Pets

The holidays call for time well spent with those closest to you, and with social distancing and travel plans canceled -- for some, that means spending Christmas with your four-legged friends.

Arielle Kebbel, Wells Adams, and Bethenny Frankel are just a few of the stars that are getting into the spirit by sharing snaps of their fir fur babies in front of the tree to prep for a meowy Christmas and yappy New Year!

Anyone interested in frying up a little python?? Well, if you live in Florida, you're in luck.

Turns out python may be the new chicken in the Sunshine State, because the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Dept. of Health may give the green light to make the slithery creature a menu item in restaurants and at home.

The snakes are overtaking the Everglades, creating risks to other wildlife.

The wild card is mercury. Scientists are evaluating whether mercury levels in the snakes are at acceptable levels. Problem is ... the smart money is on mercury levels being too high for human consumption, but scientists aren't sure, so they're testing 6,000 pythons.

We're told they can actually be delicious. Some folks like to turn them into jerky, but they can also be cooked in various other ways.

A Florida congresswoman's dog appears to be just as pissed as she is that the Senate and House can't seem to pass a stimulus package -- 'cause the pooch wouldn't shut up during a live interview over the hotly-debated issue.

Rep. Donna Shalala appeared Saturday morning on CNN, where anchor Fredricka Whitfield was asking her about the stalled stimulus bill that is once again facing a logjam in the Senate ... and risks not being approved at all if Dems and Republicans can't strike a deal.

The Florida Democrat was voicing her frustration over the fact her colleagues from the other side appear to once again be holding up negotiations ... when, all of a sudden, her pup started yapping like crazy off-camera -- forcing her to go grab it to keep it quiet.

Whitfield handled the interruption like a pro ... noting this is what happens on live TV, especially when we're in a pandemic and a lot of people are working from home.

Funny enough, Rep. Shalala's dog -- whom she rescued from a shelter back in the summer, and named it Fauci -- was NOT done barking and fussing. As the congresswoman held him in her lap, he fidgeted and yelped ... at a few different points, she actually had to try and hold his snout closed, but the dog wouldn't let up.

The German Shepherd that survived an horrific incident of animal cruelty is getting a Christmas miracle ... the pooch will spend the holiday in a loving foster home in Florida.

The dog, which Volusia County Sheriff's officials appropriately named "Miracle," is being cared for by a foster care individual who kindly offered up their home ... according to Volusia County Animal Services director Adam Leath.

Miracle was in Animal Services custody after her owner, Allison Murphy, was arrested after police body cam video showed her throwing the dog off a second floor, motel balcony during an interaction with Sheriff's deputies ... but we're told Animal Services didn't want the pooch to live in a cage so they found her a temporary home.

As we reported ... Miracle amazingly didn't get injured in her fall -- thus her name -- and cops jumped to her rescue after she tried to run away.

Miracle got fully checked out at an animal hospital, where a vet only saw a few scrapes and bruises to her feet. She actually landed feet first. She was hospitalized overnight and is on pain meds.

Animal Services also tells us the exam turned up a sewing needle in Miracle's left rear thigh ... they don't know how the needle got there, and it's now part of the felony animal cruelty investigation against the owner.

While Miracle's got a new foster parent -- whom we're told will remain anonymous because of the ongoing criminal case -- whoever adopts Miracle will have to wait until the outcome of the criminal case against the owner.

We're told Animal Services will present evidence to a judge Dec. 28 to make certain Miracle is never returned to her owner.

If you're looking for a Christmas miracle, look no further than this German Shepherd ... which survived an horrific incident of animal cruelty at a Florida motel.

The pooch has, appropriately, been named "Miracle" by the Volusia County Sheriff's deputies who showed up Monday at a Daytona Beach motel ... responding to calls about a suicidal woman.

The deputies went to her 2nd floor room and knocked on the door, but got no reply from the woman for a few minutes. When she finally opened the door she quickly stepped out with the dog, immediately picked it up and threw it over the railing as deputies yelled and tried to stop her.

Cops pounced on Allison Murphy and arrested her on the spot. During the arrest, you hear them asking other deputies outside the room if the dog is okay.

Amazingly, she is! Miracle didn't even break anything, and cops were able to recover her as she tried to run away after the fall.

Miracle is now in the custody of Animal Services.

