Sept. 4, 2015: We’ve scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it’s all right here.

British actor Tom Hardy's dog Woody poses with him and his costars at the premiere of his movie

Lab in the Limelight

British actor Tom Hardy brought his best friend along to the London premiere of his new movie Legend Thursday — and Woody, a Labrador Retriever mix, stole the limelight. The bowtie-clad pooch was at turns well behaved, like when he posed for photos with Hardy, and a little mischievous. He chased a surprised pigeon down the blue carpet, and excitedly jumped up on his owner while he was doing interviews and taking selfies with fans. The dog even managed to steal headlines despite Hardy’s revelation that he and his wife, Charlotte Riley, are expecting their first child. Hardy, who has a well-known love of dogs, plays twins in Legend, a thriller that opens in the U.K. next week. The movie opens in the U.S. on Oct. 2. — Read it at Australia’s 9News

Study Examines Why Cats Are More Independent Than Dogs

New research from the U.K.’s University of Lincoln finds that domestic cats generally don’t view their owners as a source of safety and security in the same way that dogs do in unusual situations or unfamiliar environments. They found that even in social relationships, adult cats tend to be more autonomous than dogs. "For pet dogs, their owners often represent a specific safe haven,” said Daniel Mills, a professor of veterinary behavioral medicine at the university. “Our findings don’t disagree with the notion that cats develop social preferences or close relationships, but they do show that these relationships do not appear to be typically based on a need for safety and security." The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE. — Read it at Science Daily

Cat Street View Shows Cat’s Eye View

A new tourism promotion from Hiroshima prefecture in Japan is catching the attention of cat lovers around the world. Cat Street View Map, which is only available in Japanese, centers on a shopping district in Onomichi City. The area is known for its large population of friendly street cats and being home to a museum dedicated to lucky cat figurines with waving paws. The map uses "meotags" to highlight areas of particular interest to felines. While there were some reports that the map was created with people who worked on Google Street View, Hiroshima prefecture clarified that it was an independent project. — Read it at Tech Crunch

President Barack Obama snuggled with a sled dog puppy on his trip to Alaska this week.

Obama Meets Sled Dog Pups

On his trip to Alaska this week, President Barack Obama announced the renaming of Mount McKinley to its native name of Denali, highlighted the challenges of climate change facing the state — and got to meet some adorable puppies. As he wrapped up his visit, he made an extra stop Wednesday in Kotzebue, Alaska, to meet 2011 Iditarod champion John Baker and his dogs. While he was there, the president got the chance to meet two adorable sled dog puppies, Feather and Moose. Obama grinned as he held Feather in his arms and asked questions about the 1,000-mile race, and posed for pictures with Baker and his family. — Read it at the Huffington Post

Rescuers Hand-Rear Adorable Orphaned Wallaby

A wallaby joey named Scotty, who was found orphaned in the wild, is being hand-reared by rescuers and fosters at Exceptional Kangaroo Island in Australia. Scotty gets a special formula four to six times a day, keeping his caretakers busy. The little guy is shown drinking his lunch in a new video that shows just how small he is. But Scotty is growing stronger and his rescuers plan to return him to the wild once he’s ready. — Watch it at LittleThings.com