Nowhere to take thousands of dogs roaming Memphis streets
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Contessia Humphrey went to Memphis Animal Services on Tuesday to drop off a sick puppy she found digging through a trash can in South Memphis, but ended up leaving the shelter with a second dog instead.
Humphrey said MAS wouldn't take the puppy, so she agreed to foster it. She said when she left the building, she was approached by a woman who had been trying to turn in a stray Labradoodle she also found in South Memphis, but was not having any luck inside.
'She was waiting on them, and it took them so long. She just finally said You know what, I'm just going to keep the dog,' said Humphrey. 'She said Ma'am, I can't keep this dog. Can you please take it?'
MAS tells WREG that they are currently accepting stray animals, but only dogs that are dangerous, sick, injured, or in immediate danger due to an ongoing distemper outbreak still active in the community.
MAS stated it's working closely with the University of Florida to manage the situation and find a long-term solution, but Humphrey said there are too many strays that need help right now.
Humphrey said she was asked to bring the sick puppy back to the shelter two days later when a veterinarian would be available. After Humphrey told them the puppy couldn't wait, she was sent to the Emergency Animal Hospital on Summer Avenue.
'So, I took the baby there and we were there like almost all night because they had a lot of animals. They had a lot of animal emergencies.' Humphrey said.
Last fall, MAS said the city's stray dog problem was overwhelming the animal shelter. At the time, Interim Director Mary Claire Borys said around 20,000 stray dogs were living on the streets of Memphis.
The same day Humphrey posted a picture of Daisy to the Lost and Found Dogs of Memphis, another person posted video of six puppies dumped on Boswell Avenue in East Memphis.
'I live in South Memphis, so many strays are in South Memphis,' said Humphrey.
MAS is still encouraging the public to report strays to 901-545-COPS. However, the shelter is also asking people who find strays to reach out to local rescue groups or the Humane Society.
The Real Good Dog Rescue said they receive numerous calls from people who have tried MAS and the Humane Society for help with a stray. The group said they are also getting more and more calls from dog owners who say they are moving and can't take their dog with them.
The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County said it is closed for any new intake appointments until the week of the 22nd.
The Humane Society recommends submitting a surrender request if a stray pet is found, but cannot guarantee if and when they will be able to accept that animal based on their current capacity for care.
To submit a surrender request, visit memphishumane.org to look at the adoptable animals at MAS, click here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Community collaboration crucial in addressing homelessness in Abilene
ABILENE, Texas () – Young professionals gathered at the Community Foundation of Abilene for an 'Abi Chat' during the Abilene Young Professionals luncheon. Networking took a purposeful turn to address homelessness through collaboration with the West Texas Homeless Network. The West Texas Homeless Network (WTHN) is a coalition of organizations dedicated to advocating for action that realigns systems and resources to end homelessness in Abilene, rather than merely managing it. The WTHN is neither a non-profit nor a for-profit organization; instead, it focuses on helping communities prevent and eliminate homelessness through collaboration and strategic planning. The Executive Director of Abilene Hope Haven shared why events like this are important in keeping the conversation with the public and continuing to address the needs of the Big Country Homeless community. 'We have a great network of people. We always are going to need to fill different gaps, depending on what's going on in the climate of our community. But we have a wealth of providers in the network that are really good at doing a holistic approach to those experiencing homelessness,' Horton shared. Horton says the Abilene community's wealth of resources and willingness to work together are its strengths. Whether a person needs help with mental health, food insecurity, substance abuse, or any number of issues that homeless neighbors face, the network is ready and willing to step in. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Mankeeping' is ruining dating for women who are tired of relationship burnout: ‘I'm not your therapist'
