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Foster puppies take field trips to an assisted living home for snuggles. It's an adorable win-win.

"The laughs, chats, and love the seniors receive during these visits is so good for their souls."

Images courtesy of carter.cifelli/Instagram (with permission)

Assisted living residents get special visit from foster puppies.

The transition into an assisted living home can be hard and lonely. Adjusting to new routines and environments in nursing homes can be scary and unfamiliar to residents.

So, what could be better to bring some joy and comfort to nursing homes than snuggling foster puppies? It's a sweet operation that Carter Cifelli, a puppy foster care provider and advocate in Raleigh, North Carolina, and So Fetch K9, a puppy socialization business in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, are on a mission to provide.

"I’ve been doing this for over 3 years with my foster puppies and have taken almost every litter of puppies I’ve fostered there since I started," Cifelli tells Upworthy. "I love these visits! I go to the same assisted living facility every time so I see the same familiar faces and they know me."

Cifelli and So Fetch K9 bring smiles to nursing home residents—many who struggle with memory loss. "It’s so special to see them waiting with excitement to get to snuggle a rescue pup! And beyond magical to see the sweet puppies relax into their laps and arms," Cifelli adds.

In the videos, residents at the assisted living facility can be seen holding pups in their laps and giving them lots of cuddles and yummy treats. Many pups are so relaxed and happy, they can be seen falling fast asleep.

"The pups I foster have been saved from rural shelters across North Carolina, to go from being discarded and unwanted to bringing so much joy to the seniors is inspiring! Every single person involved gets so much happiness out of it," Cifelli says.

In another post, So Fetch K9 explained that the visits benefits the puppies in a number of ways. "The 7-10 week age frame is the best window to do this type of socialization," they explained. "At this age, their little brains are eager to take in information. When it’s filled with safety, fun, and love, the pups go about the rest of their lives feeling excited about new experiences, not scared of them."

They also added that, "The socialization puppies receive in the critical socialization period is crucial to the ease of their success later in life. While the residents love nothing more than our puppy visits, they are helping the pups more than they know. 💕"

The visits help assisted living residents as well. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, simply petting dogs has been proven reduce stress and also increases levels oxytocin, the "feel-good" bonding hormone.

The precious videos of residents with puppies pulled on the heartstrings of viewers. "This is the absolute perfect place to bring these puppies !!! This is so good for these residents !!! I’m sure this absolutely made their day❤️❤️❤️❤️," one wrote. Another commented, "This is AWESOME! Makes my heart smile!🥰" Another viewer added, "The best therapy ever!! For the pups and these beautiful folks. ❤️"

The foster puppies that have visited assisted living homes throughout the years are available for adoption through Hope Animal Rescue and Saving Grace Animal Adoption.

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Kitten pushes sibling out of the way when potential adopter comes by

This is possibly the cutest sibling rivalry on the internet.

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Kitten pushes sibling out of sight when potential adopter comes by.

Adopting an animal is almost always an adventure. Looking around a pet store or animal shelter, trying to see whose personality speaks to you the most, is one of the most serotonin-releasing things animal lovers can do. Catching kittens taking cat naps or watching chubby little puppies roll all over each other can make just about anyone smile.

One potential adopter was at an adoption site, not just for the happy feels but to pick out a new kitten, and she saw one with a lot of personality peeking out from the window in the door. This sweet kitty was looking right at the woman with its furry little paws on the door in order to boost itself to get a better look.

But when the woman started talking to the curious face looking back at her, another kitten appeared and wanted this stranger's attention, too. Except...the first kitten was not at all interested in sharing the nice lady's undivided attention. Nope. No, ma'am. No, sir. No how. It was not having it. Apparently, even kittens can experience sibling rivalry, except it's far cuter and much less annoying (at least to the owners).

As soon as the first kitten noticed the other kitten scooching in on the potential new owner, it behaved like a literal child and pushed its sibling down. Like full-on, paws-on-head, pushed the other cat down out of sight. That didn't stop the other kitten from resisting being shoved out of the way. Nope. It just popped back up, only to be batted down again.

The entire thing is amusing and oddly human-like for these kitten siblings. I wonder if she took them both? Take a look at the video shared on Reddit:

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'Roman to the Rescue': 10-year-old’s sweet effort to rescue dogs lands him a Disney show

This kid is only 10 and is already making a difference!

Photo by Dillon Kydd on Unsplash

10-year-old rescues dogs and gets Disney show.

Disney XD is getting a new face! Ten-year-old Roman McConn from Evans, Georgia, has spent most of his life rescuing animals. Literally, most of his life: He’s been rescuing animals since he was 4 years old! So when we saw The Washington Post’s profile of him, we knew we had to share this story with the Upworthy audience.

