Pets (2025)

[bunniefuu]

Mommy.

I wanted a pet for a long time.

Every time I had a birthday,

I'm like, "A pet, a pet, a pet."

I keeped on begging

and begging this whole time

and now I'm so happy.

Daddy, you got us a puppy!

Oh.

When we finally got a pet,

it felt so nice to have company.

Your house feels more full

when you have animals along with you.

I get to keep it?

- Yes.

- Yeah?

Here's Daisy.

- Are you serious?

- Yeah.

No, you're joking, right?

Thank you, Mommy. Thank you.

- Hi, Iris.

- Hi.

It's pretty cool of Daddy

to bring all of your animals here, huh?

Yeah.

Look at the camera, okay.

You be good, okay.

Monty.

Monty, come here.

Do you like talking

about your pets?

- Yeah.

- Well, guess what?

This is a film all about the friendship

we share with our pets.

Yes!

Okay. Come on. Let's go.

What do you love most about pets?

Maybe, like I like to snuggle with them.

I like to play.

We just, like, have this, like,

animal that's in our house.

And we can connect with these creatures.

I mean, it's a little bit weird

if you think about it,

but I think it's nice.

They're a free source of entertainment.

He's very good at sleeping.

He's kind of good at doing tricks.

He likes to crawl in people's hair.

She'll sort of be protective.

He's not always, like, the smartest.

So we still are hopeful that he's not

gonna be crazy for his whole life.

Oh, my God.

No Look.

It's tough.

Who got into the trash?

Aries?

But it's worth it.

It's that love that they have

and that feeling for you.

And it feels nice to know that

I have friend who's always there for me.

God was like, "Hmm,

let's give the pets a sixth sense."

They'll be like mimes and magicians

into an animal and you get

Mihonka.

We hide lint rolls in the cars,

around the house, lots of cabinets.

Makes sense buying in bulk, 'cause you

go through like one a day.

- So, hi, Travis. Hi, Adam.

- Hi.

Thank you so much

for applying to adopt a dog from us.

Your vet gave you glowing reviews,

and obviously you guys are very loving

and any dog would be lucky

to be in your home.

I honestly feel like

if anyone could have the opportunity

to have the friendship of a dog,

like I've had with Delilah

I mean, it's just a true solid

heart-to-heart connection

and that's so special

and I want him to have that too.

Can you see?

So Travis told me

about the Sato Project from Puerto Rico.

They rescue dogs

and find them homes in the States.

"What about adopting one?"

And I was like, "Well,

I was gonna surprise you, so surprise."

"Here we go."

Hi, Baby Blue.

Say hi to your daddies. Say hi.

You could definitely tell

that he was the oddball.

And I was just like,

"Oh, yeah. That's the one."

Are you king of the bowl?

Hi, Blue. Blue.

Are you king of the bowl?

It's been very interesting to go through

the process of adopting a dog

that we haven't met yet.

I just got a text that Blue's

flight is slightly delayed.

- By hours or days?

- Thirty min By 30 minutes.

Okay, okay, okay.

I'm trying to figure out

where they are gonna come from.

Yeah, I wonder.

I don't think that way,

it's probably from

Probably from that way.

- My hands are clammy.

- Mine too.

Oh, I see I see them.

Hello.

- Hey.

- Say hi to Papi.

- Hey, buddy.

- Here we go.

Hi, buddy.

Oh, hi.

- Hi.

- Oh, hi.

Hi.

Hey.

Aw.

- Oh, my goodness.

- Hey, Blue.

I'll send it to your mother first.

Blue.

Blue, have a great life, honey.

- You'll be loved.

- Aw.

Enjoy the madness.

Thank you.

Are you

Oh, you've been here all this time.

Look,

they're adopting a puppy too.

Aw.

Aw.

Aw.

Ready to meet

your brothers and sisters?

Yeah.

The first day was, like, amazing.

- And a disaster.

- And a disaster.

Because we get dogs, yay!

- We run around with them.

- Then we have to clean up with them.

No.

We feed them.

I feed her human food,

which my dad does not like.

Give me

Human food.

We give them water.

What are you doing?

- Walk them.

- Yeah, we walk them,

we pick up their poop.

They poop all over the place.

And then he'll step in it,

so we have to clean his paws.

No!

I'm like

I only tried to clean the litter box,

um, once.

Yeah, I'm never doing that again.

I started with plugging my nose.

I think I even tried putting

a clip over my nose,

but that was just painful.

Then you wanna start to train them, like,

to not go on carpets.

- Oh, no.

- Please.

All the rugs have been removed.

I have to clean up the backyard's poop.

My mom cleans up the litter box.

Rhett, what do you clean up?

- Hmm.

- He does not clean up anything.

I do the dishes.

Having a pet is hard.

But it-it's a great journey.

I rescue cats for a living.

Started out as a rapper,

and now this is my life.

I actually didn't have cats

of my own while I was growing up.

It's okay, mama.

It's okay.

I would always play outside

with the outdoor cats.

I grew up in a household

where it was abuse, drugs, death,

whatever you can think of.

So I didn't want to go in the house.

I felt voiceless.

I felt like I couldn't do anything.

So you feel a little helpless,

like, you don't have nobody.

I see the cats the same way.

Come on now.

There's nobody speaking up

or fighting for them.

There's two back here.

We catch cats

in humane traps so they're not hurt.

We take 'em to clinics

to be spayed, neutered, vaccinated

and then we return them

back to their colony.

So this prevents overpopulation

and spreading of disease.

In the past,

the answer has been euthanasia.

