Pets

New York City authorities are stepping in to make sure Central Park's famous Mandarin duck survives the winter ... TMZ has learned.

Meghan Lalor, Chief of Staff for NYC Parks, tells TMZ… the Urban Park Rangers are monitoring the colorful bird after the Big Apple was hit with its first snowstorm.

People were worried the non-native species would hate the freezing temps, but Park Rangers assure us they're doing everything they can to keep tabs on his health ... and he actually seemed pretty delighted by snowfall.

It's funny ... the duck sometimes leads Rangers on a wild goose chase, because it's difficult to track his every move and he often disappears for days at a time ... but the Rangers eventually find him.

We're told the duck is likely a pet that was let loose in Central Park, and Rangers are prepared to make a rescue attempt if the bird ever appears injured, in need of care, or demonstrates a change in behavior.

Lisa Vanderpump's opened her heart and wallet for dogs all over the world ... but those affected by the California wildfire are a plight that hits close to home, and she's doing her best to help.

The 'RHOBH' star tells TMZ ... her annual Vanderpump Dog Foundation Fundraising Gala was once again an incredible success thanks to several familiar faces who, as she puts it, know how to walk the walk. As we reported ... a portion of the proceeds will go to animals affected by the California wildfires.

It's truly incredible the work Lisa's done to help man's best friend ... from her gala to opening a sanctuary in China that's already adopted nearly 800 dogs.

We also talked to Lisa about how a very tough 2018 for her personally has meant less time with her 'Housewives' castmates -- on camera and off.

However, LV made it clear ... you're getting the wrong idea if you think her reduced time on 'RHOBH' means she's leaving the show. She told us exactly where her loyalties lie and why.

Former NHL star Sheldon Souray's dog allegedly bit a young girl -- injuring her -- and now the stud defenseman is facing a lawsuit.

Souray played 13 seasons in the NHL -- for the Devils, Canadiens, Oilers, Stars and Ducks -- and was known for his ridiculously hard slap shot.

In the civil suit -- filed last week in L.A. County Court -- Souray is accused of failing to control his dog ... and as a result, the animal allegedly bit the kid in the hallway of her Beverly Hills apartment building in October 2017.

According to the lawsuit, Souray should've known about his dog's "unpredictable and violent/dangerous propensities."

Interesting to note ... 2 months after the alleged incident, Souray posted a picture of his dog on Instagram, with the caption ... "Dougie’s been in bad boy school for 6 weeks. Comes home next week. Gonna be a party."

It's unclear if Dougie is the dog involved in the alleged incident ... or if the alleged incident had anything to do with him being sent to "bad boy school."

The alleged victim is asking for over $25k from Souray ... but the exact amount is unclear.

Hundreds of scared animals were helplessly fending for themselves in the midst of the raging California wildfires, that is until an army of humans descended on the ravaged areas to save them.

Check out the video ... tortoises, sheep, a llama, a rabbit, a mini-horse, chickens and an alpaca are all beneficiaries of the rescue effort.

There were scores of horses that had to be abandoned because their owners almost had to immediately evacuate. Many of the horses were tagged and let free, with the hope they would find their way to safety and then reunite with their owners.

It was treacherous work trying to save the animals ... many of which were scared and skittish.

A number of groups, including the Animal Hope and Wellness foundation had volunteers out and about trying to save the helpless creatures.

Former Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole was among the cadre of volunteers, and she describes the difficulties of the rescue effort.

The wife of L.A. Dodgers star Justin Turner claims her beloved miniature pinscher was savagely murdered by a neighbor's German shepherd ... and now she's suing the guy for letting it happen.

Kourtney Turner -- aka Kourtney Pogue -- claims her pet, Dior, was chillin' at her L.A. home on Nov. 7, 2016, when a "vicious and aggressive" dog named Sonny got onto the property and attacked.

Kourtney claims the dog's owner knew Sonny got violent with other dogs -- and when he went after Dior, the man did nothing to stop it.

In the lawsuit, Kourtney claims she was too paralyzed by fear to jump in and save her 11-year-old pet ... and by the time the mauling was over, Dior had suffered fatal injuries.

Kourtney is not only suing for vet bills and other costs associated with Dior's death -- she also wants damages for pain and suffering, claiming she "relied upon the emotional support of Dior for her well-being."

After Dior passed away, Kourtney posted an emotional tribute to her friend ... saying, "Eleven years wasn't long enough, and to be honest, forever wouldn't have been either."

She added, "You taught me unconditional love & we will never ever forget you."

Kourtney now has a new dog, Moonshine -- who was born 1 month after Dior's passing.

Here's a little ditty about a swan that got saved by a vet with a big heart -- or, at least, that's one version of what you're about to see.

