A Florida trooper rescued a small dog who was tied to a pole off a major highway in a pool of floodwater as Hurricane Milton begins to overwhelm the state.

An unidentified Florida Highway Patrolman was seen walking through a grassy area on the side of I-75 near Bruce B Downs Boulevard near Tampa to rescue the small white pup.

'It's okay, buddy, it's OK,' the officer could be heard saying as the dog tried to back away. 'It's OK, it's OK!'

As the officer approached the dog and realized it was stuck, it began to growl as the small animal stood in water up to his chest.

Despite multiple attempts to comfort the dog, it just kept growling and wolfing.

'I don't blame you,' the officer said. 'It's OK, buddy, it's OK.'

Source The video does not show the resulting rescue and it is unclear what happened to the dog afterward. It is unknown who the dog belongs to or how it got there. 'Do NOT do this to your pets please…' the organization wrote in an X post.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Florida Highway Patrol for comment.

'They left it to drown OMFG! Pls find who did this!' one X user wrote.

'This is ridiculous. The owner needs to face legal consequences,' another wrote.

'Wow. People can be so heartless. Thank you for saving him,' a third wrote.

Tampa is expected to brave the worst of the Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon with an estimated 10 to 15 inches of rainfall, according to CNN.

The area could see storm surges of eight to 12 feet above ground in flood prone areas, which will peak around 10pm Wednesday.

Do NOT do this to your pets during #HurricaneMilton…. they DON’T deserve this!!@FHPTampa Troopers rescued a dog left tied to a pole on near Bruce B Downs Blvd this morning. #Milton #Florida pic.twitter.com/Q6fvDR41Pv

— PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE (@Protect_Wldlife) October 9, 2024

Hurricane #Milton is pictured as a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Yucatan Peninsula from the space station on Oct. 8, 2024. pic.twitter.com/S7Hpe5GFMp

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) October 9, 2024

Update: The dog rescued by @FHPTampa is safe and receiving care. Troopers brought him to a vet, where he was examined for injuries and received a clean bill of health.

Update: The dog rescued by @FHPTampa is safe and receiving care. Troopers brought him to a vet, where he was examined for injuries and received a clean bill of health. pic.twitter.com/cut1jv7cBe

— FLHSMV (@FLHSMV) October 9, 2024

Photos and videos showing a hippo rescuing first a wildebeest calf and then a zebra foal from drowning in a strong-flowing river in Tanzania are causing a sensation worldwide.

Yule, a South African now living in Tanzania, was watching the wildebeest and zebra migration across the Mara River near the northern Lemala Serengeti tented camp together with a touring group when they saw the incident.

"This is the time of year that the migration of wildebeest and zebra starts moving south from the Masai Mara in Kenya, heading for the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti," said Yule.

"One of their big hurdles is the Mara River, which was flowing very strongly that day because of recent heavy rains."

Yule and several others saw the strong current sweep a young wildebeest calf downstream.

"The hippo immediately went after it and positioned itself on the downstream side of the calf, nudging it with its snout and keeping it above the water all the way across the river until the calf reached the other side and managed to get out and join the rest of the herd."

Barely five minutes later the water swept away a zebra foal. The hippo immediately set off after the foal and helped it toward the opposite bank in the same way.

"It was incredible to watch," said Yule. The foal was utterly exhausted when it eventually managed to get on to a little rock island very close to the opposite bank.

"It just stood there panting," he said.

"The hippo got out of the water and came up behind the foal and started nudging it and gently biting it on its backside as if to say, 'Come on man, don't give up now, you can do it. Just a hop, skip and a jump and you're there.'

"The foal slowly stepped off of the island and crossed the little channel on to the opposite side and rejoined the rest of the family group."

VIDEO

There are countless stories of dolphins giving a helping fin to humans at sea, but a recent video shared on Reddit shows how humankind is returning the favor. The video captures the moment one unnamed man rescued a dolphin calf by removing a fishing net it was stuck in, before releasing it back into the ocean.

Plastic pollution in our world’s oceans is a growing problem. A staggering 12 million tons of plastic ends up in our seas every year, which leads to marine life being trapped, entangled, and ultimately killed. But there’s one particular type of plastic waste that’s especially deadly: lost and discarded fishing gear (also known as “ghost gear”). Ropes, nets, and fishing lines drift throughout the ocean and trap all kinds of sea animals, from small fish to whales, leaving them helpless.

