All About Animals in Bucks and beyond from dog meat trade rescues to flea season

On Monday it was time for clients www.boneidol.co.uk to open up their dog grooming salon again after months of pandemic restrictions.

So what better way to celebrate than to get some cracking photographs of the hairy hounds before and after their trims!

It's been a hard time for us all, but there seems to be something which really epitomises how down lockdown makes us all in the sight of an overgrown labradoodle!

Hilarity ensued at the amazing and much-needed transformations which you may have spotted in some national newspapers.

Do get in touch if you have an animal story you think I should be writing about in this column.

My email address is [email protected].

To find out more about my business The Animal News Agency you can visit www.animalnewsagency.com. I’m on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook too @youranimalnews.

DOG RESCUE

Animal cruelty is something that we really hate in the Home Counties, and as a former local newspaper editor I know how strongly you all feel about the welfare of animals from the barrage of letters we would get each time we ran a story about an upsetting animal incident.

There are some wonderful charities and organisations in this area which support both our local wildlife, and protect against cruelty to domestic animal cruelty, including of course the wonderful Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital which is world famous.

The Animal News Agency is also proud to support the NoToDogMeat charity, which was founded in the UK by campaigning lawyer Julia de Cadenet. The charity works with people in countries which have a dog or cat meat trade who want to make a difference, and their shelter in Beijing is currently home to 450 dogs who have been rescued from being butchered at events like the horrific Yulin Dog Meat Festival. NoToDogMeat also lobbies governments and advises the United Nations on this issue and its implications not only for animal welfare, but for public health.

It is hard rehome all of the dogs in China for a number of reasons, so some of the dogs have to travel abroad to find new homes.

And myself, best beloved Peter and our little dog Lemmy are on standby as Sophie (pictured) will soon (pandemic permitting) be coming to live with us in Wendover!

We can't wait to give this special brave girl the happy life she deserves.

To find out more about NoToDogMeat go to www.notodogmeat.comFLEA FLURRY

Yes, it's that time of year again, the time to make sure that your pet is fully flea protected.

Obviously flea treatments should be administered all year round, but if there is a glitch in your routine it will never be more evident than in the Spring months (we have all been there).

When I lived in Bedford years ago, despite thinking we were doing the right thing with over-the-counter flea treatments, our cats got fleas so badly that we had to have the house practically fumigated! That was not fun, not fun at all...

But luckily there are things we can do to keep our pets itch free and ourselves sane.

It can be really confusing to know which flea treatment is the best option for your best friend as there are so many on the market.

There are also lots of conflicting views on the subject too, even among experts!

If you and your pet are scratching your heads about which methods are available to prevent and treat fleas, some of the leg work has been done for you to explain some of the options available in this handy, impartial online guide: https://boneidol.co.uk/blogs/news/guide-fleas-on-dogsHave a great week, and thank you for reading All About Animals