Barrington Hill's resident Mary Beth Holsteen entered a video of her pug spinning in circles to Alpo's nationwide contest asking consumers to show why their dog was a "meat maniac." Ike's pre-dinner dance moves won him the right to be on 2.5 million cans of Alpo and a one year supply of the grub. Mary Beth isn't doing too badly, either, collecting a cool $10,000 for the win as well as a party. In fact,......

Margaret: Marcus, I'm having sort of an off day. Let us turn to the internet in search of wonder. Marcus: Margaret, I have a bad case of Vacation Tummy and a dwindling IRA fund, so I accept your challenge. Margaret: I am leading off with bear video: I love you, bear video Marcus: Wow, that's great. I wish there had been more "dudes wearing bear costumes walking around town" during the media's Katrina coverage.......

Photo by Kudzuplanet For the first time in its 74-year history, the Brookfield Zoo closed Sunday after its animal habitats sustain serious storm damage. The zoo reopened yesterday, but several exhibits are still closed today, but the zoo itself has reopened. According to the zoo's press release, aAnimals not on exhibit include the big cats and bears...Mexican gray wolves, dolphins, sea lions, seals, as well as the entire Fragile Kingdom exhibit." [Chicago Zoological Society]......

"Dozens" of pigeons are dying in downstate Alton, IL, and some residents fear a nefarious character is poisoning the birds. The evidence? Numerous sluggish pigeons resisting peoples' efforts to shoo them away as they stay put for hours before dying; others flopping about in death throes; pigeon corpses lying about city streets and sidewalks; and unexplainable, random deposits of hard corn kernels left throughout Downtown, raising concerns that they might be poisonous. Gaaah! Pigeons......

Wayne Evans, of the 3700 block of West Dickens, was charged with aggravated cruelty to an animal today. Witnesses told police they saw Evans hold a kitten by the back of its neck and throw it off a second-story porch. "Police found the kitten, which is about 8 weeks old, lying in the street bleeding from the mouth and unable to move its hind legs." Evans apparently said he threw the cat because it scratched......

Donald Kolakowski of Niles has been charged with theft after he took home a puppy from a Petland store that he said was his but wasn't. According to the police Kolakowski saw a sign on the puppy's cage that said "I'm going home soon" and convinced an employee he was there to pick the dog up. She didn't ask for a receipt, and he apparently left with the miniature pinscher, who actually cost $1,600. The......

There is a new baby giraffe at Brookfield Zoo. The six-foot-tall male calf, born August 15, weighed 150 pounds at birth and is a welcome addition to the zoo’s Habitat Africa exhibit, which now has five giraffes. Giraffe Calf Facts: A new calf grows rapidly – sometimes up to an inch a day – and by 6 months will be fairly independent of its mother. Scientists have estimated that only 25 percent of infant giraffes......

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals bought 65 shares of Chicago-based DeVry University last week, part of a plan to escalate its campaign against the technical school's veterinary program. PETA plans to show up at DeVry's November 13 shareholders meeting to stage a protest and appeal to the board. According to the animal welfare organization, the St. Kitts-based Ross University veterinary school requires their students to operate on healthy animals. PETA charges that "healthy......

Ah, the travails of motherhood. Amazing how mothers continue on even in the harshest of environments: a jungle, a desert, or an alley in Albany Park. One opossum wouldn't let her urban surroundings keep her from her motherly duties of stowing her wee ones in her pouch (they are marsupials, after all). It also happens to be the winner of "The Most Disturbing Pic We've Seen All Week." Safe For Work but NSFTFOH (Not Safe......

An Orland Park man is facing animal cruelty charges after police discovered two sheep tied together in the back of the man's Worth autorepair shop. Senad Abdalla, 25, is also charged with violating the village's ordinance against keeping livestock. The sheep, who hadn't been well cared for, were taking to the Chicago Ridge Animal Welfare League. [Trib]......

Yoda the four-eared cat was adopted from "a pub on the South Side of Chicago" two years ago. His owners, Valerie and Ted Rock of Downers Grove, say he behaves just like other cats, and that his hearing is fine. The two extra ears make Yoda such a superstar that his owners worry someone may try to kidnap him, so he's under attentive watch. Ooow, my heart. [Telegraph, Metro, The Sun, Daily Mail]......

Four buffalo were shot and killed on I-55 in Braidwood this morning after they escaped from their farm. The hulking beasts were apparently running back and forth across the highway, and their owners shot them. You know, if Oregon Trail has taught us anything, it's that if you kill all the buffalo now, there won't be anything to eat later. Thanks, Braidwood. [AP]......

Just us, or is time kinda standing still today? Maybe it's because I had a second this morning where I for some reason believed today was Friday, which it is not. In any case, this "comfortable and practical dog coat" seems like a most excellent addition to any Cubs fan's pet wardrobe, and as far as dog outfits go, $29 for a large is not bad at all.......

Photo by Mmayes Three people were stabbed in Granddaddy's Deli on the 2300 block of West Taylor this afternoon. [WBBM] Governor Blagojevich wants to install speed cameras on the interstates and use money collected from those fines to fund an "elite tactical team" of police officers. [S-T] The Secret Service arrested a 22-year-old man in Florida Saturday for allegedly threatening to assassinate Barack Obama. Raymond Geisel denies that he made such statements. [AP] Register......

