Latest news with #animalAdoption
The Independent
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
I'm with Prince William – there's a reason people want pure breeds, not rescue dogs
The Prince and Princess of Wales have apparently committed a heinous crime by allowing their beloved cocker spaniel to have puppies. The royal couple have been decried as 'staggeringly out of touch' – by animal activists Peta, who else? – for the audacity of letting the family dog Orla 'churn out a litter', at a time when animal shelters are overrun with dogs needing forever homes. Orla was gifted to them by the princess's brother James Middleton in 2020 – and a sweet photograph of Prince William, taken by the princess, was this week posted on social media, showing him surrounded by cute puppies, to mark his 43rd birthday. In a statement, Elisa Allen, Peta's vice-president of programmes, said: 'If William is going to lead, he might well take a lesson from King Charles and Queen Camilla, who have chosen to adopt from a shelter rather than contribute to the problem.' The Queen adopted Jack Russell Moley from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home earlier this year – her third Jack Russell rescue dog after Beth in 2011 and Bluebell in 2012. Prince Harry and Meghan also have two rescue dogs: Pula, a black lab, and a beagle called Mamma Mia. While I understand a lot of dogs need rehoming, it's a personal choice to have a pure breed. It's not as if the Waleses are running a puppy farm, so what is the problem? I'm a dog-lover, but adopting a rescue pup is a complete no-no for me. I bought Muggles, our fluffy white pedigree golden retriever, from a licensed Kennel Club breeder in Essex, because I knew it was a safe bet. These breeds are famously good around children. Like the Waleses' pup, Muggles came from a good pedigree family lineage. His mum was called Jacunda Dancing Girl of Rozansam, and his stud-dog dad was Trebettyn Teryrnin To Tanadice. I love them for that – although Muggles's ancestral name, Rozansan Gobi Forth, sounded a bit too Game of Thrones to be used for recall in my local park. I'd looked into rescue dogs, but I had to stop scrolling the 'Meet some of our dogs in our care' section of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home because it broke my heart, and brought out that rescue mentality in me that also gets me into hot water with men. There's a reason people love pure breeds. They don't attack other pets or dogs, chew your furniture in their adult years – or have such chronic behaviourial issues that require warnings on shelter websites, such as 'no kids', 'ideal location away from inner city' and 'problematic behaviours towards his owners in all of his previous homes'. I'm a single mum with two small children, and the last thing I need in my life is a dog suffering from past trauma. I didn't want to hire a costly behavioural therapist so I could relax in my own home or when out with him in public, to be constantly wiping up nervous puddles, or to find myself tip-toeing around a sensitive dog hoping not to trigger a full-on episode. I don't mean to put anybody off getting a rescue dog; it is truly an admirable thing to do and there are tons of gentle ones. I just wish I was in a position to give them all the happy endings they deserve. But I've had a couple of hideous near-misses with them. Muggles has been bitten by a rescue who would not let go, as though it had lockjaw. Then there was the time I nearly collapsed with exhaustion trying to catch a friend's rescue dog on Wormwood Scrubs in west London after it was startled. When a neighbour pleaded to get me to adopt her maltipoo because it didn't like men, I declined. Of course, any dog can have behavioural problems, not just rescue dogs who've had a tough upbringing. Muggles is no angel – he rips open black bags for food, and once devoured my daughter's Peppa Pig birthday cake when it was left on a low shelf (lesson learned). But despite a family member banging on about how he'd be jealous when my kids were born and would maul them to death, I knew I could trust him around them. My greatest regret is that Muggles never had puppies; he would have made a great dad. Thanks to William and Kate, I'm now obsessed with getting a new golden retriever puppy, who my children want to call Bubbles. The only thing that is stopping me is the cost of adding the puppy to my Pet Plan policy. With an elderly dog – Muggles is 11 – it's gone through the roof. But one thing is for sure, it won't be a rescue mutt.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
AI to help tell donkeys apart at Isle of Wight sanctuary
Visitors to a donkey sanctuary will be able to identify their favourite adopted animal using artificial intelligence (AI) and their phone camera, researchers of Southampton scientists developing the mobile app - being used at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary - said they hoped it could also help identify health issues in the app uses a library of hundreds of photographs of the donkeys from every angle, utilising machine-learning and AI to distinguish them from one still has a way to go, with the app having a coin-flip accuracy of only 50% at the moment. But project lead Dr Xiaohao Cai said he was confident it would be much improved and ready for the public to use by the end of the year."At the moment we're trying to bridge the gap between the experimental accuracy and the real-world accuracy," said Dr Cai. The idea emerged after it was noticed name collars worn by the donkeys were becoming hazardous and uncomfortable, said Gordon Pattison, volunteer and trustee of the sanctuary in Ventnor. "There had been some accidents and near misses, so we got rid of all the collars in 2023," said Mr Pattison. "They're not of any use to the animal, but they're incredibly useful to the public - some of whom will come and want to see a particular animal."The sanctuary raises funds by allowing visitors to adopt a donkey - something Mr Pattison said thousands of people had signed up to do. The app is called Ask ELVIS (Equine Long-range Visual Identification System), named after one of the sanctuary's donkeys who died in 2024 and was described by staff as an "iconic character". "When the app starts up, you see Elvis the donkey, and the idea is you're asking a donkey, 'who's that donkey over there?'" said Mr Pattison. The app will then show the donkey's name and a link to webpage where visitors can learn more about that animal. And asked if donkeys respond to their name, Mr Pattison said they do. He said in future the sanctuary hoped to work with scientists from the university to see if AI could also help monitor for health issues in the animals - but that project has not got off the ground yet. "At the moment we will pick it up (the health issue), but we might not pick it up immediately," he said. "[The donkeys] don't give out much, they're very stoic - so we have to look for subtle clues," he added. "The message is that AI isn't just for big state enterprises."If you've got an idea, it can help you out - you just need to approach the problem from a different point of view." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
