Too depressed to pet

THE news will be touchy for dog lovers as this beautiful Rottweiler cross is staying at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home because of ‘her looks.’

Bless — the poor pooch dubbed ‘Britain’s saddest dog’ because she looks permanently depressed, with her ears flopping forward and her permanent frown.

The six year-old Rottweiler cross has spent five months at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home but no one has shown any interest in adopting her.

The staff say that Bless, who was found on the streets of London as a stray, has a loving personality and mild temperament.

The average stay for a dog at Battersea is just 29 days, meaning Bless has been there for more than five times the usual amount of time.

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EVERY dog has his day proved true for Duke the dog. Duke was elected as mayor of the north-western Minnesota community of Cormorant, the US.

Twelve people in Cormorant each paid a dollar to cast the votes that saw Duke emerge from a five-week election as the overall winner. Voters said Duke guards the town and makes the community safer, even ensuring cars do not break the speed limit. Despite not being human or even running a campaign, Duke, who belongs to a resident in the village, has proved a popular choice.

During the two-minute inauguration ceremony, Steve Sorenson, chairman of Cormorant Township, greeted Duke and set forth his duties.

“You are about to em-bark upon a great time of service, tremendous personal and professional growth,” Sorenson said. “If you accept this challenge and these responsibilities, please bark or pant.”

Duke panted.

As for the mayor’s salary, a pet food store is donating a year’s supply of kibble to reward him for his service. The village of Cormorant is located in north-western Minnesota, near Pelican Rapids.

Duke is a seven-year-old, big, white, shaggy Great Pyrenees that loves to roll around in the dirt.

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DO you love chocolates? Are you a good student? Then this news may be for you.

The Cambridge University, UK, is seeking a researcher for a PhD on chocolate, who will be a part of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. The course is for PhD students, so certain qualifications are needed to apply. Sadly, a long history of gulping down long bars of Galaxy or Kit Kat won’t count as credentials. You’ll need to have four years of undergraduate study in a scientific field under your belt instead.

The selected candidate will be tasked with stopping chocolate melting in warm climates by studying the ‘fundamentals of heat-stable chocolate.’ The course will ‘investigate the factors which allow chocolate … to remain solid and retain qualities sought by consumers when it is stored and sold in warm climates.’

So no matter how much you eat chocolate in one sitting, you might not be qualified for this particular course.

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CAN you dare to challenge yourself to read all the works of any of your favourite authors in a limited period? Well, meet Phyllis Rose, an American author who tasked herself with reading a random bookshelf of novels in the New York Society Library and wrote about her experience.

She is not alone as the BBC World News Editor, Matthew Davis, decided he would read all of Charles Dickens’ novels in one year. We might laugh at these bookworm ‘thrill-seekers’ but it does take a certain courage to commit yourself to reading a large amount of books outside your preferred subjects. So do you dare?