"Guardians of the Galaxy" actor and retired wrestler Dave Bautista is now a new type of guardian: He recently adopted a pair of bonded 6-year-old pit bulls, who had been surrendered and separated after their previous owner had a baby.

“I needed them, they needed me,” Bautista wrote in a Nov. 13 Instagram post about the dogs, named Ollie and Maggie. "These beautiful babies spent the first six years of their lives neglected and abused. And now they are going to spend the rest of their lives being spoiled and loved."

"They just won the #DogLottery," actor Justin Long wrote in a comment on the post.

It's a remarkable ending for Ollie and Maggie, but luck wasn't always on their side.

The four-legged besties were separated at the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center in Tampa, Florida, when they arrived on Oct. 18. It is important to keep bonded dogs together, especially through any new process, as separation anxiety can occur, according to Scott Trebatoski, department director of the shelter. He believes the animals were separated because of kennel space constraints.

In a shelter, keeping bonded dogs together brings them comfort in a stressful situation, according to Jennifer Abrams, the senior manager of the behavior and volunteer programs at the Animal Care Center of NYC, who wasn’t involved with the care of Ollie and and Maggie.

“My opinion is that in the shelter is not the place to break up bonded pairs because the shelter is very stressful, and leaving them alone is one more thing to add stress and sometimes they find comfort in each other's presence," she told TODAY.

Word of the dogs' plight reached members of Rescue Me Tampa, an independent volunteer organization that aims to get shelter dogs adopted.

"Please consider these 2 together," the organization wrote in an Oct. 26 Facebook post. "They just lost everything they knew and loved. Although not kennelled together or listed as bonded they have lived together since they were pups so that in our opinion is BONDED!!"

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Now that Prey is out in the world, viewers everywhere are enjoying one of the year's best-reviewed action films, enjoying the fight sequences, the work of star Amber Midthunder, and the new creature design that went into the Predator at the heart of the movie.

But of course, the human performers (and the human walking around in a Predator suit) are not the only main attractions. Viewers have also fallen in love with Sarii, Comanche warrior Naru's (Midthunder) loyal dog and hunting companion, played by an American Dingo named Coco. According to Midthunder, Coco was not a trained movie dog. She was adopted specifically for the movie (having an old breed makes sense for a film set in the early 1700s), and as a result was a little challenging on the set.

“She was a little bit of a hot mess – but in a sweet way," Midthuner told Dexerto. "She was not a movie dog, she was literally adopted to be in this movie, and she just happened to be very high-energy.

“She was such a delight to have around, she was so fun and very playful. And then it would be time to do stuff… sometimes she’d do it, sometimes she wouldn’t. But obviously, it all ended up fine, because she was great, and everybody loves her.”

According to director Dan Trachtenberg, Sarii's presence in the film was heavily inspired by The Road Warrior, and "Mad" Max Rockatansky's loyal dog companion from that film, known simply as "Dog." So, giving Naru a dog was always part of the plan for Prey. What changed along the way was just how much Sarii would end up being in the film.

“We were trying to get Coco out of scenes but the opposite ended up being true, and we ended up including her more – even in some of the action set-pieces, because I just thought it’d be so fun," Trachtenberg said. "One of the great things about Road Warrior is the way Mad Max uses his doggy, so we wanted to have the same kind of fun in this movie as well.”

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As any true dog person knows: When you have a good dog by your side, you want to keep finding excuses to have that dog by your side.

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Mexico is sending its beloved search and rescue dogs to Turkey, to help find survivors in the rubble following Monday’s devastating earthquake that toppled thousands of buildings in the country.

At least 16 dogs, alongside their handlers, took off on Tuesday for Turkey, according to Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary.

“The heart of our rescue team is currently flying to Turkey,” Ebrard said.

The flight also included search and rescue experts from the Mexican army, members of the navy, “five foreign ministry officials and 15 members of the Red Cross,” a government press release said.

