7 DAYS AGO - A high demand for puppies has meant a rise in prices, black-market breeding, unhealthy animals and disappointed ownersHe was an ex-racing greyhound called Laddie, with an illustrious track record, white socks and a white tail. It was love at first sight. “Are you sure we can keep a greyhound in a flat?” I asked the manager of the dog shelter nervously, as my boyfriend Charlie stared at Laddie with emoji love hearts in his eyes. “Plenty of greyhounds live in apartments,” she reassured us. Charlie and I posed for a photo with Laddie – we look so happy in it, we might explode – and then went home to await our home check, in a few weeks.As we waited, I browsed dog beds online, considered the merits and demerits of harnesses versus leads, dry food versus wet. I ringed the photo of Laddie with a love heart and texted it to my family and friends. “He looks like such a good boy,” one friend responded. “Would you like to be godparents?” I offered benevolently. Continue reading... Collapse

13/10/2020 - Appeal court’s ruling in favour of singer, who says she was abused for wanting pet ban changed, could have far-reaching consequences for apartment blocksThe owner of a miniature schnauzer has emerged victorious after a long battle with the strata corporation of a luxury Sydney apartment block that wanted the pooch out.The New South Wales court of appeal found in favour of the soul singer Jo Cooper, who had argued a bylaw that banned pets – including her dog Angus – from the block of flats was unfair. Related: Dog gone: rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic Related: 'Stay four koalas apart': an animal hospital's response to coronavirus – in pictures Continue reading... Collapse

10/10/2020 - We all know someone who looks like their dog, but what about our feline friends? Photographer Gerrard Gethings set out to match moggies with their lookalikes – with uncanny results. By Kathryn BromwichIf you’ve spent much time on the internet over the past decade, chances are you’ve seen some cats on there. Cats chasing their own tails. Cats attempting ill-judged jumps from one piece of furniture to another. Or, in the case of Gerrard Gethings, a cat who looked exactly like the actor David Schwimmer. “There’s something about the shape of Schwimmer’s face that’s quite interesting,” says the London-based photographer, “and the cat had exactly the same face. That pushed me over the edge, into thinking there was something in it.”Dominic and Merlin (Blue Tabby Maine Coon).Nancy and Buttons (Scottish Fold).Arlo and Buttercup (Cream Persian).Elisabeth, and Angelique (Khao Manee).Gunther and Albert (Exotic Longhair).Matthew and Hubert (Abyssinian).Tobias and Hero (Moggy).Marielle and Jacques Collapse

05/10/2020 - Study of brain activity shows no difference when dogs see back or front of a headDog owners might love their pet’s endearing puppy dog eyes and cute furry features, but it turns out the doggy brain is just as excited by the back of our heads as the front.For despite having evolved facial expressions that tug on the heartstrings of owners, researchers have found that unlike humans, dogs do not have brain regions that respond specifically to faces. Continue reading... Collapse

19/09/2020 - Huge clan is believed to have originated from a pair of cats taken in three years agoAnimal charities in southern Spain were urgently seeking homes for 110 cats on Saturday after they and their owner were evicted from a flat in the Valencia region.Spama Safor, an animal shelter in the south-eastern seaside town of Gandia, had initially thought there were only 96 cats in the flat. But by Saturday evening, the charity said it had removed a total of 110 cats and urgently needed help to shelter them “at least until they are vaccinated or sterilised”. Related: What does your cat mean by 'miaow'? Let Japan's pet guru Yuki Hattori explain Continue reading... Collapse

13/09/2020 - The applicator that came with her new meds was impossible to use, so we devised a system using the one for her pet. It was not straightforward – and involved drinking wineMy mother has new meds, which came with a bunch of attendant meds for their side-effects. Even typing the word “meds” makes it sound like all-singing, all-dancing US pharma that works, rather than what it is: an array of drugs that offers slight amelioration of untreatable conditions. She was sure as hell not capering about texting “meds” to people; she was complaining about the unusably stiff syringe that came with them.The pharmacist’s advice was to get someone else to help, so there I was, helping. My best advice was to use a different syringe altogether, the one used for her cat’s antibiotics, which we tried. None of the marks down the side made any sense, even if you could read them, which she could not. Dispiritingly, neither could I. It turned out that the cat’s applicator was not measured in millilitres, but Collapse

12/09/2020 - Coronavirus has made me realize that taking joy in the simple things is what humans need most at this timeDon’t tell my husband, but I have a new love of my life. Since social distancing began in March, we spend pretty much every waking minute together, and every sleeping one, too. She’s black and grey and has a white chin; she weighs 22 pounds; she prances when she’s happy and puts her tail between her legs when she’s scared; and her name is Ramona, after the famous children’s book character, but also after Joey Ramone.I never imagined becoming one of those dog-obsessed people who uses the moniker RamonasMom, but here I am: RamonasMom. We adopted Ramona last summer, and while I loved her from the beginning, the last six months have taken me from pleasantly engaged pet owner to unabashed, full-on Dog Parent. I’ve always worked from home, but pandemic has meant that Ramona and I are barely ever apart. We eat, sleep, work (I work), exercise, and play together, all day long. Whenever I Collapse

08/09/2020 - Dog ownership has rocketed during lockdown, so this heartwarming documentary exploring canine science and psychology couldn’t have come at a better timeThe dog television market is a busy one. Whether your canine broadcast preference is in the genre of “emotional rescue”, or you prefer fix-em-up behavioural stuff, or you’re a hardcore “who knew dogs could do that?” fan, there are plenty of options in the schedule. What BBC Four might bring to the mix was anyone’s guess, though I had suspected art history and maybe a story of a composer whose greatest work was inspired by a puppy. Instead, Dog Tales: The Making of Man’s Best Friend is a sensible scientific documentary that comes to a surprisingly moving and satisfying conclusion.If you are not a dog person, this is unlikely to convert you to the cause. If your preference is feline, don’t worry, there is a companion film next, about cats. At the outset, Dog Tales promises to investigate the “revolution” happening in the world of dog Collapse