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.

Singer Alanis Morissette, 44, whose Grammy-winning 1994 album, Jagged Little Pill, became a musical production this year, is closing out the happy year on a sad note to which each of us can relate.

On Saturday, she announced to followers and fans via social media that her Chihuahua mix, Leelee, had passed away.

“Goodbye angel leelee. our souls are one. inconsolable. my girl. i love you,” the performer wrote on her Instagram account, alongside a photo of her cradling and kissing the small pooch.

Morissette often posts images of her canine family on her accounts, including the below, which appeared on Twitter a couple of weeks ago.

i love you lee. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/fYpVpQy6lp

— Alanis Morissette (@Alanis) October 17, 2018

This lovely shot of Morissette and Leelee was posted just 10 hours prior to press time.

Morissette regularly posted sweet photos of Leelee with loving captions on her social media accounts.

Little Leelee is survived by her canine siblings, Boogs and Circus; all three are pictured in these sweet lockets in a tweet from May of this year.

COPING WITH THE LOSS OF A PET

Grief is a very personal journey and for those of us to whom pets are family, can be just as big a loss as when a human we love dies. This means the full acknowledgement of such a loss may take time. For some pet owners, honoring their pet may mean adopting a new dog right away, for others it could take weeks, months, or years. It is important that we respect the ways in which others go through this loss, even if it differs from our own.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, owners in mourning should be kind to themselves as they prepare for the “new normal” of a life without their beloved dog.

“Just as it took time to build the relationship with your pet, it will take time to get used to him or her not being there,” their website reads.

This lazy dog in Scotland has gone viral on Twitter; apparently folks out there really relate to his lack of interest in leaving what looks like a supremely comfy bed.

In the 16-second clip, you hear the dog’s owner saying, “Come on we’ll go a walk, walk, walkies.”

My dad trying to get Malcolm out of bed. Most human dug on earth. pic.twitter.com/tdCJhodIja

— Mhairi-Louise Brennan (@mlcoolj1) November 1, 2018

Not even food couldn’t persuade this warm, cozy pup – whose name is Malcolm – to get out from under the covers.

The dog’s owner, Mhairi-Louise Brennan, posted the video of her dad cajoling the dog to Twitter and at press time here, it had more than 260,000 views.

How long CAN dogs sleep?

According to the American Kennel Club, most dogs average about 12-14 hours of sleep per 24-hour cycle. Older dogs tend to need more (just like older humans). They tire more easily and benefit from additional rest to function properly. Similarly, pups (like human babies) tucker themselves out with all the exploration and play and so can sleep quite a bit, as well.

Larger breeds, too, tend to sleep more than smaller ones.

Breed is a factor, as well, when it comes to a dog’s sleep cycle.

Working dogs, often bred to be active in longer shifts with tasks that need their complete attention can spend most of their day active while other breeds, meant more for companionship and sedentary lifestyles, will sleep more.
while dog sleep patterns are similar to humans’ – their breathing slows, their blood pressure drops and their heart rates decrease and generally in about 10 minutes’ time enter the REM (rapid eye movement) phase. This is when you might see them “chasing rabbits,” legs or feet or tail twitching and even whining and making noise.

Interestingly, though, as humans have extended sleep cycles, spend about 25 percent of that time in the REM stage. Dogs only stay here for about 10 percent, due to their inconsistent sleep schedules. Since they have the wonderful, enviable ability to fall asleep easily and rouse to alertness quickly, they need more total sleep than we do to make up for the lower REM rates during their cycles.

We really don’t deserve dogs, but at least we can award them for being so wonderful.

This July, a six-month old golden retriever named Todd saved his owner, Paula Godwin, from a rattlesnake bite. He was recently crowned winner of the first ever “Milk-Bone Dog of the Year” award at the 8th Annual Streamy Awards for his heroism… and virality.

There are probably a thousand poems, cookie fortunes, calendar quotes and memes about how we don’t deserve dogs, all of them true, but we can do our best to celebrate them however possible. And so this year, the Streamy Awards, which honors the best in online video and its creators, added a category for dogs, “the Internet’s favorite animal.”

Streamy Awards creator, Drew Baldwin, told Billboard, “The world wouldn’t be the same without dogs, lives are often transformed because of them, and it’s time that we honor all the joy they give to us.”

Although the adorable competition was stiff, this year’s winner was Todd, a dog we told you about here at Life With Dogs back in July when he stepped between his owner and a rattlesnake while out on a hike, nearly losing his life in the process.

Todd braved the snake, and all the medical treatments that followed after being bitten, and his story — naturally — went viral.

He beat out two other contenders for the Streamy: Louboutina, “The Hugging Dog,” who found Internet fame for giving warm hugs to everyone she meets on the streets of New York City, and Pierre, a costume-donning therapy dog who who brings smiles joy to the patients at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital and travelers at LAX.

Online vote determined the outcome and Todd received a trophy and a customized piece of art from the Streamys for coming out on top.

Todd’s owner, Paula Godwin, first shared their harrowing tale on Facebook just after it happened: “So this morning was up bright and early to go on a hike on seventh street, carefree. It was a beautiful morning, but as we were walking down the hill I literally almost stepped on a mf rattlesnake. But my hero of a puppy Todd saved me. He jumped right in front of my leg where I surely would have got bit. This is what a hero looks like. Please say a little prayer for my sweet hero.”

