22nd July 2009

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R.I.P. Gidget, Taco Bell chihuahua

Gidget, the chihuahua who gained fame in commercials for the fast food chain Taco Bell, died tuesday night after suffering a stroke. She was 15.

“She made so many people happy,” Gidget’s trainer Sue Chipperton tells People.com.

The pup is remembered as a “consummate professional” who “delighted” the crews of her commercial shoots with her playful nature.

“One time, I kid you not, she actually pushed her stand-in out of the way because he was still there when she arrived on set,” Chipperton recalls. “Gidget always knew where the camera was.”

She spent her final years mostly retired, and her favorite activities included lying in the sun.

Vintage ad below.

Tags chihuahuasdogscelebs

30th June 2009

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playboy bunnies almost extinct

An endangered species of rabbits named after Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is teetering on the brink of extinction.

The bunnies, Sylvilagus palustris hefneri (example above), were discovered in 1984 and named after Hefner because he donated money to support fieldwork.

They live in the Lower Florida Keys and feed on specific grasses. They were declared endangered in 1990 and it’s estimated that less than 300 remain today.

Rosana Tursi of the University of Central Florida is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study the genetic diversity of the remaining population this summer, reports Discovery.com. They hope to relocate rabbits from the most genetically diverse populations to a new idyll where they are less likely to be disturbed.

Tags bunniesrabbitscelebs

29th June 2009

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Jackson pets start anew, plan comebacks

E! has an update on where the animals from the Neverland zoo have ended up over the years.

Bubbles the chimpanzee is at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchulu, Florida, the center confirmed Saturday. According to his new trainer, Bubbles is now juggling many lucrative publicity opportunities.

Michael Jackson’s tigers, Thriller (above) and Sabu, now reside at a preserve in Acton, California, called Shambala that is run by Tippi Hedren, Hitchcock starlet and mother of Melanie Griffith.

Still looking for an update on Muscles the boa constrictor…

Tags celebsBubbleschimpanzeestigers

23rd June 2009

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‘The Proposal’ puppy’s instant fame

Sure, sure, some people may attribute the over $34 million weekend success of The Proposal to the box office power of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Having seen the film, I beg to differ. It’s all about THIS DOG.

The American Eskimo pup (named Kevin in the movie) shares several key scenes with Bullock, and enjoyed fawning adoration on set.

“In real life, Kevin was portrayed by four different pooches: Flurry, Sitka, Nanu and Winter,” reports People. “Flurry, however, was the favorite among the cast and crew.” (Flurry appears in the photo above.)

Tags dogspuppiesbaby animalscelebsThe Proposal

2nd June 2009

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Susan Boyle Cried out for Cat

The Sun reports that as exhausted and tearful “Britain’s Got Talent” wonderwarbler Susan Boyle was carted to the hospital Sunday, all she wanted was her pet cat (r.).

Says the paper: “As she entered the clinic on Sunday she called out for her beloved cat, wailing ‘Where’s Pebbles?’ until medics arranged a phone call to the purring pet.”

The animal is being looked after by friends of the Scottish songstress, which explains how it was able to answer the phone.

Tags catscelebsbreakdowns