Since dogs can't talk to us, there are many subjects about which we will never know the truth. Of course we can all form opinions on these subjects (informed or otherwise!) and argue about the til we're blue in the face. One of these issues which is certain to have me spluttering, leaving comments and firing off emails signed off as "Outraged of Shropshire", is that of whether dogs love us. According to author Jon Katz they don't.

Just been alerted to a horrible news story in Ireland. According to the Dublin SPCA and the Ulster SPCA a puppy farm near Moate has an outbreak of Canine Brucellosis (Brucella canis). This is a virulent disease that affects fertility in dogs, and can be very difficult to recognise.

ThePet.net gave out their Pet Friendly awards at the Ultimate Pet Show at the weekend. One of the surprise findings of the awards is that the West Midlands is the pet friendliest area in the UK. No surprise to us Midlanders of course, we already knew we're a friendly bunch! Good to know there are so many venues that welcome your dog. Hope they all get lots more dog owning customers now.

Here's the news from ThePet.net:

West Midlands is officially the most pet-friendly place in the UK!

I'm so proud tonight - Jenny and Star passed their Bronze Good Citizen award tonight. They came home with a certificate and a rosette, and a feeling of achievement. This scheme is run by most Kennel Clubs around the world, so wherever you live, check out if your KC offer the awards. There are three levels - Bronze, Silver and Gold - and each level is an eight week course. You can take each level again, if you don't quite make it the first time.

Stephen Foster is the author of Walking Ollie and Along Came Dylan. You can here him talking about his dogs and his books in episode 77 of DogCast Radio. Stephen was interesting and amusing to interview, and I enjoyed his books.

There's a lot of panic in the news about "Swine flu", which apparently is a very inappropriate name. Egypt are killing all their pigs. What's next - should Guinea Pig owners worry? Then maybe it'll be rabbits, then cats and then perhaps dogs? Well if you listen to the proper authorities rather than sensationalist reporting, things aren't as bad as they might seem. And according to the ASPCA - the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - there is very little risk of dogs being affected.

Through the wonders of Twitter, I came across a site called 2 dogs 2000 miles. Luke lost his dog Malcolm to canine cancer. Now Luke and his remaining dogs Hudson and Murphy are in the middle of walking from Austin to Boston, hoping to raise awareness of canine cancer and funds to help fight it. Luke has a clear vision of what he aims to do, and a firm belief he can do it.

After our excellent walk on Sunday, Buddy had a delicate problem in the evening. How can I put this? Aromas of a most unpleasant nature emanated from his vicinity. Poisonous miasmas if you will. Wind. Gas. Call it what you want, it had us running for cover, wafting it away with a magazine, and opening windows. Yes, it was pretty horrible.

We went for a walk on Cannock Chase today, and Buddy and Star found some friends to play with. The child in the photo detected a child-friendly Lab and came straight over. From then on Buddy lay on his back to have his tummy rubbed by the child. All would have gone on peacefully, were it not for the presence of an enthusiastic German Shepherd Dog puppy and Star, because all of a sudden they both wanted in on the action. The child was happy to fuss all three, and Buddy was happy to lie on his back in the middle of it all!