On a Tuesday in early March, Thai Navy officers rescued a crew from their sinking boat. The sailors worked quickly to pull the panicked crew to safety – their boat wasn’t just sinking, it was engulfed in flames. Once the immediate danger had passed, the Navy sailors began investigating from afar. The officers began looking for signs of a potential oil spill as the boat disappeared beneath the sea, but as they scanned the water, the sailors noticed something that made their hearts sink. As it turned out, the boat wasn’t as abandoned as they initially thought.

“I used my camera to zoom in to the boat, and I saw one or two cats popping their heads out,” First-Class Petty Officer Wichit Pukdeelon told The Daily Mail.

Without hesitation, Navy sailor Thatsaphon Saii jumped into the choppy water. Fueled by the ticking clock and the knowledge that he was the kittens’ only hope of survival, Saii pushed against the water’s current and swam to the smoking boat.

“I immediately took off my shirt and put on a life jacket so I could jump into the sea. The flames were at the back of the boat, but it was starting to sink, so I knew I had to be quick,” the heroic officer recalled.

In one incredible photo, a fiercely determined Saii is pulled back to his ship using a rope, a terrified kitten clutching his shoulders to stay above water. Thanks to the Navy crew’s quick thinking and the bravery of Thatsaphon Saii, all four kittens were brought to safety. Navy officers dried the kittens, holding them tightly both for warmth and to reassure them of their safety.

Miraculously, all four kittens survived the harrowing ordeal. In the purrfect conclusion to a potentially disastrous story, the heroic Navy officers brought their four newest crew-mates back to their command post on the island of Koh Lipe to recover.

Shelters are overflowing with animals who need homes, so it often takes something special for them to be noticed by potential adopters. A 14-year-old from New Jersey named Sir Darius Brown came up with a brilliant idea to help shelter animals stand out, and thanks to this generous teen, animals around the US have never looked more dappurr.

At 2 years old, Brown was diagnosed with speech, comprehension, and fine motor delays. He took an interest in sewing at just 8 years old while watching his sister sew, and soon became her trusty assistant. Before long, Brown’s sister taught him to sew, and his excitement and determination helped him drastically improve his fine motor skills. Brown fell in love with sewing, and he even had a specialty – the now 14-year-old was the grandmaster of sewing bow ties.

In 2017, severe hurricanes displaced countless dogs. The dogs needed rescuing as communities focused on rebuilding, and Brown wanted to use his skills to help in whatever way he could.

“I just wanted to help the dogs that I saw on TV that had lost their families and their homes. I didn’t have a lot of money to help so I decided to use my creative skills of making stylish bow ties for the dogs to wear to help them be more noticeable so they could get adopted faster into new loving homes,” Brown said on Instagram.

 

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Since his mission’s 2017 start, the impressive teen has hand-made over 500 bow ties for shelter animals across the United States. Sir Darius Brown created his own company, Beaux & Paws, and hopes to help animals in all 50 states get adopted. The impressive teen even earned the title of “GoFundMe Hero,” an honor given to those who use their time and effort to do extraordinary things.

 

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“I’m on a mission to help as many dogs and cats as I can and to inspire and encourage other youth to start now and use their talents and skills to give back in their communities,” Brown wrote on Instagram. “You don’t have to have money to help someone. We all can use our talents that God gave us to do good and make this world a better place. The smallest act of kindness can change someone’s life forever.”

 

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Pixar has a unique ability to lure us in with quality animation, and before we realize what’s happening, we’re more emotionally invested in a cartoon than we are in some aspects of our own lives (just me? Ok). Pixar’s SparkShort program allows the company’s employees to see their own visions through, giving them six months and a small budget to create their own cartoons. The SparkShorts were originally released on YouTube, but several can be found on Disney+.

“The SparkShorts program is designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows,” Jim Morris, President of Pixar explained. “These films are unlike anything we’ve ever done at Pixar, providing an opportunity to unlock the potential of individual artists and their inventive filmmaking approaches on a smaller scale than our normal fare.”

