Pets

Paris Hilton nearly staged her own version of the iconic Coppertone ad of the 1950s this weekend in Malibu, when her adorable little dog tried to yank her cover-up right off.

Nothing we haven't seen before.

Tragedy struck at the famous Cowtown Rodeo in New Jersey this weekend when one of the horses died during a live performance ... and animal rights activists say there's evidence the horse was electrocuted.

The rodeo -- which has been running since 1929 -- came to a screeching halt when a 9-year-old horse named Duke came bucking out of the gate Saturday ... only to collapse after experiencing what appeared to be a seizure.

After the horse went down, staffers raced to its side as Duke died in front of the live crowd. Duke was eventually carted away.

After the incident, the animal rights group SHARK -- SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness -- says one of its members was in attendance and witnessed Duke being secretly shocked by an electric device right before he was released from the gate in order to get Duke to buck more wildly.

The SHARK member shot footage of the incident -- which shows someone holding a "Hot shot" electric prod in Duke's holding gate.

Cowtown insists Duke's death was as natural as it gets due to an "aneurysm of his aorta blood vessel."

The rodeo explains, "Our vet has assured us that this had nothing to do with the rodeo event and it is a natural (although rare) occurance to have a horse pass from this reason."

However, when we called Cowtown owner Grant Harris -- who also owned Duke -- he told us the device in Duke's pen DID appear to be a "hot shot" ... but says everyone at the rodeo is under strict orders to NEVER use the prod on a horse.

Harris notes that in the video ... the device does not appear to ever touch Duke.

For its part, SHARK says it will be contacting the SPCA to demand animal cruelty charges be brought up against Cowtown.

Well, this photo freaked a few people out in our newsroom ... an image that appears to show Justin Theroux carrying the body of a lifeless dog through the streets of NYC.

BUT DON'T WORRY!!!! IT'S JUST A MOVIE PROP!!!

Apparently, the canine cadaver is being used for a scene in Justin's upcoming TV movie, "The Leftovers."

Coincidentally, Justin's fiancee Jennifer Aniston has also appeared in a dead dog flick ... "Marley & Me" (spoiler alert?).

The "Girls Gone Wild" honcho tells TMZ ... he rents a Sea Lion named "Litibu" once a week from Vallarta Adventures to hang out with him and his GF Abbey Wilson at his casa near Puerta Vallarta.

It's pretty incredible ... he says the 11-year-old mammal is so well trained he arrives via boat ... swims up to the beach ... walks to Joe's backyard ... and then dives straight into his pool.

Not only that, Joe says Litibu has a slew of tricks up his blubber ... he can do handstands, give kisses, stand and clap, roar on command and lets Joe and Abbey take rides on his back in the pool.

5:10 PM -- The plane just took off with Bieber inside. We don't know if the monkey made it in time.

Justin Bieber has pissed off a private jet company ... because his plane has been grounded in Miami for 8 hours, while Justin searches for his pet monkey ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Justin rented a private jet to take him from Miami to Burbank. The plane was supposed to take off at 11 AM ET, but the Biebs called to say he was running late.

Hours passed ... and he showed up at around 3 PM. But we're told he wasn't ready to smoke out of Miami because he needed to pick up his monkey from West Palm Beach.

Four more hours passed, and the monkey hasn't surfaced at the airport. We're told Bieber actually chartered a helicopter to bypass street traffic and retrieve the primate.

We're told Bieber has 30 minutes left at the time of this post ... before the pilot pulls the plug because he's about to run out of duty time.

Sad news in the dog world -- the top pit bull from Michael Vick's dogfighting ring has been euthanized.

The dog -- named Lucas -- was humanely euthanized Wednesday at the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah because of accumulating health problems. He was around 13 years old.

Lucas -- who was Vick's grand champion -- was one of nearly 2 dozen dogs that were rehabilitated at BFAS after they were rescued from the ring in 2007. Unfortunately, Lucas was not allowed to be adopted because of his vicious fighting history -- and therefore had to remain a lifetime-care dog at the animal sanctuary.

We're told Lucas was one of the friendliest dogs at the sanctuary -- and never stopped grinning.

And they say women lose 90% of their eggs by age 30 ... Jennifer Aniston's newly refurbished, $21 million Bel Air mansion is a grazing site for chickens.

44-year-old Aniston and her fiance Justin Theroux just completed renovations on the sprawling 3.5-acre property -- which the couple purchased last year -- and Aniston decided to maintain the chicken coop.

FYI, Bel Air is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods on the planet ... and here's a fun fact -- the house featured on "The Beverly Hillbillies" is also in Bel Air.

Who's no spring chicken now?

Brandi Glanville is blaming the whole stolen dog thing on her assistant -- TMZ has learned, the "Real Housewives" star has FIRED her right-hand woman for not taking better care of the pooch.

The 23-year-old ex-assistant -- who didn't want to be named -- tells TMZ, "I no longer work for Brandi. She texted me [Saturday] saying that I didn’t do my job by losing the dog."

As we reported, Brandi's Encino home was burglarized last Wednesday while she was in Palm Springs -- or so the assistant claims -- and someone made off with her beloved Chihuahua Chica.

After the alleged burglary, Brandi said she did NOT want to blame her assistant -- the last person to be with the dog before it vanished -- but something must have changed ... because the asst. tells us, that's exactly what Brandi did by giving her the chop.

Now the assistant's upset -- telling us she did everything in her power to make sure Chica was safe (double checking the doors, closing all windows, locking everything) and firing her just isn't fair.

