Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Animal shelters had a strong 2020. Then came the affordable housing crisis.

May 14, 2024
Rescues and shelters are taking “proactive” action to keep pets that have a home in their home.
Dogs receive vaccines at a clinic hosted by the Wisconsin Humane Society. Free and low-cost vet clinics are one way animal rescues are helping with the rising cost of owning pets.
Courtesy Wisconsin Humane Society

It started with a web search and a love for animals. Now, she's been in the pet business for over a decade.

Apr 3, 2024
Judy Nunez, owner of Tails on Trails in Jersey City, New Jersey, says dog walking made her feel "like a functioning person."
"How can you have a bad day when you're walking a dog?" said Judy Nunez, owner of Tails on Trails.
Courtesy Nunez

How this California business puts animals to work preventing wildfires

Oct 25, 2023
Shepherdess Land & Livestock offers prescribed grazing services with sheep and goats.
“We use our animals in a very special, targeted type of manner, very different to traditional ranching with grazing animals,” says Cole Bush, owner and operator of Shepherdess Land & Livestock in California’s Ojai Valley.
Paul Mirah Collins

Hiring a cat? This organization can help

Jul 4, 2023
Hard Hat Cats places feral cats in breweries, bodegas and other businesses looking for organic pest prevention.
Dulce, a cat with a history of biting and scratching, was adopted by a Brooklyn brewery as a “working cat” through an organization called Hard Hat Cats.
Courtesy of Hard Hat Cats

Walmart unleashes new pet offerings

Nov 16, 2020
Can the mega-retailer compete with specialty stores in the nearly $100 billion pet sector?
A newly adopted pup gets a belly rub in Escondido, California. More Americans have acquired pets during the pandemic.
Ariana Drehsler/AFP via Getty Images

The "communicate-better-with-your-pet" sector is having a moment

Oct 13, 2020
One company turned a speech pathologist's tool into a product for pet owners.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

California pet stores can only sell rescue cats, dogs and rabbits

Jan 9, 2019
A new law aims to help the state's overcrowded animal shelters.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Backyard chickens have been hip for a while, but building them a $20,000 coop takes the trend to a whole new level

Jul 16, 2018
Backyard chicken keeping has taken off in the Bay Area as residents seek ways to disconnect from technology. Most people spend $1,000 or less on their birds and coops, but a wealthier subset of chicken owners have really gotten into it, in some cases sinking $20,000 or more into fancy heritage chickens and ornate homes […]
Oli Scarff/Getty Images

In Texas, hunting hogs out of a helicopter is big business

May 25, 2018
Feral hogs cause millions of dollars in damage to crops across the U.S.
Coulter Airfield in Bryan, Texas is about an hour and a half northwest of Houston. It's where the helicopter hog hunting business, Helibacon, is based.
Andy Uhler/Marketplace