U.S. Military Dogs Being Evacuated From Afghanistan Images showing American military dogs getting flown out of Afghanistan were virally popular on social media.
Are People Returning Pandemic Pets? Stories shaming bad behavior lead to easy clicks, such as claims that pandemic pets were being surrendered to shelters in record numbers.
‘Spring/Summer PSA’ on Rabbit Nests and Mowing Spring-themed posts warned those firing up their lawnmower to be on the lookout for "bunny nests," and described how rabbit kittens are often concealed by their mothers.
‘Please DO NOT Offer Yarn, String or Human Hair for Birds to Build Nests!’ A popular Facebook post discouraged users from providing scraps of yarn, string, and dryer lint to birds for their nests, citing risks to their safety.
Are Koalas ‘Functionally Extinct’ as of November 2019? An article circulated on social media with the claim that koalas had gone "functionally extinct" after wildfires in Australia destroyed most of their natural habitat.
‘Ears are Straight, Fawn is Great, Ears are Curled, Fawn is Alone in the World’ Wildlife Rescue Meme Although it's true that malnourished fawns can have "curled" ears, wildlife experts really, really, really want you to leave seemingly abandoned baby deer alone.
Does an Image Show Dogs Euthanized in a Single Day in an Average American Shelter? On June 2 2019, the Facebook page “Pawz” shared the following post (archived here), tugging on readers’ heartstrings by claiming that the photograph represented routine daily euthanizations in an average shelter: https://www.facebook.com/Pawz/photos/a.1529741357347036/2337079696613194/?type=3&theater A caption implied that the dogs were recently euthanized in the United States: Take a good, hard look at this picture. This is […]
Is Bread Bad for Ducks? In January 2019, the Facebook page “Wild at Heart Rescue” shared the following illustration while claiming that it is dangerous — even potentially lethal — to feed bread to ducks: The drawings depicted waterfowl and the text said: Please don’t kill us with bread! [image of ducks] Bread is actually a danger to us ducks […]
The Friends, the Video, and the Bear in the Bucket October 2018 was, like the months immediately preceding it, a seemingly endless march of stressful news stories and increasing political tensions globally as elections loomed in countries around the world. That naturally led a subsection of internet regulars to seek out more uplifting, simple stories, preferably those involving rescuing cute animals. The Daily Mail got in on […]
Guy the Beagle Rode in Queen Elizabeth's Car for the Royal Wedding- Guy the beagle rode in a car with Queen Elizabeth the day before the Royal Wedding after being rescued from a shelter by Meghan Markle in 2015.
