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A 6-foot alligator showed up at the front door of a Super 8 Motel on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. A motel employee said the alligator bit a guest. About 4 p.m., the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about an alligator at the motel at 821 North Lobdell Highway, Sheriff Mike Cazes said. The gator bit one of the motel guests who tried to catch it before Animal Control workers showed up, said Matt Marszal, the motel’s front desk clerk.

Inundated with angry calls and emails about the fatal shooting of a dog by an Austin officer, the Police Department on Wednesday said the officer involved was reassigned and that administrators are looking closely at the incident and may change policies, even as reports of past complaints about the dog emerged. "This incident has drawn a lot of attention," Assistant Police Chief David Carter said. "We've received a lot of calls, a lot of emails from people who are very concerned. And we are, too." In a case that has received international attention after it went viral on Facebook, Michael...

A man whose Australian Cattle Dog Cisco was shot dead by a Texas police officer responding to a 911 call at a wrong address is asking for improvements to how authorities handle animals they encounter during such investigations. Michael Paxton said he was playing with his 7-year-old dog in his backyard in Austin on a “quiet” Saturday when an officer showed up in his driveway. His dog, who ran out barking, was dead in seconds, he said. “I told the officer, you know, don’t shoot my dog cause I knew the dog was going to run forward towards us,” Paxton,...

It may take explosives to dislodge the frozen carcasses of a small herd of cows found in an old ranger's cabin high in the Rocky Mountains.

ALBUQUERQUE — Meow can't help but waddle. He's one super-sized cat. The 2-year-old orange and white tabby tips the scale at nearly 40 pounds, and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter is on a mission to get the feline back into shape. Meow's 87-year-old owner could no longer take care of him, so the pet was turned over to a shelter in southeastern New Mexico that called the Santa Fe shelter for help. "The thing with this cat is when you look at it, certainly it's obese. You see that. But it's a sweet looking cat. His face is very sweet....

Dog died after it was doused in lighter fluid, set on fireDallas police said Friday night that an 18-year-old wanted in an attack on a puppy that died after it was doused in lighter fluid and set on fire had turned himself in. News of the arrest came while several hundred North Texans were gathered for a candlelight vigil in memory of the dog, Justice. The master of ceremonies returned to the stage to announce the arrest, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Justice was burned alive April 2. Dallas police had issued a warrant for the arrest of 18-year-old...

A dashing-red sea slug that seems to be hamming it up for the camera in the U.S. Virgin Islands has come into focus in this year's winning underwater photograph in an annual contest put on by the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. More than 700 images were submitted for this year'sunderwater photography contest, Ximena Olds' photo of the headshield sea slug against a brilliant background of green seagrass taking home the "best overall" award. Olds is a local Key Biscayne, Fla., resident. The photos were judged by a panel of experts that included: photographer and...

10 Weapons That Animals Use We've come a long way from thinking that what separates us from the animals is, say, using a rock to bash in the skull of our competitors. It turns out that there are a lot of creatures out that that re-purpose tools to make their personal world better and someone else's world a lot worse. Take a look at the world's craziest and most intimidating weapons wielded by animals. 10. The Herring Gull's Bread This bird has learned how to use bread to construct a trap. Herring gulls live in large colonies in the urban...

Dog Eater to the Tune of Hall and Oates - Man Eater He'll Only Come Out for Dinner The Lean and Hungry Type Nothing has Changed and I Have Seen Him Here Before Watching and Waiting He's Sitting with You but his eyes are on the Dogs. So many do not want to see. What you think you're getting is not Beef. The Man is Hungry a He-Man Tamed by the Scent of Meat. Doggy What's the Matter? If You're Man's Best Friend You aint gonna Get Too Far. Oh Here he Comes Watch Out Bo, He'll Chew You Up...

Cats are being struck down by a mystery disease that turns them into 'living robots'. Their legs become rigid, giving them an odd, stiff gait, their personality changes and their tail stiffens and sticks out. There is no known treatment or cure. The symptoms become progressively worse and the animals are put down when their suffering becomes too much. The condition has baffled vets, as tests for numerous viruses have come back negative. Their best guess is that the pets caught the disease while out hunting.

Who would ever imagined we would see the day when America is creating "Dog Eating Jokes" aimed at our President? Obama is ruined. Everywhere he goes he will be questioned about his dog eating obsession. The ASPCA is not exactly enthusiastic! And just after Obama's advisor rips apart "First Lady Ann Romney", then we find out that Obama and Reid pissed off $840,000 in Vegas, Obama finds himself backed into a corner and has finally become thee most pathetic and irrelavent President Ever!!

