One shelter dog was given the role of a lifetime after being cast in Broadway’s revival of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

When Fred was found wandering the streets of the South Bronx as a puppy, he was taken to an ASPCA city shelter, according to the New York Daily News.

Animal agent Bill Berloni, who is renowned for training stray dogs for productions for more than 30 years, took notice of the mutt and decided to put him up against more than 70 other canines for a role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fred got the part.

"It’s definitely something of a freak of nature that he was to end up in a Broadway show," Berloni told the news provider. "But he was friendly, intelligent, cute as hell – you look at him and smile."

Fred is now owned by author Chris Grabenstein, and receives the best pet care imaginable on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

If you’re looking for a new furry friend, a shelter could be a great place to find that special pet.

A mutt named Bella was recently rescued and placed in the care of an animal rescue worker after avoiding capture for several years, instead choosing to roam highway 395 in Oregon.

Several locals began to notice Bella wandering the highway many years ago, according to the Seattle Times. Although she had always avoided capture, dozens of individuals began looking after the mutt by leaving her food and even building her a makeshift dog house that would protect her from the cold.

A number of rescue attempts had gone underway, however, Bella always managed to escape. One time she went as far as to dart in front of oncoming traffic that left her with a broken leg, but she just kept running.

It wasn’t until she gave birth to a litter of puppies that rescue workers were able to apprehend her and her brood, and one of the volunteers took her in. Veterinarians nursed Bella back to good dog health and provided her with all of the necessary shots.

Some individuals will miss Bella wandering the highway, as she was a sense of comfort for many years.

"It felt so good to put my hands on her and touch her," Jan Taylor, a bus driver who stopped to feed Bella everyday on her way home, told the news provider. "It’s been so many years of seeing her out there, wandering in the rain and snow."

Firefighters are known for risking their lives for people who are trapped in dangerous situations. Recently, three firefighters recently ran into a burning house to rescue three Chihuahuas, four puppies and a turtle in Cape Coral, Florida.

All of the animals made it out safely thanks to the quick actions of the firemen, according to News-Press.com. The Cuevases family was out of the home when a pot left on the stove started a fire. A dog next door alerted its owner that something was wrong, and when owner Lydia Kozlowski looked out the window, she immediately checked to see if anyone was inside before calling the fire department.

Rescuers recovered all of the pets, and all of the canines appear to be in good dog health, which is a relief to of 9-year-old Gabriella Cuevas.

"When I first heard about the fire, I started to cry," she told the news provider. "But then they told me that the dogs were alright."

The family unfortunately lost their house and the community is setting up a fund to help them out.

Rescue workers were able to effectively remove 95 dogs from a puppy mill in Olive Branch, Mississippi, after they discovered the animals had been living in inhumane conditions.

The American Humane Association’s workers also found a number of dead adult dogs as well as puppies in the facility, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Many of the dogs rescued were in poor dog health, underweight or had skin problems.

Approximately 34 of the retrieved dogs were flown out of the state to New York City with the help of Pet Airways, which is an animals only airplane service based in Denver, Colorado. These dogs landed safely and were scattered throughout the city’s many shelters.

Other animals were transported to the Marshall County Humane Society clinic in Byhalia, Mississippi, as an emergency shelter site.

Several areas have been trying to stop puppy mills. West Hollywood, California, recently passed a measure that would ban local pet stores from carrying dogs from puppy mills, according to USA Today. This law was put into effect because dogs in the facilities are treated cruelly and are usually in poor dog health.

Although the Super Bowl may have been watched by more than 100 million viewers, the sixth annual Puppy Bowl also received attention as a Chug (half-Chihuahua, half-pug) was named the most valuable puppy (MVP) of the game.

Jake was able to speed past the other 42 competitors as they rushed from one side of the field to the other with toy footballs in their mouths, according to PeoplePets.com. However, although Jake may have been the fastest, he wasn’t always in possession of a ball.

The Puppy Bowl has been around since 2005 and always features shelter dogs that are in need of a good home. One of the benefits of the Puppy Bowl is it teaches viewers about the importance of rescuing dogs, and how it’s important to provide good homes and pet care to the animals, according to KidGlue.com.

The game has raised its viewership by more than 40 percent since its creation, and also includes other animals getting in on the action. This year saw a Twizzler blimp that was manned by hamsters, kittens during the halftime show and bunny cheerleaders.

