News from the RSPCA-

Which imperfect pooch will take the lead in a national dog show with a difference?

RSPCA Ruffs launches this week!

The RSPCA is celebrating the underdog with its own dog show to rival Crufts - with clever canines who have overcome adversity and are now happy hounds.

The PDSA wants you to take part in The Big Pet Survey 2015 to help them
compile a report about the nation's pets' health.

You can see previous reports at the PDSA
site to see the insight the surveys give, as well as tips and
expert advice on giving your pet the right care to keep them healthy
and happy.

Shocking new figures come 180 years after dog and cockfighting was banned in UK.

Calls to the RSPCA reporting organised animal fighting have gone up by a third in the past five years - despite dog and cockfighting being banned for 180 years.

There was a total of 594 calls to Britain’s biggest animal charity in 2014 to report incidents or information connected to organised animal fighting, compared to 449 in 2010 - an increase of nearly 33%.

To mark the RSPCA’s Ruffs online dog show with a difference, the charity
is hoping people will start to look twice at these ‘wonky’ dogs in need of
a new home.

This Friday, February 20, marks the closing of entrants for RSPCA Ruffs
2015 - the charity’s alternative online dog show.

To challenge the traditional beauty pageant style dog shows, which judge
dogs primarily on looks, even when its these looks which can cause them to
suffer, ‘Ruffs’ celebrates them for the right reasons - their welfare and

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is in urgent need of temporary foster carers for its abandoned dogs.

Every year, some 6,000 dogs come through Battersea’s doors, and many of them find kennel life to be a bewildering and stressful experience. For those who struggle the most, like Sandy, a foster family gives them to chance to settle in a peaceful, loving home while permanent owners can be found for them.

I've just discovered a wonderful idea that artist Elizabeth Ellis has
come up with. She's called it The Year of 52 Rescues, and throughout
2015 she'll be painting a picture of one adoptable animal who is
currently in a shelter. The hope is that this will help the animal find
a home, and will also shine a light on the plight of animals waiting
for their forever home.

I've just got off the phone from Radio Scotland, discussing the latest research about dogs. This study, from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna's Messerli Research Institute showed that dogs can read our facial expressions.