The passing of her 21-year-old cat, Jazzy Kitty, devastated Joyce Baker of Juneau, AK. Anyone who suffers the death of a pet knows how she felt – as if there were a bottomless hole in her heart. She decided the only way to repair that hole was the love of …

The domestication of dogs was a great step forward for humankind, and a new genetic study reported in Nature Communications (May 14, 2013) suggests that it may have happened about 17,000 years earlier than previously believed at 15,000 years. Our species may have been living together and affecting each other for …

Steve Hofstetter already had a Beagle/Dachshund mix he had named Bea Arthur. He had adopted her though Stray from the Heart in NYC after she was rescued from years on the streets of Puerto Rico. And then he happened upon a stray he named Carlin. Bea Arthur? Carlin? See a pattern here? …

Judy Zinn wanted a companion for her 11-year-old German Shepherd, but she also had cats and knew it was important to bring in a young dog who could learn his place in the pack. She looked on Petfinder and saw three purebred German Shepherd litter mates listed by 57 House …

“It started as an online relationship,” Emma Sills says. It didn’t begin on match.com, but on Petfinder. The object of Emma’s affection was a pug named Wilson. She already had a companion dog, Louie, but he wasn’t a snuggler, and she had always yearned for a dog that would cuddle …

Neutered and spayed dogs and cats live longer, according to the 2013 State of Pet Health Report, released by Banfield Pet Hospital, the world’s largest veterinary practice. Neutered male cats live 62 percent longer than unneutered ones. Spayed female cats live 39 percent longer than unspayed ones. Neutered male dogs live …

Jackie Bonasera was drying her hair in an upstairs bathroom in her Long Island, NY, home when her dog began barking. It wasn’t like him, so she ran downstairs to see what was wrong. Flames were shooting up one side of the garage. She ran outside, and then realized Cain …

Sarah Willis’s heart is in the right place. She knew that adult dogs stand less chance of being adopted than puppies, so that’s who she set out to adopt. “I used to work in a shelter and knew that any older dog in one was in urgent need of help,” …

When Frodo arrived in an air-conditioned van with other dogs to meet their new pet parents, he seemed shy. And no wonder. It had been a long quest, clear from Tennessee, and he didn’t know how it would end. His early experiences gave him reason to be wary. He had …

We have some work to do! Yes, all of us. A survey by Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, revealed that 46% of young adults 18 to 24 years old said they would be more likely to purchase a pet from a breeder than adopt one from a shelter …