Turns out the real reason she's not texting back might be because you treated her like your shrink. A recent study from Stanford has officially named the emotional labor sucking the life out of straight women: 'mankeeping' — and it's driving them straight out of the dating pool. The term refers to the exhausting, unpaid gig of managing men's moods, stress and social lives — all while trying to keep their own mental health afloat. From decoding their partner's emotional constipation to playing middleman with his buddies, women are being cast as live-in therapists, social secretaries and emotional scaffolding. And they're over it. 'In the U.S., about one in five men claim they have no close friends,' said Stanford postdoctoral fellow and developmental psychologist Angelica Puzio Ferrara during a talk at the Clayman Institute Faculty Research Fellows. 'In comparison to women's social networks, men's social networks in the U.S. and UK tend to be thinner in depth, less frequent in emotional disclosure, and more rarely relied on for support.' Basically, he has no one else to talk to — so he trauma-dumps on you. Ferrara argues this male loneliness epidemic isn't just a 'him' problem — it's a her burden. And it's pushing women to hit pause on relationships altogether. According to Pew Research, just 38% of single women are actively seeking love — compared to 61% of men. That math adds up to one thing: women are opting out of being 'therapists with benefits.' 'This is the labor that women take on to shore up losses in men's social networks and reduce the burden of this isolation on families, on the heterosexual bond itself, and on men,' Ferrara explained. 'The barriers that men are facing in their relationships have the potential to expand women's labor on men's behalf.' In other words, it's not just one needy boyfriend — it's a system. Ferrara dubs this draining duty 'mankeeping,' likening it to 'kinkeeping' — the thankless job of maintaining family bonds, which also mysteriously ends up in women's laps. And the root of it all? Stunted male friendships and toxic masculinity. Ferrara says that naming this invisible labor is a first step toward equity. Recognizing and naming this form of gendered labor may be important for making women's emotional work more visible — and hopefully, more equal, she stressed. Until then? More and more women are swiping left on mankeeping. Another possible solution? Men could be calling their buddies more often. As The Post previously reported, some say it's just a wholesome fad — others are calling it a remedy for the male loneliness epidemic. In a surprisingly sweet new trend, bros — mostly Gen Z, but not exclusively — are picking up the phone and dialing their dudes just to say: 'Good night.' And the waterworks are flowing. One viral TikTok, with over 3 million views, shows a user filming her husband ringing up a pal. 'Hi — what's up, man? … I'm about to go to bed, and I'm just calling you to tell you good night,' he says, without a hint of irony. Cue the collective swoon. His friend, caught off guard, replies, 'Why? Are you thinking of me for real?' After the man sweetly says he loves him, the surprised pal answers: 'God damn I love you too […] I don't know what to say; you caught me off guard.' Viewers were all in. One commented: 'In all seriousness, this is how you fight the male loneliness epidemic, just be friends with each other.'
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Forget 'biological age' tests — longevity experts are using an $800 under-the-radar blood test to measure aging in real-time
Doctors and scientists are using a blood plasma test to study longevity. The test measures proteins and can tell you about your organ health. This field of proteomics could one day help detect diseases like cancer before they start. Should you have that second cup of coffee? How about a little wine with dinner? And, is yogurt really your superfood? Scientists are getting closer to offering consumers a blood test that could help people make daily decisions about how to eat, drink, and sleep that are more perfectly tailored to their unique biology. The forthcoming tests could also help shape what are arguably far more important health decisions, assessing whether your brain is aging too fast, if your kidneys are OK, or if that supplement or drug you're taking is actually doing any good. It's called an organ age test, more officially (and scientifically) known as "proteomics" — and it's the next hot "biological age" marker that researchers are arguing could be better than all the rest. "If I could just get one clock right now, I'd want to get that clock, and I'd like to see it clinically available in older adults," cardiologist Eric Topol, author of the recent bestseller "Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity," told Business Insider. Topol said armed with organ age test results, people could become more proactive stewards of their own health, before it's too late. "When we have all these layers of data, it's a whole new day for preventing the disease," Topol said. "You see the relationship with women's hormones. You see the relationship with food and alcohol. You don't ever get that with genes." A test like this isn't available to consumers just yet, but it's already being used by researchers at elite universities and high-end longevity clinics. They hope it can become a tool any doctor could use to assess patient health in the next few years. A startup called Vero, which was spun out of some foundational proteomics research at Stanford University, is hoping to beta test a proteomics product for consumers this year. "Knowing your oldest organ isn't the point; changing the trajectory is," Vero co-founder and CEO Paul Coletta told a crowd gathered at the Near Future Summit in Malibu, California, last month. Coletta told Business Insider Vero's not interested in doing "wealthcare." The company