‘Banana’ in the bathroom turned out to be boa constrictor

A woman was left shocked when she discovered that what she thought was a banana in her bathroom was actually a 4ft long boa constrictor.
Stacey Way, 28, was cleaning the bathroom floor when she noticed a yellow object next to the water pipe.
She assumed it was a banana her toddler had shoved down the side, and went to fetch her gloves to pick it up, but forgot about it.
A few days later she was bathing her two daughters and wiped the floor again when she suddenly saw the object move.
On closer inspection, she realised that the ‘banana actually had a mouth – and that it was a snake. More

Boy raised $25,000 dollars for World War II Veterans, fined by inspector

A Chewelah student who has raised more than $25,000 dollars for World War II Veterans is facing a hefty fine for his good deeds.

12-year-old Justin Peterson holds fundraisers year round for the Honor Flight Program. Last Saturday, he held another fundraiser at the Chewelah City Park.

While selling hamburgers, a health inspector stopped by Peterson’s booth and fined him $170 for not having the proper food permit.

Peterson said, “She charged us for it and I was kind of sad. I was just trying to raise money for vets.”

The Health District isn’t forgiving the fines, but board members have agreed to pay them off using their own money. More

Pet owners spend big bucks on dental work to give dogs dazzling smiles

Australia – Pet owners are spending up big on orthodontic braces, cosmetic dental work, root canal fillings, polishes and mouth washes to give their pooches dazzling, no-gap smiles and “kissable breath”.
Veterinary surgeon Kevin Cruickshank said: “There is a big shift in how pet owners look after their pets. They want them to fit in with the family, and many are treated like children.”
Image-conscious owners wanted their pets to look good – and there is nothing fun about “doggy kisses” by an animal with severe gum disease, said Dr Cruickshank, who runs the Gold Coast Vet Surgery, which has a specialist dental suite.
“I have come across pet-owners who have braces put on their dogs because the teeth are crooked, or get teeth fixed for cosmetic reasons to avoid gaps. More

Careful black bear raids Colorado candy store with no damage

A black bear went in and out of a Colorado candy store multiple times early one July morning, but he used the front door and didn't break a thing.
The bear did, however, steal some treats from the Estes Park store, including English toffee and some chocolate-chip cookies dipped in caramel and milk chocolate called "cookie bears."
Surveillance video at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory showed the bear prying open the door and grabbing some candy near the registers. He took the treats outside and ate them, then returned for more. More

Thousands of bees on plane wing delay flight

 A beekeeper says he had to be called into gather up a swarm of thousands of bees that delayed a Delta Air Lines flight from Pittsburgh International Airport to New York.
Master beekeeper Stephen Repasky tells KDKA-TV he was called out when the bees gathered on the wing of the plane as crews were getting ready to fuel the plane.
Repasky says such swarms form when colonies become too large and the queen leaves half of her bees behind to find a new home. Some swarms can contain 25,000 to 30,000 bees.
Repasky says it’s likely there’s a wild honeybee colony at the airport somewhere. More

Monkeys Treated for Depression in Argentina

Argentina - Black howler monkeys at an Argentine ecological park have been suffering depression following the death of two of the oldest females in the group and had to be given medication because they refused to eat, the press reported. Two alpha females died a year and a half years ago from natural causes at the Rio Cuarto Urban Ecological Park some 650 kilometers (400 miles) west of Buenos Aires, and from that moment "their male companions began suffering depression and four let themselves die of sadness," park director Miriam Rodriguez told Clarin newspaper. The black howler monkeys in this 12-hectare (30-acre) park "live in a group and are very close to one another," Rodriguez said. "When the females died, we noticed the others behaving oddly, but we thought it might have been something they ate." More

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Bobcat Breaks into Prison

 Security is tight at the Monroe Corrections Complex to keep 2,400 Washington state prisoners locked up, but it couldn’t stop a bobcat from breaking in.
Officers on a perimeter fence check apparently startled the cat about 11:30 p.m., said Department of Corrections spokesman Chad Lewis.
“And it ran the wrong direction,” he said, “through the razor-wire.”
The small, agile cat was able to make it through the fence that would trap a person. It suffered a few cuts in the process.
The cat climbed up on the roof of the special offenders unit where it was spotted a few hours later, its eyes glowing in the dark. More

Big Ben prepares for Olympic role

As Big Ben prepares to chime 40 times to mark the start of the London 2012
Olympics, The Telegraph climbs the 393 steps inside the clock tower to find
out how it will be done.

