The Shelter Buddies Reading Program, which is organised by the Humane Society of Missouri, pairs children between 6 and 15 years of age with traumatised or shy dogs to help them get used to having people around.

Now, this isn’t just some wishy-washy volunteering exercise; the kids train for 10 hours before they’re actually assigned a dog to read to and the results are amazing! Oh and the kids get something out of it too… practice.


“We wanted to help our shy and fearful dog without forcing physical interaction with them to see the positive effect that could have on them,” program director Jo Klepacki.

“Ideally that shy and fearful dog will approach and show interest. If so, the kids reenforce that behavior by tossing them a treat.”


“Hearing a child reading can really calm those animals. It is incredible, the response we’ve seen in these dogs.”

Watch the full video here:


The charity wants to extend the program to all of its shelters in the US so that hundred of dogs (and cats too) will benefit from the idea.

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At a year old, Buster had never known anything besides the loneliness and neglectfulness that came with his current lifestyle. The dog stayed tied out on a chain at all times, and it became embedded in his neck causing a deep, painful wound. Then one day, some PETA fieldworkers found him…


They noticed the dog’s neck wound and skin condition and approached the owners. Thankfully, the family handed to dog over to PETA. While Buster got the treatment he needed and recovered, they searched for the perfect forever home for him.


And he got just that! Adoption day had arrived, and Buster was on his way to a place he could truly call home for the first time in his life. As he waits at the door for his new family to answer, try not to cry. 😉


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Dogs are loyal to their owners, no matter what. They love their owners and would do anything for them. But some of us fail to recognize their preciousness and commit the crime of treating them anything less than they deserve to be treated. Carla was one of these unfortunate dogs.

Residents of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania spotted Carla sitting in the snow, waiting for her family to come back to her and take her back to her warm house. Little did she know that she was abandoned by them and they would never return to her.

The concerned people contacted a rescuer named Janine Guido, the founder of Speranza Animal Rescue.


Guido immediately set off to rescue Carla and was heartbroken to see Carla full of hopes to see her family. Then, Guido posted a post about Carla on her rescue’s Facebook page in which she mentioned that Carla had been waiting for five full days.

Guido accompanied Carla for three days, hand- feeding her, which she thankfully accepted. However, when she tried to put a leash on her, Carla ran away.


She also said that a number of people attempted to catch Carla but failed because she was too scared. So, Guido encouraged whoever saw Carla to keep from feeding, chasing or trying to catch her.

A few days later, someone called Guido informing that Carla was on someone’s back porch but ran away.


Someone informed Carla shortly after that she was back at the same porch again and Guido didn’t waste a minute to go rescue her.

Guido struggled for a few more days before finally being able to rescue Carla. She then immediately took Carla to the vet, where she discovered that she was probably a sheltie mix and around 10 years of age.

Carla was also underweight and infested with fleas, along with minor frostbite on her paws and possible arthritis.




Then, before she gave up herself to sleep, she ate some nice food and got a nice warm bath.

Now, Carla is in her foster home for recovery. As soon as she recovers fully, she will be put up for adoption.


Meanwhile, Carla is having a great time in her foster home. She enjoys going for walks with the rest of her foster siblings.


Watch Guido’s live Facebook video of Carla’s rescue below:


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Image Credit: msn

Things in life can sometimes get on top of us and we can feel really bad, but this note really had broken our hearts…
The dog called Shell had a lovely owner, someone that wanted to really ensure that her very sweet girl really did find a caring and loving home.

That is really what happened here because it was just last week the little doggie was given to the Stray Rescue of St. Louis with a heartbreaking note attached to the poor dog.

The letter reads like this:

“I am writing you cause I need you to take my dog Shell. My mother adopted Shell from Stray Rescue around 2009-2010 … In 2012 she had a massive stroke and now has Alzheimers. So in 2012 Shell came to live with me. I’ve been fighting cancer for a few months and if you’re reading this I lost my battle. I need for my baby girl to be taking [sic] care of in a home with one person.

Shell is a very sweet little girl. She’s been threw [sic] a lot so she has trouble with trust in the beginning. She loves to cuddle but doesn’t like to be carried. She’s very smart.”


The dog’s owner had cancer and it was for the second time, they died at their own hand just after they left the dog at the shelter.

The shelter really did want to honor the owner’s wishes and set to finding a perfect home and a perfect person to adopt the dog.

The shelter received many after many requests for the dog but then had the near impossible task of picking the best one for the lovely dog, to honor the owners dying wishes!

They then announced on the Thursday on Facebook that Shell found her ideal match, it was a woman who had lost her beloved Stray Rescue earlier on, it was a great match!

The Facebook post said:

“She just felt so drawn to her. Wasting no time, she filled out an application and was here the very next morning. The two of them hit it off and she knew it was definitely the right time. She says Shell is already running the house, and that they are inseparable”

We and the shelter staff are truly honored to find that special person for this super special doggie and to honor those very touching requests of the previous late owner.

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