Shelter dogs are those that are housed and cared for in some sort of animal rescue center. Often they are abandoned or neglected pups that have been taken in by the center in hopes of finding new, loving homes for the dogs. Towards that end, the shelters often hold events designed to raise interest in the animals and hopefully place them with new families will love and care for them. One such shelter found a new, innovative way to do just that and at the same time, help “rescue” some humans, too.

The Lost Dogs Home in Melbourne, Australia came up with the groundbreaking adoption campaign. They offered to “rescue” some office workers from the tight quarters and solitude of their lonely cubicles. All the workers had to do was give up a small part of their lunch time to walk a dog or two.

Kate Hoelter, the general Manager of The Lost Dogs Home says that dogs are widely accepted for their stress-reducing capabilities. Locked away in cubicles for hours on end, away from fresh air, sunshine and contact with others, it is possible to overlook the importance of taking a break and getting away from the stress-inducing environments our jobs often hold. She advocates taking a lunch break and getting outside with a friend who will help you forget about your stress, even for a few minutes.

The shelter’s website claims the campaign was a huge success. They claim to have “rescued” more than 5,000 office workers. In addition to that and even better news, all the dogs in the program were adopted.

Reunions among soldiers who once served together are a long-standing tradition but a few of the men who served in Afghanistan with the National Guard recently enjoyed an unusual reunion.

While stationed in the Middle Eastern country, the adopted a 65-pound, mixed breed stray dog. They were reunited with her and her 7 frolicking puppies on Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport shortly after the animals arrived.

A Long Island pet rescue organization made the reunion possible. Their motto is “Paws of War — No Buddy Left Behind.”

1st Lt. Joseph LaPenta of Staten Island said the dogs had become like members of their family. The mother dog, whom the men had named Sheba, was adopted by the group after they arrived in Afghanistan in January. She often accompanied them on patrol and chased off other stray dogs that could have posed a threat to her pack of men.

In March, Sheba gave birth to her puppies> she and the puppies were in a weakened state of health and the men saw to their needs, nursing them all back to health. This was accomplished in part by the beef jerky and MREs the guys shared with the dogs. Later, as word of their need spread back home, the men’s’ families sent bags of dog food.

As part of the U.S.’s plans to reduce their presence in Afghanistan, the men learned their base was to be closed. LaPenta said they were all heartbroken at having to leave them behind. Staff Sgt. Edwin Caba of Long Beach decided to do something about it. He contacted a former high school teacher who put him in touch with the Long Island-based Guardians of Rescue. The organization has been collecting donations for a number of years to assist with bringing dogs back from combat areas. Roughly 20 dogs had already been rescued when the request to help Sheba and her pups was received. They worked with a Kabul-based organization called Nowzad to get the dogs shipped to the U.S. where the soldiers were waiting to adopt them.

The cost of transporting a dog out of a war zone and back to the U.S. is roughly $4,000 each. It includes a 30-day quarantine period prior to shipment, vaccinations, food and the transportation.

The soldiers met with the dogs at a Save-a-Pet animal shelter on Long Island. The puppies are already 6 months old and have been given the names of Cadence, Rocky, Sarah, Jack, Buckeye, Breezy and Harris. Two of the soldiers are taking 2 dogs each and the 3 others will take one each. All but 2 will be staying in the New York area. The other 2 will be moving to the Cincinnati area.

Caba was grateful for the diversion created by the dogs. He lost his home in Superstorm Sandy and has just completed his third tour in Afghanistan.

As for Sheba, her situation is still being assessed. There is hope she can one day be trained as a service dog to help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

A 32-year-old man realized a dream when he was adopted by his foster mother nearly 20 years after being ripped away from his foster family.

Maurice Griffin started life on a rough note. Abandoned as a baby, it took three years before he landed in the home of Lisa Godbold and her husband Charles. Lisa said the whole reason they went through the process to become foster parents was so they could adopt Maurice.

They family lived happily together for the next ten years before disaster struck. Though neither party will discuss what exactly tore them apart, at 13, Maurice was removed from the Godbold’s home and faced the darkest days of his young life.

