Cat, owner reunited after nearly a year

Sparky was only seven months old when he escaped through an open door as his Lexington owners visited friends in Boston last Spring. It would be nearly an entire year before they were reunited thanks to an up-to-date HomeAgain® microchip registration and an MSPCA adoption center counselor.

Prior to Sparky’s escape he had been neutered and a HomeAgain microchip containing a unique ID number was placed just under his skin. After he ran off, his owners posted flyers and combed the neighborhood hoping to find their lost pet. However, following two months of searching, they hoped that someone had found Sparky and would care for him.

SeaWorld releases warmed-up manatees

SeaWorld’s Manatee Rescue Team released a female manatee and her calf –- cold stress survivors of Florida’s unseasonably frigid and prolonged winter –- into the waters of North Palm Beach, Fla. today.
They were the first two manatees to return to the wild after SeaWorld performed seven cold-weather related rescues during a two-week span in January. Dewey (9 feet long, 895 lbs) and her calf Barros (4 feet long, 205 lbs) were rescued from a canal in Vero Beach, Fla. on Friday, January 22. They spent the last five weeks recovering at SeaWorld’s Manatee Rehabilitation Center where they were warmed up and treated by park veterinarians and animal care specialists.

Bomb-sniffing dog gets military medal

(NECN/SKY/MoD) – A British Labrador, whose bomb-sniffing exploits helped save lives in Afghanistan, was awarded a medal for canine courage in a ceremony at London’s Imperial War Museum on Wednesday. Eight-year-old Treo joins a menagerie of heroic animals honored over the years with a special award known as the Dicken medal.

The others include 32 pigeons, three horses and a cat. The military nominated Treo for the prize in recognition of his help uncovering a series of Taliban bombs during his time serving in Helmand Province, an insurgency hot spot, in 2008.

And, they called it puppy love…

(NECN/ABC) – After months of international bureaucracy, dealing with smugglers and the challenge of transporting a dog from a war zone to Seattle, Lena Bourillion and friends welcomed home Oso the dog.

Despite a 50-hour trip, the grateful pup, who is only five-months-old, has tons of energy.

Polish crew members adopt dog rescued from ice

(NECN/TVN/IMGW) – A frightened, shivering dog was rescued after floating 75 miles (120 kilometres) on an ice floe down Poland’s Vistula River and into the Baltic Sea, officials said on Thursday. The thick-furred male dog was found adrift Monday 15 miles (24 kilometres) out in the Baltic Sea by the crew of the Baltica, a Polish ship carrying ocean research scientists.

Is it ‘puppy love’ this Valentine’s Day?

We’ve all been in “puppy love” at some point in our lives, so why not show some love to our furry friends? The MSPCA will be holding a special fundraiser for homeless pets this Valentine’s Day weekend.

You can shop for your valentine and help homeless animals at the same time. The MSPCA will have professionally-designed custom floral arrangements created on site along with gourmet sweets from Laughing Moon Chocolates.

100% of all sales benefit the MSPCA Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center and Spike’s Fund, which helps the MSPCA provide emergency medical treatment for homeless animals in need.

Weather threatens lives of abandoned pets

Seven cats were abandoned at the MSPCA-Angell within a one week period –- several in taped boxes and left in the cold outside of the Boston based medical center. The non-profit animal welfare organization is urging the surrender of animals that pet owners can no longer care for directly to staff members at adoption centers and not to abandon them.

“The MSPCA will never turn away an animal that is being surrendered,” said MSPCA Director of Animal Protection, Jean Weber. “In addition to the valuable behavioral and medical information that pet owners share with us, the surrender process ensures a safe handover of each animal. Several of the cats that were abandoned on our property were left trapped in boxes and exposed to harsh weather conditions.”

A grey and white cat, now named Frosty, was abandoned near the front door of Angell Animal Medical Center on Saturday, December 5 during a rain and snow storm. Other cats were abandoned throughout the MSPCA-Angell including a kitten, Tinsel, who was left in one of the medical center’s bathrooms.

Friendship knows no boundaries at VT equestrian center

Friendships come in all shapes and sizes, between different ages, races, and genders, and – on one farm in Vermont – different species.
A very young, very sick horse, abandoned by her mother was, in essence, saved by a couple of barn-mates who were looking for friends.
When Tilley was born almost four months ago, she was frail, sick, and under-developed.
Jamie Fell\Fell-Vallee Equestrian Ctr. “She was teeny, teeny, teeny.”
Tilley, who weighed less than 50-pounds, was having seizures and was unconscious much of the time.

Rewards offered in Llama killings

A Massachusetts radio show host and a hunters’ club have offered rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever used a bow to kill two llamas in Berkshire County.

WBRK radio host Sherman Baldwin put up $200 of his own money then solicited contributions from listeners that boosted the reward to about $1,200.

Baldwin tells The Berkshire Eagle that the killing of the animals was “despicable.”

The Berkshire County League of Sportsmen has posted a $500 reward. President Mark Jester said the killings go against everything hunters stand for.

The animals were found dead Sunday morning at River Valley Farm in Lenox. State Environmental Police found arrows lodged behind their rib cages.

Retired horses get new home, thanks to inmates

Four retired racehorses from Suffolk Downs have a new home, thanks to some inmates.

Some inmates from Plymouth County helped build stalls in a barn on the sheriff’s department farm. They will take care of up to 40 horses ad the program expands.

The track on Tuesday delivered four recently retired horses.

Suffolk Downs owner Richard Fields has pledged not to send any horses from the track to slaughter. He says once you make that promise, you have to back it up. The track worked with the Retired Thoroughbred Foundation and the sheriff’s department to set up the new barn.