Category Archives: Pets

Rough life: lost dog returned home after epic 150-mile Alaskan sea-ice journey

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Nanuq, a one-year-old Australian shepherd, disappeared from a family trip and went on an adventure across the Bering Sea

A one-year-old Australian shepherd took an epic trek across 150 miles (241km) of frozen Bering Sea ice that included being bitten by a seal or polar bear before he was safely returned to his home in Alaska.

Mandy Iworrigan, Nanuq’s owner who lives in Gambell, Alaska, and her family were visiting Savoonga, another St Lawrence Island community in the Bering strait, last month when Nanuq disappeared with their other family dog, Starlight, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

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‘Small like a ball’: Pearl the chihuahua becomes world’s shortest dog

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Pearl is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness World Records says

What do you call a chihuahua dog that’s shorter than a popsicle stick and can fit in your pocket? The planet’s shortest living dog, Guinness World Records has announced.

Pearl qualified for the title after a veterinarian at the Crystal Creek animal hospital in Orlando, Florida, where she was born, used a special dog-measuring wicket to determine she was just under 3.6in (9.14cm) tall and 5in (12.7cm) long. Those dimensions mean she is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness said in a statement.

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Puppy flung from pickup in high-speed Los Angeles police chase survives

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Eight-week-old beige pup with one blue and one brown eye tossed out of moving vehicle in designer bag ‘miraculously’ OK

A puppy that was thrown out of a moving pickup truck in Los Angeles during a high-speed police chase “miraculously” survived, according to authorities.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Los Angeles police department announced that on 7 April, at about 12.10pm in a south-east part of the city, officers started a car chase in pursuit of a suspect who was wanted in connection to an attempted murder and carjacking which occurred on 26 March.

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Pets could be gene-edited under new English law, says RSPCA

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Act opens door to technology being used to create cats and dogs with extreme features, says charity

Pets could be subjected to gene editing under a new government act, the RSPCA has warned.

The animal charity has said that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act applies to all vertebrate animals, not only farmed animals, and that it could lead to cats and dogs being gene-edited to include extreme features.

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Labrador retrievers ousted as top US dog breed after record 31 years

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French bulldogs take title after dizzying rise, thanks to celebrity owners from Leonardo DiCaprio to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

For the first time in three decades, the US has a new favorite dog breed, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Adorable in some eyes, deplorable in others, the sturdy, push-faced, perky-eared, world-weary-looking and distinctively droll French bulldog became the nation’s most prevalent purebred dog last year, the club announced on Wednesday. Frenchies ousted labrador retrievers from the top spot after a record 31 years.

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Toronto dog owners bite back after city posts ‘no barking’ sign at pooch park

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City called off its dogs and said it would review its sign approval process after canine owners called the prohibition ‘lunacy’

Officials in Canada’s most populous city have their tails between their legs after they were forced to call off an effort to stop dogs barking in local parks.

Inhabitants of Toronto are grudgingly accustomed to a daily soundtrack of city life: gridlocked traffic, rumbling trucks, heavy machinery and noisy neighbours.

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Hardware claw: Bunnings digs into pet supplies as recession-proof sector booms

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Company announces biggest product expansion in years as pets increasingly become part of Australian families

The hardware chain that encourages you to make improvements to your home knows there’s something else you are willing to fork out cash for – your pet.

Bunnings has announced an increase in its range of pet supplies to compete with supermarkets and specialty retailers, marking its biggest product expansion in two decades, since offering kitchen fit-outs.

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Moonpig to stop selling cards with pugs over animal welfare concerns

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Firm responds to calls from vets who say pictures fuel demand for flat-faced breeds, which often have serious health complaints

Moonpig is to stop selling cards featuring pictures of pugs and French bulldogs after criticism from vets and campaigners who fear the images fuel demand for the breeds, which often have serious health complaints.

Last year, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) wrote to the Greeting Card Association and card retailers, including Moonpig, Paperchase and WH Smith, urging them to stop using pugs and other flat-faced dogs on cards.

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Fecal bacteria ‘rampant’ on New York sidewalks, researchers find

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Co-author advises taking off your shoes at the door after studying dog poop on Upper East Side

Researchers at New York’s Marymount College have published a study that, in its essence, attempts to establish how much dog poop footwear carries into the homes of New Yorkers on the affluent Upper East Side.

The study, released to the Indoor and Built Environment journal, concludes there’s a strong argument for leaving your outside shoes at the door – or risk tracking fecal bacteria around the house.

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Portuguese pooch crowned world’s oldest dog

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Thirty-year-old Bobi snatched title from US pup in upset; longevity credited to human food and ‘calm, peaceful environment’

It’s a dog’s life for one small US pup this weekend after a European rival essentially stole his bone.

Two weeks ago, Spike, an Ohio-based chihuahua mix rescue dog, was crowned the world’s oldest dog. But two days ago Bobi, a dog that guards livestock in Portugal, grabbed the title faster than a string of sausages, CNN reported.