He's probably like,

"I can't stand these humans."

They're crazy and weird.

But we on the same team though, baby.

When I was first getting started,

I saw an ad in Craigslist helping out

with cats at this shelter.

But the interview was bad,

because I went in there and they had cats,

like, kittens and cats in the room

that I was interviewing in.

So they She's asking me questions

and I'm just picking up the cats.

"Huh? What was that question again?

I'm sorry. This cat I'm sor"

And they just I'm just not answering

the questions or doing good at all.

But they were just like,

"We gonna hire you,

because we don't usually

see people that love cats like that."

For one, I was the only guy

that worked in the cat department.

All the guys were working with the dogs.

And they would come up and ask me,

"Man, why you up there with the cats?

Why you don't come back here

with the dogs?"

And I'm like,

"I don't wanna work with the dogs."

Dogs is cool,

but that's not what I wanted.

Rick.

My first cat was Rick James.

Rick James was the one.

Back then I didn't know much about rescue,

so I purchased Rick from a breeder.

He was a purebred Persian Himalayan.

He was declawed.

I didn't know that the claw on a cat

is like the equivalent of taking

the tip of your finger off for us.

And throughout the course of having Rick,

is when I started to learn a little bit

more about the error of my ways.

It hurt. It hurt.

I felt like a, you know, like a parent

that's doing it all wrong with they kids.

Can I finish getting dressed though

before I pick you up?

Rick was more than just a cat

Thank you.

he was family, like, I loved Rick.

Even with my parents, I didn't feel,

like, that unconditional love.

Rick was that unconditional love for me.

A producer friend of mine, Kado,

we were driving somewhere

and I'm talking about Rick.

I'm always talking about Rick.

Then I finally said something, I guess,

that let it be known that Rick was a cat.

And Kado was like, "Wait a minute, man."

You've been talking about a cat

this whole time?

I thought you was talking about a roommate

or your brother or something.

"You mean to tell me Rick is a cat?

You talk about a cat that much?"

I love you, man.

I still haven't had a cat

that cuddles like Rick.

And every time I picked him up,

he would always go

to this ear and lick this ear.

Only this one. On this side.

All the time. That was his thing.

Soon as I pick him up, he licked this ear.

It was almost like the greeting.

What's up, man? What's up, homie?

I loved that dude.

Loved him to death. Changed my life.

In a perfect world, I would love

for all the cats to have homes,

but a lot of 'em,

they don't want to be in homes.

They wanna be outside, doing their thing.

So I work with a lot of fosters

through adoption agencies,

for those situations

where you do have, like,

a super friendly cat

that can be socialized and, you know,

want to go to a forever home

that's "fur-ever."

What are you doing over here?

Hey, Alanis.

Alanis, when I was out, I'm setting a trap

and she all but basically walked up

and jumped in my arms.

Hey, you wanna come with the king?

And I was gonna try to adopt her out.

I'm just letting everybody know,

coming to pick up this cat

that I named Alanis Morissette.

She cute.

She real pretty.

I like her.

I'm not adopting this cat, y'all.

I can't adopt this cat.

Oh, my goodness.

So no.

Don't Don't I'm not adopting this cat.

A week later, it's like,

"So this is Alanis Morissette.

She's my baby."

All right. Fine.

She chose me. She adopted me.

So that's how I got Alanis.

I've always been the weird one

out of my friends, my family.

Everybody that know me will tell you,

"Sterling has always been weird."

The hell is you staring at, bruh?

For me dating has been crazy

because I would go on dates

and it would be the nails at first,

like, then how I dress, it's like,

"Okay, you're a little

you're a little different."

But then they see my cat

and they like, "That's it.

I can't do this. Like, you're too much.

Don't wanna date a man with cats."

There was an article saying that,

you know, dating apps,

women will reject a man

that had a cat in his profile picture.

Like, it wasn't attractive.

It wasn't masculine enough.

And instantly,

me and my buddy, Nathan, was like,

"You know what?

I been through that and I'm tired of it."

So if you're a cat-loving single on

the "purr-owl" for the "purr-fect date"

aha, there's an app for that.

- Really?

- Yes.

So we started Tabby Dates

which is a dating app

for cat lovers to meet other cat lovers.

Oh, look.

- Oh, look who's here.

- Look at them go.

It's dope being with Deb,

because she's a cat person.

She loves cats just as much,

if not more, than me.

She's a vet tech at a cat clinic.

It's like the whole deal is like

It was a good fit.

Not everybody loves cats,

but I wanna help change that.

They pay attention to you

more than anybody else do.

Having somebody there

to cuddle, to talk to

and love you unconditionally like that

definitely helped me

through a lot with that love.

I had Rick for about 13

13 and a half years Rick was with me.

He passed on my birthday, January the 8th.

And I decided to celebrate Rick's life

and my life every birthday.

Because a lot of this journey that I'm on

is so much connected to Rick.

Here ya go, baby.

You back home.

I told you we was on the same team.

On the back of my RV

is a big picture of Rick James' face.

It's a memory of him.

He's still got my back.

He always watching out for me.

When I'm sad or mad, he just comes to me

and just lick me, and he does this,

and I pick him up and I snuggle with him.

That makes me feel better.

I love that they're just going

to be with you for your life.

They're your best friend.

Fist bump.

Like, if I have something on my mind,

and I know if I told my dad he would say,

"Think of the positive."

But if I tell my dog, she's like,

"Oh, I totally understand."

It just makes me, like, not lonely.

I just always have someone with me.

And they don't wanna leave me.