DENVER — It may take explosives to dislodge a group of cows that wandered into an old ranger cabin high in the Rocky Mountains, then died and froze solid when they couldn't get out. The carcasses were discovered by two Air Force Academy cadets when they snow-shoed up to the cabin in late March. Rangers believe the animals sought shelter during a snowstorm and got stuck and weren't smart enough to find their way out. The cabin is located near the Conundrum Hot Springs, a nine-mile hike from the Aspen area in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area. Michael Carroll, a...

Police arrive at wrong house, shoot dog

LOS ANGELES – A loyal Labrador retriever named Maggie, who was videotaped as she guarded the body of a yellow Lab hit and killed by a car in Southern California, was reunited with her family Monday. A good Samaritan saw what was happening on Hacienda Boulevard in La Puente last Wednesday, called officers, put traffic cones around the dogs and took the video that touched hearts across the country as it made its way around the Internet.

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A little break from the class warfare obozo has declared.... Cat on boat plays with dolphin

Meet George the goldfish who has recently come to resemble the infamous Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. His owner swears he raises a fin towards her as she walks into the room. The five-year-old has already seen off two other fish and has a liking for vegetarian-only food, just like the Führer. ‘George’s colour has changed a lot over the years, he was originally brown,’ said his owner Deborah Cochrane from Belfast. ‘But he has stayed a glorious orange over the past year or two and that’s when the moustache developed. ‘He refuses to eat fish food. He will only eat...

sensation last summer will be charging onto the silver screen when she stars in her very own feature film – “Cow on the Run”. Bulls deployed to catch runaway cow - Society (13 Aug 11) The Bavarian bovine escaped in May 2011 when she was being shipped from Austria to Bavaria. She fought her way through an electric fence and slipped into the woods. A wild cow-chase ensued before she was caught in August. Now Yvonne is to be the star of her very own €30 million feature film, set for release in 2014. Yet the question of who will...

LA PUENTE (CBS) — A passing motorist put out traffic cones on a busy La Puente street to protect a Labrador Retriever as it stood watch over another lab that had been killed by a vehicle, animal control officers said Saturday. Video shot by the motorist showed a yellow lab down in the 1200 block of Hacienda Boulevard, with a black lab standing next to it. “When I saw the video clip taken by a passerby’s cellphone, I became emotional,” said Marcia Mayeda, director of the Los Angeles County animal shelter in Baldwin Park. “Our officers picked up both dogs...

A dog defending its turf charges an officer. The officer, fearing for his safety, opens fire. The cop-kills-canine scenario doesn't happen every day, but it can lead to public outrage when it does. In Pembroke Pines, an officer fired six shots at an Australian shepherd named Baxter on Feb. 24. Hit by three bullets, the dog died three weeks later. Now Baxter's owners and hundreds of supporters are demanding change in how officers respond to animal calls. Lethal force, they say, should be used only as a last resort. The Pembroke Pines Police Department has determined Baxter's shooting was justified....

Baboons can recognize scores of written words, a feat that raises intriguing questions about how we learn to read, scientists reported on Thursday. In a specially-made facility in France where they could come and go at will, monkeys learned to differentiate between a real word, such as KITE, and a nonsense word such as ZEVS. The baboons had access to a large enclosure with several touch-sensitive computer screens, each projecting a four-letter word. The animals had to tap one of two shapes on the screen to show that they understood whether the word was a real one or garble. Choosing...

Los Angeles county animal control officials are heralding the loyalty of a black Labrador retriever that braved traffic to stay by another dog that was fatally struck by a car. A motorist who saw the dogs on a La Puente street Wednesday morning put down traffic cones to alert other drivers and shot video of the dogs. The video released Saturday showed the female Labrador lying next to a motionless, yellow Labrador as vehicles pass dangerously close to them. The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control says the 2-year-old dog, who animal shelter staff and volunteers have...

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A new foster-cat program at the Larch Corrections Center is improving life for inmates and felines alike. Larch, a minimum-security facility near Yacolt, WA, launched the Cuddly Catz program two weeks ago; Cuddly Cats pairs pound-bound cats with inmates who meet certain requirements (did not commit a violent crime against animals or humans; free of prison demerits for at least six months; set to remain at Larch for at least a year after receiving a program cat; and passing an extensive screening process). The program definitely benefits the inmates. Joey Contreras and Joseph Walter share a ten-by-twelve-foot cell – and...

