Are film-makers wary of alienating increasingly sensitive audiences by offing a pooch? Or is humanity now just too soft to deal with the trauma of a Turner & Hooch?

There was a time, not so long ago, when watching a film was a clearcut experience. There would be a good guy and a bad guy, and you would know who the bad guy was because they would shoot a dog in the face.

It happened more times than you might expect. Mad Max 2, dog gets shot. Revenge, dog gets shot. Turner & Hooch, dog gets shot. Red, dog gets shot. Man with the Gun, dog gets shot. Badlands, dog gets shot. Dog Soldiers, you’ll never guess.

Twenty years ago, Germán Flores founded a refuge for donkeys that faced abandonment, exploitation or slaughter, in memory of Roberto, a working donkey from his childhood. Once synonymous with the country, Mexico’s donkey population has plummeted in recent years. Burrolandia was founded in response to these dwindling numbers to provide dignified living conditions to about 100 ‘burritos’ who have suffered exploitation and abuse around Mexico

Twenty years ago, Germán Flores decided to start preserving the Mexican donkey, an endangered species with about 300,000 remaining in the whole country. Flores was inspired to take care of donkeys after learning that the donkey population in Mexico had decreased by about 60% between 1994 and 2010.

It was a natural decision for him: the donkeys are part of the identity of his town, Otumba in Mexico State. But while the annual national donkey fair purports to celebrate the animal, around the country they are also routinely mistreated.

Flores carries a young donkey at his sanctuary

Struggling to breathe, so big she could barely walk, Pumpkin practically begged for help when we met. Before long I was taking her home

Pumpkin arrived at our animal shelter in March, after her owner passed away. As CEO and president of SPCA Cincinnati, I expect something heartbreaking when my team asks me to see an animal – perhaps they have been neglected or abused. Pumpkin was neither. She was dirty and had some fleas but that was not our concern. She was severely obese.

At 25lb (11.3kg), Pumpkin could barely move. Her legs were bowed from the weight and she walked with a waddle. Examining her wasn’t easy. Her breathing became so laboured that she turned blue.

Toxicology helplines report 42% increase in calls involving animals poisoned by drugs and nicotine

A record number of pets are ingesting recreational drugs and requiring veterinary care in the UK, figures shared with the Guardian reveal.

Last year, the UK’s only emergency poison centre for animals received its highest ever number of calls involving animals poisoned by cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and nicotine, and it is on course to do so again this year.