They don't get sick of me, which is great.

Unlike some of my friends

who get sick of me.

Humans might be like,

"No, I don't wanna do that."

But cats might be like,

"Yeah, I'll I'll do that."

I don't really like to play

with my brother. I think it's boring.

And when I play with Coco,

it's much funner.

If I cry

Then Toasty fake cries.

An animal just loving you unconditionally,

and it makes a connection with you,

like you just can't break.

If you have a true bond with them,

they are your pet.

Nirvana.

Oy, oy, oy, oy.

I remember,

since I was ten years old

"Look, Indiana Jones movie." Ah!

I wanna go and live adventures too.

I have to fulfill this thirst

for adventure,

and I knew that there was

so much to learn.

I decided, "Okay.

I'll do Catalan coast from Barcelona."

And I followed the coast

of France and Italy.

For me it was clear that

once you go alone on a mission,

that you can't rely on anybody else,

so you're only responsible

for what happens to yourself.

Whoa!

Worst off

I was a bit lonely, maybe.

Just, "What am I doing here?

Did I plan too big? Did I dream too big?"

And then I didn't know that Italy

had so many little things waiting for me.

I see a little dog

in the middle of the street,

walking in between the two lanes.

She was very happy to see me.

I could tell by the moving of the tail.

Happy to see somebody,

but at the same time

she couldn't handle, um, people.

And she was like, uh, running away.

I said, "Okay, uh"

Already everything was going on

in my mind, if I should take the dog.

Like, when you hit something

on your consciousness, no?

Well, first thing, we went to the vet.

And I asked, "Please can you tell me

how big is this dog going to be?"

Because I am traveling

in a kayak and

for me weight is quite important.

They said, "No, no, she's

She might be 10 months, maybe one year,

but she's not growing bigger."

I said, "Perfect. So seven kilos.

Okay, seven kilos. That's good."

I put her on the kayak

We will paddle a little bit.

The problem is, at the beginning,

she got a bit seasick.

At that moment, I found a fisherman

that had plenty of dogs.

And the fisherman told me,

"You don't have to worry about anything.

The dog will understand soon enough

that you're going on the sea.

She will overcome seasickness

because she wants to be with you."

It all changed. Nirvana started to enjoy.

And we started to figure out

the new sailor aboard.

Even then, I still had to change

a little bit my routine of kayaking.

I would not go anymore on rough seas.

If I could avoid it,

I would make shorter distances

so Nirvana could be

a little bit more comfortable.

And summer was coming

and it was getting hotter.

So I have to build her some shadow,

because she cannot wear a hat like me.

I figured out how to put,

like, a little stick with a cross,

and then a triangle of some material

I had extra on my kayak.

And then she would have

the perfect shade on the most hot days.

I had to put her, uh,

life jacket, of course.

In winter, if she was getting too wet,

she would get cold.

So I had to figure out a suit

and was with protection and waterproof.

I still didn't figure out

the being her obedience.

Communication was not working for me.

And I meet somebody that tells me

how to understand dogs.

That they come from wolves.

They need the leader of the pack.

And I have to be the leader

of the pack for Nirvana,

even if it's only a two persons pack.

One day I would teach her, "Sit!"

Next day I would teach her, "Go!"

Next day I would teach her,

"Jump on the kayak."

And in only half a month,

she knew so many things.

"Jump out of the kayak."

Then when she would be on land,

I would say

Because that means, "If you keep going,

you will just find water.

And you have to go all the way."

No, no, no, no, no.

Go there!

Go there.

Hup, hup. Hup, hup.

Come here and jump back again. Hup.

Hup, hup. Hup.

This list that I did,

we did it in a couple of days.

And we count to like, 90 words

or something like that.

But I enjoyed that we were a team.

Yeah, I could share with her

these nice moments

where there would be,

maybe, a nice sunset.

Or we would wake up in the tent together.

Jump! Jump!

Whoo-hoo!

It was really, really nice to have

this constant companion everywhere.

I was no longer alone.

The four years of kayaking

that we had together,

it gave me confidence that we could

be anywhere and I could do anything.

She's just very wise.

Yeah, she's for sure remarkable.

She can do things

that other dogs can't do.

This is Goku.

He was abandoned outside.

Nirvana

was very curious of the little cat.

And I just said, "Okay, let's see

what happens if I put them together."

It's amazing how Nirvana

instinct of mother.

I could see it in only fifteen minutes.

She was like,

"Oh! I have to take care of this."

And then,

Goku, the little cat, started to look

for the belly and for the little n*pples.

That's natural. That's instinct.

And I was like, "Okay."

But after two days,

milk was coming out of Nirvana's breasts.

So we just let it naturally

come as it was.

It was strange, but that's when

both got together so strongly.

Goku!

And then, suddenly, we were a three.

Stay.

Sit.

Give Goku a kiss.

Animals have instinct

that nobody teaches us,

but they somehow know how to do it.

I was curious how Nirvana

developed all these instincts.

Because she did it with so much love.

Goku!

After my kayak tour, I thought to myself,

"I have a lot of experience with the sea."

I decided to bring people to do

whale watching experiences in Barcelona.

Nirvana is there too, of course.

And she enjoys so much the tours

when we have whales or dolphins.

Where are the dolphins?

Look at the dolphins.

What a beauty.

I have been very lucky.

With my partner Ava,

we have a little son, called Joe.

Taking responsibility

of somebody else,

making sure this other being is safe,

sound and all these things.

This was for sure something

that I developed with Nirvana.

We-We've learned a lot of things together.

