"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!!"

Source VIDEO

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.”

Source

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.

VIDEO

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.

Source

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.

Source

VIDEO

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.

Source

VIDEO

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.

Source