BC SPCA top rescues of 2025: Otters, kittens and a golden retriever given new lives

Stories about the resilience of animals and compassionate people in British Columbia broke hearts and renewed people’s faith in the world all year long.

Here are the BC SPCA’s most memorable animal stories for 2025:

Apollo’s journey from scrapyard to forever home

In August, a kitten that was barely a day old was found with two of his siblings in a Kelowna scrap yard. The person who found them scooped them up and took them to an animal hospital for emergency care, according to the BC SPCA.

Unfortunately, one of the kittens was in critical distress and had to be euthanized and the other had to be euthanized after the veterinarians’ best efforts failed, but one little kitten named Apollo survived and not only that, he thrived.

“This story celebrates the resiliency of this tiny kitten but also the incredible efforts of the BC SPCA’s fosters,” Manager at BC SPCA Kelowna Shannon Paille said. “The amazing foster spent countless nights waking up every couple of hours to bottle feed Apollo. He is the healthy kitten he is today because of her efforts and the compassionate person who found him.”

The person who rescued Apollo from that scrapyard decided to adopt him, so he spent the holidays in his forever home with the person who rescued him.

Otter orphans’ friendship got them back to the wild

In June and July in 2024, members of the public found two unrelated river otter pups were found in Greater Victoria.

Both pups had lost their mothers and ended up at the BC SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Metchosin.

The pups were young when they were found, so they had to be bottle fed a specialized formula four times a day by caregivers.

The staff didn’t want the pups to get attached to people, or view them as a food source, so they wore masks and gowns to disguise their human form.

The otters ended up bonding with each other, exploring their enclosure and learning the skills they needed to survive in the wild.

For a year, the otters stayed at the centre practicing their hunting and survival skills.

Then in April 2025, they were released into a suitable habitat that gave them a strong chance at survival.

“It was so rewarding to see both otters confidently swim off to explore their new home in the wild,” Ashley Currie, manager of BC SPCA’s Wild ARC, said in the release. “This is why we do what we do.”

Birdie made an impression from hundreds of kilometres away

In November, a BC SPCA animal protection officer found a four-year-old golden retriever mix tethered with a heavy chain at a remote property west of Prince George.

The officer rescued the dog, who ended up with the name Birdie, since her thick fur was hiding a serious injury. The chain and the carabiner used to attach it had become partially embedded in the skin on her neck and Birdie needed emergency surgery.

“Birdie stole the hearts of everyone who met her,” animal care specialist at BC SPCA Quesnel Jennifer Coghill said in the release. “After all that she had been through, she was so friendly, even right after her surgery. She just wanted to be loved.”

Birdie ended up finding a permanent home when a BC SPCA volunteer heard her story and came up from Vancouver Island to meet her and take her home.

“We are so grateful to have already received some pictures of Birdie in her forever home, and she looks so happy. What a difference a few weeks made in the life of this dog,” Coghill said.

A jogger found Arnie and then Arnie found a home

In April, a jogger found an emaciated pitbull, English bulldog mix while on a run near McNair Secondary School in Richmond.

The dog was incredibly thin, just skin and bones, and after waiting to see if someone would come looking, the jogger took the dog to the BC SPCA in Richmond.

The centre named the dog Arnie and he was put into foster care where he could gain weight.

After several months of care, Arnie was adopted in July to his forever home where he gets lots of toys and love.

Sunshine Coast scrambled to find homes for 32 cats

In early December, the BC SPCA Sunshine Coast centre found 32 cats in plastic containers left outside its gates around 9 a.m.

Staff found the cats around 20 minutes after they were dropped off, and one of the cats was found dead.

The centre had to close briefly so it could focus on finding the cats temporary homes while caring for the 50 animals already housed there.

Staff transferred 15 of the cats to the BC SPCA Surrey and some of the cats are already up for adoption. The rest of the cats will be available once they have been spayed or neutered.