Animal Heroes

We’ve all had those days—especially lately!—when nothing goes our way and it seems like we keep bumping into new challenges at every turn. That’s why we scoured hundreds of the most adorable real-life animal stories that have appeared in Woman’s World over the years and compiled them into this special collection of happy “tails.” From heroic household pets to healing farm animals to hope-filled rescues, each short story is guaranteed to erase your worry and lift your spirits. In fact, recent research has shown—and our editors know all too well!—that simply looking at a sweet image of a plucky pig, darling dog or fluffy kitty floods the brain with the feel-good hormone dopamine, instantly slashing stress by 30%, increasing productivity and chasing away the blues for hours on end. So…

For the past 13 years, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to edit hundreds of inspirational real-life stories—and it may come as no surprise that many of my favorite tales have featured heroes with, well…tails! As you’ll see in this heart-lifting collection of Woman’s World stories, animals are not only joy-filled, resilient and downright adorable, but they also have an incredible capacity to love—unconditionally. And two years ago, I experienced that transformative power firsthand when I adopted a feisty 10-week-old mix pup from a local rescue. At the time, I’d been grappling with turning 40, mending a broken heart, overwhelmed with work stress and desperately lonely. But the day I brought home River (named after my favorite Dr. Who character), I was instantly amazed at how she constantly lives in…

We all know that pets can enrich our lives by providing love, comfort and companionship. But, sometimes, they can literally save our lives too—from sniffing out danger, like the dog who saved his owner from a lurking rattlesnake, to acting like four-legged smoke alarms. And it’s not just dogs…cats have also jumped in and risked one of their nine lives for their humans—we found one kitty that scared off a burglar! Amazed? Read on! These incredible and inspiring stories are sure to get your heart pounding…and melting!…

The morning had started out so normal…so peaceful…as 44-year-old Paula Godwin took her 6-month-old puppy, Todd, and his 3-year-old furry brother, Copper, on their daily hike in the hills near her home in Anthem, Arizona. But as they walked along the trail, enjoying the warm sunshine, Todd suddenly bolted toward Paula’s foot. In a split second she saw why, and her breath caught: A huge rattlesnake was inches away from her, coiled to strike “No!” Paula screamed to Todd, as he jumped forward, horror icing through her veins. Right as the snake lunged, Todd put himself between it and Paula, and the rattler sank its venomous fangs deep into the puppy’s face. Todd yelped in pain as Paula snatched him up, called for Copper to follow and began running back…

As she sat down to dinner one gray, wintry day, Rose Taylor sighed with loneliness. The Silverton, Oregon, widow had been recently forced to say goodbye to her beloved Scottie dog, and now she felt truly all alone. Rose pushed her plate away. Her heart was too heavy to eat. But just then, she looked through her patio doors, and staring back at her was a forlorn-looking gray-and-black kitten. Poor little thing! Where is your mama? Rose wondered. Are you all alone like me? Afraid the tiny kitten wouldn’t survive out in the cold, Rose decided to rescue her. But once inside, the kitten darted nervously beneath a desk, hissing indignantly. “You have quite an attitude for somebody who just got saved,” Rose grinned. “I’ll call you Addy Tuddy!” Soon,…

Walking into his Lansing, Michigan, home, Kirk Heatherington sighed wearily. It had been a long day for the 55-year-old flower deliveryman, with lots of stops and heavy traffic. He hadn’t even had time for lunch. The only thing that had kept Kirk going was having his beloved Chihuahua, Cashew, with him on his route. It was love at first sight five years earlier when Kirk adopted Cashew—named because the tiny tan puppy looked just like a little cashew nut. And from the moment he first held him, Kirk, who had developed PTSD in the Army, felt such a sense of calm, he began taking his little buddy everywhere with him, even to work. “Hungry?” Kirk asked, filling Cashew’s food bowl. Then, with his wife, Rosie, working late, Kirk popped a…