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Pets

Watch 'aggressive' rescue cat completely transform with just one month of love and patience

This is so beautiful.

Photo credit: Canva

On the other side of that aggression was a just a kitty wanting to be loved.

Cats in general are too often mislabeled with unsavory personality traits, but rescue cats really suffer the consequences of being misunderstood. When they hiss, growl or even scratch at their rescuer, it’s sometimes assumed that aggression is just their regular disposition, rather than a fear response. But when given consistent reassurance and a whole lotta patience, even the crabbiest kitty can transform into a sweet cuddlebug.

Just take Bruno’s word for it.

According to his rescuer Grace, Bruce was the “most challenging” cat she had ever dealt with when it came to aggression.

According to his rescuer Grace, Bruce was the “most challenging” cat she had ever dealt with when it came to aggression.

In a video posted to her TikTok account, titled @kittyboyandfriends, we see exactly when she means as Bruno ferociously swipes at Grace’s hand when she opens his carrier.

“He was so untrusting of humans, but desperate for love,” her onscreen text reads.

We see this inner conflict as well, as poor Bruno cautiously approaches Grace for a pet while offering a warning hiss at the same time. The anguish is palpable.

Grace was determined not to give up Bruce, and it paid off. Slowly but surely, Bruce softened. He started approaching Grace for love—no bites attached.

And then, after a month, Bruce was transformed “into the most loving affectionate boy.”

Watch:

@kittyboyandfriends “Aggressive” Bruno’s 1-month Transformation 💫 It’s so hard to believe that this is the same cat I brought home. The first few weeks with Bruno were overwhelming. I felt hopeless at times. Even with my experience with feral & aggressive cats, Bruno has been the most challenging by far. But with love, time and patience, we uncovered a gentle soul just craving love and affection. We still have some work ahead of us, as he occasionally gets triggered, but I am so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time 🥰 A big thank you to #FurboForGood for making this video possible and generously donating to The Happy Kitty Rescue! I am so grateful for their support and the impact they’re making in the whole rescue community. Every purchase made with Furbo helps improve the well-being of rescued pets by providing meals, shelter, training, and more. I’ve especially loved having our Furbo Cat Camera to capture all our precious moments and keep an eye on the babies when I’m not home. Thank you, @Furbo Pet Camera ♬ original sound - Grace

Nowadays Bruce can be seen cuddling up on Grace’s chest. There’s still work to be done, and moments where he gets triggered, but Grace is nonetheless “incredibly proud” of how far he’s come.

Down in the comments, people were equally amazed.

“The way his whole face changed as he started to trust you,” one person wrote.

Many noted how many “aggressive” cats like Bruno are really just scared, and in need of more love.

“Hisses get kisses NEVER FAILS. Some cats take days, some weeks, some months but it always wins,” one person declared.

Another echoed, “Deep down I think no animal is really ‘aggressive,’they were just not treated right.”

Many wrote “to be loved is to be changed,” a popular phrase conveying the transformative power love has on rescue animals.

There are multiple ways to make the transition period a little smoother for rescue cats, primarily by establishing a routine, respecting boundaries and providing positive reinforcement. But really it just comes down to having enough patience to see it through. But these creatures are so, so worth it.

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Lucky pup survives fire and snow before being rescued by brave volunteers

Images used from Tahoe PAWS & TLC 4 Furry Friends' Facebook, with permission

Pitbull found four months after being given up for lost.

For nonprofit animal rescue organization Tahoe PAWS and TLC 4 Furry Friends, reuniting lost pets with their owners is all in a day’s work. However, one recent rescue has gone viral, after the team successfully found a pitbull who had been missing for nearly four months.

Poor little Russ, a 3-year-old pitbull pup, had gotten spooked one night during a camping trip with his owner, Ricardo Rodriguez, in late August.

Rodriguez had done his best to find Russ: getting the help of friends, calling local shelters, posting fliers. To no avail.

And then, the Caldor Fire hit. As it destroyed several homes and businesses along a stretch of 200,000 acres, the flames forced an emergency evacuation for Rodriguez. From there, things began to turn bleak.

"After months of not hearing back from anyone, I assumed he was in good hands with a different owner," Rodriguez told CNN.

Luckily, Rodriguez and Russ’ story was far from over.

Russ curled up and cold next to a tree.

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On December 16 (four months later), a skier noticed a dog, curled up in the snow next to a tree. That’s when Tahoe PAWS was notified.

Two volunteers, Leona Allen and Elsa Guale, gladly took on the mission, which would not be easy in the frigid temperatures.

