How to spur wildlife-friendly projects in your community.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed bills to stop the sale of puppy mill puppies and kittens in pet stores (HB 2915) and to end the sale of animal-tested cosmetics (HB 3213). Kotek also recently signed a package of housing bills that included funding for domestic violence and homeless shelters to better...

Corey Roscoe was in college when the tortoiseshell started hanging around her apartment building’s trash and crying loudly. “These loud cries across the parking lot were like the beacon for my inner cat person,” says Roscoe, director of humane policy volunteer state engagement at the Humane Society...

The woodland phloxes bring the heavenly scents of spring, and the fireflies bring the sparkling lights of summer. Even in the depths of winter, cardinals, white-throated sparrows, northern flickers, mourning doves and squirrels bring all the music and entertainment we could ever need—right in front...

Toby is underweight, with scarred ears and a choppy haircut where severe matts have been cut out. Still, he looks healthier than he did when our Animal Rescue Team first saw him, says Katie DeMent as she sits on the floor petting him at our Maryland care and rehabilitation center in February. On Jan...

Millions of people are at home now in the midst of a pandemic, disinfecting and cleaning, taking cold and flu medications—with the potential they might unwittingly poison their pets. The cleaning products consumers have carried home from stores, stripping shelves bare, can kill the virus that causes...

Decaying logs and miniature bogs, hollowed stalks and piled rocks, nutritious pollen and leaves fallen: They’re not the stuff of traditional nursery rhymes and baby showers. But if wild mothers-to-be had gift registries, these natural supplies would top the list. Though the basic elements for...

The stories reach Amanda Arrington via text message these days: The immunocompromised hospital worker in Milwaukee who brought her spunky dog, Rusty, onto her porch to give a socially distant thanks when a Pets for Life team member dropped off dog food. The veteran with four dogs—including a...

The Humane Society of the United States presents Indianapolis City-County Council Vice President Zach Adamson and Councillor John Barth with the Humane Council Award for their efforts to help animals in Indianapolis by authoring a humane pet store ordinance to end the sale of dogs and cats in pet...

In one sense, it was a “routine” grooming appointment. In November, a big poodle mix named Freeda got her curly black hair shampooed, cut and blow-dried to perfection. She went in looking good and came out looking better, ready to show off her new ’do to mom Janis at their Northern Idaho home....

Editor’s note: In late December of 2020, Congress approved a stimulus deal that extended the federal evictions moratorium until Jan. 31 and provided $25 billion in rental assistance. On Jan. 20, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the moratorium until at least...

My husband and I were contemplating whether to hike the 3-mile trail in Utah’s Zion National Park that September day. I’d read that this trail was our best chance to spot bighorn sheep, but after a week of exploring the five national parks in the state, our bodies were tired—and it was already late...

Sitting on her porch in the desert one afternoon while recovering from surgery, Christine Hass closed her eyes. The operation to fix her detached retina had been difficult, and she sought respite from the lingering pain. “Suddenly I could hear all the birds singing. It was March—the migrants were...

It’s not easy to accept that all things must eventually come to an end. We often go into denial in the face of the inevitable and airbrush away the aftermath when it does occur. So it probably shouldn’t have surprised me to read about a gardener who glossed over the demise of an entire tree with...

WASHINGTON—This month, the Humane Society of the United States’ Pets for Life program reached a major milestone, providing its 1,000,000th service to animals. The recipient was a poodle mix named Freeda, who was helped through the program’s partner Better Together Animal Alliance in Ponderay, Idaho...

Yesterday, the Humane Society of the United States assisted the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Chesterfield County Animal Services in the rescue of 110 cats and kittens from a large-scale alleged cruelty situation at a commercial breeding operation in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Local...

Loree O’Hagan’s new home in Great Cacapon, West Virginia, came with four bedrooms, a wrap-around deck, a view of the mountains—and a family of feral cats. That last detail wasn’t mentioned in the seller’s disclosure report, but O’Hagan and her husband got an inkling on moving day, when they spotted...

Goblin might not have lasted much longer at Tim’s Reptiles and Exotics in Pulaski County, Kentucky. The sulcata tortoise was one of about 150 animals rescued in September from nightmarish conditions at the pet store when local police arrested the store operator on 19 counts of animal cruelty...

A bright, loud fireworks display flashing across the night sky is often considered a fun hallmark of seasonal pastimes like baseball games and barbecues. Yet these blasts of sound and flashing color can easily frighten and even harm animals—and not just our pets. Humans jump at unexpected loud...