Best friends

Who said cats and dogs can't be friends? Here's one dog meeting his feline friend for a walk.

Going for a walk? Don't foget your dog boots to protect those precious paws! 

Browse those boots at SM store now.

Scruff MacDuff – enjoying the summer sun!

Bald puppy Splash needs a new home after heartless owner abandoned her in floods

She was spotted trembling in the rain, an adorable puppy all the more vulnerable because of a skin condition which means she doesn’t have a single hair on her body.

Adorable Splash was abandoned in torrential rain.

 
Cruelly abandoned by her owner, the young Staffordshire cross was found wandering the streets of Leeds during the worst of Yorkshire’s torrential rain last Friday.

It was a concerned passer-by who saw her suffering and alerted the Dogs Trust.

Splash has a skin condition which has left her mostly bald.

Now being sheltered by the animal charity, staff have fallen in love with the 12-week-old puppy and have named her Splash.

Amanda Sands, Dogs Trust Leeds manager, said: “Poor Splash endured an awful day when she was found on Friday. The rain had been relentless and spending all day out in it is unimaginable.

“Although Splash’s chronic skin condition isn’t infectious, it does means that she experiences itching and pain but she is starting to make leaps and bounds now that she is receiving the vet treatment she needs and the love and attention she deserves.”

The Dogs Trust is now calling for potential new owners to provide Splash with a happy home. She would need regular checkups because of her skin condition, known as demodectic mange.

“Splash needs an owner who can provide her with the tender loving care she has missed out on,” said Ms Sands said. “She is very loving and affectionate and would make a wonderful friend for someone.”

Article from Yahoo By Adam Parris-Long

Scruff MacDuff Store

Keep your puppy warm with his/her very own dog jacket, there's a style to fit all weathers.

The Track Jacket dog coat by Ruffwear

To buy from Scruff MacDuff's store now click here. 

Don't know which jacket to choose, browse our dog jacket summary, click here.


Scruff MacDuff – enjoying the summer sun!

Some of the UK's oddest laws - and why they are facing the chop

An enormous spring clean of some of Britain's many out-of-date laws is on its way.

Hundreds of pieces of legislation, some of them dating back centuries, have only a few months left to live.

According to Sir James Munby, chairman of the Law Commission for England and Wales: "Getting rid of statutory dead wood helps to simplify and modernise our law, making it more intelligible. It saves time and costs for lawyers and others who need to know what the law actually is, and makes it easier for citizens to access justice."

This might sound like a rather dry and dull business. But some of the laws facing the chop are frankly bizarre, and makes you wonder why they have been left on the statute book for so long.

Among the legislation up for the axe are:

- an 1800 Act to hold a lottery to win the £30,000 Pigot Diamond, then the most expensive jewel in Europe. The law allowed for the issuing of up to 11,428 tickets, at two guineas each, and for a lottery to be held in January 1801. The prize was won by a syndicate.

- a 1696 turnpike Act to repair the roads between Reigate and Crawley.
 
- 16 Acts passed between 1798 and 1828 to impose duty on every pint of ale, beer or porter brewed or sold in parts of Scotland.

- the Forgery of Foreign Bills Act 1803, which prohibited forging and counterfeiting any "bill of exchange or promissory note or money order belonging to any foreign state (with intent to deceive 'his Majesty, his heirs and successors'), tendering such forgeries, engraving plates for bills of exchange and the like without authority, possessing such plates, and printing unlawful instruments."

- the Sale of Offices Act 1809, which was passed as a consequence of a scandal involving the Duke of York, the head of the army, and his mistress. The woman in question, a Mrs Clarke, was proven to have taken money from those who wished to buy promotion or favours within the army. It was alleged that the Duke of York knew of her sales of office, and even that he took a share of the proceeds.

According to a history of the era: "For two months witnesses were examined from the underworld of London society. In the end it was carried, by 278 to 196, that the Duke of York was not guilty of personal corruption or of connivance at corruption. But as he had clearly been guilty of allowing his mistress to know too much of official business he was obliged, in spite of his services to the army, to resign his official appointments."

He was reappointed to his position in 1811.

- 38 acts relating to the creation of railway companies in India during the 19th century, all of which no longer exist.

- the London Gaslight Acts 1852, 1857, 1866 and 1880, regulating the supply and distribution of gas throughout the capital

- the Erecting Bristol and Gloucester Courts of Conscience Act of 1688, allowing for
"a court of request or conscience should be established within each city, and
that local commissioners should sit on a weekly basis to determine debt actions
of up to 40 shillings in value."

- the Southwark Streets Act (1749), recording the need for street lamps and watchmen to improve security to the local residents at night.

- the Orphans, London Act (1694), passed to raise a fund to replenish an ancient fund that existed to support orphan children of Freemen of the City of London.

