In the News

Cops Kick in Door to Find Bird Squawking for Help
Cries for help inside a Trenton, N.J., home turned out to be for the birds. Neighbors called police Wednesday morning after hearing a woman's persistent cry of "Help me! Help me!" coming from a house. Officers arrived and when no one answered the door, they kicked it in to make a rescue.
But instead of a damsel in distress, officers found a caged cockatoo with a convincing call.
It wasn't the first time the 10-year-old bird named Luna said something that brought authorities to the home of owner Evelyn DeLeon.
About seven years ago, the bird cried like a baby for hours, leading to reports of a possible abandoned baby and a visit to the home by state child welfare workers. But it was only Luna practicing a newfound sound, DeLeon says.
DeLeon says her bird learns much of her ever-growing vocabulary from watching television, in both English and Spanish.
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Labrador had a full stomach
A dog had to have 13 golf balls removed from its stomach after eating them on walks around a golf course.
Owner Chris Morrison had been taking five-year-old black Labrador Oscar round the Pitreavie golf course in Dunfermline for several months.
He took Oscar to the vet after noticing a rattling sound coming from his pet's stomach.
They then discovered that 13 balls - each weighing 45 grams - were lodged in his stomach.
Mr Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the balls had been in his stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing.
He said: "He finds golf balls like truffles. We're not sure how long exactly this happened over, but it must have been a fair period - several months at least.
"I felt his stomach and heard them rattling around.
"He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many.
"The vet hadn't seen anything like it, it was bizarre.
"He is a black lab so he is a fair size, but to swallow 13 is quite amazing."
The balls were removed two weeks ago in a successful hour-long operation.
Oscar is now on the road to making a full recovery on a special post-operation diet of watered-down food.
He also has to wear a muzzle while out and about.
Mr Morrison added: "He does get a bit frustrated now and again."
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