Allen, who had volunteered with PAWS for three years, told CNN "We didn't even hesitate.This was a one-shot deal, we either got him or he didn't survive the night."

Trekking up a steep incline, Guale and Allen waded through the snow, guided only by Russ’ tracks. When they reached the tree, all Allen could see was a “dark mass.” No movement was detected, no signs of life.

And then … Russ opened his eyes. They had found him. And he was alive.

But the venture had only just begun. Gaule and Allen would need to safely get a very scared Russ down the hill. Despite his fearful growls, Graule won his trust with treats and patience. Without it, rescue would have been impossible, Allen told the San Francisco Chronicle, according to the Stamford Advocate.

When Russ finally allowed his head to rest on Gaule’s hand, the women wrapped him up in a blanket, placed him on a sled (given by El Dorado County Animal Services Officer Kyle Shumaker) and slowly brought him to the bottom of the hill. The whole endeavor took several hours.

Russ in his rescue sled.

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Russ might have been lost in the most extreme of elements for four months, but the vet deemed the pup completely healthy. Wendy Jones, founder and executive director for Tahoe PAWS, attributes this to his “survival mode” kicking in.

This is more than a turn of phrase. Survival mode, or feral mode, is a very real phenomena that happens when a dog is separated from its owner. As stress starts to deplete serotonin levels, a panicked pup will undergo a drastic (although usually temporary) personality change as primal instincts take over. When this happens, even the most well-trained dog can not recognize their own name.

That is why Tahoe PAWS strongly advises that if your own furry friend goes missing, the first thing you should do (yes, even before searching yourself) is to contact local Animal Services.

When Rodriguez received the good news, the dog owner was “ecstatic,” according to CNN. And only one day after Christmas, the two were reunited. This was thanks not only to the wonderful collective efforts of multiple organizations, but also due to the fact that Russ had been microchipped. Though Russ’ chip had either “not been registered or possibly not updated,” according to Jones, it was no match for the team’s investigative work.

“This is a great reminder that microchipping your pet and maintaining the registration in your name is important,” Tahoe PAWS & TLC 4 Furry Friends wrote in its Facebook post.

dogs, pit bulls

A very happy, healthy and thawed-out Russ.

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Russ is now back where he belongs, thanks to the diligence and commitment of the amazing team at Tahoe PAWS and El Dorado County Animal Services.

Allen shared with the Chronicle (as reported by SFist.com) how grateful she was to help.

"As a rescue organization . . . this is what we're supposed to do…I've worked some pretty gnarly rescues, this probably being the top. I keep reliving the moment when he opened his eyes and lifted his head, and just the joy and elation inside of me was overwhelming. It's one more life that gets to live happy and warm and safe."

As a nonprofit, Tahoe PAWS relies on volunteer services and outside contributions to help supply necessary equipment for these amazing rescues. If you’d like to donate to its cause, you can do so here.

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When a rescue dog refused to eat, this veterinarian nursed him back to health with pure love

Acts of kindness and compassion are always inspiring. A veterinarian gave a different spin on the phrase "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em".

The poor little pup in this video walked into this shelter with a history of being abused. He was so traumatized that he wasn't eating. The vet treating him wasn't sure what to do, so he decided to book a table for two: a the dog's place. It is not clear whether he got an official invite from the canine in question, but he felt pretty safe about showing up unannounced. He walked into the cage and sat down next to the dog. With his back up against the corner of his new (and hopefully temporary) domain, the rescue stared apprehensively at his human guest. The vet presented a dog dish with food and put it in front of the dog. The frightened pup just looked at the dish and made no attempt to eat. Then he broke out another dog dish identical to the one he just gave to his four-legged patient and started eating out of that bowl. And then came the turning point.




The man calmly took a bite to gain trust and develop a connection. Then he reached down and pulled a kibble out of the bowl in front of the dog and held the offering in his open hand. After a pause, the dog ate the nugget out of his hand. Then the vet did it again, and the dog ate that kibble, as well. The man then went back to eating out of his own bowl. That was when the pup looked at him, realized it was safe to eat and started to eat out of the dish given to him.

There is just something about the connection between humans and dogs. I have two. One of them is a rescue who bounced around from home to home because no one cold handle her so I took her when she was two years old. She was afraid of brooms which tells me it was probably the method with which someone saw fit to discipline her. She had no reason to trust me, but yet the moment I met her to take her to her new home, she jumped in my car with such joy. Yes, she was energetic, but it was because she was cheerful. Imagine getting in trouble for being too happy. I can safely say without bias that she is one of those dogs that everyone seems to love. And she loves them right back. In fact, I am pretty sure that girls I have dated have stayed with me a little longer than they would have just because they didn't want to break up with my dogs, too.

