beautiful

Here's a story that will fill your hearts with all the feels! Long-time volunteers at the Stevens Swan Humane Society (SSHS), Rob and Hillary Dunn, decided to continue their new tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving with those they love most - the animals at the shelter. For the second year in a row, the Dunns have made a full Thanksgiving meal for every dog at the SSHS

According to Go Travel Blogger, every single dog at the shelter got its very own plate! A plate complete with white-meat turkey, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Of course, all the food given was healthy and safe for the animals to enjoy. The cats at the shelter were treated to bowls of their own, a pumpkin pie mix. The Dunn's graciously took on this monumental task and prepped everything out of their pockets.

You can help the Dunns reach their simple goal of raising $500 each for their favorite shelter, the Stevens Swan Humane Society, by donating to either's Rob's fundraiser or Hillary's, all funds go directly to the shelter.  

We hope all these beautiful animals have their next Thanksgiving meal in a loving forever home of their own.

Animals are art. Forever and always. They are endlessly pure, and the things they do sometimes are absolutely amazing. It's hard to fully capture the fully story of what they do sometimes, even in as much as 1000 words, just like with any form of art. Sometimes, it's better to let the pictures and the animals speak for themselves and simply let the inspiration wash over us. 

Every week, we bring you some of those incredible pictures - those that capture the kind of stories that even 1000 words will never do justice. They inspire us, and we hope that they'll inspire you as well. I mean, what can be more inspiring than two gorillas posing for the camera like they're about to drop a diss track?

Once a week, we will be featuring an extraordinary animal account on Instagram! Their story, the adorable pictures, and pawesome videos! This week's spotlight goes to Zeus, the blind owl! 

You've probably seen Zeus before, he went viral for his incredible peepers! Eyes that look as if they contain the whole universe and all the answers to the unknown. When we hear or think of a 'Wise Owl,' it's Zeus who we think of. Zeus may be blind but he sure has the most enchanting eyes.

Zeus is a Western Screech Owl with a great wingspan. On his Instagram, it is mentioned that he has about 10% of his vision, and is able to see shapes and memorize his immediate surroundings. He currently is being cared for at the Wildlife Learning Center in Los Angeles, California. The wildlife center's mission is to "provide public education that inspires people to care for our wildlife, to care for our environment, to develop a deep interest in the life sciences, and to give loving care and sanctuary to animals in need." 

Find out how you can help them accomplish their mission and how you can help Zeus. 

Read up on last week's star on Instagram, Rex, The T-Rex Cat!

There's nothing quite like the magic of snow. White covering everything in something that feels like a blanket of purity. And though we may be hiding at home, it's the winter animals' time to absolutely thrive. 

One of our favorite winter animals is the fluffy, gorgeous arctic fox. Arctic foxes are honestly just as pure as snow, both because of how perfectly white they are, and that's beautiful, but also because... they're foxes, and is there anything purer than foxes? Arguable. Foxes are always adorable and wholesome, but arctic foxes in the snow really bring out that wintry magic. 

While all these photoshopped animals do look beautiful either way and some not even odd-looking, we're definitely grateful to live in a world where tigers and zebras have stripes. These animals have color and uniquely beautiful, if you photoshop out those iconic markings, it doesn't dilute their cuteness, but we've obviously come to love and admire these animals individual uniqueness. 

The team at Brightside.me has asked the question, "What would animals look like without their markings?" And then created it for us to help us imagine a world in which animals only come in one shade of color. Safe to say, we all love the animals just as they naturally are! 

The Kallima inachus, also known as the orange oakleaf or dead leaf butterfly is nature's perfect example of how something may not be the most beautiful on the outside but is hiding incredible beauty on the inside. This butterfly may not look like much when its wings are closed, hiding in plain sight, camouflaged as a dead leaf, but the moment its wings open, so does our eyes open in awe.

This butterfly has one of the best camaflauge abilities we've ever seen. It is so easy to miss. You might have even seen one in your own life at some point, and because it's wings were closed, you didn't even know about it. That's how easy it is to miss someone's inner beauty, and we hope that this incredible creation of nature will remind you how important it is to appreciate what is inside.  

