LA fire pet evacuees Dallas front page + plant-based processed meat NY Times +more 1/20/25

Over the weekend, major media animal news was mostly about the Los Angeles Fires, including a lead story in the Los Angeles Times. Today’s Dallas Morning News has a front-page story on the airlift arrival of dogs from Los Angeles. The New York Times has an online story on the health benefits of plant-based meat despite its being processed food.

Before I cover those and other stories from the past week, let me share a wonderful response in Sunday’s St Louis Post Tribune to the op-ed I shared last week, Paul Shapiro’s commentary on the meat industry’s labeling fight against the plant-based industry. The lead letter ran under the heading, “Missouri Bill to Harass Meatless Industry Show GOP hypocrisy” which is not to DawnWatch’s staunchly nonpartisan taste, but it makes an important point about the double-standards around heavy-handed regulation. I have it displayed on the DawnWatch X thread for you to check out.

And with thanks to all who have written to the San Diego Union Tribune as it covers that city’s debates about rodeo, I share a wonderful letter that ran under the headline, “The City’s Finances Should not Benefit From Cruelty to Animals.”

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Yesterday’s, Sunday January 19, Los Angeles Times lead metro section story, page B1, was titled, “Burned, displaced pets fill Pasadena Shelter.” It tells us:

“The shelter has taken in more than 500 animals displaced by the blaze, which began on Jan. 7 and is still burning…

“Many who fled the flames were forced to make devastating choices about their pets. Some, terrified, hid or refused to leave. In other cases, their owners were away from home and could not safely return.”

It gives us touching details on some of the rescued animals. If you hit a paywall at the LA Times link you can read the story on Gazette Extra.

And it gives us a great opportunity to speak for animals on the letters page, with letters appreciative of the coverage and weighing in with whatever thoughts you have that can help give animals a voice in major media.

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The animals who were in the Los Angeles shelters before the fires broke are being evacuated, and today’s Dallas Morning News has that story on the front page under the heading, “Paws on the Ground: D-FW groups work to find homes for 176 4-legged evacuees.”

It opens:

“Two cargo planes landed on the Texas Jet tarmac in Fort Worth on Sunday afternoon packed with four-legged evacuees from Southern California.

“The 161 dogs and 15 cats inside had been through multiple disasters.

“The animals were already longtime residents of Los Angeles city shelters, which were so overcrowded last year that some dogs had been forced to live in crates in hallways. Then came the Jan. 7 wildfires.”

The article notes that Texas has its own shelter overcrowding issues. And it acknowledges the beautiful work of Wings of Rescue:

“Since it launched in 2012, Wings of Rescue has transported more than 76,000 animals from overcrowded shelters and disasters to rescue groups for adoption.”

It’s well worth reading and responding to. Our letters let papers know that animals matter to their readers. You’ll find it on the Dallas Morning News site or at this Gazette Extra link if you hit a paywall.

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While still on the fires let me share a PetHelpful story, via Yahoo, about the LA Fire Search and Rescue dogs which includes the welcome lines, “The only thing more important than the life-saving jobs these canines are trained to do is the way they got the jobs. Many of the Search Dog Foundation’s graduates are rescue dogs.”

And I have also shared on X and Facebook a heartbreaking Associated Press photo of the burnt rubble that used to be Oh Happy Day Vegan Café in Altadena, Los Angeles, and a Go Fund Me for those who wish to help.

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The New York Times released a story on the weekend, which I was hoping would be in today’s paper for those who hope to respond, but alas it is online only for now. It’s a thoughtful look at processed plant-based meats, which includes the lines:

“If plant based meat must be categorized as processed food, the argument is that they are more like canned beans than Twinkies, and a long way from processed meats, the category that includes hot dogs, bacon and deli meat, which the World Health Organization has classified as carcinogenic to humans.”

Here’s a gift link to the article, which is well worth reading and sharing. I thank Teresa D’Amico for sending it our way.

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In other major media animal news shared over the last week on the DawnWatch X Feed and DawnWatch Facebook Page:

KSHB-41 from Kansas City brought us a shocking story of the rescue of a pup left in a crate on a sidewalk to freeze.

ABC News asked, “Can AI help humans understand animals and reconnect with nature?”

Sunday’s Non Sequitur comic, by Wyley Miller, predicted the end of the world for those who deserve it. (Thanks to Elaine Livesey-Fassel for making sure we didn’t miss that, or the review covered below.)

On inauguration Day, today, the National Review’s lead morning newsletter story is “Trump Saves the Whales.”  While the most skeptical of us might think his passion for the oil and gas industries has trumped his passion for whales, it is an interesting read as it points to very real concerns about wind energy causing its own environmental issues. As I posted it on X  I reminded people, however, that industrial fishing has caused more right whale deaths than any other industry in recent years.

I shared a ridiculously fun video from GeoBeats Animals, (figuring that over a millions subscribers could qualify it for major media) showing the love between a young gal and her rescued chicken Blue.

And, ending on another joyous note, a Los Angeles Times rave review today got me curious enough to find the full page of them on Rotten Tomatoes, for Every Little Thing, which, judging by the trailer you can watch there, looks to be a gem of a documentary we don’t want to miss – about a hummingbird rescuer! Every little thing indeed.

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch