Pets

The "Grand Theft Auto V" boycott being called for by an animal rights org. is a molotov cocktail full of crap -- according to sources directly connected to the game ... who add the group is using GTA for shameless publicity.

Our GTA sources tell us game makers are calling BS on In Defense of Animals' attack on GTA -- saying the game does NOT push "institutionalized" animal violence on kids ... because it's not made for kids.

One source points out the game has a mature audiences only label, and kids under 17 can't buy it ... so there's no harm in showing adult situations to grown ups.

"It's a fake world with exaggerated real world problems" the source adds. "People shoot animals in real life, why should that be hidden from an adult video game?!"

"Grand Theft Auto V" crossed the line by allowing game-playing children to run over, behead and kill animals -- and a prominent animal rights group is calling for a boycott.

Jack Carone from In Defense of Animals tells TMZ ... his group is incensed that Rockstar Games is capitalizing off animal torture -- and it doesn't matter if it's real or fake. He says it perpetuates what he calls "institutionalized violence" against helpless animals.

"The makers of this game have traded decency for money" Jack says, adding, "Encouraging the darkest impulses of young people is not an admirable pursuit."

Regardless ... Carone says, "animals don't need any more targets painted on them in the name of fun."

So we gotta ask ...

Ashley Greene caused the fire inside of her apartment that killed one of her dogs ... it's now official, and her insurance company has to pony up over $305k to pay for the damage.

The owner of Ashley's unit tells TMZ ... Ashley's insurance company had been stalling for months. An insurance company rep told the owner they were having trouble getting Ashley to sit down for an interview. Apparently that happened, and the company is now convinced the actress was responsible for the blaze.

The owner of the unit is pissed, because she doesn't have the cash to make the repairs ... but she will soon.

As we previously reported -- both of Ashley's dogs were inside the apartment when a lit candle fell over and set the place on fire ... only one got out alive. Ashley, her brother and a friend were also inside. None of them were hurt.

Russell Simmons' girlfriend Hana Nitsche is heartbroken ... and "freaking out" because her pet Chihuahua, Ivy, DISAPPEARED three days ago ... and she's hoping a HUGE reward -- $5,000 -- will help bring Ivy back.

Hana -- a German fashion model -- is plastering reward posters all over town ... and bombarding social media with desperate appeals to find her dog -- which vanished Tuesday near Doheny Drive in West Hollywood.

Her tweets have gotten increasingly frantic: "My heart is in so much pain!!" ... "I'm really freaking out!!!" ... "I'm really getting desperate."

Russell has joined the search, too ... posting Ivy's pic and the reward offer on Twitter.

So, if you can read this Ivy ... COME HOME!!!

"2 Broke Girls" star Beth Behrs was viciously attacked by her neighbor's dog Wednesday ... so say people in her L.A. building ... and the actress even called Animal Control to handle the situation.

Luckily, Behrs wasn't injured in the attack ... but we're told the neighbor's pit bull mix did bite off a chunk of her sweater.

Here's what happened ... building sources tell us, Behrs was with her Yorkie Betty when a neighbor approached while walking a large brown lab and a pit bull mix. It's unclear why, but we're told the pit reared up and attacked Behrs, tearing a chunk off her sweater.

We're told Behrs was extremely upset by the attack and immediately called Animal Control, which eventually responded to the scene. Sources say the neighbor was fined as a result of the incident, and has been instructed to keep the dogs under better control.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, including the dogs. Ruff day.

Shellie Zimmerman says she never really knew the man she was married to for 6 years -- but one thing she knows for sure ... he's selfish to the core.

George Zimmerman's soon-to-be ex-wife appeared on "Good Morning America" Friday and made it clear there's no love lost.

Shellie has filed for divorce. She wants the 2 dogs and a cut of any judgment George gets in his defamation lawsuit against NBC.

As TMZ first reported, she's getting more than $4k a month from the Zimmerman Legal Defense Fund.

Blue II, the biggest celebrity to ever urinate on the hallowed grounds of Butler University's campus in Indianapolis, has died.

The English Bulldog mascot passed away Saturday of congestive heart failure, school officials announced today. “A tough day,” said head coach Brandon Miller.

