“The Houston Astros — who once had the ‘Killer Bs’ — beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 on Thursday, but only after waiting out a 52-minute delay in the top of the ninth inning caused when a swarm of bees took over part of left field at Petco Park. Geoff Blum hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs. The Astros won three of four against the Padres.” Link
'Animal' Pictures + News
“A 2-year-old girl apparently was strangled Wednesday by her family’s 12-foot-long pet Burmese python, officials said. Shaunia Hare was already dead when paramedics arrived at about 10 a.m., Lt. Bobby Caruthers of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said.” Link
“Dogs are being trained in Britain as potential life-savers to warn diabetic owners when their blood sugar levels fall to dangerously low levels. Man’s best friend already has been shown capable of sniffing out certain cancer cells, and dogs have long been put to work in the hunt for illegal drugs and explosives.” Link
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“Tyler Weinman, 18, was taken into custody early Sunday at a party, police said. Weinman was charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary.” Link
Tyler Weinman picture
“One day after French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy told PETA that she no longer wears real fur, Obama made her own animal-friendly announcement, the Washington Times reports. “Mrs. Obama does not wear fur,” her deputy press secretary, Semonti Mustaphi, said Thursday.” Link
Michelle Obama picture
“The family of a woman mauled by a chimpanzee filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages against the primate’s owner, saying she was negligent and reckless for lacking the ability to control “a wild animal with violent propensities.” A relative of Charla Nash, who remains in critical condition, filed the lawsuit against Sandra Herold late Monday in Superior Court in Stamford.” Link
Chimpanzee Attack Victim May Have Brain Damage Continue reading ‘Chimpanzee Attack Victim May Have Brain Damage’
“A Connecticut woman pleaded for police to ‘please hurry’ to save a friend from an attack by a pet chimpanzee, according to emotional 911 recordings released Tuesday by Stamford police. ‘He’s ripping her apart,’ Sandra Herold, 70, tells dispatchers about her pet, Travis. With the chimp squealing in the background, Herold cries out, ‘He’s killed my friend!’ The victim, Charla Nash, 55, remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after the chimp, once featured in television commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, attacked her Monday afternoon, police said.” [Link]
“A Swedish research scientist has discovered that the current generation of pedigree dogs, normally social and curious creatures by nature, are disinterested, shy and less responsive to commands than their ancestors. The study found show-quality and ‘handbag’ pooches were the most likely to lack the instincts of previous generations, which were bred for their strength, hunting and working abilities, rather than their looks. ” [Link]
Big Brown picture
“Trainer Rick Dutrow said the 3-year-old colt, who was preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 25, appeared to kick himself while working on the turf course at Aqueduct with stablemate Kip Deville. Big Brown was able to complete the six-furlong work when Dutrow noticed blood coming out of the foot.” [Link]
“More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil’s equatorial beaches were flown south on a huge air force cargo plane and released closer to the frigid waters they call home, animal advocates said Monday. Onlookers cheered as the young Magellanic penguins were set free on a beach in southern Brazil and scampered into the ocean, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said in a statement.” [Link]
“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow’s milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman. ‘PETA’s request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow’s milk in the food he serves,’ the statement says.” [Link]
Knut & Thomas Doerflein picture
“The zookeeper who gained fame for hand-rearing the beloved polar bear Knut was found dead in his Berlin apartment Monday. A spokeswoman for Berlin police said Thomas Doerflein was dead when authorities arrived at the apartment and that they had no information on the cause of death. Doerflein was 44 years old.” [Link]
“Joseph Petcka’s aggravated animal cruelty trial was headed to closing arguments Monday, with jury deliberations probably beginning later in the day. If the jurors find him guilty, the 37-year-old former athlete could face two years in prison. ” [Link]
“John Morgan, a 51-year-old surf shop owner from the east coast tourist town of Byron Bay, compared his terrifying 170-foot ride off a local beach to being towed by a jet ski. He said he was about 330 yards from shore and paddling out when the 10-foot shark swelled up from underneath him Sunday afternoon. ‘It freaked me out,’ Morgan said. ‘It bumped my leg rope and next thing it tangled itself in the leg rope and started charging out to sea with me in tow.’” [Link]