Thankfully, there are people and organizations that are helping to limit the amount of ghost gear in our oceans. And this video shows one of the few sea creatures who are lucky enough to be saved.

The footage shows the man removing the net from the baby dolphin, while he tries to comfort the struggling calf. After the net is safely removed, the kind guy kisses the dolphin on its back before gently dropping it back into the sea. The little dolphin swims off, seemingly unharmed. Let’s hope it managed to catch up with its pod. (Source)

A common question that is usually asked is “can dolphins breathe underwater?” The answer is no, dolphins can’t breathe underwater – but although dolphins need to breathe oxygen in order to survive, they are still aquatic and must remain hydrated in order to live.

A dolphin can live out of water for hours IF it is kept wet and cool. One of the biggest dangers to a dolphin being out of water is their inability to regulate their body temperature. We will explain how dolphins regulate their blood temperature and the risk this poses to dolphins out of the water too long.

Dolphins can survive out of water for several hours if they are kept wet and in an appropriate temperature, but just how long can they stay underwater until they need to breathe again?

Even though dolphins can’t breathe underwater, they can still hold their breath for a very long time. An average dolphin can hold its breath underwater for eight to ten minutes. Some dolphin species can even remain underwater for up to fifteen minutes! This gives them the ability to engage in extended dives where they can catch fish and other prey.

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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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Thai navy sailors braved choppy waters to launch a dramatic rescue this week after discovering four cats had been abandoned on a sinking ship that caught fire off a paradise island.

After the crew had been taken to safety on Tuesday, the navy was sent to the site of the capsized vessel to check for an oil spill, but discovered a few crew members had been forgotten.

"I used my camera to zoom in to the boat, and I saw one or two cats popping their heads out," said First-Class Petty Officer Wichit Pukdeelon of the navy's air and coastal defence division.

A sailor in a life vest swam out to the capsized boat, on which four ginger cats were huddled together on a wooden beam.

The rescuer brought the cats to his boat on his shoulder above the water level, with his team pulling him in by rope.

His posts on the rescue received more than 2,500 comments on Facebook on Wednesday praising the crew.

The cats were then moved to the command post on the island of Koh Lipe, where they now reside in the loving arms of the Royal Thai Navy. The hero of the story, who almost literally swam the oceans in order to rescue these four lovely cats, was relieved that they managed to save them. He was sure that the cats would probably have drowned or died of thirst otherwise.

The story inspired many, and some even went so far as to illustrate the heroic effort and how the Navy adopted the cats

Source

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If the kayakers had not heard their cries for help, the six puppies would most certainly be drowned. Two kayakers were paddling on the Blackstone River in Massachusetts when they heard a whimpering sound coming from an old potato sack bobbing in the water.

They went to investigate, and to their alarm, found 6 puppies inside. The puppies were only one-week-old had had been tossed in the river to die.

“It’s unconscionable, you can’t imagine what’s going through my head as a police officer for 29 years, someone would do that, someone would take six fairly newborn puppies and discard them in a body of water,” said Uxbridge Police Chief Jeff Lourie. The puppies were taken to Uxbridge Animal Control, which right away put them on a special milk formula.

The department was soon flooded by calls from concerned citizens asking after the puppie’s welfare and whether they could adopt them.

“We are overwhelmed by the responses with regards to the puppies found yesterday, The Uxbridge Police Department wrote on Facebook. “We have such a caring and great community and we appreciate everyone’s outpouring support and concern for the puppies. In the interest of adoption, the puppies are not available for adoption at this time and therefore we ask to not contact the Uxbridge Animal Control Officer or the Uxbridge Police Department with regards to adoption.”

A few weeks on, and the puppies are doing well and continue to be well-looked after by the staff at Uxbridge Animal Control. The puppies are not yet ready for adoption, but should be around mid November 2017. Uxbridge Police Department is asking that interested adopters keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates as to when the puppies will be ready for adoption.


The UXPD also says that the investigation is continuing and that “the $5000.00 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for this unconscionable crime” is being offered.
Source

Soldier brings drowned puppy back to life by performing CPR on its tiny body during incredible rescue after flood

A video of Weeraphon Sukudom saving the pup's life has been viewed millions of times around the world

A heroic soldier has won praise from all over the globe after he saved the life of a tiny puppy by performing CPR.

