Welcome to Pet Club, the brilliant new instalment from the Mirror People’s Pet Awards.
Every Friday, we’ll bring you inspirational and uplifting animal stories that highlight the heartwarming relationship between pets and their people, along with the cutest animal pics.
Like you, we love to hear all about amazing pets, so our news hounds will be sniffing out stories that are guaranteed to make you smile.
Like Summer, the four-year-old golden retriever who "graduated" from university last week. Summer is an assistance dog for her owner Laura Wild, who has autism, and accompanied Laura to every one of her lectures at Manchester Metropolitan University.
So when Laura graduated with a degree in Biology, it was only right that Summer was alongside her. Laura said: "People kept joking that Summer was graduating too."
Sign to our People's Pet Awards newsletter for your weekly dose of dog news, pictures and stories.
A picture of Summer and Laura leaping for joy sums up their wonderful relationship.
Summer has been with Laura since she was a puppy, and instinctively helps to keep her calm if she senses nervous behaviour or anxiety.
As well as heartwarming stories like this from the animal world, we'll also have the latest news from the People’s Pet Awards, including updates from our winners.
Last year we fell in love with heroic dogs, cats and ponies, and we even had a marriage proposal, so be prepared for stories to melt your heart.
And we have unmissable expert advice from our Wagony Aunt, Rachel Casey, who is Director of Behaviour at Dogs Trust, the official charity partner of the Awards.
She will be sharing top tips and invaluable advice to solve your doggy dilemmas every week, so whether your faithful friend can't stop barking at night, or your new puppy keeps chewing your slippers, she'll have all the answers you need.
So welcome to the club - we can’t wait to see you every week.
Wagony Aunt
Dogs Trust expert Dr Rachel Casey answers your canine conundrums:
We’re heading off on holiday, but my puppy doesn’t like car travel. What can we do?
The Highway Code says dogs must be suitably restrained in vehicles so, before travelling, teach your dog to feel relaxed in a comfortably sized seat-belt harness, pet carrier or crate, or in the boot behind a dog guard.
Reward calm behaviour around the car using treats. Open the doors, reward him for getting close and put treats around the doors and inside, to encourage him to sniff inside, keeping the doors open so he can come out. If your pup is small, you could put a treat trail on a ramp.
Once he's happy inside, sit inside with him and perhaps give him a safe and long-lasting chew so he learns it's a great place. Keep the doors open and when you feel he’s ready, turn the engine on. Give him some extra tasty treats and praise. If he shows anxiety, turn it off and go back a stage. When he's comfortable with the engine on, continue to give him lots of praise and treats and start with short, slow, gentle journeys. Never force him to travel as that will make him more worried. If he doesn't respond to training, avoid travelling and speak to your vet for referral to an experienced behaviourist.
For more information and expert advice, visit dogstrust.org.uk. Do you have a question for Rachel? Email petclub@mirror.co.uk
Cats corners
If you don’t have a cat, your neighbours probably do - there are around 11 million pet cats in Britain, and a quarter of all homes have at least one feline resident.
And they’ve been living with us for 12,000 years - according to the latest expert studies that’s when the first archaeological evidence exists of domesticated cats.
It coincides with the time humans started farming and stockpiling crops - with piles of wheat and grain came infestations of mice, so having a pet cat or two suddenly made sense.
Your pet pictures
We really want to see your pets too, so send us your pics and tell us what makes your furry friend so special. To start things off, here's one of our most inspirational animal lovers, Ricky Gervais, with his rescue cat Pickle. Send your pics to petclub@mirror.co.uk and they may feature on this page.
