An IT company in Japan has become 100% rescue cat-friendly, and for friendly we mean they’re literally paying their employees to adopt and rescue cats. The said company, Ferray Corporation, is now home to many rescue cats. The presence of cats makes the employees happier, more efficient and helps to cure their stress, and the company believes that it could actually be the cure for Japan’s workaholic culture. Working in an office where cats roam around has increased the employees’ productivity and lowered their stress levels. To motivate workers and encourage them to rescue every cat they could find, the company pays them 5,000 yen or $45 for every cat they’ll adopt or rescue. In this company, it’s ‘Bring Your Pet to Work Day’ every day. The story is quickly touching the hearts of many and inspiring them to do the same and help cats in need. If you’re curious to se more of these office cats’ daily life, take a look at their Twitter account. To read more on this story, click here:Japanese Company Is Paying Its Employees For Every Cat They Rescue
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A 15-year-old girl recently lost her “little hero” after someone fatally shot her diabetic alert dog outside her family’s home in Quinlan, Texas. Hannah Westmoreland was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 8, but it wasn’t until a few years later that the family raised money to get her a service dog. Her mother, Tina Westmoreland, started a fund that brought in $10,000 from community members looking to help Hannah. Ultimately, a golden retriever named Journey came into her life. “He was my best friend,” Hannah told CBS Dallas about the dog. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the Westmoreland family on Sunday when 4-year-old Journey’s life was cut short. According to the local Texas news outlet, Journey was let out for his regular dip in the family’s pond before he was found bleeding from a gunshot wound. To read more on this story, click here: Teen's Service Dog Shot, Killed Outside of Family Home: 'He Was My Best Friend'
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If you visit Florida in the near future, you may have a chance to see one of the rarest wild cats on earth. Or, you may just find a shopping mall. The future of this endangered cat was put in peril when a new land development, planned on 40,000 acres on Collier County, was proposed by Eastern Collier Property Owners, LLC to the county commission. As the Tampa Bay Times reports, panthers have used this privately owned land, located between the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge to the south and the Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to the north, to hunt deer and hogs. The planned development will occupy 20,000 acres of this panther habitat. This is bad news for the panther, which requires a large area to thrive. Only about 200 of these big cats remain alive in the wild. If the development succeeds, that number will likely plummet. To read more on this story, click here:Florida Development Could Kill Off The Last Of These Rare Cats
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Every Wednesday, six to nine dogs get their weekly bath so they’re fresh and ready for the best part of the week. On Thursday, they make the trip to Milesian Manor in Magherafelt, where they’ll make the day a little brighter for dozens of nursing home residents. “Our residents adore the dogs, and many of them benefit enormously from the engagement provided; we see them waiting patiently in reception to welcome the dogs each week when they arrive,” said Caitriona Doole, Specialist Mental Health Nurse and Nurse Manager at Milesian Manor. The nursing home has fully embraced the idea of pet therapy. One of their former residents’ daughters used to bring in dogs all the time for a visit, and since that resident has passed on, she’s continued to bring the furry visitors on a regular basis, because it’s clear that they’ve made a huge difference in the mood of the patients. To read more on this story, click here: Dog Visits Enliven Nursing Home Patients
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Looking for some awesome facts about the Galapagos blue-footed booby? Enjoy these 11 far-out facts about these strange blue-footed birds! Blue-footed boobies are definitely a different sort of bird. The first time I saw them was in the Galapagos when I was only ten. The blue feet and quizzical looks made quite the impression, but the name was what really sold it. If you were ever young, you surely remember laughing like an idiot every time someone said butt, booby or fart. If you're like me and never really grew up… well, then you may still have ridiculous difficulty containing your mirth when you hear such lovely words. Consequently, you end up embarrassing “classy” people that you may coincidentally be acquainted with (because you clearly would not spend time with such boring folk by choice). As many of you already know, the word ‘booby' was used in old English to refer to a dimwit, lunk-head, crazy person, clown, idiot, simpleton, or all around silly fellow. The blue-footed booby's name originally came from the Spanish work ‘bobo‘ meaning ‘stupid fellow.' The boobies walk funny, whistle and honk, and make sarcastic remarks at the tourists, thus earning their name. Okay, so maybe they don't verbalize their quips, but you can see it in their small, beady eyes! To read more on this story, click here:11 Far Out Facts About the Blue-Footed Booby
Two subspecies of giraffe have been listed as 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Numbers for the mammal have declined by 40 per cent over the last 31 years due to humans encroaching their habitat. In an IUCN report the giraffe has been moved from the list of 'Least Concern' to 'Vulnerable' in their Red List of Threatened Species. Two specific subspecies, the Kordofan and Nubian, have been added to the list of 'critically endangered'. According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the Kordofan giraffe is mainly found in southern Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and western South Sudan with just 2,000 of the species existing. Nubian giraffes, mainly found in west central Kenya, South Sudan, western Ethiopia and northern Uganda, and there are 2,645 left. To read more on this story, click here:Giraffes Have Been Added To The Endangered Species List
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A veteran with physical and emotional disabilities was allegedly kicked out of Dollar Tree for using a service dog. Katherine Mera, 51, a Maryland employee of the U.S. Department of Justice, says she uses a service dog to help her PTSD after she was the victim of attempted murder while serving in the Army Military Police Corps in 1987. An attack with a crowbar gave her a brain injury, tremors and speech problems, and Mera’s Chihuahua, K.C., has helped her since the dog was 11 weeks old. As reported by WTOP, on Jan. 1, Mera visited a Dollar Tree in Germantown, Md., to buy a dog bowl for K.C., who was not wearing his service vest. “I went to Dollar Tree the day before and I had no problems with K.C.,” Mera tells Yahoo Lifestyle. However, on the second trip, a manager saw the dog and said that animals weren’t allowed, Mera said. Mera says the employee wanted proof that K.C. is her service dog and asked why Mera needed one, and for details about the woman’s health. To read more on this story, click here:Disabled Veteran Says She Was Kicked Out of Dollar Tree For Using A Service Dog
