Pets

Two women who recently faced off on "Judge Judy" are still battling in real life ... all over a dog ... with allegations of violent threats and pet-napping ... TMZ has learned.

The dogfight involves Kari Whitman -- who runs the Ace of Hearts pet adoption agency in L.A. The other woman is Teresa Gardenhire ... a former doggy foster parent.

The two squared off on an episode of "Judy" that was taped May 23 -- after Gardenhire claimed Whitman owed her money for taking care of an Ace of Hearts dog while the org. searched for a permanent owner.

Judy ruled for Ace of Hearts ... but after the show, Whitman claims Gardenhire began a campaign of harassment ... and even made violent threats.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ, Whitman claims Gardenhire warned her, "Watch your back bitch" and threatened to steal Whitman's dogs in retaliation.

Whitman was so frightened, she filed a request for a restraining order -- claiming "[I am] afraid the threats will become real actions."

Gardenhire tells TMZ she's the real victim -- claiming she thought she had adopted the dog she had been fostering ... and claims Ace of Hearts stole it. Gardenhire even filed a police report.

A former screenwriter for "NYPD Blue" was arrested for beating a poodle to death and could face up to a year in prison.

Ted Shuttleworth was busted Saturday morning in Queens, NY after punching his 4.5 lb poodle so hard in the face she died, according to the New York Post.

The 51-year-old TV writer took the canine to the vet afterwards -- but her death raised suspicions and sparked an investigation by the ASPCA.

Following the necropsy, a spokesman for the ASPCA concluded, "Lola sustained a traumatic brain injury secondary to the application of blunt force to the right side of her head at the hands of her owner."

Oprah Winfrey isn't stupid ... she knows 50 Cent named his dog 'Oprah' to diss the talk show queen after a recent feud ... and when the two sat down together, she totally called him out on it.

"I heard you have a dog named Oprah ... that was not a compliment," she said to the rapper.

Fiddy sheepishly replied, "I love you ... you know how they say a dog is a man's best friend?"

During the confrontation, part of Oprah's new show, "Next Chapter," ... 50 explained how he felt Oprah's famous campaign against the N-word and degradation of women in hip hop felt like a personal attack.

"I would see moments where you would discuss your feelings on the culture, and everything that was wrong with the culture was on my CD ... and I was like, 'She doesn't like me.' "

So why name the dog Oprah? 50 told her O-ness, "At the time, I was just looking at the situation and I saw I was developing negative feelings for someone who doesn't even know me."

50 said he also got a cat ... and named it Gayle.

But now, the hatchet appears to be buried ... and 50 even told Oprah he pampers the hell out of the animals ... even hiring a babysitter to take care of them while he's out of town.

I'll Have Another will not be the first Triple Crown winner in 34 years -- the thoroughbred has been scratched from tomorrow's Belmont Stakes ... and may never run again.

The horse's trainer Doug O'Neill just dropped the bombshell on "The Dan Patrick Show" ... confirming the rumors that I'll Have Another was indeed injured. He was not specific, but said there was a "little problem" with the left hind leg.

O'Neill said his horse seemed fine "to the eye" -- but clearly, something changed this morning ... just one day before I'll Have Another could have become just the 12th Triple Crown winner in history.

I'll Have Another had already won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness -- but O'Neill says the horse will not race again for at least 3 months, and could possibly be done for good.

A news conference is scheduled this afternoon in New York.

Olympic snowboarding sensation Shaun White is known for winning gold medals, shredding fresh powder ... and, now, for having a ridiculously adorable little dog.

The 25-year-old -- and his gorgeous long ginger locks -- was spotted with his super cute puppy having some lovely tea at a cafe in NYC yesterday.

New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch got milk -- and he proved it last week at a dairy farm in Massachusetts ... filling a fat bucket with some freshly-squeezed moo juice.

The milking stunt was filmed at Jordan Dairy Farms in Rutland as part of a video campaign by Lactaid -- to show people lactose-free milk comes from real cows.

The cow's name is Ripley -- and Deion tells us his new lady friend "was bigger than the front seven on most NFL teams."

TMZ has obtained the frantic 911 call placed moments after "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kim Zolciak discovered a burning 4-wheeler in her garage -- and based on the call, her 2-pound puppy caused a metric ton of trouble.

We broke the story ... the Roswell, GA fire department dispatched one fire truck to Kim's house yesterday after an ATV caught fire on her property.

The blaze was quickly extinguished and no one was hurt -- but according to the 911 call, the entire emergency would have gone a lot smoother if not for her tiny English bulldog named Dolce.

During the call, the 911 operator orders Kim to leave the house -- but Kim insists on rescuing the dog first. Problem is ... Dolce's extremely small and went into hiding when she sensed trouble.

Much to the operator's chagrin, Kim spends several minutes searching for the dog -- before eventually finding it and evacuating the house.

Doggone it.

The dog who won "Britain's Got Talent" just rejected an offer to appear on the "American Idol" finale, TMZ has learned, because the talented canine is too busy being famous.

Sources tell TMZ ... Pudsey the dog and 17-year old owner Ashleigh were asked to appear live on the "Idol" stage -- it's unclear if they would perform -- but when producers called about the potential gig ... they were met with a big, fat NO.

