2025 Adoptions: 10+ Times PETA’s Rescue Team Got Animals Like Marmalade Out of Sticky Situations

Published December 1, 2025, by guest blogger Temple

Temple here. That’s right—PETA was hounding one of my new humans (a Community Animal Project [CAP] animal care officer) for a list of a few of the most exciting in-house adoption stories of 2025. Knowing I have a personal dog in this fight stake in this game and that our guardian is a bit busy stuffing straw and delivering doghouses, my new BFFF (best feline friend furever) Helen passed the torch (er, laptop) to me—2025 PETA rescue supawstar and 2026 September centerfold stunner! (I still maintain that those two cover guy guinea pigs paid Ingrid off … just saying.) I, of course, wiggled and jumped at the chance to have my very own byline!

In 2025, my guardians and their coworkers aided PETA’s efforts in getting hundreds of my furry (and bristly) friends adopted—including dogs, rats, pigs, cats, and the best of all … beagles! (yeah, we are a league of our own)—who were rescued by CAP. See what just a few of them are up to now …

10+ Animals PETA Rescued in 2025: Where Are They Now?

1. Temple

I said I was a stunner, not humble. So, my first pick for remarkable 2025 PETA adoptions should come as no surprise: Me!

I have always meant more than turning a profit or the “JGI2” tattoo in my ear—PETA knew it, and that’s why they had an investigator go undercover at Red Beast Enterprises Inc.—a Fort Collins, Colorado, hellhole also called, bafflingly, “High Quality Research,” where for years I was tormented and mutilated. (Mark my barks, Netflix’s next smash hit is bound to be Monster: The Red Beast Enterprises President Story.) At Red Beast, I was confined to a pen on a hard floor in a windowless room. I was never given a bed or a toy, let alone affection. But thanks to PETA, 2025 was the year that all changed.

Now, instead I wiggle with excitement when my humans grab my leash from its hook and I jump for joy when the ocean water skims my paws. Talk about some truly high quality life!

2. Marmalade

Forced to brave the not-so-great outdoors at just 16 weeks old, this kitty found herself in a sticky situation. A contentious resident of a rural North Carolina neighborhood called PETA, threatening to shoot the free-roaming cats belonging to his neighbor, who was out of town. Nearly causing a traffic jam, fieldworkers rushed to the scene, securing Marmalade and her five feline friends before they could be harmed. After scooping her from PETA’s shelter and bringing her home for some much-needed TLC, Marmalade’s foster guardians (including yours truly) made sure the kitten’s sweetness was well-preserved!

Once indoors—safely away from the dangers of cars, other animals, cruel humans, extreme weather, and disease—and enjoying the company of her new seasoned foster siblings (#HumbleBrag), this sweet girl quickly proved she’d live up to her sweet name.

It wasn’t long before word spread among my humans’ coworkers that my very first foster companion was as playful and fun-loving as they come—so much so that a certain PETA Foundation senior vice president found himself getting a little jelly at the thought of another applicant being the one to ensure that Marmalade’s life is forever sweet. One look into the tiny tortie’s caramel eyes was all it took for him to whisk the cat wand–loving cutie to her new, true furever home.

3. Charlotte

When PETA received a complaint from a “pet”-sitter-turned-whistleblower about a neglected pig named Charlotte, it might’ve been assumed this was a call from one of PETA’s rural northeastern North Carolina service areas. But to fieldworkers’ surprise, the deprived pig was wasting away in a backyard within PETA’s own Hampton Roads, Virginia, backyard.

Charlotte’s sitter-turned-advocate was hired to care for two dogs while their owner was traveling. Turned out, there was a potbellied pig in the backyard, too. One who was “left [with] no food or water.” The horrors didn’t stop there, according to the sitter:

Because [Charlotte’s owner] left no supplies or instruction for Charlotte’s care, I can’t help but think the owner wanted her to die while away on vacation. And Charlotte would have died if I had arrived even one day later, I’m sure of it.

Fieldworkers jumped into action, ensuring that the good Samaritan had access to proper pig feed and was providing Charlotte with fresh water each day. With the whistleblower’s sitting gig coming to an end and local animal control hitting dead ends, fieldworkers contacted Charlotte’s owner themselves, pleading with her to allow PETA to take custody of the sweet-natured pig (and her severely overgrown hooves) and to give Charlotte the chance at a home where she’ll be properly cared for and loved. Charlotte’s owner—whose ex-husband had acquired Charlotte years prior but then left home mid-separation without the vulnerable pig—accepted PETA’s offer to help.