Blue II was one of the most recognizable of all school mascots ... appearing at every Butler men's basketball game... and traveling like a rock star aboard the team's chartered jet during the Final Four basketball championships in 2010 and 2011.

Blue II retired from his mascot duties in May. He was succeeded by Butler Blue III, AKA "Trip."

Blue II was 9. Or 63 in dog years.

Blue II is survived by 4,700 Butler University students.

Fact: The most notorious Butler alumnus is Peoples Temple cult leader Jim Jones, who orchestrated the murder/suicide of 909 cult members in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978.

An American war hero is suing the company behind Kentucky Fried Chicken ... claiming KFC employees refused to serve him ... all because he arrived to the fast food joint with his registered service dog, this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ.

The man behind the lawsuit is Charles Hernandez -- who describes himself as a "highly-decorated and combat-disabled veteran of the Iraq war and a distinguished educator in the New York City school system."

There's more ... he was also New York City Council's Veteran of the Year in 2011 ... and was also "one of the first soldiers to arrive at the World Trade Center site" on September 11, 2001.

So, you'd think the guy would have no problems getting some fried chicken at his leisure, right?

Wrong, according to his new lawsuit filed in NYC.

Hernandez claims he walked into a KFC in NY back in February, along with his registered service dog Valor ... who accompanies Hernandez to soothe his symptoms of post-traumatic stress caused by years in combat.

But instead of being greeted with a smile and some chicken, Hernandez claims a KFC employee told him, "papi, there are no dogs allowed."

Hernandez says he explained that he had the proper permits to have the dog accompany him inside restaurants -- to which the employee replied, "ok, but you still cannot have the dog in the store."

Eventually, Hernandez left ... sans chicken ... and is now firing back with the lawsuit -- demanding at least $1,000,000 for his troubles.

God bless America.

An employee at the KFC restaurant where the incident took place tells us ... when Hernandez arrived with the dog, the animal was not wearing the proper service dog vest and identification.

However, in his lawsuit, Hernandez states -- "Valor wears a bright green vest and tags that clearly indicate that he is not a pet, but rather a highly trained service dog."

Sgt. Hernandez called into TMZ Live today to talk about the suit.

"Big Time Rush" lead singer Kendall Schmidt has taken the phrase "man's best friend" to a whole new level -- by tattooing the face of his dog Sissy on his back ... and TMZ has the photographic proof.

Sources close to Sissy -- Kendall's adorable Boston Terrier -- tell TMZ ... the singer immortalized the pooch's mug onto the left side of his back a few weeks ago at Smith Street Tattoo in Brooklyn.

We're told the ink job took about an hour and was pretty painful -- but it won't be his last ... especially if he ever gets another dog.

Amanda Bynes has been reunited with the dog she almost torched ... TMZ has learned.

You'll recall during Amanda's last flame out before being committed to a psychiatric hospital, she ignited a fire in a residential driveway in Thousand Oaks. Amanda was holding her Pomeranian -- Sherbert -- as she lit the fire, and the dog was doused in gasoline.

When Amanda was 5150'd, her parents took custody of the pooch.

We're told Amanda has been repeatedly asking for the dog during her confinement. On Thursday night, she got a 4-legged visitor, and it was no small feat. Her parents showed up with Sherbert after visiting hours, but doctors still allowed Amanda to spend 30-minutes with her doggie.

We're told the visit "thrilled" Amanda and brought her a lot of comfort.

Amanda Bynes has been true to form in the hospital where she's being held on a psychiatric hold -- she's completely lucid for long stretches, and then goes off the handle crazy.

Sources with knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... doctors have already determined Amanda is suffering from a severe mental illness "with schizophrenic tendencies." We're told she's aware "there's a good Amanda and a bad Amanda." When she talks about the bad Amanda she almost mimics an exorcism, pulling at her body as if to remove the demon, and even biting herself.

We're told yesterday Amanda was lucid for 10 hours -- she was kind, quiet and nice. During that 10 hour period the staff questioned her about the fire she started Monday and her personality changed radically. She got frustrated and "shut down." But she still remained "normal."

