Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Cheryl just wants her dogs

News of Cheryl Cole’s divorce from footballer Ashley Cole has been splashed across the papers and magazines.

As soon as it was announced, there was speculation as to how the couple would split their fortune. With millions of pounds between them and a luxury property, you would think that there would be months of arguments to come.

But Cheryl has revealed that the only thing she wants out of the divorce is her pet dogs.

She wants custody of Coco and Buster and is not worried about getting her hands on anything else. She is letting Ashley have the mansion and will not ask for any of his fortune so long as she gets her pooches.
I can’t say I blame her.

The dog and bone

We all know how clever dogs can be but one pet pooch has stunned his owner by developing skills of his own.

The poodle-terrier cross called Nemo has been trained to act as the ears of his owner Irene Henderson as she is deaf. But as well as alerting her when he hears the doorbell or alarm clock, Nemo also paws his owner when she gets a text.

Nemo wasn’t trained to do this; he trained himself, but Irene is really grateful as she says texts are really important to her for keeping in touch with her friends.

Travolta mourning the loss of his dogs

The death of a pet dog is always difficult to come to terms with. But when they die suddenly, the news can be even more difficult to bear.

John Travolta is currently mourning the loss of his dogs after an accident that happened at Bangor International Airport in Maine.

The dogs were being walked by one of the actor’s staff when they were hit by an airport service vehicle.

Reports say that when Travolta heard the news, he was angry with the staff to begin with, for letting the accident happen, and then he burst into tears.

The sad news comes just as Travolta and his wife have announced that they are expecting a baby.

Dog returned to rightful owner

A lady who was separated from her dog has just won a legal battle to get her 11 year old Jack Russell, Penny back.

Liz Hiorns had reported her dog as missing but the message was lost by the council and Penny was sent to a rescue centre and rehomed.

The new owners then refused to give Penny back. A legal fight began but the new owners decided to give Penny up before the court hearings started.

It’s good to see the dog back to its rightful owner, but it’s a lesson to learn; we must really take care of our pooches and always know where they are and what they’re up to.

Hard cheese for vicar’s pooch

I can’t think of anything worse than seeing your dog suffering or in pain. But that’s exactly what a vicar had to endure when he was conducting a couple’s wedding rehearsal.

The vicar quite rightly stopped the rehearsal in order to save his choking pet dog. And he stopped at nothing to get the Cairn terrier breathing again because he actually gave the dog the kiss of life.

The alarm was raised when the vicar’s wife ran down the aisle during the rehearsal with their dog in her arms. Izzy the terrier wasn’t breathing.

The reverend swiftly pulled out a piece of cheddar cheese which had got stuck in the dog’s throat and began to give her mouth to mouth.

The dog came round and ran out of the church to get a drink. Thank goodness it all ended well and the couple can now laugh about the experience; particularly as the mouth to mouth happened just as the reverend was about to say: ‘you can now kiss the bride’.

Fight over Britain’s Got Talent dog

My favourite dog of the moment is Chandi who performed on the first round of auditions of the new series of Britain’s Got Talent.

It almost brought me to tears to see the rescue dog dancing away and responding so well to its owner’s commands. But Ant and Dec are having a spot of bother over the talented tailed one.

It appears that the two pint sized hosts can’t agree on whether this year’s dancing dog, led by owner Tina is better than last year’s star pooch – Gin who was trained by owner Kate.

Well I don’t normally like to take sides when it comes to dogs as they’re all beautiful animals, but I think I know who my money’s on. What do you think?

Dogs banned from parks

There’s nothing better than a walk in the park with your favourite furry friend. On a warm sunny afternoon, it’s great watching all the dogs chasing around, enjoying themselves.

But that may not be the case much longer in some areas of Nottinghamshire. The Newark and Sherwood District Council have banned dogs from 72 parks in the area including play areas and fields.

If dog owners do let their animals onto these sites, they could face a fine of £75. It is said that these new measures have been put in place in order to tackle dog owners who let their dogs get out of control and those who do not clear up their faeces.

It is unpleasant and selfish for dog owners to behave like this but I think there are better ways of dealing with the problem than banning all dogs. It’s not fair to punish everyone for the mistakes of a few selfish dog owners.

Toto’s over the rainbow

I have to say, I am completely underwhelmed by the ‘talent’ being displayed on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest search for a star TV programme, Over The Rainbow. Most of the contestants have a weak karaoke voice at best with only a couple showing any sign of power and quality.

But I’m not giving up on the programme just yet, because it seems that dogs are about to save the day (again) as hundreds of pooches battle it out to be crowned Toto in the West End show.

The hopefuls gathered at Stoneleigh Park for auditions and they really showed off their talents. The dogs will really be put through their paces during the audition rounds and a shortlist of ten will appear on Saturday night’s show. I can’t wait to find out who will be named as Toto!

Battersea celebrate birthday with stamps

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is 150 years old this month. It’s incredible to think that they have been re-homing animals for all that time.

They have done some really important work over the years and have helped give better lives to thousands of our furry friends.

To celebrate their success for the last 150 years, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home have released some stamps with Royal Mail. The stamps feature photographs of some of the success stories from the home.

The stamps show happy cats and dogs and are really adorable. They will certainly put a smile on your face next time you’re posting off you bill payments.

Dogs send neighbours barking mad

It has been reported that a man in Oxfordshire has been prosecuted for failing to stop his 23 dogs from barking.

The action was taken after neighbours complained about the noise even after Roger Sutton had been issued with a noise abatement notice.

The question that immediately comes to mind for me though is why was he allowed to keep 23 dogs? It was reported that the dogs were both in his house and locked in cages in his garden. The Dorset Old Tyme bulldogs made so much noise between them that several neighbours complained.

Sutton has been ordered to pay a £2000 fine and £500 in legal costs. But what has happened to the dogs? Let’s hope they’ve been rescued and re-homed somewhere that they will have plenty of space and happiness to worry about barking.