Category: Awesome Stories

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WATCH: Animal Shelter Lets Its Shelter Dogs Pick Out Their Own Christmas Toys

Santa came in early for the shelter dogs of Humane Educational Society (HES) as they picked out their Christmas gifts on the morning of Friday, December 20.

Each shelter dog let a bit of their personality shine during the toy-picking session.

“Some took their time to carefully select the perfect one, while others dove in headfirst and wanted to play with them all,” HES wrote in a Facebook post.

The animal shelter shared that each dog took their chosen gift back to their kennels to play or snuggle right after.

HES wrote, “We love to be able to provide this Christmas surprise to our shelter pets! Thank you to everyone who donated toys for this special occasion!”

In the video, the Christmas toys can be seen laid out on the floor in two lines. The shelter dogs then came in one by one, excitedly might we add, to sniff out the toys and choose one of their liking.

All tails were certainly wagging after the dogs find the toy of their Christmas dreams.

The video is a viral hit among Internet users — It gained over 600,000 reactions and 188,000 shares on Facebook and a whopping 5.4 million likes on TikTok.

The video has also been reposted on Reddit and now has over 61,000 upvotes.

One Reddit user wrote, “Moments like these remind us how much joy and personality each of these pets brings, even in a shelter setting.”

See the video for yourself below and watch tails wag at the Humane Educational Society:

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Shelter Dog Gets The Best Christmas Gift — A Forever Home Ahead Of The Holidays

A shelter dog who has spent three years at the Cheltenham Animal Shelter gets the best Christmas gift ever — getting adopted and spending the holiday season with his forever family.

“We have THE BEST news to share with you this Christmas!” The UK-based animal shelter shared on Friday, December 20 on their Facebook page.

The animal shelter also shared how the dog, an Akita named Kato, first came to their shelter in 2021.

Kato came to their shelter with his best friend, Poppy, in April 2021 after their owner passed away.

“Despite our best efforts, we just could not find anyone willing to take on these two large dogs, who were the best of friends, and time marched on with them living together in one of our kennels,” Cheltenham Animal Shelter shares.

While no adopter were willing to take on these two dogs, Kato and Poppy seemed happy to be together in the shelter.

However, in July 2023, Kato’s best friend, Poppy, passed away, which left Kato alone and depressed.

“Our staff rallied round, and Kato became a regular fixture in our offices during the day, but at night we could tell he missed his friend greatly.“

The animal shelter hoped that since Kato is now by himself, it’ll be easier to get him adopted. “But sadly this was not to be, Kato settled in his new routine and bonded even more with our team,” the animal shelter shared.

Wanting Kato to finally go to his forever home, the animal shelter worked with other charities to spread the word about Kato and promoted him on the animal shelter’s social media, newsletters, and in local press.

“Then one day in October 2024 a lovely couple called David and Jackie got in touch having recently lost their beloved Siberian husky, Shadow,” Cheltenham Animal Shelter explains. “They had seen our appeals to find a home for Kato and were keen to see if they could meet him.”

Describing the couple and Kato’s first meeting as something “clearly meant to be”, the animal shelter reveals that the couple wasn’t expecting too much, but Kato ran over to them and introduced himself.

Over the next couple of weeks, the couple met with Kato at the shelter on several occasions before the couple had Kato visit their home.

“It is safe to say that Kato approved of his new surroundings, immediately taking over the chair that Shadow once slept in.”

The Cheltenham Animal Shelter reveals that Kato’s wishes finally came true, like Christmas magic, and recently went home to Jackie and David, ready to spend his first ever Christmas in a loving, forever home for the first time in three years.

“He recently went to his forever home, in a lovely rural village, with endless walks and fields to explore. His new family dote on him and are chuffed to bits that they were able to offer him a lovely new home where he will spend Christmas this year,” the animal shelter wrote.

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Surfing Dog Gets Inducted Into Surfer’s Hall Of Fame In California

Sugar the Surfing Dog makes history by becoming the first dog to be inducted into the Surfer’s Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach, California on Thursday, December 05.

NBC Bay Area reports that Sugar’s paw prints were immortalized in concrete alongside hooman surfing legends.

Before making history, the 14-year-old surfing dog had a rough start in life. As a puppy, she was abandoned on the side of the road in Oakland, California.

But Sugar was destined to for greatness in life. In 2011, while on vacation, Huntington Beach surfer Ryan Rustan found the pooch, and took her in.

During this time, Rustan was working through his drug addiction recovery, which the pooch helped him through.

You could say that they saved each other’s life and were meant to meet in that fateful day in 2011.

Rustan even credits the pooch with providing comfort and motivation during his recovery.  

“Some of the most amazing moments of my life [were] with her,” he said in an interview earlier this year.  

Today, Sugar is a 5-time World Dog Surf Champion, 5-time HB Surf City Dog Champion, Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge title, and a Surfers’ Hall of Fame Inductee.

In an Instagram post on Sugar’s official account, Rustan wrote, “This is something I never imagined in my wildest dreams. It was so beautiful.”

“A true legend who inspired us all with her big-wave bravery and shortboard skills. Congrats, Sugar—you’ve earned your spot in surf’s highest honor,” the Surf Dog Events wrote in an Instagram post.

Aside from surfing, Sugar is also a therapy dog and does surf therapy for a lot of kids, Rustan reveals.

“It’s not just about surfing against people but also putting smiles on the little kids’ faces and the athletes that are disabled. She gets to ride with them.”

The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony, according to its website, “pays tribute to those individuals who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry, and culture of surfing.”

By inducting Sugar the surfing dog, they are recognizing the impact that the pooch has made on the sport, and on people’s lives.

Lisa Scolman, organizer of the Surf City Surf Dog event, tells NBC Bay Area, “I always dreamed of having a dog in the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, and no duo is more deserving than Ryan and Sugar.”

“Because of her, we started a shredder division, and dogs from around the world came to surf. Everyone wanted to compete against Sugar and Ryan.”