Unknown woman managed to march with India`s athletes

 A mysterious woman in red has caused an international incident at the London Olympics. Indian officials are mystified - and miffed - after an unknown young woman managed to march with the country`s athletes and officials during the opening ceremony. Games organizers downplayed security concerns around the unscripted moment, saying the interloper was a ceremony cast member and had screened before entering the Olympic Park. Images from Friday`s ceremony showed a young woman in turquoise jeans and a red jacket marching alongside Indian flag bearer Sushil Kumar at the head of the delegation of 40 athletes in bright yellow and navy blue. More

Python found wrapped around baby`s foot in apartment

Police say a 2-foot-long ball python slithered its way into an Illinois apartment and wrapped itself around the foot of a sleeping 1-year-old boy and bit him on his left foot. Mattoon Police Department Deputy Chief Jason Taylor said the boy`s parents were awakened by the child`s noises to find the snake attacking their son about 11 p.m., the Mattoon Journal-Gazette amp; Times-Courier reported. The father, Devin Winans, used a blanket to pull the python off the child, and his mother took the boy to a health center for treatment of a bite mark, bruise and scratches, the newspaper reported. Investigators believe the python escaped from a neighboring apartment within the building, Taylor said. Police have not been able to find the owner. More

Dog saved toddler from drowning in pool

An Indiana mom says her dog saved her toddler son from drowning after the child fell into the family`s swimming pool. Patricia Drauch tells Fox 28 she was walking to her garage with her 14-month-old son Stanley when she noticed her child was no longer behind her. She rushed to the backyard pool, where she found Stanley face-up. Her black lab Bear was holding the child on his back, ensuring Stanley was out of the water. The child was rushed to the hospital, where he regained consciousness and emerged unscathed. More

Rottweiler needs surgery after swallowing five-inch spoon

A fruit-loving dog had to have surgery after wolfing down a strawberry along with the spoon it was served on. Max the rottweiler had to have an emergency operation after getting the five-inch teaspoon lodged in his stomach. The 10-year-old`s owner, Annette Robertshaw, of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said her brother had been visiting her and was eating some strawberries when Max took a shine to them. He offered Max one on a teaspoon but was caught totally by surprise when the dog gulped down both items. Max did not suffer any immediate ill-effects but Mrs Robertshaw, 47, took him to her local PDSA pet hospital. An X-ray showed the spoon lodged firmly in Max`s stomach and he was rushed into surgery to remove it. PDSA veterinary surgeon Daniel Cook said: "I have never seen a dog that`s eaten a teaspoon before although we do see lots of odd things that dogs have eaten, such as socks and children`s toys."  More 

Man shoots himself trying to hit snake

A Molino man tried to remove a rattlesnake from his yard, but shot himself instead. Escambia County Deputies 55-year-old Michael Howle was taken by family to West Florida Hospital around 5 p.m. Howle says he was trying to kill a snake in his yard. When Howle spotted the snake, he told deputies he went inside to grab a gun to kill it. But in the yard, Howle says the rattler slithered its way around Howle`s right leg, tripping him. Howle says the snake was pinned beneath him, and when he tried to free it, his weapon discharged. Howle says he shot himself in the back of the ankle. More

Texas woman gets electric bill for $1.3 million

Texas – A woman recently opened up her monthly electric bill to find that she was charged $1.3million.
Kristin Harriger, of Abilene, Texas, received a bill from Dallas-based Potentia Energy earlier this month for a balance of $1,381,783.92.
The electric company blamed a third-party business that handled the billing for the mistake that also listed Ms Harriger responsible to pay an additional $66,000 if she paid the balance late.
Sehr Charania, Potentia external affairs officer, told Business Insider that the company acted promptly to resolve the problem.
She said: ‘When Ms. Harriger informed us of the erroneous bill, we responded within five minutes and assured her that we would rectify the situation, which is what we have done.’ More

Bear breaks in while cottagers golfed

Canada – It’s a frightening reminder of the consequences of letting your guard down in Manitoba’s bear country. And a group of cottagers are lucky that a big food mess, along with a busted door and windows, are their only damage because of it.
Ryan Owen, his father and a few friends returned to their cottage in the Falcon Lake area after playing golf to find its kitchen virtually turned upside down by a bear that had ripped open a window screen to get inside.
“There were paw prints on the counter,” Owen, 30, told QMI Agency. “It’s a big mess. And kind of scary.”
Their mistake, he said, was leaving a virtual smorgasbord on the counters, with only the cabin’s window screens to protect the goodies. More

$2,000 fine for feeding the birds

 Please stop feeding those wild turkeys! That may be the only humane way to deal with a foul flock of birds in Hainesport Township, New Jersey that seems to be getting increasingly aggressive.
“They come after my car all the time,” Melanie Morton told the Burlington County Times.
Morton said she even witnessed a wild turkey attacking a jogger one day. “It was terrifying,” Morton said.
Morton decided to investigate a little more; find out why the wild turkeys were hanging around her neighborhood. She claims a neighbor has been feeding them. So now the town is considering an ordinance to ban folks from feeding the birds. Violators would faces fines up to $2,000. More

Boy of 10 Breaks Teacher’s Leg

A boy of 10 knocked one teacher unconscious and shattered another’s knee cap after being told off, a court heard.
The pupil became angry after teachers confiscated a coin he had been noisily scraping on a desk.
As staff tried to calm him in a corridor, he floored one woman teacher with a head-butt. She now suffers from headaches, tinnitus and blurred vision.
Kicking out, he broke a 53-year-old teaching assistant’s knee cap. More