Pets

An insane scene played out today in Johnny Weir's divorce case ... ending with Johnny taking the family dog out of their apartment ... as his sobbing husband Victor helplessly watched.

TMZ broke the story ... Johnny has filed for divorce and it's turned vicious.

Sources connected to the case tell TMZ ... both Johnny and Victor rushed to court Friday. Victor got a restraining order against Johnny, claiming the Olympian attacked him March 5 by hitting him in the arm and throwing jewelry and a wooden Russian doll at him.

Johnny got an order giving him the right to go into their New Jersey apartment for 30 minutes and collect his belongings with the help of cops, without any interference from Victor.

We're told Johnny showed up to the apartment with 6 cops and Victor's cousin while Victor was still in court. Johnny took a number of his belongings, including 2 TV sets, Hermes scarves, various costumes and most importantly ... Tema, a Japanese Chin which he and Victor got during the marriage.

We're told Victor rushed to the apartment while Johnny was still there and stood by helplessly as cops let Johnny take the dog. Victor was on the phone with his crisis manager, Wendy Feldman ... sobbing uncontrollably.

Jimmy Failla -- the taxi driver who rode around with a snake in his cab and then posted riders' reactions to YouTube -- has lost his cabbie license ... but tells TMZ he's gained a slew of new job offers.

Jimmy tells TMZ the Taxi and Limousine Commission yanked his license for two years, but Jimmy is more than ok with it. He says he's gotten two TV development offers, his stand-up career is taking off and he's even auditioned for a slot on "The Tonight Show."

Failla says he's even been approached by producers to pull the prank in Los Angeles, though he says he'd need a fake taxi.

Jillian Michaels and her crew got an unexpected surprise on her tour bus Sunday ... wild turkey.

Sadly it wasn't the fine bourbon ... it was a dead bird.

A turkey large enough to feed the entire "Sister Wives" group for Thanksgiving smashed into the bus windshield so ferociously ... it shattered the glass and went tumbling inside.

No humans were injured in the accident.

Jillian was travelling from Nashville to West Virginia giving motivational speeches on her "Maximize Your Life" tour.

Screw making it rain on strippers for his 29th birthday ... Kellan Lutz just wanted to let loose in Thailand with his bros.

The "Twilight" star celebrated the festivities on Nikki Beach Phuket in what looked like a cabana ... and a hot model delivered his birthday cake atop a baby elephant.

Then the group of bros all posed for pics wearing shirts that said, "A celebration of life" -- while Kellan's name was lit up on some kinda outdoor fire display.

Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs is a huge animal lover -- and tells TMZ Sports he'd be EXTREMELY PISSED if he found out the abuse allegations about Michael Jackson's chimp Bubbles were true.

As we previously reported, famed monkey specialist Jane Goodall claims Bubbles suffered serious physical abuse on MJ's watch -- though several other people who spent lots of time with the primate say it's total crap.

"If that's true, it's despicable," Briggs said ... "I don't ever want any harm done to animals."

But Lance says he isn't ready to condemn MJ yet -- "Just because [Jane] said he was beaten, doesn't mean it was. If she had proof, it'd be different."

He continues, "I'm a fan of Michael's talent so it doesn't take away from that -- but my outlook of him as a person would change."

Stars love showing off -- and nothing says "I'm super famous" like posting photos of an animal that belongs in the wild as a their domesticated house pet!

Just like her beloved chimpanzees ... Jane Goodall is throwing crap at the wall -- at least that's the word from people who witnessed Michael Jackson's relationship with Bubbles.

Several people who were with Bubbles on almost a day-to-day basis tell TMZ ... MJ adored the chimp, and treated him like a member of his family -- and the notion that he or anyone around him brutalized the chimp is garbage.

We're told the Michael Jackson Estate has recognized how much the singer loved Bubbles by contributing money to the sanctuary where the chimp now lives.

Bubbles, we're told, was almost joined at the hip with Michael, mimicking him and various others at Neverland. We were told one story where Bubbles got down on his knees after seeing one of the maids and started dusting the floor. The whole slave labor thing aside, Michael proudly hugged the chimp.

And Michael actually made Bubble's his plus one at his lawyer John Branca's wedding. Bubbles showed up in a tux to cheer on Branca -- who now runs the MJ Estate.

The world's leading chimp expert says Michael Jackson's famous pet monkey Bubbles was brutalized at Neverland and she blames MJ.

Jane Goodall dropped the bombshell leaving an event in Washington, D.C. ... saying Bubbles was BEATEN while in Michael's care.  She doesn't say who beat Bubbles, but she does say she confronted MJ and it "ticked him off."

Our photog was clearly caught off guard and didn't ask the circumstances surrounding the alleged beating.  La Toya's ex-husband, Jack Gordon, claimed the singer did indeed abuse Bubbles, saying, "I saw Michael punch Bubbles, kick him in the stomach.  Michael used to say, 'He doesn't feel it.  He's a chimpanzee.  I have to discipline him.'"