I arrived at the end

of my travel quite fulfilled.

How nice. How nice.

How beautiful.

Right? How beautiful.

We are a bigger family now.

Um, this time it was an adventure,

but for the rest of my life.

They're actually pretty smart.

And I think we can, like,

underestimate how much they know.

One time, I was talking to Kayla

about like, something,

and she actually kind of barked.

And I was like,

"Oh, so you can understand me."

Did you poop?

Oh, yeah?

- We just talk to them.

- Yeah, like, regular, like this.

- And they understand.

- They understand some of it.

I feel like she's a real person.

Huh? It's not worth it.

It's not worth it. No.

Why are you so mad?

'Cause we let you

We just slapped you

in the cage just for a second.

I think they're saying, "I'm hungry."

"Bro, I need food or I'm gonna die."

I feel like they talk to me

in a way that only I can understand.

Kinda like that.

And he just comes

right over to me.

Here he comes!

What a good boy!

Hi, my love!

My dog's name is Bilbo.

And I've had him for almost all my life.

Oh, all done. Yeah!

I remember I was like, in my driveway,

and my mom comes over to me

with Bilbo in her arms

and I just stared at him.

Me and Bilbo both have

cleft lips and palettes.

And the second I saw him,

this was just my dog.

And like, nothing could change it,

we just, like, bonded immediately

right when I saw him.

He was originally a foster puppy.

But when we finally just met

the dream dog of my life

My mom, she was like,

"Oh, my God. We have to keep him."

Just having a dog that has

the same condition as I do,

feels really nice.

We both had

to have some surgeries.

So he just understands me a lot.

But after almost every surgery,

he'll lay on top of me

and he just like, stay there

for, like, the whole day.

You have that feeling, like,

your dog is right there with you,

and he's, like, so in love with you.

He's probably thinking,

like, right this moment,

"I'm glad I got picked by this human."

They're just like

they're like friends, you know?

- Um, and

- Close friends.

- They're just, like, part of our family.

- Dogs are similar to humans.

Yeah, they're just, like,

part of our family.

We're siblings,

and then they're siblings, so

Our mom kind of lets us take care

of separate ones, you know.

Yeah, so like my brother

takes care of Milo

- A bit more than Morchi.

- and I take care of Morchi.

I mean, sometimes they get

annoyed with each other.

If my dog Daisy is getting attention,

and then Goose comes over,

she'll like, snap at him,

because she wants all the attention.

They play fight all the time.

Like, literally every single day.

Like, not kidding. Literally.

It's a weird relationship.

Cooper likes my other dog.

My other dog does not like him.

If you turn your brother or sister in,

you will not be punished.

When we got my younger sister, Bella,

Arthur peed in her crib.

Maybe he wanted to tell her,

"I'm the only baby in this house."

I've learnt from my pets that having

siblings sometimes can be tough.

But sometimes

the sweetest things will happen.

Okay, let's go this way, Blue.

Let's go this way, Blue.

Come on.

It's your new sister!

I don't think

he's met a cat before.

Who is that?

Aw.

Aw.

She's senior. She rules the house. Yes.

Yeah.

Really, Delilah, she's my child.

She's absolutely my firstborn.

She stayed with my mom

for a little bit, and she has a dog.

And they love each other so much.

To have another dog in the house,

to give her a second lease on life,

another spurt of energy

as she's getting older

is kind of the hope.

She's seventeen.

And honestly, I'm gonna let Travis

focus on the new puppy

and I'm gonna focus on Delilah.

And just make sure I'm being responsible.

It'll be interesting

with the puppy energy.

For sure.

I think it's gonna perk her right up.

Coffee with Blue,

morning coffee with Blue

What? What?

I knew I'd be bonding with this guy.

I did not expect it to be this fast.

Go get it!

By the looks of it,

he's gonna tear my house apart.

Whatever he wants.

Look at that.

Are you gonna tell him no

eventually?

I'm trying not to intervene

with your training.

No, Blue. No.

Where you gonna go with that?

Now you've gotten yourself stuck.

Yeah.

I'm right here.

I'm right here.

Oh, man. You figured it out.

Oh. Oh, dear. Okay.

There it is.

Let's get the poop bags.

Bianca.

I know. He's very weird.

Come on, Bianca.

Gotta be nice.

He gonna be your best friend someday.

The old saying goes,

"Man's best friend is a dog."

Literally.

In your opinion,

what's the best kind of pet?

First, you should get a dog

because dogs are the most popular animal.

Basically, birds are 16% of popularity.

Cats are 38. Dogs are 59.

Guinea pigs, mouses,

or any type of rodent are 20.

So, like

Actually, I'll go from lowest to highest.

Spiders, five or 10% popularity.

Cats are a 30

Eight percent popularity.

Oh, guinea pigs and those

those ones are the cutest.

Or a hamster.

Hamsters are tinier

and easier to take care of.

Guinea pigs are bigger, but they're cuter.

Well, actually, I think they're the same

in cuteness levels.

So, if you want something

that's cute for all their life

get any rodent, except a mouse.

I think I always wanted a pig

from literally watching Babe

and Charlotte's Web.

You know, I'd read about this special kind

that didn't get above,

you know, 20 or 25 pounds.

And I said, "That's what I'm gonna do."

So I went and I picked up my child.

And there he was screaming.

I was thinking, "Oh, my goodness.

I'm in love."

He was about four pounds.

Like this big.

Yeah, he was tiny.

I did research, and they were like,

"Pigs are great pets.

They're very smart. They're clean."