The swan was crossing a rainy street in the English town of Guildford -- IN the crosswalk, mind you -- when Prof. Noel Fitzpatrick, a local veterinary surgeon, sprung into action.

Fitzpatrick was afraid the swan was seconds from getting run over, so he followed the wandering bird ... gathered it up in his tweed (naturally) jacket and returned it to a nearby waterway. Yay!!! What a hero, right?

Alternate theory: The poor bird was walking crosstown to meet up with his wife -- swans mate for life, remember -- when the Professor intercepted him. Probably set the poor guy back at least 30 minutes, his wife got pissed and left him. Reverse 'Notebook.' Just sayin'.

The stars of "Flipping Vegas" got someone flippin' pissed at their Halloween stunt -- riding horses on the beach -- and they ended having a run-in with Johnny Law.

Scott and Amie Yancey hit Malibu Tuesday evening on horseback while in costume -- Scott was the Headless Horseman, and Amie looked like Daenerys from "Game of Thrones." As you can see in the video ... onlookers at the Sunset Restaurant were in awe, but eventually ... the party on hooves was stopped in its tracks.

Scott's rep tells us cops arrived shortly after the couple trotted their steads down Westward Beach Road and told them they couldn't ride on the street.

Their costumes must have impressed the officers, because they were merely escorted to the trailers where the horses were stowed. Their show's been off the air since 2014, but seems like they still have fans in law enforcement -- Amie and Scott were allowed to go on their way ... on foot.

Pete Davidson finally looks like he's feeling better after his split with Ariana Grande ... 'cause the comedian was grinning like a jack-o-lantern at a Halloween event with his buddy.

Pete walked through a holiday event for kids Sunday on his home turf of Staten Island, and judging by these pics ... the 'SNL' star was happier than a trick-or-treater with a pillowcase full of candy.

Pete was passing through the neighborhood shindig when he stopped to pet a furry pooch and snap a selfie with his fans. We're told he was super friendly to everyone and seemed to be in a very good mood.

It took a few weeks, but Pete is looking way happier than he was the last time we saw him. He really looked like a man down on his luck a few days after we broke the story he and Ariana called off their engagement.

Hey, there's nothing like a pumpkin patch and a cute pup to lift your spirits.

The TMZ newsroom got slammed with your freaky photos for our Pet Costume Photo Gallery, and now's your chance to see who made the creepy cut!

We've collected a bunch of your dressed up pets like cops, ghosts, witches and even real housewives for your Halloween viewing pleasure.

Queen Elizabeth is in mourning after her faithful companion died at Windsor Castle ... people knew it was coming but it's still a heartbreaking loss.

The Queen's beloved Corgi, Whisper, has passed after an interesting 12-year run at life.

Q.E. adopted the pooch from a former staffer back in 2016. The staffer died and the Queen adopted Whisper. It's her second big loss ... her other Corgi, Willow, died earlier this year.

10/22 -- Peña tweeted an apology later Sunday night, explaining that he was 12 years old when he first started using social media and was "very impressionable and was seeking attention."

He states in his apology that he has grown and matured a lot since those tweets, and hopes that everyone close to him knows he has "evolved as a human being." He explains, "I lead with love. I was a child and am now a man asking you to accept the apology of a young boy."

Viral sensation and self-proclaimed deer whisperer, "Brother Nature," started trending this weekend for all the wrong reasons -- old and incredibly vile tweets ... which invoked names like Jay-Z and Chris Brown.

20-year-old Kelvin Peña quickly turned his Twitter account to private Sunday, after people started re-posting screenshots of his old tweets from 2011 and 2012 ... many of which were racist, sexist and anti-Semitic. It's unclear what might've sparked the deep Twitter dive.

Nonetheless, what was revealed was quite disturbing. One such tweet said "Jay Z look like a monkey." Another one said ... "when I grow up I wanna be like Chris Brown. So if my girlfriend tried to look through my phone while driving I can choke and punch her :D".

There's a lot more that are even more disgusting -- tweets that say things like ... "HEIL HITLER" ... "Wanna hear a joke? Women's rights" and "TL stopped loading .. too many coons on my TL that's why f***." FWIW ... dude claims to be Dominican and Puerto Rican.

Peña first garnered attention (and views) back in 2016 with a viral video called "Money and the deer squad" which featured a deer he named Canela. He went on to put out more videos of himself interacting with Canela and other animals he encountered in "the wild" ... and eventually dubbed himself Brother Nature.

As we've seen lately with these viral types ... nothing stays buried for long. We reached out to Brother Nature's camp for comment ... so far, no word back.

The actor who played a troubled kid in "Free Willy" has found himself in real trouble as an adult ... we've learned he was arrested for domestic violence.

