Community News

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A Sunday dinner-loving Spaniel from Wolverhampton, who is nearly double his ideal weight, has reached the finals of the UK’s largest pet slimming competition - PDSA Pet Fit Club. The heavyweight hound, hoping to lead the way for millions of overweight pets across Britain, has been selected to compete against 12 other fat pets – including dogs, cats and even a rabbit.

MP Jim Cunningham of Coventry South has thrown his weight behind a nationwide campaign which criticises one of the UK’s biggest insurance firms and Tesco over changes to pet insurance policies. Mr Cunningham  has sponsored a parliamentary motion criticising the Royal & Sun Alliance and Tesco over the establishment of a “preferred referral network” that limit customers to one of 28 vet centres across the UK where advanced care or operations are needed.

A Charity Event organised by YMCA North London to help vulnerable homeless young people build a better future. The Crouch End Fun Run & Festival has evolved over the last 25 years into one of the largest community events in North London, a diary must for many.

Relatives of a man who passed away recently are being asked to get in touch with City of Wolverhampton Council. Maurice Franklyn Worrall, who was 72, had lived in a care home for several years in the Penn area of Wolverhampton. It is thought that he may have family in the Southampton area. The City of Wolverhampton Council is trying to trace Mr Worrall’s relatives so that his funeral can be arranged.

With rising human and pet life expectancies, the standard ‘1-to-7’ dog year ratio is becoming obsolete, according to MedicAnimal, Europe’s leading online pet retailer. While most pet owners stand by the “one size fits all” method to gauge their pets’ equivalent stages of life, the reality is more complex, and can negatively affect pet health further down the line.

24 has been revealed as the 'age of payback' - when grown-up children finally start picking up the bill for their long-suffering parents, according to a new study. The research discovered that until that point mums and dads are bombarded with almost daily requests to borrow money for one thing or another. But the tables finally turn when the 'kids' are able to stand on their own two feet – and start chirping up with 'Don't worry, I'll get this ... ' at restaurants, on day trips out, or even lavish holidays abroad.

Generous HomeServe employees have helped raise almost £20,000 for charity Marie Curie in just three months as part of their long-term support for the charity. Staff set to work reaching the mammoth amount by donating spare or unwanted clothes – a scheme that has proven so popular a collection bin has been installed at the company’s Walsall headquarters and Preston site – as well as a host of fundraising activities already this year.

It seems that Brits have a much closer bond with their pets than their partner, a survey has revealed. Eighty per cent of the 1000 people surveyed think that their pet is way cuter than their other half, with three-quarters saying that their pet gives better cuddles. Half admit that they would rather spend a free afternoon with their pet, whilst three-quarters prefer a selfie with their beloved animal.

A young disabled campaigner from the West Midlands has hit-out at local transport that he believes is failing a generation of disabled people; as revealed by a hard-hitting report today. Christian Fulton took part in a nine-month undercover investigation and national survey for Muscular Dystrophy UK Trailblazers – a network of 700 young disabled people across the UK. The End of the Line report shares disturbing experiences across buses, trains, taxis and the underground. 

Proposals to reduce the number of face-to-face fundraisers operating in Birmingham by more than 70 per cent are set to be discussed by councillors this week. Birmingham City Council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee will consider an agreement drawn up with the Public Fundraising Association (PFRA) to limit charity fundraisers, also known as ‘chuggers’, activity in the city centre.

Macmillan Cancer Support has announced that for the first time urban obstacle race Adrenaline Rush is coming to Birmingham, taking place at Senneleys Park on Saturday 4th June. 35% of all entrance fees will go directly to Macmillan to help ensure that no one faces cancer alone. With a minimum of 20 obstacles in each race including a zip wire, a giant ball pit and a gunge tank, entrants are guaranteed to have their strength, stamina and mental resolve put to the test at every turn.

Veterans will lead the commemorations as Wolverhampton marks the 71th anniversary of VE Day next month. They will join civic dignitaries and members of the public to mark 71 years since the anniversary of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies – an event on 8 May 1945 which heralded the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Following extensive consultation, cabinet is set to approve changes to the housing advice service on 19 April which will build on the success of the city’s Youth Hub – a specialist homeless service for single young people under 25 years old.  The council is reducing the number of Housing Advice Centres and pooling resources to create a similar centre of excellence for homelessness and housing advice for the over 25s.

Quite simply put by more than half of dog owners, they make us happy and almost two thirds of British dog owners say the reason they got their pet was as an added member of the family or for companionship, while as the nation strives to become fitter, almost a third of respondents (31 per cent) also said that they got a dog to drive them to do more exercise – there's no excuse when you have to take Rover for a walk.

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