A dog groomer from northeastern Pennsylvania was recently convicted with a misdemeanor of animal cruelty after she pierced the necks and ears of cats to sell them online as gothic kittens.

Animal rescuers took several kittens and one cat out of Holly Crawford’s home in December 2008 on suspicions of animal cruelty, according to the Washington Post. Her defensive team suggested that parents are allowed to pierce their child’s ears at a young age and it’s discriminatory to not let cat owners do the same.

The defense also argued that the same animal rights groups that tried to bring the case to trial were in favor of spaying or neutering pets, which involves the cutting of the testicles or removing the ovaries. However, a jury did not buy in to these excuses and convicted Crawford for proving poor pet care.

If the piercings were not enough to suggest animal cruelty, The Daily Mail also reports that at least one kitten was found with an elastic band tied to its tail in attempt to make it fall off.

As a birthday present to herself, talk show queen, Oprah Winfrey, adopted two Springer Spaniel puppies from a local animal shelter in Chicago, Illinois.

Winfrey has been a fan of the spaniel breed, and was reportedly devastated over the loss of her Cocker Spaniel, Sophie, in 2008 when the dog died of kidney failure. Following Sophie’s death, Winfrey pledged to adopt dogs in order to put an end to puppy mills, according to PetSugar.com.

The newest additions to the big O’s clan are sisters Sunny and Lauren, who are 14-week-old puppies, according to the Chicago Tribune. Paula Fasseas, the founder of PAWS, a no-kill shelter based in Chicago, praised Winfrey for spreading the message about why it’s important to adopt.

"What’s really wonderful about Oprah adopting is that she educates the world and the message is to go to a shelter," Fasseas told the news provider. "She’s really directed so much attention to this terrible problem we have with homeless pets."

As Oprah is known for her extravagant lifestyle, there’s almost no question that these two new puppies will be given the best pet care possible.

A 6-week-old puppy was recently found nearly frozen at JFK Airport, causing customs officials to act quickly.

The pup was found in a jet’s cargo bay in poor dog health with another puppy after a call to authorities suggested the dogs might be drug mules, according to the New York Daily News.

Three U.S. customs officials found the dogs and quickly provided mouth to snout resuscitation on the puppy. Unfortunately, the puppy’s companion was already dead when the dogs were found.

"No matter how uncommon the call, CBP Officers are always willing and ready to assist," Robert Perez, director of field operations for the CBP in New York, told the news provider.

Officials have not been able to find the owner of the dog, which is currently being treated by a veterinarian for any other dog health complications it may have.

According to the American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals, animals should never be left alone in the cold for long periods of time as they have a greater risk of freezing to death.

A mutt was recently rescued by Polish scientists who were on an oceanographic survey on the Baltic Sea.

The researchers noticed the dog contently floating on a block of ice about 15 miles of the coast of Poland, according to PeoplePets.com. The ship’s captain immediately stopped the boat as a crew member went to rescue the pup.

The mission turned out to be much more difficult than the scientists had anticipated, as there was lots of ice in the water. After unsuccessfully trying to catch him with a net, a scientist finally got close enough to Baltic to retrieve him and bring him back to the ship for proper pet care.

"Our mission, our function is not to rescue dogs out of the water, as you can imagine!" Sergio Neves told the news provider. "We are scientists! But we were on the sea on this research ship and I think it is human to save the dog."

After getting warmed up, Baltic is in good dog health and the crew plans to keep him on the ship until someone comes to claim him.

According to the Boston Globe, it is estimated that Baltic had been floating for 75 miles.

As the rescue efforts continue in Haiti, help is on its way for animals who have been affected by the devastating earthquake.

The Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), which was recently formed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, will be providing medical aid, food and shelter to animals displaced by the natural disaster, according to PeoplePets.com.

The group is made up of 12 veterinarians who are on their way to recover family pets that have been affected by the disaster, providing proper pet care to animals in poor dog or cat health. The group loaded vehicles of food, water and medical supplies in hopes of preventing the need for any euthanizing.

Although this is the first rescue mission of its kind, A.J. Cady, the deputy director of programs for the IFAW tells the news provider they built on previous experience.

"It’s building on the lessons we learned after Hurricane Katrina, after the tsunami … it makes all of us more efficient and makes rescue efforts more effective," he said.