Dog with no nose given a second chance at life

Meet Bonnie, the three-legged Romanian street dog with no nose. Bonnie was rescued from doggie death row by a UK-run charity after living her life as a stray on the streets of Romania. The poor girl was found with half her leg and nose removed. Although it remains unclear how Bonnie ended up with her horrific injuries, it’s thought they may have been inflicted by a human.

Sadly, Bonnie’s unusual appearance was a little bit off-putting for some – until Kate Comfort clocked her Facebook advert. Kate fell in love with her floppy ears and soulful eyes and quickly went from fostering to adopting. Once Bonnie was all moved in, her new owner started trying to raise funds for a prosthetic leg, before deciding that she was beautiful just the way she was and electing to have her little stump removed for ultimate comfort. 

Bonnie’s no stranger to hateful comments whilst out and about – someone even tried to kick her once – but she’s now a fully-fledged Instagram sensation with 15,000 devoted followers who love her just the way she is. 

National Geographic reveals the amazing ways animals get ready for autumn

For many of us, autumn means cosying up at home with a nice, warm drink and a good boxset. But for our animal counterparts, the shorter days mean that winter is on the horizon. 

From rutting deer and greedy ladybirds to insatiable grizzly bears, they all have their own special ways of preparing for wintertime. Ladybirds will fatten themselves up before gathering in large heaps to cuddle the winter away. 

Meanwhile, the grizzly bears of North America are busy stuffing themselves to the point of obesity – luckily they can handle it thanks to their fancy genes that reduce their sensitivity to insulin and metabolise fat whilst they sleep. Easiest work-out ever. 

Over in Canada, Alaska and parts of Northern Europe, autumn means one thing: moose mating season. That’s right, the male mooses are busy vying for female attention and getting jiggy with it. The dip in temperature causes a rush of testosterone which transforms their velvet-covered antlers into sharp weapons fit for the fight.  

U-G-L-Y – children’s author and illustrator shares her love of the world’s ugliest animals in new book

Step aside button-eyed bunnies and fuzzball Pomeranians, this next feature is all about one woman’s crusade to celebrate the world’s ugliest animals, from helmeted hornbills to holey toads. 

In her new book, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ugly Animals, author and illustrator Sami Bayly, records all of the many weird and wonderful creatures she discovered during her childhood in rural Australia. By digging deeper still, she’s sketched out and summarised the stories of many a specie more, including a personal favourite of ours – the big-nosed, sad-faced and rainbow-coloured Blobfish. 

Over 60 dogs rescued during Scottish puppy farm raid

The Scottish SPCA has shut down a puppy farm with the help of the police and Moray Council after a series of suspicious adverts were spotted on Gumtree. 

60 pups were recovered during the sweep, but two were pregnant at the time so the SPCA is now caring for an astounding 78 dogs! Many of the poor hounds showed signs of intensive breeding so the rescue has been working tirelessly to nurse these pooches back to help. 

The rescue has made an urgent appeal for puppy milk and cotton pads so if you would like to help, you can pop onto the charity's Amazon wishlist here.

The busiest week of October is almost upon us. Start quoting on listings in your area for the half-term rush now.

Palm oil berg alert – toxic to dogs

Dog walkers have spotted poisonous palm oil ‘bergs’ washing up on British shores. The oil contains lots of nasties such as diesel not to mention plenty of harmful bacteria that it collects along the way to our coastlines. But the worst part? It’s been causing doggie diarrhoea, vomiting and even death in extreme cases.

The chalky white substance is used by cruise ships to clean their engines, and they’re actually allowed to dump the oil if they’re at least 12 nautical miles away from the shore. Experts have warned dog walkers to avoid areas in which the oil has been identified and to get in touch with your vet immediately if you’re concerned your dog has consumed any of the horrible stuff. 

Blind man asked to leave cafe wins in court case

We might be dog lovers here at Tailster, but we get that we can’t expect our furry friends to be allowed absolutely everywhere we go. But the dog-friendly tag surely should never apply to assistance dogs? If so, the establishment in question is effectively banning person and pooch from coming in, be it a shop, pub or cafe. 

Yet earlier this year, in a small Welsh town, a blind man and his guide dog were asked to leave a local sandwich bar when they popped in for a spot of lunch. After objecting, he was told his wife could read the menu out to him while he stood outside. Even after writing a letter of complaint to the owner, he was ignored and decided to take the owner to court on the grounds of discrimination, wanting to stand up for himself and other blind people.

Not only did Mr Garry decide to pursue legal action, but he also chose to represent himself in court. The ruling ordered the owner of Squires Sandwich Bar to pay £1,000 in compensation and a further £115 in legal fees.

Dog falls 200ft from Cornish cliff 

We were shocked and saddened to hear the horrible story of the poor spaniel that fell to its death from a cliffside in Portreath, Cornwall. It’s the third case so far this year from the same spot, so we wanted to share it with our readers to stress the importance of keeping your dog to heel or on a lead when you’re on cliffside strolls or mountainous hikes. 

The devastated owner was out walking with the two cocker spaniels when the youngest chased after a seagull, not realising the path had reached the edge of the 200ft cliff.

Dogs learning to ‘talk’ through touchscreens and talking vests

We’re one step closer to being able to have a good old chinwag with our canine friends, thanks to brand new technology. It’s all down to a clever bunch of researchers – the FIDO team no less – from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US and star tester, Sky the Border Collie. 

The wearable tech can be activated by the tap of a nose, triggering a spoken message of choice from “my owner needs help” through to “please pet me now”. 

The technology is thought to benefit seizure sufferers to alert members of the public, to autistic children in a bid to keep them calm and even to police teams when identifying the stability of an explosive – pretty amazing! 

There’s even touchscreen training going on over at FIDO HQ to combat the number one issue when working with dogs – slobber. 

Politics gets catty – Tories announce all cats to be microchipped under new plans

Last week saw the Conservative Party Conference go down in Manchester and amongst all of the plans and priorities announced lay a handful around animal welfare, including the non-negotiable micro-chipping of all 11 million of Britain's kitty cats. 

Until now, the law around felines differs to that of dogs, where you face a fine of up to £500 for failing to chip your pooch by eight-weeks’ old. According to the right-wing camp, it’s time for that to change...

Labradoodle ‘inventor’ claims breed is his ‘life’s regret’

Back in 1989, Wally Conron was the first breeder to cross a Labrador with a Poodle to create a hypoallergenic guide dog. But he’s now claimed it’s his biggest regret and he hasn’t a clue why people are still doing it. 

According to Wally, the majority of ‘Doodles’ he’s met in recent years have all been completely bonkers or suffered from hereditary issues. His biggest fear is that he’s created a ‘bandwagon’ with questionable breeders crossing inappropriate dogs with poodles just so they can call it a first. 

But what do you think? Are you a proud owner of a Labradoodle? Share your experience with your beloved breed here. 

Bird behind bars in Dutch police station

A light-fingered criminal was caught shoplifting in the Netherlands earlier this week with their partner-in-crime stealthily (a palm-sized colourful bird) sat on his shoulder, presumed to have been egging him on. 

Both bird and suspect were taken in by the police and put in a shared cell as the investigation unfurled and officers took to Instagram to share a snap of their latest reprimand (with sandwich in case he got peckish of course). 

Goats grazing on crisps – yes, really. 

And finally, on our blog this week...

That's all for now folks!

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