Ebrard shared a video of the canine team, which included Belgian Malinois, Australian Sheepdogs and Labradors. He also posted videos of members of the Mexican Red Cross and their dogs.

Mexico’s search and rescue dogs became a symbol of country’s resilience in the face of tragedy following the 2017 earthquake that killed hundreds in Mexico City.

Yellow Labrador Frida, who was part of the Navy, became famous at the time for her doggy goggles and boots, Reuters reports. When she died in 2022, a life-size statue in her honor was unveiled outside the Navy’s main office in Mexico City.

She had rescued 43 people over the course of her service, which lasted from 2010 to 2019, when she was retired.

The team will land in an airport in the Turkish city of Adana, a major southern city near the epicenter of the earthquake, according to the statement.

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The anti-poaching K-9 squad here currently consists of eight human handlers and a team of dogs, including bloodhounds and Dutch Malinois. With their celebrated schnozzes, the former are experts at tracking down illegal activities. "[Bloodhounds] have a very strong sense of smell and can be on the trail for three days," said John Tekeles, head of the conservancy's anti-poaching unit. "This is essential when pursuing leads."

The stars of the unit, though, would have to be the Malinois. Originally bred for herding, these lithe, smart and vivacious balls of muscle are used worldwide in security, law enforcement, and search-and-rescue.

For all their explosive strength and potential ferocity, Malinois are also loving, well-behaved, people-friendly canines – qualities that make them the perfect choice for Ol Pejeta, where the K-9 unit works among conservancy visitors and the residents of surrounding communities.

The Malinois here are trained for "triple-role" purposes as patrollers, trackers and attack dogs. "This flexibility is essential given the ever-changing situations that we face on the ground as we do our security operations," said Tekeles.

The canines faithfully sniff out bullet caches, carcasses and poacher pathways, but their most intense task is actually going toe-to-toe with the poachers themselves. As you can see in this video from the Elephant Ignite Expedition, training the dogs for this work can be pretty darn intense for their devoted handlers, too.

Unleashed on a poacher who has refused ranger orders to surrender, the Malinois launch themselves at breathtaking speed and go aerial to snag the offender's weapon-toting arm. As this YaleEnvironment360 article notes, the dogs' jaws exert biting pressure of a whopping 1,400 pounds per square inch, which means a Malinois-latched poacher is handily detained – and unable to fire – while Ol Pejeta rangers rush in for the arrest.

The hard work of the Ol Pejeta dogs and their human cohorts has paid off. "The presence of the dogs has created an enormous deterrence effect around us. Poachers now think twice about coming to Ol Pejeta because of the dogs and the publicity that has surrounded them," the conservancy's CEO Richard Vigne told Yale360.

Obedient, fast and equipped with such a formidable sense of smell, pooches are increasingly being used to fight poaching and black-market wildlife trade all across Africa.

Malinois and German shepherds literally descend upon poachers from helicopters in South Africa. The snuffling noses of Malinois in the Republic of Congo's Odzala-Kokona National Park uncover contraband ivory and bushmeat. Mountain gorillas and other wildlife in the famed Virunga National Park have a "dogged" ally in a team of bloodhounds – they're nicknamed "Congohounds" – that help rangers locate poachers.

Back at Ol Pejeta, meanwhile, visitors can actually go behind the scenes with the K-9 unit. Besides touring the kennels, you can try your hand at eluding the resident bloodhounds – a fun (and likely fruitless) game on your part, and one more bit of valuable training for these four-legged conservation warriors.

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The Queen’s corgis, Muick and Sandy, sit in the forecourt of Windsor Castle to greet Her Majesty. While greeting British subjects in a surprise visit to the queue of people waiting to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II's coffin at Westminster, Prince William reassured one woman that the late queen's corgis are in good hands.

In a video captured by Sky News, William held the hand of a blond woman who inquired about the dogs' well-being.

"I saw them the other day, that got me quite sad,” he said. “They are going to be looked after fine."

He added that they're "two very friendly corgis" and they have a "good home."

