YUSHU, Tibet: It weighs up to 250 pounds. It was once described by Marco Polo as being "as tall as a donkey and with a voice of a lion". It is regarded as 'the fiercest dog in the world'. And you can have one for only $594,000.00.

NEW YORK, New York: Once she was just like any other ordinary teenage girl - now she is a global singing superstar... and it may all be due to her pet Pomeranian.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada: Glistening red blood is spattered on the wall, pieces of broken glass litter the floor. And lying on the battered couch, with eyes still wide open, is a body - limp and lifeless. Music slowly fades in.

BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada: Get your groove on! Shake your hips, tap your feet and dance to the music! Need a dance partner? Why not dance with your dog?

LOS ANGELES, California: The Beckhams have arrived - and America may never be the same again.

Yet while US soccer fans everywhere have opened their arms to David, Victoria and their family of football royalty, the same can't be said of Victoria to the Beckham canines, according to reports.

LOS ANGELES, California: A man's body was found by police in the Brentwood home of Hollywood actor Ving Rhames, showing signs of being mauled to death by dogs, according to officers who were first on the scene.

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island: After attending to a patient, the nurse's aide excused herself, carrying an armful of dirty linen on her way out. As she opened the door of Room 310, she noticed the fluffy, grey-and-white brindled cat waiting just outside. "Hello Oscar," she said. "Are you going inside?"

CHICAGO, Illinois: No words can ever explain the pain and the sorrow the death of a loved pet brings. It is an overwhelming grief which is beyond sadness, beyond despair. Yet while some people see it as a constant pain tugging their hearts, some people regard such a passing as a glimpse of what life should and can be.

HOGWARTS, United Kingdom: Owls. Cats. Rats. For the characters in Harry Potter's universe, pets are as important and vital as a good wand or a fast broomstick.