It’s been a hot-button issue, even here on Life with Dogs, since passing, but this week Florida voters dealt a surprisingly decisive blow to greyhound racing, approving a measure that’ll ban the sport in their state by the end of 2020.

Amendment 13, which needed 60-percent approval to become law, got more than 5.3 million votes on Tuesday, roughly 69 percent.

What does it mean? Dog racing at 11 Florida tracks, with anywhere between 5,000 to 7,000 greyhounds, will be out of business by Dec. 31, 2020.

Officials on both sides of the ballot measure on Wednesday promised they’ll find these unemployed greyhounds new homes throughout and after the stage-down.

Jim Gartland, executive director of the dog racing industry’s umbrella group National Greyhound Association, said 98 percent of retired racers are regularly adopted to families. And an overwhelming majority of the remaining 2 percent live out their days on farms, working as breeders, he added.

“We will do everything we can do to make sure that every one of them gets adopted,” Gartland told NBC News on Wednesday.

Humane Society Florida Director Kate MacFall, who was a vehement proponent of Amendment 13 during the campaign, said her phone has been ringing off the hook on Wednesday with calls from prospective greyhound owners.

“They’re amazing pets, so gentle and sweet,” MacFall said. “They really are gentle giants.”

But Brooke Stumpf, president of the adoption group GreytHounds of Eastern Michigan, said she worries about untold thousands of greyhounds now at breeding farms throughout the South and Midwest.

With a majority of the nation’s dog tracks slated to close by the end of 2020, young greyhounds that never make it to the track will need homes too.

“This will be a burden. We’re mobilizing now,” said Stumpf, whose group arranges 50 to 100 greyhound adoptions a year — but will now aim for an annual goal of 200. “We’ll do the best we can. Some of these dogs might end up at shelters and they’re not all no-kill. That’s the scary part.”

The dogs won’t be retired immediately; dog racing will continue in Florida for the next 25+ months. There will be a gradual track shut-down over these two years.

America only has 17 dog tracks left; 11 are in Florida.

It should be noted, however, the Florida’s dog racing business has been in decline for years. In 1992, bets totaled more than a billion dollars. In 2017, just $200,000.

“This is a crushing blow to this industry,” MacFall said. “This (vote) shows people care about dogs and people know this (dog racing) is cruel and inhumane.”

MacFall admitted she and other supporters were surprised by the final margin of victory.

“We thought it’d be close, we didn’t think it’d be that high. It turned out to be a landslide,” MacFall said. “I mean we can’t agree on anything here in Florida. But on this, we had bipartisan support.”

You may notice that Murray doesn’t look like other dogs. He is wonderfully unique. And it was his looks, in part, that made his family fall head over heels in love with him.

Murray’s story now has a happily ever after, but for a good, long while, things didn’t look so rosy.

Murray was born in Puerto Rico, where he contracted distemper and was abandoned on Dead Dog Beach — a beach on the southeastern coast of the island where hundreds of animals are left for dead every year.

Distemper is a horrible virus, that often kills the animals that contract it, destroying the nervous and respiratory systems. But Murray survived. The bout left him toothless (as such, he is unable to keep his tongue in his mouth) and with a disfigured head, neither of which do a thing to detract from his sweet, loving nature and zeal for life.

Murray was eventually found and rescued by The Sato Project, which brought him to the United States to be adopted.

But he very nearly wasn’t.

In fact, a vet had Murray slated to be euthanized due to his condition, but then had a change of heart when Murray began wagging his tail before the lethal injection could take place. Again, Murray beat the odds. And that’s when he met the Gallant family, whose love for him was sharp and instantaneous.

“The signature tongue out is just the cutest thing, and his crooked features, if you look at his face closely you notice his ears aren’t aligned right on his head. His quirks make him even cuter and more special,” Mackenzie Gallant told Barcroft Media.

Murray began life with the Massachusetts family as a foster, but they decided they couldn’t give him up and eventually created an Instagram account that’s been helping raise awareness for rescue dogs and The Sato Project in general.

“We made his Instagram when I left for college for friends and family to follow but over the past year he has gained a lot of followers and helped raise awareness of rescue dogs, The Sato Project and distemper,” Gallant said.

To learn more about The Sato Project, visit their website.

Are you looking for a very small senior with a very big personality? You can’t go wrong with Dolson, a dreamy and sweet little guy who’s had too much shuffling in his life. It’s high time for this handsome devil to find his forever family.

