Jerry Starr thought he was taking the safe approach when a twister was reported heading towards his suburban neighbourhood outside Oklahoma City last May.

An animal rights group is disgusted to hear of the fatal pummelling of a pomeranian dog and a deadly attack on a pitbull in two separate cases before the court.

Stressed at work? Not getting along with your colleagues? The answer is simple. Take your pooch into the office - and many Kiwis are doing just that.

What is it about these little ankle biters that we love so much? I say 'we' as I have gone to the small side myself with two pomeranian X Japanese spitz balls of fluff.

These are the top ten small breed dogs in the US.

Remnants of human habitation on New Zealand's remote Campbell Island are at risk of being wiped out.

Two young kea have died after suspected car surfing at Deaths Corner in the Otira Gorge.

People all across the globe erupted into fawning fits of hyperbole when the latest family photograph of the Cambridges (William, Kate, baby George and dog Lupo) at their Kensington Palace apartment was released.

These cute puppies figured out a clever way to raise money for dogs in need. Now all you need to do is watch. For more information visit http://www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.co.nz Courtesy of YouTube/PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive

A horse that had to be destroyed after being hit by a car in Christchurch belonged to a local man who frequently travelled around the city centre with two horses, police say.

Deadly piranhas were the unlikely cause of a badly backed-up English sewer, according to water company inspectors.

'I just bolted.' A swarm of wasps nesting under a fire hydrant gave firefighters more than they bargained for over the weekend.

Throughout history, a select band of the brave has willingly turned into human guinea pigs in the cause of science.

Man's best friend is increasingly taking antidepressants to get a new leash on life.

A giant, one-tonne crocodile has been caught by Ugandan villagers, after allegedly eating a man and maiming several others in a village.

An aquarium in Ireland has welcomed what is believed to be one of the world's only lesbian penguin couples, after keepers observed two females exhibiting courting behaviour.

Sharks have forced themselves back into the minds of Australians.

Surf lifesavers are scouring the water for remains after a woman in her 60s was killed by a shark near Tathra Wharf in New South Wales.

Much hangs on whether the Japanese Government sides with its future-focused Foreign Ministry or its inwards-looking pro-whaling fisheries agency, writes John Armstrong.

We're all a kaleidoscope of contradictions about our treatment and consumption of living creatures, writes Bob Jones.

Even the first sunshine of spring is not enough to prevent the lion enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo from looking forlorn.

After being Awol for half a decade Randy the cat was recently reunited with his owners - thanks to a trusty microchip, a caring stranger, and the Auckland SPCA.

Many's the time the dubious claim "sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind" has been used to justify some act of petty tyranny, writes Paul Thomas.

I want to believe in the inter-connectedness of things, I really do.