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Feline uncertain? Cats do give clues if the fur’s about to fly, study finds

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Study of 105 pairs of interacting felines decodes the cat behaviour that puzzles humans – and flags up the unsubtle battle cry of claws and yowling

When cats get together it can be difficult to tell rough and tumble play from a full-blown scrap. Now researchers say they have decoded feline behaviour to help owners spot when the fur might be about to fly.

Dr Noema Gajdoš‑Kmecová, first author of the research from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, in Košice, Slovakia – a cat owner herself – said understanding feline interactions could be difficult.

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Animal ambulances answer growing demand for pet emergency care

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Firms such as Animals at Home offer range of care services and can step in when pets are in trouble

The day did not begin as expected for Verity Hope. She had been due to spend a wet November morning making a trip to a vet with a reactive dog, but the client phoned in sick. Then another job cropped up: taking a dead rabbit to a pet crematorium.

It may seem an eclectic set of requests, but for Verity and her animal ambulance it is the norm. Since the start of the pandemic, 4.7m households have acquired a new pet. Changes in work patterns and everyday pressures mean many need support.

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Animal welfare advocates hail New York law banning sale of pets at retail stores

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The legislation aims to end the ‘puppy mill-to-pet store pipeline’ for abusive breeders of dogs, cats and rabbits

Animal welfare advocates in New York are heralding the recent approval of a statewide law that prohibits the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at retail pet stores to “end the puppy mill-to-pet store pipeline and stop abusive breeders” and help more stray and abandoned pets find homes.

The law, which goes into effect in 2024, will not outright bar pet shops from having four-legged friends on display as retailers may charge rescue organizations rent to present ready-to-adopt companion animals. But it has been hailed as a major achievement for animal welfare by its backers.

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‘He has razzle dazzle’: Winston the French bulldog wins National Dog Show

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The ‘perfect ball of marzipan’ has become the highest-ranked all-breed dog in the country with 78th win

A French bulldog with “personality and beauty”, owing to his “razzle-dazzle”, is the winner of the National Dog Show, which aired on Thursday following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

Winston, who was aptly described by a cheerleader on social media as a “perfect ball of marzipan”, is now the highest-ranked all-breed dog in the country, with this latest win delivering him his 78th best in show title.

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X-ray discovers cat trapped inside checked bag at New York’s JFK airport

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Security agent spotted cat inside bag last week and saved it from being transported on to aircraft luggage hold

A cat that sneaked into an air traveller’s luggage was trapped there until it was discovered by an X-ray machine at JFK airport in New York, possibly saving it from a grim fate in an aircraft luggage hold, travel authorities said.

NBC News reported that the cat’s brush with potential tragedy was detected on 16 November when a bag was checked from JFK to Atlanta for a connecting flight to Florida.

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‘Bone-appetite’: San Francisco’s latest trendy restaurant caters to canines

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Dogue, run by a trained chef, has garnered outrage for the high cost of pampering pups but pet parents have been supportive

San Francisco is a foodie heaven with plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants. And San Franciscans love dogs. So it might come as no surprise that an entrepreneur has decided to combine the two passions, creating what’s believed to be the first restaurant exclusively for man’s best friend.

Dogue, which rhymes with “vogue”, opened last month in the city’s trendy Mission District.

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No puppy love: post-lockdown lifestyles and cost of living are driving Australians to surrender their pets

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Animal shelters nearing capacity are encouraging people to adopt by slashing fees and hosting events to make room for other animals in need

The end of Covid lockdowns and the spiralling cost of living have left animal shelters overflowing, with organisations now forced to host adoption drives and slash their fees in an effort to get more animals out of shelters and into their forever homes.

This was in stark contrast to the high adoption rates and shelter shortages across Australia during the early days of the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

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Lindsay Hoyle introduces new Westminster cat named after Clement Attlee

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Attlee follows in the steps of other parliamentary moggies such as Palmerston, Gladstone and Larry

For the past few months, Westminster has been abuzz with little else other than Boris Johnson and his nine lives. Now, however, he may have a rival in that particular field: Lindsay Hoyle’s new cat, Attlee.

The feline will follow in the steps of other parliamentary moggies including the Foreign Office’s Palmerston, Treasury’s Gladstone and Downing Street’s Larry.

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Pebbles, 22, unseats TobyKeith the chihuahua as world’s oldest dog

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Terrier’s family contacted Guinness World Records after learning younger dog had received honor

The world’s oldest dog has been crowned – stealing the throne from another dog who was only recently making headlines.

Pebbles, a toy fox terrier, was awarded the Guinness World Record this month. Born on 28 March 2000, Pebbles is 22 years old – making him older than TobyKeith, the 21-year-old chihuahua from Florida who was only recently named the champion.

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