A distraught dog owner who watched in horror as her pet choked to death on a hard rubber ball hopes safety measures will prevent similar accidents.

Intrepid Fiordland penguin Katrina could be home for Christmas, says the Australian animal sanctuary boss who nursed her back to health.

Monty, Porter and Ginny have already turned heads around the world after video of them driving a modified Mini went viral on the internet. Now the man who spearheaded the training to put the dogs behind the wheel is considering their next challenge.

An SPCA inspector is "extremely disappointed" by the sentence imposed on a Dunedin man convicted in relation to a "very disturbing" animal welfare case.

The New Zealand dotterel breeding season this year has been fraught with nest losses mainly due to predation.

The Knocked Up star announced the specially-designed Just One range on Monday, and she says the funds will benefit US charities working to end animal cruelty via her Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, named in honour of her late brother.

The Auckland SPCA is being inundated with cats and kittens and is worried it soon may be unable to care for the animals.

More than 20 sheep were killed after a car ploughed into a stray flock northeast of Wairoa.

After 90 years at Western Springs, Auckland Zoo is opening a "show home" for endangered New Zealand species on Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

The Big New Yorker Book Of Dogs is big all right: 21cm x 28cm and 395 pages, with a generous smattering of those gloriously sly and sardonic New Yorker cartoons. The content is generally serious in tone.

Man's best friend has long been a solid companion for many people around the world. But one Kiwi charity is working hard to raise special pups that will act not only as a companion but, in some cases, a lifesaver for dozens of Kiwis with disabilities.

South Wairarapa District Council has voted to change its policy on shooting unwanted and dangerous dogs, opting for euthanasia by a vet instead.

They may be fluffy and cute but Western Bay residents are being warned wallabies are not pets.

While adoption offers have been pouring in for last night's two canine stars of Campbell Live, the third driving dog is still homeless.

In an effort to quieten his family parrot, a US student has taught the bird how to drive.

A few weeks ago, an injured kaka was rescued from a Queen St gutter and is now in a new home at the Auckland Zoo.

A "swat team" of whale rescue experts has undertaken an intensive three-day course in freeing whales that have become tangled in ropes and nets.

The third white kiwi chick to hatch at Pukaha Mt Bruce may not be making international headlines, but was gathering its own fans at a public feeding this week.

For the past century, since heading the first Australian-led Antarctic expedition, Sir Douglas Mawson has been considered a national hero.