As for Murphy ... she was booked for felony animal cruelty and resisting an officer without violence. She's still in custody.

Dwight Howard has a HUUUUUGE snake -- we're talking a 200-pound constrictor -- but the 2 women tasked with caring for it say the NBA star screwed them when it came time to pay up.

It's all in a lawsuit filed by Armica Nabaa and Kamisha Shelman -- who say they were hired by Howard in Dec. 2018 to provide personal management services.

Initially, the women thought they would be handling Dwight's business affairs and administrative tasks ... but as time went on, the women claim Howard put more responsibilities on their plate.

In fact, the women claim Dwight fired his groundskeeper, butler and maid -- the people who run his 35,000 square foot home -- forcing the women to pick up the slack.

One of their new tasks, according to the suit, including caring for Howard's exotic snake collection.

In their suit, the women say the collection is "comprised of a number of large snakes" including one named Cleopatra -- "a constrictor that can grow to a final length of 25 feet and over 200 pounds."

FYI, Howard's snake collection was once featured on the show "Tanked."

The problem ... the women claim Howard suddenly fired them without warning in January 2020 while still owing them a TON of money for services rendered.

What's worse ... Nabaa claims she helped revive Dwight's NBA career -- using her "network and contacts to connect Mr. Howard with individuals that resulted in his lucrative and unexpected contract with the Los Angeles Lakers."

She says Howard even thanked her and gave her partial credit for helping land the deal during a national television interview.

Now, the women are demanding at least $50,000 in unpaid wages -- plus other fees and damages.

Lisa Vanderpump's Pomeranian dog, Giggy, has died ... leaving a big dent in both Lisa's heart, and the hearts of many others who've encountered the famous pooch over the years.

The Bravo reality star and restaurant owner broke the sad news Saturday ... "We are devastated to say that our beloved Giggy has passed away this morning. He was truly loved, and we know how many of you loved him too."

Lisa added, "Our sweet Gigolo was such an incredible, unique dog, but mainly, because of him, we started The Vanderpump Dog Foundation and embarked on our mission to save as many dogs as possible."

Finally, she writes, "He inspired us to start our work in rescue, and for that we will always be grateful. Giggy’s legacy will live on, through every dog @vanderpumpdogs saves. Thank you all for your support. Rest In Peace Giggy, we love you. - Ken & Lisa- Dolly"

Giggy was perhaps Lisa's most popular of her eight dogs -- often seen dressed up in little doggy outfits, including mini tuxes and bow ties, sweaters and even hats. The reason for that ... Lisa announced Giggy was actually afflicted with alopecia, which causes patches in a dog's fur and affects the growth of hair (same deal for humans too, BTW).

The disease is not deadly ... and it's unclear if it had any bearing on Giggy's passing. It's possible the pooch died of old age -- the little guy was pushing at least 10.

Giggy will be remembered for his extravagant outfits and his red carpet appearances too -- he would often accompany Lisa for premieres and other events, and would usually be getting carried instead of walked on a leash. Of course, he was also freakin' adorable.

The dog was also known for celeb cameos and photoshoots -- he met Ellen DeGeneres, Drake, 'Real Housewives' cast members ... and countless other stars over the years. Giggy also appeared several times on 'Vanderpump Rules' ... he for sure was a fan fave.

Oh, and BTW ... we got a kick out of him too, especially when we got him on video in 2014, as he posed for photogs with his mom. Yeah, Giggy was a natural, and loved by all.

Jenelle Evans' pet family just got a whole lot bigger ... but it seems a lot of people have a problem with that.

The reality TV star shared a cute video of her 9 new pitbull puppies nursing on their mama. Jenelle says she found the mother a couple weeks ago chained outside in the cold and took her home after attempts to locate the owner were unsuccessful.

Now she's given birth to the litter, and that means Jenelle -- and most notably, her husband, David Eason -- are caring for 10 new puppies ... something that doesn't sit well with a lot of animal lovers.

Jenelle says people keep calling the cops once they see what's going on in her house. Jenelle posted photos and videos of the newborn pups.

Of course, that's because David snapped and killed their family dog in April 2019 after it nipped at their baby ... which they'd foolishly left too close to the dog. The disturbing ordeal led to their kids being temporarily taken away and a brief breakup of their marriage.

They've gotten the kids back and reconciled, though ... and already welcomed a new puppy earlier this year, along with 2 other dogs and a goat.