Grizzly man Mark Dumas, 60, is the only man in the world who can touch a polar bear. And as these incredible pictures show the fearless bear handler from Abbotsford, British Columbia, even goes for dip in his swimming pool where he and 16-year-old polar bear Agee enjoy a watery cuddle together.

RIVERVIEW, Fla. - An adult bobcat caused quite a scene around 8:30 Thursday morning on US 301 just south of Symmes Rd. in Riverview. A 911 took a call from a motorist. "People are trying to catch a bobcat in the median. A bobcat? Yea, there's a bobcat and everybody's getting out of their cars and they're trying to catch this cat," said the unidentified female driver.

CHICAGO (CBS) — You’ve heard curiosity killed the cat. In this case, curiosity actually saved one. As CBS 2′s Jim Williams reports, Boots was about to be put down, but an alert bank official worked to block the execution, going against the wishes of Boots’ late owner. Boots is a friendly cat and doesn’t at all mind being held by a stranger. “She’s lovable, playful. Though she’s 11 years old, she doesn’t act like it,” said Sandra Buturusis, the cat’s neighbor in the western suburbs. It’s hard to believe someone wanted this perfectly healthy cat euthanized. Even harder to believe...

He weighs in at up to 14 kilograms, but thanks to his enormous feet shaped almost like snowshoes, looks as though he is floating on air as he ambles along the snow. His legs are long and powerful, his coat is thick and grey, and the patches of fur that frame his face look like the kind of beard sported by aristocrats.

In a flash of fangs, the rattlesnake lunged, striking in less than a second. Its prey: a mechanical, remote-controlled squirrel, now with a pool venom in its head. "That was really exciting," said ecology doctoral student Bree Putman. "The snake saw it as real prey." On a high-tech reserve in the rolling, pastoral hills east of San Jose, Putman and her adviser, San Diego State ecologist Rulon Clark, are using robosquirrel to understand the relationship between the predator and prey, which it turns out is "complicated." That's where robosquirrel comes in. Clark and Putman said that decoding their conversations, one...

SHAWANO, Wis. — The state Department of Natural Resources has tagged a 125-year-old sturgeon that's the size of a football linebacker and is the largest on record in Wisconsin. Officials found the 7-foot-3-inch long, 240-pound female sturgeon in the Wolf River near Shawano on Tuesday, DNR sturgeon biologist Ron Bruch said. He estimated the fish was born around 1887, when Grover Cleveland was president.

Aged 20, Ashley Ransley was severely anorexic, and despite her 6ft frame she weighed the same as a 12-year-old. Doctors warned her she could have a heart attack at any moment as her body gradually shut down, and following years of failed treatments she resigned herself to a slow suicide.

A clerk serving Cantonese-speaking customers at a cluttered market in San Francisco’s Chinatown reached into a tub of American bullfrogs. She drew a one-pound frog from the top of the pile. She whacked its head, sliced its neck and placed its body in a plastic grocery bag. The frog cost about $4. If it was sautéed, stir-fried or cooked in a clay pot and served with rice and vegetables, it could provide enough poultry-flavored white meat for a meal for at least two people. Tests on the bullfrog by Raul Figueroa, a researcher at San Francisco State University, confirmed that...

Beyonce, the world's tiniest rescue puppy, now at four weeks old, has captured the heart of millions around the world - and who could resist the story and these photos? This week, she was given a clean bill of health from Folsom veterinarian, Dr Jennifer Sweet DVM.Beyonce was not breathing when she was born and had to be resuscitated. At birth, she was so small that she fit into a spoon and weighed one ounce (28 grams). Four weeks later, she weighs a little under 7 ounces, (around 200 grams), a far cry from her birth weight of just...

Frightened postal workers have been banned from delivering letters to one notoriously hazardous address after being repeatedly 'attacked' by a three-year-old cat called Snowball. -snip- Following a thorough investigation the Royal Mail has stopped its workers from delivering mail to the address after labelling the black and white moggy a 'health and safety risk'.

Beyonce, the world's tiniest rescue puppy, now at four weeks old, has captured the heart of millions around the world - and who could resist the story and these photos? This week, she was given a clean bill of health from Folsom veterinarian, Dr Jennifer Sweet DVM.Beyonce was not breathing when she was born and had to be resuscitated. At birth, she was so small that she fit into a spoon and weighed one ounce (28 grams). Four weeks later, she weighs a little under 7 ounces, (around 200 grams), a far cry from her birth weight of just...

I'm gradually getting some work done, my short naps are using up a lot of time lately.

