Dog News

PUBLISHED ONDecember 12, 2024 12:12 AMByShaffiq Alkhatib A manager of a home-based pet grooming salon appeared in a district court on Dec 11 over the death of a dog she had allegedly left unattended on a table. Vanessa Chiu Yan Er, 29, who is also a partner at Pawkins SG, the home-based salon, was charged with one count of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to a corgi named Fendi in a unit of a Serangoon Central block of flats around 1.45pm on July 24. This case first made headlines in July, after a video of a dog falling off a grooming table and being hanged to death with its leash went viral online. According to court documents, Chiu was Fendi’s groomer, and she allegedly failed to secure the dog with a “double arm lock” and left it unattended on the table. The three-year-old dog slipped off the table and died after it was hanged by its neck with its leash for an extended period. In a video posted on Instagram on July 24, six dogs seen in a room start to bark after being triggered by something off camera. No one can be seen in the footage at this point. [[nid:695085]] A brown dog tied to a table then falls off it at 1.42pm, according to the video’s timestamp. It struggles for about a minute to get back onto the table on its own, but fails to do so. It eventually stops moving. In a separate video earlier seen by The Straits Times, a woman is seen entering the room at 2.17pm and moving towards that dog. She picks the dog up and places it back on the table before knocking on an adjacent door. Fendi’s owner, Ms Sonia Tan, 24, told The Straits Times that the salon informed her about the death at 3.14pm that day after it took the dog to a vet. Chiu’s case will be mentioned again in court on Jan 15, 2025. A first-time offender convicted of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $40,000. This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction. Read More

The moment a rescue dog cried to her owner for a specific spot on the couch has left social media users demanding justice for the fur baby. TikTok user @rmveabaq662’s 4-year-old rescue dog was born under a trailer in Alabama, but after being adopted, she only knows a life of luxury. She went from being rescued to a house princess in an instant, learning she could get her way if she cried and whined. She also became specific about what she wants, with her favorite thing being the couch, which she found was a safe haven with multiple uses—for cozying up with her owners or as a perch to perform her neighborhood watch duties. But she was up in paws when her owner took a specific spot on her couch. In the November 9 TikTok video, the rescue dog protested and stared at her owner in disbelief. How dare her spot be taken? After all she went through before getting adopted, she’s still getting mistreated? Her owner should know better than that. The dog huffed and puffed, slightly stomping her paws to show she meant business. She cried for the spot right that very second. In the clip, the owner didn’t budge. She’s used to her dog demanding specifics and wanted to film it for others to see her rags-to-riches rescue’s request. “This happens all the time,” the owner told Newsweek via TikTok. “Especially in regards to getting the exact spot she wants on the couch.” A TikTok video shows a rescue dog crying to her owner, who took her couch spot. The dog was demanding that her owner give up the spot. @rmveabaq662/TikTok The clip has over 291,200 views on TikTok, and people were cracking up over the dog’s protest, even though a different and open couch was available for her to use. The owner assured them there was a method to her madness. One comment reads: “That couch is for greeting guests and looking out the window and the other couch is for being cozy- rules she made up on her own.” Other people wrote in the comments section how they felt for the dog, saying she deserved that spot. Plus, as one person put it, she had “some very valid arguments.” “Girl, if you don’t get out of her spot!!” a viewer demanded. A second echoed: “It is required that she gets her spot!! Now!!!” Another added: “The stress yawns when they’re pouting always trips me out.” 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 woman has gone viral for showcasing the sight that greets her every time she finishes her long shift as a nurse, causing social media users to praise her “rich” life. Madeline Smith, 28, is a nurse in Houston, Texas, where she typically works 12-hour shifts—and at the end of each day she is greeted by her “selfless husband” Jerred, 34, and their two rescue dogs, Margot and Maya. “My selfless husband started getting up super early with me, taking me to work, and picking me up after his work day about five years ago and has always brought our two girls,” Smith told Newsweek. “He asks them every time before it’s time to leave ‘Do you wanna go get Mama?’ and they lose their minds with excitement.” This was captured in a viral video that Smith posted to her TikTok account, @madtotherescue, on November 30, and which has since racked up over 167,000 likes. It shows Smith leaving work to see her husband’s car parked out front, and two very excited dogs leaning out of the windows, along with the words: “My husband drops me off and picks me up for every