The Humane Society of the United States invites everyone to show their appreciation for animal shelters and the dedicated people who work in sheltering during the first week of November each year. Shelters are safe havens for homeless pets, and of course a great place to...
Today is National Cat Day! Founded in 2005, National Cat Day is not only a fun way to celebrate our love of cats, it's also a great opportunity to share important reminders about cat adoption and cat care. According to the National Cat Day website, today is...
The American Veterinary Medical Association convention went virtual this year, and one of the topics discussed was that a greater understanding of how genetic diseases occur can help vets prevent and mitigate their effects in our pets. The speaker, Dr. Jerold Bell, a veterinarian and geneticist...
An in-depth article on the decline of dog racing in the US published by National Geographic shines a light on the challenges faced by Greyhounds, both on and off the track. Earlier this year, the last Greyhound track in Texas closed. At the end of 2020,...
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two animal welfare bills into law this month. Both are designed to protect the welfare of the state’s dogs, cats, and other companion animals. The laws were signed on September 19th, in recognition of Puppy Mill Awareness Day. AB 2152, sponsored...
The wildfires in the western United States have been devastating for both people and their pets. An article in the Medford, Oregon Mail Tribune explains the kinds of injuries local veterinarians are seeing in dogs, cats, and other animals from the Almeda Fire. Vets at the...
Veterinarians have traditionally advised clients to have their cats spayed and neutered at 6 months, but because cats can begin reproducing before then, the American Association of Feline Practitioners has updated its position statement on pediatric sterilization in cats to recommend spay/neuter by 5 months...
Community cats--unowned stray and/or feral cats that live outdoors--are common in all types of neighborhoods. Many kindhearted people who live in these communities provide food and shelter for the homeless cats in their area. The hot summer months can be as hard on these kitties as...
The Humane Society of the United States recently published the 2020 edition of its annual “Horrible Hundred” puppy mill report. This report documents problematic puppy breeding and/or puppy brokerage operations in the US. You can download and read a pdf copy of the full report HERE. ...
With summer now in full swing, pet owners need to be more aware of the heat-related dangers that can impact dogs, cats, and other pets. Did you know that some dog breeds are at higher risk for heatstroke than others? A recent article in Nature’s Scientific...
The fetch Foundation is an Arizona-based non-profit that seeks to save the lives of family pets in fires and other emergency situations. They report that half a million pets are impacted by fire each year in the United States. 40,000 family pets die from smoke...
Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis have been studying the health of cats affected by the recent California wildfires. They have found that cats who suffered burns and smoke inhalation developed a high incidence of cardiovascular problems. Researchers examined 51 cats referred for veterinary treatment...
The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) recently released its 14th annual U.S. State Animal Protection Laws Ranking Report for the year 2019. The ALDF assesses each state’s animal protection legislation and ranks them from strongest to weakest. For 2019, Illinois ranked first, followed by Oregon, Colorado,...
This heartwarming video from the ASPCA is sure to make you smile! Martin Agee is a professional violinist who also happens to volunteer with the ASPCA, rehabilitating abused shelter dogs. He knew that reading to dogs soothes them, so he decided to try playing them classical...
The New York Times recently shared some good animal welfare news: companion animal euthanasia rates have fallen an impressive 75% since 2009. The Times collected animal shelter data from 20 US municipalities. They found that shelters in many cities are reporting significant drops in dog and...
Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu has teamed up with PETA to create a public awareness video on the dangers of dogs being kept outside in freezing cold weather. Tyrann stepped into a walk-in freezer to experience what it must be like for dogs left out...
Poor little Snuggles had a rough start in life. His mom Debra found him living on the streets. Snuggles had a mangled leg and his veterinarian suspected that it was due to either a birth defect or a very early injury. Snuggles needed a limb amputation...
Happy Celebrate Shelter Pets Day! Today is the 10th annual Celebrate Shelter Pets Day. This awareness event is designed to encourage the adoption of shelter pets by having owners tell their pet adoption stories on social media using the #CelebrateShelterPets hashtag. Be sure to share your story...
As if we needed further proof that dogs are awesome, here’s a story about how specially trained dogs (and their sensitive noses) are helping conservationists study and protect endangered species in the wild. According to an article on the CNN website, dogs are being trained to...
Today is National Cat Day, an annual event to raise awareness about stray and homeless cats. To learn more about ways to help cats in need near you, check out these resources, courtesy of the Newsweek website. ...
The PACT (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture) Act was passed unanimously in the US House of Representatives this week. This act would expand on a prior law that criminalizes the production and distribution of animal torture videos. Passage of the PACT Act would criminalize acts of...