Pets

Holy baby animals in trouble, Batman!

That's what Dolores Catania was probably thinking when she found an apparently injured bat on an NYC street and stepped up to save the day ... with an assist from our paparazzo.

We got the 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star in NYC Monday, shortly after she launched Operation Bat Rescue. Dolores explained her doctor's visit was delayed after she stumbled on the baby bat. She was frantically trying to get someone to take the animal to the nearest bat cave ... AKA some experts to nurse it back to health.

That's where our guy, Jeremy, became her Johnny-on-the-spot. Dolores was in a bind due to a scheduled doctor's appointment (facials ain't gonna do themselves, after all) and begged Jeremy to save the day ... or, at least, the bat.

Dolores, a huge animal lover who always tweets about animal rescues, was outside her doctor's office when she convinced Jeremy to do her bidding. She asked him to take the BAT to a BIRD sanctuary ... which doesn't exactly add up, but beats leaving it for dead.

Watch the clip to see how he got the job done.

BTW, we got this update since the drop-off. Turns out it's a male Eastern red bat.

This little guy was severely dehydrated, but much like your average town drunk ... after getting some fluids, we're told he's doing much better. And, don't worry, Eastern red bats aren't mini-Draculas. We checked ... they eat moths and insects.

Ray J has a new lead on who the culprit is behind his missing pup -- he says a dognapper made off with his beloved Boogotti, and he is willing to do anything to get his pooch back.

As we've reported ... Ray J and Princess Love are offering a $20,000 reward to anyone who finds their missing Maltese, who disappeared earlier this week from the Ray's parents' Calabasas home. Ray says Boo didn't innocently wander off their property either.

He tells us Boogotti escaped through a gate on the property, but then he claims a white dude, in his early 20s, pulled up in a Dodge Charger, grabbed the pup off the street and bolted!!!

Ray J tells us losing Boogotti is like losing a family member ... and he's pleading with the alleged dognapper to return him to his home. He's also willing to pay a ransom, if necessary. His manager, David Weintraub, tells us the entire family is worried sick.

The new Netflix series "Our Planet" is pissing off some viewers distraught about graphic images of walruses falling to their deaths -- but the studio is standing behind the filmmakers and the disturbing scene.

In case you haven't heard, Netflix dropped the multi-episode series Friday. It documents the effects of climate change on wildlife around the globe. One episode focuses on Russian walruses that are dying off due to receding ice levels.

In covering the epidemic, filmmakers recorded several walruses scaling rocky cliffs near the ocean, and some of them fell over the ledge ... leaving them seriously injured or even dead from the impact.

The scene left tons of viewers traumatized.

Some critics accuse the producers of emotional manipulation and twisting facts ... and that includes some zoologists and prominent environmentalists, who claim the walrus scene is out of context.

For instance, Dr. Susan Crockford went public this week saying the walruses filmed for this scene were falling off the cliff to escape polar bears ... not because climate change is reducing their natural icy habitat. Patrick Moore, the co-founder of Greenpeace, backed that up too.

Worth noting the clip doesn't show any polar bears, and you also don't see any of the walruses attempting to flee a predator.

Netflix is standing firm behind what they say is a documented fact -- that walruses are being forced to gather on land because there's less ice available ... which leaves them in unfamiliar, dangerous territory.

Additionally, Netflix tells us the "Our Planet" team worked with a seasoned Russian biologist who's worked on that stretch of coastline -- and with those walruses -- for 35 years.

Trevor Donovan is helping a needy family ease the strain on their struggling German shepherd ... he's donating his doggy wheelchair to the paralyzed pup.

The former "90210" star says he was bombarded with emails after appearing last week on "TMZ Live," with tons of folks inquiring about the wheelchair Trevor used for his ailing German shepherd, Dogbert. He passed away recently after battling degenerative myelopathy.

One family's plea stood out ... and now Trevor's sending the wheelchair to Philadelphia, where it will greatly improve the life of an 8-year-old German shepherd named Thor, who recently lost the use of its hind legs -- just like Trevor's dog.

In case you missed Trevor on 'Live' ... degenerative myelopathy is a progressive disease of the spinal cord – and he needed the wheelchair to get around.

Ray J and Princess Love are VERY serious about finding their missing pooch -- and by that, we mean they're willing to pay $20,000 to anyone who finds it.

PL announced Saturday night that one of the couple's Maltese dogs, Boogotti, had gone missing from Ray's parents' Calabasas home, and she pled with the public to give her a holler if anybody located it. Then on Sunday, she upped the ante ... by offering a $20k reward.

Princess Love says they believe Boogotti might be in the neighboring Woodland Hills area, and that anyone who thinks they might've found him should DM her with a photo of the pup.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ that Ray J's parents were dog sitting over the weekend when Boogotti escaped through a gate on their property around 3 PM Saturday. We're told RJ and PL are flying back from NYC Sunday to help track it down.