Roman began rescuing animals from local shelters when he was living in Texas, but because he couldn't bring them all home, he would create videos of the animals at the shelter, which his mom shared to social media to try to bring attention to them. He made it a personal mission to find every shelter pet a home, especially those that were harder to get adopted and at risk of being euthanized.

Currently, many animal shelters and rescues are overwhelmed with pets in desperate need of being adopted—many the result of “pandemic puppies.” And with puppy and kitten season in full effect, shelters need more help than ever to find homes for these animals. Adults can help by ensuring that stray animals are spayed (normally inexpensive or even free at local humane societies) and by volunteering to foster animals or adopt from shelters instead of purchasing from a breeder.

Roman’s mission to see every pet from a shelter get adopted is a lofty aspiration but one he is embracing full-on. According to The Washington Post, Roman and his mom founded Project Freedom Ride, a nonprofit organization that transports dogs from Texas to northern states where adoption rates are higher. The nonprofit has rescued 4,200 dogs since its founding in 2016. Seventeen of those dogs appear on Roman’s new Disney XC show, “Roman to the Rescue,” which has so far released 7 of its 17 episodes. In each episode, Roman and his team focus on one dog to figure out its personality and show it in the best light.

It is amazing to see how one kid’s efforts have started not only an organization rescuing thousands of animals, but hopefully a movement for young people via his show. If you want to catch his new show to see how he gets these 17 dogs adopted, you can find it on Disney XD on DisneyNOW.

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School kids are writing wholesome notes about shelter dogs that help them get adopted

Photo by Terricks Noah on Unsplash

Richmond kids help shelter dogs get adopted.

There is not much cuter in this world than dogs, with the exception of kids, but putting the two together makes for all kinds of adorable. That’s exactly what Cody and Marie Lucas found when they were on the hunt to rescue a dog from an animal shelter. They knew they wanted a dog and had been to several animal shelters looking for the perfect pup to adopt. When they got to Richmond Animal Care and Control in Virginia they noticed something different about the kennels that held the dogs up for adoption.

There were hand-drawn pictures and colorful notes attached to the dog kennels. On the kennel of a 5-year-old American Staffordshire terrier named Duquesa, the note read “I’m cute and short haired. I can cuddle and bark. Please adopt me.” The note was written in a child’s handwriting. There was another note on Duquesa’s kennel written in Spanish that read “Yo necesito to be adopted. Yo necesito food and agua. Please adopt me.” Marie said that after reading the letters and looking at the dog's sweet face “how could I not love her?”

Looking around the shelter, the Lucases found notes attached to the kennels of other dogs that had health issues and dogs that could be viewed as undesirable by adopters. The notes were all written by children around 8 years old and from the perspective of the dog who was looking for a forever home. The doodles that accompanied the sweet stories added to the appeal for the dogs.

Cody and Marie Lucas with Bonnie.

Richmond Animal Care and Control

The couple decided to bring Duquesa, renamed Bonnie, home with them after reading the letter. The pup had been in the shelter for more than a month and was hard to find a home for due to her limp. There are around 170 animals at the shelter and they stay there until they are adopted in most cases, unless they are deemed too sick to be rehabilitated. Most animals are adopted within three weeks, with the exception of the ones who may have health problems or other issues that make them less desirable, which is where these cute notes come in.

The letters were part of a class project coordinated by Kensey Jones, a second grade teacher at St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Richmond. Jones has been a volunteer at the shelter for the past four years. She also has three rescue dogs of her own, so it’s safe to say this project was close to her heart. Jones wanted to find a way to help the dogs less likely to be adopted find their forever families.

Christie Peters hangs letters on kennels of available dogs.

Richmond Animal Care and Control

Jones told The Washington Post, “The idea just came to me to connect persuasive writing with these adoptable pets that need a forever home.” She thought it would be “a way that I could make their writing real for [the students], and actually make an impact on the world and our Richmond community, specifically.”

The shelter's director, Christie Peters, has a son is in Jones' second grade class. So when Jones approached her with the idea, Peters enthusiastically agreed.

A letter written to hang on a dog named Sunday’s kennel reads: “I would love to be adopted. If you do adopt me, I hope I will brighten up your Sundays like the sun. You’ll be my Sunday Special, and I hope I’ll be yours!” Jones admitted she was surprised at what the kids came up with and that it “pulled at the heartstrings.”

Shelter dogs are always looking for a home that will care for them forever, and this is just one way to make sure they get the families they deserve. If you’re thinking about adding an animal to your family, consider adopting from a local animal shelter. Maybe you, too, will be met with sweet notes from kiddos helping to facilitate successful adoptions.

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