The reason behind the rejection ... we're told Pudsey and Ashleigh have been getting offers round-the-clock since winning the UK's talent competition ... and the pair is literally too busy to squeeze in an "Idol" appearance.

Good news is ... we're told Pudsey will be making trips to NYC and L.A. soon for OTHER major TV appearances -- just not "Idol" -- and will meet with several producers as well.

"Grey's Anatomy" star and real-life car accident hero Patrick Dempsey is in dire need of rescue himself ... or at least his dogs are, but this story may have a happy ending.

Sources close to Patrick's dogs tell us, the actor adopted two American Bulldog-Staffordshire Terrier mixes from an animal rescue in Texas recently -- but the two dogs (sisters and both alphas) were literally at each other's throats ... and Patrick's worried they might kill each other.

So, the Dempseys decided to put BOTH dogs -- Daisy and Ginger -- up for adoption on Ace of Hearts private adoption website.

We're told the Dempseys wanted to keep one of the dogs, but listed both to maximize the chances of adoption.

Here's the good news. We're told it looks like someone from a good home is going to adopt Ginger, though it's not a done deal. If it goes through, Daisy will be firmly ensconced in the Dempsey homestead.

The dancing dog that took home the "Britain's Got Talent" crown yesterday could be worth MILLIONS ... TMZ has learned.

In case you missed it, UK's nationwide talent search resulted in the the epic win of a 17-year-old girl, Ashleigh, and her dog, Pudsey, who perform adorable dance routines on stage.

Sources tell us ... ever since Pudsey made her "BGT" debut, offers for sponsorship and TV deals have been rolling in non-stop. We're told the deals could rake in millions of dollars -- on top of the $800k they already won from the show.

According to our sources, some of the offers on the table include: dog food endorsements, television shows, stuffed animals, dog toys and even a children's book revolving around the talented canine.

What can your dog do?

"Real Housewives of New York City" star Alex McCord and her family are dealing with a real tragedy -- their beloved cat Madge passed away this week after she was hit by a car.

Neighbors discovered the cat lying in the street on Wednesday after she managed to get out of the house. McCord said Madge's body was still in perfect condition, so the family (including their other cat Erin) was able to say their goodbyes.

McCord says the death of Madge has been difficult to explain to her two boys, adding, "We talked about how … she was different because she wasn't alive anymore. They each wrote her a little note which we put in a box we buried her in and put a marker above her grave."

In what seems like a obvious attempt to convince everyone he REALLY IS Adolf Hitler's grandson ... a mustached man named Philippe Loret took his German Shepherd out for a walk in Paris this week.

Loret -- a former plumber who served in the French Air Force -- is adamant his father was Hitler's secret lovechild ... despite the lack of hard evidence to back his claim.

Loret claims his grandmother -- the son of a German soldier -- abandoned her son back in 1918 and fled to Paris due to the shame of having an illegitimate child ... only to reconnect 22 years later.

She eventually told her son that his father was Hitler ... and he passed the story down to Philippe.

"I believe I am Hitler's grandson. Of course I am. The evidence is there. If people don't believe it, that's their problem" ... Philippe told the Daily Mail.

As for Philippe's feelings towards the Jews ... he says what Hitler did was "wrong" ... yet he has 2 images of the evil bastard hanging in his home in Paris.

Jesse James' prized pit bull Cinnabun has been in Texas with Jesse for over a year now and everything really is bigger in Texas ... because Cinnabun has put back on all the weight she lost during her health scare in 2010.

You'll remember ... Cinnabun went missing for three weeks and when she returned home, she was nearly 23 pounds lighter.

But Cinnabun is two and a half years old now and we're told she has been in perfect health lately and hangs with Jesse at the shop in Texas, just like she did in Long Beach.

Bob Baffert -- arguably the greatest horse racing trainer of all-time -- is recovering from emergency surgery in Dubai this morning after suffering a major heart attack.

Baffert -- a 3-time Kentucky Derby winner, 5-times Preakness winner and 1-time Belmont Stakes winner -- is currently in Dubai to race a horse in the $10 million Dubai World Cup.

The 59-year-old had experienced pain during the flight in ... and felt tired while he was checking out the barn. Baffert was eventually rushed to a hospital ... where doctors determined he had two blocked arteries.

Donald Trump's sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are under investigation in Zimbabwe to determine if their hunting trip -- which made news when photos of the guys posing with dead animals surfaced last week -- was actually legal.

The independent Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said that Trump's sons used a South African safari firm that is not registered in Zimbabwe during their 2011 hunting trip. They reportedly killed an elephant, an endangered leopard, a buffalo, a crocodile and other "big game" animals.

The task force is currently investigating whether license and trophy fees were paid and if the South African firm had been cleared by Zimbabwe wildlife authorities to operate.

The man who trained the third horse that died on the set of HBO's "Luck" is telling friends ... NO ONE is to blame for the fatality ... insisting the animals received exceptional care, but sometimes "s**t happens."

Sources close to Matthew Chew -- who trained and owned horse #3 -- tell us the people who looked after the horses are some of the best in the business ... who thoroughly examined the animals at least twice a day during production.

Chew has told friends ... the horse was simply playing around when it "misstepped" and fell down Tuesday morning ... suffering a head injury that required it to be euthanized on the set.