The overwhelming science behind the benefit of dogs: Why we're especially thankful for our dogs this Thanksgiving



This Thanksgiving, we reflect on all of the things for which we are thankful. We should absolutely be grateful for our immediate and extended family because they provide so much support and love. We should also be thankful for our furry friends who are part of our families because science showcases the significant and countless benefits that dogs provide to humans.

Any pet owner will tell you that dogs are way more than just pets. Dogs are loyal allies, stress relievers, comforting canine companions, emotional support animals, reliable confidants, and faithful friends.

A Harvard Medical School study found that dog owners were 31% less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than those who don't own dogs.

Dogs have increasingly become integral members of the modern family, transcending their traditional role as modest pets to become best buddies with their human owners. Dogs undeniably have deep emotional connections to the American family.

Dogs have an innate ability to sense and respond to human emotions on the entire spectrum. Thanks to the unique evolutionary history of dogs, our canine friends have adapted behaviors to read human body language and emotional cues.

A 2017 study from the University of Vienna found that dogs can notice emotions in humans and can distinguish between positive and negative feelings. The study claimed that dogs could have "insights into intra- and interspecies empathy."

VCA Animal Hospitals highlighted a United Kingdom study in which dogs were shown pictures of people and other dogs along with vocalizations depicting happiness or anger.

"When the auditory cue matched the visual image, dogs spent longer examining the picture," the outlet noted. "By combining two different sources of sensory input these researchers, like pet owners, believe that dogs actually have the cognitive ability to recognize and understand positive and negative emotional states."

During the stressful holiday season, dogs can calm nerves.

A 2018 National Institutes of Health article points out that dogs help reduce stress.

"Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure," the NIH stated. "Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood."

Another study highlighted by the NIH found that pet owners were 36% less likely than those who don't own pets to report loneliness.

Johns Hopkins Medicine reported, "In fact, an astonishing 84 percent of post-traumatic stress disorder patients paired with a service dog reported a significant reduction in symptoms, and 40 percent were able to decrease their medications, reported a recent survey."

The American Heart Association stated in 2019 that dog owners who lived alone had a 33% lower risk of dying after being hospitalized for a heart attack than those without dogs. The health organization added that dog owners had a 24% less risk of dying from any cause than people who don't own a dog.

Harvard Medical School spotlighted a 2019 study that found that dog owners were 31% less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than those who don't own dogs.

A study published in 2022 in the journal BMC Public Health found that dog owners on average walk 22 minutes more per day compared to people who don't own a dog.

A 2023 study noted that pet owners among older adults had improved cognitive function.

Psychologists at Miami University and Saint Louis University discovered in a 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that dogs and cats are excellent for mental health of "everyday people."

“We observed evidence that pet owners fared better, both in terms of well-being outcomes and individual differences, than non-owners on several dimensions,” said lead researcher Allen R. McConnell, Ph.D., of Miami University in Ohio. “Specifically, pet owners had greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, tended to be less lonely, were more conscientious, were more extraverted, tended to be less fearful, and tended to be less preoccupied than non-owners.”

But it isn't just the health benefits of dog ownership.

Yahoo Finance recently reported that workplaces that allow dogs saw a 17% increase in productivity.

So this Thanksgiving, it should be stressed that dogs give exponential benefits to humans. Science shows the countless benefits of having a dog as part of your family. We should all be thankful for our canine companions this Thanksgiving.

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Dog years: A decade as a MAGA exile in Los Angeles



Twelve years ago, my mother had a manic breakdown. She was found in Molokai, Hawaii, after disappearing for several days. The fugue state — in which she turned into a nightmare version of herself, eyes afire, flagellating her loved ones with a stream of deranged insults and delusions — lasted about six months until someone finally got her on lithium.

As she returned to herself, I pressured her to get a dog. She lived alone, so it would help her get a grip on reality. She said she liked whippets, so I found a local breeder. I wanted to name him Knut after Knut Hamsun, but she decided on Eliot after T.S.

I lost many jobs, many friends, many family members, all of whom called me problematic crazy fringe incel bigot weirdo resentful loser failure. But I just couldn’t let it go. I couldn’t not see the lie.