single nursing shift. This is my view whenever I’m done with my day and ready to go home.” As she gets closer to the car, black-and-white dog Maya hangs out the rear window, while Margot pops up in the front passenger seat, each of them panting and squirming, eager to greet their owner. Madeline Smith’s dogs, Maya and Margot, greet her every evening once she’s finished her 12-hour nursing shift. Her husband brings her to work and collects her every day. TikTok @madtotherescue As Smith approaches Maya, the dog’s tail is wagging so furiously it was compared to a helicopter by one person in the comments. “Ma’am there is a helicopter in your backseat,” they wrote, as another said the dogs were “gonna take off.” Many TikTok commenters told Smith how lucky she is. One wrote “You are rich,” and another doubled down: “Oh so you’re rich rich.” Smith, who also posts about her dogs on Instagram under the same user name, told Newsweek both pets were rescues, and that adopting Maya saved her from being euthanized. “I love that they feel like family and know who their mama is,” she said. The couple rescued both dogs, who are now adored pets. Smith revealed Maya had been due to be euthanized before she became part of their family. TikTok @madtotherescue Around 3.1 million dogs enter shelters across the U.S. each year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The number of shelter animals put down each year has declined massively, from 2.6 million in 2011 to an estimated 920,000 a year. Smith added: “When they arrive at the hospital they sit and just stare at the door, and when they see me their tails start going a mile a minute. It truly turns a bad day into a good one and a good day into a great one.” 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

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — After a nearly weeklong search, Athena found her way home to her Florida family in time for Christmas Eve and even rang the doorbell. Athena, a 4-year-old German Shepherd and Husky mix, escaped her home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, on Dec. 15, prompting a search among the community and nearby towns for her. Her owner, Brooke Comer, said her family left for church that day and got a message from her neighbor with a picture of Athena outside the house. Comer panicked. Her family rushed home to find her collar in the crate and no visible opening Athena could have gotten out from. How she escaped remains a mystery. The next week’s events continued to be an “unbelievable” story for Comer, where neighbors and community members from nearby towns would contact her from her missing dog ads and send any footage or photos where they may have spotted Athena. Based on all the alerts Comer got, it looked like Athena made a nearly 20-mile (32-kilometer) roundtrip while she was missing. At every alert, Comer and her family would go to the spot within minutes and search for Athena — to no avail. “She was the hide-and-seek all time grand champion,” Comer said. “With every sighting my heart jumped, and it honestly was excitement and then your heart’s crushed because we were always one step behind.” The entire search was a terrifying and scary experience for Comer, who was worried about where her already skittish dog could have gone or could have encountered. That was until 2:30 a.m. Christmas Eve, when she got a Ring video notification from her doorbell and her other dog began barking. “I was kind of like in a daze, and the dog was barking, and as soon as I heard that ring, I looked at my phone and you could see in the video it was Athena and she was jumping at the door, ringing the doorbell,” Comer said. As soon as Comer opened the door, Athena bolted inside and went to go lick her son’s face, who was on the couch half-asleep. After that, she immediately grabbed her ball to play and shortly went to her cage to go back to sleep. Comer said the experience gave so much hope because of the neighbors and the large community looking for Athena for the past week. The next plan was to get Athena a full exam, flea and tick treatments and a microchip. Read More

An animal rescue is offering a reward for any information following the rescue of a who suffered heartbreaking cruelty. On October 10, a dog, named “Cowgirl” by the Humane Society of Yuma (HSOY) staff, was discovered in a canal in Yuma, Arizona, with her legs tightly bound and covered in mud. “Concerned citizens found her in an empty canal with mud. Her front legs were bound together with what seemed to be electrical tape and her hind legs were bound together with rope. Animal Control was notified and on the scene right away to help rescue her,” Lauren Weinberg from the Humane Society of Yuma told Newsweek. More From Newsweek Vault: Walmart+ Members Get New Perk Aimed at Pet Owners A picture of Cowgirl the dog after her rescue. She has since been adopted into a new home. The Humane Society of Yuma Fearful, hungry and scared, Cowgirl was covered head to toe in mud. “The bindings were so tight they were constricting her blood flow so her paws were swollen. She had trouble walking and seemed to be very weak,” Weinberg said. Our medical staff immediately evaluated her and tended to her needs.” HSOY is now offering a $2,200 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this