Snow leopards are everything. They just are. They are the purrfect blend of fierceness, cuteness, and just overall beauty. Their gorgeous fur and they're oh so fluffy! We don't think we could ever get tired of looking at such purrfection. 

International Snow Leopard Day was just a few days ago and we must honor these beauties by looking at their adorable pictures and watching their squeal-worthy videos. Did you know that snow leopards can't roar like their other feline friends? Instead, snow leopards use a call which has been described as a 'piercing yowl' that is so loud, it can be heard over the roar of a river!  

There is said to be only as few as 4000 snow leopards left in the wild. However, because they are so incredibly inclusive, it's difficult to get an accurate number. Snow leopards are being threatened due to climate change, habitat loss and deterioration, poaching, and more. Read about how you can help save these elusive beauties. 

A majority of the photographs below are taken by the talented @walkuptosky on Instagram. Check out her photography for endless incredible animal photographs, you won't be disappointed. 

Maine coons are absolute units and we're obsessed with them. They're simply larger cats so there's just more to love! That's how we see it anyway. All that extra floof just makes us want to press our faces into those giant bellies. 

Maine coons are always such a pleasure to look at, it's the closest we humans can get to having our very own wildcat indoors, size-wise. Cats of every size are also close and we love them just as much. 

However, there is a grandness, a royalty that Maine coons seem to possess. They are truly magic sorcerors who can hypnotize us and honestly, we'd totally let them. Get ready to be wowed by the grand and majesty beauty of Maine coons! 

One Friday closer to Halloween and the spooky vibes are in the air! Black cat magic is our weekly segment for the entire month of October, it's where we dedicate a moment to the glory and beauty that is black cats. If you missed out on our previous black cat magics specials, you should definitely take a moment to devour them! 

Black cats are known to be least likely to be adopted, due to their history of being "bad luck," well, all those who have little panthers can attest to that! Black cats, like all cats, bring nothing but joy to our lives and we're more than thankful for those little voids! If you have a void of your own, share a photo with us -- we'd love to see them! 

There are certain pictures that, when you look at, you feel absolutely speechless. Those pictures, a lot of times, are the most incredible ones. They make you think, they make you wonder about all the details that led to that weird, funny, beautiful, or simply wholesome moment. And words, even 1000 words, are not enough to describe them.

Those kinds of pictures are some of our favorites because they truly get our imagination running. So, every single week, we bring you a new collection of pictures like that in the hope that they inspire you as much as they inspire us, that they give you the creative energy that we all thrive on. 

Fun tip for this week's list: not everything that is a leaf is a leaf. 

Rise fluffy and adorable animals of darkness -- it is your month! Welcome back to our Spooktober special where we celebrate the entire month of by featuring Halloweenie-inspired animals! That means black cats, animals of darkness, adorable bats, and costumes galore! Spooktober is one of our all-time favorite months because of all these beautiful animals that finally get even more of a spotlight shined on them. 

These animals of darkness have a few things in common, one, they're obviously all dark, and second, they're obviously all cute and fluffy, and we don't need a third. 

Get ready to celebrate this spooky month with our not-so-spooky animals of darkness: 

OK, if everything up until now didn't crack a smile on your lovely, yet stubborn face, then this is it. This is the top guns and 100% fool-proof guaranteed to bring out the major aww's in anyone. And when we say anyone, we really mean it. 

Unusual animal friendships aren't that common but whenever it does happen, it feels like everything in the universe is and will be OK. Just for a moment, there is no hatred, there is no difference between interspecies, there is simply love and friendship. If you were to ask us, we'd say these images are the most beautiful captured images on Earth. And not only are these animal's friends, but you can also see the love radiating from their eyes. 

Ah, it's almost too much but it's just the right amount of goodness we needed to see today. 

There's something so special about bonding with a pet, and even more so when you didn't think you ever would... ahem ahem dads out there who didn't originally want a pet. 

We all hold special bonds with our pets and it's always utterly precious to see those inside moments that people and animals share. You can feel the strong connection, you can see the love in their eyes and movements. Having that connection is a powerful thing and these men are no exception to feeling that love. 

Cheers to all the beautiful animals in our lives! They don't even know how much joy they bring to our lives.