This summer we look back at the big stories of the year. This is from February.

"There must be some compassion, somewhere."

It's better that dogs have emptied their bladders before they die. Less mess.

Toni Street says the law needs an overhaul as she struggles to adopt her biological son.

"We would welcome any inquiry that would bring people healing."

New Zealand's adoption laws are out of date and need an overhaul, Toni Street says. / Newstalk ZB

This is the poignant moment a girl finds out she's getting a forever family.

Auckland woman had no hesitation in offering to carry a child for her cousin.

More women have shared their stories as the Government considers options.

One woman's story about a traumatic chapter in New Zealand's history.

As Toni Street announces baby news, calls are made for surrogates to be compensated.

Toni Street and her husband are expecting their third child - via a surrogate mother.

Couples who share a baby reflect on life five months on.

An emotional documentary shines light on the Māori tradition of adoption (whangai).

Sharing the Love filmmaker shares her own experiences of being brought up by family.

Father reunites with daughter after spending decades fighting for the right to see her.

Second girl, born under one-child policy, meant distraught parents had to give her up.

Episode Three of Chasing Ghosts examines the troubled life of Amber-Lee's mother.

Maggie gave birth to her daughter in 1964 in Otahuhu - and didn't see her for 18 years.

The inner strength of a little girl starved, beaten and imprisoned in a tiny urine-soaked closet amazed her rescuers.

The sister of the San Bernardino shooter has spent months trying to adopt her niece, but so far is only allowed to see her in six-hour regular visits.

In Australia a vet is calling for pet ownership to be restricted to permanent residents, after he rehomed a dog that was dumped on the streets by an international student.

An Aucklander adopted from a Russian orphanage 19 years ago has been reunited with her birth sister - live on Russian television.

Frustrated foster parents have to get permission every time their foster child needs major medical treatment, changes schools or the family move.

In my almost 40 years, I've only recently been able to talk about adoption honestly and openly. And it is incredibly difficult.

A woman who adopted a child has won the right to paid parental leave, after being told by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that she wasn't eligible.

An Auckland man who went to the other end of the earth to find his biological parents in Russia has chanced upon another person from the same orphanage living in New Zealand.

A young Cambodian girl adopted by a Kiwi couple has qualified for New Zealand citizenship after a five-year battle.