If you're wondering just how important this little canine is to the family, just consider how much money's been spent on it ... including this $20k reward offer. Ray J dropped $30k on a party for the dog in 2015, and the couple's also dropped at least $5k in vet bills for their other dog, Coco.

Mally Mall and Swae Lee can always visit the L.A. Zoo if they want to see jungle cats and monkeys ... because there's little to no chance they're getting their exotic pets back.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... after Mally's Serval cat and Swae's spider monkey were seized in Wednesday's SWAT raids, the animals were immediately taken to special facilities. We're told Mally and Swae will ONLY get the animals back if they had legal reasons to possess them -- such as owning a zoo or an animal educational facility -- and that's just not the case here.

Even if Mally and Swae had a legit reason for housing the Serval cat and spider monkey, we're told they would still need to apply for permits to get the animals back, but those applications would be blocked because of their history.

Mally's had tons of issues with exotic animals in the past ... the Health Dept. launched an investigation when he brought a capuchin monkey to the Ace of Diamonds strip club, and he once gifted Justin Bieber a monkey and an ocelot.

We broke the story ... 40 SWAT team members, armed to the teeth, raided Mally's home Wednesday morning, executing search warrants for exotic animal possession and human trafficking. Swae's home was also raided.

As it stands, we're told the Serval cat and spider monkey seized in the raids are being housed in facilities that are permitted to possess each type of animal, with the capability of providing proper care and adequate caging.

Maybe just a house cat next time?!?

Trevor Donovan is using his dog's heartbreaking death as a teachable moment ... he's here to tell you just how easy it is to stop dogs from suffering the same sad fate.

Trevor came on "TMZ Live" to tell us about his Dogbert's recent passing, and why the disease that killed him is totally preventable. His German shepherd suffered from degenerative myelopathy -- a progressive disease of the spinal cord -- and Trevor says the condition can easily be bred out of all types of dogs.

The last time we caught up with the "90210" alum, Dogbert was already dragging his hind legs ... and Trevor was pissed at the greedy breeders who were too cheap to get their pups tested.

Dak Prescott is lucky his dogs are still alive ... TMZ Sports has obtained video of the day the QB's pets allegedly attacked his neighbor -- and it shows a cop had an assault rifle trained on the animals with a finger on the trigger.

It all went down on Feb. 25, when two of Dak's pit bulls managed to escape his Frisco, Texas home ... and made their way down the street to a neighbor's yard.

Officials say the dogs chewed through the neighbor's fence ... attacked her dogs -- and when she tried to intervene, one of the pit bulls chewed off the top of her finger.

Police body cam footage shows the aftermath of the attack ... when cops arrived on the scene and found the two animals running loose in the streets.

The video is extremely intense ... in order to keep the Dallas Cowboys star's pets at bay, one officer trains his assault rifle on the dogs and yells, "GET BACK!"

Luckily for all parties, Dak's dogs weren't aggressive ... and when Prescott's good friend showed up with leashes -- they quickly retreated and the situation was diffused.

Dak's dad, Nathaniel Prescott, also eventually showed up to help squash the situation ... ensuring cops he wouldn't let the dogs get out ever again, apologizing repeatedly for their actions.

As we previously reported, one of Dak's dogs, Icon, was punished for the incident ... with officials only releasing him back to Dak under the condition he is removed from Frisco.

For his part, the QB never commented on the issue ... and multiple attempts to reach his camp for comment were unsuccessful.

9:30 AM PT -- Attorney Gloria Allred tells us she is representing the woman from Texas, but would not comment further on the case.

Mally Mall had his home raided and searched because police are investigating allegations of multiple sexual assaults and human sex trafficking, along with alleged importation of exotic animals ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ, but the music producer says the principal accuser is an extortionist.

Sources connected with the investigation tell us, the LAPD SWAT informed supporting officers, the raid was triggered by allegations of "multiple rapes and human sex trafficking, as well as firearms on the premises." They added they also believe, "he was illegally importing exotic species into California for people working in the entertainment industry."

As for the alleged rapes and alleged human trafficking, sources involved in the investigation tell TMZ, a woman claimed back in January, Mally Mall flew her out from Texas after seeing her fitness videos on social media. She says she was staying at his home and he drugged and raped her and locked her in a room.

The woman claimed she stayed another day and had intercourse with him a second time because she felt she had to be "submissive." The following day she says she developed a rash and went to a hospital where a nurse called the cops after observing vaginal trauma.

Sources close to Mally Mall say everything was consensual and they were partying together the entire weekend. They add the woman was in no hurry to leave his home. He also says he has voicemails and texts proving she was trying to squeeze money out of him.

We're told the woman has been in touch with various authorities, including the sex unit in the LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division. Our sources say cops believe there are at least 3 women who have come forward with similar allegations of rape.