"They’ll be looked after very well. Spoiled rotten, I’m sure," he said in the clip.

TODAY previously reported the queen left behind four dogs at the time of her death — one corgi/dashchund mix named Candy, two corgis and one cocker spaniel.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, a source close to Prince Andrew, the queen’s third child, confirmed that the two corgis would move to his home in Windsor. There is still no word on what will happen to the other two dogs.

The queen had reportedly stopped taking in dogs in the mid 2010s because she didn't want to die and leave any young dogs behind. However, she was gifted a few dogs over the years, including one from Andrew. According to the source, Andrew's ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, played a role in getting the late monarch the dog.

Andrew and Sarah divorced in 1996 but remained in close contact. Even after their split, the source said Sarah bonded with the queen "over dog walking and riding horses."

“Even after her divorce, she would continue her great friendship with the Queen by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting,” the source told NBC News.Over the course of her life, Queen Elizabeth II famously cared for more than 30 corgis, several labradors, cocker spaniels and Candy, the dorgi. She was also known for breeding and racing horses.

In another Sky News clip from Prince Williams' Saturday visit with the late queen's fans, he can be seen telling people his grandmother would have "never believed" the long line to see her coffin.

Supporters waited in hours-long lines outside to see the queen as her body laid in-state at Westminster Hall. Sunday evening, ahead of the monarch's state funeral, The United Kingdom’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport officially closed the queue. The last estimated wait time was 8 hours.

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The Queen’s corgis, Muick and Sandy, sit in the forecourt of Windsor Castle to greet Her Majesty. pic.twitter.com/H02sPv17mY

— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) September 19, 2022

Homeless dogs in Brazil regularly attend church services to meet their new owners. If you think that abandoned dogs magically turn to God for help, unfortunately, it’s not exactly the case, but this extraordinary scenario can still be encountered every Sunday at Paróquia de Sant’Ana Gravatá.

Father João Paulo Araujo Gomes who is the head of the parish of Santana in the city of Gravatá in Brazil does the kindest and most inspiring thing for stray dogs around his church. He invites homeless animals from the streets to become a part of his service to help them find loving homes. The doors of his church, as well as his big heart, will always be open for dogs. And who wouldn’t attend Mass if some adorable dogs were involved?

Dogs provide us with unconditional love, laughter, and precious memories and it’s nothing less than fair to pay them back. Whether you are a faithful believer in God or not, as long as you believe in kindness and compassion, we can slowly make the world a better place.

Father João Paulo is housing abandoned animals in his rectory away from the dangers of the streets. However, he brings his furry friends to the church service in hopes that they will be noticed. This is why every Sunday, the priest makes sure the dogs are in the center of attention, an honorable spot where everyone can see them. As loyal and as important they might look in front of the altar, dogs will be dogs and they are always in for some petting. Being excited and adorable as they are, pups often join the priest at the altar for some attention and belly rubs, and Father João never disappoints!

“They will always be able to enter, sleep, eat, drink their water and find shelter and protection, for this house is of God and they are of God,” Father João Paulo wrote on Facebook. He engages the large church’s community in his dog rescue mission by encouraging them to invite people who are interested in bringing home a new family member. His compassionate actions raise awareness and help to make a change, starting from Gravatá.

Many rescued dogs are neglected, affected by cruel street life and in desperate need of urgent help and attention. The compassionate Father has not only given a temporary home and affection to these poor creatures, but he also takes good care of them, feeds them and provides all the necessary medical treatment. Their spectacular recoveries warm our hearts and show what love and care can do. A small act of kindness that makes an extreme difference for the forgotten dogs of Gravatá.

Thanks to the priest’s actions, the number of abandoned dogs on the streets of Gravatá, which has 228,000 inhabitants, has reduced substantially. Dozens of stray dogs have already found loving homes. In fact, after meeting so many faithful animals in person, the kind-hearted priest couldn’t help but adopt some himself.

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Some spelunkers who were exploring and looking for caves at a Harrison County, Indiana, nature preserve found and rescued a starving dog at the bottom of a pit.