Kitbull is just one of the many touching shorts that emerged from this unique program, and it checks all of the Pixar boxes. Cute animals? Yep. A concise storyline? You bet. Unexpectedly bawling because you didn’t realize just how invested you were until it was too late? Of course.

The 8-minute-long cartoon packs an enormous emotional punch in a very short amount of time, taking viewers along for the journey of two underdogs (well, one underdog and an undercat). The story starts out with a stray kitten – a small, spunky ball of fur who ends up taking shelter in a cardboard box. Before long, the kitten realizes she’s not alone. The yard in which she’s taken shelter is also home to one large pit bull, but as the story continues, it becomes evident that they have a whole lot in common.

Without too many spoilers, the pup’s home is less than ideal – he’s injured by his owners and locked outside repeatedly, and the kitten’s fear soon turns to compassion. Dog and kitten, forgotten by the world, forge an unlikely friendship. After one particularly heartbreaking scene, the duo decides to make a break for it, risking it all for the chance at a better life.

Watch the full SparkShort below, and grab some tissues. Yes, for the record, I also went into this claiming I “wasn’t a cryer.” Don’t underestimate the power of Pixar, and maybe enjoy this one at home with the door closed.

Being a dad comes in many forms. Some dads are single dads, some are men who took on a fatherly role for kids who aren’t biologically theirs – but all dads are important and worthy of recognition. There is one type of dad, however, that gives us paws. The cat dad is a rare breed, and in a video that accumulated a massive 50 million views in just two days, it’s easy to see why.

Kareem and Fifi have three beloved cats, Chase, Skye, and Millie. Their Instagram account, dontstopmeowing, has over 500,000 followers clamoring for their every post. Their social media pages are filled with pictures and videos of their cats doing hilarious things, from taking bubble baths to dressing up in ridiculously cute matching outfits. These cats are important members of the family, and boy do they know it.

In the couple’s recent video, Fifi barges in on Kareem and Chase’s spaw day, and her interruption is clearly unwelcome. The video opens with on-screen text that reads, “cat daddy issues,” but if we’re being honest, cat dad looks like he’s doing just fine.

 

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Kareem and Chase are happily pampering themselves, laying under a blanket with cucumbers over their eyes as calming music plays in the background. Fifi, however, is having none of it. With the patience of someone who’s walked in on a similar situation no fewer than 200 times, Fifi stops the music as Kareem removes the cucumbers from his eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asks groggily.

“What am I doing? What are YOU doing?” Fifi responds indignantly.

After learning that Kareem and Chase are having a “spaw day,” Fifi hits her limit. She removes the cucumber slices from Chase’s eyes, says “let’s go, Chase,” and attempts to pull him from the bizarre situation – but Chase isn’t having it. He meows loudly, biting at Fifi’s hand when she tries to pick him up. She becomes increasingly agitated as Chase digs in his heels (do cats have heels?), refusing to leave his happy place.

Finally, Fifi gives up. She tosses the cucumbers haphazardly over Chase’s eyes like a Subway sandwich artist during the final half-hour of a double shift. Kareem resumes the music, places the cucumbers back over his own eyes, and the pair is finally left to relax in peace.

When it comes to animal heroes, dogs get the vast majority of attention. It’s no secret that dogs are fiercely loyal to their humans, and some dogs even hold jobs that lead them to lives of heroism. Though dogs may always be number one when it comes to four-legged heroes, there are plenty of other devoted critters who risk it all for the people they love.

Recently, disaster struck one Australian family during a seemingly average day. The family’s two kids were playing in their garden as they often did, their loyal cat Arthur trailing closely behind. Before his humans could register what was happening, an Eastern Brown Snake quietly entered the garden. Eastern Brown Snakes are highly venomous, with a single bite potentially leading to renal failure, paralysis, and even cardiac arrest.

