peptides in the marsupial's milk killed resistant bacteria, including methicillin-resistant golden staph bacteria and enterococcus that is resistant to the powerful antibiotic vancomycin. The researchers turned to marsupials like the devil -- which carry their young in a pouch after birth to complete their development -- because of their biology. The underdeveloped young have an immature immune system when they are born, yet survive growth in their mother's bacteria-filled pouch. "We think this has led to an expansion of these peptides in marsupials," University of Sydney PhD candidate Emma Peel, who worked on the research published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, told AFP. "Marsupials have more peptides than other mammals. In the devil we found six, whereas humans have only one of this type of peptide. "Other research in other marsupials has shown that tammar wallabies have eight of these peptides and opossums have 12," said Peel, adding that studies into koala's milk had now started. The scientists artificially created the antimicrobial peptides, called cathelicidins, after extracting the sequence from the devil's genome, and found they "killed the resistant bacteria... and other bacteria". They are hopeful marsupial peptides could eventually be used to develop new antibiotics for humans to aid the battle against superbugs. "One of the most difficult things in today's world is to try and find new antibiotics for drug-resistant strains of bacteria," the research manager of the university's Australasian Wildlife Genomics Group, Carolyn Hogg, told AFP. "Most of the other previous antibiotics have come from plants, moulds and other work that's been around for close to a 100 years, so it's time to start looking elsewhere." World Health Organisation director-general Margaret Chan warned last month some scientists were describing the impact of superbugs as a "slow-motion tsunami" and the situation was "bad and getting worse".
This is Daniel. He is no ordinary duck. Daniel is an emotional support animal, AKA a pet who has been prescribed by a mental health specialist as providing necessary comfort for their human’s psychological disorders. An emotional support animal needs to come with a license, but once they do you can take the pet on a flight without being charged a pet fee and can live in an apartment that doesn’t otherwise allow pets. Usually, emotional support animals come in the form of dogs or cats, which makes Daniel very special. Author Mark Essig spotted him on a flight from Charlotte to Asheville, North Carolina, and couldn’t resist posting some photos of him, because he is so darn cute. Look at his shoes! And his Captain America diaper! Essig told BuzzFeed that Daniel is a 4-year-old Indian Runner, and his owner bought him at a yard sale (which seems like a whole other story, if only ducks could talk!?) Also, Indian Runner ducks technically can’t fly, but Daniel’s here to prove that ~anything is possible~ when you believe, and get the proper certification etc. He said his owner kissed Daniel’s beak on the flight several times, but also held it down when he quacked too much because, you know, other passengers might have been trying to watch the inflight movie or something. According to the National Service Registry, any "domesticated animal" can qualify as an emotional support animal. If you want to potentially make your little buddy an emotional support animal, you’ll need a letter from a licensed mental health specialist stating that you have an emotional or mental disability, and then register the animal HERE.
