Furry friends take over Sunderland cinema

Celebrating the release of The Secret Life of Pets, Empire Cinema's Ben Spence with dog JuJu Bee, joins Pets At Home staff Lisa Worley and Julie Elliott, with rabbits, and youngsters Samuel Bingle, Olivia Milburn and Farah Dixon.

Pets were put in the picture when they took over a Sunderland cinema.

Rabbits and guinea pigs from Pets at Home, in Washington, made a cameo role in the foyer at Empire Cinema in Sunniside to mark the release of The Secret Life of Pets.

Staff also brought their own pets along, including manager Ben Spence’s dog JuJu Bee, who dressed up like Batman.

The animated film seeks to answer the question of what domesticated animals do while their owners are away.

It features comedy superstars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart who make their animated feature-film debuts in The Secret Life of Pets, which co-stars Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Jenny Slate, Bobby Moynihan, Hannibal Buress and Albert Brooks.

The film is directed by Chris Renaud who was also in the chair for Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2.