Animals

Four people got mauled by the criminal justice system ... after they dressed up in a bear costume and allegedly damaged several cars as part of a bizarre insurance fraud scheme in Southern California, authorities said.

Ruben Tamrazian, Ararat Chirkinian, Vahe Muradkhanyan and Alfiya Zuckerman were arrested Wednesday on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy, but investigators didn't know which one sported the furry animal attire, according to the California Department of Insurance.

The L.A. area suspects are accused of scratching and tearing up 3 of their vehicles -- and filing bogus claims to insurance companies to collect a total of $141,839 in damages.

Piff the Magic Dragon is confirming he actually spent almost $60K to clone his late dog, Mr. Piffles ... telling TMZ he's "so glad" he did.

We caught up with the magician after the sad news his longtime performing companion and beloved Chihuahua had died ... with the "America's Got Talent" alum revealing he created a contingency plan for this inevitable day back when his pup first started getting older.

Though word of Piff's decision to clone the pup broke a while back, the British comedian assured us he "genuinely cloned" Piffles ... and even had Mr. Piffles 2.0 join him on camera for a quick hello.

Peanut The Squirrel was marked for death even before the government raided his owner's home ... and this whole case seems even more fishy.

We tackled the subject on "TMZ Live," with Harvey and Charles explaining why some of the conspiracy theories around this case aren't as crazy as they sound.

Frankly, we don't think it makes a whole lot of sense for authorities to say they ordered a fatal rabies test for Peanut because an officer got bit by the animal during the raid ... because now we know state officials advised the county to euthanize the animals a week before the raid was launched.

Some in the office think owner Mark Longo put these animals in danger by trying to make them social media stars ... but not everyone is buying it ... and the need for a search warrant here is definitely up for debate.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Piff the Magic Dragon's longtime performing companion and beloved Chihuahua, Mr. Piffles, has died ... the Las Vegas magician confirms to TMZ.

The "America's Got Talent" alum tells us ... his beloved canine conjuror passed away on November 8th, just before his 17th birthday ... with Piff crediting the rescue dog for making his act sensational.

He adds ... "For over 15 years I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure of being upstaged and outshone night after night by Mr. Piffles. He came into my life when I had nothing, and set me on the path to a career I could only dream of. In the beginning, I may have rescued him, but in the end, he rescued me."

Peanut the Squirrel is officially in the clear, testing negative for rabies after his death, but get this -- it's also emerged that both he and Fred the Raccoon were set for the chopping block days before they were seized in a raid ... and their owner is absolutely livid over it.

Mark Longo didn't hold back, telling TMZ it's hard to stomach the bombshell revelation that 4 different agencies had already given the green light to euthanize his pets 7 days before they were even taken from his Upstate New York property on October 30.

The New York Post reports state officials advised the county to euthanize the animals a week before the raid was launched. This news contradicts the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's claim that Peanut had bitten an agent during the raid ... supposedly necessitating the rabies test. Animals must be euthanized to properly test for rabies.

A mysterious, but beautiful, canine hybrid was caught on camera ... and now experts are trying their best to ID the beast.

Voyageurs Wolf Project, a conservation org in Minnesota, recently shared some shots of the creature ... and asked if it could be the “elusive wyote dog'” — a fake wolf-coyote-dog hybrid.

All joking aside, the group noted the animal looked “coyote-esque” to them ... but has some dog-like aspects -- specifically the ears.

Kirk Herbstreit's grieving the loss of man's best friend ... breaking down over his dog Ben's death live on-air.

The football commentator appeared on ESPN's "College GameDay" Saturday morning ... just two days after he announced he and his wife had to put down his golden retriever -- who traveled with him to many of his games.

During the broadcast, ESPN played a clip all about Ben ... with Kirk talking about how he was far more than just a dog or travel companion -- and, clearly Ben's still feeling very raw emotionally 'cause he could barely talk about Ben during the show.

