Rupert, a nine month old Cocker Spaniel, has had a surprising effect on a Bradford recruitment company’s office.
Introduced to the office Steven Street, Managing Director of Relay Recruitment, Rupert has helped the company’s smokers kick their habit.
David Gatehouse, also of Relay Recruitment, explained to the BBC:
“We thought we’d bring in a dog so people could [...]

The Lake District National Park Authority is warning that dogs off leads will be shot if they worry livestock.
Peter Thompson, an Ambleside farmer, told BBC News:
“About 70% of people act responsibly and have control over their pets, for which we are very grateful, but the other 30 per cent are behaving ever more irresponsibly.
“There have [...]

If the last British dog film you saw was Digby the Biggest Dog in the World it’s about time you saw another.
Gone to the Dogs stars veteran British actors Tony Booth and Dora Bryan as a couple who retire to one of England’s fading south coast resorts. Endless days of promenade walks and lunches in [...]

As one of America’s greener cities, San Francisco recycles around 60% of its waste.
However, recycling the city’s 6,500 tonnes of animal excrement each year has proven somewhat difficult, until now. Rubbish company, Norcal Waste, has opened a new facility that will turn dog poo into natural gas.
Norcal plans to feed its $1 million methane digster [...]

A clinic for overweight pets has opened at Liverpool University.
According to Dr Alex German, who runs the Royal Canin Weight Management Clinic at the university’s Small Animal Hospital, increasingly widespread pet obesity is largely down to over-feeding:
“Pets might be having the little bit off the end of the dinner plate and owners are also feeding [...]

It’s been a couple of weeks since we had a link round-up!
Puppy Mover Monorail – Man builds monorail for puppies in his back garden – via You Are a Dog.
Run a dog grooming spa on your GameBoy – Following the success of Nintendogs, a new game turns the player into a dog groomer – via [...]

Cunard, the famous trans-Atlantic shipping line, is about to apply its world-renowned expertise in luxury travel, to pets.
Dogs travelling on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 will now enjoy the “Pets on Decks” service. Cared for by a full-time Kennel Master, the salty sea-dogs will enjoy a gift pack featuring:

QM2-logoed coat
Frisbee
name tag
food dish and scoop
complimentary portrait with [...]

Channel 4 is starting a nationwide search for the UK’s most talented amateur dog.
Britain’s Top Dog will use four regional auditions to find the most promising dogs and owners. The lucky group will then undergo six weeks of training, including intensive one-to-one sessions with experts in:

agility
scent-work
heel-work to music (also called doggy dancing).

The winning dog will [...]

Winter is a hard time for Moscow’s dogs.
With temperatures plummeting to below minus 15 degrees centigrade, the Moscow Times reports that the daily dog walk can be a dangerous experience. While in the UK we melt road and pavement ice with salt, Moscow’s streets are awash with toxic anti-freeze chemicals.
Despite a partial ban, old stocks [...]

A Cornish farmer who shot his neighbour’s Collie, Jim, has received a community sentence.
Jim’s death came when the farmer found him on his property, apparently worrying his daughter’s pet rabbit, BBC News reports.
Liskeard Magistrates Court found the farmer guility of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. Ordering him to pay