LOS ANGELES, California: When you mention animal charities many people's eyes start to glaze over. But what you add PlayBoy bunnies? Oh, and the chance to party at the Playboy Mansion? Bow wow wow to that!

SPRINGFIELD, USA: Woohoo! Finally, after decades of waiting, The Simpsons Movie is here. A global phenomenon, the show has changed our language, our culture and the way we look at ourselves.

DENVER, Colorado: You're probably thinking, "Hey, this is one of the hottest summers ever!" Butch the Bulldog is out by the front porch panting like there's no tomorrow, so you pour some water into his bowl and he laps it up like it was the best thing on earth. And in this kind of sweltering summer heat, maybe it is.

CUPERTINO, California: People across America are doing everything they can to get their hands on Apple's newest baby, the iPhone.

VICTORIA, British Columbia: "The doctor will see you now," the receptionist says, looking up from the clipboard she was so intently staring at a few seconds earlier. A nurse comes over to usher you towards the door behind the receptionist's desk. You enter the room and sit yourself down on the comfortable couch.

How would you react if you realized that, here to oversee your therapy for the day, is a horse?

BELLATERA, Spain: An experimental artificial dog skin developed by scientists may eventually end the need for live canine drug and chemical testing forever.

URBANA, Illinois: What do human medicines, insecticides, pet meds, plants, rodenticides, household cleaners, chocolates, chemicals, physical hazards and home improvement products all have in common?

PITTSTON, Pennsylvania: Everybody needs a good back rub at the end of a long, hard day's work.

Aching muscles, stiff joints, cowboy-like bowed legs... anyone who has ever gone for a nice long ride on horseback knows these feelings all too well. And that's just the riders.

COLUMBIA, Missouri: It's a lovely spring morning in a quiet country town. While the weather is a bit nippy, it's otherwise just right to let the horses out of the barn for some much-needed exercise.

The ranch-hands take bits and bridles and start saddling up the horses. However they can't help but notice that the cinches are a lot tighter this time around. Why? Well, to be blunt, our horses are getting fatter.

MISSOURI: Authorities have warned horse owners to be on the lookout for supplies of bad hay after equines across the country were found to be suffering from malnutrition, or even poisoned.