A video of Weeraphon Sukudom bringing the pup back to life has been seen millions of times since it was posted online by his colleagues.

The tiny animal was found in a flooded garage on a Thai army base, and had already turned blue when Weeraphon began his efforts to save him.

In the video the 25-year-old soldier, who had never performed CPR before, is seen giving the puppy a heart massage and helping the animal breathe.


The dog was feared dead after being found in the aftermath of heavy floods, which caused chaos in Thai capital Bangkok on Friday. But Weeraphon laid the animal on a table and performed CPR for three minutes before he sprang back into life.


The soldier has since adopted the puppy, who he has named Champion. He said, Newsflare reports: "There was a lot of rain and the garage where the puppies were kept flooded. We checked and one was missing. "We found him floating in the water and started trying to save him. I learned CPR a long time ago but had never done it before on a human or animal. But I had to try to save the little dog."

He said he thought the dog was already dead, but decided to try to save him regardless, describing the pup's survival as a 'miracle'.

Wildlife officials in Chile released several Andean Condors back into the wild near Los Andes city approximately 80km north of Santiago.

The birds received ten days of round-the-clock medical treatment after a poisoning scare in which over a dozen of the large birds mysteriously crashed to the ground earlier this month.

The vulture-like birds had been infected by an unknown toxin making them ill and causing diarrhoea and uncharacteristic behaviour.

The condor is the world's largest land bird of flight and was treated with reverence by the indigenous peoples of Latin America.

However, according to the International Union of the Conservation of Nature, the species is in danger of extinction due to a loss of habitat and lead poisoning ingested when feeding on the remains of animals killed by hunters.


The Andean condor is a national symbol of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuelan Andes states. It is the national bird of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. It plays an important role in the folklore and mythology of the South American Andean regions.

Wildlife officials in California have thanked a crab fisherman and his five-year-old son for helping them free a humpback whale that had become entangled in some fishing lines off the coast of Carmel Highlands.

The fisherman, Calder Deyerle, and his son Miles are credited with spotting the struggling whale, which was dragging heavy crab fishing lines and floats Tuesday morning.

The two then contacted authorities, who sent out members of the California Whale Rescue.

The father-son team then waited in their boat nearby to show the group the whale's location. The CWA used a pole to try and cut the ropes off the whale, CNN reported.

A hook knife was mounted on the pole, and the rescue members chased the whale in a boat trying to cut it free.The rescue operation took seven hours, with the whale repeatedly disappearing underwater, however finally the ropes were cut loose.


In a video taken of the rescue, the team can be seen fishing the lines out of the water and celebrating finally setting the whale free. However, according to the CWR, Deyerle's 'willingness to stand by was vital to the success of the event'.


Without the fisherman and his son standing by until officials arrived, it would have made locating the whale much more difficult. Entanglements of this kind can lead to eventual amputation of the flukes, and possible death of the animal, according to the CWR.
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While animals are similar to us in many ways, there is no doubt that they live their lives at a completely different pace than humans.

 We rush around, going to jobs, running errands, and doing general life things and they have but one goal: to survive. Even though we operate at different paces, eventually our worlds overlap. We’re all coexisting on one planet, after all.

As humans, we know that highways are meant for cars, and can be dangerous to anyone trying to cross on foot. For this little sloth, however, it’s just another day in the life, and he simply has to get from one end of the highway to another.

Before long, some kind folks saw the sloth and knew that, at the pace that he was crossing, he was likely to get run over. So they decided to help him out a bit! They lift him up, rush across the highway, and plant him right on a tree, where he belongs.

Sloths are tropical mammals that live in Central and South America. They use their long claws to hang onto branches while they feast on the leaves that other animals can't reach. Unfortunately for the sloth, their long claws — 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 centimeters) — make walking on the ground difficult, so they spend most of their time in the tall trees they call home.
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A Philadelphia television meteorologist has broken off from a trail run to rescue an injured baby screech owl and take it to a wildlife center, where it's doing well.

 Longtime WPVI-TV personality Cecily Tynan says on her Facebook page she found the injured owl on the ground Monday clacking its beak at her.

The Schuylkill (SKOO'-kul) Center for Environmental Education says the month-old owl fell out of its nest and probably wouldn't have survived for long on the ground.

Center officials say the owl was "very dehydrated and had very little energy" but is doing better with intravenous fluids and even has another baby owl there for company. They hope to release it into the wild in August.

