The DogCast Radio blog

I know many of you enjoy Ted Kerasote's books as much as I do, so here's the latest news from Ted and Pukka, and some great news about how you can buy e-book versions at a bargain price over the summer:

Dear Friends and Readers,

I hope you're having a good summer. Pukka and I have been working on new books, riding bikes, hiking, and running rivers. You can check out photos from these adventures on our Facebook page.

Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Lily, made a dash for the outdoors, only to leave her owners frantically worried as to her whereabouts. Luckily she was reunited with her owner from Pimlico at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home because she was microchipped.

The six year old Staffie was found at Pimlico Station and brought into Battersea where staff carried out a routine microchip scan that showed up her owner’s details.

Lily’s owner Karen Viera said: “Because the weather was so hot we had the door open with the baby gate closed, but we just didn’t realise how easy it would be for her to escape. Our other dog accompanied us as we searched the area and I put out updates on my Facebook and Twitter so people could help me search for her. We are so grateful to Battersea for looking after her and contacting us. I’m so glad we had her microchipped, we might never have seen her again if we hadn’t.”

Karen and her mum noticed Lily wasn’t in the dog bed where she was last seen and began searching in and around their home. It soon became clear that Lily had jumped over the baby gate that was locked by the open door and made a leap for outside.

As the warm weather continues across the UK, Battersea urges pet owners to be extra vigilant when doors and windows are left open in case their pets go missing. More than 65 per cent of all dogs arriving at Battersea are not microchipped with their owner’s details, making it difficult and sometimes impossible to successfully reunite lost pets with their worried owners.

Liz McWalter, Head of Intake at Battersea said: “It was fantastic to be able to reunite Lily and Karen so soon after she went missing and really highlights the importance of microchipping. Battersea offers free microchipping for dog owners at our three centres in London, Kent, and Windsor, and if you haven’t already got your dog chipped we’d urge you to take this simple step to ensure you can be reunited with your pet should you get parted.”

Earlier this year, the Government announced that all dogs in England must be microchipped by April 2016. To support and promote this vital initiative, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is working with Lambeth Council to offer free microchipping, name tag engraving and advice about responsible dog ownership on Tuesday 6 August at Stockwell Gardens Estate.

We will be at The Pet Show at Stoneleigh Park next weekend (20th and 21st July) helping celebrate how pets enrich our lives. If you're at the show do come and say hello - we'll be on the Pet Education Trust stand, and we'd love to meet you.

Here's more information from the show's organisers:

The UK’s largest pet show set to open its doors with headline performers

The Pet Show will become the UK’s largest multi-pet event when it opens it doors to some 20,000 people, in a 21,000 square metre event location, over the weekend of 20th and 21st July.

As the heatwave (by UK standards anyway!) continues in Britain, our dogs are feeling the heat just as much as we are. Here are some lovely photos of a couple of Battersea residents cooling off.

Lucky Max, a Rottweiler, is cooling off in a paddling pool, while mixed-breed Indi is tucking into an iced dog treat. It's unbelievable that while some of us are going to great lengths to ensure our dogs don't overheat, some irresponsible owners are still leaving dogs in hot cars.

Dogs die in hot cars - surely the message should have got through by now? Here's a link to a blogpost I wrote

I was a little worried to begin with that I'd been sent an April Fool's joke in July, but I'll be really fascinated to read the results of this research. I'm sure some trainers will argue that dogs can't make the necessary connections to know that if they paw a control, the temperature goes up or down.

Also, bark controlled privacy screens? - I'm pretty sure some dogs bark to get attention, not to hide themselves away from it, so I do wonder how that will work out. What do you make of the latest news from Dogs Trust?

TAKING PUPPY-STEPS TOWARDS THE SMART KENNEL OF THE FUTURE

Pets dumped in bins, boxes and buckets

The RSPCA have reported an alarming increase in animals being abandoned across England and Wales.

In the last year, the RSPCA were called out to rescue more than 37,000 abandoned animals and received a call asking for help every 30 seconds.

Every year the charity sees a sharp rise in abandonments at the height of summer. Evidence from the RSPCA and other animal charities suggests some people chose to get rid of their pets rather than pay for them to be looked after while they are on holiday.

Animal lovers are being called to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Old Windsor to join the rescue centre’s team of inspiring volunteers who make a huge difference to hundreds of dogs’ lives.

The RSPCA today (Tuesday May 28) launches its annual competition for budding young snappers to showcase their best images of animals.

The Young Photographer Awards 2013 (YPA13) welcomes all kinds of pictures from cheeky portraits of family pets to imaginative photos of wildlife and even close-ups of insects in a mix of categories open to young people under 19.

The competition is sponsored by Warners Midlands, supported by Olympus and Natures Images, and judged by a mix of photography professionals including presenter and wildlife expert Chris Packham.

Peddling to save working dogs

Steve Blakemore comes across as a regular guy. He works as an Operational Support Manager for 1st Reaction Security Ltd and has a normal family life. So it came as a bit of a surprise when he volunteered out of the blue to cycle around Pitsford Reservoir to raise money for the company’s chosen charity for 2013, Bravo Working Dog Rescue Centre. Particularly when his work colleagues knew that he hadn’t been on a bike for years!

Steve said: ‘Each year, 1st Reaction Security chooses a good cause to raise money for and this year, Bravo