Going to The Dogs

At one point in its history, Walthamstow Stadium was such a popular dog-racing track that 50 million visitors would pass through its gates in one year. But those days are gone. The stadium closed its doors for the last time in summer 2008.

So now there is only one greyhound racing track in London (Wimbledon) whereas once there were 33.

Now a new exhibition of photographs of the last days of Walthamstow Stadium, entitled "Going to the Dogs" is being held at Vestry House Museum in London. All images were taken by local photographer Katherine Green

Guide Dogs for Children

For the first time in the UK, guide dogs are going to be made available to blind and sight-impaired children under 16.

Following a successful pilot scheme, the UK's Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is now starting to train dogs to serve under-16s, and they will be available from early next year.

Only a small number of children will actually receive guide dog however. Most others will continue to receive help from social services and additional, specialist training.

Royal Kennels

The kennels at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk were established by King Edward VII in 1879 to accommodate and breed a hundred dogs, all Labradors.

Labradors on the Estate today share with Cocker Spaniels; both of which breeds are used as gundogs by members of the Royal Family. The dog kennel house is always full.

Queen Elizabeth II is very fond of her dogs and names every puppy born in those dog kennels before going on to register them with the Kennel Club.

She also provides a regular supply to Estate gamekeepers for use as working dogs. Every dog on the Sandringham Estate is highly trained on the premises.

The Royal corgis on the other hand do not live in a dog kennel. They enjoy an entirely different lifestyle....

Killer Dogs in Alice Springs

An inquest in Alice Springs, Australia, has been hearing how two men were killed and eaten by a pack of dogs last July, in two separate incidents.

Details have been emerging of a number of violent incidents in the town camps, including one man having his scrotum mauled and another incident where a young boy was pulled off his bicycle by a pack of dogs before being savagely attacked.

An inquiry is under way into whether there was a failure by the town council in terms of dog control.

The inquest continues.

Coco and the Mineshaft

Some dogs are just natural survivors. Coco, the Patterdale Terrier, is one such dog. Out for a walk with her human Rebecca recently, she had the misfortune to fall down a disused mineshaft.

Fearing the worst, Rebecca called in some local cavers to try to locate her. After six days searching, they finally located her 180 feet down a deep, dark hole. Amazingly, she was uninjured apart from a small cut and a sore leg!

Now she's reunited with Rebecca, none the worse for her ordeal. I thought it was only cats who had nine lives!