Tag: celebrities

Twilight star’s dog killed in condo fire

“Twilight Saga” star Ashley Greene’s West Hollywood condominium was gutted in a fire Friday morning that killed one of her two dogs.

Three people sustained minor injuries, a L.A. County Fire Department spokesperson told Us Weekly, and one of Greene’s two toy fox terriers – though reports aren’t clear whether it was Marlo or Theo — was killed.

TMZ reported that Greene, her boyfriend and her brother were sleeping when a candle caught the living room sofa on fire.

Seeing the smoke, they fled. The two men ran back in an attempt to save the dogs.

Firefighters wrapped the deceased dog’s body in a sheet and gave it to one of the group.

Courteney Cox shares new pad with her dogs


Poor Courteney Cox.

The former “Friends” star and her daughter Coco recently moved into a new 25th floor condo with their two dogs — and taking Hopper and Harley all the way down to the ground floor and outside to go to the bathroom late at night was just too difficult.

So she bought a pooch potty to put on her balcony, and when the Cavalier King Charles spaniels didn’t use the draining patch of artificial grass, she annointed it herself to get them interested.

That, at least, is what she said to Ellen DeGeneres in an interview that aired yesterday.

“I’m like, ‘How am I going to work this out? I could walk them at 10 p.m. at night but what if they have to go in the middle of the night?’” she said.

Apparently, solutions such as hiring a dog walker, or living somewhere with a yard, didn’t occur to the “Cougar Town” star.

Once the patch was in place, the dogs showed little interest in it, she said. “… Hopper and Harley would not go. I tried and I tried and it’s getting late and I can’t leave Coco in the condo by herself while I take them out so I just thought, ‘To hell with it. I’ll mark the grass.’”

Apparently, the idea of peeing in a jar, and then going out to pour it on the balcony patch, didn’t occur to her, either. Cox told DeGeneres she squatted on the balcony.

Given the product she’s using requires a new grass pad weekly, she told Ellen she’s worried she might have to keep reannointing them. “I didn’t think it through… but I will say Hopper peed on my pee.”

We have faith that Hopper and Harley, age 9 and 10, will be able to think it through, even without Cox marking every new patch, and — whether it’s 10 p.m. at night, or 6 a.m. in the morning — adjust to using the balcony potty.

(Photos: Screen grabs from Ellen DeGeneres show)

Miley Cyrus gets another new dog

Weeks after losing two dogs, Miley Cyrus has adopted a new one.

Over the weekend the entertainer posted pictures of her new Chihuahua mix, Bean, on Twitter.

“U know I’m a complete crazy dog lady so you could imagine what’s happening to me right now,”she tweeted.

Bean was adopted from Los Angeles’ Spot! dog rescue — the same organization to which she surrendered another dog, Ziggy, late last year.

Examiner.com found great significance in the act:

“As Miley Cyrus opened her home for the four legged creature out of the goodness of her own heart, it seems that other humans are thinking about adoption too. In what has become a teaching moment, it appears Miley Cyrus is actually showing people how much goodness is found in the process of adopting an animal.”

In November, Cyrus lost Lila, her two-year-old Yorkie, when Ziggy, a bulldog she bought for fiance Liam Hemsworth, killed the smaller dog. Ziggy was sent to a rescue organization to be rehomed.

Cyrus has adopted at least six dogs in recent years, including Floyd, an Alaskan Klee Kai, also known as a miniature husky, a Rottweiler-beagle mix named Happy, and a black and white mixed breed named Mary Jane.

(Photo: Twitter)

Baltimore campaign serves up more softies

You’ll probably see a few familiar faces in this, the newest public service announcement in Baltimore’s “Show Your Soft Side” campaign.

The campaign made its debut in Baltimore last year after several instances of animal abuse in the city, some commited by children. The ads showcase athletes and celebrities cuddling the pets they love and the tagline, “Only a punk would hurt a cat or dog.”

