We start off today’s report with news certain to bring a smile to your bandanna-covered face.
In a town outside of Flint, Michigan, a woman named Kris Gibson spotted a black dog hanging around outside her fence.
Her first instinct was to find the dog’s owner, so she took the puppy to a nearby animal clinic where an embedded microchip revealed his home was not in Michigan but Florida. Specifically, Miami.
His name is Simba. Yeah, just like the main character in The Lion King. And he’s a Canary mastiff, a breed sufficiently rare that, according to the veterinarian, “the cheapest one around here was $1,800.”
Which may explain how Simba ended up 1,400 miles away from home: He likely was abducted.
Now he’s returning to the Sunshine State where he can join his rightful owners as they socially distance themselves from other homo sapiens, including dognappers.
And speaking of animals far from home, in North Carolina a pregnant cow who swam four miles back to shore after being swept out to sea during a hurricane gave birth to what is being called a “miracle” calf.
The calf is all white with mismatched eyes—one brown, one blue.
Mom was among a group of cows that ran wild on Cedar Island when Hurricane Dorian hit last year. Other animals washed to sea by an eight-foot tidal surge also included 28 wild horses, who, sadly, did not make it back.
And in Columbus, Ohio, police made a startling discovery while responding to a report of a robbery.
The cops said a caller reported that a man involved in a dispute over the return of a video game was brandishing a gun. When police arrived they found a four-foot alligator in a closet.
The gator was in an aquarium, not just randomly running around. Still, police noted that there were several children and toddlers in the apartment.
Police turned the alligator over to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. It is unknown as of this writing if the gator, like Simba, was also returned to his Florida home.
STRANGE FACTS: Alligators are fast in the water, swimming up to 20 mph. But they are not slouches on land, either, and can hit speeds of 11 mph. Fortunately, humans are built to run at 40 mph.