Griffin described the experience as being abducted from your family and being told to simply accept it. Godbold said they felt tortures. They didn’t know where he was and weren’t allowed any contact with Maurice.

Griffin was sent from one foster home to another and endured abuse and mistreatment along the way. He held onto the memories he had of the family he still loved.

Godbold never stopped trying to find Griffin. Finally in 2009 she found success through social media. The separated mother and son vowed they would never lose touch with one another ever again.

In March, the pair entered a San Diego courtroom where Godbold finally adopted the young man she always felt was her son. Griffin could barely contain his excitement prior to the hearing, saying the adoption was 20 years overdue.

After the short proceeding, Griffin said he’d been waiting his whole life for this one moment. With paperwork in hand, he said he was back with the family he loved and felt he was home at last.

Godbold was very emotional, saying their lives had come full circle. Griffin now joins his siblings, Godbold’s two biological children in completing the family. Charles passed away while the parties were separated and out of contact.

Griffin always looked up to Charles and would have loved to be adopted by him as well. Still when the day was over Griffin was thrilled to be Godbold’s son. He said she’s my mother and always has been.

Ed Muir hadn’t seen his younger brother Kenneth Corcoran for 80 years but the lapsed time did not diminish Muir’s ability to recognize his sibling when he stepped off the plane last weekend. The moment he saw Corcoran, he knew he has found his long lost brother.

The last time Muir, 84 and Corcoran, 81, saw each other was in 1932 when their mother died. It was the Great Depression and their father was unable to care for five children on his own. He made the awful decision and Corcoran along with two other siblings were put up for adoption. The siblings lost track of one another. Their father remained in Chicago where he raised Muir and the remaining brother.

The reunion became possible in part because of the nine years that Corcoran’s daughter, Pam Gregerson, devoted to the research. She was ultimately unable to locate her father’s siblings and abandoned the search. In July, her teenage son took up the cause and within 15 minutes had located Muir of Naples, FL.

The meeting was arranged and the brothers were reunited last weekend. The chemistry was there and the men learned they shared many similarities including a love for the same song, “The Wabash Cannonball.”

Gregerson who attended the reunion said the men could be identical twins because the similarities are strong. She said the resemblance goes beyond the visual – the men act alike and even raised their families similarly. Are there any differences? Certainly – Corcoran is a Democrat while his brother is a Republican.

Corcoran said the weekend was the best of his 81 years and that he wished they could see each other every day. Muir said he often what had happened to his three siblings and how they turned out.

As it turns out, Corcoran was eventually adopted and moved to North Dakota. His life saw him enter the Navy, get married and father six children. Following the service he worked as a railroad lineman. The other two siblings that went to the orphanage with him have since died.

The reason it was so difficult to find Muir, in part, was due to the fact that he took his mother’s maiden name. He worked as an electrician while raising his own four children.

Though both regret the lost years, they are glad to have finally gotten the chance to meet and find out about each other’s lives.

Denise Richards officially confirmed today that she has in fact adopted a young child. Of course this is not Richards’ first child as she currently has custody of the two children she and Charlie Sheen had together during their marriage. According to the official comments Richards did adopt the baby domestically from somewhere within the United States though the exact details are unknown and will likely be kept that way.

Richards and her new daughter along with the rest of the family have been living together in their home in Los Angeles now for about a week and Richards says they are all doing quite well together. The official press release also announced that Richards decided to name her new daughter Joni Richards as a tribute in remembrance of her own mother that passed away in 2007.

Richards has always been in the spotlight for her movies and acting abilities but until now she had never been one of the standard Hollywood actresses who adopted children in need. Richards say she was simply adopting the child for personal reasons and is not looking to keep expanding her family beyond the current size at this time. Either way Richards says she is happy that her family has been so blessed to bring Joni into their lives. No word on if or when any public appearances will take place but for now the media is respecting the Richards’ family privacy until Denise decides she wishes to reveal Joni to the world.