plans to make its test available to consumers for around $200 a pop, at scale. Their draw only requires one vial of blood. The big promise of proteomics is that it could be a more precise real-time tool for tracking important but subtle changes that emerge inside each of us as we age. Genetic testing can measure how our bodies are built, spotting vulnerabilities in a person's DNA that might predispose them to health issues. Standard clinical measurements like a person's weight, blood pressure, or cholesterol readings are a useful proxy for potential health issues. Then there are the increasingly popular "biological age" tests available to consumers at home. Most of those look at "epigenetic changes" — how environmental factors affect our gene expression. Proteomics does something different and new. It measures the product that our bodies make based on all those genetic and environmental inputs: proteins. It offers a live assessment of how your body is running, not just how it's programmed. If validated in the next few years, these tests could become key in early disease detection and prevention. They could help influence all kinds of medical decisions, from big ones like "What drugs should I take?" to little ones like "How does my body respond to caffeine or alcohol?" Some high-end longevity clinics are already forging ahead using proteomics to guide clinical recommendations, albeit cautiously. Dr. Evelyne Bischof, a longevity physician who treats patients worldwide, said she uses proteomic information to guide some of the lifestyle interventions she recommends to her patients. She may suggest a more polyphenol-rich diet to someone who seems to have high inflammation and neuroinflammation based on proteomic test results, or may even suggest they do a little more cognitive training, based on what proteomics says about how their brain is aging. Dr. Andrea Maier, a professor of medicine and functional aging at the National University of Singapore, told BI she uses this measurement all the time in her longevity clinics. For her, it's just a research tool, but if the results of her ongoing studies are decent, she hopes to be able to use it clinically in a few years' time. "We want to know what kind of 'ageotype' a person is, so what type of aging personality are you, not from a mental perspective, but from a physical perspective," Maier said. "It's really discovery at this moment in time, and at the edge of being clinically meaningful." "Once we have that validated tool, we will just add it to our routine testing and we can just tick the box and say, 'I also want to know if this person is a cardiac ager, or a brain ager, or a muscle ager' because now we have a sensitive parameter — protein — which can be added," Maier said. The two big-name proteomics tests are Olink and SOMAscan. For now, their high-end screening costs around $400-$800 per patient. "I'm losing lots of money at the moment because of proteomics for clinical research!" Maier said. Top aging researchers at Stanford and Harvard are pushing the field forward, racing to publish more novel insights about the human proteome. The latest findings from Harvard aging researcher Vadim Gladyshev's lab, published earlier this year, suggest that as we age, each person may even stand to benefit from a slightly different antiaging grocery list. To research this idea, Gladyshev looked at proteins in the blood of more than 50,000 people in the UK, all participants in the UK Biobank who are being regularly tested and studied to learn more about their long-term health. He tracked their daily habits and self-reported routines like diet, occupation, and prescriptions, comparing those details to how each patient's organs were aging. He discovered some surprising connections. Yogurt eating, generally speaking, tended to be associated with better intestinal aging but had relatively no benefit to the arteries. White wine drinking, on the other hand, seemed to potentially confer some small benefit to the arteries while wreaking havoc on the gut. "The main point is that people age in different ways in different organs, and therefore we need to find personalized interventions that would fit that particular person," Gladyshev told BI. "Through measuring proteins, you assess the age of different organs and you say, 'OK, this person is old in this artery.'" For now, there's too much noise in the data to do more. Dr. Pal Pacher, a senior investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism who studies organ aging and injuries, told BI that proteomics is simply not ready for clinical use yet. There's just too much noise in the data. But he imagines a future where a more sophisticated protein clock could help link up which people may be most vulnerable to diseases like early cancer, kidney disease, and more. (A California-based proteomics company called Seer announced last weekend that it is partnering with Korea University to study whether proteomics can help more quickly diagnose cancer in young people in their 20s and 30s.) "How beautiful could it be in the future?" Maier said. "Instead of three hours of clinical investigation, I would have a tool which guides me much, much better, with more validity towards interventions." Read the original article on Business Insider