And I was like, "Why would I get a dog

if I can get a pig that's even better?"

You know, you can get

a pig that stays small,

that's super clean, that's super smart.

I'm like, "Why don't people just get

these 25 pound pigs?"

Then Ziggy grew up

Whoo! Okay.

That is good, sir.

As big as Ziggy is,

he's technically a mini pig.

He's still under

the 300 pound threshold, so he's still...

Just barely.

- Yeah, he's 299 pounds.

- Yeah.

I got him now.

He's mine and I love him.

What's that Winston Churchill quote?

"Dogs look up to you,

cats look down to you,

and pigs treat you like an equal."

And you have to

treat 'em like an equal.

Spin. And spin.

Pigs are smart.

They've got the intelligence somewhere

of around, like, a four-year-old child.

You get that bucket, honey.

We always describe Ziggy as,

like, a toddler in a pig suit.

Ziggy!

He is pure chaos.

Oh, my God!

The most mischievous thing

I have ever seen.

That's just life with Ziggy.

At any time,

it's gonna be

the most unpredictable Zig Show.

Who knocked down the boxes?

I'm mischievous too. I feel like

he got it from me a little bit.

- Guaranteed.

- Mm-hmm.

Getting to know him

and just how complex he is,

and how emotional he is,

just changed my perspective

on all animals.

The house we were renting,

the people decided

they were gonna sell the house.

And they gave us six months' notice,

but we couldn't find anything

that was gonna work for Zig.

So we decided we needed

to buy a motor home

and figure everything else out there.

Yeah, we spent two years

traveling the country,

finding work along the way.

Ziggy became

the center of our universe.

We chose everything based off of

what we knew he loved.

And then we started volunteering

at different sanctuaries on the way,

you know, and work there for a month,

experience other animals.

And so we learned a lot.

And then while we were traveling,

people wanted to meet Ziggy,

the famous pig.

He got a pretty decent following.

Like 50,000 people on social media.

That really helped us get started.

You know, having a donor base

and to start a sanctuary.

And now we rescue animals on his behalf.

Zig, you want me to get

some spa music playing, honey?

You want me to light some incense?

What you want, Zig?

We treat all of our animals

like we treat Ziggy.

All right.

Those are my babies right there.

He just kinda set our standard

for how we wanna care for animals

and how we want to set up

our organization.

Hi, Hannah.

So if you look at Hannah's back legs,

you'll see that they're not shaped right.

Let me see your leg. Let me see your leg.

She was found by a bird rescuer

out in Montana.

And she contacted, like,

every pig rescue in the country

and they all said, you know, she's gonna

be big, her legs won't hold up.

And you might as well just euthanize.

And our philosophy is,

if she's happy today,

we might as well give her another day.

She's on her 14th pair of shoes.

And so far she's about

two and a half years old.

She's doing good.

We're trying more and more to get the,

you know, the daily operations covered

via volunteers and staff and stuff.

Hey, buddy.

Specials needs animals

really occupy majority of our time.

Lieutenant Dan.

Isn't he cool?

He's got spin a bifida. So his spine's

kinda twisted, but he's tough.

I'm proud of him. I'm proud of all of 'em.

You don't wanna put this strip

below the stump at all.

You know, we've made

really good relationships

with very experienced farm animal vets.

Now, not many people have the laser

and not many people have prosthetics labs.

So, once you have those resources

it's even harder to not be

the one that steps up

when there's a special needs animal

needing a home.

That's a good boy.

Who's hungry?

You want breakfast?

Mister, are you hungry?

Oh, gosh, Jambi.

- It's time to party, y'all.

- Come on, Ziggy.

Whoa! You're gonna

get a speeding ticket this morning.

The first night we met, we talked about

how kids aren't in the cards.

And there's Mo. He's superman.

Yeah, we like the four-legged kids.

He loves his neck scratched.

Oh, Willy, you wanna help?

You wanna chase me? Come on.

Come on.

It's a lot of heartbreak,

but it's a lot

of really special moments too.

Come on, bud.

Come on, little man.

There you go. There you go.

Good boy.

He's so sweet.

Hi, baby.

A lot of 'em are here

just more or less on borrowed time.

Zippy, we got her about a year ago.

What are you doing, Zippy?

She was paralyzed from I mean,

they don't really have like a waist

But like the waist down kinda.

- There you go.

- The people that gave her to us

said they named her Zippy

'cause she was all over the place.

But the first week she was here, she just,

you know, Zippy wasn't zipping.

Her breathing wasn't good.

And one morning

it had gotten more labored,

so we rushed her to NC State

and, literally, Zippy stopped breathing.

And they threw her in an oxygen chamber,

and she was there for like two weeks.

And she made it. She was an ICU survivor.

She looks a lot better. For just energy.

Hey, Zippy.

She got through it,

and it was like, "She's invincible."

Happiest little pig.

Happiest little pig.

The sweetest pig, the funniest pig.

She would go so fast

her butt would barely even touch.

It was almost like she was just levitating

just a little bit off the ground.

It's kind of like when you see people,

like, water skiing and they're just

She played so hard. Every day, all day.

First out, last in.

How you gonna get out of there?

Can you tell me?

Then you have to go pick her up,

and you have to carry her inside

because she just wants to keep playing.

You like that?

She's just a beautiful, beautiful soul.

Whoa!

You are

the fastest swimmer, honey.

You're gonna have to

be in the Olympics, okay?

This is the only water park

in the world for pigs.

If Ziggy's in here,

the other pigs won't get in,

'cause he won't let them in.