Little Todd spent 12 hours at the vet where at times it was touch-and-go, but thanks to quick medical action and anti-venom – he made it! Godwin wants to make sure other pets will be able to get the same treatment.

“We are ecstatic because this is the first ever Milk-Bone honor, so everyone is going to remember Todd the hero dog,” she told Billboard. “We were able to start a fundraiser to help other pets, raising money for dogs who can’t afford anti-venom. There’s a lot of people out there who can’t afford the $500 dose and their pets die because of it.”

Check out Todd and all the other finalists here:

Generally speaking, when con artists scam good, honest people out of their money or possessions, the Internet doesn’t give them an ovation, but somehow, Princess is different.

This clever fox of a shar-pei or shar-pei mix (to our eye, anyway) knows how to work that cute, worried-looking face of hers into a delicious free meal – and precisely where to go to get it.

Her owner, Betsy Reyes, posted on Facebook that Princess leaves the house at night and heads straight to the local McDonald’s parking lot, where she pretends to be a stray in order to get free food. Employing all the standard tactics your own dog uses to glean scraps from the table at dinner, Princess – simply put – works it, scoring fries, burgers and all the fast-food goodies dogs worldwide can only dream of.

“If you see my dog @ [sic] the McDonald’s on shields, quit feeding her fat ass,” Reyes wrote on Facebook. “She’s not even a stray dog. She’s just a gold diggin’ [email protected]@ b*tch that be acting like she’s a stray so people will feel bad for her & feed her burgers.”

The best part? Reyes headed out to bust her dog in the act, taking video in the process as she lurked like a private investigator in the McDonald’s lot, watching Princess work her crafty magic on the patrons. Have you ever seen any busker or panhandler with a success rate like this?

And this hilarious one where Princess recognizes that she’s been busted begging!

For sure, there are healthier habits a dog could have – and we hope that Reyes finds a way to keep her dog from getting out (and super-sizing herself with meals way too fatty, salty and rich!) – but we really have to give this crafty pup credit for her smarts. And admit that we, too, enjoy a good, crispy sleeve of French fries once in awhile.

She is, without a doubt, one of the most enterprising puppers we’ve had the pleasure of seeing go viral on the Internet.

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.

It was a casual tweet from a Tesla owner that got a response from none other than CEO Elon Musk himself. But it piqued the interest of animal lovers Internet-wide.

Drivers of these high-tech vehicles already enjoy a feature that prevents the interior from exceeding a certain temperature and according to TechRadar, Musk says that a future update may include a ‘Dog Mode’, which would display a message warning passers-by not to panic if they see a pet inside a parked vehicle.

After the above tweet started a conversation on social media, Musk confirmed that such a feature could indeed be implemented, with a sign on the rear window letting the public known the dog’s owner would be back very soon. He also agreed that such a mode could include a display of the current interior temperature so well-meaning strangers don’t break the car’s window to rescue your pup.

The pre-existing temperature-regulation feature, called Cabin Overheat, was pushed out to Tesla vehicles via a software update earlier this year. While in park, Cabin Overheat ensures that the temperature inside the car doesn’t exceed a preset limit.

However, despite Musk’s positive response, this feature was created for safety, not convenience – so your animal will be safe if you accidentally leave it in the back seat for a few minutes. It is not for keeping them comfortable over long periods.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) advises never leaving a dog alone in a parked car, and notes that doing so is illegal in several states.

Why?

According to the National Weather Service, the inside of a vehicle can reach 109 degrees Fahrenheit in just 20 minutes when the temperature outside is 80 degrees Fahrenheit! And every summer, reports of dogs (and even children) injured or worse by people who leave them in hot cars for even a short period of time go up.

We think this “dog mode” idea isn’t half bad. How about you?

We speculated about whether Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s eventual baby announcement would be met with less enthusiasm than the name (and a photo, please!) of their new dog about a week ago — and then they went and made a baby announcement!

Okay, so that WAS pretty buzzy news around the world, but while the newlywed and soon-to-be parents are cavorting around Australia, accepting gifts, meeting with fans and having a good ol’ time around Oz, dogs have been figuring prominently into the cross-country journey.

Both are longtime dog lovers, and of course, who can blame them?!

Here’s a fun moment captured on Twitter by commentator Emily Nash of Prince Harry enjoying the process of aiding a sheepdog as it overcomes quite the impressive obstacle at a community picnic in Victoria Park:

WATCH: Harry has a go at getting a dog to jump a fence at the community picnic in Victoria Park – with success! #RoyalAustraliaTour pic.twitter.com/fqJCVxMyQe

— Emily Nash (@emynash) October 17, 2018

The Duke and Duchess also greeted several other dogs while at the colorful event, and seemed to enjoy the company of each one.

The baby news, of course, still figured prominently, and though they accepted all kinds of gifts, this fuzzy animal was probably the best symbol of their time away from home!

Did you know…?

…that Bogart, who was Meghan Markle’s first dog, came into her life thanks in part to Ellen DeGeneres?

In an interview with Best Health, Markle shared that while visiting a shelter in Los Angeles, she spotted the dog who would become hers at the same time DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, were there.

“Now, I don’t know her, but Ellen goes ‘Is that your dog?’ And I said, ‘No,’ and she’s like, ‘You have to take that dog.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m deciding.’ And she’s like, ‘Rescue the dog!’”

Later, as the “Finding Dory” star was heading out, she tapped on the glass wall of the room where Markle was still deciding and said, “Take the dog!”

And she did.