Jennifer Mashuga

After seven long years of patiently waiting, a senior boxer mix has finally found his forever home. Just a few days before Christmas, Houdini was adopted from the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, local news reported. According to the shelter, Houdini was a three-year-old stray when he came to them. While he was adopted shortly after he arrived, he was soon returned. Despite being a big softie with humans, he had trouble getting along with other dogs and had a tough appear

Ribbet, a blind 3-month-old puppy who miraculously survived an attack from a larger dog, has been given the best holiday gift ever — a new home and family to love him, local news reported. The Labrador Retriever was just two months old when a family adopted him from Second Chance Animal Services in Massachusetts. But, despite signing an agreement to contact Second Chance if they could not keep Ribbet, the family privately surrendered the puppy to a home with a much bigger dog. The outcome was de

Two orphaned river otter pups — who were rescued from a ditch and nursed back to health — have been released back into the wild in Central Oregon, local news reported. An Oregon State Park ranger found the pups in Cove Palisades State Park and swiftly reached out to Think Wild Central Oregon for help. The frail otter pups were then transported to the wildlife center — where staff discovered that the pups were only five or six weeks old. They were dehydrated, lethargic, dirty, and in need of help

A new report from the Animal Law Foundation illuminates the United Kingdom's lack of farm inspections as a significant shortcoming, with the data reportedly showing disregard for the welfare of farmed animals. The Enforcement Problem is a collaborative report with Animal Equity, first published in 2022 to shed light on the United Kingdom's enforcement of laws protecting farmed animals from abuse. The research showed that between 2018 and 2021 less than 3% of England, Wales, and Scotland's 291,00

Trooper, the bull terrier found tethered to a Florida fence in chest-deep water while Hurricane Milton approached, is now living his best life in a home with a family who adores him. He even has a new canine sister to play and cuddle with. We thank the more than 38,000 people who signed the petition demanding justice for the sweet dog. While Trooper gets his happy ever after, his former guardian, Giovanny Aldama Garcia, is charged with aggravated animal cruelty and faces up to five years in pris

In a significant and compassionate move to show support for animals, Mexico's Chamber of Deputies and Senate have unanimously approved a measure that will write animal protections into the Constitution, local news reported. While local congresses still need to approve the bill, its full support thus far is a breakthrough. Mexico has been ranked the third worst country in the world for animal rights violations, with a reported 60,000 animals dying each year due to abuse. Worst of all, these anima

The Law, Ethics & Animals Program (LEAP) at Yale Law School was developed to protect animals and to create positive legal changes benefiting both animals and the planet. LEAP celebrated five years since it began its ambitious and successful program.  Faculty Director Doug Kysar highlighted the essential work the group's scholars and students have already done, stating, Over the last five years, we've seen firsthand the value of leveraging the talent, expertise, convening power, and resources of

A curious black cat who got her head stuck in a ceiling drainpipe is safe at home with her family, thanks to the help of local firefighters, BBC News reported. John, a female cat living with her family in North Somerset, England, hadn't come for her breakfast. Cassie, her guardian, searched for her and was alarmed to find her in the garage, with just her head sticking out of a drainpipe in the ceiling. After calling the fire and rescue service, a crew of Clevedon firefighters arrived to aid the

A three-month-old kitten found in a parking lot suffering from severe burns is slowly recovering, thanks to a caring citizen and the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL). Cynthia, the tricolored kitten, was found by an empathetic passerby who brought her home. When they realized how badly she was hurt, they brought her to ARL's Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center. A veterinary examination uncovered lacerations and abrasions, along with second to third-degree burns on her ears, head, neck, and

Nearly two dozen dogs and cats from a South Carolina shelter have been given a second chance at finding a home, thanks to Pilots To The Rescue. The New York City-based nonprofit organization flew animals from an overcrowded South Carolina shelter to rescues with space in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where they have a better likelihood of being adopted. Now entering its tenth year, the organization has saved 3,289 animals at risk of being euthanized during its 270 missions.  In 2014, Michael Schn

