Animal of the Month

1. All dogs are descended from wolves.


2. They were first tamed about 15,000 years ago in Asia.  


3. A dog’s sense of smell is 40,000 times better than ours.


4. Certain types of dogs use their noses to follow a human trail that is days old, and others can smell drugs – which makes them great crime-busting hounds!


5. Some dogs have been trained to be able to predict when their human caregiver will have a heart attack or an epileptic seizure, and others use their special ability to save lives by sniffing out cancer. No wonder dogs are said to be “man’s best friend”!


6. One hundred and fifty dogs are put to sleep by local authorities every week in the UK because a home cannot be found for them. One way to stop this is to make sure that all dogs are spayed or neutered.


7. Dogs need good food, fresh water, a walk every day, a comfortable and warm bed, regular check-ups at the vet and a human companion who will care for them every day of the year. In return, they give bundles of fun, love and affection.


8. In 2002, almost 8,000 experiments were carried out on dogs in British laboratories. It is almost certain that all these dogs died during the experiment or were killed afterwards. About that many experiments are carried out on dogs every year.


9. Cross-breed dogs tend to live longer lives than purebred dogs.


10. Dogs cost between £500 and £1,000 per year to keep and live for an average of 13 to 15 years, so humans should think very carefully before making a commitment to look after a dog.