The DogCast Radio blog

Microchipping has been mandatory for dogs in the UK for a year now, yet amazingly, some owners still haven’t had their dogs microchipped. This means that should the dog be stolen or get lost, its chances of being reunited with its owner are vastly reduced.

Time and time again we see dogs who have made it back home, sometimes after being missing for extended periods of time, all thanks to that tiny microchip. Yet shockingly, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is finding that half the stray dogs who end up in its care do not have a microchip.

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With Spring very much in the air, and flowers in bloom all around, it's tempting to brighten up our houses with bouquets of colourful flowers - but, do you know that some plants are not good for our dogs?

Flowers can smell and look very tempting to a dog, so we need to be careful where we place flowers and plants around our homes. In addition to the mess a dog could make if he knocked over a vase or pot, some plants can be lethal to our four legged friends.

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Staff at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home see the consequences of animal cruelty daily, and are committed to giving the animals affected by it another chance of life, love and happiness. One recent case has also stiffened their resolve to see tougher sentences brought in for those who perpetrate animal cruelty.

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There have been a couple of stories lately that have made me shake my head in complete incomprehension – here’s another one.

How beautiful is little Bea? Yet all her breeder could see of her was that she would not “sell”. So to that breeder, the tiny puppy was no longer worth anything, and was taken to the vet, at just FIVE WEEKS OLD, to be put to sleep.

I’ll let that sink in for a second. This gorgeous little Yorkshire Terrier was condemned before her life had really started, due to a disability which will not stop her living a happy life.

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There was a reminder from the RSPCA today that owners must provide adequate care for their pets when they go on holiday. Of course, such a reminder should not be necessary, but the case of a couple who left their dog and two cats home alone has highlighted the need for the warning. Unbelievably, three pets were abandoned at home while their owners enjoyed a fortnight’s holiday. The consequences were tragic.

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359 dogs walked out of Battersea’s Brands Hatch centre and into a new loving home last year – but poor Honey wasn’t one of them. Although many dogs have barely settled into the centre before they are snatched up, a few – like Honey – take a little longer. While they stay at the shelter, the staff strive to give them as many of the comforts of home as possible; especially for the more long term residents.

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Ella the Lurcher is now full of beans and feeling happy after five weeks in the care of the RSPCA. You could say she's jumping for joy. She's bounding around, and looking far better than when she was found, abandoned, very underweight with lots of fur missing.

The future's looking bright for Ella.

The future may not be as happy for the person who abandoned her, tying her to a fence in Laburnum Grove in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire on the 9th of February.

The charity is still appealing for information in relation to the man seen in CCTV footage abandoning the Lurcher before running away.

Anyone with information can telephone the RSPCA’s inspector appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

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A Lurcher who was tied to a fence and abandoned in February of this year is doing well in the care of the RSPCA. The moment that Ella was abandoned was caught on CCTV, and the RSPCA is ongoing, but the dogs is recovering from her ordeal.

When Ella was found, the freezing, skinny Lurcher was curled up on the floor in an effort to keep warm. Due to a skin condition, she had lost a lot of fur, which meant her skin was exposed to the harsh weather, leaving it even more sore than it had been.

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When you think of Pugs, you may not think of agility - yet! But think again, because Pugs can do agility, in fact they can do pretty much anything any dog can do.

The Pug in this video is Marsha and we have an interview coming up with her owner, who took her form being overweight and out of shape to whizzing around the agility course. Amazing.

Take care,

Julie xx

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The RSPCA is asking the public to vote for their favourite photo in the charity’s People’s Choice award for 2017.

The entries have been whittled down to a few finalists, and now it’s down to the public to choose the overall winner. The images include a tortoise about to eat a flower, a kitten with his paw poised to swipe, and two Cocker spaniels having fun on the beach, as well as a Labrador taking a nap, and a guinea pig sheltering in s tunnel.

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