Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

It was a quiet February morning in Orlando, Florida, when an employee at Cayjo Peruvian Cuisine noticed something odd — a large white van parked in the restaurant’s lot. At first, it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. But as the hours passed and night fell, the van never moved. The next morning,…

When Jessie Shaw, cofounder of Fetch Dog Rescue in Westport, Connecticut, opened a message from her partners at Roadside Rescue Network in Mississippi, she wasn’t expecting to have her heart stop. Attached was a single photo — a trash can left outside the rescue’s sanctuary. Inside, 11 tiny puppies were piled on top of each…

Late one quiet night eight years ago, staff at a Michigan nursing home found an unexpected visitor snoozing on the lobby couch. It wasn’t a resident. It wasn’t a visitor.It was a dog. No one knew where the black pup had come from or how he’d gotten inside. The building’s automatic doors must’ve opened just…

Touran Bristow lives on a wildlife reserve in South Africa, where her husband works as an anti-poaching ranger protecting the endangered rhinos that roam the land. Over time, Bristow has grown accustomed to seeing the majestic creatures while riding her horses, Magnum and Soiux, along the reserve’s trails. But one day, she and her horses…

When a 5-month-old puppy named Lucky Charm arrived at the Benton-Franklin Humane Society in early July, it didn’t take long for everyone there to fall for her. “She is super playful,” volunteer Julie Saraceno told The Dodo. “She’s obsessed with toys.” Julie Saraceno Lucky’s name suited her cheerful spirit — she was full of life,…

More than four decades ago, a tiny red-eared slider turtle hatched in the wilds of Missouri. Her journey through life should’ve been simple — sunning on logs, gliding through ponds — but a piece of human litter changed everything. Missouri Department of Conservation As a young turtle, she slipped through the plastic rings of a…

Late one night, volunteer rescuer Arturo Flores got a call that made his heart stop. Someone had found a dog tied to a railing in a dark alley — and beside her, a cardboard box with two tiny puppies inside. When Flores arrived minutes later, the heartbreaking scene came into focus. The poodle mix lay…

At the Animal Defense League of Texas, there’s a dog who greets every day with a smile. His name is Naco, and his favorite things in the world are sunshine, kiddie pools, and long naps. He’s house-trained, easygoing, and loves to stretch out in the grass with his tongue hanging out — pure contentment. But…

When Deja first arrived at Patty Baker Humane Society Naples in 2022, she was already a two-time shelter dog. She’d come from Gulf Coast Humane, where no one had chosen her, and everyone at her new shelter promised they’d do everything possible to change her luck. At first, no one could imagine it would take…