Blind man turned away from cafe because his guide dog was ‘too large and fluffy’

Blind man turned away from cafe because his guide dog was ‘too large and fluffy’

Staff at the Star Cafe in Sidcup, south-east London , repeatedly turned away Stephen Vallance, 44, his mum Ann and his Alsatian-Labrador cross, Wills – who is neither particularly large nor fluffy.

‘He raids the bin and eats the cat’s food!’ – the dangerous rise in obese pets

‘He raids the bin and eats the cat’s food!’ – the dangerous rise in obese pets

A 39-year-old dog walker from Mottingham, south-east London, Mary says that Blue is on a calorie-controlled diet and regularly walked.“Being at home has made owners more likely to give pets a little bit of what they’re having,” says PDSA vet Lynne James.

Guardian angel: a dog lover creates a close-knit community in a London park

Guardian angel: a dog lover creates a close-knit community in a London park

Mark Davis carries around photographs of his now- deceased dogs Bonnie, Smokey, Zola and Bobby, and shows them to people who attend the free dog socialisation sessions he has run every morning in Norwood Park, south-east London, for 18 years.

Best in show: artists' portraits of their pooches – in pictures

Best in show: artists' portraits of their pooches – in pictures

Lucian Freud’s whippet, Pluto, Joan Jonas’s dog, Zina, and William Wegman’s elegant weimaraners are just some of the artists’ pooches that will appear in a new exhibition called Dog Show that marks the 35th anniversary of Southwark Park Galleries (formerly CGP), based in the south London park. Dog Show, Southwark Park Galleries, London SE16, 18 July-8 September.

Pet Survivor Awards 2018: Dog almost killed by a game of fetch named as award finalist

Pet Survivor Awards 2018: Dog almost killed by a game of fetch named as award finalist

Brandy the Staffie came within a whisker of dying as vets battled for nearly five hours to remove the inch-thick piece of branch from her body.Astonishingly, the stick managed to miss major blood vessels when it pierced Brandy’s mouth, shot down her throat and finally lodged in her chest.Shocked owner Sophia-Jayne Lye rushed the badly wounded pet to the nearby PDSA Thamesmead Pet Hospital in south east London where surgeons began touch-and-go surgery.Today the owner described the horrific scenes when Brandy collapsed in the garden after swallowing the stick.The owner said: “I was inside when I heard my daughter screaming.