When the fugue began, I was finishing law school. When it ended, I’d taken the bar and moved to Los Angeles. I’d already experienced my parents’ terrible divorce as an only child at 17, but this year, 27, was the toughest and most isolating of my life. The safety net had ripped open, and I’d fallen through. Everything was most definitely not going to be okay.

After hitting the ground and dusting yourself off, making sure you aren’t dead, there is a sense of relief. “That happened.” There on the ground, you see the world as most people on earth do, all victims of abandonment or neglect or abuse or poverty or other societal failure, just not the upper middle-class American suburban milieu I’d been comfortably incubated within.

And when you hit the earth, you suddenly want to tell the truth. You don’t want to “win” any more. You want to help other people figure this thing out.

I was always edgy, but a good boy politically. In fact, I thought if myself as edgy for a good cause, that cause being “equality.” I’d dutifully campaigned for Obama, and my diverse group of friends had tearfully celebrated when he won in 2008.

But now it was 2012, and I worked for a gay Hollywood agent with six other young men, all of whom were gay. The time came to vote for Obama again, but this time, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It felt phony, a little numb spot where my righteousness had once curled.

What the hell did this guy know about anything? He certainly wasn’t talking to me. I told my co-workers this, and they were deeply offended. Didn’t I understand their rights were at stake? I already didn’t fit in, but this made it terminal. I was out within three months.

And thus began a decade of professional, personal, and familial torment as I slowly came out of the closet as a political bad boy, just as much to myself as to the world. I was, and still am, a liberal — it’s not possible to completely erase my deracinated bohemian upbringing. But it became increasingly clear to me that the good guys were in fact a mask covering a barely perceptible leviathan pulsing under the surface, rapidly reaching its tentacles across the earth.

As Eliot grew and my mother healed, I lost many jobs, many friends, many family members, all of whom called me problematic crazy fringe incel bigot weirdo resentful loser failure. But I just couldn’t let it go. I couldn’t not see the lie.

In L.A., I became a lone Trump supporter. I had zero MAGA friends, zero contacts to celebrate with when he won, maybe only one or two even in 2020 to lament the loss. On Tuesday, I celebrated with 100 friends, all culture kids and almost all recent converts who, like me, just couldn’t bring themselves to lie any more.

The thing we share in common? A breaking. Some loss, failure, death — the cozy cloak of a bourgeois upbringing ripped off, however fleetingly. All men used to be broken by war. Now far fewer are. But everyone in that room had gotten a glimpse. Tuesday: a decade of pain vindicated in a single night.

Wednesday morning after the all-nighter, I drove down to San Diego to put Eliot to sleep. He had a tennis ball-sized sarcoma dangling off his arm and typical whippet heart issues. It was time. Two guys came to the house and did it — it took 20 minutes. A decade transcended in a few quiet moments.

Mom is doing better now, but she still hates my politics.

This essay originally appeared on the Carousel.

'Unimaginable': Woman 'casting spells' accused of dismembering her mother, cooking her remains in a pot



A Kentucky woman is accused of murdering her own mother, dismembering her body, then cooking the remains in a pot until they were "charred," according to authorities.

Kentucky State Police arrested 32-year-old Torilena May Fields, of Mount Olivet, on Oct. 10.

'Whatever witchcraft is, but I heard she was into it.'

Fields initially was charged with obstructing governmental operations, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse. However, a grand jury added charges of murder and animal torture Monday.

The suspect is being detained at the Bourbon County Detention Center. Fields' bond was set at $1.5 million.

WOLF-TV reported Fields shot her mother — Trudy Fields — in the head, then stabbed her multiple times between Oct. 8 and Oct. 9, according to the indictment.

Fields is accused of “decapitating, dismembering, eviscerating her mother’s corpse, and placing her head, feet, and forearms in a pot in the oven and heating them until they were charred,” the indictment reads, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The victim reportedly hired men to do work on her property, but nobody answered when they knocked on the front door.

The contractors then walked around the property in an effort to find the owner, but instead they stumbled upon a gruesome crime scene, according to court documents.

