animal shelters news stories on Newser

Super-Sized Kitty Dies

Rob Quinn — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:33:00 CDT

A colossal cat handed in to an animal shelter in New Mexico has died just weeks after eating up national attention. Meow, a 2-year-old tabby who topped the scales at 39 pounds, died of pulmonary failure related to his huge size, reports the New York Daily News . He had been...

Huge Cat Finds Its Way to Animal Shelter

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:18:12 CDT

If you need some companionship—and you have room in your apartment for a cat who is basically the size of a toddler—consider adopting 2-year-old Meow, who was dropped off at a rural shelter in Roswell, NM, recently. That shelter—overwhelmed with Meow's girth—turned him over to the...

California Pooch Could Be World's Smallest

Rob Quinn — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:54:00 CDT

A puppy so small that she could fit into a spoon when she was a newborn could set the record for the world's tiniest dog. Beyonce, a dachshund mix, is now two weeks old, and still only the size of a business card. She was the fifth of five puppies...

Pet Rescue Groups Need to Ease Up on Adoption Rules

John Johnson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:18:05 CST

Animal rescue groups have come a long way over the years and done wondrous things in reducing the number of dogs and cats that get put down, writes Emily Yoffe at Slate . Here comes the "but": These groups need to loosen up their overly strict adoption standards, which often scare...

Cat With 26 Toes Helps Save Shelter

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:38:57 CST

Daniel, an orange-and-white tabby cat, is doing everything he can to save the Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center, and he's doing it by showing off his bizarre feet. He has 26 toes. Donations of $26—one for each digit—are flooding into the nonprofit animal shelter , which was recently hit with...

Hitler Kitten Can't Find a Home

Tim Karan — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:00:00 CDT

Adolf Hitler's legacy of evil is taking its toll on an unlikely victim—a 6 week-old kitten in England. "Kitler," an abandoned black and white cat with markings that make her resemble you know who, is struggling to find a home, reports the Telegraph . The kitten was found alone and...

Guy Tries to Cremate Dog, Sets Fire to House

Tim Karan — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:26:40 CDT

A Virginia man accidentally set fire to his house while trying to cremate his dead dog, reports InsideNova . He reportedly set fire to wood that he placed next to the body of his 11-year-old Rottweiler, and added gasoline to encourage the backyard fire. The intensified flames caused $70,000 worth...

Adopt a Mutt Instead of Buying a Purebred

John Johnson — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 15:30:22 CST

Betsy Karasik used to own a pair of pedigreed Maine coon cats, and while she liked them just fine, "I now look at that phase of my life much as a vegetarian might look back on eating veal: an ethical misstep that was the product of ignorance," she writes in...

Shelter Kills War Hero Dog by Mistake

Nick McMaster — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:57:22 CST

A dog credited with saving the lives of dozens of US soldiers in Afghanistan was euthanized in an Arizona shelter by mistake, reports the Arizona Republic . Target, a stray who hung around a US military base, became a hero when she and two other dogs attacked a suicide bomber who...