Tem Sosa, a pig farmer, tried to get rid of her border collie when she recently posted an ad online. While she has no qualms about giving the dog away for free she frankly writes about his bed behaviour, wonky teeth and smelly breath.

In the advert that she posted onto the secondhand sales site Preloved she said:

‘Evil Bob would love to find the perfect home as I have put up with him for nearly ten years and can’t take much more.

‘He is probably the worst dog you will ever meet. He started life as a failed (more…)

A recent study conducted in the United States has indicated that teenagers who are part of a family which has a pet dog will get more exercise than those who do not own a pet.

However, Jon Sirard, who is a professor of kinesiology – or the science of human movement – at the University of West Virginia, which carried out the study, was keen not to read too much into the results. His cautious conclusion was that there seems to be a connection between teenage physical activity and owning a dog, but could not say exactly what it was.

The survey, which was about the ownership of exercise equipment in US households, concluded that man’s best friend could be considered as such a piece of equipment – in other words, a lovable, smelly, four-legged cross-trainer.

There have been lots of studies which point to dog ownership as being beneficial for health, whether it is (more…)

Dorset coastguards have issued a warning to people out walking their dogs to keep them safely on a lead whilst walking along cliffs, and to not try and affect any rescue if their pet falls over the edge.

Emergency services were called to cliffs at Durdle Door, near Lulworth cove, after a walker found himself in trouble when he tried to rescue his dog which had fallen over the cliff edge.

The dog, a 14 year old collie called Jack, plunged 125 ft., prompting a rescue attempt by his owner, a 33 year old man from Devon who was visiting the attraction. However, he found himself unable to negotiate the cliff face, which towers above (more…)

Cognac is a border collie who regularly visits hospital patients to assist them with their recovery. With owner Sue Cole, this dog has been attending hospital every week for five years. His efforts have now received formal recognition from Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, according to the BBC.

The Friends of Southampton General Hospital are merely one of the voluntary organisations who have been favourably impressed by Cognac’s contribution to society. When someone is ill they can stop enjoying life, especially if they have few visitors. Research has shown that an optimistic mood can contribute towards a speedier recovery. The presence of a dog in a hospital can lift the spirits of many patients – Cognac has (more…)

Over 4,900 people have joined a Facebook campaign to set free a rescue dog in what they claim is a miscarriage of justice.

The four-and-a-half year old Border Collie is the best qualified search and rescue dog we have in Britain, being the only dog we have that has passed the International Rescue Dog Organisation’s readiness for mission test.  Darcy is trained to rescue victims of both natural disasters and terrorist attacks by finding them in even the greatest amount of rubble.

However, today she is not on duty but (more…)

A border collie who beat cancer and was a finalist at Crufts received a special tour at the new cancer treatment centre in Edinburgh.

Seven year old Scrooble completed his cancer treatment in 2007 and just six months later was competing in the 2008 Flyball agility competition at Crufts.

This week, he was given a VIP tour of the £3 million cancer centre at Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, which is the first centre of this sort to open in Scotland.  The centre offers (more…)