The workers followed drag marks to the back of the house and found a dismembered body, the citation states.

State troopers discovered the dismembered female body near a pile of hair, a “blood-stained mattress,” “blood on the back porch,” and blood on the “threshold of the back door,” according to the citation. A second mattress was reportedly found in the back yard — it was folded in half and contained multiple severed body parts and organs.

Police said the arms, legs, and head had been removed from the body.

Authorities said the suspect refused to come out of the house, and police reportedly had a standoff with the suspect that ended around 11 p.m. after officers used tear gas and a police robot. Fields emerged from the house covered in blood, according to authorities.

The interior of the house was just as ghastly.

According to the indictment, troopers discovered a severed head as well as severed hands, feet, and a forearm that “appeared to have been cooked” in a steel pot inside the oven. The officers noted that the pot was still “warm to the touch.”

The contractors told police they had been to the property the day before, during which they encountered the suspect “casting spells on them and being confrontational,” according to the arrest citation.

Family member Todd Brock told WCPO-TV, "Witchcraft, fingernails, and just do different stuff. Whatever witchcraft is, but I heard she was into it. I think somebody lost control of their mind. Had to have something planned out or satanism or had their brain washed."

Olivia Brock, another family member, told WOLF-TV, "You can imagine, it’s one thing to find out your family member’s been murdered, but I mean, it’s a whole other thing for the details and stuff; I mean, it’s literally unimaginable, unimaginable. All of us have been experiencing shock for the first time, I guess you could say. That’s a whole different — grief and shock are two different ballgames."

Fields also is accused of torturing and murdering a dog.

Olivia Brock said the suspect had suffered a severe brain injury in a motorcycle crash a few months ago and as a result couldn't remember her name or even know where she was.

The victim's sister, Diana Brock, said the family is Christian and will "never stop loving" Torilena Fields despite the diabolical accusations.

"We don't disown people, no matter what you've done. We love, and that's what God says," Diana said. "You know you love no matter what, unconditionally, and we just support the family, and that's what we're trying to do."

The Commonwealth claimed that Fields was not acting under the influence of “extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse.” However, the arrest report did note that Fields appeared to be under the influence of drugs at the time of her arrest.

According to the Monday indictment, Fields also is accused of torturing and murdering a dog.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23.

You can view a video report here about the case.

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Adult babysitter charged after her pit bulls mauled 1-year-old to death; her teen girl hailed as hero for trying to save baby



A 1-year-old boy was mauled to death by pit bulls belonging to the child's babysitter, who left the infant alone with the aggressive dogs and her 13-year-old daughter. The babysitter is now facing multiple felonies for the baby's tragic death.

Heather Rodriguez — a 36-year-old family friend — was trusted to babysit 1-year-old Jiryiah Johnson on Monday morning. However, Rodriguez reportedly got called into work and left the baby alone with her 13-year-old daughter and three pit bulls at her home in San Antonio, Texas.

'In a house full of vicious dogs, what did this lady, this suspect, think was going to happen?'

The 13-year-old and baby were inside a bedroom in the house. However, the dogs damaged the door and forced their way into the bedroom.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar described the teen daughter as a "hero" for trying to save the baby from the dogs.

"I read the report in detail, and it's pretty heartbreaking. She made every effort possible, even lifting that baby up over her head, but my understanding is the dog actually climbed onto something and was able to get the baby out of her hands and tear the baby out of her hands," Salazar said of the 13-year-old girl.

“The little girl, the 13-year-old, was able to maintain control of the baby, but at this point — in what’s being described to be as it was almost a tug-of-war for the baby between at least one of the dogs and the little girl,” Salazar said at a press conference.

"This little girl was put in a situation where she went from that bedroom to a bathroom to another bedroom and was chased every step of the way by these dogs who were continuing to bite her as well," Salazar added.

The girl barricaded herself and the infant into another bedroom where she was able to call for help.

"I'm considering her a hero," Salazar said of the girl.

"This little girl sustained injuries herself," Salazar said. "I believe she’s going to have some lasting psychological effects as a result of it."

Erika Castro — Jiryiah's mother — said, “I thank that girl because ... she did her best.”

