"The general public is not aware of how doomed black dogs are when they are brought to a pound.” Does Does black dog bias influence rescuers when it comes to adoption? Empirical evidence doesn't exist, but rescue groups insist that it's a real concern. Now some groups, including Black Pearl Dogs and Start Seeing Black Dogs are raising awareness and providing free PR and Marketing materials to rescue organizations in an attempt to decrease time spent in shelters and euthanasia rates for black dogs.
posted by Ufez Jones on Mar 22, 2009 - 61 comments

Bay Area resident Michelle Hamilton has been adopting and caring for dozens of abandoned and neglected animals in the past decade, racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt. To call this a "predicament" for Hamilton is a little misleading. She sees only one option when faced with the choice of paying for the care or treatment for an animal in need: she pays, regardless of cost.
posted by porn in the woods on Mar 16, 2009 - 45 comments

One dog's story of her journey from bait dog (a non-fighting dog used as a "training dummy" for fighting dogs) to loved pet. She got by with a a little help from her friends.
posted by freshwater_pr0n on Feb 1, 2008 - 7 comments

Before he went to prison for dogfighting, Michael Vick trained his pit bulls at a 4,600-sq-ft house on 15 acres in Surry, Virginia. Earlier this year, local tax rolls valued the property at $747,000, but Vick hurriedly sold the house to real estate developer Ray Todd on the cheap, to aid his mounting financial troubles. Todd had hoped to resell the house for $1M at a December auction, and dozens of rubberneckers toured the property -- to gawk at the syringes left on the ground, the twenty kennels "like prison cells", and the outbuildings where the dogs were fought. Naturally, no one was buying. Still, Todd wants to recoup his investment, so he’s turning to a conventional sale this month… and failing that, is considering building (unbelievably) a bed-and-breakfast where pets are welcome. Enter The Vick House project: a Dallas charity called Jalie’s Butterflies is hoping to raise enough money online to buy the house and convert it to a non-profit animal shelter, under guidance of the SPCA. [more inside]
posted by pineapple on Jan 20, 2008 - 27 comments

Orphaned baby owls find a plushy mom.
posted by stbalbach on Nov 11, 2007 - 31 comments

Attention NYC mefites and animal lovers. I've supported an animal shelter in Brooklyn that apparently was not legit. There is now a desperate need for foster homes for the animals that were rescued from them - they especially need homes for kittens, but there are dogs involved too. There is contact info on this page, but don't look at the pictures if you don't want your heart broken.
posted by tizzie on Dec 6, 2004 - 17 comments

When Animal Rescuers Attack? "I wish I could get inside his head," Tippi Hedren said. "In my wildest imagination I cannot understand how anyone could do this." There are other people out there helping tigers, lots of them, even places where you can protect endangered tigers while having a relaxing vacation.
There's other tiger news today:
Two steps forward and one back at the Indianapolis Zoo and proof that you don't need to be in a jungle to get in trouble with a tiger.
But what is it about tigers? "These days the tiger’s huge popularity as a poster boy for endangered species stands in sharp contrast to its grim image in earlier times as the incarnation of evil." Why do we love these animals so much we try to save the life of one that has killed a human? Of course there are other forms of tiger abuse...
posted by wendell on Apr 24, 2003 - 7 comments

I'm sure lots of you know about the Hunger Site, which has been around for quite awhile. Well, in case you haven't visited recently, you might be interested to know that they've just recently added an Animal Rescue Site to their repertoire. Except for the pop-unders (which they allow you to disable if you don't already have Popup Killer or something), this seems like a great little site.
posted by Bixby23 on Jul 3, 2002 - 2 comments