Glowing eyes peering down from trees and from behind gravestones, the night creatures are disrupting the eternal sleep of the dead and driving the living to distraction. Raccoons have proliferated at the famous Green-Wood Cemetery, digging up the grass over graves, eating the flowers left by mourners, and even invading crypts to scavenge for food. more ›

The family dog who fatally bit an 8-month-old baby in Brooklyn was euthanized yesterday. According to the city, the family had requested the dog be euthanized. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on East 112th St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, shots fired at 132nd St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan, and a commercial burglary on 4th Ave. and 90th St. in Brooklyn.
• Page Six lists its top ten scoops of the year. #1 is about Rosie O'Donnell's writer being escorted from The View offices for drawing magic marker mustaches on pictures of Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and rumors that O'Donnell might quit the show.
• James Colliton, the lawyer who pleaded guilty to having sex with two underage sisters and served 18 months in jail, is suing the 188-year-old law firm Cravath, Swaine, and Moore for $1.45 million he feels the firm owes him after he was fired. Colliton's lawsuit was handwritten on notebook paper.

An appellate court ruled this week that a 71-year-old woman could remain in the West Village apartment she shares with her two cats, despite a no-pets clause in her lease. Siiri Marvits has lived in the same apartment for 43 years and has had her two cats Athena and Apollo for more than ten years. The Daily News reports that according to the New York City Law Journal, a landlord must begin eviction proceedings within... more ›

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals thinks the Port Authority is a liar when it comes to how the agency will handle the the tens to possibly hundreds of cats it hopes to trap from the grounds of JFK Airport. more ›

The two detectives who were shot during an early morning Bronx shootout yesterday managed to avoid serious injuries and the NYPD says it's a near miracle. Detectives Daniel Rivera and William Gonzalez, along with other three other cops, were trying to serve a warrant to a suspect in a bodega shooting when the suspect fired at them five times. Rivera's forehead was grazed and he left the hospital with only a scar - and smiles. Gonzalez was "nicked in the left shin." more ›

neighbors called 311 to complain. more ›

What is wrong with people? The director of the Mount Vernon Animal Shelter found three boxes full of kittens (63 of them!!!) on her doorstep. Paula Young believes that the kittens were used as bait during dogfighting in Westchester and possibly the Bronx. She told the Journal News, "It is impossible for one person to have all these kittens, calicos, tabbies, males and females." more ›

Emergency newswires are reporting that Port Authority cops requested that the Emergency Services Unit hustle over to Laguardia's main terminal this afternoon - and with a cage - because there was a monkey on the loose inside the airport. The animal apparently arrived at Gate B6 on Spirit Airlines' Flight 180. more ›

If you see a cat or dog in a "wanted" poster on a bus stop, don't be too surprised. Animal Care & Control of New York City is launching a new advertising campaign featuring mug-shot style pictures of pets along with the reason they are up for adoption. The striking images will appear on phone kiosks, buses and bus shelters. more ›

During the summers, city shelters see a spike in unwanted pets, and this year is no different. NYC's Animal Care & Control is "taking in 85 cats and kittens a day - up from about 50 a day just a few months ago," according to the Daily News. Animal Care & Control is worried they will have to start euthanizing adoptable cats and dogs, because they are, as director Richard Gentiles says, "being inundated." From the News:

Unlike the ASPCA, Humane Society and other shelters, Animal Care and Control cannot turn away any animal brought into its three shelters or left on the street. more ›

Slaughterhouses may have mostly disappeared from New York City's municipal landscape, but they still exist. They tend to only be noticed when one of their stock escapes imminent death via a bolt for freedom. Unfortunately, the city's streets are barely more hospitable to a farm animal on the loose, once it has escaped the inevitable doom of the urban abattoir. Last month we posted a story about a little lamb (whose fleece was about as white as dirty city snow) that was wandering around the Bronx. After a chase-and-be-chased incident, a man named Julio Rivera managed to corral the lamb into a parking lot, where responding police officers took turns capturing camera phone pics with the animal. more ›

The man who throttled, stomped, kicked, and beat a peacock into a mortal state Thursday morning was turned in to police by his own stepfather yesterday. The Staten Island Advance is all over the story. It reports that John N. Potts was arrested yesterday, after threatening to smash his stepfather's face with a shovel in the older man's home. Potts then ran off and jumped into the Raritan Bay, shovel in hand. The Advance describes that as being the end to an extended weekend of craziness by Potts, whose alleged avian homicide was simply a kick-off. more ›

Witnesses said a man in his late teens or early 20s grabbed the helpless bird by its neck, struck it repeatedly with a baseball bat and kicked it in a Burger King parking lot on Page Avenue. more ›

Was this baby lamb a little too eager for the city's Farm Aid concert? Because she was found wandering around the Bronx yesterday morning. Julio Rivera, who saw her near his car, chased her in order to get a hold of her, but then the lamb chased him back! Newsday reported, "The spectacle lasted half an hour until Rivera got the upper hand and corraled Lucky Lady in a parking lot. Responding police officers used camera phones to take pictures of themselves next to the sheep." Hee! The lamb was taken to Animal Care and Control, which determined she is 7 months old and renamed her "Lucky Lady" - they think she escaped from an auction or slaughterhouse. Lucky Lady will be headed to a farm sanctuary upstate. more ›

