happy ending

An incredible friendship between a man from Turkey and the swan he rescued has lasted for decades. 37 years ago, a now retired postman, Recep Mirzan, found a female swan who he later named Garip in Turkey's western Edirne province, and they have been friends ever since. 

As NEWS CHANNEL 3 reports, "Mirzan and a group of friends were taking a shortcut in their car when they noticed the swan, with a broken wing, in an empty field. Mirzan immediately took the swan in to protect her from predators and kept her in the car until that afternoon, when he was able to take the swan to his home." Ever since then, Garip has been living on Mirzan's farm in the Karaagac region near Greece. Whenever Garip is out of her pen, she accompanies Mirzan during his chores and evening walks. 

Read more about their heartwarming story and check out their even more heartwarming pictures below.

Bring the tissues, everyone, because this one is a tearjerker. Meet Baldr. This poor pup has spent the first year and a half of his life chained up before he got rescued. He never even had a name, and it has left him afraid of trusting people. Thankfully though, his life changed when imgur user, poorschmuck, opened up their hearts and took him in. 

Baldr is now the happiest he's ever been. He's found his forever home, and he knows it. In this home, he will get nothing but love, and as poorschmuck said: he's "[n]ever going to see a chain again." And nothing could make us happier. 

If you have your own heartwarming pet stories, come share them in our Facebook community: ICanHas Storytime.

Pets with behavioral issues are never easy to take care of, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve the most amazing forever home. What happens though, when you find out that the pet's behavioral issues most likely stemmed from fear rather than anything else? You get the story of Cheddar Kevin the cat.

bythezu, on imgur, shared their kitty's story, and it first broke our hear then put it right back together. Because this poor kitty has been re-homed 5 times since he would pee everywhere. Yet, when he got to bythezu home, he didn't have an issue. It seems that the reason is that the poor guy kept being put into busy home which were simply too scary for him. 

He's happy now though, and will be happy for the rest of his life, and that's all that matters. If you have your own heartwarming pet stories, come share them in our Facebook community: ICanHas Storytime.

A horse and a pony were stuck in chest-deep mud near Salinas, Calif., for up to 18 hours during a storm, before finally being rescued. It took a lot of work, and many amazing people joined in helping these horses, thankfully helping these animals get back to safety.

SFGATE reports that the two animals got stuck "on Wednesday night on Limekiln Road, off River Road in an area south of Salinas where a flood of mud rushed down a saturated hillside this week after a powerful storm drenched the River Fire burn scar." Thankfully, the moment the owners of the property spotted the horses, they immediately flagged down passing firefighters and called the SPCA. 

Not only that but neighbors also responded to the call, coming with shovels and other tools, all in the hopes of helping to dig out the horses and help them. "It definitely took a village to get these horses out," said a Monterey County SPCA spokesperson, Beth Brookhouser. 

The two horses were, of course, very cold after being immobilized in the muck throughout the night, and it took hours for them to stop shivering. They were treated overnight by Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic veterinarians, said SPCA officials. By Friday, "[b]oth horses were recovering on Friday, and were eating and drinking." 

The area remains dangerous for now, but at least this pony and horse are safe - thank s to everyone involved in the rescue. We want to thank all of the people helping these creatures, and if you're interested in more wholesome and heartwarming animal stories, take a look at the 30 most positive animal news stories of January!

There's absolutely nothing worst than hearing a story about cruel abuse of pets, so when an unfortunate pet like that gets adopted and taken care of, we are all the more grateful. Everyone, say hi to Sweet Potato, a previously abused sweetheart who got adopted by a new veterinarian mom, went through surgery bravely like the hero he is, and got his broken leg fixed. And deservedly went viral on top of it all. 

We want to thank thecomfycat for sharing the story of Sweet Potato and for taking care of the little guy. We hope that he will have an easy and quick recovery after the surgery and that he will be happy with you for a long, long time. 

Let's end the month the right way, friends, by talking about as many positive animal news stories that we can!