Oh yeah, she also says Brandi still owes her for two weeks' work ... more than $1,000. Chica's still missing.

Taylor Armstrong does not believe a word Brandi Glanville says about her missing dog, calling the idea that the pooch was stolen just "a publicity stunt."

It didn't sound like a publicity stunt when Glanville called in to "TMZ Live" yesterday and began bawling hysterically as she talked about how someone broke into her home and stole one of her dogs.

Brandi's story is a little off (or at least, her assistant's version of the events is) and Taylor was in full agreement as she slammed her "RHOBH" co-star on her way into Aventine in Hollywood last night.

Whatever happened, let's just hope little Chica gets home safe.

Brandi Glanville broke down in tears on "TMZ Live" Friday while talking about her dog that may have been "stolen" from her house ... a theft that has some very strange markers.

TMZ broke the story ... Glanville returned home from Palm Springs after her assistant informed her someone had broken into Glanville's home and made off with her chihuahua Chica ... but nothing else -- nothing.

Glanville said it seemed odd that the dog was the only thing taken, but told us, "I don't wanna blame my assistant. I don't know if she lost them and is making up the story and only found one … But I have to believe what she tells me because I don't know."

Brandi Glanville claims someone BROKE INTO HER HOME AND STOLE HER DOG ... and now the "Real Housewives" star is on a mission to get her back.

TMZ spoke with Brandi ... she was in Palm Springs with Lisa Vanderpump and Yolanda Foster earlier this week, when she received a call that someone had busted in to her home in Encino, CA and made off with her dog Chica ...her precious chihuahua.

Brandi tells us ... she immediately drove home from Palm Springs and began searching everywhere for her pet.

Brandi says ...when she searched the home, she found a screen on a bathroom window had been ripped open -- the obvious point of entry for the bad guy.

We're told NOTHING else was missing from the home.

Brandi says she filed a report with the LAPD.

Brandi says she's received calls from people claiming to have the dog -- but they've all turned out to be hoaxes.

“Twilight” star Kristen Stewart’s mom says she has a crazy neighbor on her hands ... a neighbor who is allegedly harassing her and claiming that she's harboring wolves.

Jules Stewart says the beef began April 21, when the neighbor walked up her driveway. Stewart says she ordered the 61-year-old woman off her property … and according to legal docs the two exchanged heated, vulgar words.

The neighbor, Sue Bemi, allegedly claimed Stewart's dogs were actually WOLVES. Bemi supposedly screamed her wolves "belong in the mountains of Montana" and should be set free and she was ready to take care of business.

Stewart’s filing says after their blowup, Bemi started a campaign of harassment, regularly making “howling sounds, growls, chirps and other weird noises” ... which riled up the animals.

Bemi claims in her own handwritten legal docs Stewart herself confessed the animals were really wolves.

Stewart, a longtime Hollywood script supervisor who recently directed her first feature film “K-11,” got a restraining order this AM, ordering Bemi to say 100 yards clear of her property for 1 year.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the "Anchorman" franchise ...

Check out Will Ferrell -- aka Ron Burgundy -- battling a mechanical Great White last week off the coast of Georgia, where "Anchorman: The Legend Continues" is shooting.

If it were a man, he'd punch it. Punch it right in the mouth.

Burgundy had a stand-in on the film ... but judging by the pics, he went ahead and performed his own stunts for the shark attack scene.

This may be the most disturbing thing you see in the month of May ... a deadly snake bit a TV producer in the foot ... and the damage is bone-chilling -- literally and figuratively.

WARNING: If you have a weak stomach ... DO NOT CLICK HERE.

The zombie foot belongs to Steve Rankin ... a producer on the upcoming Discovery show "Naked and Afraid," which drops 2 nude survivalists in remote locations and films their struggle to stay alive.

Rankin tells TMZ ... "I was scouting locations in Costa Rica ... As I was traversing through some deep jungle I was bitten on the foot by a Fer-de-Lance. It's one of the deadliest snakes in the world and the fangs went right through my boot."

Rankin says his team hustled him for 2 miles on a makeshift stretcher, drove to a helipad and had him airlifted to a San Jose hospital ... where he got antivenom and antibiotics. But things went horribly wrong ...

Sylvester Stallone's family is mourning the loss of a loved one ... their adorable pet poochie Phoebe ... who was found dead after a coyote attack earlier this month, TMZ has learned.

It's a heart-breaking story ... Phoebe went missing a couple of weeks ago -- and immediately the family scoured their Bel Air community in a desperate attempt to find their beloved 4-legged friend.

They even put up posters in their community offering a $10,000 reward for Phoebe's safe return.

But the story took a tragic turn when someone discovered Phoebe's body on the Stallone property ... the victim of a coyote attack.

Stallone's rep tells TMZ ... Phoebe's death has been very difficult for the family.

She can't pee in a toilet ... and you probably can't milk her nipples ... but Internet cat sensation Lil Bub is still BFFs with Robert De Niro.

"The World's Cutest Cat" and De Niro hit it off earlier today at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC ... Mr. Jinx be damned.

De Niro's been dying to meet Bub ever since he heard she'd be featured at the festival -- telling the Hollywood Reporter, he REALLY wanted to take a picture with the deformed feline ... and De Niro always gets what he wants.

(FYI, Bub suffers from several genetic mutations including dwarfism, polydactylism, and a deformed lower jaw.)

Now, a word from Jack Byrnes on why cats are better than dogs...