October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, a month dedicated to helping more shelter dogs find homes. In 2025, 2.8 million dogs entered shelters and rescues across the U.S., while 2 million dogs were adopted. Dog adoptions rose to 57% of dog intakes, but large, adult, and senior dogs continued to face greater challenges finding homes.  The dog standing in front of you at a shelter may also behave differently once they are in a home. A study of 99 adopted shelter dogs found that

National Dog Week begins today, giving us a whole week to celebrate the dogs who share our lives and encourage people to appreciate and care for them. More than one million dogs are adopted from shelters in the U.S. each year, giving them the chance to become part of a family. National Dog Week is a good time to celebrate the dogs already in our homes while remembering the dogs still waiting for theirs. Here are four ways to celebrate National Dog Week with your dog: 1. Take

There is nowhere to run when the people who came for them arrive. In China, terrified dogs are trapped in filthy, crowded cages where they see and hear other dogs being beaten and killed. Workers grab them with metal nooses, club them, and slit their throats. Some dogs are still alive when workers skin them.  Their skin is turned into leather gloves, belts, jacket trim, cat toys, and other products sold around the world. Congress documented dog and cat fur entering the Unit

Every dog deserves a day that feels a little extra special. Tomorrow is National Hug Your Hound Day, a day to appreciate the dogs who share our lives by spending more time with them and seeing the world from their point of view. According to a recent survey, 97% of U.S. dog guardians consider their dog part of the family. If your dog is one of those family members, tomorrow is the perfect opportunity to make the day a little more about them. Here are five ways to observe Nat

Public scanners make it easier for anyone to help a lost animal. Hall County Animal Services in Georgia has installed public microchip scanning stations to help lost animals get home faster. The first stations are now available at the Hall County Animal Shelter and Laurel Park Dog Park, where anyone can use them 24 hours a day. If someone finds a lost dog or cat, they can scan the animal's microchip and contact the guardian right away. Shelter staff say they often receive los

Sugar’s body showed the strain of surviving on scraps. When we found Sugar, she was picking through piles of garbage in an empty lot. Plastic bags, food wrappers, and other waste covered the ground around her. Her head stayed low as she moved from one pile to the next. Her fur was dirty and filled with lice. Despite her condition, she walked straight toward us and allowed us to place a leash on her. Her gentle nature stood out from the moment we met her, and it was the reason

Father of the Modern Day Animal Rights Movement in the U.S is celebrating his birthday today. 600 Million Dogs founder Alex Pacheco’s birthday is today.  To celebrate, a generous donor and lifelong animal lover, Catherine, is doubling every gift, up to $20,000. That means your gift today will have twice the impact for animals. Your $25 becomes $50 Your $50 becomes $100 Your $100 becomes $200 Alex Pacheco once had a shot at a career with the FBI. He turned it away to fight f

Rescued Pilot Pup Sophie is safe because someone like you cared. Every day, dogs and cats are suffering on the streets — hungry, abandoned, waiting for rescue. I find myself asking: Who will keep fighting to protect them from cruelty, abandonment, and suffering when I'm no longer here? The answer is you. Not today. But through your Will. August is Include Animals in Your Will Month, and many people don't realize how easy it is to protect animals through their Will. By includi

Public lands should not hide poison. 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield was walking with his beloved dog, Kasey, near their home in Idaho when Kasey investigated what looked like an ordinary sprinkler head hidden in the ground. The device blasted sodium cyanide into Kasey's mouth and face. Canyon watched his dog convulse, foam at the mouth, collapse, and die in terrible pain. Canyon was also poisoned and continues to suffer health problems from the exposure. Kasey's death happen

No two mixed-breed dogs are exactly alike, which is part of what makes them special. July 31 is National Mutt Day, a day that celebrates mixed-breed dogs and encourages people to adopt them from shelters and rescue. About 75% of dogs in shelters are mixed breeds, making them the largest group of dogs waiting for homes. One of those dogs was Major Beans. Major Beans was waiting for a home when someone decided to adopt him. After his adoption, he became known online for his pla