<p>The mystery begins in a Pittsburgh bar where several high-flying airline types met last month.</p> <p>The group swapped stories over drinks when three people present let loose with a good tale. Bo, the presidential puppy, recently left a present on the presidential jet, they said, and a flight attendant had nearly stepped in it.</p>

April 15, 2012, marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the ship touted as unsinkable, during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, en route to New York. Much research has been done on the passengers, crew, and the ship itself over the years. But little has been reported about one group of passengers -- the dogs of the Titanic. Many think of their pets as part of the family, and it's evident that that sentiment was as true 100 years ago as it is today. Widener University, named for a prominent Philadelphia family that had three members...

We are trying to figure what's more impressive about Oscar the cat in this video. Is it his super intense game face, staring into the camera like boxers going nose to nose during the pre-fight instructions? Or is it his insane vertical and commando-style skills in opening the freezer? In either case, the cat's owners say they have a safety lock on the freezer to keep Oscar from helping himself to fish sticks. (That's the only part of the story we're skeptical about. We would've figured he was making the moves on the ice cream.)

A friend sent this. I put it on my Photobucket so I could share it.

Daughter Mary and I made a quick run through the gator farm rookery. It's still winding up but when it gets hotter I won't be able to handle it. I got enough for several posts, these are all I had the energy to process today, gonna take a nap now.This was the first outing for my Sony since it got back from the repair shop. No problems so far!

After years of administrative battle a military dog handler was finally reunited with her loyal friend. Former Marine Cpl. Megan Leavey was told in March that she would be allowed to give a home to Sgt. Rex, the german shepherd she spent two military tours serving with. On Friday night the two were brought back together again in an emotional ceremony at Camp Pendleton’s K-9 Unit which marked the end of Rex's ten-year service.

Relations in the neighborhood were already strained when Michelle Sieber argued with her 69-year-old neighbor just before 7 a.m. Monday about the noise the night before, according to police. Then Sieber's dog got out. The neighbor petted the Great Dane. Sieber warned him not to touch her dog. "What are you going to do ... hit me?" the neighbor asked, according to police. Sieber was arrested early Monday morning for doing exactly that, police said. She punched her 69-year-old neighbor in the left shoulder, according to Tarpon Springs police, and was charged with battery on a person 65 years or...

ATLANTA (AP) — Diamond Pet Foods is voluntarily recalling its Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice dry dog food because it may be contaminated with salmonella. A statement from the company Friday said no illnesses have been reported and no other Diamond products are affected. Pets that eat the food or people who handle it could become infected with salmonella. Healthy people infected with salmonella should watch for the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Pets with salmonella may have decreased appetite fever and abdominal pain. The product was distributed to customers in 12...

Getting paid to fish sounds like a dream come true to some. But does it have the same appeal if you're going up against a "fish from hell" that can travel on land and sink its teeth into a steel-toed boot?

An astonished cat lover has been reunited with her beloved missing moggy - 16 years after it first disappeared. Pet cat Poldi walked out of the family home in Munich, Germany, in 1996 and was never seen again. Poldi's family desperately tried to find the missing cat but to no avail and after months of looking they believed they would never see him again. But an incredible 16 years later Poldi was found 20 miles away living in a forest. The hikers who discovered the poorly puss took him to a local animal welfare centre where he and and his...

Last Tuesday a UC Riverside student took a photo of what he believed was a Chupacabra roaming the parking lot outside of the Student Recreation Center. The sighting has prompted mixed responses ranging from deep concern to awe. “I had just finished working out when I saw it standing next to my car, sniffing the air,” the student told the Highlander on the condition of anonymity. “At first I thought it was a dog, but when I got closer it didn’t look like any dog I’ve ever seen. I had to get a picture of it.” In the picture the...

Cats as crime-stoppers. It really goes against their nature, doesn’t it? A mommy mouser will go through Hades and high water to save her kittens, but to aid and abet in fighting the sinister forces of evil? Leave that to the dogs, cats have better things to do. (Or not do, as the case may be.) But the coterie of kitties listed here all achieved their 15 minutes of fame courtesy of their constabulary connections. (Even if that means one of them — we’re talking about you, Lewis — was more convict than cop.)

When most of us think of caring for the family dog, we have in mind a sedate walk around the block once a day, maybe an obedience class when he's a pup, a good brushing once a week and lots of hanging out together watching TV at night. And then there is that special breed of dog - the high-energy, need-a-job-to-do, groom-challenging kind that comes in all looks and sizes, but shares one commonality: He is undeniably high-maintenance.