This is awesome: Commuters on the Metro-North called the police to say there was a tiger on Brooke Avenue, but it turns out the tiger is a stuffed animal. It turns out that German Ortiz, who is the super at 1194 Brook Avenue, found the three foot toy and put him on the street to scare rats (one resident said, "We got rats here bigger than him. They look like cats, I kid you not."). One commuter told the Daily News, "At first, I thought it might be a large dog. But I became convinced it was a tiger." The fact that the building resident put a chain around his neck as a joke probably helped. Gothamist surmises the toy tiger was dumped because a three foot toy is a pretty big deal in tiny apartments - but he looks like he'd make a great ottoman.

Gothamist on the real tiger who was living in a NYC apartment. Someday, there will be a True New York City Story about Ming.

Photograph from the Daily News