Judging from the growth in upscale pet services, plenty of owners are still lavishing every comfort on their four-footed or feathered friends.

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The ground was soft and swampy, fallen tree branches lay over the paths, I heard the obsessive self-hypnotizing cicadas, the gulp of the bullfrogs, and knew with an animal sense only lately developed in me that there were some four-footed creatures about.

NEWYORKER: Wakefield

The first came from the penalty spot in the 74th minute -- after Pedro had been brought down by defender Juan Valera -- before he side-footed a second goal four minutes later.

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The midfielder collected Ronaldo's pass on the edge of area and despite having four defenders around him, he managed to rifle home a left-footed shot from 16 yards.

BBC: Man Utd 5-0 Stoke

The unpredictable Julio Baptista should have drawn Arsenal level five minutes later when he was played in by Adebayor, but the man who scored four at Anfield in a Carling Cup tie earlier this season side-footed tamely wide.

BBC: Liverpool 4-1 Arsenal

Tykes keeper Steele completely missed a kick over the top, leaving the popular Finn with an open goal from four yards out, the striker somehow managing to blaze his lazy left-footed effort wide.

BBC: Swansea 3-1 Barnsley

This revealed that the gibbon uses four distinct modes of leaping, categorised as the orthograde single footed take-off, the orthograde two footed take-off, the orthograde squat jump and the pronograde single footed take off.

BBC: Earth News - How gibbons leap huge distances revealed by scientists

Ashton, so quiet in the first half, soon sprang into life four minutes into the second half when he finished a superb move crafted by the ingenuity and fleet-footed skills of Foden.

BBC: Northampton 34-0 Perpignan

Just 15% of Lin's assists have been for shots from Anthony's preferred distance while 45% are near the rim (mostly to Chandler) and 33% go towards 3-pointers, where the slow-footed Novak has feasted on open shots, scoring at least 15 points in three of four Lin starts.

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