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More kittens are showing up in backyards earlier in the year with recent warmer winters, rescue groups say.

WEST ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- A dog at a Long Island animal shelter that couldn't be adopted due to a heart defect has found his forever home after receiving life-changing surgery. After finally having surgery last week, Kobe was adopted by Derek Bullock, a former Nassau correction officer. He came to visit and drop off gifts for Kobe over the last few months. Last November, someone brought Kobe, a 3-year-old English bulldog-pit bull mix, to the Smithtown Animal Shelter. Kobe had been living in a small box and was going to be used for breeding, and shelter workers immediately became conce...

Diana Rocco got a behind the scenes look at the NYPD's newest crime fighters in training. Smithtown Animal Control Officer Denise Vibal said when shelter workers informed potential adopters of Kobe's condition, people backed off. "Nobody wants to sign up for heartache," Vibal said. However, the public's interest in Kobe kept growing, especially on the town's social media pages. "Any time we put any picture or video up of him, people go wild because he's so cute and sweet," Vibal said. Doctors put Kobe on blood pressure medicine, which improved the condition and allowed surgery to be an option...