An errant poodle disrupted traffic when it ran from a train onto the tracks in Oakland, California. It was later spotted leaving the tracks near West Oakland. There’s no word of an owner, or whether the dog had a ticket. See, La Crosse Tribune: Runaway Poodle Disrupts Oakland Commuter Trains.

Resourceful. Sometimes, perhaps it’s better not to eat one’s vegetables. See, La Crosse Tribune: Montana Woman Fends off Bear Attack with Zucchini

Maryellen Mara-Christian’s hunting trip to South Carolina was a memorable one – she got an alligator weighing more than a thousand pounds. For all it’s size, the animal offered only a small amount of meat: of the 1,025-pound animal, only 40 pounds were reportedly edible. See, La Crosse Tribune: Woman Bags 1,025-Pound Alligator in S.C.…

Sad, but true: Broadband is the most modern of communication means, while carrier pigeons date back to Roman times. But on Thursday, a race between the two highlighted the low speeds of rural broadband in the UK; the pigeon won. Ten USB key-laden pigeons were released from a Yorkshire farm at the same time a…

Here’s your chance to get in on what might be the American trend of the 21st Century. Wait too long, and you’ll be just another tag-along, without the cred that genuine trendsetters have and deserve. Link: Bug Eaters Try to Get Some Buzz – WSJ.com Across the country, entomophagy—the eating of insects—has gained a small…

Young Andrew Polasky won the contest at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. From little acorns mighty oaks grow… La Crosse Tribune: Five-Year-Old Boy Wins Alaska Moose-Calling Contest.

Chibi the Wakeboarding Dog is one talented pup.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain says it would have been hard for anyone caught possessing the head to explain how they acquired it. Yes. We can be thankful it’s back where it belongs. See, “Bucky Badger head returned unscathed at UW-Madison” — GazetteXtra.

The reported text accidentally sent to Sheriff Leo Dutton: Hey, Dawg, do you have a $20 I can buy right now? The matter was resolved without charges, following parental involvement. See, Montana Teen Accidentally Texts Sheriff to Buy Pot.

Perhaps the consequence of a decade of economic stagnation… In the first month of the city’s [Atami] promotional campaign launched July 10, more than 1,500 male fans of the Japanese dating-simulation game LovePlus+ have flocked to Atami for a romantic date with their videogame character girlfriends. The men are real. The girls are cartoon characters…

There’s something fitting about Kevin Michael Harley’s ill-fitting predicament. See, Police: Would-be Burglar Gets Stuck in Grease Vent .