Houston man forfeits more than 1,000 rescued animals, moves out of house

A man who owned more than 1,000 recently seized birds, gerbils and other animals has agreed to forfeit all but two of them to the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Thirty-four-year-old Joselito Rivera Boado also agreed Wednesday to vacate his northwest Houston house in 30 days and forfeit his house to the county. That's in order to help satisfy $213,458 in medical and boarding costs for the animals that were seized by animal rescue personnel a week ago.

'Sticky,' cat found covered in duct tape in Philadelphia, finds new adoptive home

There's a happy ending for the cat found covered in duct tape and left in a yard in a residential section of Philadelphia,. The cat, nicknamed "Sticky" by her interim caregivers at the Philadelphia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has been adopted and is now safely at home with her new family.

Sticky was discovered Sept. 22 by the North Philadelphia woman in whose yard she'd been dumped, and reports of the extreme incident of cruelty spread quickly among fuming animal lovers. PSPCA staff reported that it took an hour to cut all the duct tape from the cat's body. (Sticky had to be sedated in order to complete the process.) PSPCA spokesman George Bengal told Philadelphia's ABC6 Action News that he'd never before encountered a case of animal cruelty like Sticky's, adding that "whoever did this took a lot of time. It was very methodical... [It is] a very sick individual that would do something like this to a cat."

In the days that followed, a number of people called the PSPCA claiming ownership of Sticky, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.  None of the claims appears to have been legitimate, however, since each caller was given the opportunity to come to the shelter to offer proof that they were the cat's legal owner.  None of them showed. With no owner forthcoming, the PSPCA offered Sticky for adoption -- and received more than 100 requests to adopt her. The group considered the requests on a first-come-first-served basis (Sticky's eventual adopters, who chose to remain anonymous, put in a request shortly after word of the cat's abuse broke), and the cat went home with her new family Tuesday. 

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck throws a frog in boiling water (maybe)

We're not quite sure we can actually believe our eyes -- but it seems that Fox News host Glenn Beck has thrown a live frog into boiling water on his television program.

"You know the old saying ... if you put a frog into boiling water, he's gonna jump right out because he's scalding hot, but if you place the frog in lukewarm water and gradually raise the temperature, the frog won't realize what's happening and die," Beck said to his primarily conservative audience.  "Let me get the frogs." 

The camera showed his hand feeling around in an aquarium.  Apparently having grabbed one ("Okay... All right ... So you have the little frogs.  You have the little frogs here"), Beck turned back to the camera and steered the conversation, predictably, to a favorite topic: the president. "Barack Obama has galvanized the country because of the sheer size of the bills he's proposed, and the number of the bills, the urgency he's been placing on the bills, he's forced us to think and get involved," Beck said before inserting a comparison between Republicans and said frogs in boiling  water. 

That was the wind-up. The pitch -- quite literally, Beck threw a small item that his audience was left to assume was a live animal into a pot topped by rising steam -- was apparently not quite what he had in mind.  When no tiny object leaped from the water (the dramatic effect one would assume he was trying to achieve), Beck gazed curiously at the rising steam before turning once more to the camera. 

Additional 90 charges filed against man who blamed child pornography downloads on his cat

When a Florida man was charged last month for possession of child pornography and blamed his cat for downloading more than 1,000 illegal images onto his computer, law enforcement officials were, rather understandably, skeptical. 

The man, Keith Griffin of Jensen Beach, told investigators that the cat was a habitual keyboard-stepper, tapping away while Griffin downloaded music. Officials responded by slapping Griffin with 10 charges of child pornography possession -- and late last week, they added 90 more charges to that tally, bringing the total to 100.  

Unleashed readers appear divided on the strange case. McKlean&Soberly noted that, in order for Griffin's story to make sense from a statistical perspective, there "should be other 'accidental' downloads -- other random sites hit by the cat in far larger numbers than the child porn hits. Right?"

But reader Dave B recalled his own cat's forays into the world of technology.  "My cat likes to play with the phone and push buttons. ... I've had to take all numbers off speed dial to stop outgoing calls," Dave B wrote.  "I had my office on speed dial on my home fax, and he would fax me and others occasionally (just a blank page, but with my home fax return number on it). Again, had to take all numbers off speed dial on the fax.  Never underestimate either the [intelligence] or curiosity of the feline world."

Griffin is being held at the Martin County Jail with bail set at $2.2 million, according to United Press International. As for the cat, it's reportedly being cared for by a family friend.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: Fortunately, this kitty's computer activity doesn't appear to include anything unsavory. Credit: outime via YouTube

Man arrested after trying to teach cat a lesson by shooting a gun

Presenting a brand-spanking-new feature here at Unleashed: "Don't. Just Don't."  Here, we'll cover all the ill-advised ideas we silly humans have for dealing with animals.  Generally speaking, they don't turn out well.  For example: 

A Boynton Beach, Fla., man told police that he'd been trying to teach his ill-mannered cat a lesson when he carried it to his garage, where he fired his handgun into a flotation device.  The resulting noise, apparently, was intended to scare the animal in an effort to convince it to do its business in the litter box (desired) rather than on the bed (where it apparently left a mess, causing the unfortunate firearm business).

The Associated Press reports that the cat was uninjured in the incident, but its owner is being held on a $5,000 bond after being charged with firing in an occupied residence (obvious) and using a firearm while under the influence (even more obvious).  No word on whether the cat was removed from his care.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Teen arrested in zoo theft of 3 squirrel monkeys, a Goeldi's monkey, and an Amazon parrot

West Palm Beach police arrested a 17-year-old boy late Friday in the theft of three squirrel monkeys, a Goeldi's monkey and a Green-cheeked Amazon parrot from the Palm Beach Zoo, according to police spokesman Chase Scott.

The suspect faces burglary and grand theft charges. Animal cruelty charges are pending in the case.

"We are investigating two other young adults in connection with the crime," Scott said.

Primate keeper Nancy Nill's worry lines were gone, replaced by a broad grin.

She was still in mom mode, closely monitoring the recovery of four monkeys and a parrot that had been stolen from the Palm Beach Zoo after Wednesday's closing time. But with their return Thursday afternoon, relief tempered her concern.

"Awesome. I feel awesome," Nill said. "I can sleep tonight."

Acting on a tip, police tracked the animals to an abandoned house on the 2532 Palmarita Road in Lake Clarke Shores, according to Scott.

Psychiatric exam scheduled for Michigan man with more than 100 live dogs (and 150 dead ones)

A man found to have more than 100 live dogs and 150 dead ones in his Detroit-area home will undergo a psychiatric exam to determine if he is competent to stand trial on animal cruelty charges.

Dearborn District Judge William Hultgren on Friday ordered an exam for 56-year-old Kenneth Lang Jr., who will return to court Dec. 4.

Authorities discovered in July that Lang was hoarding the dogs, mostly Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes. They say some of the dead dogs found in freezers in the home may have been killed with an injection to the heart or partially eaten by other dogs.

Lang's attorney has said his client needs treatment for an obsessive-compulsive disorder and shouldn't be punished.

Lang is charged with two counts of cruelty to 10 or more animals.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Associated Press