Would you just look at that sweet, happy smile!?

Dolson, a tiny, little Chihuahua mix, is 11 years old. He originally found himself at the Norfolk SPCA in Norfolk, VA, because his owners could o longer afford to care for him, but sadly, he has since been in and out of their care. The last time he returned to the shelter, in fact, he was severely emaciated! But thanks to a grant from the senior dog lovers at the Grey Muzzle Organization, the SPCA was able to get him all the TLC and medical care necessary to bring him back to great health.

Staffers here feel like Dolson is consistently overlooked by adopters because of his age, but they know he still has a lifetime of love to give.

Little big man Dolson, say his caretakers, has a huge heart. He loves to be the center of attention, but if you’re not around, he’s happy to do his own thing (much of which consists of napping in comfy beds!).

He is looking for an adults-only home in which to live out his days and dole out his love. Everyone, they believe, would be happier with a little sidekick like Dolson around to brighten their days!

The Norfolk SPCA is located at 917 Ballantine Blvd. in Norfolk, VA. Adoption hours are 1-6 p.m. every day but Tuesdays (on which they are closed). Want more info? Visit the Norfolk SPCA website!

ALL Norfolk SPCA adoptions include:

• The pet’s spay or neuter surgery
• Vaccinations appropriate to age & heartworm test
• Microchip and registration
• General health exam
• Behavior evaluation
• 1st month’s flea & heartworm preventative
• Free 30-day offer of pet health insurance
• Care-A-Lot adoption kit valued up to $200

What’s more, after adoption, all alumni receive lifetime perks!

• 10% off vaccine clinic services
• 10% off dental cleanings
• 10% off merchandise (including over-the counter veterinary products)

Dog lovers in Texas, the state in which everything’s bigger, should fall in love with this handsome gentle giant! His name is Stevie.

Sweet Stevie was surrendered to animal control officers in Livingston, TX, after he grew to be larger than his family was expecting. After awhile, though, his clock ran out, but just when he was next in line t be euthanized, a kind person intervened and brought him to the folks at the SPCA of Polk County.

Staffers there estimate that Stevie is about 7-and-a-half years old, but no medical expertise is needed to asses that he’s also a sweet, lovable retriever mix who really deserves a second chance to find a loving forever home.

In fact, the SPCA thought they’d found him a perfect love match, but sadly, fate again dealt Stevie a cruel hand. When the family’s situation changed, they returned him to the rescue.

Upon his arrival, SPCA doctors checked Stevie over thoroughly and found four (4) relatively large masses on his body. One of these masses was a large and hard; it sat on his right shoulder. Thanks to help from the Grey Muzzle Organization, necessary funds were secured to have the masses removed immediately.

Three of the masses were determined to be benign at this point but had the potential of becoming cancerous in the future. The large, hard culprit on his right shoulder was indeed cancer, but the veterinary staff believes that the operation was a complete success and all the malignant tissue was removed. That means that Stevie’s prognosis is excellent and whoever adopts him will likely enjoy many wonderful years with an outstandingly sweet companion!

Without the medical funds provided through the Grey Muzzle Organization grant, we may not have been able to secure medical treatment in time to save this sweet dog’s life and prevent him from future suffering. They know that senior lives are worth saving. So does the staff down at the SPCA of Polk – and they’re hoping someone else sees that, too.

Let’s help this big boy find a great new home to enrich with his bigger-than-life love and gentle, sweet spirit.

Tiny Maltese Soshe had been trapped alone in her house for more than a week. No food. No clean water. The sofa on which she floated wass all that was keeping her alive.

Video via: Animalkind

The little dog was one of many victims awaiting rescue in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which ravaged residents of North Carolina. So many animals were stranded, in fact, that the local rescuers called in help. It was a team from the Humane Society of Missouri’s Disaster Response who wound up saving the day for little Soshe.

In some places, floodwaters were at roof level and the team had to make multiple attempts to reach the home where a dog (Soshe) was stranded inside. On their third attempt, the boat broke down, but they didn’t give up, paddling more than a half-mile to the flood-addled neighborhood. After finally locating the right address, rescuers could see Soshe inside, floating on the couch, but as the water had caused the wood to swell and the water on both sides created pressure, they found it difficult to open the door.