act of cruelty. More From Newsweek Vault: The Top Rewards Credit Cards for Pet Owners Yuma County Sheriff’s Office told Newsweek: “There was an animal cruelty report in regards to this incident. At this time, there is not much information to share. There are no suspects in custody. Any information from the public is encouraged.” In a post on its Facebook page, HSOY urged the community to come forward with any information about Cowgirl’s abuse. The group said: “Despite everything she has been through, Cowgirl has a very sweet nature and has shown incredible resilience.” Cowgirl’s story sparked an outpouring of support on social media. Facebook user Alissa L. Peña Pacheco commented: “That’s so insanely cruel… If I could, I would come get her right now!” Another commenter, Victoria Crookshank, said: “Reading about her makes my heart cry. Thank goodness she is in good care.” More From Newsweek Vault: Pet Insurance 101: How Much Does It Cost and Is It Worth the Price? Thanks to the support of the Yuma Humane Society, Cowgirl is now doing much better—and has found a new loving home. “During her stay at the shelter, she spent some time in our administration office, where it was calmer and quieter than the kennels,” Weinberg said. “She is still a little timid at first with new people but once she gets to know you she’ll cover you with kisses. We have since spayed her and she has already been adopted into a loving home.” 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 gazing intently at his owner’s boyfriend has captured the internet’s attention, sparking curiosity about his motives. Reddit user U/Decent_Associate1140 shared a video of her dog, Nacho, sitting on the couch with his paws resting on her boyfriend, while staring deeply into his eyes. The post has garnered 6,400 upvotes in the subreddit “Animals being funny.” “Nacho often gazes at my boyfriend for actual minutes without any clear reason,” she wrote. In the video, Nacho sits beside her boyfriend on the couch, with his paws on his chest, keeping his gaze fixed on him. “He’s trying to avoid eye contact,” the boyfriend says on camera, as Nacho continues his intense stare. Reddit users were quick to speculate why Nacho might be holding his gaze so firmly. “Uumm he took Nacho’s spot on the couch,” commented user CarpetGlum1547. “Nacho spot,” quipped another Redditor. Dogs can stare for many reasons, often signaling affection, curiosity, or even a desire for attention. According to WebMD, a dog’s gaze can be a sign of bonding, as eye contact releases oxytocin, a hormone which releases a feeling of love and well-being for both humans and dogs. However, dogs might also stare when they’re waiting for cues from their owner, like when it’s time to play, go outside, or get a treat. In Nacho’s case, the prolonged stare at his owner’s boyfriend could indicate a mix of bonding and curiosity or a subtle request for attention. Stock image of dog lying on owner. Reddit users debated what the dog’s intent stare signified. yavdat/iStock / Getty Images Plus On the other hand, a dog’s stare can sometimes signal discomfort or stress. The Dogs Trust highlights that signs of discomfort in dogs can include stiff body language, lip licking, or yawning as a way to calm themselves. If Nacho’s gaze seems tense, it could be a hint of discomfort rather than affection. Opinions varied in the comments about what might be behind Nacho’s gaze. “My dog does this when he wants to cuddle,” shared user chainer1216. “I know dogs that did that to me, and when I stared back, wide-eyed, they would get the zoomies. Nacho may want to play,” another user suggested. “The dog could also be jealous of the boyfriend. My dog would do that stuff with my ex-husband and me sitting together,” noted another viewer. Newsweek reached out to u/Decent_Associate1140 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site. Read More

A sick puppy has been dumped in the front yard of a Sydney home with nothing but a note and some food. The Maltese shih tzu was left in a Zetland courtyard by two women and tied to a gate. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sick dog dumped in front yard of Sydney home. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today It was found “only by chance” when the residents of the home investigated a “little whimper” they’d initially dismissed as wind. The 12-month-old dog had been left with a bag of food and a note. “The note basically said they really care for the dog but can’t take care of it anymore,” foster carer David Wiles said. Million the Maltese shih tzu with new foster carer, David Wiles. Credit: 7NEWS Wiles said the dog was found when locals heard a “little whimper”. Credit: 7NEWS ‘Million’ has ended up in the arms of loving foster parents who are committed to taking care of him. Wiles and his wife are dog owners and lovers and have formally agreed with its breeder to foster it – and it is just as well. A vet check found a cancerous growth on his leg and he has a small hernia, and he will have life-saving surgery on Saturday. The adoption agency Wiles has connected with is footing the bill. The RSPCA is on the hunt for the dog’s former owners after it was left in the front yard of a Sydney home. Credit: 7NEWS The RSPCA has a team of inspectors on the hunt for Million’s former owners. The maximum penalty for abandoning pets is six months in jail. “Dog ownership is hard, it’s a lot of work, it’s a long commitment. These guys aren’t toys,” Wiles said. Reports of abandoned pets have sky rocketed by 140 percent in the last year. Read More