Various people in the MJ camp denied the claims, and there are stories that Bubbles was actually treated like a hairy king, eating at the dining room table with MJ and having free access to the fridge for Haagen-Dazs fixes.

FYI -- Bubbles -- now 30 -- is alive and well  ...  living in a Florida animal sanctuary.

A NYC cabbie who pranked passengers with a live snake -- and posted their reactions to YouTube -- doesn't give two craps if the Taxi and Limousine Commission yanks his license ... he tells TMZ, he's on to much bigger things now.

Check out Jimmy Failla's video above -- it's pretty funny -- but New York City's TLC isn't laughing ... calling the prank "monumentally poor judgement on the driver's part." A rep says the commission is now actively reviewing Jimmy's TLC license. It's up for renewal next week.

But Jimmy tells us, if TLC wants to take his license away ... they can have it.

He says he shot the YouTube video to promote his new book ... and he's also making a living as a stand-up comedian -- so he doesn't need to drive cabs anymore. He never really liked doing it anyway.

"Basketball Wives" star Jackie Christie thinks pregnant women with ornery cats should kill the kitties by hanging, choking or other means if necessary.

It's pretty shocking ... our photog asked Jackie (in the dark blouse) and her friend, Sundy Carter (who appeared in "Bringing Down the House" and "Soul Plane") about what a pregnant woman should do with a temperamental cat.

Both women have no mercy for fearless felines. In fact, Jackie actually thinks cats can suck the soul out of babies and even kill them.

Forget beating a dead horse, they're EXHUMING them at the Hollywood Park race track ... in an effort to relocate the expired animals before the track is torn down.

One of the horses being dug up is Native Diver ... a former champion who won over $1 million in his career before he died in 1967. He was buried beside the track in a grave marked with a special monument.

But now that Hollywood Park is closed for good, Native Diver's former owner says he doesn't want to see the horse buried under the real estate development that's set to replace the track.

So, he went to USC and asked the archaeology department to help excavate the horse ... which will be moved to Del Mar race track in San Diego before he's placed in a permanent resting spot.

The students who are assisting on the dig have already unearthed Native Diver. According to reports, there are two more horses set for excavation.

Katharine McPhee's back with her hubby ... and their dogs.

It's been nearly 5 months since Katharine publicly sucked face with her married "Smash" director Michael Morris -- and sources close to the actress tell us, Katharine has been working hard to patch things up with her husband Nick Cokas.

Katharine and Nick are currently living apart -- but we're told they've been hanging out together more and more often recently ... Katharine even bought Nick a brand new Rolex as a make-good for the public humiliation.

Must have worked too -- we're told Nick's leaning toward taking her back.

What did the rooster say the morning after his wife cheated? Cuckoldoodledoo.

George Zimmerman has figured out a way to exploit what made him famous -- GUNS.

Zimmerman did a meet-and-greet Saturday at an Orlando gun shop. People lined up for an autograph pic of Zimmerman and his dog ... actually only around 20 people lined up.

It's a page out of the OJ playbook ... get acquitted of killing someone, and then show up places and sign autographs.

One funny thing ... the pic Zimmerman signed is clearly from days past, when he weighed 50 lbs less ... and that's being generous.

Bindi Irwin -- the newly-minted spokesperson/tool for SeaWorld ... will gladly talk about Australian mammals, but dare to even dance around the subject of whales and you'll get shut down.

Bindi and her mom were cruising through Rockefeller Plaza in NYC when our photog asked the 15-year-old about her favorite animal. She was all chatty until our guy switched gears and asked her if she was an animal expert ... and that's all she wrote.

The handler swooped in and shut things down, because it was clearly headed in a "Blackfish" direction.

Alanis Morissette was knee deep in piss -- courtesy of her 10-pound stray dog -- and she wanted to 86 it from her life ... so claims her former "house manager" who's accused of stealing the pooch.

Maria Garcia tells TMZ she's had the chihuahua/dachshund mix, Circus, full time at her home on orders of Alanis.

Garcia says Alanis couldn't stand the dog because he was an aggressive eater, had health issues and pooped and peed with aplomb indoors. On top of that ...Alanis was allergic to the pup.

Maria tells us ... Alanis has only seen the dog once in the past year and when Garcia asked if she wanted him back ... she said absolutely not.

We broke the story ... Alanis claims Garcia stole Circus out revenge after being fired -- and now Morissette and her husband are suing Garcia for $25K ... and she wants the dog returned.

Garcia says she can't afford to fight the lawsuit ... but feels compelled to clear her good name.

Alanis Morissette's little puppy dog is gone, gone, gone -- snatched by an ex-housekeeper, according to the singer, and it's gonna be tough to get the little guy back.... 'cause cute pooches get no respect in court.

It's enough to make Alanis go ... chihua-waaaughhh! (Sorry, that was awful)