An epilogue in the story of Fred, the kitten who was deputized by the Brooklyn District Attorney after helping sting a fake veterinarian last year: Steven Vassall was sentenced to psychiatric treatment and avoids prison. A bull terrier owner had contacted the authorities after he became suspicious of Vassall's lack of post-surgery treatment for the pet. more ›

Oh, Fred the Cat, how we miss stories about you! The legacy of Fred is mentioned as the NY Times updates what's happening with the fake vet the undercover kitty cat helped bust. more ›

Yesterday, the city's Health Department was looking for two people who dropped off an injured raccoon at Animal Care & Control on East 110th Street last week. They had transported the raccoon, which was wrapped in a blanket, in a pet carrier and it later tested positive for rabies. Officials became worried that the people may have been exposed - what if they were foaming at the mouth? more ›

This made us totally sad: Shelters are getting ready for many pets to be dumped in the next few months. Many people receive pets as holiday gifts, but aren't able to deal with them. Animal Care & Control says that while some people complain that dogs are unruly, they don't admit they didn't take the time to train the dogs in the first place. Here are tips from the ASPCA on how to deal with your new pets:

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The alligator that was found in Brooklyn yesterday was successfully turned over to Animal Care & Control. The police found the 2-foot caiman alligator in a cardboard box with a shoelace tied and double-knotted around its jaw. Animal Care & Control warmed up the caiman and said it would go to licensed wildlife care or rehab facilities in Long Island or New Jersey. Oh, come on - at this point, the city should open up its own alligator zoo. They could reside in habitats that look like the sewer system. more ›

There is one pet that does not need a costume - the black cat. But as it happens, some cities (like L.A.) block black cat adoptions during the spooky season for fear that owners are just using them for seasonal prop purposes. The Daily News says that the city allows black cat adoptions, but screens potential owners more carefully. Animal Care and Control's director, Richard Gentles, says, "We don't want to lose an opportunity for a black cat to go into a good home." And ASPCA special agent Joseph Pentangelo suggested "Halloween curfews" for black cats, to make sure they're not harmed by tricksters. more ›

Yesterday, someone wrote on Gothamist Contribute, "One of the winners at the cat show today freaked out and took off. By show's end, it still had not been found. Poor thing. Maybe expecting cats to stay put like dogs is just a bad idea." more ›

to throw his 6 foot boa constrictor out the window, but still, it's a bad idea. And it's also illegal to keep a boa as a pet, according to the city's animal law. But an emotionally disturbed man in Brooklyn was running around with the boa - and he had "embedded" a pair of scissors into the snake's jaw, according to the Post. And he was "ranting about all the guinea pigs he had bought for the snake to eat." Well, at least he was taking care of the snake. The man was eventually calmed down and taken to a hospital for observation, and Animal Care and Control took the snake. The snake, which looks pretty hefty in this Daily News picture, will be sent to an animal sanctuary. AC&C's Richard Gentiles says that about 100 snakes are taken in by the city each year. more ›

If you'd like a heartwarming story for your afternoon, read how a dog found wandering in Queens is now training to be on the K-9 Unit of the NY State Police. Found when he was tied up in Kissena Park, Duke the dog made such an impression at Brooklyn Animal Care & Control that shelter operations manager pegged him as being perfect for the K-9 Unit. The state police, who have adopted a stray dog for K-9 from Keller before, are interested, so Duke is bulking up and getting ready for the test. Go, shelter animals! more ›

A very sad story about our favorite crime fighting kitty: Newsday reports that Fred the cat died yesterday, after being hit by a car. Fred had wandered into the street when he was killed, which is all the convincing we need that cats should be kept indoors. Fred rose to fame six months ago when he helped the Brooklyn DA's office bust a fake vet, and was adopted by Brooklyn ADA Carol Moran. He was named an "honorary" detective and then tasked to work in the "Legal Lives" program as a therapy animal. Newsday also adds that the Brooklyn DA's office, which had given Fred a "Law Enforcement Appreciation Award" in May, said, "We had big plans for him." Fred, your detective work will not be forgotten. more ›

Strange finding in Central Park's sheep meadow: An actual sheep, with its legs bound, was left there, only to be found on Tuesday night. The sheep is now at a farm in Connecticut (why not the Queenty County Farm?) and am New York says that the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals transported other farm animals on behalf of Animal Care & Control, including roosters and chickens (yes, it seems that annoying neighborhood roosters are sent away, not killed). more ›

NYC Comptroller (and potential 2009 mayoral candidate) William Thompson issued a new audit of Animal Care & Control and found that though conditions are better than in 2002, there are still issues with animals' health, security, and how the agency deals with missing animal reports. Some of the findings: more ›

Ooh, there is still time to sign up for this Saturday's 2006 ASPCA Central Park Dog Walk. Tickets are $20 each, with all proceeds going to The Mayor's Alliance for New York Animals, Animal Care & Control of New York, and the ASPCA. We loved the guidelines for the walk - surely it's the only event to make sure some participants are "spayed/neutered dogs" and maybe it shouldn't be the only event to remind people "Be prepared to clean up after your dog." more ›

Last night, the news was buzzing about a doe and her baby fawn running around the Schuylerville section of the Bronx, and it was pretty cute - deer scampering away from cameras and the police. But, suddenly, it turned into a snuff film: When police had followed the deer to a church (sanctuary, perhaps?), the deer freaked out and tried to run away, with the fawn jumping a fence and practically goring itself! The fawn got away, but when the police found it, it had died, possibly from its injuries. Its mother was found and released in Pelham Park. more ›