A stolen dog is safely back with its family after nearly a year and a half – thanks to a close encounter with a conker.

Molly, a King Charles Spaniel, was taken by thieves in a car park. Seventeen months on, any hopes her owners Tom and Andrea Richards had of seeing her again had all but vanished.

However, following a trip to a veterinarian after swallowing a conker, Molly’s family were notified of her whereabouts.

After being snatched from near her home in Wales, Molly was sold on to an unsuspecting family in South Yorkshire, 300 miles away. After eating a conker during a walk, her new owners rushed her to a vet, where a quick (more…)

Manchester based photographer, James Russell, took this beautiful photo of two cheeky Cavalier King Charles Spaniels recently when he was working on a wedding shoot. The dogs themselves had been excluded from the wedding party, but as is the nature of dogs – they wanted to know what was going on and tried to peer under a gate to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom.

James spotted his chance to snap the perfect dog photo and, almost ruining his suit in the process, lay down on the ground to take this picture.

James was glad he did however because the cheeky snap won an award for James at the recent North West British Institute of Professional Photography Awards, in the pets category.

It can be difficult to get the perfect photo of your dog as they’ll often move just when you get the camera out. Being a professional, James didn’t have this problem.

What do you think of James’ picture?