Rick Schubert, the Director of Wildlife Rehabilitation at the center, tells us, "(The owl is) doing a lot better now. It's actually with a buddy that was brought in - another screech owl that came in under similar conditions, which is making it feel a lot better to be with one of its own species."

And the wildlife center says Cecily did a great job, and wanted to thank her for helping to save the owl's life.
Source

Gorgojo (“Gorgi”) was living on the streets, as many dogs do in Puerto Rico. But his life took a dramatic turn when he wandered into a police station in Bayamón looking for food and water.

The officers were surprised by how friendly and affectionate Gorgi was, although he was clearly malnourished and showing signs of abuse.

“The dog came up to us and, unlike other animals, he was looking for affection,” says Sgt. Jose Montesinos, one of the officers who cares for Gorgi. “We found it curious [how] docile and affectionate he was.”

They quickly got the dog food and water. “We played with [the dog] for a while and the next day he came back for a visit in the afternoon,” Montesinos told Primerahora.com. They soon grew attached to Gorgi because of his loving nature. As he grew more confident and playful, Gorgi soon became part of their family.

The officers took up a collection and brought Gorgi to the veterinarian where he got all his vaccinations and a clean bill of health.
Source

Rescue teams were called to retrieve a baby fox, separated from its mom, that was discovered at the bottom of a drain pipe at a U.K. home.

 “At first we were unsure where the cub was as there were multiple pipes leading in different directions,” Chris said.

“We used a mobile phone to film inside the pipes, as well as drainage rods, hose pipe and insulation for pipes to try checking the pipes and potentially push the cub to the drain entrance 2.5ft underground.

The cub was soaking wet and dirty, so rescuers wrapped the cub up in a towel and took him back to the casualty centre for a bath and clean.

Within the hour rescuers had returned to Cooden Beech to try and reunite the cub with his mum. “As if the rescue hadn’t been amazing already, within minutes of us returning mum appeared and walked straight over to a pet carrier which we had placed the cub in,” Chris added.

“As soon as the cub realised mum was there he was so excited and desperately wanted to get out the carrier.


“With some help from mum he managed to climb out and mum escorted him back home again. It was unbelievably emotional for all of us.”
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Pretzel the twisty legged kitty proves that you don't have to be 'perfect' to live a Purrfectly happy life!

Kitten Rescue Los Angeles volunteer Laura Hawthorne wrote: "These babies (Pretzel and her siblings) were born on June 19th and within hours of their birth they were dumped at a local animal control facility, presumably to be euthanized. As a notorious 'sucker' for both abandoned newborns and special needs kittens, I was contacted about bottle feeding and caring for these fragile little angels."

"I cleaned the babies up as best I could, and began tube feeding them a special homemade formula until they stabilized and adjusted to nursing on a bottle.

The babies traveled to work with me each day so they could be fed every two hours around the clock. Pretzel began to gain weight and show developmental milestones appropriate for her age. "

Pretzel was the only one survived in her litter. She never gave up and grew bigger and stronger everyday in her foster home.
Source

This lifeless fox cub was found lying near a factory in Oldham, England. The workers tried to stir her but she wouldn’t move, so they called Paul McDonald, a local fox specialist, for help.

 “Upon picking her up and seeing the condition she was in, I didn’t think she was going to survive,” McDonald told . However, the man didn’t want to give up on the cub, so he took her to a vet that he trusted.

Though the fox, named Red, didn’t have any visible injuries, she “had to be fed using a syringe as the poor girl couldn’t even hold her head up properly to eat,” McDonald explained. After a few days of extensive care at the vet, Red was brought back to McDonald and he continued to look after her.

“One day when I went in to the unit to clean her cage she was standing upright which brought a tear to my eye as despite the improvement she was showing, there was always a bit of doubt in my mind as to whether she would ever walk again.

Today, she is a very agile little lady and loves running around the unit with her pal Bruno, another orphaned fox cub.” The two cubs will be returned to the wild as soon as they’ve made a full recovery.

Officer James Givens of the Cincinnati Police Department was initially amused when a mother goose wandered over to his patrol car and started pecking on the side.

He figured she just wanted food. But the pecking continued, and as it turns out, the officer was in for quite the surprise!

Officer Givens grew curious when the persistent goose ignored the food he tossed out the window. Instead, the bird walked away just a bit, then stopped, looked back, and returned to the cop car for some more pecking and squawking.