Only Zippy.

You are so fast!

Ziggy has a soft spot for her.

Where's Zig?

Come on, Zig.

All this is just so we can prolong

a life that's worth living.

- She loves it.

- I know.

A lot of times

when these animals come to us

they're broken in every way.

They got broken bones,

they got broken souls.

And then the greatest part is

seeing them heal in all capacity.

When they learn to trust

and then when trust turns into love.

It's amazing

to give an animal a better life.

And they'll probably help you

have a better life

because they understand what it is

to have a rough time.

Our cousins are cat rescuers.

So they were like, "Hey, are you guys

interested in getting any cats?"

And then we adopted them.

When I was in my mom's tummy

my grandma and my grandpa

went to, like, the, um

The shelter. Yeah, yeah, the shelter.

And they found some

really cute dogs next to each other.

And they decided to get 'em.

Right when we got him, he came to me.

And I feel like we just had a really,

really special relationship

ever since, like, I first saw him.

Most people think

that older dogs and older cats

aren't as valuable.

But they're amazing,

and just as amazing as younger dogs.

I rescue dogs

that other shelters cannot take in.

My mission is to do everything

in my power to save them.

Hello? This is Dog Duca.

I want to help your dog

as soon as possible,

but first I have some questions.

No.

Because I'm a dog trainer

I can help dogs who bite,

dogs who are older, etc.

This one was abandoned

and I think he was abused.

He's around 14 or 15 years old,

and he bites.

Sit. Very good! Very good!

Show excitement when praising him.

Like this, "Yes!"

He can't find a new home

if he continues to bite!

You're not putting your heart into it!

Not half-assed like that, but say, "Yes!"

I started rescuing dogs

after my business failed

and I was going through a rough time.

And I needed rescuing myself,

which my dog Duca did for me.

If it weren't for Duca,

I wouldn't be doing this work.

Welcome to Dog Duca. Okay?

He could use a wash.

When dogs come to Dog Duca

I want them to be able to say to me,

"I'm happy!"

"This is fun!"

"All of my bad memories have disappeared!"

I want to take care of them so

they are able to feel this joy.

I want to do this for them!

In Japan, pet adoption centers

don't allow people 65 and older

to adopt dogs.

I wanted

to do something about this.

My idea was to have seniors

take care of older dogs.

In this way seniors and older dogs

could support each other.

- Dai stopped peeing in the house.

- That's great.

Yeah, he's such a good boy.

No more peeing everywhere.

Momo, you too are so well-behaved.

See you later.

Here you go, Dai-chan.

Here you go, Momo.

Mr. Takahashi came

to my house with two dogs.

They were shy in the beginning.

Especially Dai.

He would pee everywhere

marking his territory.

Don't growl. Who's asking you to growl?

On the surface they look cute.

In here, they are adults.

Assertive adults.

You get hot-headed quick, scolding Dai.

No!

For all the days that I have lived

There were always dogs.

I have a lot of good memories.

Pom Pom

She had a tail

It looked like a cheerleader's pom-pom.

So that's why we named her Pom Pom.

I think my husband is taking a walk

with Pom Pom right now in heaven.

Pom Pom was always by his side.

My husband suffered from Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's is a disease that gradually

takes away your memory.

But my husband never forgot

Pom Pom's name until he died.

When I put my husband's ashes

up on the altar

Pom Pom wouldn't leave my husband's photo.

He passed away and a year later she died.

I think my husband came to get her.

And then I was alone.

Now, Dai and Momo,

having them around is really something

I couldn't live without.

When we think about how much animals

have healed the human heart

it is immeasurable.

You're cute.

You don't want water?

Animals are here to teach us.

When we lose our way, they remind us

how to be our best selves.

"Itoshii."

I love this word in Japanese.

It doesn't mean you just like someone

or that you simply love them.

It means that you are very grateful

for their existence.

And that they make you happy.

Itoshii.

That's the feeling I have

towards the two of them.

My mom is a therapist

but sometimes, like, I would feel like

I couldn't have someone to talk to.

My mom is great at that. No offense, Mom.

But, um, sometimes pets

just go the extra mile

because sometimes listening is

Just listening is enough.

I think animals definitely

help you be present.

They're always there for you

in the moment, no matter the situation.

Like some people,

they get really sad in their life

and then when you bring an animal,

it keeps you going.

So it kind of gets you

on your life track again.

'Cause I swear

I can be a better man

'Cause I swear

If only you could understand

The faith in me

Shall set me free, reflections

Any animal, I'ma bond with.

The faith in me

Shall set me free, reflections

Good boy. Good boy.

That's my my therapy, in a sense.

I love you too, phat man.

Can you make face?

No, make face. Good girl.

Not you. Not you, jealous.

When I was a kid I had turtles

and lizards and everything.

And I would be sitting in there

talking to them

and I'm hearing them talk to me.

As you're looking in the eyes

of this animal, you see yourself.

I-I tell people, without them,

I don't know where I would be.

The community that I live in

We're all living messed up, man.

Just look at look at this.

It's Southeast DC.

DC was known as Dodge City.

We had the highest m*rder rates

and stuff like that.

There was a lot of people getting k*lled

in Southeast, east of the river.

And so I know there was a lot of deaths.

Uncles, aunts, cousins.

Rodney, how did you come

to Earth Conservation Corps?

What did you do before you came here?

Sold drugs.

You get tired of walking out the door

and you have to keep a g*n with you.

I mean, you can't enjoy life.

You can't feel proud

about anything that you have

because it was ill-gotten gains.