Donald Trump is on his way back to the White House ... and the controversy surrounding the death of Peanut the squirrel might have helped ... at least that's what the squirrel's owner thinks.

Mark Longo told TMZ he was humbled and honored that on Monday, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance was at a rally, talking about how "fired up" DT was over the death of Peanut ... which ML is sure helped them at the polls.

Those campaign comments -- as ML sees it -- showed Trump cares about the little guy ... even if that little guy is a medium-sized rodent that took social media by storm with his tricks.

Peanut the squirrel might just get justice after all ... as authorities are investigating a raid that resulted in the tragic death of the beloved social media star, TMZ has confirmed.

Mark Longo, Peanut's owner, tells TMZ ... he has been made aware that the Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting an “internal investigation” into why 2 of his pets were seized  -- and later killed -- from his Pine City home.

ML tells us he does not know too much at this point ... but he is expecting to hear more on Saturday about just what the heck is going on.

Donald Trump's got a new pack watching his back ... 'cause new video shows robot dogs keeping a close eye on the president-elect.

New video taken at Mar-a-Lago shows the robotic rovers prancing across the lawn ... check it out, they're patrolling outside the club, looking for danger. No need for the dogs to go feral on anyone in this clip -- but, they're ready to sic some bad guys if they try to get at Trump.

We've confirmed with a Secret Service source ... these are assets used by the agency, equipped with surveillance technology and a ton of sensors to beef up their protective operations.

Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy sat down with Brianna "Chickenfry" LaPaglia to spill some tea about her ex, Zach Bryan -- claiming Zach kicked his rescue dog, Miss Peaches, out of a dressing room.

Dave recounted how the alleged incident happened at the country singer's July concert at Gillette Stadium outside Boston ... and Brianna responded on Thursday's "BFFs" podcast, saying she had no clue it went down, since -- as far as she knew -- Zach was totally fine with him bringing both his dog and hers.

Dave elaborated ... saying at one point he was heading back to the dressing room when he caught sight of Zach with the dog as he was escorting her out.

Tragedy has struck the Herbstreit household ... Kirk Herbstreit just revealed his famous dog, Ben Herbstreit, has died.

The renowned football commentator said on his X page Thursday morning that he and his family were forced to let their pooch go after vets said the cancer the dog had been battling had spread to his organs.

"I've had dogs my whole life," Kirk said in announcing the sad news, "but Ben was 1 on 1."

Total chaos hit LaGuardia Airport when a raccoon suddenly fell through the ceiling -- and of course, it was all caught on camera!

In a TikTok clip shot by a Spirit Airlines passenger, you can see the raccoon desperately clinging to a wire hanging from a gap in the ceiling in Terminal A on Monday -- before making a dramatic plunge to the ground.

Another video shows people freaking out, shrieking, and scrambling to avoid the raccoon -- because, you know, raccoons are prime rabies carriers, and no one’s trying to get bitten!

Kim Kardashian is sure to say "crikey" when she hears how she played a role in one crocodile winning big at an annual croc race Down Under.

Check it out ... one reptile, aptly named Kim Krocdashian, emerged victorious after facing off against other small saltwater crocs at a race in Darwin, Australia on Monday.

The beast, measuring just over 3 feet in length, took off down the grassy track at the Berry Springs Tavern ... leaving several rivals in its wake.

Peanut the Squirrel's tragic fate is stirring emotions across the Internet, but at least one town leader in Chemung, NY -- where Peanut's owner lives -- isn't rattled at all, and seems over the whole ordeal.

Chemung Town Supervisor George Richter tells TMZ ... he has no knowledge of the squirrel saga exploding on his turf. Remember, Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, claim 2 of their rescue pets -- Peanut and Fred the raccoon -- were unjustly seized last week, and killed over alleged rabies concerns.

While the story's gone viral, Richter says he has no plans to advocate on behalf of the late Peanut, nor Mark and Daniela -- making it clear he won't be speaking to Governor Kathy Hochul about the raid.