Baby Killed by Grandma's Dogs

(NEWSER) - Amy Winehouse cried tears of joy in a London airport as she returned to England today after 8 months on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, the Daily Mail reports. “She’s really happy to be back and can't wait to catch up with family and friends,” a spokesman said. Winehouse’s stay on the island was plagued by complaints about her drunken antics. Before leaving, she took a farewell walk on the beach with one of her adopted stray dogs. More»

Police catch up to 30 strays after attack

(NEWSER) - Packs of wild dogs are a public threat in Sicily, where they have killed a 10-year-old boy and mauled a 24-year-old woman, the BBC reports. The police have caught nearly 30 strays but believe at least 20 to still be at large. Police believe many of the dogs were starved and neglected by their owner, and have arrested a suspect. More»

Animal was surrogate spouse for his owner

(NEWSER) - Sandra Herold and her chimp, Travis—who viciously mauled her friend—were unusually close, sharing wine and lobster and exchanging gifts, the New York Post reports. “What she had with that monkey was not normal,” one friend said. But Herold said outsiders don’t understand: “Until you've eaten with a chimp and bathed with a chimp, you don't know a chimp,” she said. “He slept with me every night. He combed my hair.” More»

Passerby clubbed, drove over dogs; may have saved man's arm

(NEWSER) - A British mailman suffered serious injuries when he was mauled by rottweilers while delivering Christmas cards yesterday, the Times of London reports. The two dogs ripped his arm, and bit his back and legs, until a passerby intervened, clubbing the canines with an iron bar and running over one with his van. The owners, not home at the time, had the pets euthanized afterward. More»

'Blamed' victim 'left to die alone,' says judge

(NEWSER) - The owner of a dog who fatally mauled a neighbor as she watched has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murder, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Lawyer Marjorie Knoller lost control of her vicious 140-pound dog, who attacked neighbor Diane Whipple in 2001 in the hallway of their San Francisco apartment building. Knoller "left Ms. Whipple in the hallway to die alone," and later "blamed the victim," the judge noted. More»