Still, people clearly haven't gotten over what David did -- or, they're worried about more examples of his troubling behavior -- and don't like the idea of Jenelle and him having more pets.

Cover your eyes if you hate seeing dogs get hurt, because this pit bull nearly had its head gnawed off by a bear before its owner courageously jumped in to save him.

Meet Buddy -- a rescue dog -- who was viciously attacked in his own backyard by a 350-lb bear the day before Thanksgiving in the Northern California city of Grass Valley, just outside the Tahoe National Forest, and not too far from Sacramento.

According to Buddy's owner, Kaleb Bentham, he heard commotion outside that Wednesday and some growling. When he went out to check, he says he saw a massive bear dragging Buddy away by the head, with its jaws clamped down tight and Buddy squirming.

Without hesitation, Bentham says he charged the beast and actually tackled it to the ground -- going on to start wailing on its head, and hitting it in the eye ... in hopes of forcing it to loosen its grip on Buddy. Miraculously, the bold move worked ... and the bear let go.

Not only that, but it sounds like Kaleb was able to scare the animal off without suffering any harm himself. He then had to rush a seriously injured Buddy to an ER vet clinic -- as you can see ... the doggo was in incredibly bad shape, on the verge of death even.

Buddy's face was damn near skinned, his ears were torn off, his mouth had been bitten through and so had his eyes. Bentham stood by as the pooch went into surgery -- a life-saving procedure that saw Buddy receive multiple staples, stitches and tubes.

While it might look like Buddy was out for the count, the dog has made an incredible recovery since then ... with a majority of his face starting to scab, as Bentham continues to care for him. He detailed the pup's full injuries to CBS 13 in Sacramento.

Buddy's got a cone on his head, but it sounds like he's gonna be okay.

Here's the kicker ... Bentham says he's actually seen the bear roaming his yard a few different times since the attack. In his eyes, he sees it as a wild animal having had its meal literally ripped out of its mouth, and that it keeps coming back to settle the score.

The Queen is down to just one dog after the passing of her dorgi named Vulcan.

Queen Elizabeth's dog died at Windsor Castle -- according to Buckingham Palace -- where she and Prince Philip have been staying amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 94-year-old British monarch is known for her love of dogs, and Vulcan was one of the 4 that appeared with her in a set of portraits shot for her 90th birthday by famed photog Annie Leibovitz.

Vulcan's death leaves her with just Candy, another dorgi, after a lifetime of owning multiple corgis and dorgis since she was gifted a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday.

Though her last purebred corgi that was a descendant of Susan died in 2018, the Queen reportedly engineered the dorgi mix -- corgi and dachshund -- years ago by breeding her corgis with her late sister Princess Margaret's dachshunds.

Bottom line -- the lady loves her pups and has been photographed enjoying their company for decades. However, in 2015 she stated she didn't want to get any more dogs for fear of leaving a young pooch behind ... so Candy might be her last pet.

Sadly, news of Vulcan's death comes just weeks after Prince William and Kate lost their family dog too ... a cocker spaniel named Lupo.

Rescuers from 3 different conservation groups are sticking their necks out for 8 giraffes that have been stranded on an island in Kenya ... and 2 have already made it back to safety.

Here's what's happening -- the poor Rothschild's giraffes got trapped on an island in Lake Baringo due to rising water levels flooding it ... which separated them from the resources they need to survive.

In order to save them, the Kenya Wildlife Service, a U.S. nonprofit called Save Giraffes Now and an African conservation org called the Northern Rangelands Trust have combined their efforts in an unusual rescue mission ... using a barge built for a giraffe to float them back to the mainland one at a time.

So far, 2 of the 8 giraffes have successfully made the 4-mile trek from the island ... and have been relocated to a special sanctuary where they can survive and thrive.

One of them was a female named Asiwa that was stranded on a more remote part of the island, making her rescue a top priority. However, the president of Save Giraffes Now says there's major urgency to saving the rest as well ... as they are an endangered species in Africa, and only about 800 left in Kenya.

As for the barge, get this ... it was engineered by local community members, who have also learned how to train the giraffes to enter the barge voluntarily.

Here's hoping everything goes well with the other 6.

This sea turtle deserves to live after amazingly fighting off a hungry tiger shark -- captured on video -- just long enough for a couple of dudes to save his shell.

