Oddly enough | Dog quickly takes in, nurses stray kitten in Minn.

Dog quickly takes in, nurses stray kitten in Minn.

JORDAN, Minn.

A Minnesota woman says she was shocked when her small dog began caring for an abandoned kitten, then started producing milk and nursing the fuzzy gray stray to health.

Pat Weber says the kitten was days old when her grandson found it in the family’s barn in early September in Jordan, about 40 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

She says the 2-inch-long kitten was “ice cold.” But she felt it move, so she wrapped the kitten in a warm towel. Then it began meowing — and her 4-year-old Pekingese perked up.

The tawny pooch named Mittens began licking the kitten, who nuzzled in and began suckling. Mittens hadn’t had puppies in two years, yet she eventually began producing milk. She’s been nursing the kitten ever since.

Weber calls it a miracle.

RI owner of cussing cockatoo appealing noise fine

WARWICK, R.I.

The owner of a foul-mouthed cockatoo in Rhode Island who was slapped with a $15 fine for violating a noise ordinance is appealing.

The Providence Journal reports that Warwick resident Lynne Taylor is appealing to a state court a fine imposed by a municipal judge. The judge said Taylor had broken a local law that prohibits residents from letting their pets habitually howl, bark or make other noise.

Taylor’s lawyer says the ordinance is unconstitutional because it gives no parameters for what noise constitutes a violation. He notes the statute says that if someone is annoyed, it’s a public nuisance.

A neighbor accused Taylor’s bird of parroting vulgar phrases, cursing and loudly speaking expletives. The neighbor lives with Taylor’s ex-husband.

Police: Drunken man on horse arrested after chase

BUNNELL, Fla.

A man who police say was drunk while riding his horse through a northeast Florida town is in jail after a police chase.

Flagler County jail records show 29-year-old Charles Cowart was arrested Monday. He’s being held on $7,000 bond on charges that include disorderly conduct, resisting arrest without violence and cruelty to animals.

A message was left Tuesday at a phone listing for Cowart in Bunnell, about 60 miles south of Jacksonville.

According to a charging affidavit, officers responded to a report of an “intoxicated male riding a horse” and found Cowart riding over railroad tracks. He told officers he was headed to his grandmother’s house and ignored orders to get off the horse. He took off, and police chased him for more than a half-hour.

Associated Press