Law enforcement sources tell us former child actor Jason James Richter was arrested Monday night in the San Fernando Valley for misdemeanor domestic violence. He spent two nights in jail before being released Wednesday.

Richter's people tell us he had an argument with his girlfriend at around 7 PM at their home. Law enforcement sources say he asked her about a coworker and whether they were having an affair. Things escalated and Richter left, but returned a short time later.

The girlfriend told police she retreated to the bedroom and locked the door. We're told Richter broke the door down to get in. She told cops he pulled her into the living room.

Four hours later the girlfriend showed up at the police station and filed a report, claiming domestic violence.

Richter's people tell us the girlfriend told cops he grabbed her wrists, but we're told cops did not see any visible marks. Authorities tell TMZ the GF claimed he "grabbed her." Richter's people tell us he denies the argument ever became physical.

Richter starred as Jesse in 1993's "Free Willy" and its sequel "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home" -- in which he played an orphan who befriends an orca at a water park, and eventually sets him free into the wild. The first flick also became attached to one of Michael Jackson's hit songs from the '90s, "Will You Be There."

Richter has been charged with one count of vandalism for breaking the door and another count of battery on a significant other with no physical injury.

If convicted, he faces up to a year behind bars.

10:05 AM PT -- Delta says Tara's got it all wrong. A spokesperson tells TMZ ... first class seats do not allow bags at your feet -- and, as a result, a flight attendant DID suggest Tara put her dog's carrier in overhead ... NEVER the dog itself.

The rep says Tara was told plainly she could keep her dog in her lap or by her feet.

Additionally, Delta says she didn't go quietly and was "very unruly and disruptive" ... according to flight attendants and other passengers.

Tara Reid is drastically changing her story on why she was escorted off a Delta flight -- now saying she was told to stow her dog in an overhead bin, and simply refused.

The actress posted a statement Wednesday clarifying what she says went down Monday when she deplaned a Delta flight from LAX to NYC with her pup. She says the dog is an emotional support animal -- for which she has paperwork -- but Delta's staff still wouldn't let her dog ride on her lap ... only offering overhead or cargo hold storage options.

She says she had pre-arranged to bring the 3-month-old dog on board, but after flight attendants made it clear they were not on board with the plan ... she says she calmly boarded another flight.

You can see and clearly hear from the video ... Tara didn't have a choice -- she was escorted off the plane.

Tara now says we got our reporting wrong, but the fact is ... we spoke directly to her Monday and she told us she was upset about not getting a window seat and feeling cramped in her seat because the person in front of her reclined theirs.

We reached out to Delta to comment on Tara's latest version ... so far, no word back.

CHUBBS IS BACK!!!

Yeah, that massive 15-foot alligator sauntering through a Florida golf course has a name -- because he's become a "regular" ... and miraculously, no one's been eaten yet!

Chubbs was first spotted at the Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto, FL back in 2016 -- and has become a social media sensation ever since ... mostly because he's a giant, green monster.

But, the gator returned on Saturday -- with stunned golfers crapping their pants as the carnivore strolled through his home course.

Course officials have said Chubbs is almost like a pet -- he does his own thing and doesn't bother anyone.

Just as long as you keep your distance.

Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson have called it quits, and that usually means dividing up the pots and pans, or in their case a super expensive engagement ring and a pet pig.

Sources close to Ariana tell us she's already returned the nearly $100k engagement ring Davidson gave her back in June. The ring -- a 3.03 carat diamond set in platinum -- was a one of a kind, made specifically for Grande, and took weeks to complete. We're told there was no struggle over who'd keep the ring. He bought it in contemplation of marriage, and she was quick to fork it over.

Piggy Smallz -- the couple's teacup pig they adopted last month -- became a signature of their relationship ... in fact, Davidson got a tattoo of Smallz on his torso shortly after she became part of their family.

Here's the thing. Ariana bought the pig and it was really hers from the get-go, so she's keeping it ... again, no fight over the porker.

Tara Reid flew into a rage on a flight, shortly before takeoff ... prompting the captain to toss her, and her little dog, off the plane.

The incident went down Monday afternoon on Delta Flight 613 from LAX to NYC. Witnesses tell us Tara was pissed and loudly complained about being given the wrong seat. She later bitched about not getting a pillow. Flight attendants tried diffusing the situation ... but it was too little, too late.

We're told the pilot -- after pushing back from the gate -- announced he was turning around because of a customer service issue. In the video, you can see Tara being told she had to go. Cops were not called and Tara complied ... deplaning with her dog.

Tara's side of the story is she thought she had a window seat and was upset that wasn't the case. Further, she says she was cramped in her seat because the woman in front of her had reclined.