People have been poking fun at Pets at Home for a poster that appears to show a groomer ‘cupping’ a dog’s privates.
Photos of the advert, which is for the brand’s Groom Room grooming services, have been circulating online.
The advert shows a smiling groomer handling a neatly-trimmed poodle – and the groomer’s hand placement has raised a lot of questions.
The original spotter shared photos on the Pets at Home Facebook page, writing: “Good afternoon. Just wondering if you had realised that the staff member/model is cupping the dogs genitals in the promotional poster outside your Eastbourne branch?
“And if you had realised- what’s the reason? Hopefully the “poodles and oodles” additional service isn’t a euphemism.”
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The hand placement in question. Credit: Facebook, Pets at Home
Upon closer inspection, it appears that the groomer is actually hovering a hand beneath the dog’s belly to stop it sitting down, and the phallic-looking shape may well be a thumb.
Pets At Home has now confirmed that the hand placement is ‘is a safe and standard dog handling procedure’.
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Someone suggested: “I don’t think the person is cupping anything and is instead, placing their hand next to the dog’s hind legs in order to get the dog to stand still. I’m sure I’ve seen that whenever I’ve watched Crufts.”
It prompted the response: “Aye, that thumb sure does look like a b*llock though.”
Pets at Home. Credit: Google Maps
Cupping or not, it hasn’t stopped people having a laugh at the Pets at Home ad.
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One person commented about the adorable pooch: “No wonder he’s got that smile on his face.”
Someone else said: “To be fair the Poodle doesn’t look unhappy with the situation.”
Another user compared it to the scene in Friends where Chandler visits a tailor who did ‘definite cupping’ while measuring him up for some trousers.
They wrote, quoting Joey in the scene: “That’s how they do it!! Right, ross?”
One person pointed out: “Somewhere a young, inexperienced graphic designer is getting a stern but well intentioned lecture on the importance of checking stock photos for exactly this reason.”
Pets at Home responded to the poster with: “Thank you for your feedback, this has been passed over to the grooming marketing team.”
A spokesperson for Pets At Home said: “Pet welfare is our number one priority, and we work hard to ensure all our customers enjoy their experience at The Groom Room, and ultimately leave feeling and looking their best.
“Sometimes we need to gently encourage our four-legged friends to stand up throughout their groom, but this is a safe and standard dog handling procedure and not something that could be considered an ‘added extra’!”
Featured image: Facebook
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More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner
Emily Sergeant
More than 12 million Brits would argue that your Christmas dinner needs a side of Yorkshire puddings, a shocking survey has revealed.
The survey in question carried out by retailer Next – which polled a total of 2,000 Brits about their Christmas dining and tableware habits – has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track when it comes to, what we can all agree is, one of the biggest and heartiest meals of the year.
It turns out, Brits like a lot of unusual items on our Christmas dinner plate.
Some of the most obscure finds the survey is that two million people admitted to eating onion rings alongside their turkey and sprouts, and a further 5% (3.4 million) Brits like tucking into a bit of seafood on Christmas Day.
A surprising 4% (2.7 million) of people admitted that they like to add ketchup to their Christmas dinner plate – with mac and cheese, chips, and sweetcorn also making the top 10 list.
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner / Credit: Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
If all of that wasn’t mad enough as it is, one of the most shocking stats from the survey is probably the fact that a whopping 1.4 million respondents even said that they wouldn’t consider it a Christmas dinner without the addition of baked beans.
But when it comes to Christmas dinner, there’s probably one debate that’s bigger than them all, and is still yet to be decided – do Yorkshire puddings belong on your Christmas dinner plate or not?
Well, 12.7 million Brits believe that they do, and we reckon a good chunk of that number is us northerners.
The UK’s top 10 non-traditional Christmas food items
Yorkshire Puddings (19% – 12.7 million)
Bread sauce (5% – 3.4 million)
Seafood (5% – 3.4 million)
Ketchup (4% – 2.7 million)
Mac and cheese (3% – 2 million)
Onion rings (3% – 2 million)
Chips (2% – 1.2 million)
Bread (2% – 1.2 million)
Sweetcorn (2% – 1.2 million)
Beans (2% – 1.2 million)
A new survey has revealed has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track for Christmas dinner / Credit: Lisa Baker (via Unsplash)
While previous research has shown that the most common items on a British Christmas dinner are roast potatoes and gravy, these latest stats reveal there are some people out there who just like to do things a little differently.
But no matter how you like to eat it, a delicious Christmas dinner is always going to be something to celebrate, right?
An old clip of Tyson Fury talking about Oleksandr Usyk has come back to haunt him – twice
Danny Jones
This weekend saw Oleksandr Usyk emerge victorious over Tyson Fury for a second time in less than a year as the Ukrainian won the highly-anticipated rematch on points, and now an old clip of the Manc fighter dismissing his opponent has resurfaced online. Again.
Oh, the irony…
After losing following a split decision for what was his first career defeat back in May, Fury lost following a unanimous decision this time around and while some have questioned the scorecards (as tends to happen with these things), there can be no question over Usyk’s dominance now.
However, rewind to a few years ago before the 37-year-old had even won his first fight against Anthony Joshua and Fury’s naive not to mention controversial comments regarding the possibility of ‘giving’ him a fight look pretty silly now:
Tyson Fury a few years ago refusing to fight Usyk
“I want the big fights and that ain’t one of them. He’s a foreigner in a westernised world. The heavyweight champion should be from Britain or America and nowhere else.”
As you can see in the interview from 2020, the now 36-year-old Wythenshawe-born boxer was pretty dismissive about the prospect of fighting Usyk, who ultimately went on to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 following the first win over Fury.
Despite already having an Olympic gold, multiple cruiserweight titles and an undefeated record to his name, Usyk had only fought and won two heavyweight bouts at this point, which is perhaps why ‘The Gypsy King’ felt comfortable downplaying his potential back then.
However, although Usyk had a comfortable division debut against Chazz Witherspoon in 2019, he also went on to best Fury’s familiar foe Derek Chisora – a man he’s beaten on three different times but maintains he admires both in terms of personality and ability – so there were signs of what was to come.
Moreover, not only was Tyson clearly foolish enough to underestimate him back then but the divisive and inflammatory nature of his remarks in this clip has been labelled ‘offensive’ and ‘xenophobic’ by many online, both at the time and after reappearing on social media once again.
Regardless, it seems that Usyk was just as unphased by his posturing then as he is now, coming out in the post-fight press conference to shrug off his trash-talking to reiterate his “respect” for someone who ultimately believes is “a good man”.
Nevertheless, Fury has now lost two him twice and still maintains he didn’t get the right decision on both occasions, dubbing this latest defeat “an early Christmas gift” for his opponent.
In the previous clash, the Greater Manchester athlete even claimed that fans and judges unfairly favoured him because of the war in Ukraine – a response which also received plenty of backlash.
You can hear how he believes he was ‘robbed’ along with his full reaction following the fight down below:
Daisy Jackson -
5th May 2022 