SINGAPORE: A maid who, following her employer’s instructions, abused a pet poodle by hitting it and suspending it from a balcony railing, was sentenced to nine months in jail on Tuesday (Nov 26). Myanmar national Junny Lal Awn Pui, 26, was found guilty of three counts of animal cruelty under the Animals and Cruelty Act. A National Parks Board (NParks) veterinary report said multiple acts of abuse most likely led to the death of the male brown dog, known as Boyboy. Earlier this year, a Facebook post by Derrick Tan, the president of the charity Voice for Animals, showed closed-circuit television footage of Junny Lal Awn Pui hitting the dog. In one video, she is seen holding the dog down on the ground by its neck as she hits it with her hand. As the dog struggles, she hits it twice with a long, rigid rod-like object. In another video, she uses the rod to hit the dog’s head while it is tied to a tap. The dog is also seen leashed and left to hang in its harness from the balcony railing. According to court documents, Junny Lal Awn Pui had received instructions from her employer, a 37-year-old woman named Heng, regarding the care of the dog, which was estimated to be 15 years old. The dog had belonged to Heng’s boyfriend, a 43-year-old man named Lai. Lai and his previous girlfriend, Yap, had adopted the dog when they found it along Rochor Road in January 2015.  Lai would keep the dog at his home following his breakup with Yap in 2018. But after he entered a relationship with Heng, both agreed to keep the dog at Heng’s home. Lai installed a motion-sensor recording device on the balcony where the dog slept. The full names of Heng, Lai and Yap were redacted. HIT, HUNG AND HIT AGAIN Under Heng’s instructions to Junny Lal Awn Pui, Boyboy was to be treated separately from Heng’s other two dogs. It was to be confined to the balcony and rarely permitted into the rest of the home. The segregation extended to feeding practices, with Heng instructing her maid to feed Boyboy separately on the balcony, away from her other two dogs. In one instance of abuse caught on camera on the morning of Jan 22, 2024, Junny Lal Awn Pui was seen pinning the dog to the ground and hitting it with her hand, before hitting the dog’s head forcefully with a rod-like object. She did this as she had been instructed by Heng to hit the dog if it started to eat without being told to do so. Heng made the rod by rolling up pet food packaging. About an hour later that morning, Junny Lal Awn Pui, again acting on Heng’s instructions, tied and hung Boyboy about 30cm from the ground by its harness. This was done to expose it to the sun, ostensibly to reduce the dog’s odour. The maid would then hit Boyboy’s head two more times with the rod, causing it to bark in pain. The dog remained motionless after it was hit a second time.  These three acts, all caught on camera, took place between 9.52am and 11.46am The amount of force inflicted on Boyboy would have very likely “caused pain and a head concussion” to the dog due to its size in proportion to the force of impact, prosecutors said, with one vet’s report stating that they “very likely contributed the most to its death”. BOYBOY’S DEATH At about 12pm, Boyboy was tied to a short leash under direct sunlight at the balcony. It lay motionless on its left side with its hind legs extended forward, with occasional trembling and twitching. Junny Lal Awn Pui was instructed by Heng at 1.24pm to check on Boyboy. The maid found the dog biting its tongue and bleeding from its mouth. She informed her employer, and the two checked Boyboy and found that the dog had already died. Junny Lal Awn Pui then picked up Boyboy and tossed its body to one side of the balcony. “There were also no visible signs of respiration from (Boyboy), which had died as a result of the repeated beatings received from the accused,” prosecutors said. Sometime later that day, Heng contacted Mandai Pet Sanctuary to arrange for the dog’s carcass to be collected for cremation. The carcass was transported to Mandai and placed inside a fridge after Heng informed the driver to hold off on the cremation, as she wanted to inform her boyfriend and Boyboy’s owner, Lai, first. OWNER SUSPICIOUS Heng then drove herself and Junny Lal Awn Pui to Lai’s house at around 5pm, where they waited until he returned home at 10pm. Heng celebrated Lai’s birthday and informed him about his dog’s death after the celebrations. Boyboy was cremated at Mandai the next day. On viewing the carcass, Lai noticed that the dog’s limbs were straightened and became suspicious, as it had been very active the day before it died. Lai then reviewed CCTV footage, which revealed Junny Lal Awn Pui’s abuses. This prompted him to meet with his ex-girlfriend Yap on Jan 25, who then lodged a report with NParks. Boyboy’s possessions, including its bowl, soap, brush, towel and toy bone, the rod, as well as the CCTV camera, were disposed of by Heng on Jan 24, two days after the acts of abuse. “The vet report indicates that (Boyboy) experienced “severe pain and suffering” and that “it is very likely that the blows to the head would have caused the dog to suffer painful head trauma and subsequent incapacitation”, prosecutors argued. “In the absence of any other likely contributing factors, the repeated traumatic beatings would have very likely caused the death of (Boyboy), the prosecutors added, citing the vet report. Junny Lal Awn Pui had been employed by Heng since Dec 16 last year. CNA has asked NParks if any action will be taken against her employer. Read More