I went to get an apartment.

You need a W-2.

Ah, you sell drugs,

they don't give you a W-2.

Earth Conservation Corps called

and I did a little interview with them.

Explained to them that whole nature thing

has always been in me.

I like to be outside.

Hear this.

The conservation started

basically 30 years ago.

We were doing a tributary

to the Anacostia River.

As we started cleaning the river

I'm an animal junkie so I start seeing

beavers and great blue herrings,

and minnows and all this.

And I'm like, "Uh-oh."

You know, the fish, snakes,

birds come through here,

excited to call this place their home.

They have no right to destroy it.

They always say, "Lead by example."

You want change,

be the first one to change.

So it wasn't that

I just stopped doing everything bad

and all of a sudden became

this nature nut and this

No, no, no. No.

I still was doing things and everything.

It just, over time, I think I was blessed

to start learning certain things

and seeing things

and listening to those people.

It taught me something.

And we ended up

bringing back the bald eagle,

reintroducing them to the DMV area.

Bald eagles in DC. This is where it's at.

This is where it's happening.

It's gonna be your whole summer,

taking care of these birds.

When they leave it's going to be

like losing your child.

You've watched them grow.

Now they're on their own.

You think?

Yeah, man, you're gonna get

attached to them like a pet.

When it first started,

I was one of the skeptics.

One of the doubters, you know. I didn't

It didn't really make a difference to me.

But to see them come back

and actually know that I was part of it

I have a different outlook on life.

An entirely different outlook on life.

I ended up getting into falconry

because I love

to be surrounded by the animals.

You learn so much more from them,

watching them,

than I've ever learned from people,

on survival, on everything.

It's just too much to learn.

And I think

I've learned enough from people.

You wanna fly up here?

Eighty-five to 95% of juvenile birds

won't make it through their first winter.

So a falconer technically, whether they

know it or not, are conservationists.

And it's a partnership

that you build with your bird.

Because now when we release them,

they have a chance at survival,

reproducing and keeping

the population in check.

Man, I don't wanna let him go.

But he's nice and healthy.

We're gonna release him

and return him back to the wild.

When it's time to release that bird,

when you let that bird go,

now you feel this sense of

"Yeah, I'm helping.

I did my little piece."

Agnes.

You don't like being off me. I know.

This is me and my babies.

I know. With your stinky self.

Some of the birds that I have

are birds that are not releasable.

They've been injured.

They cannot hunt on their own anymore.

So they can't be released.

The moment I get any animal,

it's my family. Instantaneously.

These birds are just like

You got a pet doggie at home?

You got any pets at home?

If you love that pet,

that pet will always love you.

What's up, phat boy?

What's up, phat boy?

How old are you?

Twelve.

Twelve? Well, this bird's twice your age.

Oh.

And you know what happened to him?

He broke his wing.

See right here?

And so he can't hunt anymore.

So he can only fly a short distance.

So he gonna need somebody to take care

of him for the rest of his life.

His name is Mr. Hoost.

I've had this guy for a long, long time.

Why is it staring at me?

'Cause you looking at him.

You looking at him, he can look at you.

He's not gonna stick his claws in you.

He not gonna try to hurt you.

He wouldn't do anything to you.

See, watch. Come here, phat.

She knows you're a good person.

See how she's just sitting there?

She ain't make no noise,

and she ain't even jump off your hand

one time since she been sitting there.

So you must be a good person

in order for her to stay there.

So you know

what I'm telling you to do now?

Always remain a good person, okay?

- He eats

- He eats

- Mice

- mice

- Rats

- rats

- Snakes

- snakes

- Squirrels

- squirrels

- little girls.

- Li

They'll make you feel better

when you're scared,

when you're sick, when you're afraid

of something, and you go get him

Yeah.

If I'm feeling bad, my animals

are gonna make me feel better.

I ended up going

to 33 funerals in one year.

And it was like Hoost, him and I

just looked at each other.

And it was like he was telling me

he felt everything

I was going through at that moment.

It was, like, that instant connection.

Everything just stopped.

Like pain, time,

whatever you want to call

Everything just stopped.

You know why it's called

"a moment of silence"?

'Cause what can you say

that really makes somebody feel better?

Nothing.

So that's why you just be quiet.

Just be present.

To me, everything has its healing values,

every living creature, every whatever,

if you allow it.

My mom used to always say,

"This physical shell

that we're in is just that."

That spirit is what lives on.

Come on.

I believe my animals came from the divine.

I named pretty much all of 'em

after someone that I've lost.

I have a Barbarian Mastiff dog,

her name is Buma.

When I was a kid, I couldn't say grandma.

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.

So, this particular dog, Buma,

that's who you are.

You're telling me

you don't see that person

when you're looking at the animal?

I do.

Whoa. Come here.

My mom, her nickname was Dippy.

So I got a horse named Dippy.

People say, "Why?"

I say, "Because my mother

rode my back for all those years,

now I get to ride her back."

Just that connection with them

When they're gone, they're never gone.

That animal,

or whatever is named after them,

their spirit is in there to me.

There you go. That's it.

When my mom died, I trapped a bird.

And I was saying a prayer for her.

And I was like, "Mom,

I'm gonna release this bird for you."

Fly free.

Take care.

Watch over us.

You may be gone physically,

but memory never forgotten.

And some people said,

"Hey, Rodney, the next time you do that,

can you add my son.

He was in a car accident. He was k*lled."

Somebody else would come on and say,

"My mother had cancer.

She died two months ago."

And so within, say like,

a week or so, I trapped another bird.

