I’m a cat person, but even cold-hearted feline lovers like me can appreciate a heartwarming dog story. Here are several stories to brighten up your 2020, a year that is perpetually in need of more good news—and more adorable furry companions.
Hotel Foster Dog (Home2 Suites by Hilton Biloxi North/D’Iberville) 
Princess (From “Pit Bull Flower Power” by Sophie Gamand) 
“Car Consultant” Tucson (Tucson_Prime on Instagram)
French Artist Sophie Gamand Brings Out the Beauty of Pit Bulls: Since 2014, artist and activist Sophie Gamand has worked to redeem the reputations of pit bulls (which are frequently represented as vicious and dangerous) by photographing their softer, more magnifique sides. In her “Pit Bull Flower Power” series (aka: “Flower Power, Pit Bulls of the Revolution”), Gamand photographs hundreds of adoptable pit bulls wearing elaborate flower crowns that emphasize each dog’s beauty, vulnerability, and unique personality. The dogs, like so many of their brothers and sisters, are from across the United States and have waited years to find their “furever” homes. For more gorgeous pics of these lovable pups, check out Sophie Gamand’s website and Instagram, and support her work on Patreon.
Mississippi Hotel Lets Extended Stay Guests Foster Dogs: At the Biloxi North/D’Iberville location of Home2 Suites by Hilton, their “Fostering Hope” program launched in 2018 with the dual purpose of adopting out local shelter dogs and helping their guests feel more at home. In partnership with the Humane Society of South Mississippi, the hotel takes in one dog at a time that their guests can help foster by walking, feeding, and playing with the foster dog during their stay. If any of the guests (or employees!) bond with the dog, they can pay a $50 adoption fee and give it a forever home. The program has been a great success, with more than 60 dogs adopted as of February 2020. Since the hotel caters to extended-stay guests, there are plenty of opportunities for guests to get to know the foster dogs and hopefully find one that completes their family unit.
Moscow Woman Rescues As Many Dogs as She Can Find: In August, the Washington Post shared a lovely story about Anastasia Pomorina, the “saintly dog rescuer or crazy dog woman, depending on your point of view”. Fifteen years ago at the age of 18, Pomorina nearly died in a car accident that killed her dog, Ringo. Since then, she has felt compelled to help every stray dog she comes across, often keeping 14 or more dogs in her small apartment (plus 1 roommate and 13 cats). Along with Fluffy Help, a rescue network of six women, Pomorina fosters stray dogs until they are sociable and healthy enough to be adopted. For dogs that are too wild to be domesticated, she feeds them and helps the local catch-sterilize-release efforts before returning them to the streets. Altogether, Fluffy Help has saved about 300 animals, including many adopted in 2020, when the pandemic lockdown saw a surge of dog and cat adoptions, both in Russia and worldwide.
Brazil Car Dealership “Hires” Stray Dog, Giving Tucson A New Home and Instagram Fame: Prime Hyundai, a car dealership in Brazil, was visited regularly by one of Brazil’s many stray dogs. Instead of turning the malnourished pup away, manager Emerson Mariano started to feed and care for him, eventually adopting the dog whom he named Tucson after the Hyundai’s compact crossover SUV. Mariano made Tucson a(n unpaid?) “car consultant” and kept bringing him into the dealership to spend time with staff and customers. Tucson got his own Instagram account in July, and he has amassed more than 166,000 followers who delight in pictures of the consultant hard at “work”—talking to vendors, manning the desk, patrolling the sales floor, attending staff meetings, testing out Hyundai’s roomy interiors, and glad-handing his many fans.
Retired Doctor Flies Thousands of Animals Around the Country To Save Them: Following his retirement and the death of his wife, former orthopedic surgeon Peter Rork was looking for a new purpose in life. He found his mission when he partnered with attorney Judy Zimet in 2012 to form the nonprofit Dog is My CoPilot to transport high-risk animals from shelters where they are likely to be euthanized to no-kill shelters in other parts of the country. The nonprofit has grown dramatically over the years, with donations and a grant from the Petco Foundation keeping them in business. Rork and three other volunteer pilots fly six days a week (with up to 250 animals at a time) to transport dogs (and cats!) from overcrowded shelters in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, to rescue groups in Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Wyoming. They have rescued more than 16,000 animals so far. Learn more about Dog is My CoPilot and support their efforts!
Anastasia Pomorina and Her Rescues (Oksana Yushko/Washington Post) 
Dr. Peter Rork Prepares Animals for Flight (Dog Is My CoPilot)