According to country's main animal welfare body, Australia is leading in increasing number of obese pets. Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), says that the people show the love by overfeeding their pets thus posing them to increased risks of death.

In an attempt to better understand what their dogs barking is all about, several dog owners have been given lessons in order to learn how to translate their pets' woofs from their bow wows. A British vet and dog behaviorist is training pet owners to give them expert advice in order to cut down on the number of complaints received by local authorities by noisy dogs.

Pet owners now cite emotional support as a reason to bring pets to restaurants, spas, airplanes, offices and other public areas. Dog vests brandishing the words "service animal" and wallet-size cards explaining the rights of a support-dog owner are available over the Internet, says The New York Times.

They might not be able to cuddle or play fetch like most cats and dogs, but an Italian restaurant has been fined over $860 for its display of lobsters on ice to attract customers, in an innovative application of an anti-cruelty law usually applied to household pets. According to reports, a court in the northeastern city of Vicenza ruled the display was a form of abuse dooming the crustaceans to a slow death by suffocation.

Usually having a "hellish" workspace is nothing to talk about, but for one New York man that title wins him one year in an office away from home. Jason Welshonse runs a computer support and consulting firm from home.