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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team…What is claimed to be world’s oldest dog has died at the age of 29 – or 203 canine years. Bella was bought by David Richardson when she was three 26 years ago from the RSPCA. Since then the dog has enjoyed life at the Derbyshire home of Mr Richardson and his partner Daisy Cooper, 81. Although Mr Richardson has no written proof of Bella’s age his insists she was 29. But the RSPCA do not have records going back that distance and the Guinness World Records say Bella cannot be included because of the lack of documentation. The dog died of a heart attack when the couple were on holiday in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, where they always went because it was possible to take the dog with them. “A lot of people came to wish Bella goodbye,” said Mr Richardson. “Our friends and neighbours were very fond of her.” The officially oldest dog ever was Bluey, a sheepdog from Australia who also lived to 29.

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team…Guide dogs for people with Alzheimer’s are being pioneered in Israel. Yariv Ben-Yosefis, a dog trainer, has succeeded in getting Polly, a collie, to help a 62-years-old man when he becomes disorientated. On command the dog leads him back to his home. Polly has worked with her master for a year and saved him from becoming a captive in his own house. Ben-Yosefis now aims to train about 30 dogs a year and the idea is being spread worldwide. Only female dogs are to be used because of their maternal instincts. Male dogs, it is claimed, are too egotistical.

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… The first mobile phone designed with dogs in mind will go on sale shortly at a cost of around £100.The PetCell uses the same technology as conventional mobile phones, but is shaped like a bone and attached to the dog’s collar. Whenever an owner needs to speak to the dog, they can dial the number and the phone connects automatically after the first ring. The dog is able to hear the owner through a speaker on the phone and can bark in response. A variant of the phone with a video camera will be able to check that the dog is behaving himself when he is outside the home alone. If necessary they will then be able to give a simple instruction such as “sit” or “drop it”. The idea came to the American inventor when he heard a business associate talking to his dog 3,000 miles away on the phone. He missed his pet and just wanted to hear him bark.

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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… A pig the size of a Shetland pony has trapped an Australian woman in her country home, according to national radio. When the woman tried to leave her house to use the outdoor toilet the animal bit her and tried to push her back inside. “It’s a beautiful male pig, but he just so big and pushy,” she told the radio. Rangers from the local council tried to rescue her but could not capture the huge animal. They came with a dog cage but the animal would not fit. “It was like trying to put an elephant in,” she said. She added that her neighbours started feeding the pig, whom they named Bruce, when he showed up at their homes 10 days previously after the owners let him loose in the rain forest because they could not handle him. But Bruce became aggressive, demanding more food and biting her on the leg when she tried to go to the toilet. The rangers will be trying again next week.

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team…More than 400 dogs were “married” in an Indian ceremony designed to improve that country’s attitude towards canines. In Delhi scores of owners met in a shopping mall to join their pets in matrimony, while similar events were held in 13 other locations throughout the country. A lavish ceremony, conducted with a Christian theme so as not to offend the predominantly Hindu gathering, was laid on as the dogs were paired off by breed and “married”. Some were dressed for the occasion with flowers and veils. The organiser of the event commented: “What we are doing here is to change Indian attitudes towards taking their pets out to the shops with them. Indians do not have a great tolerance for dogs and we want to change that.”

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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… A Labour Party supporter is seeking damages from a dog owner after allegedly having the end of his little finger bitten off while delivering leaflets. The man, who is 65, claims he was the victim of a terrier which severed the finger as he put his hand through the letterbox. He is claiming £15,000 from the owner who discovered the fingertip alongside a Labour leaflet on his doormat. When he contacted the police, he claims they told him to dispose of the finger tip. He is also adamant that his 12-years-old dog Jack was not capable of inflicting the injury. “He has few teeth left and the one he does have are rotten,” he said. The case is due to go to the county court next month (October), two years after the incident during a city council by-election in Newcastle upon Tyne.

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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Swiss owners of goldfish have been warned that in future the creatures cannot be flushed down the toilet because of strict new animal protection laws. Instead it must first be knocked out and then killed before its body can be disposed of. The new legislation spells out in exhaustive detail how all domestic animals are to be treated, whether they are pets, farm animals or destined for scientific experiments. Wild animals are also covered by the law if they are in circuses or zoos. Anglers are forbidden to practise catch-and-release fishing or to use live fish as bait. In the domestic environment, common household pets such as budgies and hamsters can longer be kept alone – they must have a companion.

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Sniffer dogs trained to detect the plastics used in DVDs are leading the police fight against  the flourishing £200 million trade in pirated films. The Times last week joined Lucky and Flo, two black Labradors and their handlers on their first operation in London tackling the illicit market. The search began among parked cars around Whitechapel. The cars are used by traders to stock the illegal discs. Within minutes the dogs led police to a stash of 474 illegal discs stuffed into plastics bags. Trained in Northern Ireland, the dogs have been so successful that gangsters have put a £17,000 bounty on their heads. Sales outlets for the discs include some of the UK’s legal street markets as well as under the counter in pubs and clubs and even door-to-door. They are created in South East Asia – mainly Malaysia, Pakistan and China.

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Britain’s largest dog charity is following the lead of the RSPCA by withdrawing support for Crufts over controversial breeding techniques for show animals. The Dogs Trust has cut all links with the Kennel Club, which organises the show. The trust is demanding that the Kennel Club reviews its breed standards to ensure the main focus is the health and well-being of the dogs, not the aesthetics of the breed. Clarissa Baldwin, the trust’s chief executive, has been in touch with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asking for laws to be brought forward to regulate dog breeding. Concerns were raised over the effects of intensive breeding by a BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed shown last month. The RSPCA decided to boycott Crufts after the investigation showed some pedigree breeds suffered diseases and deformities caused by decades of in breeding. The issue was heightened when an official of the Kennel Club told the BBC he approved of breeding female dogs with male offspring.

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