On Sept. 4, the cavers were exploring Dewey Hickman Nature Preserve when they saw movement in the pit. They looked down and saw a thin black-and-white dog at the bottom of a 30-foot drop.

The cavers rappelled down and were able to lift the dog out of the cave. The cavers believe that the dog may have originally been caught by his collar on a branch as he fell, as there appeared to be scratch marks about halfway down the shaft.

"We believe the dog was eventually able to wiggle free and dropped to the bottom of the cave," said a spokesperson for the Harrison County government.

The cavers reported there was an empty turtle shell at the bottom of the cave, which may have helped collect rainwater and kept him alive. A member of the local community took the dog home for the night and called Harrison County Animal Control in Corydon, Indiana, for help.

"Based on his condition, we believe he may have been in the cave for up to two weeks," said the spokesperson. "He is very thin, and his collar is very loose, leading us to believe he had been in the cave long enough to drop a significant amount of weight." dewey

"He is still a little lethargic right now after everything that has been going on," said Director of Harrison County Animal Control April Breeden. "But when he first came in this morning he was just so loving. He just wanted to be loved on and be petted. I took him into my office, and he immediately jumped up on the couch, and he's been sleeping there ever since. He is amazing." dewey

He was initially named Dewey after the park in which he was found, but later Harrison County Animal Control said that they believe they had found Dewey's owner, and that his name is actually Hawkeye. The animal control is working to confirm this so that they can reunite the resilient pup with his owner.

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As his forehead glistens with sweat, Zhi Xiang peers into the eyes of a stray dog whose coat has become matted in heavy rain and says soothingly: "Let me cut your hair, cutie."

The bedraggled pooch is among scores of dogs hauled off the streets of Shanghai by police and packed in metal cages in a foul-smelling holding area. More than 20 puppies are also crammed into a yellow plastic crate; one dog is dragged in while inside a tied bag. If it wasn't for Zhi's intervention, they will all be put down in a matter of days.

But Zhi is no ordinary animal rescuer, he is a Buddhist monk and will give these dogs a new life either at his ancient monastery or at a shelter he runs in the Chinese city. He already has nearly 8,000 dogs to feed and care for. A few hundred will eventually be resettled in Europe or North America. Driven by his faith, the 51-year-old has been rescuing animals, mostly dogs but also cats and other strays, since 1994.

"I have to rescue them because if I don't, they will die for sure," Zhi said.

It started when he began treating cats hit by vehicles on the road. Back then, there were few stray animals, but that has changed markedly in the last four or five years, he said.

China's growing wealth has seen a boom in the pet market, but some people simply abandon them when they do not want to care for them anymore, Zhi explained.

"This is not caused by people who dislike dogs, or by the government, but by so-called dog lovers who don't have proper animal-caring knowledge."

Breeding among strays is causing their numbers to explode. State media said in 2019 that there were 50 million stray animals in China and that number is roughly doubling each year. With help from volunteers and his small workforce, Zhi keeps several hundred dogs at his Bao'en Temple, where he is the head monk and golden Buddhas look on serenely against a backdrop of howling pooches.

The temple, which is still a place of worship, also hosts a room filled with 200 cats, along with a ragtag collection of chickens, geese and peacocks. The air is an incongruous mix of animal smells and burning incense.

One recent Saturday morning, Zhi was at Shanghai's international airport to drop off a dog to a passenger who volunteered to take it to a new home in the US city of Seattle.

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A 65-year-old homeless woman was found sleeping in bin bags on the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, with her six dogs. Luz Maria Olmedo Beltran, known as Chole, has been living this way for eight years.

The elderly woman, who has a son, refuses to go to a homeless shelter as they won’t accept her beloved pets. Police have tried to convince Luz to go to a shelter in the past but she protests each time, determined to stay side-by-side with her dogs, one of which is about to give birth.