After doing so for a second time, Officer Givens finally took the bait and got out of his car to follow the goose. But he wasn’t prepared for what he was about to find!

“She led me about 100 yards away to this grassy area near a creek. That’s when I saw one of her babies all tangled up in some string from a balloon. His little feet were kicking,” the officer explained. “She led me straight to him.”
Source

A Good Samaritan alerted the Phoenix Police Department of two owls in need of rescue in a dumpster near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road in Phoenix.

 Law enforcement then called the Arizona Humane Society’s Emergency Animal Medical Technicians™ (EAMTs™) to rescue them. AHS EAMT Andy Gallo responded to the scene and jumped in the dumpster to rescue the owls. He then called our partners, Wild at Heart Raptors, who took them in and are now caring for them.

The owls appear to be five weeks old and are in good health. It does appear that someone purposely abandoned them, but sadly, it is unlikely that we will ever know who did that.

It is important for people to know that if they can no longer care for their animals or if they witness suspected cases of animal cruelty or neglect that they call for help as there are many organizations available to help.

 Source: Arizona Human Society

Abandoned as a puppy and growing up on the streets, this mixed German shepherd was vicious —until he was rescued, shown some love, and then he, himself, rescued a dying baby hummingbird.

 The grateful bird refuses to leave the dog’s side, and so apparently Rex has a gentle friend for life.

The birdlet had fallen from a nest and was covered with ants when Rex found her under a tree. Ed Gernon who rescued the dog thought it was dead, but Rex — adopted just a month earlier — refused to leave the bird behind.

The Whittier, California man finally realized the hummingbird was still breathing, took her in, and nursed it back to health with a sugar syrup mixture — he named it Hummer and even taught it to fly using a hairdryer.

It’s been more than a year but Hummer refuses to leave, insisting on staying close to the dog who steadfastly refused to abandon the chick. Birds, even penguins, can build strong bonds with those who rescue them.

The bird lives in the house and Gernon, who created a YouTube page devoted to the bird’s exploits with Rex.
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When faced with a crisis, survival mode sets in. Thankfully, the mentality of many isn’t always “every man for himself,” but instead, quite the opposite.

Take, for example, this last week in Texas, when massive floods put both humans and animals in extreme danger.

Animals like the horse in this video fought for survival amidst heavy rains in Humble Texas, near Houston. Luckily, a brave woman named Devon Horn courageously tried to save the struggling horse, who was quickly succumbing to the forceful flood waters. As the horse fought to stay afloat, the woman swam out to pull the horse ashore. At the end of the video, we see Devon and the horse walking together on dry land.

County crews worked tirelessly to save more than seventy horses in the area during the storms. We’re so amazed by the fearlessness of these workers, and admire them for putting their lives in danger to save these magnificent beings! It’s inspiring to see people going to incredible lengths to save animals!
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More than a foot of rain had fallen by Monday evening in parts of Houston, submerging scores of subdivisions and several major interstate highways, forcing the closure of schools and knocking out power to thousands of residents who were urged to shelter in place. The storms were part of a wide weather system that left warnings and watches through this morning for the Texarkana area, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth and Tyler-Longview.

Hugo, who was found as a cub in 2000, lives at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. She was covered in porcupine quills when she was found. She is named Hugo because she was rescued from Hugo Mountain.

 She was severely dehydrated and malnourished and was unable to walk or eat when brought to AWCC. Although she has made a good recovery, she cannot be released into the wild because she does not have the needed skills to survive on her own. Hugo was the first bear to be given a permanent home at AWCC.

Do you have a friend who can have fun, no matter what? You could be sitting at a table in the middle of nowhere with only a paper clip and a stack of napkins and they somehow make it into an amazing game. It’s really quite the incredible talent to have.

Hugo, the bear in this video is kind of like that friend. This playful Grizzly was rescued by the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center when she was a little cub. Nearly 15 years later, Hugo has not lost her cub-like tendencies at all.

When Hugo comes across a lone hay bale, it’s on. We imagine that Hugo’s hay bale is a little bit like Don Quixote’s windmills. Envisioning the stack of hay as his arch-nemesis, Hugo steps in to protect his Alaskan home from this menacing threat. After about 10 minutes of tussling, Hugo emerges as the victor! That’s right hay bales, you mess with the wildlife preserve and you’ll have to answer to Hugo!
H/T: Kissamouse