That didn’t stop them, either, though; they kicked it in and rescued the frightened and hungry little pup. Soshe was too scared to swim to them, and likely exhausted. She’d been alone without food for a week.

Once safe in with her rescuers, she was cheery and otherwise okay, happily scarfing down her first meal since the hurricane. Later, a friend of her owner (who was stuck out of town when Hurricane Florence rolled into the area) showed at the temporary animal shelter to claim her.

“She was distraught that she couldn’t get to her house and knew that Soshe was inside,” said the woman who picked up Soshe. She will reunite the dog with her owner.

Soshe was one of several dogs, chickens and horses rescued by HSMO’s Disaster Response Team following Hurricane Florence. The nine-member team headed back to Missouri on Tuesday after a 10-day deployment.

Anyone interested in helping pets affected by Hurricane Florence can donate online here or by calling (314) 951-1542.

Traditionally, firefighters are called in to rescue cats from trees (if cartoons have anything to say about it, at least) bbut this time, it was a dog who benefited from the rescue knowledge the brave men and women of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department have cultivated.

After receiving a call about a small dog who had gotten trapped in the HVAC system of a West Springfield-area home this past Friday night, crews responded.

The team worked diligently to determine the dog’s location and craft a strategy to safely extract it from the duct. In the end, the dog was removed unharmed, but we can’t report the same for the ceiling.

Check out the video of the frazzled-but-uninjured pup being rescued:

The department let its social media followers know via multiple platforms with a fun sense of humor. The tweet read: “Engine 427, West Springfield, responded to a ruff and far-fetched rescue last night. A small dog was trapped in an HVAC duct. Crews took a paws to shed light on dogs location and work out strategy. Firefighter Williams cut a hole in ceiling and retrieved dog. A pawsitive outcome!”

*****

A pretty strange rescue, but if you REALLY love wild stories of rescue, check out this video from The Dodo!

In this dramatic compilation, there’s only one dog story – but all three are about as compelling as could be, and feature people who are, without a doubt, genuine heroes. The first is an especially scary one, in which two bucks became antler-entangled, a terribly dangerous situation for the animals if they failed to disentangle, but also for the men trying to free them!

In the second, a lovely horse is trapped in the rising Texas floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey, too frightened to move.

And in the last, we have our sweet dog story, wherein the pup fell down a well and was unable to get out. Clinging desperately to the rock, she tries to stay afloat — and finally, at last, is rescued.

Sweet Grandma Tala arrived at Frederick County Animal Control as a stray and was never reclaimed.

Though she quickly became a staff and volunteer favorite, it quickly became apparent that confinement does not suit Tala.

Left in her kennel, she would panic, trying desperately to escape. She broke three canine teeth this way. As a short-term solution, staff kept her with them in their offices or at the front desk, greeting visitors. And seriously – watch the below video to hear more about her and see how sweet she really is!

Then Amy, a foster care provider, stepped up to take Tala in. Amy has found ways to keep Tala from hurting herself (or Amy’s home) when left alone in the house.

In her foster home, Tala has proven herself to be wonderful with both children and cats. Tala also has found a new friend in the family’s puppy, who plays with her every morning.

Thanks to the Grey Muzzle Organization, Frederick Friends of Our County Animal Shelter has been able to cover most of Tala’s medical needs. First and forement, she needed her three broken canine teeth extracted. Second, Tala has some of the health concerns that older dogs often develop. Most notably, she’s had a number of tumors removed.

Tala’s foster family loves her very much. In fact, Tala sleeps every night with their older daughter. Though they wish they could adopt her themselves, they have found that Tala is a little too interested in their goats and chickens. But this active senior girl is happy and loved while she waits for her forever family to come along and fall in love with her.

When Miami-Fire Rescue got a call about a tired dog in a Southwest Miami-Dade canal, they headed to the scene and found what appeared to be a Rottweiler-mix struggling to stay afloat.

“They quickly went in and pulled the tired dog out,” said Lt. Kirsten Miller, a spokeswoman for the department.

Video of the rescue shows three firefighters in the water, getting the dog to shore. The dog is then placed on a yellow tarp, clearly relieved.

The department said the dog’s rescuer, whose heart-strings were tugged by the sweet-faced pup, “will be taking the dog to nurse it back to health and try and find it’s owner.”

Did you know…?