The new announcement is a compilation of some old softies and some new ones — among them Baltimore police officer Dan Waskiewicz, who became part of the campaign this month after saving and adopting a pit bull being teased by children.

Others who have been featured include fighter John Rallo, the Ravens’ Jarret Johnson, Adam Jones of the Orioles and Tommy Lee, legendary rocker and founding member of Motley Crue.

The campaign — a project of the Mayor’s Anti-Animal Abuse Advisory Committee – makes use of billboards around town, and posters hanging in juvenile justice centers and other locations where young people are likely to see them.

Tommy Lee was the first celebrity featured from outside of Baltimore, and was snagged thanks to two connections. Rallo used to be Lee’s bodyguard. And a staff member who has worked on the campaign at 98 Rock, which is helping sponsor it,  also is friends with Lee.

The newest announcement features photography by Leo Howard Lubow, Amanda Safford (Dizzy Grant) Jonesy Edwards (Henry Rollins) and Myriam Santos (Tommy Lee). The video was shot and directed by Janet Mockard.

With new bride, lavish dog wedding goes on


Wendy Diamond started planning a lavish wedding for her Maltese after learning Lucky had cancer.

It was intended as a tribute to her famous dog, and a way to raise money for a worthy cause.

When Lucky, who held the world record for being photographed with celebrities, died last month, Diamond — a TV personality, animal welfare advocate and founder of Animal Fair magazine — apparently decided the wedding should go on.

Last night it did, with a new bride — her rescued dog, Baby Hope. Diamond was hoping to break the Guinness World Record, as she did with her photographs of Lucky, by holding the most expensive animal wedding ever, and raise money for animals at the same time.

The nuptials took place last night at the Jumeirah Essex House — Baby Hope married Chilly Pasternak, a Virginia poodle chosen in an online vote — with proceeds going to the Humane Society of New York.

The extravagant touches included a $6,000 custom wedding dress for the tiny bride, a $5,000 sushi spread, and a $15,000 seven-piece orchestra, according to the New York Daily News.

Wedding planner Harriette Rose Katz, organized the event. Kleinfeld couture bridal designers Michelle and Henry Roth tailored a $6,000 two-toned, white French lace-encrusted dress with Swarovski crystals and a silk train for the bride. TLC’s “Cake Boss” based in Hoboken is making the wedding cake

The vendors donated their services. Some 250 humans and 50 dogs were expected to attend.

Diamond adopted Lucky in 1999, and the dog inspired her to launch her Animal Fair Media empire. She photographed Lucky with hundreds of celebrities as part of a campaign to stop shelters from euthanizing pets.

After Lucky died in June — while the wedding was being planned — Diamond decided that Baby Hope, a dog she’d been fostering, would make a fine bride.

Tickets to Animal Fair’s “Pet Wedding of the Century” started at $250, with “distinguished sponsors” forking over $10,000 for a table. The couple plans a honeymoon in the Hamptons.

Miley Cyrus rescues dog dumped at Walmart

Miley Cyrus found a puppy in a box outside a Walmart and took it home.

She named the pup Happy, and Tweeted a photo of herself getting her hair washed while holding him.

“He was left in a box in front of Walmart. I don’t understand how people can be so cruel. That’s why we named him Happy,” she wrote.

Cyrus thinks the dog is a Rottweiler-beagle mix.

Happy joins Miley’s other pooches Ziggy, Lila and Floyd, reports People magazine.

But the story doesn’t answer the biggest question of all: What was Miley Cyrus doing at a Walmart?

Kiefer Sutherland’s singing dog

Since we’ve shown you the musical stylings of the world famous Adam Yamada-Hanffff and his dogs, Sierra and Cody, a few times, it’s only fair we give some space to this relative newcomer to the field, some guy named Kiefer Sutherland.

Sutherland posted a video on Twitter of his dog singing along as he played guitar, along with the comment, “Even the dog can sing better than me.”

The actor, who’s now starring in the TV series, Touch, didn’t bother to mention his dog’s name in the post.