The two kids continued playing in the garden, unaware of the immense danger that was quickly approaching. Incredibly, Arthur was alert and well aware of the imminent threat. With no regard for his own safety, Arthur took action.

“Arthur jumped into action protecting his young family by killing the snake,” Queensland’s Animal Emergency Service shared on Facebook. “Unfortunately, in the process, Arthur received a fatal envenomation snake bite. In the chaos of getting the children out of the yard, no-one saw the actual bite, but Arthur collapsed and quickly recovered like nothing was wrong not long after.”

It wasn’t until Arther collapsed again that the family realized something was very wrong. Sporadic collapses happen frequently with snake bites, though many pet owners are unaware that a perceived recovery may not be a recovery at all. Frantically, the family rushed their tiny hero to the vet for care, but the deadly neurotoxin had already done too much damage to the brave little cat.

“It was with the heaviest of hearts his owners had to leave Arthur after he gained his angel wings,” the Facebook post concluded. “His family, understandably devastated, remember him fondly and are forever grateful he saved the children’s lives.”

Technology giveth and technology taketh away.

Over the past year or so, technology has been a game saver for parents, professionals, students, and family members all around the world as the pandemic has forced us all to stay inside and communicate via video.

This newfound reliance on our computers and phones to do literally everything – from conference calls and classwork to holiday gatherings and doctor’s visits – has been both a convenient lifesaver and a frustrating mess. Especially for those of us who are less than technologically inclined.

One such person had a hit of a mishap with his Zoom filters today, and, unfortunately for him, it was during a court hearing.

Texas attorney Ron Ponton “arrived” at the hearing video via, only to learn that a filter that changes his face into that of a cat had been activated. The judge points it out, but unfortunately, neither Mr. Ponton nor his assistant could manage to remove it. He reassured the judge that, despite appearances, he is not actually a cat.

“I’m here live, I’m not a cat,” he can be heard saying.

“I can see that,” answered the judge, with the calm of a man who may or may not have been privy to a Zoom mishap or two of his own. After all, who hasn’t, these days?

Ponton soldiered on, his big cat eyes darting around as he conducted his business. No word on how the hearing went for him or his client, but it was at least memorable!

Check out the hilarious video below, and don’t laugh too hard. But for the grace of God go all of us!

It takes a special kind of hero to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. The sad reality is, there are far more animals waiting for homes than there are homes waiting for animals, and shelters across the US are forced to euthanize adoptable animals due to a lack of space and resources. When Kayla Denney learned that one shelter in Taft, Texas had a nearly 100% euthanasia rate, she dedicated herself fully to becoming the hero the animals of Taft so desperately needed.

Denney loved animals, so much so that she left her accounting career to become an animal control officer and shelter manager. Due to the city’s limited budget, the local animal shelter didn’t even have electricity, let alone supplies to care for their animals. Seeing the animals enter the shelter and never leave devastated the animal lover, and her far-fetched dream of seeing a no-kill shelter in the area seemed out of reach.

But with the animals counting on her, Denney put aside her doubts and jumped in feet-first. She shared her plea for donations and supplies on social media, a cry for help that ended up tugging at heartstrings around the world. More than 800 boxes of supplies soon entered the shelter, and with renewed faith in humanity, Denney began coordinating volunteers and foster homes to give the shelter animals adequate attention and care.

The dedicated animal lover’s voice was heard far and wide, and community members began opening their homes and sharing their time to work towards Denney’s dream. One year ago, Wednesdays marked “kill day” in the dark and bare animal shelter – the day that each hopeful animal’s time in the shelter came to a bitter end. Today, the shelter is bright and filled with supplies. More importantly, the shelter has reached an astonishing 100% save rate.

Denney’s hard work and dedication earned her Petco’s 2019 “Unsung Hero” award, an honor that came with a $35,000 prize.

“There are thousands of applicants, I didn’t know I was nominated,” Denney told KZTV10. “I became the 2019 unsung hero for the country so one person in the whole United States and it still just blows my mind that that’s still a thing.”

