Alfie the Council Dog is the winner of New Zealand’s Top Office Dog competition. The Jack Russell is an ace barker on command, a swift fetcher of balls, and plays a convincing ‘dead’ when ordered. He is obsessed with brooms. He beat 63 other canines to win the top prize with his winning entry:

When new laws in Italy and France came into effect recently making it illegal for supermarkets not to donate their surplus food it raised the debate of whether NZ should do the same. Tristram Clayton went to find out what supermarkets here were already doing to help reduce waste and was pleasantly surprised.

After 19 time Olympian Michael Phelps appeared with strange circles on his back NZ Herald Focus’s Tristram Clayton went to find out what the ancient Chinese art of ‘cupping’ was all about.

NZH Focus brings you the second installment of Herald Heroes. This week we focus on Morgan Butler, a beautiful young kiwi woman from Rainbow Youth helping other young people find their place in the LGBT community. Directed and filmed by Pepe De Hoyos

NZ Fashion week model casting session, featuring Unique models director Ursula Dixon, and model hopeful Cynthia Urayeneza.

Auckland teacher Tim Noyce shows off his moves.

When Emma Conyngham had a double mastectomy earlier this year she found a void when it came to temporary nipple options while awaiting her breast reconstruction. We ran a story a month ago on her ingenious solution to this problem and although Emma has received overwhelming support from the medical community, social media has not been so welcoming - even going so far as to label our NZ Herald Focus story on her as pornographic material.

Sarah Gandy and Laura McGoldrick discuss the highs and lows of music over the week.

Graham Norton has unleashed his new Sauvingon Blanc creation by teaming up with a New Zealand Winery.

Tristram Clayton dishes the dirt on recycling in Auckland, and you might be surprised at what he found!

A cricket bat and thirst quencher in one handy piece of equipment from kiwi entrepreneurs Torben Landl and Matt Taggart needs funding to get onto the park

Watch as Herald Managing Editor Shayne Currie puts Niva Retimanu and Tristram Clayton through their paces in this special NZ Herald Focus Pub Quiz!

A part-time model has launched a crowd-funding campaign asking the public to help her raise US$10,000 ($14k) so she can focus on modelling fulltime. Jen Wilke has appeared in publications such as FHM, Maxim and Playboy but she says she needs help to take her career to the next level. On her GoFundMe page, Wilke says the money raised will help her attend the Maxim Hot 100 party, to which she has been given a VIP invite.

As thousands of perfectly healthy people ditch gluten in the hope it might help them to lose weight, it seems there are even more for whom gluten really could be a problem, yet who are still tucking in to bread and biscuits completely unaware of the effect this could be having on their health. Source: asapSCIENCE

Tristram Clayton discusses the reaction to his story on living on the poverty line in NZ with the Herald's Social Media reporter Cameron Carpenter.

The Elephants World sanctuary in Thailand welcomes overseas volunteers to look after elephants for a different travel experience

Unsung Heroes is a NZH Focus documentary series that portrays the stories of everyday New Zealanders doing positive things for the community. In this first episode, City Mission volunteer, Patrick Spillane shares his experience supporting underprivileged people in Auckland during four years. Directed and shot by Pepe De Hoyos

Join Tristram Clayton as he discusses travelling safety tips for Rio with Anthony Bodle from FCM.

Auckland Artist Simon McIntyre presents an exhibition of his unfinished work

Isaac Davies and Bernard Orsman take a closer look at the Auckland Unitary Plan announced this afternoon.

A timeline of condoms distributed to Olympians over the years.

Ellie Jones from North Wales was a shy, introverted teenager before extensive facial surgery completely changed her life. Video/ Daily Post Wales

The young chefs cooked cleanly and relatively calmly, managing to answer the judges questions and ignore the cameras as they moved around the Crown Hotel's culinariam. The first round of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef competition kicked off in Melbourne today, in scenes akin to something out of Masterchef.

Saskia Ziegelhoefer has won an award in Au Pair Link's au pair of the year competition

Billy Crystal has touched down in Auckland for two sold out comedy shows and Laura McGoldrick was there to greet him!

Sarah Gandy and Laura McGoldrick sum up all the week's pop music news.

When Auckland dad Kody Kauri took his five year old daughter Peyton to a South Auckland park to help hand out food to the homeless, little did he know the impact it would have on her.

Jared and Rosie Ogilvy bought a house with a great view, or so they thought. The Real Estate agent who failed to disclose that a new build would block this view has been fined by a disciplinary tribunal but they now plan to appeal for compensation.

The Salvation Army launched its first ever Winter appeal yesterday with an offering of hot soup on a cold evening as staff prepare for one of their busiest times of the year.