The 2 men were fishing in the waters around the Bahamas when they noticed the turtle desperately trying to escape the jaws of the shark ... in fact, it looks like it was about to lose the battle. The razor-sharp teeth were biting into the back end of the shell, but the turtle was still trying to swim away.

The turtle then made a serious power move ... trying to swim up onto the back of the boat. When the shark fell back for a moment, the fishermen sprung into action -- they had just enough time to pick up the turtle.

It's unclear if the guys waited for the shark to disappear ... but they eventually released it back into the water. One helluva save, for sure!!!

Pet ownership in Australia is freakin' wild -- snakes and other scary critters will try to eat your dog whole ... like this one almost did.

Check out this scary footage of a carpet python latching on to a 9-week-old puppy named Jasper, trying to squeeze the life out of the pup in a backyard near Brisbane.

It happens in a matter of seconds -- Jasper's casually sniffing around when the python strikes from out of a bush. Jasper tries to squirm away, but the snake's grasp is secure.

Thankfully, the owners realized what was happening and hurried out to free their baby canine from the serpent, but it wasn't easy. You see them smack it in hopes of forcing the snake to let go, and even lift it up and swing it around while it's still got a grip on Jasper.

The owner eventually manages to toss the python aside, and we're here to tell you this story has a happy ending ... for both animals. Jasper ended up being okay -- aside from a bite in his ear, which his owners treated, he's back to his usual self.

This is the definition of a sitting duck -- a dead bird gunned down by hunters got swallowed up by a massive alligator ... and it's all on video!!!

The wildlife (and death) scene went down on a Florida lake after some hunters had shot down the duck. Its body was floating when an absolutely enormous gator came into the picture.

The hunters instantly knew they had zero chance to claim their prize when they saw ol' Godzilla here swimming toward the carcass.

The gator opened wide and the whole duck disappeared in one big gulp. Apparently, duck is kinda gamey ... as the alligator took a good 20 chomps to get down the fowl snack. Maybe it just likes playing with its food.

Truthfully, this wouldn't be that bizarre of a scene -- definitely bad timing for the hunters -- but what really stands out is the SIZE of this reptile. Florida, man.

Cher spent some time with the Asian elephant she helped rescue from miserable conditions in Pakistan ... following him to his new home in Cambodia.

The icon's been working with other animal activists since 2016 to free Kaavan ... a 36-year-old pachyderm dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant" after his partner died in 2012.

Kaavan had been living for years in Pakistan's controversial Islamabad zoo, where he reportedly suffered from lack of exercise and other ailments due to living in an inappropriate structure.

Thankfully, the zoo was closed earlier this year and thanks to the efforts of Cher and her charity Free the Wild ... the animal welfare organization Four Paws got permission to remove Kaavan and send him to a sanctuary in Cambodia.

Cher visited Kaavan where he was being held in Pakistan to celebrate his departure a couple days ago, and followed him to the Siem Reap International Airport Monday for his arrival.

Pet owners showed some serious love to Kobe Bryant in 2020 -- with Mamba-inspired pet names up BIG over the past year, new data shows.

The famous dog-walking site Rover.com has crunched the numbers for its annual list of the most popular pet names ... which shows fans are honoring the NBA legend by passing on his name (and nickname) to their beloved furry family members.

The name "Mamba" is up 111% from 2019 -- the biggest spike.

"Black Mamba" is up 58% and "Kobe" is up 16%.

The site says the name "Gianna" is also up 20% from 2019, which Rover suspects is also connected to fans paying tribute to Bryant's daughter, Gigi.

Other notable increases ... Rover says the name LeBron is up among dog owners. Michael Jordan is up big with cats.

Neymar is one of the top trending athlete-inspired dog names of 2020 -- with a 58% increase.

They also note Tom Brady is seeing a surge in pet name popularity ... probably from people in Tampa?!

Obviously, the rise in Kobe-inspired names comes from people looking to honor Bryant following his death back in January.

As we previously reported, BabyCenter is also seeing a surge in people naming their human children after Kobe and Gianna as well.

The name Kobe vaulted from #595 on the list in 2019 to #216 in 2020 -- "far and away the biggest riser on the list for boys in 2020."

As for Gianna, her name among newborns rose from #76 to #24 (seriously, #24).