Woman teaches dog to read

New York animal trainer Lyssa Rosenberg has taught her terrier to obey simple written commands.

Willow plays dead when she sees the word 'bang', stretches a paw in the air when she sees 'wave' and gets up on her back feet to beg when she sees the words 'sit up'.

"She's an unbelievably quick learner," said Ms Rosenberg, who has trained other dogs to appear in TV adverts and pose on photo shoots.

"She can do 250 different things and I used to joke that I would teach her how to pour me a martini. Then for a bet I told a friend I would teach her to read. He promised me a free trip to Mexico if I could do it.

"It took her just six weeks to recognise words and respond to them. And it isn't just my handwriting she understands. My friend printed the words Willow learned off the computer and she reacted to them.

"Well I won the bet and Willow came with me to Mexico."

Willow has her own pet passport and regularly flies transatlantic to visit Ms Rosenberg's husband Gareth Howells, in Guildford, Surrey.

Willow was also the second witness at the couple's wedding at New York City Hall in March - signing the marriage certificate with an inky paw print.

Ms Rosenberg even takes the 10lb English terrier mix on business trips because Willow is more than happy to share her carrying case with other animals.

"I once had to fly from California back to New York with a rabbit and two guinea pigs. Going through airport security was hilarious because first I pulled out the rabbit from the bag, followed by the guinea pigs and then the dog."

Brit starts world's best job

A British man has started "the best job in the world" - a six-month contract as caretaker of an island on the Great Barrier Reef.

Ben Southall beat more than 35,000 applicants from around the world to the post, which involves exploring hundreds of tropical islands off the coast of Queensland.

His most arduous duty is writing a blog with photos and video updates to attract visitors to the area, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The 34-year-old, from Petersfield in Hampshire, fought off competition from 15 other finalists to win the £70,000 role.

He was chosen by officials from Tourism Queensland on May 6 after a four-day selection process on Hamilton, Daydream and Hayman Islands.

Mr Southall, whose new home is a rent-free three-bedroom ocean-front villa on Hamilton Island, said "excited" could not begin to describe how he felt about starting his new job.

"It seems a lifetime ago when I sat down in January to plan and film my 60 second video application for the 'best job in the world'," he said.

"At times I still can't believe I was successful in being offered what has to be the most sought-after job in the world - the chance to spend six months exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef - one of the world's most amazing destinations."

The job is part of a campaign to attract visitors to the Great Barrier Reef, and tourism chiefs claim it already has generated £98 million in publicity.

It became an internet hit, spreading across the world via YouTube and social networking sites such as Facebook.

Umbrellas stop Obama melting in the heat
A new waxwork of Barack Obama has been unveiled in Paris - where it had to be protected from the hot sun by umbrellas.
The same heatwave that has hit Britain has sent temperatures soaring in France and threatened to melt the model's face, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Helpers grabbed umbrellas to shield the waxwork from the hot sun as it was unveiled near the Eiffel Tower before taking up its place in the Musée Grevin wax museum.
It was created by sculptor Eric Saint Chaffray who had to overcome the problem that he had never seen the US president in person.
"The main difficulty is making it without meeting him, from press photos," he admitted.
But passers-by were so taken by the resemblance that many stopped to have their photograph taken by the model.
"It looks really cool," said Emily Artes, a US tourist. "Everyone was joking that he was actually here and that we were gonna take pictures with him."
Mr Saint Chaffray has been creating wax statues for the museum for the past 20 years, and has worked on American presidents in the past.
"We're presenting Barack Obama at the Musée Grevin as part of a gathering of heads of state, which is why he has kind of an official attitude, a little bit stiff," he said.

Prey turns predator

A toad has been caught on camera eating a snake in China in a direct reversal of their normal roles.
The picture of a mountain toad eating a Jerdon's pit viper was taken by a tourist at Qingcheng Mountain park in Sichuan, central China.
Ran Longzhong, from Chongqing, told IC Media that he had been unable to believe his eyes and was happy he had his camera with him.
"I was wandering on the mountain road, and suddenly I spotted a toad that was eating down a snake, which was still struggling," he said.
"The toad ate down the whole snake in around five minutes. It's hard to believe that a predator can be hunted by its prey."
A local zoologist said it was the first time he had ever heard of a snake being eaten by a toad.

Hot hippo gets stuck
An over-heated hippopotamus got stuck after clambering into a 10ft water tower to cool down in South Africa.
After happily splashing around for a while, the animal found it could not get out of the pool again, reports Metro.
Luckily, a farm worker noticed water spilling over the side of the concrete container and spotted two enormous nostrils poking out of the tank.
He immediately rang for help and, within hours, rescuers arrived at the farm in Alkmaar, just outside Nelspruit.
Equipped with a hydraulic crane and a cage, hippo hunter Chris Hobkirk and his team from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Association set to work.
In a four-hour operation, they drained the tank and used poles to gently nudge the hippo into a 10ft steel cage before winching it to safety.
Mr Hobkirk, who has rescued more than 180 stranded hippos in the past six years, said it was a tricky procedure but he was glad with the outcome.
"Maybe we got lucky with this one. In the past, I have removed hippos from small dams. In those cases, the water levels have always been much lower so this was different." he said.

All creatures great and

A chihuahua has made an amazing recovery in Australia after being stepped on by her best mate - a 900kg Clydesdale horse.
Little Berry was happily playing with her friend Leroy when the giant horse accidentally trod on her head.
Owner Abbey Newton, of Geelong, near Melbourne, said: "Leroy stepped back, right on her head. There was just this little tiny bit of her nose sticking out. I thought she was dead.
"There was this horrible high-pitched screaming noise. It was terrible".
Berry was rushed to the vet who offered to put the little dog down but Abbey decided to take her home to die.
Anxiously she checked on Berry every hour throughout the night and, to her astonishment, in the morning she seemed to have made a complete recovery.
"In the morning she just got up and ate the other dog's breakfast," added Mrs Newton. "She's had nine lives and it's cost me every time."

Beauty contest for earthquake survivors
Caring crimpers have staged a beauty contest for refugees of Italy's L'Aquila earthquake to give recovery hopes a head start.
Stunning Sara Iervolino, 26, was made Miss Tent City in the contest aimed at cheering up victims of the quake, many of which are still living in tents erected by the Italian government.
Organiser, hairdresser Antonello Durastante, said: "These girls have been through hell and back and now they have to live in a tent which doesn't do anything for a girl's self-esteem.
"We want to give them back dignity and beauty."
The G8 summit will be held in L?Aquila next week, after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi changed its venue to the earthquake-hit town to draw international attention to the crisis.