It's not an easy time right now, as we're all aware, and we are all in need of positivity. The news is something that we tend to try to avoid at this point, too many stories that we don't want to hear about anymore. Well, these stories are ones that you will definitely want to tune in for, because we're about to celebrate the best of the very best!

So, read these stories and bask in the positivity, start the month off with a smile and with the kind of stories that you would truly want to talk to your coworkers and friends about! If you want more, check out last month's positive animal news collection.

Special needs cats are always a challenge to take care of. But for beautiful and terrified cats like Kyrie, finding a forever home is an extra challenge. As adrianontherocks, feline behaviorist imgur user, explains: a lot of times, with pretty cats such as these, the adopters will take them without being ready for the challenges ahead and return them not a month later. 

Luckily, Kyrie found the forever home he deserves. Not only that but ended up totally falling in love with his new adoptive family, and he even became best friends with the family dog! No ending could have been better, and we are overjoyed to hear about it and are thankful to adrianontherocks for not only taking care of Kyrie but also sharing his story!

Meet Sorsha, a hero that we are all going to be celebrating. She's a rescued dog who was cruelly shot by her previous owner, got adopted into the most loving forever home and, later in life, turned into a guide dog. Then, she outdid even herself by becoming an actual hero and saving her owner's life. 

After her owner fell on an icy road, the amazing dog ran in front of an oncoming car, grabbed her leash in her mouth and physically dragged her owner away from the path of the car, having never been trained for it.

We would like to thank Melissa Amos, one of ICanHasCheezburger's animal loving users for sharing her and Sorsha's stories with us. Continue reading her incredibly story and giving love to Sorsha below, and if you have your own stories to share, come tell us about them in our Facebook group: ICanHas Storytime.

Two adorable bear cubs have been abandoned by their polar bear momma and are now being rescued by four new adoptive moms, and it's one of the cutest things we've seen. The cubs get pampered so much - getting manicures, massages, warm milk, and undivided attention. They are now seven weeks old and growing super fast, and we can't wait to see these cuties get even bigger. 

As dailymail reports, the cub's "seven-year-old mother, Seryozhka, from the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic, built a den for her new cubs at a safari park in Gelendzhik, but then rejected the crying pair." The keepers at the zoo attempted to coax the mother into giving milk to the babies and failed, but she "gave blood which was used to give serum to the babies, vital as an immunity boost."

Luckily, the mother didn't hurt the cubs, and keepers at the zoo were able to step in and take care of the little babies. Their new foster moms are a pair of 39-year-old twins, Anastasia and Olesya Sakhatskaya, 32-year-old Maria Moroz, and 31-year-old Yelena Milovidova.

"They don't seem to distinguish between the four of us," said Elena. "They know the scent of our skin and clothes, and sensing any of us getting close to them means just one thing: mother is here, and food is coming." Yelena Milovidova, deputy director of the Gelendzhik Safari Park, adds: "There were no previous cases of nurturing polar bear cubs rejected by their mother in a Russian zoo. This is the first experience for us."

The cubs who have only recently opened their eyes now weight over 4 kilograms and should start doubling in weight every few weeks. When they're three months old, they'll start going on walks outside. 

"In the world there were only five or so cases of polar bear cubs raised since birth in captivity," continues Milovidova. "I do hope that we will succeed." And we really, really hope so too. We wish these cuties all the luck in the world and want to thank their caretakers who are really giving them all the love.

Check out pictures and a video of the cubs below, and for more wholesome bear stories, read about a circus bear living in terrible conditions being rescued and moved to a sanctuary.

From hardship on the street to a loving forever home, the story of a cat named Floyd Mayweather is one that you'll need tissues for. He's a fighter, a blind senior feral cat who was 10-12 years old when he was found on the street crying, but now, he doesn't need to fight anymore. Today, he's best friends with another cat in an amazing, loving forever home with an owner that he loves. And though his story brings tears to our eyes, we are so happy to hear that he's better now.

Read more about his story below, and don't forget the tissues. 

