happy ending

We always tell you guys about stories of people saving animals, but sometimes, it's the animals who save us. This time, we're not even talking metaphorically about pets who save us by just being in our lives. No, in this case, a parrot literally saved its owner from a huge housefire. The fire was so bad, the entire house was burnt down, but thanks to Eric - the rescuer parrot - the owner is okay.

An update on the terrifying story of the cat who was shot in the face three weeks ago, and it's good news!

Gulliver, the one-year-old orange tabby cat, was found about three weeks ago with a gunshot wound to his face. The person who found the cat immediately took it to the local clinic from which he was moved to the Ottawa Humane Society. Ottawa News reported that Gulliver was "in terrible condition", suffering a "broken jaw, broken teeth and an infection in the wound." On top of that, an x-ray revealed that there were metal fragments from the bullet still in his jaw. Reading the story, we were all scared and worried about the fate of the cat, and today, we finally have an update, and Gulliver is "doing amazing"!

"This is our first victim of the Silverado Canyon Fires," says the Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital in a post on Facebook. Fortunately, this is one of the lucky animals who got rescued from the fires - an adorable little feisty owl who got his wings singed by the fire. 

He was found by the firefighters of the Orange County Fire Authority. In the beginning, the owl seemed to be entirely unable to move, exhausted, as the firefighters wrap it up in a yellow blanket. In a video released by the Orange County Fire Department twitter account, you can hear one of the firefighters say: "I'll get you some help, buddy." And we are just so, so glad this owl found its way into such good hands. 

The Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital reports on Facebook that the owl's injuries seem to mostly be burnt feathers. At first, they were unsure about the damage from the smoke inhalation, but a few days later, they posted that "[t]he little owl is still feisty as ever!" So, whatever the damage, the little guy is doing much, much better. 

The owl will stay in the hospital "until he molts new feathers," and then, he will be released back into the wild. We wish this cutie a quick recovery, and we are thankful to everyone involved in its rescue and hope that many, many more animals like this one will be rescued from the fires as well. 

Take a look at pictures of the owl below along with the video of its rescue. Another little guy who was rescued from California fires is a little adorable puppy, and you can read about them right here. 

Every single month, animals find themselves in precarious situations for various different reasons. And every single month, the lucky ones get saved by some incredible people. We attempt to bring you as many of these stories as possible as they come out, but there are just too many of them. When you think about it, that's really amazing, having too many happy rescue stories to cover.

But since we can't cover all of them throughout the month, we've decided to collect some of these stories for you at the end of each month in a list right here to celebrate these incredible people who put their love and effort into saving animals and the animals that they celebrated. Even so, we will never be able to cover them all, but this is a start, and the people in this list are definitely deserving of more appreciation. 

So, let's say thank you together and hope that next month, there will again be too many rescue stories to cover!

In difficult times such as these, it's always good to hear about good things that happen every once in a while - happy endings that we are all a little desperate for. Today, we are sharing with you one of these stories. In Uttar Pradesh, India, as reported by NDTV, a Ganges river dolphin was rescued after getting lost and stranded in a canal. This is not just a rescue story, this is a story of working as a team and helping an animal in need get back home. 

Members of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) were working together to help the poor dolphin. And the results were totally worth it. The TSA shared in a twitter post that "4.2-foot-long male dolphin went astray and was stuck in a canal in Barabanki for hours," which is absolutely horrifying. Luckily, it was found in Sharda Canal, and immediately, everyone got to work taking care of it. 

Photos from the operation show how the team members splash water on the dolphin to help it, carrying it on a stretcher together, and ultimately, releasing it back into the river - back home into the wild, allowing it to get back to its previous life. An aquatic wildlife biologist from the TSA, Dr. Shailendra Singh shared in a twitter post: "What could be better than saving a nice male Gangetic River dolphin stranded in canal in River Dolphin Week in Barabanki UP?" And we agree. This is the kind of wholesome story that we all want to see today.

Check out pictures from the rescue below, and if you need some more positivity today, you can read about this incredible story of a lemur who was abducted returning back home and reuniting with its family. 

Two orphaned manatees, Bananatee and Tostone, who were rescued as babies off the coast of Florida have successfully completed their rehabilitation and are now returning back home into the wild. Columbus Zoo, where they went through their rehabilitation, said in a tweet that on October 19th, the two manatees have traveled back to Florida and arrived safely at the Miami Seaquarium where they will go through their final preparations before getting released. 

It's a beautiful end to a story of helping animals in need for no other purpose than to help them. When the manatees were first rescued, they were babies, one underweight for what it should be and the other showing signs of cold. Now, with the help they received, they are as healthy as ever. 

As reported by Fox28, Tom Stalf, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium President/CEO, said: "It is always difficult for our devoted team to say goodbye to animals who have been in our care, but this is also a time to celebrate because the successful rehabilitation of Bananatee and Tostone is a true testament to the positive impact we've had not only on the lives of individual manatees, but also the manatee population as a whole. Bananatee and Tostone represent the 30th and 31st manatee that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has rehabilitated since Manatee Coast opened in 1999, and we are extremely proud to be a part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership, working to help protect manatees' future."

We wish these gorgeous animals luck in their return back home and for them to live the full life that they should have from the very beginning. And we thank all those who helped them and wish them more success stories just like that of Bananatee and Tostone. 

