California Wants to Unload Its Abandoned Chihuahuas on New York

Abandoned chihuahuas are apparently a problem in California, the land of second-guessing dog owners. So many people abandon Chihuahuas that California shelters are shipping the small, emotionally manipulative dogs to New York, claiming that Chihuahuas are an in-demand breed in New York because prospective pet owners…
California Makes Getting An Abortion Less of a Pain in the Ass
Thanks to the efforts of conservatives who got elected based on lying to the electorate about knowing how to do stuff like "create jobs" and "fix the economy" (LOL), it's been a generation since getting an abortion was this big a pain in the ass — albeit not as big a pain in the ass as carrying a pregnancy for 9…
Baby Veronica Returned to Adoptive Parents
On Monday, the four-year-old Cherokee girl known as "Baby Veronica" was taken from her biological father and returned to her South Carolina adoptive parents — a devastating ending to a years-long custody battle that raised questions about tribal sovereignty, parents rights, and the Indian Child Welfare Act. According…
‘Black Pet Bias’ May Not Actually Be a Thing
Even though everyone knows that black cats are the foot servants of Satan, this bit of common knowledge will probably not, by itself, prevent black cats from being adopted at animal shelters. That’s because the so-called “black pet bias” — a popular aversion to those more inky, shadow-dwelling black cats and dogs…
Proposed Texas Law: Women Seeking Abortions Must Take Adoption Class
EXTREE EXTREE READ ALL ABOUT IT! New dumb thing happening in Texas! The latest insultingly stupid proposed law would require any woman seeking an abortion to take a 3 hour adoption class beforehand. Because apparently the Lone Star State's zealot legislators and their zealot-in-chief Rick Perry think women are such…
'Black Babies Cost Less': The Racial Realities of Adoption in America
In 2010, NPR's Michele Norris started The Race Card Project, a website through which she solicited six word statements from listeners on "race and cultural identity." She gets honest statements like "race is a white man's problem" and "I feel guilty because I'm white," but the most recent one she's chosen to explore…
One Of This Cat's Kittens Is A Puppy And I Cannot
If anyone feels like spontaneously lactating, watch the above video of Lurlene the cat, who adopted one-day-old orphaned pitbull puppy Noland over in a Cleveland animal shelter. As you can see, she grooms him like one of her four biological kitten babies. (He's fed with supplemental bottles since he's bigger than his…
World's Worst Mom Forces Teen Daughter to Get Pregnant
In a Law and Order SVU episode come to life, a woman who adopted three daughters in the U.K. but desperately wanted a fourth convinced one of her teenage daughters to artificially inseminate herself and become pregnant so that she could have the child. The mother manipulated her daughter into inseminating herself in…
How to raise cloned children without totally screwing them up
We've been thoroughly enjoying Orphan Black, BBC America's show about a young woman who discovers, to her shock, that she's a clone. But what if, instead of being an orphan with no knowledge of her genetic heritage, Sarah was raised by loving parents? How might they try to ensure she grew up to be a happy and fully…
The Heartbreaking Story of a Native American Adoption Gone Awry
Today, Native Americans are widely recognized as the muse for our underthings as well as the wellspring of our cultural appropriation needs. Oh, but it turns out they also love their families, take pride in their communities, and wish to pass on their cultural traditions to their children. Interestingly enough,…
Adopted 13-Year-Old Finally Gets His Very Own Newborn Photo Shoot
You might think the above photo is a result of some really hardcore helicopter parenting, but it's actually an incredibly heartwarming PSA for adopting older foster children. 13-year-old Latrell Higgins, adopted just two years ago by a family in Florida, had no cute baby photos to giggle over. So his family proposed a…
Important Question: Could You Adopt a Dog with a Human Face?
Dogster brings our attention to Tonik, a dog with a human face who's looking for a home. I'm a little creeped out right now, but also: dogs with human faces deserve love too!
Russians Take Part in a ‘March Against Scoundrels’ to Protest Adoption Ban
When the Russian Parliament in its infinite pettiness decided to use orphans to settle a score or two with the United States and ban the adoption of Russian children by American families, most people registered a level of indignation somewhere between, "Sigh, the world can be cruel" and, "Jesus, Russian Parliament —…
Your Evening Cry: Saving Obese Shelter Cats
It's about time we start talking about the real issue when it comes to obesity — cats! As a longtime shelter volunteer, I've learned that while a little chub can make a kitten ten times cuter, a lot of chub can turn into mega health problemos*. And also, often a fat animal dumped at the shelter is just a sign that…
