Blog posts Categorized under ‘Pet Rescue News’

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.