After a medical evaluation and a brief stay at PETA’s shelter, fieldworkers transported Charlotte to North Carolina’s Blind Spot Animal Sanctuary, which opened its doors and hearts to “sweet, brave Charlotte.” At Blind Spot, Charlotte is “learning, trusting, and taking brave steps forward,” all thanks to the kind staff and volunteers who are giving her the love, care, and attention that she deserved all along. “One step at a time,” indeed!

4. Fifi

I’m a bit new to the whole World Wide Web thing, but I think potato-sized Fifi’s “before” photo warrants some sort of graphic content warning!

For years, PETA fieldworkers had been rooting for Fifi the Chihuahua—forced to exist outdoors, regularly exposed to suffering, abuse, neglect, and sadness—and her deserved chance at securing a safe, loving home indoors. Earlier this year, the time finally came, and it was kind of a big peel: After Fifi was attacked by another dog, with her right eye reportedly “hanging out of her head,” her owners finally permitted PETA to find the little tater her best new spuddy.

My human and her coworker rushed Fifi to warmth and safety …

… aka PETA’s animal shelter, where she wowed everyone by—despite the traumatic injury—being a positive potato. She lapped up all the love and affection from PETA staff members, and she snuggled in for a cozy night’s sleep inside, possibly her first ever. The very next morning, on one of PETA’s mobile clinics, Fifi was spayed and her right eyeball was removed. She was vaccinated and deemed healthy enough to recover at home with a PETA staffer and, eventually, make her way to an adoptive home.

5. Mackie

When my PETA animal care officer human awoke early one morning and told my other human that she was off to help rescue a kitten from a drain, I figured—based on Helen’s tall tails—that said kitty would be sharing my new digs as a foster by EOD. Thankfully for my household’s currently perfect equilibrium, another PETA fieldworker called dibs on Mackie first.

Mackie’s good fortune began after some seriously bad luck: A concerned 7-Eleven store clerk called in a 911 to PETA’s after-hours emergency team regarding a kitten trapped inside a storm drain—she couldn’t see him, but she could hear his desperate cries. With patience and ingenuity, my human and her teammates rescued the tiny orange tabby boy from a maze of underground pipes near the convenience store.

Jake, my human, and their coworker Alex searched multiple drainage openings, listening for faint cries and clocking every shadow. After nearly an hour, the frightened kitten was finally coaxed out and lifted to safety.

Jake wasted no time in scooting home with little Mackie—a name that pays homage to the kind clerk who first alerted PETA to the vulnerable kitten—and quickly changing their relationship status from foster to adopted!

6. Keke

Sweet Keke not only made the list of exciting 2025 PETA adoptions but also probably wins best makeover of the year. Like Mackie, Keke’s rescue story began with a call to PETA’s after-hours emergency team. The claim: a reportedly dangerous dog. The caller purported that her 3-year-old dog had attacked another canine and that Keke—the alleged offending animal—had to go. PETA fieldworkers rushed to the scene, only to come face to face with quite a different scenario.

Keke—a terrified goldendoodle, whose curls were matted and urine-stained from being constantly crated amid her own urine and feces—cowered on the front porch. The PETA fieldworkers who responded to the call were nearly overwhelmed by the stench of ammonia emanating from the house and from Keke’s hair, which hit them, in their words, “like a freight train.”

With Keke displaying no sign of aggression and the woman barring fieldworkers from checking on the other crated dog in the house, the situation got all the more sus. PETA looped in local animal control, which seized Keke after it was found that the woman had failed to provide the goldendoodle with the care required by law. Keke was transferred to PETA for some much-needed R&R—and a bath and a haircut!

With her quiet, chill, and laidback personality, it didn’t take CAP long to find Keke a permanent home—one with a patient, caring human who understood Keke’s past trauma and what that would mean for her present and, likely, her future.

7. J.J. and Minnie

PETA’s relationship with J.J. and Minnie’s initial guardian began earlier in the year when she called PETA’s emergency pager (are you sensing a pattern?) in the middle of the night to request assistance in having her beloved companion rat humanely put to sleep. Describing the struggling rat as “immobile, [with] labored breathing, [appearing] swollen, and [not eating or drinking],” the animal’s guardian feared her reportedly abusive ex-partner had intentionally hurt the rat. After ending this rat’s suffering, PETA turned its attention to the two remaining rats, who were also embroiled in the apparent domestic violence crisis: J.J. and Minnie.

After PETA provided crisis boarding for the rat duo, their guardian made the difficult decision to focus on her own safety and opted for J.J. and Minnie to be welcomed permanently by their PETA foster guardian (and their nine foster rat siblings!), where they’ll never again be subjected to cruel humans or any other dangers.

While J.J. …

… and Minnie …

… settled into their ratical new digs, PETA made sure their former guardian was also as safe and sound as possible.