A Tijuana based photographer, Omar Camarillo, spotted Luz and decided to snap her pictures. Since the images captured a lot of attention, people have tried to help Luz and donated items for her and the dogs. Since then, Luz has been able to move into a shelter that allows for dogs, for 50 pesos a day.

When police tried to convince Luz to leave the streets and move to a shelter, the elderly woman broke out in tears. ‘I don’t want to go, I don’t need help, I’m fine here,’ she said to the police.

As they were unable to leave her on the streets, police managed to convince Luz to give her son’s address. Though they dropped her off at his place, Luz was soon back on the streets with her cherished companions.

Photographer Omar tells Metro.co.uk: ‘That day when I took the photos, t was raining, I was walking down the street and I could see the lady taking shelter from the cold and rain with her dogs inside the garbage bags.

Image credits: Omar Camarillo

‘I was impressed by the conditions in which the woman lives. I realise that “La Chole” has a great heart because she helps animals despite having many shortcomings.’ Omar returned to take pictures of Luz’s new abode; a tent. She says she would like the government to donate a place to her so she can take care of more animals.

After reading the story, Alejandra Cordova Castro was deeply touched and decided to help “Chole” with what she and the dogs need the most: water, food, blankets, socks, etc. It’s a simple, kind gesture that doesn’t cost much, but means the world to the elderly woman trying to survive in her harsh reality.

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The man named Junrell Fuentes Revilla was riding his motorbike on what seemed to be a day like any other, through the mountains of Cebu, Philippines. Suddenly, a dog came out of nowhere and started running right after him. The four-legged boy was barking relentlessly as if he was desperate to tell something to Junrell.

Sensing that something was not quite right, Junrell stopped his motorbike and followed the dog to see where he led him. The dog took him right to a dumpsite, where a tiny bundle was lying. It turned out, this was a newborn baby boy wrapped in a brown towel and left completely abandoned.

But thanks to the canine hero, the baby was found in good health and was rushed to the nearest police station. The touching story has quickly spread over social media in the Philippines and many felt touched by the dog’s exceptional bravery. Not all heroes wear capes, and not all of them are humans.

The baby ended up under the care of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office. Authorities urged the abandoning mother to come forward and anyone with information to reach out.

The dog Blacky has become a hero after he wouldn’t stop barking at a passing motorist, who stopped and followed him right to the dumpsite

It was there that a newborn baby wrapped in a towel was found completely abandoned. The heroic dog was initially thought to be a stray, but it turned out he had a home.

Image credits: Hope for Strays

Gea explained that the stray animal problem in the Philippines is so huge that it needs help from people. “If people would choose to adopt rather than to shop, if pet owners were more responsible and did more spaying and neutering of strays and their pets, then it would make the problem go away.”

“No stray would get hurt, cold, and hungry if we all chose kindness every day,” Gea told us and said that all animals’ lives are very precious. Just like Blacky, dogs and cats can actually save people and bring happiness to our lives.

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A moment of kindness in Kansas City captured the world's attention on Tuesday. Social media users were all atwitter about a photo showing a Kansas City police officer sitting with two dogs in a grassy knoll off a ramp that leads to 75th Street.

The officer, who did not want to be identified, is being hailed a hero for saving the dogs separated -- and since reunited -- from their owners.

Debbie Davis took one of the photos that has since gone viral on social media.



"As I pull up, it's a motorcycle cop sitting in the cold grass with two stray -- or what appears to be stray dogs, just sitting there petting them," she said.

The dogs escaped the safety of their home in south Kansas City. The police officer waited with them until the Humane Social could arrive. Davis said the officer went above and beyond his call of duty.

"It's over and above for anyone," she said. "It's cold. Most people wouldn't look twice at some dogs running around."

Debbie shared the photo of the officer with the dogs on Facebook. Thousands saw it -- and shared it. The dogs' owners, Austin and Ashley Mozingo, went to the KC Pet Project looking for them after they escaped from their yard Monday night.

"It was heartbreaking when you see him in a cage, but then, it's relief, when you know you can take him home with you," Ashley said. Ashley likes the picture of her pooches with the police officer.