I'm gonna release him this afternoon.

So all the people that wanted

to put the names out

can go ahead and put the names out now.

Next thing you know,

there was like 60 names on there.

We got some names

to put on the wings for prayers, man.

"My Uncle Ronnie.

Big Roland, Little Roland, Uncle Charles.

Uncle Rags.

Greg, Leon, Wardy, Sherman,

Nevilles, Aaron, DeAnthony."

And now everybody

send me names of loved ones,

and I'll let my bird go. Fly it around.

And it's taking the names of up on the

wings of the prayers, and stuff like that.

I named her Keisha,

after the young lady

that used to work with me

down at the Earth Conservation Corps,

who lost her life a few years back.

So we're gonna release her now

and let Keisha go.

When I know that somebody is hurting,

or I know that somebody

I can do something and be there,

that's what I'm gonna do.

We just wanna send prayers out

and let them know that we love them.

And just 'cause you're gone

does not mean you're forgotten.

I look at it what can get

closer to God than the bird?

And that bird's whispering

in God's ears for me right now.

Aw, look. She's falling asleep.

Poor little old lady.

She just wants to be comfy.

We've gotten to have some just

incredible times together.

I'm celebrating with my valentine today.

And I always tried to make sure

she was part of the journey

and part of it with me.

We were very poor for a very long time.

Um, you know, we would share

a can of tuna together.

So she's seen it all.

The good, the bad, the ugly.

And I'm just grateful to have someone

I I know I say someone,

but someone there for me.

Okay. Blue, you stay.

Okay.

Delilah, she got up

and she started walking.

And now she doesn't wanna lay down,

which to me, is a great sign.

Do you wanna go outside?

I mean, she has more energy

than she's had in days.

Good job, D.

There you go.

Good job, Delilah.

I was scared of, like,

losing pets and stuff.

They feel so fragile.

They feel like babies or like old people.

Like, they just feel like

you need to take care of them.

I remember thinking,

"Is he gonna be okay?"

What's gonna happen?"

I get so attached to them.

And then when, like,

one of them passes away, I'm

I'm just devastated

because when I come home

they're not gonna be there anymore.

- That's a good girl.

- What is he doing?

It gets really hard when you lose 'em.

And you wouldn't do this

if you didn't care.

'Cause you care is why it hurts so much.

Hi, girl.

At noon, Zippy went flying

across the yard to eat watermelon.

And then by dinner time,

she didn't wanna eat.

A pig that doesn't wanna eat

is definitely a sick pig.

We thought she was coming home.

Is that my baby?

But they were, like,

"This is really bad."

And they let Kristin go in there

and say goodbye. And we FaceTimed. And

Said goodbye to my little girl.

It was tough.

- Yeah.

- It's still tough.

We kinda had, like, a family meeting

to talk about it.

They didn't wanna, like, give her up.

Her legs weren't working,

so we had to put her down.

We said our goodbyes to her.

And after that

We hugged her the last time

and then they took her away.

It's just weird

Because they're not people.

But like, it feels, like, so intense.

And it feels like the same feeling

when, like, a human dies.

It's not all sad.

It's our responsibility as guardians

to see them off.

We do it to show our gratitude.

In Japan,

we call it the rainbow bridge.

And we believe our pets

will be waiting for us in heaven.

I feel like

the rainbow bridge is what they see.

And then when they walk through it,

they see all the memories

of their owners and their family.

There's probably

somewhere better than Earth

where all of the animals, all the people

are just maybe hanging out

and having, like, the time of their life.

Now they're watching over us.

And if you see white butterflies,

those are my dogs that died.

I felt sad about him.

I held my other bunny.

And I talked about him to my parents.

Then we celebrated his life.

And we thought about

how happy a life we had.

You ready, man?

You ready?

Beautiful. Beautiful.

For me, there's no difference between

losing a human loved one, an animal.

Love is love is love is love.

They're like magical beings

sent down here to help us live our life.

The rings.

Aw

Your relationship's gonna get deeper

every single day.

Oh, a beauty.

I'm sure they love me.

But they can't love me more

than I love them.

We are all on this big ol'

floating rock in space together.

Animals, I think they really

bring us to our real self.

I think that connection

and bond is important.

I really do feel like we need each other.

It's nice getting to know other creatures.

'Cause we are just animals, like,

at the end of the day.

Aw.

Good morning.

Yes, you're a good boy.

What are you doing?

Look at me, Daisy.

The best part about pets is just pets.

I want her to be unique and responsible

and be her own person.

But she is a guinea pig,

so being her own guinea pig.

You and Dad are allergic to cats and

dogs, especially cats!

- Jinx.

- Yeah.

Um, I already had a fish,

except she died, sadly.

So, um, we released her in the sea.

And, um, I hope she didn't get eaten.

If farting is a talent

I guess that's a talent for Luke.

Stay there.

Say if you want something different.

Hey, come back here.

Jambi, I don't

- I mean, she's special.

- She's so funny.

Like, she's just always there.

She's giving you weird looks.

She's Sometimes she's licking doorknobs.

You don't really know why.

I think something happened upstairs

on her. I just don't know.

My friend, DJ, he has, like,

just five dogs now.

I'm like, five dogs?

I have four dogs, eleven fish,

one cat and one guinea pig.

And he's like,

"What?"

Like, what the freak?

How did I literally get my first dog?

It's a literal puppy

At 5:00 a.m.,

he comes in and asks for food,

even though

it's usually sitting right outside.

Get a pet. Right now.

Get a pet.