OPINION: Following a terrifying bout of ill-health for Leela the dog, Claire Hamlett tells us how she can now relate to the struggles faced by people caught in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis and looking for ways to avoid expensive vet bills.

You might be aware of the fact that human cosmetics have certain criteria and regulations they need to follow. But did you know that the same strict regulations aren’t applied to your dogs’ grooming products despite the fact that canine skin is actually more sensitive than human baby skin and up to 5 times thinner? Crazy, we know.

OPINION: New traffic measures are great news for cyclists and other humans, but as dog caregiver Claire Hamlett explains, are also a welcomed development for dogs and other animals whose lives can be so terribly affected by cars and roads.

BLOG: Experts are warning that more of Britain’s dogs and other companion animals may be abandoned in the months to come as the cost-of-living crisis places further financial pressure on families. How is it that animals are always the victims of our human crises?

On a day when the UK celebrates its love of cats, dogs and all the other nonhuman animals we bring into our homes and commonly refer to as ‘pets’, Claire Hamlett explains how through words and actions she respects the boundaries and agency of her two four-legged companions.

PICTURES: In the grip of a Russian invasion, the situation for everyone in Ukraine is truly terrible. Among the pictures and videos emerging of the pitched fighting and humanitarian crisis, glimpses of pets and other animals caught in the crossfire are helping to tell a different side of the human story.

Defra and Crufts organisers The Kennel Club have warned people to be on the lookout for unscrupulous cat and dog sellers this Christmas. So-called ‘petfishing’ might be on the rise, but why shop when you can adopt?

CULTURE: According to a recent study, animals have been declining in fiction since 1835, running parallel to animal extinction in our world. As animals and natural habits vanish around us, is it any surprise that they have disappeared from books too? And as we live increasingly urbanised lives, does this lack of fictionalised animal friends have real-life consequences?

Vegan parents are often faced with a dilemma when choosing children’s books. The classic stories are often rife with hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance, yet they reveal much about humanity’s relationship with animals, as Nina Copleston discusses.

Crufts is cancelled this year. Whilst at first glimpse this may appear positive for the dogs usually subjected to this exploitative beauty pageant, undoubtedly the same abuse remains rife - though un-televised.

Non-human animals are to be formally recognised as sentient beings by law, the UK Government has announced, as part of a range of new animal welfare measures including the ending of most forms of live animal export and a ban on the import of hunting trophies.

The discovery of 160 puppies and kittens being transported illegally through China’s postal service last week has thrown the country’s cruel ‘pet blind box’ craze into the spotlight.