Longtime fans of Kaley Cuoco and her social media presence probably remember her dog Shirley, who stopped appearing on her Instagram feed a few years ago. On November 24, Cuoco finally explained that she’d had to rehome her beloved dog, who recently died of cancer, because she was getting into fights with other family pets. “Most of you know I had [Shirley] for many, many, many years, and all of a sudden, you kind of stopped seeing her,” Cuoco said in a video, posted to IG. “And I started to get a lot of questions as to where she was, because it’s very unlike me to just stop posting about a dog that I’ve had since she was 6 weeks old.” Cuoco explained that Shirley was a very special dog to her, but when “the love of my life” Tom Pelphrey—Cuoco’s fiancé with whom she shares baby daughter Matilda—came into her life a couple years ago, he moved across the country with his own beloved German shepherd named Blue. “Unfortunately, Blue and Shirley started getting into some mega fights,” Cuoco said. “And Shirley was determined to kill him,” she added with a laugh. “Shirley had gotten into other dog fights before and it really scared me,” Cuoco continued, even though Shirley always loved people, kids, and families. “I mean, I cherished that dog.” The Flight Attendant actor said she was very worried that Shirley was going to hurt another animal or possibly even a person who got in the middle, and so made the difficult decision that Shirley couldn’t continue living with the family, even though she loved her so much. The internet tends to have a strong reaction whenever anyone rehomes a dog (Rachel Leviss and the Graham affair comes to mind), but Kaley Cuoco said in her video that she felt it was important to be honest about what happened, because she’s sure that other families have had to make this difficult decision also. Read More

An animal shelter has shattered hearts by sharing a clip of a senior dog moments after she was surrendered by her family. In May, the Midwest Animal ResQ posted a video on Instagram of Daisy, an 8-year-old Great Dane who had been “unceremoniously dropped off” at the shelter because her family was “too busy” to care for her. The video shows Daisy standing and staring out the window, whining and panting as a shelter member tries to comfort her. In the post’s caption, the shelter, under the handle @marqkc, wrote, “It’s been 30 minutes, and she just shakes, cries, and looks out the window for her people to return.” Erin Morse, the founder and director of Midwest Animal ResQ, told Newsweek: “Sadly we have seen a huge increase in people giving up very senior pets. Just this week we had a 15-year-old dog [and] a pair of 17-year-old cats.” Screenshots of an Instagram reel showing Daisy the Great Dane, who was left at a shelter after eight years with her family. Her owners were warned that it was unlikely she would be adopted and… Instagram @marqkc “Shelter life is difficult on any animal, but it is a particularly difficult transition for seniors,” she continued. “Unfortunately, the stress of being in a shelter proves fatal to some of these animals, as they simply cannot cope.” In the post, a staff member wrote that they had warned Daisy’s family that, because of her age, she was unlikely to be adopted. They also told her owners, “There is a real chance she may die here.” Still, the family unloaded her kennel and drove away. “Everything she’s ever known, gone in an instant,” the shelter wrote. “My heart is broken, but not nearly as much as hers.” Great Danes have a life expectancy of between 7 and 10 years, according to the American Kennel Club. Potential owners should be prepared to care for a dog of such height, weight and strength. Danes can grow up to 32 inches high and weigh up to 175 pounds. Screenshots of an Instagram reel showing Daisy. The senior dog was heartbroken and confused at being left behind. Instagram @marqkc The rescue ended the post: “Our pets give us their unconditional love, the least we can do is return the favor when they are in the twilight of their life. I’m so so sorry sweet girl. The world failed you.” However, Morse said Daisy’s story had a happy ending after all: She has been adopted and is now living out her twilight years in what is hopefully her true forever home. Morse told Newsweek that all pet owners should “have a long-term plan for any animal that is part of their family, even as they get to be seniors and not as ‘fun’ as they once were.” “There are resources across the country to help people keep pets in their homes, whether that be with providing low-cost veterinary care or supplies,” she said, adding that owners should “consider pet care as part of their estate planning.” 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