A coyote with a plastic jar stuck over their head — preventing the animal from eating or drinking for days — was finally located and freed from their dilemma, WRAL News reported. Thanks to a North Carolina community's vigilance, multiple residents alerted the Durham County Sheriff's Office to the distressed coyote. Although concerned citizens had been calling animal services about the critter for at least three days, authorities had difficulty finding the coyote. Eventually, their luck changed w

Ventura County Animal Services (VCAS) saved 80 ducks as California's Mountain Fire displaced animals, destroyed homes, and decimated more than 19,000 acres as it tore through the region, local news reported. The ducks were in one of the evacuation zones, so VCAS escorted them to the Camarillo Animal Shelter for safety, posting a video of the winged animals quacking and flapping their way out of the transport carrier. Luckily, the orders were lifted the next day, and VCAS posted another video of

PETITION TARGET: West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service A helpless cat was allegedly flung over a bridge in St John's, Worcester in England by a group of teenagers — in what appears to have been an intentional act of cruelty shared to social media, Worcester News reported. As the cat was thrown into the waters of the Laugherne Brook below, the sound of laughter could reportedly be heard in the background. The heartbreaking video then spread on Snapchat. The video was very graphic and horrible t

Gully, a young manatee, is recovering after being discovered trapped in a small pond a mile and a half from open water, CBS12 News reported. Two-year-old Gully was malnourished and stuck in a pond near Big Bend Wildlife Management Area in Dixie County, Florida. His rescuers suspect flooding and storm surge from Hurricane Helene stranded him there. “Manatees that are displaced by storm surge waters often remain in unusual locations with limited food sources after the surge recedes,” ZooTampa at L

It's been a two-year battle, but the federal rights lawsuit over the baby goat Cedar is over. His young guardian, who sued Shasta County deputies after they took Cedar without a warrant and handed him over to be slaughtered, has been awarded $300,000 in a settlement agreement, Reuters reported. “We can’t get justice here because Cedar can never come home,” Vanessa Shakib, the family's lawyer and co-founder of Advancing Law for Animals, told The Washington Post. “But what’s important is that we m

Dutch Creek Farm Animal Park (DCFAP) in Shipshewana, Ind. is facing a federal lawsuit after being accused of multiple and repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act, WSBT 22 News reports. The park — which houses zebras, camels, lemurs, goats, and other animals — received a 21-day suspension from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shortly before the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed charges. The lawsuit alleges that DCFAP's owner, Vernon Miller, repeatedly failed to provide ade

Oregon finally has a state law prohibiting animal crush videos. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has signed House Bill 4145 into law — prohibiting the visual recording of animals being intentionally injured or killed. The new law also prohibits people from encouraging the torture or killing of animals on camera. Sharing, copying, or funding animal crush videos is now a misdemeanor in Oregon thanks to the new law. The legislation — sponsored by Representative David Gomberg and Senator James Manning Jr.

Two Gottingen pigs — Bleu Boi and Rumplestiltskin — have been released from a lab and made a new home at a sanctuary in California thanks to the joint efforts of Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), New Life Animal Sanctuary (NLAS), and Friends of Ferdinand (FoF), as announced by ALDF in a press release. After weeks of planning, ALDF and NLAS succeeded in orchestrating the pigs' release from the lab where they were being kept. Operation Oink saw the little pink pigs traveling roughly 1,000 miles ov

Bonnie, a female cow raised on a beef farm and once facing slaughter, has been given a chance to live out her life at Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary in New York, alongside her new friend Owen — a male cow who jumped the sanctuary's 5-foot fence to get closer to her, MSN reported. The half-mile trek from the beef farm Bonnie escaped to the sanctuary was short but not easy. She had to climb up a pretty steep hill and make her way through the woods and then down a hill through the neighbor's grassy mead

After being adopted and then returned to Florida shelters six times, a sweet dog named Brucey finally has a permanent family, The Sacramento Bee reported. It took the water-loving bulldog mix two years to find his forever home. He was even moved to a different shelter to see if his chances at finding a permanent home would improve. The problem wasn't Brucey — but that his previous adopters didn't take the shelter seriously when they tried to explain his picky behavior, according to Randa Richter