Animals

Snoop Dogg has taken a blow to his family tree ... his beloved French bulldog Juelz, who Wiz Khalifa famously brought into his life.

On Thursday, Snoop revealed Juelz had bounced to Doggy Heaven, leaving him with a mountain of memories to mourn over.

Wiz gifted Juelz to Snoop for his 43rd birthday in 2014, and they've been road dawgs ever since ... the perfect companion to his other Frenchie, Frank.

A family dog had the scare of a lifetime -- yanked into an alligator’s jaws right from his Florida backyard -- and while he somehow made it out alive, his injuries are nothing short of brutal.

The pics are rough -- the German Shepherd named Zeus suffered a fractured jaw and deep puncture wounds ... he had his jaw realigned and wired shut by a veterinarian, all after he broke free from the gator that busted through the backyard fence in Wesley Chapel, near Tampa, and dragged him to a nearby pond.

Zeus’ owner, Susan Alkhatib, told WFLA it all unfolded in a blur last week -- the whole family rushed outside to watch in horror as the gator thrashed around with Zeus' head locked in its jaws.

Dakota Johnson’s the queen of savage rid-or-die energy -- because she once mailed a gallon of gorilla poop to her friend’s ex.

Yup, you heard right -- Dakota spilled the dirty tea on Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector Video Series, saying she figured the guy wouldn’t be watching anyway ... so she just confessed to ordering a delivery of some grade-A, stinky revenge.

Dakota said the messy deed went down a few years back ... and when asked where one would even go to cop a similar gift, she didn’t miss a beat -- pointing folks to the website she ordered from, which has since rebranded itself, swapping in the word "poop" for "sh*t."

Dogs on Skid Row are being fed fentanyl, bred for money, and otherwise abused and neglected, and politicians are doing nothing about ... so says an animal rights activist.

Joey Tuccio -- an advocate for and rescuer of animals, who works with the nonprofit Starts With One Today -- stopped by "TMZ Live" to shine a light on dogs living on Los Angeles' notorious Skid Row ... a collection of streets in downtown where many homeless people live.

Tuccio says there are about 100 dogs living in the area ... and, while he doesn't want to see people's pets taken away, he's concerned about the dogs he's seen, which he says some people are using as guinea pigs to test fentanyl.

A cute little pooch got caught up in a fatal police involved shooting in California and miraculously survived, according to new dramatic video.

In fact, the doggie was an eyewitness to the brutal violence that claimed the life of Joanna Lopez, who was killed by police while holding a bystander at knifepoint in Fresno.

The Fresno PD recently released body-worn camera footage, which captured every moment of the shocking April 10 incident.

Alabama Barker's newest family member truly is a barker in every sense ... 'cause not only is he taking on the last name -- but, he's a dog whose bark is almost certainly worse than his bite.

The daughter of Travis Barker shared a video to Instagram Sunday ... where she held her tiny puppy pal on her shoulder.

It's a quick clip ... but, ya gotta see the size of this little guy -- it's clear he's pretty new on this earth as well as new to Alabama.

Tulsa Zoo has released the first look of Billy and Tina -- the L.A. Zoo elephants who were secretly transferred to Oklahoma in the dead of night this week.

Despite many protests and celebrity outrage, Billy and Tina have successfully made it to their new home in Tulsa -- where they will spend the next several weeks building bonds with their new care team and their fellow pachyderms.

Tulsa Zoo explains in their Insta post that the couple will be starting off their welcome in quarantine -- which is best for their social needs and well being.

Mark Longo -- who owned now-deceased Peanut the Squirrel -- has lawyered up and is demanding answers from the state of New York ... or at the very least an apology for what authorities put him through, claiming he's been targeted for harassment.

Peanut and Longo's pet raccoon Fred were taken from his Upstate New York home and killed on suspicion of having rabies back in October -- the house was raided over reports of harboring undomesticated animals, and an agent claimed the squirrel bit his finger during the search -- and Longo gives us the dirt on what's been going on the past 8 months ... spoiler: he says it's been a whole lotta bull.

Mark said there was supposed to be a vote in the New York State Assembly this week on "Peanut's Law" -- a bill that would help protect animal welfare, particularly critters in wildlife sanctuary care -- but instead, he says the bill is being stifled with no action allowed to advance it.

Hollywood is speaking out after the L.A. Zoo snuck out its two remaining Asian elephants Tina and Billy overnight on Tuesday -- avoiding any potential protesters amid fierce pressure to move them to a proper sanctuary rather than the Tulsa Zoo.

Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger both tell TMZ they believe the overnight transfer was "cowardly," with the former adding she is "devastated and outraged" by the "cruel" treatment of the beloved elephants.

