Sideshow Owner Wins $4K in 5-Legged Pup Case

(NEWSER) - And you thought the story of the five-legged puppy and the Coney Island freak show couldn't get any stranger. The woman who swooped in at the last minute to save Lily from the fate of becoming a public spectacle says the dog has had her fifth leg amputated, the Charlotte Observer reports. Case closed, right? "Even if it's been taken off, we're going to sew it right back on when we win the civil case," the freak show operator tells the Daily News. More»

(NEWSER) - A good-hearted pet lover paid $4,000 to outbid a Coney Island operator to save a five-legged puppy from life in a freak show, reports the New York Daily News. North Carolinian Allyson Siegel, 45, called the owner of the Chihuahua terrier mix when she learned the puppy would be cooped up to entertain gawkers. "She is beautiful. She's not a freak, she's a normal little puppy dog and she should be just like all the others," said Siegel. More»

But the pooch is fine!

(NEWSER) - A Chicago man faces charges of animal cruelty after throwing a puppy out of a moving car into traffic, reports the Chicago Tribune . Sergieu Muresan, 26, turned himself in after seeing a warrant for his arrest 11 days after he tossed the pup out a window in a busy Chicago intersection. He faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine if convicted. The dog is fine and going up for adoption. More»

Poop on the floor is a hazard, he argues

(NEWSER) - A disgruntled Virginia man has sued PetSmart for $1 million for negligence after he slipped in dog doo in a local store, reports AP. He hurt his back, struck his head and knocked out 4 teeth, according to court documents. He's arguing that the company should have protected him from a hazardous condition resulting from the firm's policy of allowing dogs to use the floor as a toilet. More»

He took in stray in Iraqi war zone

(NEWSER) - An Army major killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq has left a canine legacy—Laia, a stray puppy who made it back to America, the Los Angeles Times reports. Working on a transition team, Steven Hutchison found the dog loafing around his vehicle after a meeting. “Maj. Hutchison was hooked,” Sgt. Andrew Hunt says. "She slept in his bed with him at night and napped under his bed during the day.” More»