Surely after a solid year of endless work, Denney deserves a break – the $35,000 award could buy one heck of a vacation. But as heroes do, Denney realized the money would be better spent elsewhere. She put every cent back into the shelter, still dreaming of improvements she could make. Though the shelter is worlds away from where it was two years ago, Denney isn’t stopping. She proves that all it takes is one person to make a world of difference – it’s a reminder that with enough passion and hard work, anything is possible.

A massive round of appaws for Denney, and everyone who stepped up to make this life-saving dream a reality.

How many millions of times have you pulled out the old, “you never know unless you try” when your kid refuses to eat something they’ve never even tasted? Well as it turns out, sometimes we need to take our own advice. A recent study found that kids will ask for pets nearly 1,600 times before the age of 18, and with our plates already overflowing with responsibilities, we’re often primed to say a reflexive “no.”

A TikTok user named Emma recently posted a video of her anti-pet dad meeting her kitten, and his almost immediate change of heart is an adorable reminder that we too never know until we try.

The video opens with a short introduction to Emma’s dad and his history with pets. The on-screen text explains, “My Asian dad never let us have pets growing up. He said they were dirty and smelly.”

After moving out, Emma fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a pet owner. She adopted a kitten and brought her home to meet her sisters. In Emma’s video, however, it’s a different family member that falls head-over-heels for the precious black kitten.

“…And then this happened,” continued the video.

@editoremthis was unexpected #dad #cat #pets♬ Viva La Swing aka #SandoTwist by @Abiud_Sando – Mingaling 2.0

Cut to Emma’s “anti-pet” dad laying on the floor with a grin plastered on his face. He bats at a cat toy, inviting the small kitten to play with him. In the next shot, dad and the kitten are seated at the kitchen table, and dad appears to offer the attentive little guy some sort of treat. After a long day of playing, dad and kitten cuddle up together on the couch before the grand finale – Emma’s dad dances through the house holding his new best friend.

“Nothing like the love between a dad and the pet he didn’t want,” commented one user.

The adorable video has been liked nearly 700,000 times in less than a month, and TikTok users simply cannot get enough of this unlikely pair. One user even requested the follow-up video we all hoped for – a full TikTok of Emma’s dad dancing with her kitten.

@editoremwholesome content 🥰 Reply to @auntygeek #cat #dad #fyp #danceydance♬ Steven Universe – L.Dre

Though Emma’s dad still doesn’t have a cat of his own, he’s clearly had a change of heart when it comes to furry family members. Who knows, maybe one day soon he’ll find his very own purrfect companion.

A lot can happen in five years. You can go from childless to a father of six, earn a degree, you can live through what feels like half of 2020. Everything can change in half a decade, which makes Kendra Armstrong’s story that much more incredible.

Five years ago, Armstrong’s beloved cat Moose went missing. As time went on, it became less and less likely that her furry family member would return home, but she didn’t lose hope. In early 2021, Armstrong was scrolling through her local animal shelter’s website when a familiar face made her stop dead in her tracks.

Among the cats and kittens of all shapes and sizes was an unmistakable face she hadn’t seen in half a decade. In a state of shock, Armstrong called the Midcoast Humane Society, in all likelihood, assuming it was an uncanny look-alike.

When the staff explained that “Oldest” had been in and out of the shelter for the last five years, Armstrong was in disbelief. Moose (aka Oldest) was alive, safe, and incredibly, nearby.

The shelter posted the heartwarming story on Instagram, thrilled that their favorite senior cat was exactly where he belonged. The caption explained, “It turns out that ‘Oldest’ is really named Moose, and he had been living in a loving home until he got out one day in 2015. His person searched and searched for him, but couldn’t find him.”

The post continued, “She couldn’t believe it when she recognized his picture on the Adoption Page of our website FIVE YEARS later. She contacted us right away and sure enough, Oldest was Moose! Last Friday – the first day of 2021 – he was able to finally go home with his person, who was ecstatic to be reunited with her beloved cat.”