Check out pictures of the preparations for the release bellow! And for more successful rehabilitation stories, you can read about the one and only Tasmanian devil returning back to mainland Australia. 

Stories of lost pets are the most heartbreaking ones, but when these stories end happily - with a grown man's joyous tears no less - what was once heartbreaking turns to the most wholesome feel-good stories in the world. 

200 days ago, just over 6 months, a man named Pat lost his dog. As the Washington County, TN Animal Shelter Facebook post tells, he "searched and searched but couldn't find him." Blue - the adorable dog - was as good as gone in Pat's eyes, especially when Pat had to move to Texas for his work. "He thought he'd never see Blue again," the shelter says.

So, when suddenly a friend of Pat's sent him "a video of his dog playing ball in the shelter", we can only imagine Pat's joy. But what we don't need to do is imagine his joy when they finally reunited, since Pat drove 1200 miles from Texas to get his doggo, and the shelter caught it all on camera. Be prepared for tears of joy, because these pictures might just break your heart with how wholesome they are.

"This is why WE NEVER GIVE UP," the Facebook post says, and we couldn't agree more. Check out pictures and the video of their adorable reunion below, and seriously - prepare the tissues. 

A few days ago, The Francisco Zoo announced on their twitter that one of their endangered lemurs - 21-year-old ring-tailed lemur named Maki - had been abducted. They urged people to give any information that they could about the lemur, concerned about its wellbeing. Thankfully, after a few restless days, the lemur had been found and returned, hungry and a little disheveled but otherwise okay, getting to reunite with its family. 

When it comes to rescuing animals, we have to get creative and do what we can. Not everyone has enough money to simply decide to take animals into their care. This yoga class is an example of someone who wants to do good for animals and has come up with a way not only to raise money but to let the animals enjoy nature as well. Introducing "Yoga With the Animals" - the first-time yoga class with farm animals that were once abandoned, neglected, or abused, now enjoying nature. 

A few weeks ago, after the Labor Day wildfires, Riley Wisdom was checking out the damage to her farmland when she saw an animal in front of a burnt tree. The porcupine was in such bad condition it was hard to even tell what it was, to the point that Wisdom thought it was a beaver at first. Today, weeks later, this porcupine's story is warming all of our hearts. It's a happy ending. The porcupine is better and has been released, and not only that but the moment she was released, she was reunited in the trees with her mate.

A 3.75 pound mountain lion cub was rescued by firefighters from the California wildfires and is now being treated in the Oakland Zoo. This small cub was discovered in an area the Zogg Wildfire burned through, orphaned and with severe burns. Luckily, the lion was taken into immediate care and is doing much, much better today, eating on its own and acting all fierce and feisty. 

In the midst of the raging California wildfires, it's hard to find many positive news. We've all heard of the damage, and we're all aware of the pain. But even within all the difficulty, some things we can still be grateful for. One of those things is Trooper - a small adorable puppy that was discovered in one of the areas damaged by the fires a few days ago.

This adorable little corgi was born with a birth defect - she has a single eye, two noses, and two united vertebrae on her back. Nekku, this corgi from Finland, is living happily and prosperously despite all the odds being against her. The vets suggested putting Nekku down, but her owner decided that he loved her too much and had to keep her, and now, she is eight years old and thriving with another two fellow corgis. 

Three weeks ago, an adorable 5-week-old kitten was brought into Albuquerque Animal Welfare for emergency surgery with her face and jaw crushed. The kitten - Mittens - had to go through multiple surgeries, but unfortunately, in the beginning, they weren't enough. Since multiple surgeries were too expensive for the shelter to cover, the veterinarians that were treating Mittens offered to do the rest of the treatment for free and, in the process, came up with a new, innovative way to help Mittens, using... buttons. 

What a happy ending! 

Theron had thought he had lost his beautiful cat named Cutie Pie. Heartbroken, he made the trip to Bangor Humane Society, an animal shelter in Maine, in search of a new cat to heal his heart. 

Upon searching through the kennels, he stopped. A cat that looked just like his Cutie Pie. He examined the cat a little more closely and then the cat turned to face Theron. It was in that moment that Theron erupted in joy because that cat staring back at him was his one and only Cutie Pie.

And to prove it, Theron showed the staff at the shelter countless pics of Cutie Pie on his phone. After the staff saw the photos, there was no question about it! 

Cutie Pie and Theron were reunited and the staff wrote in a Facebook post, "Let me just say I've honestly never seen a cat so eager to be in a cat carrier! He was SO ready to go home!"

We're so incredibly happy for Theron and Cutie Pie! And another important reminder to all pet owners out there -- please microchip your pets! It could save you a lot of heartache. 

Story via Bangor Humane Society

That is one clever stray! 

In the streets of Mexico, this cat had started following customers in the hopes that someone would buy him some cat food. Then, one day, his life of asking for cat food would come to an end. 

Primary school teacher, Tania Lizbeth Santos Coy Tova, saw the cat from across the street, and soon enough, the stray was following her. The clever stray then led Tania into a shop nearby, walked straight up to the feed food aisle, and actually pointed to the bag of food he wanted. 

Tania was surprised and in awe! Honestly, who wouldn't be? 

So she decided to stalk his home and discovered he was living in an abandoned home. It was then that Tania decided to adopt him. 

Story via Metro.co.uk