8. Louie

In August, members of PETA’s field team found themselves, once again, in Mexico—no, not to sip margaritas while lounging beachside—but to take on the animal overpopulation and homelessness crises in Chichimilá and Cancún. In between sterilizing hundreds of animals in the latter and providing other vital care, PETA’s staff encountered Confeti, a dachshund mix who, after first living on the streets, spent months at the local municipal shelter waiting to enjoy the five-star experience that Cancún is known for.

Only a few days later, Confeti—who was later redubbed Louie—found himself at the airport with his new PETA friends, waiting to board his Norfolk, Virginia–bound flight.

In a move that surprised none of her CAP colleagues, one PETA staffer who had helped secure Louie’s transfer and held his hand—er, paw—throughout their travels didn’t let go once back in Norfolk. She promptly brought the sweet boy home with her so he could continue to comfortably adjust to life in a proper, loving “foster” home.

After PETA began putting out feelers for the fetching fella, Louie’s PETA foster guardian decided the high-flying dog wasn’t going anywhere—she signed the adoption contract faster than anyone could say, “¡Felicidades!”

9. Cory

Earlier this fall, PETA fieldworkers stopped by a rural North Carolina property to bring flea meds and other relief to two known dogs being forced by their owners to exist outdoors. They were shocked to also encounter the 6-month-old brown tabby—friendly but terrified—chained to a tree in the front yard.

With the animals’ owners not home and unresponsive to PETA’s repeated calls and texts, the fieldworkers ensured the tiny tabby had food and water—as they had previously for the dogs on the property—and made plans to return immediately.

Eventually, they were able to connect with the cat’s owners—who were seemingly unaware that tethering the kitten to a tree made him even more vulnerable to the dangers of the outdoors—and convinced them to allow PETA to take custody of him.

Back at PETA’s shelter, the once-neglected kitten learned that not every living situation is a total catastrophe. And all it took was hearing the words “chained cat” for one PETA fieldworker to zoomie home with Cory, as he was later officially named, with delightful, seemingly intentional plans to foster fail flourish.

With his chained days far in the rearview mirror, Cory now spends his time playing with fellow PETA-rescued BFF (Pisa), snuggling with the tiny humans who have fallen head over paws for him, and enjoying the safety and comfort that every cat (and dog) deserves.

10. Mouth

By this point, my guardians have been accused at work of being beagle obsessed. (Um, can you blame them?) So, it likely shocked no one when my fieldworker human spent more than an hour at a property within one of the most poverty-stricken areas of CAP’s service territory trying to convince Mouth’s owner to finally allow PETA the chance to find the beagle a proper life indoors.

Used for hunting and shown no love by his owner, Mouth was understandably shy. PETA fieldworkers stopped by regularly to check in on Mouth and other animals at the property, asking Mouth’s owner each time for the chance to find the deserving individuals worthy homes.

After many visits from CAP workers, the once-reserved beagle boy started coming out of his shell. Thankfully, Mouth wasn’t the only one who came around to fieldworkers’ charm. After using her own big mouth to remind the dog’s owner that canine companions deserve better, all while showing him photo after photo of her own PETA-rescued beagles (holla!), my human finally convinced Mouth’s owner to relinquish the beagle to PETA.

Back at PETA’s shelter, fun-loving Mouth was neutered, vaccinated, and—astonishingly—determined to be negative for heartworm disease. With my fourth-floor walk-up being a strictly two-beagle-max household, PETA’s other resident beagle-fanatic foster guardian whisked Mouth to her home for some much-needed nurturing. Unsurprisingly, Mouth was quickly adopted by the loveliest family in warm and sunny Florida—honestly, I think I can hear the “Aroo!” from here in Virginia.

PETA’s mission to fix overpopulation—in Virginia, North Carolina, and beyond—is a round-the-clock one, and your help has never been more vital.

By spaying and neutering thousands of dogs and cats every year, running one of Hampton Roads’ few open-admission shelters, and not only carrying out in-house adoptions but also prudently screening adoption applicants instead of merely handing animals out like they’re objects, my humans and their PETA teammates are helping to end animal homelessness—thanks in large part to generous donors and supporters.

And for individuals like Little Girl who are still forced to exist outdoors and without love, PETA’s persistence—the very same that rescued Mouth and saw him all the way through to the Sunshine State—will only ever be steadfast.

And while Mouth and I are spoken for, if you are on the lookout for your own canine or feline companion, keep in mind PETA’s ever-changing list of animals who are ready for a loving, permanent home:

Or visit Adopt a Pet or your local open-admission shelter.

Click below to discover more about PETA, its rescue team, and how you can help make the world a kinder place for animals, too: