As we enter the Chinese Year of the Dog on February 15, we take a look at pictures of some of the Hampshire residents who made the newspaper with their canine friends.

In December 1979, Muriel Ramshaw was working at her shop in Portswood when a lost dog hobbled in with a broken leg. When she looked into his great big eyes, there was nothing she could do but look after him.

“I took him to have his leg plastered and I’ve been taking care of him through the night.” she said at the time.

“He’s as soft as a brush and I’ve got very fond of him.”

Another image from 1979 shows two afghan hounds Timbea and his son Boss who had landed themselves roles in A Midsummers Night’s Dream at Netley Abbey.

The pair performed alongside Jane Allison and Nich Eagle but were owned by Elaine Lush of Sarisbury Green.

Earlier that year Jackie Taylor of the Blue Cross posed for a picture with a pair of 12-week-old bitches, to raise awareness of the organisation.

Although they saw record lows of people dumping unwanted pups after Christmas, they wanted to highlight that they were only a phone call away, and that there was never any need to leave dogs to their fate.