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When The Rock heard about a sick puppy named after him, he didn't waste time.

In September, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had to make the heartbreaking decision to put his beloved puppy Brutus down.

Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images.

"As all puppies and dogs do, he ate a mushroom while playing outside with his brother Hobbs," Johnson wrote on Instagram. "This mushroom happened to have a lethal toxicity and within hours it was rapidly destroying his liver and immune system to the point of no return. I encourage all of you out there to be mindful of mushrooms in your yards, parks, or anywhere outside your dogs play."

As tragic as Brutus' death was for Johnson, the actor continues to fight for dogs in need.

Dogs like this:

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, 3-months, is still doing good and getting a lot of love here at Saving SPOT! Anyone who hasn't heard, Dwayne was dropped off at the North Central Shelter with a metal wire wrapped around the bottom portion of his mouth. The shelter removed it gave him 17 stitches. He was also diagnose with a Grade 5 heart murmur. Saving SPOT! took Dwayne in and took him to a heart specialist. After the exam, the specialist said it can be fixed and scheduled the surgery for December 18th. We're raising money for Dwayne and his surgery. You can donate at: https://www.gofundme.com/helpdwaynethepuppy PLEASE SHARE Dwayne's story. @therock #spotrescuedogs
A photo posted by Saving SPOT! (@spotrescuedogs) on

Just this week, Saving SPOT! — a dog rescue shelter in Los Angeles — took in this 4-month-old puppy who was abandoned. According to the shelter, the dog was found abused, with "a large metal wire wrapped around his mouth," and a severe heart murmur, which would require expensive surgery to treat.

Because of the pup's resilience, the shelter decided to name him Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Actor Michelle Trachtenberg informed the original Rock on Twitter.


To which Johnson replied:


That's when, according to a Pix11 report, Johnson proceeded to give $1,500 of his own money to the campaign to pay for (puppy) The Rock's treatment. (The fundraiser ultimately met its goal, and then some.)

The shelter even put the two Rocks together in this fantastic side-by-side shot.

DWYANE UPDATE - Knowing that "the Rock" has got Dwayne the puppy's back, we are confident he will be a fighter and make it through this. Thank you all for your generous donations- thanks to you we have met our goal. Any funds that are raised and not used for Dwayne will go to the more than 60 dogs Saving SPOT! Rescue has now including 5 week old puppies, a dog with mange and breast cancer and numerous orthopedic surgeries. Please help us to continue saving lives. We are thankful for all of you this Thanksgiving! Please donate... https://www.gofundme.com/HelpDwayneThePuppy
A photo posted by Saving SPOT! (@spotrescuedogs) on


What happened with The Rocks is a reminder that there are still far too many animals in America's shelters.

According to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately 7.6 million pets enter shelters in the U.S. every year. And roughly 2.7 million of those animals — nearly 1 out of every 3 — are ultimately put down.

(Puppy) The Rock was lucky to make his way to a no-kill shelter, which raised the resources for his care, but many animals aren't.

Most no-kill shelters, almost by definition, don't accept every animal for lack of available space. The rest wind up in shelters that euthanize otherwise healthy animals because of overcrowding issues.

The solution is simple: Adopt.

(Puppy) The Rock is one of millions of great animals — puppies, kittens, adult and senior animals — currently living in shelters throughout the U.S.

I got this adorable guy from an ASPCA shelter two years ago:

Photo by Madalena Provo, used with permission.

And there's many more where that came from.

Not only does adopting mean one less homeless animal, it cuts down on the demand for puppy mill dogs, which results in fewer animals turning up in shelters in the first place.

In the meantime, both (puppy) The Rock and The (original) Rock seem to be doing great.

And why not? It's pretty hard not to love this guy.

Dwayne, 3-months, is doing good and has made a lot of new friends. We're half way to our goal for his heart surgery. Please share his story and help us reach our goal! https://www.gofundme.com/helpdwaynethepuppy @therock #spotrescuedogs
A photo posted by Saving SPOT! (@spotrescuedogs) on

With any luck, he'll make a great family very happy one day.

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Summer is officially over, which means we’re looking for any excuse to get together and watch a game or grill outside in the cooling temperatures.