Looks like the attack memo went out to the entire tiger world this week*. A McHenry County man was mauled Tuesday at a circus-training farm when he got too close to the big cat. Hawthorn Corp, whose name may ring a bell if you follow animal rights news, owns around 50 tigers, 20 of which are currently off performing in circuses. [Trib, photo by mape_s] *Like the Twilight Bark dog gossip chain in 101 Dalmatians.......

Frank Lee, 67, is facing felony animal abuse charges after authorities found his four horses so severely neglected that two had to be euthanized. The horses were malnourished and living in manure-filled stalls, and their hooves were so overgrown the animals could barely walk. The sheriff's video from the stable is incredibly sad. The horses were kept at Bar L Equitation stables in unincorporated Bloom Township, and Donnie Edwards, the stable's manager, has also been......

A 16-year-old was mauled by three tigers at a zoo in Missouri yesterday. Dakota Ramel, who works at the facility, was attacked at Branson Interactive Zoo and Aquarium, formerly known as Predator World. He was apparently in the tiger pen taking a picture for a zoo patron when the attack happened. "While in the pen with the tigers, one of the tigers jumped on the victim and knocked him to the ground," Stone County Sheriff......

Danield John Collins, 39, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of domestic violence/animal cruelty and two counts of neglect of a dependent. He forced his 7-year-old daughter to stab the family's cat. Collins was arrested March 13 after he was accused of forcing his daughter to stab Boots, the family's eight-month-old feline, with a knife. The girl and Collins' 11-year-old son said their father ordered them to stab the cat because he wanted them to......

Photo by Greg Neise, Lincoln Park Zoo The Lincoln Park Zoo's rockhopper penguin chick made its debut this afternoon. The chick hatched in early July, and zookeepers don't yet know its sex, but that shouldn't dissuade us from coming up with adorable names for him or her.......

Animal activist and retired game-show host Bob Barker will testify before the Chicago City Council this morning, supporting a proposed ordinance that would require pet owners to spay or neuter their pets once they reach six months in age. "One of our most tragic animal problems is overpopulation and this ordinance would help immeasurably to solve that problem" Barker said in a statement released through Alderman Ed Burke's 14th Ward office. Burke, along with 19th......

Photo by toast322 Mayor Daley's latest gun buyback program is getting off to a slow start. [S-T] Wow. A Trib investigation found that Illinois's largest psychiatric facility "left sexual predators unguarded," failed to investigate charges of abuse, and " failed to share basic information as the savage violence left some youth worse off than when they arrived." [Trib] Math tattoos. Verizon phones are going to start working in subway tunnels. Yay? [S-T] What are......

Another freaking alligator. This one, about four feet long, is hanging out in a lake in the Will County Forrest Preserve. The preserve is usually closed to the public, so the animal doesn't pose a threat to the populace at large. But, you know, the gator isn't supposed to be there, so the Chicago Herpetological Society is pitching in to try to help capture it—alive—and release it in its native habitat. So far, the traps......

What the eff is going on in Munster these days? People are using cheese graters as weapons, depositing $1,000 bills and now 60-pound tortoises are roaming around. Good lord. Tank, an African spur thigh tortoise, had been wandering Indiana for over two weeks, after escaping from his home. He was found in Munster and has since returned to his owners. [AP, photo of a non-Tank tortoise by Stacy Lynn]......

Photo by Deltasly That's basically how we feel today.......

"Between one and three" ticks were found on a United plane originating in Chicago yesterday. Eeeeew. The plane, at that point in Denver and heading to Des Moines, was taken out of rotation to be cleaned, and no bugs were found on any passengers. [CNN]......

Emanuel Lopez, 19, was sentenced to 60 days in jail today for stealing a 2-pound Pomeranian puppy and then blowing marijuana smoke in the dog's face until the animal "passed out." Judge John Kinsella said the behavior was "the bottom rung of humanity." Lopez was convicted of stealing the dog from a Petland in Naperville with the help of two of the store's employees. According to the Assistant State's Attorney prosecuting the case, "no one......

Bank of America is changing all the LaSalle Bank billboards over to reflect the company's new post-acquisition name, but one lonely sign will be keeping its LaSalle designation for a while thanks to a hawk that's made its nest there. The red-tail hawk has aggressively defended its home on a sign near where S Kedzie and I-57 meet, and according to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, people can't disturb it. Bird experts say the animal......

Photos taken by Greg Neise, Lincoln Park Zoo Keo, a male chimpanzee at the Lincoln Park Zoo, is 50 years old today, which makes him one of the oldest chimps in any U.S. zoo. To celebrate, Nadeau's Ice Sculpture Inc. donated a 600-pound "fruit filled ice sculpture." That's Keo in the foreground and Vicky in the background. A slightly more celebratory chimp photo after the jump.........

An alligator was found in the Chicago River near 37th Street this afternoon. A concerned citizen spotted the approximately 6-foot long alligator and contacted the police, who captured the animal. Holy shit. [S-T]......

U.S. Marshals seized pet food stored in an apparently rat-infested PETCO warehouse in Joliet yesterday. The FDA had inspected the facility in April and found, according to the Sun-Times, "live and dead rodents and birds on or around the containers of pet food, as well as rodent pellets and bird droppings throughout the facility. Inspectors allegedly found holes and gaps in the warehouse allowing entry for the birds and rodents, and observed debris outside the......