October 2024

Heartbreaking footage has emerged of a shelter dog who appears to have all but given up hope of ever being adopted. In a video posted to TikTok last month under the handle @goodboygonehome, a shelter volunteer who asked not to be named, highlighted the plight of Espy. He’s currently being cared for by Austin Pets Alive!, an animal rescue in Texas, with staff desperate to find him a home or foster. “Espy was adopted as a puppy in late 2019 from the Austin Animal Center but then owner surrendered again in March 2023,” the volunteer told Newsweek. More From Newsweek Vault: The Top Rewards Credit Cards for Pet Owners Espy struggled to adjust to life in the shelter system. “As a highly intelligent, sensitive dog, who seeks emotional ties with people, it was hard for him to sit in his kennel alone for 23 hours a day,” the volunteer added. “During his 13-month stay at Austin Animal Center, he became increasingly stressed and had trouble sleeping due to the noisy environment.” Eventually, Espy was placed in the Orange Dot group, a special group for dogs facing unique challenges in the shelter. Many of these dogs benefitted from one-on one time with compassionate volunteers. More From Newsweek Vault: Compare Top Pet Insurance Plans For Dogs In March 2024, Espy was transferred to Austin Pets Alive! where he could receive even more care and attention with the intention of helping him find his forever home. Unfortunately, that happy ending hasn’t arrived just yet. The sad reality is that dogs like Espy who end up spending an extended period in the shelter struggle to attract a would-be adopter. More From Newsweek Vault: Pet Insurance 101: How Much Does It Cost and Is It Worth the Price? Heartbreaking footage on TikTok has emerged of Espy, a shelter dog, who appears to have all but given up hope of ever being adopted. TikTok/goodboygonehome A study published in the journal Animal Welfare found that dogs who had spent longer time in the shelter exhibited behavior that was considered “unattractive” to visitors. These behaviors included spending more time at the back of the kennel, resting more and general barking less and appearing less animated. Those are all issues that appear to be impacting Espy if the TikTok video posted by @goodboygonehome is anything to go by. The video’s heartbreaking text overlay of Espy at the back of his kennel reads: “Espy no longer comes over to greet people because no one ever chooses him.” “Espy struggles with barrier activity, meaning he doesn’t show his true self when in his kennel, which is something that can be hard for potential adopters to see past as they walk through the shelter,” the volunteer behind the @goodboygonehome account said. “But once he’s outside with his friends, he transforms into a completely different dog—happy, wiggly, and full of life.” Espy is capable of mixing with other dogs and shows no reactivity to cats, meaning he could fit in with many households. But there is a sense that any hope he might have of finding another forever home is fading. “The light in Espy’s eyes has begun to dim,” the volunteer told Newsweek. “He perks up during his two short kennel breaks each day, which help release some of his stress, and on his weekly off-campus field trips with his shelter besties; where he revels in the excitement of being out in the world.” But as soon as he returns to the kennel that perkiness quickly fades. “The sadness returns to his eyes, a stark reminder of the challenges he faces,” the volunteer added. “It’s heart-wrenching to see him struggle, especially knowing how wonderful a true home life can be for a dog like him.” The hope is that the video and this story will help drum up some interest from potential adopters. “Espy would thrive in a low-traffic home, ideally an independent house with a small yard and no young children. While he would benefit most as the only dog to decompress from his shelter experience, he has the potential to adapt to a home with a compatible dog or even live harmoniously with cats,” the volunteer said. They added: “A calm and loving environment will help him flourish and truly feel at home. He would also appreciate having a person who works from home or has shorter work hours, allowing him to enjoy more quality time and companionship. We know the right home is out there for him, and he’s ready for it.” TikTok Users React The video of Espy so far has over 125,000 views on the social media platform. TikTok users in the comments section showed their love and support for the pup. User @rylievray wrote: “Boosting!!! He looks so lost and sad. Let’s get him in a home, he can live with dogs or cats!” @nokie posted: “AWWWW. somebody please choose ESPY!!” @shannoneady8 commented: “bless him. prayers for a loving home.” @JustAimee wrote: my [heart] is broken. I don’t know what happens with the people. this angel deserves at exceptional home.” Read More

A drawing by a child who took part in the animal pen pal scheme Courtesy of YAPS and Anne Gillespie Seriously ill children and teenagers appear to get emotional benefits from exchanging letters with cats and dogs affected by cancer. The interspecies pen pal programme allows young people facing cancer and blood disorders to bond with animals going through similar challenges, whose owners write letters on their behalf. “There is something just so unconditional about the love of an animal and the listening that an animal can provide,” says Anne Ingalls Gillespie at the University of Colorado, a former paediatric nurse. “They don’t argue, they don’t question; they just listen and validate.” Animal-assisted interventions – in which patients spend time with trained dogs, cats and horses – have previously been found to offer emotional and mental health benefits for young cancer patients. However, some cancer patients are so immunocompromised doctors forbid them from coming into contact with animals. Eager to find a solution for her young patients, Gillepsie designed a pen pal programme called Youth and Pet Survivors in which children and teenagers correspond with animals via letters. The patients’ pen pals are animals going through similar treatments for life-threatening diseases, says Gillespie. She reached out to veterinary oncologists to find owners willing to take part, and then trained them to correspond with seriously ill children and teenagers in the voices of their pets. To evaluate the effects of the programme, Gillespie and her colleagues collected 157 letters written by 16 young patients, with the consent of the patients, parents and pet owners. Exchanges lasted from four months to five years and included three to 39 letters per child. While most of the letters were hand-written and included colourful drawings as well as photos, some were typed and printed. Most of the children’s letters addressed their illness and treatment, but the predominant theme was a growing relationship between the patient and the pet. “The children’s illness stories moved to the background as letters over time became more about their triumphs, hopes, dreams and what they did for fun,” says Gillespie. An analysis of the letters revealed the correspondence enhanced the patients’ quality of life in ways similar to what has been seen with face-to-face animal therapy programmes, including improved mood, distraction from their problems and overall decreased emotional distress, Gillespie says. That’s probably because the letters allowed the patients to express themselves freely and without judgement, and they offered a sense of unconditional acceptance, companionship and belonging, she says. “If a child wrote, ‘I’m scared about my upcoming MRI scan’, or ‘I feel like the kids in my class don’t understand me’, the dog or cat could validate that,” Gillespie says. “They don’t offer advice. They just say, ‘Oh my gosh, I get it’.” Pet owners also expressed increased well-being from taking part, saying the experience gave meaning to what they were going through, she adds. “They loved that their dog could make a difference in the life of a child, and it helped them process their emotions around their animal having cancer.” Some clearly stated the pets themselves benefited – although additional research would need to explore how or why. Topics: Read More