After 10 hours of normal, out of nowhere, her eyes widened, she started to grill the staff about her dog (the one she soaked in gasoline). The staff then told her the dog was safe with her parents, and Amanda went nuts, saying "They'll kill it, just like they tried to kill me." This went on for an hour.

Amanda then got incoherent and so out of control she had to be physically restrained.

And, we're told, Amanda was extensively drug-tested, and everything came up negative, except for marijuana.

7:18 AM PT -- THE DOG IS SAFE!!!!! Law enforcement officials tell TMZ ... Amanda's dog was claimed by her parents after she was placed on a 5150 hold.

Amanda Bynes accidentally drenched her pet Pomeranian with gasoline while building a fire in a residential neighborhood ... then raced to a nearby liquor store to clean the pooch ... and TMZ has the bizarre footage.

The surveillance video -- taken inside the liquor store -- begins minutes after Bynes allegedly used a canister of gasoline to fuel a fire outside a random elderly woman's home in Thousand Oaks, CA around 8:38 PM on Monday night.

At 8:39 PM ... Bynes can be seen bursting into the liquor store and darting straight for a restricted "employees only" area -- while holding the dog in her outstretched arms.

The cashier -- sensing something was wrong -- rushed out from behind the register and chased after Bynes to see what she was doing.

TMZ spoke to the owner of the store who tells us ... the cashier detected a strong odor of gasoline and observed Bynes attempting to rinse off the dog in a sink in the back area.

We're told ... as soon as the cashier confronted Bynes, she "freaked out" and left the store without further incident.

Moments later, cops located Amanda and placed her on a 5150 psychiatric hold believing she could pose a danger to herself and/or others.

Jane Lynch and her estranged wife Lara Embry are BACK TOGETHER -- just kidding ... it's just one of Jane's close friends ... who happens to look exactly like Lara.

Jane hit the streets of West Hollywood Monday with their dogs -- and everyone on the planet thought Jane and Lara were patching things up, but it's just not so.

The other woman in the photo is actually Jane's longtime friend Laura Coyle ... but, yeah ... she does look A LOT like Lara.

As we reported, Jane revealed last month that she and her estranged wife were calling off their 3-year marriage.

Michael Vick tells TMZ ... his involvement with a children's charity is not a publicity stunt to fix his image -- claiming he truly is a changed man ... thanks to his 2-year prison stint.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback just called in to "TMZ Live" to talk about his involvement with the Team Freedom Outreach -- a charity that recruits volunteers to play sports with children who are incarcerated.

During the conversation, Vick told us he's truly passionate about the cause -- and claims it's all because of an epiphany he had during his time in prison for running an illegal dog fighting ring.

"Sometimes it takes this ... for a person to go through certain hardships ... to realize what their purpose really is," Vick said.

"I think God placed it on my heart when I was incarcerated to come out and be the best person I can be and to help as many people as I can help."

Travis Tritt is a one-man alligator wrecking crew -- 'cause the country music legend put down a 13-footer recently that would even make the "Swamp People" blush.

Tritt was hanging in NYC yesterday when we asked about his penchant for hunting -- and Travis explained that he'll basically go after anything: "Gators, elk, deer ... you name it."

We did some digging and found out ... he's not kidding. Just last year, Tritt went out with the Beach Boys Gator Hunt in Florida ... and got himself a monster.

Fun Fact -- Travis is a big political activist and happens to be pro-death penalty ... for humans.

Ellen DeGeneres wants to save a 3-month old puppy from an owner accused of kicking the animal and swinging it around by its leash ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Ellen reached out to the LAPD this week to inquire about a French Bulldog puppy that was rescued last weekend.

Police arrested the guy who owns the puppy after a witness reported seeing him slam the pooch on a sidewalk, drag and kick him ... and then swing him on his leash like a yo-yo.

We're told Ellen was doing the good samaritan thing -- asking cops if she could do anything to help ... and making sure the pup goes to a good home.

Here's the problem -- legally, the animal has to be held at a shelter for 30 days while the courts deal with the owner ... and there's a chance he could get the puppy back.

If the alleged dog-hater does lose custody ... would Ellen consider adopting?