Custody of Hefner-Harris dog still uncertain

Ever since they ended their engagement, Hugh Hefner and former fiancee Crystal Harris have been quibbling over who gets to keep the dog.

Charlie, a King Charles cavalier spaniel, has apparently bounced back and forth between the Playboy model and the Playboy mogul.

Guess which of the three we actually give a hoot about.

Harris, who departed with a three carat diamond ring worth an estimated $90,000, and a Bentley, apparently still wants the dog, too, according to the Daily Mail.

Harris, 25, called off her engagement to Hefner, 85, in June, announcing it on her website and, at the same time, asking the media for “‘the privacy we deserve during this time.” Then she went on to take part in interviews about the break-up and their sex life.

Hefner expressed his regrets about the break-up in a tweet both realistic and philosophical, not to mention maybe the understatement of the decade: “After all is said and done, staying single is probably the best,” he posted.

He also reported on Twitter that he missed the dog, who Harris took with her when she left.

Then he tweeted that the dog had been brought back: “Crystal brought Charlie back because she thinks he’s happier here & I appreciate it, because I really missed him,” Hefner posted.

Apparently the matter isn’t entirely resolved.

“We both love the puppy,” Hefner told People magazine. “I told her if she wants to keep the ring and the Bentley, then maybe I can keep the puppy. I hope we will work it out.”

Harlem Globetrotter shows his soft side


The city of Baltimore has released the fourth ad in its continuing campaign urging young people to “Show Your Soft Side,” and treat animals with kindness.

It features Dizzy Grant, one of the world famous Harlem Globetrotters, and his dog, Saber.

Aimed at combating animal abuse, the “Show Your Soft Side” campaign began earlier this year and has also featured Baltimore Raven Jarret Johnson, Baltimore Oriole Adam Jones, and MMA fighter John Rallo, all posing with their pets.

Grant’s dog, Saber, is a two-and-a-half year old purebred boxer. He’ll be showing up, along with Grant, on billboards, print ads, and posters that make the point, “Only a punk would hurt a cat or a dog.”

The “Show Your Soft Side” campaign grew out of the work of the Mayor’s Anti-Animal Abuse Advisory Commission, which was originally created as a task force to study the issue after a pit bull named Phoenix was discovered to have been set on fire. She later died.

Given the alarming incidence of animal abuse in Baltimore, and given that many of the more horrific cases have been perpetrated by teens, the commission looked for ways to change the mindset of young people who often view the maiming and torturing of defenseless dogs and cats as a sign of “toughness” or “manhood.”

The campaign puts forth a very different message – that “being a man” includes having a “soft side” when it comes to animals.

The goal of the campaign is to influence children early — for the sake of animals, and humans. Research shows that kids who abuse animals often graduate to even more violent crimes. 

The campaign is made possible by support from Eddie’s of Roland Park, Fullmoon Marketing & Events, Kirk Designs, Inc. and Media Works, Ltd.

For more information about the campaign, you can visit its Facebook page.

Katt offers dog after family’s pet is shot

TMZ is reporting a strange little story out of Arizona involving comedian/rapper/actor Katt Williams.

During a tour bus stop last month in the town of Williams, near the Grand Canyon, one of Williams’ bodyguards was bitten by a dog, and then shot the dog twice, killing him.

The German shepherd — named Lester — was a retired police dog that had gotten loose during a walk with his owners, and ended up in the same Jack-in-the-Box parking lot where Williams’ bus stopped.

After the shooting, Williams told the family that the bodyguard would be fired, then he stepped into his bus and came back out with an 8-week-old puppy, reportedly a mastiff.

Williams offered the puppy to the family to replace the dead dog.

The family accepted, then posed for pictures with Williams.

The family told TMZ they named the new dog Bella, and that, though they were “devastated” by the death of Lester, they appreciated Williams taking responsibility and offering them the new pup.

Police responded, interviewed Williams and others, and opted to file no charges.

(Photo: TMZ)