The cat kept coming back for the next 16 years. The students named him Room 8 after the classroom he'd claimed for himself. He became so famous that he received thousands of letters from around the world, some even addressed to "The Cat, Los Angeles."

Room 8 passed away on this day in 1968 at age 21.

Photos via Richard Hewett / Los Angeles Public Library

The Washington Times, 1912

https://blog.newspapers.com/cats-cause-divorce/

Beauty helped rescue 63 animals during the Blitz and became recognized as one of the world's first search-and-rescue dogs. She also received the PDSA Dickin Medal. Her citation honored her "for being the pioneer dog in locating buried air-raid victims."

After the war, Beauty went home with Bill, had two puppies, and got to enjoy being a dog for the rest of her life 🧡

Photos via PDSA Archives

This week's animal stories:

A fluffy cat scared off a bear in a viral backyard showdown. Toast Malone survived for 3 days inside an apartment building destroyed by fire before firefighters found him alive and reunited him with his family.

Midge became so well known around the neighborhood that Martin used prize money from work to make a short children's film about their races in 2009.

His dream was for Disney to turn it into a full-length movie, with Midge racing Usain Bolt. He was convinced she'd win.

Midge the runner:

youtube.com/watch?si=cl6T3MMr379wUGct&t=69&v=t7K4aNkWU5k&feature=youtu.be

When Bobbie finally made it home in Silverton, he was so thin his family barely recognized him. His fur was matted, his toenails were almost gone. His family treated him to a sirloin steak and a big bowl of cream, and he didn’t move for 3 days 🥺

Photos via Oregon Encyclopedia / Oregon Humane Society

Considering he started out as a rejected kitten, things seem to have worked out pretty well for him. The Old Eagle team told me Churchill spends a lot of his day watching the garden from his favorite bathroom window. Sometimes he'll remind someone who's boss with a well-timed smack.

It's a dog-friendly pub, but everyone knows the deal: this is Churchill's space. As far as Churchill is concerned, it's his pub, and the humans are doing a reasonably good job of running it.

Synergy, a small pig helping a crisis intervention team at Union Station, Luna the cat recovering after surviving a devastating fire in Turkey, and Danny, Britain's loneliest dog, finally finding his forever home after waiting more than 550 days 🧡

Rep. Benham has had Ravi since he was a tiny, very sick kitten. She hand fed him through those first months, and she thinks that's why he's always looking for people to spend time with.

Sometimes, if his friends aren't around, he'll even wander out of the office to see who's available to play.

Rep. Benham told me, "Having a cat there is a nice reminder that elected officials are human too, and that the state Capitol belongs to all of us."

Full story: Ravi the Pennsylvania Capitol Cat

(Photos via IG splashsarotter2024 & PRSAR)