As for the exotic animals, law enforcement sources tell us, Mally Mall's social media posts showing the various creatures triggered the interest of the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. We're told 3 animals were seized in Tuesday's raid ... 2 monkeys and a Serval cat.

Our sources say the initial search warrant was issued on March 21 but was never executed, and police went back to a judge a week later to get an extension that allowed them to conduct Tuesday's raid.

Mally Mall was NOT arrested but rather detained and released, however, cops tell us the investigations are ongoing.

Mally Mall's lawyer, Steve Sadow, tells TMZ, "If they had real evidence, they would have arrested him. They don't have evidence. It's bogus. Period."

Here's an amazing story to start your Thursday ... the dog UFC legend Frank Shamrock abandoned in a parking lot has been adopted and has a new, loving home -- TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... Shamrock tethered his mom's dog, Zelda, to a pickup truck at Dallas' Love Field Airport last month because he says, "I had no other solution to solve that problem."

Frank says his mother was so sick, she could no longer take care of her dogs ... and when Frank couldn't find a home for Zelda, his plan was to leave the pet in an airport parking lot for security to find.

The problem? Authorities never found her ... and the dog was left tied to the truck for 5 DAYS.

The SPCA of Texas immediately took her in once cops FINALLY located her ... and told us she was in good care, receiving plenty of "TLC."

Now ... SPCA officials say they've found a new home for her -- and believe it's a PERFECT match.

They tell us a woman who had read about Zelda's story received an alert that the pup had been officially put up for adoption Wednesday and immediately raced down to the shelter to meet her.

We're told it was love at first sight ... and, now, Zelda has a new mom and a loving home.

"Zelda’s new mom reports that Zelda is the spitting image of her beloved dog who passed away last November," an SPCA spokesperson says ... "We think that this was simply meant to be and so did she."

"According to Zelda’s new mom, 'We’re going to go home. Say goodbye to all the other doggies … they're waiting for their homes.'”

5:05 PM PT -- The spider monkey that was seized from another residence was taken from Swae Lee's crib. We're told the Cotton-top Tamarin listed in the search warrant for Mally's place was not found at his home.

3:45 PM PT -- Mally Mall tells TMZ he was never taken into custody ... never arrested. He was just detained at his home while police searched and then released him. Although law enforcement says the search warrant was for exotic animal possession and human trafficking, he and his lawyer say the allegations are bogus. His attorney, Steve Sadow, tells TMZ, "If they had real evidence they would have arrested him. They don't have evidence. It's bogus. Period."

12:05 PM PT -- Capt. Foy tells us a Serval cat was also seized from the property and a spider monkey that allegedly belonged to Mall was seized from another property in Los Angeles.

10:45 AM PT -- LAPD officers have arrested Mally and others, it appears.

9:40 AM PT -- Capt. Patrick Foy of CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife tells TMZ they've seized a Cotton-top Tamarin monkey from Mally's home. He says their investigation began 8-9 months ago when they started getting tips about photos of Mally with the monkey.

It appears Mally posted a video of the monkey back in January of 2018 when he was hanging out with Rae Sremmurd rapper Swae Lee.

9:10 AM PT -- We've learned the raid is part of a double-barreled investigation ... for human trafficking and trafficking of exotic animals.

Law enforcement tells us LAPD's Robbery/Homicide division, in conjunction with CA Fish & Wildlife, served the search warrant.

Mally's had several issues with exotic animals in the past. The Health Dept. launched an investigation when he brought a monkey to Ace of Diamonds strip club -- and he also gifted a monkey and an ocelot to Justin Bieber.

As for the human trafficking ... there were allegations in Nevada he was involved in an escort service.

LAPD is raiding hip-hop producer Mally Mall's home in the San Fernando Valley, and cops are going in heavily armed ... TMZ has learned.

A SWAT team surrounded the 'Love and Hip Hop' star's home early Wednesday morning before moving in to serve a search warrant. Our sources tell us the operation was in progress since before sunrise ... as cops prepped for the raid.

There are a ton of officers out there. More than 8 patrol cars, and at least one armored van are lining the block. It's unclear why cops are raiding Mally's place. We've confirmed he is home though.

Mally's been through this at least once before. Back in 2014, the FBI raided his Las Vegas home as part of a federal human trafficking investigation.

Elon Musk appears to have gone from tech titan to SoundCloud rapper overnight -- assuming a goofy autotune track about Haramabe that he linked to is actually his doing.

The Tesla CEO tweeted out a SoundCloud song Saturday called "RIP Harambe," which sent users to an SC page ran by "Emo G Records." It's unclear if it's actually Elon's page, or if it's just something he stumbled upon, but he certainly made it seem he was behind it.

