Pug uses pushchair to walk puppies

Jenny the pug has taken puppy love to a whole new level, after taking to pushing toy dogs around in a pushchair.

Jenny's owner, Ellen Zessin, a children's book artist from Portland, Oregon, US, explains: "Jenny loved the little stuffed pugs we got for her right from the beginning and was forever picking them up in her mouth and mothering them.

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Beluga whale carries struggling diver to surface

A DROWNING diver has a beluga whale to thank for helping to save her life after her legs were paralysed by cramps.

Yang Yun was taking part in a free-diving contest at Polar Land in Harbin, north-east China, in which participants were required to sink seven metres to the bottom of a pool and stay there for as long as possible without the aid of breathing equipment.

Ms Yun, 26, thought she was going to die amid the beluga whales she shared the arctic pool with, after struggling to move her legs while trying to kick her way to the surface.

"I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me - I was dead," she told The Sun.

"Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface."

That "incredible force" was Mila, a beluga whale which had noticed her distress and clamped its jaws around her leg.

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Monkey Waiters

The amazing monkey waiters that serve tables in a Japanese restaurant
By Daily Mail Reporter


A Japanese restaurant has changed the face of customer service by employing two monkeys to help with the table service.


The Kayabukiya tavern, a traditional 'sake house' north of Tokyo has employed a pair of uniformed Japanese macaque called Yat-chan and Fuku-chan to serve patrons.


Twelve-year-old Yat-chan is the crowd-pleaser as he moves quickly between tables taking customer drink orders.



The younger of the two, Fuku-chan is quick to give the diners a hot towel to help them clean their hands before they order their drinks, as is the custom in Japan.

Yat-chan and Fuku-chan, who are both certified by the local authorities to work in the tavern are well appreciate by customers, who tip them with soya beans.

'The monkeys are actually better waiters than some really bad human ones,' customer Takayoshi Soeno said.

Tavern owner Kaoru Otsuka, 63, originally kept the monkeys as household pets - but when the older one started aping him he realised they were capable of working in the restaurant.'Yat-chan first learned by just watching me working in the restaurant,' he said.

'It all started when one day I gave him a hot towel out of curiosity and he brought the towel to the customer.'


A regular of the tavern, 58-year-old Shoichi Yano, says the animals are like her children.
'Actually, [they're] better,' she said. 'My son doesn't listen to me but Yat-chan will.'
Some clients, like retiree Miho Takikkawa, say Yat-chan appears to understand their exact orders.

'We called out for more beer just then and it brought us some beer," she said. "It's amazing how it seems to understand human words.'


The monkeys work in shifts of up to two hours a day due to Japanese animal rights regulations.
But the owner is hoping to bring up the next generation of monkey waiters, and is already training three baby monkeys to work as waiters.

The Best Home Help

Faithful dog does the laundry, tidies up and brings shopping home
By ARTHUR MARTIN


Hazel Carter's home help tidies the house, does the washing and brings home the shopping. And the only payment she requires is a nice big bowl of dog food at dinner time. No wonder Connie the Newfoundland is her owner's best friend.

Helpful hound: Connie empties the washing, gets to grips with a watering can ...


When Mrs Carter was struck down with crippling arthritis in her back, she found herself unable to perform simple household tasks.

... and even carries Hazel Carter's shopping bag

But she used her skills as an animal behaviourist to teach Connie how to do the work instead.

The two-year-old animal picks out items of dirty clothing from the laundry basket and places them inside the washing machine.

Once it is full, she places a detergent ball on top of the clothes before reaching up and turning on the machine with her paw. When the washing cycle is over, Connie squeezes her head through the door of the frame and transfers the clean clothes to the tumble dryer.

Mrs Carter, 68, could leave the dog to complete the entire task unsupervised - if only Connie understood that dark colours must not be washed with whites.

"My arthritis is slowly improving these days," said Mrs Carter, from Uckfield, East Sussex. "But there was a point where I was almost bedridden and every movement was painful - so to have Connie there to pick things up and pass them to me was a lifesaver."

When Mrs Carter is short of essentials, she phones up the local shop with her requirements and sends Connie along to pick them up.

And the dog's tidying skills rival that of a professional cleaner. When Mrs Carter leaves anything lying around the house, Connie knows exactly where it came from and return it to its rightful home.

"She really loves helping out,' she said. 'Her tail is always wagging and she just does some of the jobs automatically now.

"She fetches her own dog bowl at dinner time, making sure to put it back afterwards. She picks up items like pens and knives that I drop on the floor.

"Connie can do a lot - she can even unties my shoelaces for me if I ask her. She is a brilliant help around the home - and really enjoys it too. She is a big dog - but she is so gentle.

"At one stage all I could do was lie in bed and Connie would bring me a toy from her toy box for me to throw from my prostrate position. She quickly learnt that to have a game she must first bring her toy to me, a very valuable lesson. "My idea was to keep her occupied and mentally stimulated while helping me at the same time."

Mrs Carter teaches Connie by giving her treats for tasks that are performed well and is keen to encourage other dog owners to train their pets to help out.

She recently spoke at a conference on animal behaviour and Connie has been successful at three obedience contests.
"I like to try to inspire people who are traumatised with injury that they too can do this," added Mrs Carter. "Even just a little bit of help goes a long way."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-505744/Faithful-dog-does-laundry-tidies-brings-shopping-home.html