The thing about hosting though is figuring out what to feed your guests—especially with rising prices all around. And frankly, everyone is sick of pizza.

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Pop Culture

In emotional video, Celine Dion shares diagnosis of rare, incurable 'stiff person syndrome'

'As you know, I have always been an open book.'

Celine Dion/Facebook

Celine Dion spoke directly to her fans on social media.

Celine Dion has shared the devastating news that she has been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome.

In an emotional video to her fans, the 54-year-old French-Canadian singer apologized for taking so long to reach out and explained that her health struggles have been difficult to talk about.

"As you know, I have always been an open book, and I wasn't ready to say anything before. But I'm ready now."

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Science

Senate unanimously passes ‘Tiger King’ bill that bans private ownership of big cats

Carole Baskin fought for 11 years to get it passed.

via Christine Leiser/Flickr and Wikimedia Commons

A tiger at the Endangered Animal Rescue Sanctuary and a mugshot of Joe Exotic from Santa Rosa County Jail.

Netflix’s “Tiger King” will go down in history as the collective distraction that helped America get through the dark, depressing days of early COVID-19 lockdowns. The show followed the true story of the feud between private zoo owner Joe Exotic, the self-described “gay, gun-carrying, redneck with a mullet,” and Carole Baskin, founder of Big Cat Rescue.

Exotic is currently serving out a 21-year prison sentence for animal rights abuses and hiring someone to kill Baskin.

The show was a raucous look inside the world of big cat owners and brought a lot of attention to the animal abuse that runs rampant in the industry. The light it shed on the industry was so bright it led Congress to take action. The Senate unanimously passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act on December 6. The House had already passed the bill in July.

The White House has signaled that President Biden will sign the bill into law.

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Health

A child’s mental health concerns shouldn’t be publicized no matter who their parents are

Even politicians' children deserve privacy during a mental health crisis.

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A child's mental health concerns shouldn't be publicized.

Editor's Note: If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.


It's an unspoken rule that children of politicians should be off limits when it comes to public figure status. Kids deserve the ability to simply be kids without the media picking them apart. We saw this during Obama's presidency when people from both ends of the political spectrum come out to defend Malia and Sasha Obama's privacy and again when a reporter made a remark about Barron Trump.

This is even more important when we are talking about a child's mental health, so seeing detailed reports about Ted Cruz's 14-year-old child's private mental health crisis was offputting, to say it kindly. It feels icky for me to even put the senator's name in this article because it feels like adding to this child's exposure.

When a child is struggling with mental health concerns, the instinct should be to cocoon them in safety, not to highlight the details or speculate on the cause. Ever since the news broke about this child's mental health, social media has been abuzz, mostly attacking the parents and speculating if the child is a member of the LGBTQ community.

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Pop Culture

Jack Black's Tenacious D rocked out with an impressive version of the Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ medley

Jack Black is an incredibly talented singer.

via Wikimedia Commons

Tenacious D performs at the Rock in Pott festival.

The medley that closes out the second side of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album is one of the most impressive displays of musicianship in the band’s storied career. It also provided the perfect send-off before the band’s official breakup months later, ending with the lyrics, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

In 1969, “Abbey Road” was the last record the group made together, although “Let it Be,” recorded earlier that year, was released in 1970.

At first, the medley was just a clever way for the band to use a handful of half-finished tunes, but when it came together it was a rousing, grandiose affair.

Arranged by Paul McCartney and producer George Martin, the medley weaves together five songs written by McCartney, "You Never Give Me Your Money," "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window," "Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight” and "The End," and three by John Lennon, “Sun King," "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam."

Fifteen seconds after the medley and the album’s conclusion, there is a surprise treat, McCartney’s 22-second “Her Majesty,” which wound up on the record as an accident.

Jack Black and Kyle Gass, collectively known as Tenacious D, recently reimagined two of the songs in the medley, "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "The End," for acoustic guitars for a performance on SiriusXM's Octane Channel. Like everything with Tenacious D, it showed off the duo’s impressive musical chops as well as their fantastic sense of humor.

The truncated version of the medley was also a wonderful tribute to the incredible work the Beatles did 53 years ago.

Warning: This video contains NSFW language.

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