To The Rescue

Meet your new bestie at Houston SPCA's Clear the Shelters

Houston SPCA dog rescue

Boots and his rescuer

Photo courtesy of Houston SPCA

Some animals arrive at the Houston SPCA full of mystery and without a history, while others are brought in with a dramatic story worthy of a TV special.

Boots is one such canine, who was recently rescued by Houston SPCA's 24-hour Animal Rescue Ambulance when he was found trapped in a storm drain.

A concerned resident heard crying coming from the underground concrete structure and called it in. Soon, a team of EVMTs (emergency veterinary medical technicians) was on the scene, with one being able to crawl into the small space under the street and retrieve the helpless pup.

See the moment Boots is rescued here:

The 10-week-old Lab mix is now a healthy, nine-pound puppy who's ready to meet his new family, and this weekend's Clear the Shelters event is the perfect opportunity.

From 11 am-6 pm on Saturday, September 7, all are welcome to visit the William & Evelyn Griffin Campus for All Animals and meet adorable dogs and cats who are ready for adoption.

In addition to all these cute animals, the campus will host free activities and giveaways throughout the day.

If you're like to browse adoptable pets before you arrive, you can see all available dogs and cats here.

Maybe your new best friend doesn’t have a known backstory, but they can start their new one the day you take them home.

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H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Downtown Houston skyline at night

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houston made a big leap back into the top 50, ranking No. 40, after previously plummeting into No. 72 last year.

Lively Houston has regained its rightful place among the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Houston the 40th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Houston made a major rebound after plummeting to No. 73 in last year's report. In 2022, Houston ranked No. 42.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Houston in the top 10 – when explaining the Bayou City's successes. The report praised Houston's vast cultural diversity and placed a great focus on its economic prosperity, even going so far as to suggest Houston residents make more money "and can sock more away."

"...[W]here America’s fourth-largest city truly takes off is in its economic heft and wealth, ranking No. 9 globally for GDP per Capita and No. 14 for Fortune 500 companies in town," the report said. "All that rolls up into an overall Prosperity index ranking of No. 36, which is even more impressive given the No. 14-ranked Price-to Income Ratio [of the city]."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Dallas moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).

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