A MUCH-LOVED family dog whose life was put at risk by a piece of wire lodged in his stomach is back home and thriving after surgery. Charlie, from Leicestershire, had become lethargic, was refusing food and was showing signs of abdominal discomfort.

BUTTERFLY Conservation is calling on the public to get involved in its bumper summer of butterflies. This year, alongside its hugely popular Big Butterfly Count, which sees tens of thousands of people spend 15 minutes counting butterflies, the charity is launching something new - a vote to discover Britain’s Favourite Butterfly.

A UK charity which specialises in helping disabled dogs is travelling more than 5,000 miles to China to give some of the most vulnerable survivors of the dog meat trade a second chance at life. Volunteers Broken Biscuits, which is based in Lincolnshire, will travel to Harbin in north-east China on March 15, alongside two specialist orthopaedic veterinarians from The Vet Station in Surrey.

A SMALL team based in Nottingham has become an unlikely online hit after their videos analysing the UK’s most popular dog foods began going viral with pet owners. Working from an office in Toton, Nottingham, the team behind independent website All About Dog Food spend their days examining the ingredients, nutrition and processing behind thousands of pet foods sold across the UK.

A PET nutrition brand is calling on dog owners to treat their companions as athletes through its range of performance-driven food. Nulo - which is backed by elite athletes Simone Biles, the Olympic gold medal-winning US gymnast, and Team GB skeleton star Matt Weston - now has its range of dog food exclusively available nationwide through Pets at Home. Additional ranges are set to follow.

NATURAL VetCare has returned to the UK pet supplements category with a fully rebuilt, vet-formulated range designed to support the growing shift from reactive treatment to proactive, daily wellbeing. Backed by AB Agri and Associated British Foods, the relaunch - which happened just before Crufts - introduces a portfolio of clinically formulated supplements for dogs developed using proven ingredients at active inclusion levels.