"It's adorable," she said. "He's just chillin' with them."

"I think that's an awesome story," Austin said. "It's good to know there are still police officers out there who still enjoy helping out the community, especially in helping out such sweet dogs."

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A homeless man risked his life to save several cats and dogs trapped at an Atlanta animal shelter after it caught fire, the facility's founder said.

Keith Walker, 53, rushed into the W-Underdogs shelter on December 18 after a fire engulfed its kitchen.

"I was nervous as hell, I'm not going to lie. I was really scared to go in there with all that smoke. But God put me there to save those animals," Walker told CNN. "If you love a dog, you can love anyone in the world. My dog is my best friend, and I wouldn't be here without him, so I knew I had to save all those other dogs."

While the shelter was not completely destroyed, the fire left it uninhabitable, according to W-Underdogs founder Gracie Hamlin. Luckily, W-Underdogs was only a week away from moving into its new facility in Atlanta, where the animals now reside.

"He is my guardian angel," Hamlin told CNN. "Even the firefighters didn't want to handle the dogs. They called animal control, but Keith was already in the building pulling out the cats and dogs until they were all safe."

Hamlin previously knew Walker, who has been homeless since he was 13 years old, because she lets him keep his dog, a pitbull named Bravo, at the shelter every night.

Walker was on his way to pick up Bravo and take him for a walk when he saw the fire. He was able to rescue all the animals -- six dogs and 10 cats.

"I can't thank him enough for saving my animals," Hamlin said. "I'm still in disbelief, because I've been around a fire and I know how fast they flare up. He is my hero."

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An Amazon driver delivered the gift of life when he saved a dog from drowning during one of his routes.

John Cassabria was out delivering packages in Woburn, Massachusetts, earlier this summer when he noticed an animal struggling to stay afloat in the deep end of a backyard pool, WBZ-TV reported.

"I saw what looked like a snout and at that moment my heart sank," he told the local news outlet.

Upon realizing that it was a pup in trouble, Cassabria said he immediately "jumped into the pool with everything on and didn't take anything off." The delivery driver had his phone, wallet and watch on when he hit the water, though Cassabria said "none of that mattered."

"I thought only of the dog at the moment," he recalled.

The dog — a 14-year-old pup named Luka — has issues with his hind legs, according to his owner Julie Caldwell. As a result, she said Luka doesn't swim and the pooch wouldn't have lasted long in the pool had Cassabria not rescued him. A bone caught in the pool's vacuum cord may have lured Luka into the pool, according to WBZ-TV.


Caldwell was just hours into her vacation when she received news of the incident from Animal Control, the outlet reported. Meanwhile, Cassabria sat with Luka for an hour and a half before the scheduled dog sitter arrived.

"I happened to be in the right moment at the right time," Cassabria said. "I would repeat the same actions over and over if I had to."

In a letter Caldwell sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that was obtained by Boston.com, Luka's owner said that she "can’t thank" Cassabria enough for rescuing her canine companion.


"Words cannot express how grateful we are to him. In fact I have tears in my eyes as I write this email," the note read, according to the outlet. "Luka is doing fine thanks to your wonderful and courageous employee."

"We love hearing stories about drivers being everyday heroes. Everyone at Amazon was touched by John going above and beyond to save Luka’s life, and we’re excited to celebrate and thank him for his great efforts," an Amazon spokesperson shared in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
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Apparently, there’s this adorable New Guinea singing dog that was considered to be extinct in the wild for five decades straight. But—surprise, surprise—the rare dog has just been spotted by researchers in the remote highlands of Papua, Indonesia.

The New Guinea singing dog is an extremely rare breed of dog named for its unique and melodious howl, characterized by a sharp increase in pitch at the start and very high frequencies at the end.

Turns out, only around 200 of these doggies now live in conservation centers or zoos all around the world, all of which are the descendants of a few of the wild dogs that were captured in the 1970s.