Priscilla -- who has advocated for animal rights via Last Chance for Animals for nearly a decade -- says Billy and Tina "deserved freedom, space to roam, and the peace of a true sanctuary."

9:11 AM PT -- The L.A. Zoo has confirmed Billy and Tina the elephants have been "safely" transferred to the Tulsa Zoo despite fierce backlash over the move.

Contradictory to what critics argue, the zoo says in a statement Billy and Tina "will receive the same love and expert individualized care that they have had at the Los Angeles Zoo."

They also confirm Mayor Karen Bass inquired about having the elephants relocated to a sanctuary ... but after a "comprehensive evaluation" the decision to transfer the elephants to the Tulsa Zoo was "made with the health and well-being of the individual elephants as the top priority" -- plus a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its Elephant Species Survival Plan.

Cher is gonna be pissed! The beloved L.A. Zoo elephants she went to bat for -- Billy and Tina -- were secreted outta the zoo under the cover of darkness last night ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the L.A. Zoo tell us Billy and Tina were removed around 1:30 AM Tuesday and, presumably, loaded up to be shipped to Tulsa Zoo -- a controversial move that prompted protests, a lawsuit and an angry letter to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass ... which Cher and several other celebs signed.

We're told the elephant exhibit at L.A. Zoo was empty Tuesday morning -- no elephants, no keepers and the electric perimeter fence was off ... clear indications the animals were on their way to Oklahoma.

Cher is using her starpower for the good of Los Angeles' beloved zoo elephants Tina and Billy again ... signing a letter sent to Mayor Karen Bass to demand the beloved creatures be transferred from the L.A. Zoo to a sanctuary -- and not to the Tulsa, Oklahoma zoo as planned.

Cher appears on the list signed by several celebs -- such as Alicia Silverstone, Diane Warren, Katherine Heigl, Nicola Peltz Beckham and Justin Theroux -- that was delivered to L.A.'s mayor Monday to advocate for the health and well-being of the zoo's longtime resident elephants.

The letter argues the arranged transfer of Billy and Tina to Tulsa to join five other Asian elephants will only worsen their suffering, and that they deserve to be released to a proper elephant sanctuary so they can "live their twilight years with liberty and dignity."

"Barehand" and "clean-up" took on whole new meanings at one Minor League Baseball stadium over the weekend ... as a team staffer had to scoop up a bat dog's poop -- with no gloves on!!

It all happened at Atrium Health Ballpark on Sunday ... when the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers were taking on the Carolina Mudcats.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Cannon Ballers' de facto mascot had a bathroom emergency just feet away from home plate ... and a stadium employee was unfortunately given the unenviable assignment of getting it out of the dirt.

There's a lot to celebrate in the Ohtani household ... 'cause Shohei's famous pooch, Decoy, has made another trip around the sun ... and the Dodgers superstar commemorated the big birthday with an adorable tribute!!

The three-time MVP -- who has quite the stuffed trophy case -- gave his four-legged friend some hardware of his own ... by gifting him a "Most Valuable Dog" plaque.

Decoy also got flowers and a number two balloon for his little pawty. We didn't see any treats ... but with Ohtani's $700 million contract, we're sure he was able to splurge a bit.

That Mexican OT showed he's fearless enough to pull off his own stunts -- by going head-to-head with a charging bull and walking away with all his limbs!!!

The Texas rapper took center ring as the special guest at Ultimate Bullfighters' Midnight Bullfight on Saturday in Ft. Worth, and tested his reflexes against one massive animal.

The "Johnny Dang" rapper was all smiles -- even when the bull was trying to gut him from the inside out. Thank goodness for his protective vest!!!

Cher’s stepping up for the L.A. Zoo elephants, saying they’ve been through enough -- and while their reported Oklahoma move might offer more space, a zoo’s still a cage ... just with a bigger backyard.

The icon, who’s been fighting for Billy, Tina, and other animals for years, didn’t miss a beat when L.A. resident John Kelly sued to block their move to Tulsa Zoo -- she jumped in with a declaration backing their freedom, saying a sanctuary, not another zoo, is where they belong.

In her declaration to the L.A. County Superior Court, Cher said the elephants have done their time in confinement -- now they deserve a shot at peace and dignity.

From leashes to limelight, stars and their scene-stealing sidekicks are always serving paws and applause -- and TMZ's got the ultimate reel to prove it!

We’ve rounded up the wildest tail-wagging moments -- from Glenn Close’s pup causing pure NYC chaos to a pooch at LAX sniffing out Mel Gibson and literally barking in for a TMZ exclusive.