Deputies with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office weren't able to reach the children immediately once they arrived at the scene.

"It wasn't until the owner of the dogs, the suspect, actually made it home and was able to get the dogs outside to allow the deputies to come in and, you know, start administering first aid to the baby," Salazar said.

The baby boy suffered significant injuries to his head and throat from the dog attack.

Paramedics rushed the boy to the University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead later Monday.

KENS-TV reported there were blood stains on a bed, a door, and the floors.

Salazar blasted the babysitter, "In a house full of vicious dogs, what did this lady, this suspect, think was going to happen?"

The sheriff added, “If you have a dog like that, that you know is vicious, you know is a problem, for one thing, don’t ever bring babies into the house, especially someone else’s baby.”

Salazar stated that Rodriguez “seemed more concerned with what was going on with those dogs” than taking responsibility for her actions that led to the death of a 1-year-old.

'You left my son with a 13-year-old girl. It’s pure and utter belligerence. It’s infuriating that that’s allowed. That she made that choice.'

Salazar noted that Rodriguez had been cited in April for allowing her dogs to run unleashed and forcing a man to flee to his car since he was fearful he would have been attacked.

"I'm furious at the fact that that she knew these dogs were problematic," Salazar declared. "Not only was she exposing her own child to this, to these unpredictable animals that had already caused damage; they were already dangerous, in my opinion. But not only that, she decided to bring a baby into that residence for the sheer profit."

Salazar said he is "disgusted by the whole thing."

Rodriguez initially was charged with causing serious bodily injury to the child with intent — a first-degree felony. Rodriquez subsequently was hit with two more felonies: injury to a child — reckless bodily injury — as well as endangering a child, imminent danger — causing bodily injury.

Salazar was asked why the charges were not upgraded to murder, and he noted that both charges have the same penalty range as murder — between five to 99 years or life in prison with the possibility of a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.

Rodriguez's bond was set at $100,000.

Salazar is calling for the dogs involved in the fatal attack to be euthanized but acknowledged that's animal control's decision.

The sheriff said of the pit bulls, "My understanding is that only one at present has been fully surrendered. The other two were turned over to animal control, but I spoke to our director of public health this morning, and we're going to be pushing, they'll be pushing, and of course we'll be in a support role to see if we can go ahead and get all three dogs fully surrendered."

Salazar stated that if the dogs are not voluntarily surrendered that the Bexar County Sheriff's Office would use the court process to fully seize the other two pit bulls.

The grieving mother said, “I’ve been shaking, I’ve been having panic attacks.”

The boy's father — Julian Johnson — slammed the babysitter for abandoning his son.

“You left my son with a 13-year-old girl," Johnson stated. "It’s pure and utter belligerence. It’s infuriating that that’s allowed. That she made that choice.”

A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help the family pay for medical bills and funeral costs.

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Tim Walz’s Dog Gets Media Interview Before Kamala Harris

Vogue's article featured answers straight from the pooch's mouth

FedEx driver accused of stealing $5,500 French bulldog while making deliveries — but that's not the worst part



A FedEx driver is accused of stealing a $5,500 French bulldog while making deliveries in North Carolina. Unfortunately, the alleged dog theft has a tragic ending.

On July 7, the Harnett County Sheriff's Office received a phone call about a stolen dog.

The dog owners reportedly had not seen Tori — their tan and white French bulldog — for days. According to court documents, the French bulldog was valued at $5,500.

The family posted flyers on social media about the missing dog and offered a reward.

The body of the missing dog allegedly was found July 10 on the side of a road in Lillington.

The sheriff's office on July 11 issued an arrest warrant for 44-year-old Kimani Joehon Marshall of Fayetteville in regard to the missing dog.

Sheriff's office investigators determined that Marshall on July 3 was delivering packages in the area of U.S. 421 South. During one of his stops, investigators believe Marshall stole the French bulldog.

"Investigators believe that K-9 Tori died due to heat-related issues as she traveled inside the FedEx truck as temperatures were reportedly in the 90s," Sheriff Wayne Coats told NBC News.

