A dog who was shot multiple times, hypothermic and left for dead in a garbage bag tied to a fence in Conroe, Texas, has a second chance at life thanks to a woman named Tami Augustyn and a viral Facebook campaign.

After a neighbor found the abused dog, now known as Buck, on Jan. 5, Augustyn immediately rushed the pup to a vet clinic, but was unable to afford the hefty bill for the care required to save his life.

She turned to Facebook where, after creating a page called “Buck Needs Bucks," she garnered more than 25,000 likes and more than $10,000.

 

Scientists have long thought that basking sharks were homebodies, staying close to their feeding areas, but a tagged shark named Banda is challenging that assumption. The plankton-eating ocean dweller recently traveled more than 3,000 miles from Ireland to Africa, proving how little scientists really know about the second biggest fish on Earth.

 

Retired firefighter Billy Mills was out running errands when he saw smoke and heard a barking dog.

He investigated and the dog led him to the sliding glass door of a burning house; the dog's owner was trapped inside.

Mills pulled the woman to safety and she is now recovering from burns and smoke inhalation.

 

You’ve heard of a nail file in a cake, but a cat with a drill? That’s what prison guards in Brazil's northeast Alagoas state say they found when they spotted the black and white feline trying to enter the jail.

Also taped to the cat were two saws, assorted batteries and a cell phone. Officials believe the items were to be used for a prison break, but they have not yet discovered which of the 250 inmates the cat was supposed to be aiding.

 

When birds hear a birdsong, their brains show activity that’s similar to what’s seen in humans when they listen to music, according to a new study.

“We found that the same neural reward system is activated in female birds in the breeding state that are listening to male birdsong, and in people listening to music that they like,” said Sarah Earp, an undergraduate student at Emory University in Atlanta, who co-authored the study.

 

The Perth Zoo is marking what it calls the world’s first successful breeding from zoo-born short-beaked echidnas.

Two puggles were born to 4-year-old moms Mila and Chindi, who were both bred and born at the zoo. They were named Babbin and Nyingarm.

“Until now, it was believed female echidnas did not breed until the age of five so these latest births have shed new light on echidna reproduction,” said Environment Minister Bill Marmion.

 

A 2-year-old kitty in Marion, Mass., has had a harrowing start to the new year. Firefighters tried three times to rescue her from the tree that she’d been stuck in for eight days before she fell 80 feet from her perch on Sunday — and then took off into the brush.

Pam Robinson, founder of a local pet shelter called It's All About the Animals, finally caught her on Tuesday, named her Fortunate, and brought her to the Marion Animal Hospital to be checked out.

"I don't see anything wrong with this cat; it's unbelievable," said veterinarian Dr. Rachel Francis, who examined her.

 

Philip Michaels couldn’t have asked for a better reaction when he brought a puppy home from a shelter for his father for Christmas.

Michaels writes on YouTube that his dad was heartbroken when the family’s 15-year-old Maltese died about six months ago. With Christmas around the corner, Michaels and his mother returned to the same place where they adopted their last dog, and there they found a Havanese-Maltese mix puppy.