According to Armstrong, Moose could not be happier. “Moose (oldest) knows he’s finally home and he does NOT want me to leave his sight (I don’t blame him at all because I feel the same way) I am so grateful to have him home with me.”

 

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As the holidays near, there’s one question every parent must be emotionally and spiritually prepared to answer: “Can we get a pet?” It’s the question kids ask relentlessly, usually with their cutest smile and most innocent eyes. They will fill you with vague promises to “do all the work” (spoiler alert: they will not) and “take care of it.” If your kids are too young to ask this, you’re not off the hook, because it’s coming. According to a new study, the average kid will beg their parents for a pet nearly 1,600 times before the age of 18.

Pets are the wildcard for a family. We love pets so much, we have an entire Facebook group just to share stories and cute pics of all of our (your) furry friends. And let’s be honest, the pets aren’t just for the kids either. But before that pet enters your family, you’re going to have to rebuff hundreds and hundreds of requests for it.

The research was based on a survey of 2,000 parents of school-age children and found almost three-quarters of them asked for a pet. They found kids start asking for pets around age 6 and once it starts, it DOES. NOT. STOP. On average, kids keep asking around 11 times per month. The survey was conducted by OnePoll and found most kids want a dog (nearly 80 percent).

This isn’t too surprising, as I think I’ve heard requests for a puppy 1,600 times since Tuesday alone. The parents said the requests come pouring in even more during the holiday season (that’s now!). But, parents also said they’ll remember getting a pet fondly, with nearly 90 percent saying it was one of the best gifts they ever received.

Getting a pet is a major decision, as it will inevitably cost more than you thought. At the same time, it will bring your family immense joy (before terrible sadness, someday, I mean it kinda goes together). So while you prepare to make that leap, in the meantime, make sure you have a way to deflect the same question asked hundreds of times over.

With COVID disrupting sports as we know it, teams have gotten creative when it comes to making their stadiums look less empty. Some stadiums have gone to town with their creativity, turning their stadiums into canvases for whatever absurdity they could dream up. Others filled their stadiums with touching tributes, using their abundance of space for a good cause. When the Los Angeles Lakers played the Denver Nuggets in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, the NBA decided to tell a tail of their own.

During the broadcast, 28 “100% adoptable and 100% adorable” dogs and two kittens along with their foster families (virtually) sat courtside, watching the game and doing some shameless self-purrmotion. To make this furry magic happen, Best Friends Animal Society teamed up with Michelob ULTRA to highlight some of their top dogs (and cats).

 

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The Best Friends Animal Society website explains, “Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters nationwide from an estimated 17 million per year to around 625,000. That means there are still more than 1,700 dogs and cats killed every day in shelters, just because they don’t have safe places to call home. We are determined to bring the country to no-kill by the year 2025.”

To give some of their adoptable animals a running start in the race to find their forever homes, the broadcast also included a link where interested viewers could learn more about adopting the courtside critters. So far, the Lexington Humane Society adopted a Chihuahua named Jolene after a family spotted the 4-pound wonder in the stands. According to the Best Friends website, seven other pawsome pups have been adopted as well thanks to their baller friends.

Adopting and fostering is more important than ever, since many shelters across the country were forced to close to the public after the COVID pandemic began.

Valerie Dorian, chief development officer for Best Friends told Today, “We are concerned and we want to make sure that people are thinking about the animals and how they can help.” She continued, “Now is a great time to have a pet in your home as people are working at home, to have a buddy to watch an NBA game with, or just to be your companion in life and everything that you do.”

Best Friends hoped to both promote the adoption of shelter animals around the country, and to encourage others to foster animals in need. Opening your home to an animal who has been given a second chance at life is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Watching them grow and become bolder as they learn that with you, the world isn’t such a scary place. And even better, you’ll never watch a game alone again.

If you’re interested in adopting, check out the Best Friends website, or find a shelter near you.