Marshall turned himself in Monday and was charged with larceny of a dog, possession of stolen property, and cruelty to animals. He was taken to the Harnett County Detention Center and later released on a $50,000 secured bond.

FedEx said Marshall no longer works at the company.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family on the loss of their beloved pet," the company said in a statement. "We understand the importance of people’s pets in their lives and deeply regret the pain that this has caused. The driver is no longer providing service on behalf of FedEx."

Marshall declined to comment to NBC News on the arrest.

Time reported in 2021, "Before COVID-19, some 2 million pets were stolen on average each year in the U.S., according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund."

A study released in April found that emotional turmoil caused by a stolen dog is similar to a parent losing a child. HealthDay said, "When faced with the theft of a pet, owners tend to feel a similar sense of powerlessness, grief, and loss. In fact, some study participants felt the loss of a dog was more intense than the death of a friend or relative, owing to the closeness of the bond they had with their pet but not with some family members."

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Gretchen Whitmer's dogs featured in cringeworthy plea for 'Fight Like Hell PAC' donations



Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's dogs are featured in a fundraising ploy to solicit donations to the "Fight like Hell PAC."

The bizarre plea for donations, which does not appear on the timeline of tweets on her @gretchenwhitmer X account, reads, "hello! Frends!! we are. KEVIN!!! and. Doug!!! Our HUMAN!!! is the GOVERNOR of Michigan!! our HUMAN works.. hard for job! none. of this would be paw-sible!! without your... support! will YOU throw us a bone!! (or TWO) before.. the big DEADLINE?" The post then adds, "–the goodest boys!! of michigan!!!"

'When they write the textbook on cringe, this will be in chapter one.'

A graphic features a photo of Whitmer with her dogs and includes comments such as "HUMAN! seems. worried about FIGHT!! like hell pac.. end of quarter... fundraising deadline. HUMAN! doesn't know. if team will reach. fundraising goal... we dont like... HUMAN to worry.. so PLEASE!! help HUMAN reach. goal by DONATING!! to FIGHT like hell pac TODAY!!"

The graphic links to a page where people can donate to the "Fight Like Hell PAC."

"When they write the textbook on cringe, this will be in chapter one," Michele Blood quipped.

"If I was actually funny I'd say 'Michigan has gone to the dogs' But instead I'm just wondering who approved this ad campaign for the Governor. Holy Moly," Daniel Burke wrote.

Whitmer apparently has an X profile for her dogs. A "Star Wars" themed tweet on May 4th reads, "seeing this. post. you are.." The post adds, "giving us… TREATS!!!!! you will."

The governor responded to the tweet, writing, "The force is strong with this one. Treats you will get, my little Padawans."

Whitmer has been serving as Michigan's governor since 2019.

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Hero fishermen save 38 dogs on the verge of drowning in Mississippi lake



A group of fishermen in Mississippi are being hailed as heroes after saving 38 dogs on the verge of drowning in a lake.

Three fishermen were on a fishing trip in Lake Grenada. Bob Gist – a 61-year-old from Arkansas – went fishing with his friend Brad Carlisle from Tennessee.

Suddenly, the men heard more than three dozen dogs barking.

Gist told Fox News, "Pretty soon we saw some dogs on the horizon in the water."

Fishing guide, Jordan Chrestman, noticed that the dogs were in the water after chasing a deer into the lake.

Gist later learned that the dogs were part of an annual fox run that takes place in the area.

Gist stated, "We went on fishing for about 10 or 15 more minutes, and Jordan [Chrestman] said, 'Hey guys, if you don't mind, we really need to go check on those dogs because they're way out there in that water.'"

The boat navigated Lake Grenada to get close enough to the dogs.

"We're just flabbergasted because it’s dogs everywhere," Gist explained. "They’re all going in different directions because they can no longer see the bank on either side."

Gist added, "They were on the verge of drowning because now they have been treading water for an hour."

The fishermen loaded 27 dogs into the boat and took them to shore. Then they went back and rescued 11 more for a total of 38 dogs rescued.

He noted, "We got back over to the ramp with that last bunch of dogs… [and] we were having to drag them out of the boat because they didn't want to get out of our boat. They were scared they were going back to the water. It was terrible."

