Heartkun - Will you love me fur ever?

This chihuahua puppy literally wears its heart on its sleeve.
The cute male pooch, born with a perfect heart-shaped patch on its side, has been suitably named Heartkun by its owner in northern Japan.
The one-and-a-half-month-old pup was born as one of a big litter, but is the only new arrival to sport such a heart-warming coat. According to owner Emiko Sakurada, this is the first occasion a puppy with such marks had been born out of the more than one thousand chihuahuas she has bred.

Courtesy of The Daily Mail

Meet the Incredible Hulk of Hounds

Maybe they should call her a whoppet - after all, she's a whopper of a whippet.

This is Wendy, the dog whose appearance is a long way from the usual long, lean and sleek look of her breed.

She was born with a genetic defect which has left her looking like the Incredible Hulk of Hounds. While her head, heart, lungs and legs are the size of those of a normal whippet, her gene defect means she is "double muscled". She weighs 4st 4lb - twice as much as she should - and has bulging neck muscles, burly shoulders and haunches like a baboon. Unlike ordinary whippets known for their lithe and narrow frame, this pedigree doesn't just have a sixpack stomach, she has a 24-pack.

Sadly, her mixed-up genes mean she may have a shorter life expectancy than most breeds. But while she may look oddly menacing, her doting owner Ingrid Hansen claims the giant pooch likes nothing better than clambering up on to your lap to have her back scratched. "People have referred to her as Arnold Schwarzenegger," she said. "She's healthy and happy. That's all that counts. "She doesn't know she's got a genetic defect. She might give you a nasty lick, that's all."


The whippet, who lives on a farm in Victoria, Canada, has been the subject of an American genetics study. Although the dogs are customarily bred for hunting, racing and showing, Wendy enjoys a slower pace of life. She spends her days prowling around the fields, chasing other dogs and horses and sleeping on her owner's bed.

The Daily Mail also reported on another canine phenomenon, 19st 10lb Samson. A cross between a Great Dane and a Newfoundland, the dog from Boston, Lincolnshire, is 37in at the shoulder and stands 6ft 5in on his hind legs.

Courtesy of The Daily Mail

Balto - The Siberian Husky

In January 1925, doctors in Nome, Alaska realised that a deadly Diptheria virus was on the verge of attacking the young people of the Alaskan town. The only serum that would stop the outbreak was 1000 miles away in Anchorage.

The only aircraft that could have made the life-saving delivery had been dismantled for the winter. Officials turned to the only other solution – To move the serum by sled dog!

A musher set out from Anchorage, on the first leg of the epic journey. More than 20 mushers took part, battling winds strong enough to knock over both sled and dogs and temperatures that rarely rose above 40 degrees below zero. The world became fascinated by the race across country that was happening in Alaska.

On February 2nd 1925, just 6 days since the journey began, Gunner Kaassen drove his dog team into Nome. The leader of the team was Balto. Balto was soon to be a worldwide hero. A statue of him was erected in New York’s Central Park.

For two years after the serum run Balto and some of his teammates travelled North America as part of a travelling show.

Balto died in 1933, and his body was preserved and displayed at Cleveland's Natural History Museum.

Hachiko – The Akita

Hachiko was born in 1923. In 1924 he move to Tokyo with his owner Professor Ueno. Professor Ueno was a professor at the University of Tokyo, and every morning Hachiko would see of his master as he left for work each day, and in the evening Hachiko would walk to the nearby Shibuya Station to await his return.

In May 1925. Professor Ueno left for work as usual, but sometime that day, he suffered a stroke and died.

After his death his widow closed up the house and moved away, giving Hachiko to some relatives who lived several miles away from the station. Hachiko refused to stay with them, and as soon as he was let out, he made his way back firstly to his old house, and then to the station to wait for his master.


Professor Ueno’s old gardener lived close to the station, and began to take care of Hachiko. Hachiko made his way to the station at the end of each day to meet his master for over 10 years, until his death in 1935. His remains are kept at the National science Museum in Ueno, Tokyo.