Dalmatians, of course, are these days a mascot-dog of sorts to firefighters, but back in the early days of professional firefighting, this breed served a vital role that pre-dates even their time serving alongside these brave heroes.

It was discovered, much earlier on, that Dalmatians not only did a good job keeping pace with horses as they pulled carriages in the days before engines, but even protected them and kept them calm. British aristocrats used them for this purpose in the 1700s and the dogs even became something of a status symbol, according to Trevor J. Orsinger’s book, “The Firefighter’s Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs.; the more Dalmatians you had running along side your carriage, the higher your social standing.

This became far more important when it came to fire, which of course, naturally frightens horses. The Dalmatians’ presence would keep them calmer during blazes, allowing the firefighters to better do their job. And so they became the breed of the profession.

For awhile, even after the invention of the automobile, the dogs were kept around for tradition, instead guarding the fire house and all that was in it while the firefighters were out battling a blaze. Though few stations still maintain the tradition of Dalmatians in fire houses (those who do have dogs have them in all shapes, breeds, mixes and sizes these day), they do remain a fun, spotted symbol of this noble profession.

The term “sassy sisters” doesn’t even begin to describe Serena and Venus; they may just be your perfect doubles match!

Forgive the tennis puns, but these adorable Chi-Doxie mix girls have loads of spunk and personality, and at the age of 7, they’ve still got lots of “LOVE” to give – and plenty of energy to run around the court. Or hold it, as two such queens just might.

Love bugs who are adept at cuddling, the simple act of handing off a treat will win you ace-level loads of affection. In fact, Venus and Serena prefer the company of people to that of other dogs, so they would be best as only pets – but really, they might wonder, why would you need anyone else?!

Any family lucky enough to have these two ladies would be Grand Slam winners, for sure.

What next?

Well, the ball is in your court. Visit the Little Shelter website for more information. They are located in Huntington, Long Island, NY, and are a returning recipient of the Grey Muzzle Organization.

More about Little Shelter Animal Rescue in their own words….

Little Shelter Animal Rescue and Adoption Center is a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter nestled on six wooded acres in Huntington, Long Island. Little Shelter has been dedicated to saving abandoned dogs and cats and placing them into loving homes since 1927. Age, physical condition, and socialization issues are never criteria for rescuing a dog or cat whose life is in jeopardy. Through rescue from kill facilities, rehabilitation of sick and unsocialized pets, and a 100% spay/neuter program, Little Shelter hopes to end pet overpopulation and place all dogs and cats into loving homes. All Little Shelter animals receive the highest quality medical care and are spayed or neutered prior to adoption. Every potential adopter is interviewed and thoroughly screened to ensure the best quality homes. Included on the grounds is Sheltervale Pet Cemetery, which has been the final resting place for companion animals for more than 90 years. Little Shelter Animal Rescue has won Best of Long Island 9 straight years (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018) for Best Animal Shelter and Best Animal Rescue!

When this family adopted Kurbis, who literally “fell into their lap” at a senior dog adoption event, they could feel how much he wanted to be loved, but his past was a mystery. In the time since, he’s learned to be a dog and they say it even seems like he’s getting younger!

Why you should adopt a senior!

Senior dogs are often overlooked at shelters and rescues because of their age, passed over for cute, little puppies. Those puppies are undeniably cute, but not every household has the time or energy for a puppy. They can be challenging (which is why so many end up back at the shelter!). Senior dogs on the other hand, often come with life skills at the ready. Important ones like leash walking, not going in the house, even tricks! They most often know that toys and treats are for chewing, while shoes are not!

Seniors often love to sleep and or snuggle the day away, and while they need exercise like any other dog, it’s usually less.

The fit easily into a household and make wonderful companions (for instance, with human seniors, who not only appreciate their low maintenance, but their calm, age and wisdom!).

Senior dogs may not have as many years as a pup, but they often have many more than you’d think. Just think about Kurbis in the above video from The Dodo‘s Pittie Nation — he seemed to get younger once he was in a happy place with a family who loved and cared for him!

Oftentimes, people mistakenly think that older dogs in rescue or at a shelter were problematic, which is why they ended up homeless. Most of the time, this isn’t the case. There are many reasons people give up their older pets. Some arrive at the shelter because their owner had to move or even passed away. But more importantly, it’s not generally their “fault.”

These dogs need homes, just like the younger ones. Give a senior a chance. Most people find it to be an incredibly rewarding experience.