The researchers first spotted a pack of wild dogs in the remote highlands of Papua, Indonesia in 2016. A few years later, the scientists came back to the study site to collect blood samples from three of the dogs—along with demographic, physiological and behavioral data. All of this was done in order to confirm whether these dogs were actually related to the New Guinea singing dogs.

According to the study that was published a few days ago, the comparison of DNA suggests that these dogs and the singing ones are much more closely linked to each other than any other canine.

“The conservation dogs are super inbred. [It] started with eight dogs, and they’ve been bred to each other, bred to each other, and bred to each other for generations–so they’ve lost a lot of genetic diversity,” Elaine Ostrander, the senior author of the paper, told CNN.


The researchers hope that we will be able to preserve these rare doggies by breeding some of the newly discovered wild dogs with the New Guinea singing dogs.


“New Guinea singing dogs are rare. They’re exotic. They have this beautiful harmonic vocalization that you don’t find anywhere else in nature, so losing that as a species is not a good thing. We don’t want to see this (animal) disappear,” Elaine Ostrander added.
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The Center for Biological Diversity today added $2,500 to the reward for information leading to an arrest for the poisonings of wildlife and dogs on public lands in northern Wisconsin, bringing the total reward to $3,500.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began this investigation last year after finding several dead dogs, wolves, coyotes and weasels in northern Wisconsin. Lab tests confirmed that poisoning caused the deaths.

“People should be able to enjoy watching wildlife and walking their dogs on our public lands without fear of more tragic poisonings,” said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center. “We’re adding to this reward with the hope that someone comes forward with information that finally brings an end to this senseless, indiscriminate poisoning of rare wildlife and family dogs.”

Investigators are now focusing on Florence, Forest and Marinette counties, just south of the Michigan border in northern Wisconsin, where most of the deaths have occurred. At least seven dogs have died as well as at least two rare gray wolves. Just last month a yellow lab and a German shepherd died after eating poison found along gravel roads on U.S. Forest Service land in Forest County, and on April 26 two beagles died in the same general area.

“With so many people in northern Wisconsin headed outdoors this Memorial Day weekend, I hope folks can keep an eye out for any signs of the poison or poisoned animals,” said Adkins. “I’m hopeful that someone will be able to come forward with information about these abhorrent poisonings that will be useful to law enforcement.”

Last year the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing federal protection from gray wolves, prompting a tremendous outcry from wildlife advocates across the country. But for now the gray wolf remains protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The maximum penalty for violating the Act is one year in jail and a $100,000 fine per individual.


Anyone with information on these poisoning deaths should contact the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement in Madison, Wisconsin at (608) 221-1206.
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Heidi, a German shepherd from Australia, is being praised after she helped save her owner’s life when his boat sank.

On Thursday morning, police officers in Moreton Bay, Australia, were notified about a situation by a fisherman, who had spotted Heidi swimming in the bay next to a tackle box, a wetsuit, and more items that appeared to be from a boat that had gotten into trouble, according to a news release from the Queensland Police.

Heidi was quickly pulled out of the water and taken to a veterinarian for a check-up, while Brisbane Water Police initiated a rescue operation for her owner.

The pup’s owner, a 63-year-old man, was found “clinging” to a boat in Moreton Bay just hours later, according to the release. The man reportedly told police that the boat lost power on Wednesday evening and had filled up with water.

Heidi, who was found to be uninjured by the vet, had “amazingly” been treading water for about eleven hours while she waited for help, police said. Her owner was transported to a local hospital but had no serious injuries.

While she waited for her owner to return from the hospital, Heidi enjoyed some food and rest at the police department — and was even named an honorary police dog.


“We would take this opportunity to remind boaties to plan for the worst when they’re out on the water,” Senior Sergeant Jay Bairstow of the Brisbane Water Police said, according to the release. “Always wear [a] personal flotation device and ensure that your safety equipment [is] tested and in good order.”

He added: “Thankfully there was a happy ending to this search and Heidi was able to be our honorary PD for the day.”