A new home at last for the blind Great Dane and her devoted guide dog

-Couple decided to take in Lily and Maddison after reading about them in the Daily Mail -Dogs can now look forward to holidays in France and the Lake District By Daily Mail ReporterHappy ending: Len Williams and his wife Anne with blind Lily and her guide dog Maddison. The couple have taken in the two dogs after reading about them in the Daily Mail It’s the happy ending that Lily the blind great dane and her trusty friend turned guide dog Maddison deserve.When the Daily Mail featured the heart-warming tale of the two great danes, who were looking for a new home, more than 2,000 dog lovers responded by offering to take them.Now Lily and Maddison...

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Tiny seal pup is nursed back to health after rescuers find it abandoned and shivering in aftermath of huge storm

By Mary McconnellOrphaned: Barnacle the seal pup was found clinging to rocks after being injured during last week's stormsA cute grey seal found clinging to rocks after being orphaned during last week's gales and torrential rain is being nursed back to health. The tiny all-white seal was found cowering and shivering after storms battered its breeding grounds, separating it from its mother on the Channel Island of Jersey.Too young to fend for itself, the week old pup - nicknamed Barnacle - was taken in before being flown to an RSPCA animal centre, where it was yesterday being nursed back to full health.Shivering: The seal was found clinging to...

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Easy tiger! Moment huge beast tried to play pat-a-cake with a toddler (but don't worry, they're separated by glass)

By Daily Mail ReporterTender moment: Rather than banging against the glass, the tiger gently put its paw up to the little girl's handThese breathtaking photographs capture the remarkable moments when a tiger bowed its head and placed a paw up to the hand of a small girl.Photographer Dyrk Daniels noticed the 370lb Golden Bengal Tiger had taken an interest in the child, who was leaning against his glass enclosure.As the tiger, called Taj, headed over to her, Mr Daniels got his camera ready, expecting him to snarl and bang against the glass.But amazingly the tiger hung his head, stretched a paw out to her hand and rubbed his cheek against where...

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Squirrel Nutkin? No I'm Squirrel Pumpkin: The grey critter getting into the Halloween spirit

By Mail On Sunday ReporterWhat's this? The squirrel admires the pumpkin hanging in mid-air from a string before sticking his head inside to see if it's a trick or treatMeet the grey squirrel who’s going nuts about Halloween...It is fascinated by Vicky Freeman’s hollowed-out pumpkin, trying to work out whether it’s a treat to get its teeth into or a mere trick suspended by a piece of string. For minutes on end, it jumps inside the pumpkin, then out again.Hanging on: The squirrel uses his paws to suspend himself from the inside of the cut out pumpkin‘Since I put the pumpkin out, the squirrel’s been visiting my garden every day,’ said Mrs Freeman,...

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Anyone see a seal? The spectacular moment killer whales emerged through hole in Arctic ice for a breather

-Landmark series has captivated millions with its portrait of the frozen world -Stunning images give a glimpse of what is to come on the BBC documentaryBy Kerry McqueeneyComing up for air: This stunning image shows a pod of fish-eating KIller whales spyhopping among the breaking sea ice in AntarcticaIt has already captivated millions, taking viewers on a spectacular polar expedition to the frozen wildernesses of the Arctic and the Antarctic.And now the makers of the landmark BBC series Frozen Planet, bringing the natural world of the North and South Poles to the small screen, has given a tantalising glimpse of things to come with these stunning...

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Ready to fly on Halloween, the rescued bats who've had their torn wings fixed

By Jessica SatherleyGetting ready for Halloween: The little bats are getting their wings repaired at the Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in CheshireWounded bats should be ready to fly in time for Halloween after an RSPCA centre discovered a new treatment to repair their wing injuries.Sarah Goodwin led the study in Cheshire, which found that just a bit of rest and recuperation for the bats meant tears in their wings would heal by themselves.She said the usual veterinary technique of stitching or gluing tears to the wings back together could cause issues with the bats removing stitches or glue when grooming.Instead, she decided to care for the...

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Hero dog drags his owner home after he is knocked unconscious by lightning bolt

-Mayor of Redruth would have died if not for his wellington bootsBy Nadia GilaniSaviours: Ian Thomas with Monty at his home in Redruth, Cornwall, and the wellington boots that saved his life A faithful dog rescued his owner by dragging him home after he was struck by an enormous lightning bolt.Ian Thomas, 64, was taking his German schnauzer Monty out for an early morning walk when he was struck by a bolt so powerful he would have been killed if he had not been wearing wellington boots. The bolt threw Mr Thomas, who is the Mayor of Redruth in Cornwall, into the air and knocked him out.He regained consciousness when five-year-old Monty, who had...

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Elephant gives birth after a two year pregnancy - the longest ever recorded at a British zoo

Baby the smallest recorded at Whipsnade Zoo Calf so small he struggled to reach mother's milkBy Oliver PickupScroll down to watch the baby elephants playing at Whipsnade Zoo this weekMother Azizah and the newest addition to the zoo's Asian elephant herd - a baby elephant born after the longest pregnancy recorded at WhipsnadeElephants are notorious for their long memories, but now they will be renowned for their lengthy pregnancies.Long-suffering Asian elephant Azizah was carrying her baby for 700 days - 84 longer than the average - and finally gave birth at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire, last Tuesday.It is believed to be the longest pregnancy...

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Dog tired! Baby Matilda snuggles with four sleeping Chihuahuas (but photographer admits dreamy shot was a bit of a nightmare)

By Mail Foreign ServiceBaby's best friend: Eight-day-old Matilda rests her head on a sleeping Chihuahua puppy in this heartwarming shot by portrait photographer Richard BarryThis heartwarming photograph, of an eight-day-old baby nestling in for a sleep with four five-week-old puppies, was five hours in the making.Photographer Richard Barry captured the endearing image after a stressful photoshoot in a room at the home of newborn Matilda's family.Mr Barry, 44, who specialises in baby portrait photography, said: 'The objective was to get the baby and the chihuahua puppies all asleep on a beanbag at the same time. It is undoubtedly the most difficult...

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King of the swingers: Gutsy gibbon ditches the monkey bars to show off his tightrope walking skills

By Jessica SatherleyAcrobatics: The Gibbon balancing on the Liana vine in the Tanjung Puting National Park in Borneo, IndonesiaForget monkey bars, this gutsy gibbon clearly prefers the trickier task of the tightrope.The playful primate looked footloose and fancy free as he strutted his stuff on a branch in Borneo - mimicking the movements of an acrobat.The Hylobates agilis, also known as the Black-Handed Gibbon or the lesser ape, captivated tourists with his agile antics.As he sprinted skillfully back and forth across a branch, wildlife photographer Thomas Marent, captured the entire comic episode on camera.The 45-year-old from Baden, near Zurich,...

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