My other dog is a beagle mix who I adopted at 8 weeks and has absolutely no idea how good he has it. I have cooked chicken and put it in his bowl for dinner. Yes, the same chicken you and I eat and he looks up at me as if disappointed that the balance of saffron and garlic was just a little off, and that makes him hysterical. They are family members and not pets, which is exactly the compassion that our hero in the video showed. My hope is that people can learn from his actions of kindness. Be the change. And you don't even have to eat dog food to do it.

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Chris Evans posted this video of his dog and nothing on the internet will ever be better.

If  somehow you haven't heard, April 11 is National Pet Day.

And that means it's the best time of the year. You're welcome (nay, encouraged) to share stories about your first canine companion or feline familiar. And where did your hamster come from, anyway? Are you always being told you share too many pictures of your guinea pigs online? (I am.)

Well, on National Pet Day, that's all forgiven and forgotten. Besides, if Facebook's gonna violate your privacy, you may as well inundate their servers with 27 nearly identical pictures of your cat stretching. Without further ado, here is my rabbit, Ms. Cleo, just chilling like it's her job. (Which it is.)

And here are my guinea pigs, Buddy and Andy, being coaxed into a "Little Mermaid" themed photo shoot. (This image cost me four bell pepper slices).

Lest you think this is just some elaborate ploy to post pictures of my animals on the internet (My editor said it was OK. Post yours in response. My DMs are open.), I have some unfortunate news: Nothing you share will be as awesome as what I'm about to show you.

Because this has all been a preamble to what may be the most heartwarming video of all time.

Captain America himself, aka actor Chris Evans, has posted a video of the first time he met his best friend Dodger.

Are you ready for this? Here's hoping you're a) sitting down and b) in a place that's not teeming with dust. Because there's about to be something in your eye.

Evans met Dodger when he was shooting "Gifted." And as soon as they saw each other, they knew it was forever.

“One of the last scenes we were filming was in a pound, a kennel,” he told People. “I foolishly walked in and I thought, ‘Are these actor dogs or are these real up for adoption dogs?’ And sure enough they were, so I was walking up and down the aisles and saw this one dude and he didn’t belong there. I snagged him and he’s such a good dog."

"They aged him at about one, he acts like a puppy, he’s got the energy of a puppy, he’s just such a sweetheart, he’s such a good boy. He loves dogs, he loves kids, he’s full of love.”

I'm not crying, you're crying. (OK, fine, maybe I am crying.)

Of course, this isn't the first time Evans has shared his dog with the world. In fact, Dodger's a frequent presence on Evans' twitter.

Here he is singing:

Here he is looking handsome:

And here are some of Evans' and Dodger's glamour shots:

The two can't bear to be apart.

Beyond the cuteness of the video, though, there's an important message: So many rescue animals need your love.

"Rescue dogs are the best dogs," Evans says in his post. And whether or not you share his opinion, the reality is there are lots of shelter pets looking for a loving forever home.

According to the ASPCA, roughly 6.5 million companion animals enter shelters each year. That number's declined steadily from 2011 (thanks to people like Evans), but there are still an estimated 3.3 million dogs and 3.2 million cats waiting for someone to love them. 3.2 million animals are adopted annually, but that number's got to grow. How could you say no to a face like Dodger's?

(The correct answer is that you can't.)

Rescuing an animal is also beneficial for you.

Let's get this out of the way: Adopting an animal isn't just good for the animal, it's good for everyone. According to the Humane Society of the United States, too many adoptable animals are euthanized in shelters because too few people think about adoption when they're looking for a pet.

And when you adopt an animal, you're not just saving its life, you're also fighting puppy mills — "factory-style breeding facilities" that usually focus  more on the dollar, not an animal's welfare. By adopting, the Humane Society notes, "you can be certain you aren't giving them a dime." And taking an animal in makes room for others to be helped too. So you're saving more than just the life of your new best friend.

Plus, adoption's also good for your health. Studies show that people who own dogs and cats are happier (less stress), healthier (cat owners have been found to have a lower risk of heart problems), and may even have an easier time finding romance (you know, if the love of a good dog just isn't enough).

But don't just take my word for it. The response to Evans' post has been adorably explosive, with many sharing photos of their own rescued friends.

After Evans posted his video, thousands of people began sharing pictures of their pets too. Click here and get ready to say "Awww," because your day is about to get a whole lot better.

Your day's better, right? It's better.

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