- the Million Lottery Act of 1693, authorising the establishment of the so-called Million Lottery scheme, involving the sale of up to 100,000 tickets to "natives or foreigners". This state-sponsored scheme was designed to raise the sum of £1 million "towards carrying on the war against France".

- The Llanfyllin and Llangynog Railway Act 1873 was passed to authorise the
Llanfyllin and Llangynog Railway Company to construct a railway in Powys
between, unsurprisingly, the parishes of Llanfyllin and Llangynog. It never happened.

The earliest repeal of all dates from around 1322, and is called Statutes of the Exchequer. Its full title is: "What Distress shall be taken for the King's Debts, and how it shall be used". These statutes regulated the taking and impounding of animals, how they were to be fed, cared for and sold, and what livestock was to be exempt.

The most recent law up for the chop is part of the Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act - passed just two years ago in 2010.

You can, if you wish, read the full report.
 

By Ian Jones for MSN News

Puppy tries to do battle with its own Shadow

Warning: It's cute! Watch as Snuffy tries to do battle with it's own shadow!

Service Dogs Help Carry The Olympic Torch and Spirit

The Olympic games are always a wonderful time to see the world coming together. This year’s Olympics will be even more Fit As Fido as the Olympic torch will be accompanied along part of its journey by two amazing service dogs and their owners.

 Wendy Morrell and Udo and their good friends Karen Ruddlesden and Coco will get their chance July 13th to help move the torch to start the games. Wendy and Karen are also using this opportunity to help spotlight a couple important service dog charities in the UK:

- Dogs for the Disabled
- Medical Detection Dogs

Both of these organizations train dogs that help make people more independent and Wendy and Udo travel across the globe speaking at conferences to help improve the lives of people with disabilities and impairments. For Wendy, this year’s torch carrying will bring back memories of carrying the torch in 2008 with service dog Caesar. Wendy’s work with Caesar and Udo has dramatically helped increase public awareness of the incredible impact from service dogs.

Kudos to Wendy and Karen for the awesome work you’re doing to educate people about the amazing impact of service dogs in people’s lives. Be sure to give Udo and Coco some extra belly rubs from me and all of your Fit As Fido friends.

Article from Fit As Fido Friends.

Keep them healthy with Omega-3 Soft Gels for pets!  Containing all the essential fatty acids required for a healthy body, only these are for your dog!  Get yours now at Scruff MacDuff!

Omega-3 Pet Soft Gels, the supplement for your dog!

Omega-3 Pet Soft Gels

Get your Omega-3 Pet Soft Gels now at Scruff MacDuff

Barking mad! Woman gives up her high-powered job to design Olympic dog outfits

Stella McCartney has designed the official Team GB kit and Next has unveiled its collection of formal wear for the opening ceremony.

But who is dressing the nation's mascots?

A former business woman from North Wales has given up her boardroom job to take on the role of dressing man's best friend in their very own Olympic inspired dog jackets.f

Donna Condliffe wanted to design Olympic outfits for man's best friend

Donna Condliffe recently walked away from a senior managerial role at a leading financial institution to follow her dream of launching a luxury clothing website for dogs, just in time for the big summer Games.

The 42-year-old turned her back on the corporate world, sold her home in Cheshire and moved to the mountains of north Wales to set up Canine & Co, an award-winning online dog boutique offering a wide range of dog clothing and accessories for people who love to spoil their pets.

'The inspiration for the Olympic dog clothes came as there is a real buzz starting as we count down to the London 2012 games and I felt what better way to involve our pets, in what will be a fantastic spectacle for the whole of Great Britain.

The buzz surrounding the Olympics led to Donna's new business venture

Donna has even received an order from New Zealand for her patriotic outfits

'It will be great to see the whole country wearing red, white and blue and really getting behind the athletes, and how good that we can include our pets, who are, after all, a big part of our family!'

'I wanted to start a business on a subject I am passionate about, I am animal mad and have 2 rescue dogs myself so it was an easy decision. 

We have had lots of orders for the Olympic inspired coats, in fact this week one order was from New Zealand, its difficult to get one from further away that that,' she said.

Donna, who began trading seven months ago, has already been awarded New Business of the Year by Conwy Rural Council and came runner-up for the prestigious awards Woman in Business and E-commerce Business of the Year.

Donna says she doesn't regret giving up her high-powered job to spend more time in the countryside with her dogs

'People are proud of their pets and like to show them off. The website gives them the chance to do just that.

There's no better way to showcase my products than to show my actual customers and their animals enjoying them,' she said.


Although her former colleagues have labelled her 'barking mad', Donna doesn't miss the pressures of the corporate world.

'I’d much rather stick on my wellies and head out into the fields with my dogs. Carrying their diamante studded leads of course!'

By Bianca London for the Daily Mail


Get ready for the Summer Olympics, get your pair of Doggles from Scruff MacDuff.  Come rain or shine, Doggles will protect those sensitive eyes!  Buy yours now!

Scruff MacDuff Doggles

Get your Doggles at Scruff MacDuff now