#ClearTheShelters

A few years ago, I was struggling with my mental health in a way I never had before. That’s when I decided to adopt my best friend, Pippa. Ever since, my life has been happier. I’ve often wondered: Is there a science behind the powerful, healing bond between a pet and their human? Turns out, there is.

Over the past three years, the island of Puerto Rico has faced mounting disasters – the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017, several large earthquakes and aftershocks in 2020, and, most recently, the coronavirus pandemic. The disasters have left non-profit animal rescue groups like Animal Lighthouse Rescue with a big problem on their hands as the population of stray dogs, called…

Watch Clear The Shelters’ live show for stories of those who’ve stepped up in the pandemic to help foster, adopt and care for animals in need.

Pet insurance company Trupanion released a list of its top 10 dog names for 2020 based on its database of more than 500,000 insured pets. Some popular and even classic names continued to dominate the list this year, but some new contenders were also featured.

After a close call, a Glendale grandmother feels grateful for her dog Sandy and for a city sanitation worker, who happened to be at the right place at the right time.

I was never supposed to have a pet. My fiancé, Alex, and I are both huge dog lovers, but our New York City landlord wouldn’t allow it, and we love our apartment. This led to many years of fostering rescue pups whom we attempted to keep secret from him, with varying degrees of success.

Are you looking to adopt a dog? Make sure to ask yourself these three important questions before you go pick out a new best friend.

Matt Beisner, host of National Geographic’s “Dog: Impossible” and founder of The Zen Dog, believes there’s no such thing as a bad dog — but it’s important to establish an atmosphere of trust and safety when you first bring home your new friend from the shelter. Here are Matt’s five tips to starting off on the right foot and giving...

If you previously shied away from getting a dog due to working outside the home, you may now find yourself in an ideal situation. But remember that adopting a pet is a commitment to care for that pet for their entire life. If you’re willing and able to take on that kind of responsibility, here are some things you should...

The lockdown has helped pet owners form stronger emotional bonds with their pooches, become more attuned to their cats, and grow more attached to their puppies, who are after all such good boys.

Clear The Shelters “Bark Week” powered by Google Meet is showcasing shelter pets with the hopes of virtually connecting available animals with adoptive families across the country. The “Bark Week” events take place Aug. 10 to 14 virtually on 1st Look’s YouTube at 4 p.m. local time in select cities with the following partner organizations. Aug. 10 in Huntington, New…

Arnold Guevara started with his Huntington Beach, California-based horse therapy program two weeks after losing his dad in a work accident. “Where I grew up there was sometimes shooting and fires and things like that,” he told NBCLX. “And it gets me worried because I feel like… that’s going to happen to my family.” On one of his first...

Lottie is a cat who didn’t want anything to do with her foster dad at first. But he was determined to win her love. Eventually Lottie warmed up to him — and he made her his daughter.

An 11-year-old dog had spent his whole life on a chain, eating the family’s leftovers. This woman saw him and started visiting him three times a day. He was always so excited to see her — and six months in, his family agreed she could take him. Now he’s found a forever family!

Wondering the best way to make sure your dog is potty trained? Well, it takes a lot of work. Here are some steps you can take to make potty training with your pup go smoother.

At 14 years old, Meena Kumar is already a strong believer in the importance of second chances.

The mental health benefits can’t be denied when something as simple as petting your dog releases a chemical in your brain that makes you feel safe.

Bringing home a new family member is not as easy as falling in love and buying a crate. Take these tips into account from pet experts before and after bringing your new pet home.

Animal shelters across the country are once again teaming up with NBC and Telemundo stations to find loving homes for pets in need with the Clear The Shelters pet adoption campaign.

If you are thinking of adopting a dog or a cat but are worried about COVID, you might like to know that veterinarians and others believe there is little chance of your contracting COVID-19 from your pet. “Based on the limited information available to date, the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered to be low,” the CDC...