Dehydration can develop quickly during periods of heat. July is National Pet Hydration Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about dehydration and heat-related illness in animals. Did you know water makes up about 70% of a dog's body and 60% of a cat's body? That's why dehydration can develop quickly and become a serious medical emergency. One of those emergencies claimed the life of Bobby, an 8-year-old dog from Australia. After a walk on a hot day, Bobby b

Fires can escalate in minutes, leaving animals with little chance to escape on their own. Today is National Pet Fire Safety Day, a day that raises awareness about the risks house fires pose to companion animals and the steps that can help keep them safe. According to the National Fire Protection Association, approximately 500,000 companion animals are affected by house fires each year, including about 1,000 fires accidentally started by animals themselves. One of those animal

Fireworks can turn celebration into panic and escape. July 4th celebrations last a few hours. For some dogs, the consequences can last a lifetime. For weeks, the Orcas Island community in Washington searched for a young dog named Kai. He bolted from the West Beach Resort into the dark after being startled by the sudden explosion of July 4th fireworks. Everyone on the island came together to look for him. But despite all their hard work and massive search efforts, Kai was nev

Small dogs are not exempt from the dangers of the meat trade. Warning: Graphic images appear below. They are included to show the reality and severity of the dog and cat meat trade. A dog spends days trapped inside a crowded wire cage without food or water. There is not enough space to lie down. Paws become trapped between sharp metal bars. Raw skin is scraped away as bodies are forced against wire cages for hundreds of miles. By the time many animals reach Yulin, some are

I had no one to come looking when things got hard. My name is Blair and I’m a Pilot Pup rescued by Team 600MillionDogs. Every June, the U.S. celebrates Father’s Day, a time to recognize and appreciate fathers and father figures for the care and support they give in families. I grew up without a father figure to protect me from a harsh life on the streets. My body was weak from dehydration and exhaustion as I stood alone in the grass near a village road. I felt abandoned, watc

Behind closed doors, thousands of shelter animals still face the terror of Japan’s gas chambers. Dogs and cats in parts of Japan’s public shelter system are still euthanized inside carbon dioxide gas chambers known as “Dream Boxes.” These sealed metal chambers are designed to kill multiple animals at once by pumping in carbon dioxide gas until the animals suffocate. Investigations described dogs howling, clawing at metal walls, trembling, gasping for air, and collapsing duri

In Eliza’s eyes, it was clear she no longer expected anyone to notice her. We found Eliza at the back of a residential area, near an open ground where children play. She was standing off to the side and did not leave that spot as we approached. Then she walked toward us on her own and let us place a leash on her. Eliza stayed beside us as we walked her away from that area and brought her to our shelter. Our veterinarian examined her and confirmed she was healthy and strong.

Freedom finally replaces fear. A woman in Iowa has been sentenced to two years in prison for animal torture after authorities found one dog dead inside a suitcase and another alive in severe neglect. She also received a separate sentence for neglect, but the judge ordered it to run at the same time, so she will serve two years in total. Investigators discovered that the dead dog had tape binding his front paws and a cord wrapped around his neck. The other dog was found alive

A mother’s love doesn’t stop for rain. Today is Mother’s Day, and for stray animals, it is not about flowers or comfort. It is about staying alive long enough to keep their babies alive. Bentley was a stray in Texas when she went into labor during a weekend of heavy storms. Rain kept falling while she searched for somewhere to give birth, but there was no shelter and no dry ground. She delivered eleven puppies outside, exposed to the cold and the rain. By the time she was

They wait for kindness… but betrayal comes instead. Over 1,000 street dogs in India have been killed in just one month. Food is being used to bring them close, turning the one thing they need to survive into the reason they die.  Needles are pushed into their bodies or poison is placed where they feel safe enough to eat. Their legs begin to give in while they are still on their feet, their bodies no longer responding as fear sets in. The Chief Minister of Telangana has