Man's best friend was saluted as one Bay Ridge's resident savior, as Lexi the bichon frise was honored at St. Patrick's Church yesterday. Last month, when Linda Deutsch was taking the 5-year-old dog for a walk, Lexi refused to go to the elevator and instead dragged Deutsche down the hall. It turned out that Lexi heard the cries of neighbor James Postler--an 85-year-old deacon at the church--who had fallen hours earlier and managed to crawled......

A Shih Tzu named Zahara lost its life last September because a man was angry at his girlfriend and their relationship, and the authorities have finally caught up with him. WNBC reports that 27-year-old Sherman Haynes "threw his girlfriend's small dog out his third-floor window, killing the defenseless animal," yelling, "You need your dog?" to his girlfriend, 25-year-old Farah Benoit. The couple were at his East 93rd Street apartment in Brooklyn, where he also threw......

When Daniel Rechelbacher's lab-mix Chai lost his tongue after playing with a chew toy, he blogged about the ordeal to warn other pet owners. Now the toy manufacturer Four Paws has recalled its pimple ball, after hearing about Chai's incident and other reports of dogs suffering similar problems. Rechelbacher writes on his site, "While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked his tongue into the hole in the ball. From......

Earlier this week, Mayor Bloomberg headed announced the city's new online dog licensing system, which serves to make it easier for pet owners to protect their pups while they comply with the law. Currently only 20% of the city's estimated 500,000 dogs are currently licensed (you can use the new system here!). Meanwhile, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe declared to the humans on hand: "You and your dog are welcome in New York City parks, so......

While you were sleeping, the Montauk Monster story kept spinning, this time landing on PlumTV, Newsday and...CNN. In an attempt to reassure a jittery public, the CNN quotes "experts" who say it's either a dog or raccoon; some think it may have washed up from the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. Newsday got a hold of another photo, which some people think makes the "monster" look much more canine (maybe that Corwin guy does know......

Yesterday Gawker posted a photo of what quickly became referred to as "the Montauk Monster." Lizzie Grubman jokes were made, spines shivered, conspiracy theorists pondered (the Montauk Project, anyone?), a new internet superstar was born, and most came to the conclusion that the thing that washed up near the Surfside Inn was a bloated turtle without its shell. Or a monster. Now Fox News has brought in the experts (the full clip is after the......

Remember the old days when dogs would bolt from the car during a road trip, only to follow their uncanny sense of direction to find their way home across hundreds of miles? Thanks to microchip implants, today’s 21st century canine can now rely on technology to do the work. That’s how Rocco, a beagle who disappeared from a Queens backyard in 2003, was located and returned to his owners last weekend after being found in......

Earlier today, a 90-year-old man was mauled by a neighbor's pit bulls. The victim, Henry Pitrowski, remains at Richmond University Medical Center in critical condition. Reports say Pitrowski was attacked on his property. Another neighbor, Reginald Bell, told the Advance he went outside when he heard the elderly man's screaming. Bell said, "The dogs were actually eating him alive. He was mauled completely. His legs were eaten to the bone. His arms were eaten to......

Leona Helmsley’s dog Trouble, who was famously bequeathed $12 million from the late real estate tycoon, will now have to make do on a measly $2 million, according to the Post. Helmsley had set aside the money for the care of her beloved Maltese while also disinheriting two of her grandchildren, Craig Panzirer, 40, and Meegan Panzirer Wesolko, 37, "for reasons which are known to them." The siblings have now hammered out a deal with......

The NY Post reports that one of their own, Denise Buffa, is suing Con Ed. Buffa, a Post reporter, told the heartbreaking tale of her dog being shocked last June; the 100-pound Italian mastiff died after his encounter with the electrified light pole in Marcus Garvey Park. Regarding the negligence suit against them, a Con Ed spokeswoman told The Post that they "weren't involved because the city owns the light poles," and the DoT declined......

Awww: A dog that went missing from Sunset Park on Monday afternoon was found 60 miles away on Long Island the next day. Newsday reports the chihuahua named Boy was reunited with his tearful and grateful owner yesterday. Holbrook residents Dino and Teri Vassino found the pup on Tuesday and thought it belonged to neighbor Sue Pierce, whose family also has a Chihuahua. But they weren't missing a dog, so, per Newsday, "Pierce took him......

Another sad story of pet electrocution comes out of Queens; ABC reports that Cecelia Sing's Siberian husky named Sebastian died on his Sunday night walk in Long Island City. A lamppost is believed to have shocked him with stray voltage (not an unfamiliar story)."As soon as he got to the lamppost, he jumped and he dropped," she said. "And he starting shaking wildly, and I'm like, 'Go on. Get up, Sebastian, get up,' And he......

Now that an appeals court has ruled that the city can start requiring chain restaurants to prominently display their calorie information, Nathan’s has begun tossing up their stats just in time for summer at Coney Island. Kinetic Carnival notes that the Nathan’s basic hot dog has just half the calories packed into a Big Mac from McDonald’s. Consumed one or two at a sitting, the “Original Frankfurter” won’t do much damage to one’s waistline.......

Even though Tom Otterness, who just installed his newest creation in DUMBO, cheers up commuting New Yorkers underground...he has a dark past that wouldn't make anyone smile. The artist, in short, shot a dog (that he adopted) for the sake of "art" -- something he did, and filmed, 20 years ago. He's apologized for the unforgivable act, but with each new piece he creates or installs -- it seems his past will always come back......

Let's hear it for a dog named Boo! The 8-year-old mixed-breed Labrador retriever is a therapy dog at a Putnam County school, where he's helping kids come out of their shells. The Journal News and Putnam County Courier highlighted the incredible story of Marc Oliviere, a six-year-old who was designated a selective mute and attends a school in Mahopac. He's part of a program for students who need help with social and learning skills, and......

In recent weeks both a man and a woman have been charged with senseless violence against small defenseless animals - the woman for beating her boyfriend's cat to death, the man seriously injuring a girlfriend's dog. Sarah Favorite is a 25-year-old woman who allegedly became angry at her boyfriend's Siamese cat Yoda. Annoyed by the animal, the young woman allegedly throttled the 17-year-old cat and repeatedly bashed it against the floor on November 29 and......

What's today's salacious claim about Anthony Marshall, who was recently indicted for allegedly mishandling his mother Brooke Astor's estate? That he hated his mother's dear dogs so much, he wanted them dead! Rush & Molloy spoke to a source who claims Marshall "wanted to put them to sleep." "Them" being Astor's dachshunds Boysie and Girlsie. When Marshal's own son originally claimed his father was not properly caring for Astor, it was mentioned that Marshall wouldn't......

Being heir to $12 million can be a real dog. Especially if you're Trouble Helmsley, the cherished Maltese owned by the late real estate developer Leona Helmsley. "Queen of Mean" Helmsley shocked people from the grave by leaving $12 million to the pooch, which was more than what her grandchildren (combined) inherited. Helmsley's friend John Codey, who oversees Helmsley's trust, reveals that there have been many death threats: "We received any number of threats to......