Gist continued, "When we first started there was this white one that Brad tried to reach for and the dog bit at him. He moved closer to me, so I tried to reach for him, and he tried to bite me, so we left him. When we came back for the second load it was probably 30-45 minutes later. By that time, he was ready to get in the boat. He wasn’t biting anybody."

Gist pointed out that Chrestman was the true hero of the dog rescue.

"If Brad and I had been there in a boat by ourselves, we wouldn't have known anything was wrong, but that 20-something-year-old kid – I'm 61, so I'm calling him a kid – he knew something needed to be done," Gist said.

The dog owners were reportedly thankful for the fishermen saving their dogs from drowning in the lake. The dog owners offered money to Chrestman as a reward for saving the dogs, but he allegedly refused to accept the money.

Gist posted a photo of the 27 dogs riding in his boat on his Facebook page.

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Bodycam video: Deputy shoots 7 abandoned dogs, sheriff's office says cop acted in 'professional and most humane manner'



Disturbing police bodycam video shows the moment that an Arizona deputy shot seven abandoned dogs. Despite many local residents being appalled by the lethal police shooting, the sheriff's office has defended the officer's actions and said he acted in "a professional and most humane manner given the circumstances."

Residents complained about abandoned dogs at a property in Adamana, Arizona — an unincorporated community about 100 miles east of Flagstaff. Neighbors said the dogs would attack their livestock.

Apache County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jarrod Toadecheenie – the responding officer – wrote in his incident report that the dogs were owned by a couple who were getting divorced and had abandoned the property.

Deputy Toadecheenie went to the abandoned property on Sept. 22, 2023.

Police bodycam footage shows seven emaciated and dehydrated dogs. The dogs don't appear to be aggressive toward the officer.

The deputy lures the starving dogs into a fenced area with food and water. The famished dogs feverishly gobble up the food.

The bodycam video originally obtained by the Mountain Daily Star shows the deputy exiting the fenced-in area and then putting on headphones.

Toadecheenie is heard saying, "Oh God. This is gonna suck."

As the dogs approach the officer with wagging tails, the deputy then proceeds to shoot the dogs one by one. Deputy Toadecheenie shot one dog two additional times because it continued to move.

Two of the abandoned dogs were able to escape and hid under a shed. They were later brought to a local animal shelter. One reportedly died of parvovirus shortly after arriving, and the other was adopted.

The bodycam footage shows the deputy dragging the lifeless bodies to his truck. He later dumped the dead dogs near railroad tracks, according to the incident report.

The grim video can be seen here.

"The deputy involved acted in a professional and most humane manner given the circumstances."

The Apache County Sheriff's Office defended the actions of Deputy Toadecheenie, and told KSAZ-TV:

The deputy involved acted in a professional and most humane manner given the circumstances. He exhausted all other alternatives available to him at the time and acted under the approval of his immediate supervisor. The incident was reviewed by ACSO Command Staff, and the Deputy was found to have acted within agency policy.

The sheriff's office explained that Apache County spans more than 11,00 square miles and does not have an animal care or control department. The Apache County Sheriff's Office said the county does not have the infrastructure or budget for an animal control department, which leaves just a "handful of deputies" to make "split-second life or death decisions and handle any situation they are confronted with in a professional manner within the law."

"Animals are dying everywhere in the county."

However, not everyone in Apache County agrees with the decision to shoot seven abandoned dogs.

Teresa Schumann – founder of the nonprofit Northern Arizona Animal Search and Rescue – told the Washington Post, "The Apache County Sheriff’s Office won’t do anything to fix the problem. Animals are dying everywhere in the county."

Schumann added, "They say they can't afford to do animal services, and I'm sorry, I don't believe that. There are plenty of people who are trying to help."

Schumann said the deputy had contacted her about taking the dogs before the deadly incident, but her facility did not have any room and she couldn't find homes for them. The deputy allegedly told her that he would "handle it."

In his report, Toadecheenie said Schumann told him that if the dogs were aggressive, they may have to be euthanized.