Story via: TODAY

"Our Deputies are out there to keep the public safe. That also includes our furry family as well," tells sheriff Bartlett to NEWS 10 after rescuing a dog that feel through thin ice into the water, and we are so, so thankful that they came to rescue the pooch as fast as they did.

This could have ended up as any pet owner's worst nightmare, but luckily, this story has a happy ending. In the recent weeks, officials in the area have been warning the residents about the dangers of thin ice, and sadly, we found out that it's not just us humans who are at risk of falling through it. Shortly before noon on Friday, in Ancram, N.Y., the police got a call about a dog who fell through the ice. 

As NEWS 10 reports, Sergeant Heath Benansky, who is also a dog handler, was the first officer on the scene and successfully managed to get to the scared pup using a paddle board. He along with Deputy Torchia rescued the dog.  

"I am very happy to have such a well trained ice rescue team that was able to deploy so quickly. Had they not gotten there so fast, there could have been a much sadder outcome," said sheriff Bartlett.

The pooch was later identified as "Andy" and was returned safely to shore, and after finding Andy's owner through social media, she was returned to her owner as well. 

This is a lesson for all of us to learn to be more careful with our precious little pets, and thankfully, this lesson was learned with no permanent harm caused. It's the kind of happy ending story that we love to read about, and for more of those, read about an owl with three gunshot wounds getting released back into the wild. 

A great horned owl was found shot near Santa Paula during November of last year, and a few days ago, it was finally healed enough to be released back into the wild where it belongs. 

As reported by VC Star, getting the owl the help that it needed after such a tragic discovery was a team effort. Sergio Gutierrez, a Santa Paula Police Officer, corralled the owl. Following that, Nikki Ruhl, a veterinary technician with the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center (SPARC), gathered up the injured bird. Ruhl then brought the owl to the Ojai Raptor Center for specialized care. Once there, a staff veterinarian, Dr. Stephany Lewis, discovered that the bird had three pellets inside it: one in her chest, the other in her leg, and the third having broken the ulna bone in her wing. On top of that, the pellets left the owl suffering from led poisoning.

The treatment for this injury was not an easy one. "After treatment in the raptor center's intensive care unit, the adult owl moved to an outdoor enclosure where she had several weeks of flight time in a large aviary," write VC Star. A senior staff member at the center said she had never seen an owl with a gunshot wound. It is more likely to see shot hawks and vultures since they are active during the day, but great horned owls prefer hunting at twilight. 

The owl weighed less than 3 pounds and was fully grown - at least three years old, though it's impossible to tell her age beyond that. Jaclyn DeSantis, senior staff member at the center, about returning the owl back into the wild, said: "She should be breeding right now. She should be at a nest."

The owl traveled with DeSantis in a bright blue cat carrier to the release site, and patiently waited outside the Ojai Raptor Center's van. They made sure to release the owl at dusk, when she would be protected from attacks by crows or ravens. You can see pictures of the owl as she was taken out of her cage, looking around and taking in her environment before finally taking off and disappearing in the trees.

We want to thank all the hard work done by everyone involved in this owl's story, you're doing an incredible job. For more stories of owls being released into the wild, click right here. 

About a month ago, Atlantic Veterinary College staff found an emaciated and dehydrated snowy owl near Souris, P.E.I. and rescued it. Finally, after a month in capable hands, the beautiful bird was released back into the wild. 

As reported by CBC news, an intern with the Atlantic Veterinary College Wildlife Service, Dr. Hugo Gonzalez, said that it was "amazing" for the students and staff to see the owl fly off back into the wild. And we have to agree, seeing a wild bird released back to where it's supposed to be is always a beautiful thing. 

"To be able to see a patient who came with severe emaciation, not even able to properly move or eat, up to the point where you can see that the full recovery process has been successful and just have that moment to see her properly [fly], it's definitely an amazing moment for you," Dr. Gonzalez added. 

He also reminds people that if they ever see a snowy owl in the wild, it's important to only admire it from a distance. If you come across a bird in distress, contact local officials.

Read another beautiful story about an owl getting released back into the wild right here.