THE SPCA and Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers (publishers of the Animal Ark books) are delighted to sponsor the national Young Animal Carer of the Year Awards. Now in their third year, the awards have become established as a rewarding and exciting competition for young people and schools, attracting entries from all over New Zealand.
This year, Animal Ark (the popular series of children's books) will be the principal sponsor of the prestigious awards. Once again, the competition will include a school/group category, also with great prizes.
The competition started on October 1 and closed on January 31, 2002, with the shortlist to be announced on March 1. Winners and runners-up in all categories will be announced at the Young Animal Carer of the Year Awards ceremony to be held in Auckland soon after.
As in the past, the three finalists will be brought to Auckland for the award ceremony and, of course, the chance to meet and chat with the judges. Judges for this year's competition will be TV personality Jude Dobson, radio personality Danny Watson, Auckland SPCA executive director Bob Kerridge and Hodder Moa Beckett sales and marketing director Sue Murray.
Bob Kerridge, host of the awards, said he was delighted the society and Hodder Moa Beckett were joining forces for the third Young Animal Carer Awards.
"In the two previous years, I have been inspired by the dedication of our young people to the animal kingdom as reflected in the quality of their entries," he said. "It bodes well for future generations of animals who will have such caring young adults looking after them."
Sue Murray said: "Our animals and pets are much loved and treasured the world over. To help promote and foster the care and well-being of our animals, in conjunction with the SPCA and the Animal Ark book series, the best-selling children's series in the UK, we look forward to the third Young Animal Carer promotion being the best and most exciting awards yet."
K9 Perspective will print names of the contest winners and runners-up in the next issue, due out at the end of April.
Lassie still most popular
animal in movie world
LASSIE has been voted the most popular animal in any film, taking 54 per cent of the votes in a survey ahead of the talking pig Babe with 22 per cent and Hedwig, the owl in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, which polled only one per cent.
Fourth and fifth places in the survey carried out by the Telecom company Orange were taken by Lou, the puppy from Cats And Dogs, and Toto, the well-loved terrier from The Wizard Of Oz.
A similar poll of animated characters was won by Gromit, of The Wrong Trousers fame, also with 54 per cent of the vote, followed by Shrek who took 18 per cent.
Inventive return to public eye
for Wallace and pal Gromit
WALLACE and Gromit, the Oscar-winning animated characters, are making a comeback for the first time in six years in a series of short films which will be available free on the Internet. It will be the pair's first outing since A Close Shave which won their British creator Nick Park his third Oscar for Best Short Animated Film in 1996.
The 12 new one-minute films go online in autumn 2002. Some of enthusiastic amateur inventor Wallace's latest gizmos - usually tested by his long-suffering canine friend Gromit - include Bowl-O-Matic (a gun that bowls cricket balls), a toaster/television (handy for saving time at breakfast), a pair of irons that can be worn as roller skates (to smooth washday) and a vacuum cleaner/tricycle (to speed up housework).
Contact allergies
IF your dog gets a red rash on its stomach it is likely to be a reaction to something it has been sitting on or rubbing itself through, such as wandering Jew or other such plants that can be found on or near beaches. Often the insides of the legs are also affected.
If the dog has spots but they are more like a group or trail of small bites then he/she is most likely to have been bitten by mosquitoes or sandflies. The seriousness of such bites depends on what country it is in - both insects can cause serious diseases, mostly tropical, in many parts of the world. Herbal insect repellent can be used on dogs to good effect.
