I’ll Dye My Dog If I Want To

Dog owner Erik Torres, who owns a pet store in Doral, Fla., is facing charges after he brought his dog, which he had dyed so that it looked like the video game character Pikachu, to a Miami Heat game. “It made NBA history because nobody’s ever seen a Pikachu dog sitting next to an NBA player before,” Torres said. Miami-Dade County Animal Services officials were not amused. “No animal should be dyed, regardless of whether there’s an ordinance prohibiting that,” said assistant director Kathleen Labrada. She noted it is “unlawful for any person to possess, sell or otherwise transfer within the county any dyed or artificially colored rabbit or other animal.” Torres is fighting the charge, saying the dog is not for sale and he used dye that is safe for consumption. He also has no plans to remove the dye.

Vandalized By Tree

Police in the village of Warzymice, Poland, are hunting for an unlikely culprit in a vandalism case: a Christmas tree. The odd figure cut a hole in a fence and slashed the tires of 21 vehicles belonging to a meat warehouse around 1 am. Cameras recorded the whole incident. The tree figure was seen loitering nearby and covering himself with branches taken from nearby trees before committing the crime. Mateusz Watral, who works for the meat company, called it “more of a guerilla action than a well-prepared operation. Along the way he lost his camouflage. Branches were scattered everywhere.”

There’s An American Crocodile?

Alligator intrusions in Florida are so frequent that News of the Weird has stopped reporting them. But in Brevard County in Melbourne Beach, a 9-foot-long American crocodile, which is seldom seen so far north, was just chilling on a beach. “American crocodiles typically live in coastal areas throughout the Caribbean, and southern Florida is at the very north end of their range,” noted the county’s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. Uh, not anymore.

They’re Just Plants!

A photographer in Western Cape, South Africa, set off alarm bells after he posted some shots on Facebook that eerily resembled scenes from The War of the Worlds. Jan Vorster’s shots showed creepy creatures emerging from the surf. The photos provoked 22,000 comments. But Vorster, 62, said the spidery “creatures” are just dead aloe vera plants. “I thought I could use this as a metaphor for how people see these plants as aliens, but we are actually the two-legged aliens messing up their world,” he said.

He Takes His Corn Seriously

At a KFC restaurant in St. Louis, a man in the drive-thru asked for corn with his meal. When the employee told him they were out of corn, he made threatening remarks, then drove up to the window displaying a handgun. A 25-year-old employee went outside to speak with the suspect, who allegedly shot him. The victim is now hospitalized with his injuries. The suspect took off after the shooting; police are still looking for him.

When Toddlers Stroll Through The Jungle

In Katwe Kabatoro, Uganda, a 2-year-old boy was playing near a lake when a hippo grabbed his head and swallowed half his body. Bystander Chrispas Bagonza witnessed the event and started chucking rocks at the hippo, which caused it to spit the toddler out. 

As the beast lumbered away, onlookers rushed the child to the hospital, where he was treated for injuries sustained in the attack. Police warned residents in the area to be on the lookout for hippos, as they can become aggressive when they feel threatened.

Green Onions

Motorists in Marathon, Fla., who didn’t heed the school zone speed limit in December were given a choice: get either a citation or an onion presented by the Grinch. Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Lou Caputo, a 37-year veteran of the force, started dressing up as the surly green character more than 20 years ago.

 “It’s about education: awareness that our school zones are still operating even though it’s the holiday season,” Caputo said. “It catches them off guard.” Some speeders even elected to eat the onion right on the spot. 

World Traveler

When 8-year-old Maddock Lipp went skiing with his family on Mount Heogh in Antarctica, he became the youngest person to ski on all seven continents. 

Lipp said he liked Antarctica best because he “got to ski next to the penguins.” He hopes to nab a Guinness World Record for the accomplishment.

There’s No Point In Watching If You Miss The Beginning

An Argentinian soccer superfan became alarmed as he headed home to watch his team’s match with Croatia in the World Cup semifinals. The 53-year-old was frustrated at the slow progress of the bus he was riding. So when the driver stopped and stepped out to buy something at a kiosk, the soccer fan allegedly hopped into the driver’s seat and took off toward his home. 

He drove 4 miles, then abandoned the bus and its occupants and continued on foot. But police officers caught up with him and took him into custody. And he missed the whole game.

A Bloody Good Gimmick

Elito Circa, 52, a Philippine artist, creates his paintings with an unusual medium: his own blood. Circa says that his use of his blood started when he was young and he had little access to painting supplies. 

Now he gets his blood for painting every three months when he goes to Manila’s health clinic to have 500 ml extracted, which he stores in a cooler in his studio. “My artwork is very important to me because they come from me, it is from my own blood, my DNA is part of it,” Circa said.

This Guy Likes Karens

One British TV and radio personality can’t bear to see the besmirched name of Karen go out of style. So he has a plan. Matt Edmondson has vowed to pay 100 people to legally change their name to Karen, with the hope that they’ll keep the name relevant. 

What’s the catch? He’ll pay you the standard fee to have your name changed — $50. He’s also launching a board game called — you guessed it — Karen.

Take Her Face Out Of The Soup

Police officers in London were summoned to Laz Emporium, an art gallery, after someone placed a call about a person in distress. In a gallery window, the figure of a woman could be seen slumped over, with her face in a bowl of soup. Officers broke into the gallery, only to find that the “woman” was a mannequin, and the scene was art. The American artist, Mark Jenkins, created the piece, titled Kristina, on a commission from the gallery’s owner. Turns out these officers weren’t the first to be fooled; paramedics were called out to assist the “woman” in October.

Squirrels Win War

A homeowner in East Grand Forks, Minn., was puzzled when he discovered five bullet holes in the siding of his house, along with another in his son’s bedroom window. 

Police were summoned, and they questioned a next-door neighbor, Michael James Powers, 76, who readily admitted that he’d been shooting at a squirrel that was on his bird feeder; as he put it, “that’s war.” Powers was aiming from his own bedroom window, and said it wasn’t the first time he’d shot at squirrels.

 He offered to go talk to “the other guy” and make it right, but officers had something different in mind. They arrested him for reckless discharge of a firearm. When Powers told his wife he was being arrested, she responded, “Well, I told you.”

Give Me A Double Or I’ll Burn That Cop Car To The Ground

Anthony Thomas Tarduno, 48, saved the Hernando County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office the trouble of investigating after one of their patrol cars was set on fire in Spring Hill, Fla. 

As officers looked over the scene, Tarduno walked up and confessed to being the arsonist, saying he “had been drinking at a bar … and decided he’d like to set [the cruiser] on fire.” 

Tarduno placed a bag of garbage under the patrol vehicle and used a lighter to set it ablaze, police said. Tarduno admitted to detectives that when he gets drunk, he does “stupid things.”

Faster Than A Two-Legged Fox

In Derbyshire, England, Phil and Jane Carter are used to seeing foxes on their lawn. But recently, Jane spotted a fox nosing around their turf looking for something to eat while balancing on its front legs — the only legs it had. 

She yelled at her husband to come see it. “It was fascinating,” Phil said. “It stood bolt upright and ran like a human being on two legs.” 

He got in touch with experts at the Derbyshire Nature Reserve, who told him the fox was likely born with the disability and had learned to survive. 

While foxes are usually shy, this special animal hung around for 45 minutes before it took off “like a rocket,” Phil said.