“I grew up with a lot of pets,” Steve told The Dodo.  “Both my parents were animal lovers and they pretty much always let me have whatever I wanted as long as I could take care of it.”

So he’s always had a handful of dogs, but the death of one in particular really struck him hard.

“I was just so distraught about [that death],” he said. “A month or two went by and I still felt so horrible about it. I decided that the only way I would feel better was if something good happened that probably wouldn’t have happened if he had not died.”

He decided to go to the shelter and adopt the dog that was the least likely to ever have anyone give it a home before it died.

“So [I adopted] a 12-year-old Chihuahua [named Eeyore] with a heart murmur and four bad knees and I brought him home and that was just the beginning of all the animals.”

Every day Steve gets up at 5 am to prepare breakfast for each animal. They all have unique diets and some take medication, so they require individual care. He goes to work, but returns at lunch to give them treats. On the weekends, they are busy with grooming and vet appointments.

Despite it being like a canine convalescent home, life is never boring in this house. In addition to the dogs, over the years he has had cats, ducks, pigeons, chickens, a rabbit, a pig, and a pond full of koi. The pig, Bikini, is best friends with Irish wolfhound, Enoch. And his chicken, Oprah, loves to ride the Roomba around the house.

“[The] rabbit, someone just left him in my front yard is how I came to get him. I assume someone knew I had lots of animals and thought ‘Yeah, he’ll give him a good home.’ So, I found him in my front yard one morning and I put him in the chicken coop because I wasn’t sure what to do with him.”

It was all just meant to be. Bikini was raised around dogs, and Stuart (the bunny) is fearless and gets along with everyone. Of course, it probably helps that all the dogs are old and spend most of their time snoozing.

“They’re just wiser animals,” he explained. “You kind of know what you want out of life once you become a certain age. These dogs know who they are and it’s easy to develop a relationship with a person or pet who knows who they are.”

Steve says he’d never be able to live this way with this many puppies. The seniors are all low-energy, and make like very chill and rewarding.

“Like right now, I’m outside on my patio and it’s a beautiful day. Bikini’s laying in the yard and the dogs are all laying around the yard. They just makes it feel like home. It’s just fulfilling knowing that these guys are happy and loved and well-taken care of. It makes my days worthwhile.”

This is just the tip of the iceberg! To see more insanely adorable photos of this awesome brood, follow Steve on Instagram.

The post Man Is Addicted to Adopting Senior Animals No One Else Wants appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Everyone, meet Piper the pig. Piper was abandoned and left in the cold. Thankfully she has been rescued and is now living with her loving family.

The family loves Piper so much. They give her everything she needs, including blankets and toys.

But it’s not just her family that gives Piper some love. Piper got to meet the puppy next door and they immediately became friends. Check out the video below!

The post When A Rescued Pig Meets The Puppy Next Door, They Fell In Love! appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Back in September, two dogs, a pig, and a turtle were dropped off at an animal shelter in Pennsylvania.  Some people expressed an interest in adopting the dogs, and others really wanted the pig.  But they were all so well-bonded that they needed a home together, which was a problem. (The turtle didn’t really care.)  Thankfully, one woman knew she was up for the challenge, and now they’re all living together on a 72-acre farm.

When the dogs and pig were brought into the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, it became quickly apparent that they loved each other and needed to stay together.  They named the pig Pattie, and called the dogs – Chihuahua-Pomeranian mixes – Pickles and Paprika.

“From the second we saw them, we knew they were bonded, though the turtle wasn’t.  Pickles was standing on Pattie’s back and Paprika was right up next to them. When we took them out, the turtle came out from the back. We put them into a kennel, they curled up together,” shelter manager Sarah McKillip told ABC News.

“They hang out together all the time, sleep together, play with each other and even go for walks with each other. Sometimes Pickles, the smaller one, will ride Pattie’s back, and she’ll walk around with him on top. It’s hysterical!

“Pattie’s very intelligent and she’s very attached to them, so we don’t want to split them up.  When we first got them, we once moved everyone outside to clean the kennels, but Pattie found a way to open the door into the kennel and let the two dogs in. We had to chase the three of them through the kennel. It was hilarious.”

She said that the only thing the crew didn’t do together was eat, because Pattie would gobble down the dogs’ food.  Keeping them together was top priority, but after two months at the shelter, no one was willing to take all three.  But as fate would have it, just the right person saw a story about “Triple P” and shared the link with Kristi Dimond Mahar.

“As soon as we met them we said, ‘If they need a place to go, they can come here,’” Maher told the York Daily Record, speaking about her animal sanctuary, Blue Hound Farm.

The three fit right in.  Already residing on the non-profit farm are two other dogs, eight horses, six pigs, three cows, and a number of sheep, goats, chickens, and geese. Mahar wasn’t crazy about the names, so she named the pig Maggie, and the two dogs Missy (the larger of the two) and Mack.

They’ve all made themselves right at home, but (perhaps because of their past), Mahar says all three are very needy.  The dogs are very smart, but need some training, and will begin obedience school in February.  She believes they may be part Sheltie, as they seem to have a herding instinct.

“Mack stares at me all the time,” Mahar told me.  “He really loves me and I think that is because I really believe Mack was his name before – when I first called him Mack – he looked at me as if I had known him all his life and has never stopped looking at me since!  Missy is just a good dog all around.

“Maggie can be very sweet but she cannot be trusted around people – she randomly strikes out without warning. I think she will get better as time goes on.  Unfortunately, Maggie is not the best house pig, she has learned to open the refrigerator and contractor will be here in February to attach it to the wall – afraid it will fall on her, so she is banned from the kitchen. She spends more time with the other pigs than in the house because of her destructive nature. Again, I believe once she feels completely comfortable her behavior will improve. The little dogs get along well with all the pigs.”

As for Storm Jonas, the three are taking it in stride.

“The dogs love the snow – they are so little, I have to watch them so I don’t lose them in it! Maggie, just like other pigs, doesn’t seem to mind the cold as long as she has a nice warm bed to lay in when she wants. Pigs like to sleep late and go to bed early in the cold.”

The post Two Dogs and a Pot-Bellied Pig Find Love – and a Home – Together appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Now Poppy has a neighbor, a dog named Ruby. One day, Poppy was visited by the sanctuary’s founder, Pam Ahern. And when Pam gave Poppy some belly rubs, Ruby just can’t help but get jealous!

Ruby probably wants some belly rubs too! Check out the full video below!

The post Dog Gets Jealous When Pig Gets A Belly Rub! appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Wednesday morning, volunteers with the Lost and Found Pets of Hillsborough County got a call about the unlikely duo meandering around Merrily Circle in Seffner.

When the rescuers tried to put the dog inside a truck, the pig began screaming.  It appeared that he did not want to be separated from his pal.

Owner Willie Landry came forward to claim them.  He said K 2 and Petey the pig grew up together, and escaped through a fence the day before.

Apparently Petey thinks he’s just one of the dogs.  There was a third dog back at home who was very morose without his other thirds.

The post Dog & Pig BFFs Found Wandering Together appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.