Greyfriars Bobby

John Gray arrived in Edinburgh around 1850. Not successful in finding any other employment, John joined the Edinburgh Police Force as a night watchman. To keep him company on the cold winter nights John took on Bobby, a Skye terrier who became his faithful companion. Through wind, hail, sun, snow or rain side by side they would trudge the streets of Edinburgh.

John developed Tuberculosis, and in February 1858 died. He was buried in Greyfriars churchyard. Bobby refused to leave his masters grave even in the worst of weather conditions. Two tablestones and some sacking provided shelter for him at the side of his master’s grave. Bobby would leave the grave at 1pm each day for his meal. He would follow William Dow to the same coffee house that he used to visit with his master, eat his meal and return to the graveside.

In 1867, a byelaw was passed which stated that all dogs must either be licensed or destroyed. The Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir William Chambers decided to pay Bobby’s license for him. He presented him with a collar complete with the inscription "Greyfriars Bobby from the Lord Provost 1867 licensed".

For fourteen years Bobby kept his faithful vigil in the graveyard, until January 14th 1872 when he himself died aged sixteen years. Bobby’s headstone reads:

“Greyfriars Bobby – Died 14th January 1872 – Aged 16 – Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all”

Blue Peter Dogs ("Get Down Shep")

Famous children’s television programme Blue Peter began broadcasting in 1958. In 1962 it was decided to introduce pets to the Blue Peter viewers. To interest children who did not have their own pet Petra made her debut just before Christmas that year. Petra was in fact the second “Petra”. A mongrel puppy appeared in one episode. Soon after it died from distemper, and Blue Peter staff were on a desperate search for an identical replacement. One was found in a Lewisham pet shop. Petra was named in a viewer’s competition, which is usually how Blue Peter pets are now named. Petra was retired from Blue Peter on June 30th 1977 due to ill health. On September 14th Petra was put to sleep.

One of Petra’s puppies Patch joined the show as the pet of John Noakes when he joined the show in 1966.


In 1971, Patch died, and was replaced by Shep, a Border Collie. He and John Noakes became such a double act that they established the catchphrase “Get down Shep”. The double act continued until June 1978 when John left Blue Peter. The BBC owned Shep just like all of the other Blue Peter pets. When John left Blue Peter, they realised how inseparable they were, and let John take him. Shep went onto appear with John in five series of “Go with Noakes” and then retired. He died in 1987.



1978 saw Simon Groom join the Blue Peter team.

A golden retriever puppy was chosen to join alongside Simon. Again Blue Peter viewers chose her name. Goldie made her debut at the tender age of just 7 weeks old. Goldie’s training, as well as her pregnancies was documented on screen.

May 16th 1981 saw the birth of Goldie’s first puppies. One of Goldie’s puppies Prince went on to become a Guide dog, and he trained with fellow Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan until he qualified. Goldie had a second litter on February 3rd 1986. Six puppies went on to become Guide dogs, and Goldie’s daughter Bonnie replaced her on Blue Peter when she retired in the summer of 1986.

Goldie lived out her retirement on the farm of Simon Groom’s parents.




Bonnie appeared on Blue Peter for thirteen years, appearing in over 1,150 programmes, co-starring with sixteen presenters. Bonnie, like her mother before her went on to have puppies that were trained as Guide dogs. Alongside her handler, fellow presenter Anthea Turner, Bonnie won the Olympia dogs agility course two years running. Her last appearance was on 24th February 1999 where she was presented with a gold Blue Peter badge inlaid in a special collar. Bonnie died at the great age of fifteen years on 17th April 2001.

Mabel was a rescue dog, found abandoned, mistreated and starving by the RSPCA. She got her name by the initials put on her kennel of the RSPCA inspector who found her. MAB-1. She is a Border Collie Cross.

Mabel was joined in February 1999 by Lucy, a golden retriever.

Lucy's first appearance came just before Bonnie’s retirement later that month. Presenter Simon Thomas looked after Lucy during her training. She passed her gold award for the Good Citizen Dog Scheme.