A golden retriever named Buffy has left the internet in stitches after getting caught protesting a pup cup ban, in a video that immediately went viral all over social media. The viral clip, shared on TikTok on Wednesday, under the username @ellenandbuffy, shows the pup sitting on the sidewalk opposite to Starbucks, refusing to follow her owner as she tries to get her to walk away on the leash. Layover text in the clip read: “When your vet has put you on a pup cup ban.” And a caption shared with the post said: “She isn’t taking it well.” More From Newsweek Vault: The Top Rewards Credit Cards for Pet Owners Above pictured is Buffy refusing to leave Starbucks. Buffy’s vet put her on a pup cup diet, but she didn’t exactly agree with it. @ellenandbuffy via TikTok The poster, Ellen Beckett, from Northern Ireland, told Newsweek that Buffy is going to be 4 in November, and she’s got a real obsession for pup cups (as well as all food). “The vet put her on a ban as I was being a little too nice and treating her to them several times a week each time I was getting a Starbucks. As a compromise we have made Friday ‘pup cup day,’ where we visit our local woodland walk—where there is a coffee stand,” she said. More From Newsweek Vault: Compare Top Pet Insurance Plans For Dogs Dogs love food, to the extent that it’s often used as a reward during training. But eating too much chow can cause diseases such as obesity and diabetes. That’s why as their owner, you should always make sure your pup isn’t regularly overeating. Animal wellness experts at Pet MD say that the size of your dog matters when calculating how much you should feed them; small and toy breeds need much less food than larger and more athletic ones. More From Newsweek Vault: Pet Insurance 101: How Much Does It Cost and Is It Worth the Price? Toy dogs that weigh up to 3lb need only about 139 calories during the day, while medium dogs up to 30lbs require about 781 calories. Bigger dogs, such as those weighing up to 100lbs, must have around 1,926 calories. “Unless stated otherwise, these amounts give you the total that is recommended for your dog over a 24-hour period,” the Pet MD website says. The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 73,500 views and 3,850 likes on the platform. One user, Kate Kirk, commented: “Ignore the vet. get her a pup cup.” Sasha said: “Wait why because my Goldie love them.” Mad.Mumma.27 added: “Send this footage to your vet and ask for compensation and therapy for your dog.” Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup. Read More

A dog turned full blown nosy neighbor after catching a whiff of the barbecue his neighbors were cooking up next door. Rory the golden retriever, who lives in Yorkshire, U.K., with his human companions, made his feelings abundantly clear after catching the scent of the assorted meats being grilled one door down from his home. In an ideal world, Rory probably would have hoped to catch sight of his neighbors. That might have given him the chance to shoot a sad look their way in the hope of them tossing a sausage or maybe even a burger over to him. More From Newsweek Vault: Compare Top Pet Insurance Plans For Dogs Unfortunately for Rory, a large wooden fence stands between him and the people next door, leaving him with little recourse but to peep through the gaps between the slats at the food sizzling away just out of paw’s reach. “When the neighbors are having a BBQ and it smells better than the kibble mum makes you eat,” an onscreen caption accompanying the video reads. Rory the golden retriever. The pet pooch found himself mesmerized by what was going on next door. TikTok/@goldenboyrory Smells play a huge role in the day-to-day lives of dogs everywhere. Dogs have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in the nasal cavity. To put that figure in perspective, humans have 6 million. More From Newsweek Vault: The Top Rewards Credit Cards for Pet Owners The part of a dog’s brain dedicated to analyzing odors is also an estimated 40 times larger than the area of the human brain used for this. It goes beyond that though. In 2022, a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience identified a potential link between dogs’ smell and vision. More From Newsweek Vault: Pet Insurance 101: How Much Does It Cost and Is It Worth the Price? Researchers conducted MRI scans on the brains of 23 dogs. They found neurological connections between the olfactory bulb, the area of the brain that recognizes smells, and the occipital lobe, which is responsible for processing vision. This connection is something not found in human brains and suggests dogs experience the two senses on some integrated level. So while Rory might not be able to reach the meaty treats on offer next door, the experience of smelling them is likely to be an amplified one. Not that that means much to his human companion. To their way of thinking, Rory’s attempts at peering through the gate paint him in the familiar role of “nosy neighbor.” They were not alone in seeing the funny side in Rory’s predicament either, with several fellow dog lovers taking to the comments section to offer their takes on the situation. “My dog would be the same,” one user wrote. “Love you Rory,” another added, with a third commenting that the situation was “so cute.” A fourth, meanwhile, said: “I hope he got the sausage. My dog loves a barbecue.” Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup. Read More