Schumann told KPNX, "I told him if the dogs were feral, we were going to have to try and find somebody that would be willing to work with these dogs. I said it takes a lot, but no, I never said they needed to be shot.”

However, Schumann said had she known the animals would have been shot and killed, she would have intervened.

As Blaze News reported last month, a disturbing police bodycam was released that showed a cop shoot and kill a "non-aggressive" deaf and blind 13-pound dog.

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UFC fighter Michel Pereira is rescuing dozens of dogs that were left behind during Brazil's massive floods



UFC middleweight fighter Michel Pereira has been captured on video rescuing dozens of dogs from forgotten areas as Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, suffers from catastrophic flooding.

More than 25 inches of rain have hit the Brazilian region in just a couple of weeks, which is reportedly more rainfall than London, England, sees on average in an entire year.

Lake Guaiba flooded the state capital of Porto Alegre and has caused water levels to rise to over 17 feet, with flooding expected to last for several more weeks, according to a report from Reuters.

After a remarkable 54-second victory on May 4, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro, Pereira quickly got to work and started rescuing stranded and abandoned dogs from the flood zone. The 185-pound fighter has been recorded combing rooftops and vacant homes in search of dogs.

With the help of a team, Pereira has been traveling by boat or jet ski, often at night, looking for the helpless animals.

In a heartbreaking video posted to X, Pereira spoke about some of the challenges he has faced during his rescues.

"These are sad scenes. These are strong scenes. But these are scenes that you and I need to see to understand how much Rio Grande do Sul needs us at this moment," the post read.

"We are several days into this fight that seems to have no end. The water stinks. The water hurts because it's cold. Water makes everything difficult. But today alone, 26 dogs and three guinea pigs were rescued. We are here for you. Let's get out of this. Keep donating, keep supporting," it added.

'We work until 7 p.m., and then the factions keep shooting at night.'

Please be advised that the first 10 seconds of the below video include images of deceased animals.

The fighter explained that in one day he rescued almost two dozen dogs.

"Hello guys, we are finishing another day. Thank God we rescued 23 dogs there today, and it's very cold. It's very difficult because it's very cold, the water is cold as hell. But thank God we rescued 23 dogs there."

"It's like the guy said, we are, every day, being the last team to get out of the water. We are committed to rescuing these dogs, and thank God every day that people are rescuing a very good amount of dogs," he continued. "So tomorrow, again in the morning we'll be here to go to this new battle."

S\u00e3o cenas tristes. S\u00e3o cenas fortes. Mas s\u00e3o cenas que eu e voc\u00ea precisamos ver pra entendermos o quanto o Rio Grande do Sul precisa de n\u00f3s nesse momento \ud83d\ude4f\n\nEstamos a v\u00e1rios dias nessa luta que parece que n\u00e3o tem fim. A \u00e1gue fede. A \u00e1gua machuca por estar gelada. A \u00e1gua
— (@)

Pereira explained that his team starts very early in the day because of gang activity at night.

"Every day we hear gunshots because there is a faction, so it gets very dangerous at night."

"We work until 7 p.m., and then the factions keep shooting at night," he described.

Earlier that day, the fighter said that he was dedicated to the expeditions, which he described as his "purpose."

"Wednesday … another day of battle here. Today more than 15 animals were saved from this immensity of water. The scenes I'm seeing are heartbreaking for even the most brutish person like me, but I remain firm in my purpose of helping those who need it most. We are one people. We are Brazilians," he wrote in Portuguese and English.

Quarta-feira\u2026 mais um dia de batalha por aqui. Hoje foram mais de 15 animais salvos dessa imensid\u00e3o de \u00e1gua. \n\nAs cenas que t\u00f4 vendo \u00e9 de cortar o cora\u00e7\u00e3o at\u00e9 do mais bruto como eu, mas sigo firme no meu prop\u00f3sito de ajudar aqueles que mais precisam. \n\nSomos um povo s\u00f3. Somos
— (@)

State officials have reportedly estimated that approximately 250,000 homes are assumed to be without power, with around 135,000 people without access to water. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced the country would distribute nearly $1,000 to 240,000 families who have lost their houses or furniture.

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