10 Good Animal Stories to Close Out National Pet Month

Your healthy dose of feel-good current events about dogs, cats, otters, and everything in between…

And as we wrap May in its annual sash reading “National Pet Month,” the latest round of carefree weekly updates has arrived. And this time, to truly pay homage to our best friends, we’ve curated 10 exclusively animal-friendly stories to warm your heart and stir your emotions.

Take the chance to unapologetically recline, perhaps in a silky soft robe, and lounge with some harmless (yet fascinating) stories selected to give you some clickable, likeable current events that are finally worth sharing with your favorites.

Peruse, ponder, audibly “awww,” lol a little, and enjoy the good news you might have missed:

Like a real life Isle of Dogs #spoiler, Louie the Labradoodle stopped in his tracks on a routine walk in the park with his owner. As Louie paused face to face with a fellow labradoodle, the owners soon realized that the pups came from the same breeder, as well as the same parents. The two brothers had found each other, by serendipitous chance, years after being separated.

The last owl that looked as majestic as Curbie enjoying this spray-bottle bath was played by David Bowie in Labyrinth. 

This smooth-talking cat will. not. let a Roomba interrupt what could be the most important conversation of its life.

Inseparable for almost two decades, Rod, a 57-year-old retired house painter, and Sally, a 27-year-old Macaw, spend their days cruising the streets on two wheels. After biting Rod every day for four years after being rescued (and even taking a chunk out of his ear), Sally finally warmed up to her owner for good. And Rod doesn’t hold a grudge. “She’s my comfort,” he explains. “She gets me out of my down moods. She treats me good. Nobody could ask for a better companion.”

X Games turtle knows exactly what a miniature Tech Deck fingerboard can do on the streets. 

Stereo technology helped miraculously reunite a separated sloth family. After discovering a three-toed infant on its own in Costa Rica, Jaguar Rescue Center made a clever recording of its cries which was then played over a loudspeaker as an attempt to signal the mother. The experiment paid off when she descended from a tree in response to the calls. Watch the pair share little sloth smiles as they embrace, ever so slowly. 

Why is it dressed like Santa sitting atop a galaxy of cushions, nonstop chewing with carols blasting? Perhaps we’ve stumbled upon some deadstock footage, but this month’s video of a chunky raccoon housing grapes is worth the trip. 

“Every animal who can should be afforded the opportunity at life in a loving home after their time in the laboratory. That’s the very least we should do for them,” said Kathleen Conlee, vice president of animal research issues for the Humane Society, when interviewed by NBC News. Thanks to new “Beagle Freedom” laws, research animals like Ringo, who spent his first two years inside a small cage, can be adopted by families like the Bleiches, who are grateful to have him as a therapy dog to their six-year-old son. Ringo’s owner, Amy Bleich, notes that when he first came to them he was startled even by the feeling of grass beneath his paws, or wind on his ears, but now, “he’s just so happy to sit right in your lappy.” 

Toby the otter celebrates a gift of lettuce. 

A hometown hero, Mr. Boo the cat saved his entire Cincinnati family with one early morning collapse. In the throes of carbon monoxide poisoning, the Kecskes didn’t wake from their sickness until the notoriously reserved Mr. Boo began wailing and alerting them, eventually passing out in the living room before being taken safely outside. “It’s like he’s been waiting his whole life to do this one heroic thing,” Ariana Kecskes announced after her family rushed out of the house, minutes from a fatal dose. Mr. Boo is now the distinguished owner of celebratory catnip and a framed certificate of honor.