Matt Heath writes: A grown man walking his toy dog down the road is humiliating - even when there's an evolutionary man-dog bond so powerful they'd do anything for each other.

A globetrotting cat managed to make its way from Australia to London and then Northern Ireland – a trip of almost 11,000 miles.

Trotting out to West Auckland for a day of equestrian events, Elisabeth Easther discovered the charms of Woodhill Sands Equestrian Centre.

They were known as the Spade Brigade: thousands of volunteers, from different walks of life, armed with garden tools. Together, they transformed Tiritiri Matangi from a virtually birdless, treeless island to a world-renowned forest sanctuary.

If you've ever wondered what your pets get up to when you're not home, a new animated movie has some theories.

An animal welfare group is offering a reward in a bid to track down and prosecute a pet owner who callously threw a dog off a bridge into the Wairoa River.

A study led by the Zoological Society of London has pinpointed an unlikely saviour for the stitchbird species - nest-hopping Casanovas.

They washed in by the thousands: tiny red crabs covering the Orange County shoreline much further north than their typical home.

"Internet users spend a significant amount of time consuming cat-related media, some of that while they are supposed to be doing other tasks like working."

Household pets can host a number of organisms that cause parasitic, bacterial, fungal and viral diseases in humans.

A stroppy little penguin was glad to waddle back to his home among the shoreline rocks at Mt Maunganui this morning.

New Zealand's top fashion designers have donated exclusive items to help the Herald's Viva magazine raise money for animals in need.

Are cats secretly laughing at us? Is all that purring, licking and being available for stroking just an elaborate ruse for food and a warm place to sleep?

The incredible travels of a hefty great white shark named Pip are helping scientists rewrite the book on everything we thought we knew about the feared species.

Frankie, Freddy or Fifi? Or maybe something more home-grown like Frodo or Fauna?

Another seal has shown up Auckland — this time in Campbells Bay on the North Shore.

Chimpanzees have the same types of smiles as humans when laughing and do not even need to make a sound to be understood, according to a new study.

Walking about Auckland's streets holding up a rather large antenna, Alice Baranyovits isn't surprised some bemused onlookers have asked if she's searching for aliens.

Dancing, singing, and, er, peeing on yourself - it's all part of the playbook if you're a native short-tailed bat looking to get lucky with the ladies.

A spider claimed to be the world's deadliest is feared to be on the loose in Britain after a family spotted a nest in a bunch of bananas.

The fifth seal in two weeks has come to shore in South Auckland - this time in Manurewa. Earlier this afternoon a seal had been spotted in Wattle Downs, Manurewa. That seal has since been returned to its natural habitat by the Department of Conservation.

The fifth seal in two weeks has come to shore in South Auckland - this time in Manurewa.

Conservationists say they'll probably never know what caused barracuda to maul dozens of endangered yellow-eyed penguins this year.

A yellow-eyed penguin thought to have had a nasty encounter with a barracuda is today on its way back home.

A woman has been banned from owning animals for ten years after a horse starved to death.

The camera of an American woman mauled to death by a lion in South Africa has been taken by police investigating what prompted the big cat to pounce.

They have already shown that they enjoy tea parties, so it should perhaps come as no surprise they are also intelligent enough to understand cooking.

Kiwi cat lovers rejoice - the country's first cat cafe could open within the next two months.

The festival committee had been preparing for Pentecost Sunday for months, and at last it had come.