He wrote, "I'm disappointed that my record label failed." As for the song itself ... well, you gotta hear it to believe it. It's an ode to the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla that was shot and killed in 2016 after a child fell into its cage. Harambe became meme fodder for a minute after that.

That minute has come and gone though, so it's interesting that Elon (again, assuming he did this) focused the first song of his SoundCloud rap career on a years-old topic.

And, as if that wasn't enough, Elon kept the meme jokes coming on Sunday ... tweeting out a duck emoji -- in reference to a 2018 meme about ranking emojis -- and saying the detail in it far outweighed the clout of Emo G Records.

The family of the puppy that died aboard an Air France-KLM jetliner marched into LAX demanding the airline return the animal's body, but ended up getting a total runaround ... all on camera.

The father of the family of four, Andranik Avetisian, and his attorney, Evan Oshan, walked right up to a KLM official Tuesday and demanded to know the dog's whereabouts. The official all but stonewalled Oshan, saying he would have to contact KLM's attorney.

Problem is ... it's been 9 days since Bear -- a Central Asian Shepherd -- was found dead in the cargo hold of the KLM flight from Amsterdam, and the family's gotten zero answers. Oshan says KLM isn't returning his phone calls.

We were with Andranik when he and Oshan went to LAX police, asking them to get KLM on the horn. You can see in the video ... all they got was more frustration.

As we first reported ... the family says Bear was healthy and heading to his new home in California. They're fighting to get the body, because they want an independent vet to perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

KLM tells us it's doing its own investigation. A rep for the airline says, "In cooperation with the local health authority in the US, the Center for Disease Control, the dog was initially examined to ensure there was no immediately obvious public health threat. The dog was loaded correctly according KLM's pet policy. We have to wait for the results of the necropsy to determine the cause of death."

TMZ Sports has obtained pictures of the injuries a woman claims she suffered after Dak Prescott's dog attacked her ... and they're graphic.

You can see in the photos the woman's ring finger on her right hand is severely mangled -- with a piece of the tip clearly missing.

As we previously reported, Dak's two pit bulls broke out of his Frisco, Texas home on Feb. 25 and one of his dogs, Icon, made his way to Beth Taylor's front yard -- chewing through her fence and wreaking havoc.

50-year-old Taylor says the animal attacked her dog ... and when she tried to break it up -- Icon bit into her hand.

She says she was hospitalized for 4 DAYS because of the attack ... and needed IV treatment for 2 weeks.

Dak's dog was placed in quarantine after the incident ... and was set to face a "dangerous dog" hearing this month, where possible punishment included the death penalty.

But, officials let Icon off the hook just days before the hearing would take place ... releasing him back to Dak under the condition he is removed from Frisco.

For his part, Prescott never commented on the issue ... and multiple attempts to reach his camp for comment were unsuccessful.

The dog that died on an Air France-KLM jetliner bound for L.A. this week was a healthy, happy puppy heading for his new home ... according to the devastated family now demanding answers.

The family's attorney, Evan Oshan, tells TMZ ... the dog, a Central Asian Shepherd less than a year old named Bear, was recently purchased by the California family from Europe, and was en route to become their pet.

We're told Bear was chosen specifically because the breed is known for being strong and protective but gentle, and the family has 6 and 7-year-old children.

Oshan says the dog had no known health problems and was fine when he boarded the plane, and also doesn't have breathing issues like the French Bulldog that died on a United Airlines flight last year.

The family's now seeking more info from Air France, including surveillance footage of Bear and personnel files of anyone who handled him, incident reports connected to the flight, a flight manifest, cockpit recordings and KLM's protocol for stowing away animals.

In a letter to the airline, Oshan adds ... "We take the death of Bear very seriously and expect the protocol which you will follow will be consistent with the death of any passenger. Furthermore any attempt to veer from our requests will be viewed as obstruction of justice and dealt with as prescribed under the law."

We broke the story ... Bear was found dead Tuesday afternoon in L.A. in KLM's cargo hold after a long flight from Amsterdam. We're told the dog's body is still in the custody of the airline's investigator, and the family's efforts to have him returned to them have been ignored so far.

We're told the family wants the dog's necropsy done by an independent vet facility and to conduct its own investigation into the death.

Frank Shamrock says he didn't mean to hurt the dog he tied to a truck and left at an airport ... telling TMZ Sports, "I know what I did was wrong, but there was no way out of it."

As we previously reported, the UFC legend is under investigation after cops say he abandoned a dog at Dallas Love Field Airport ... leaving it tethered to the bed of a pickup truck for 5 days.

Now, Shamrock is explaining to us why he did it ... saying, "I had no other solution to solve that problem."

The former fighter tells us his mother is ailing, and when he traveled to Texas earlier this month to take care of her ... he realized she was in no condition to own dogs anymore.

Shamrock says he tried his best to find new homes for the animals ... but just could not find a place for Zelda.

"I called everybody in Dallas, I tried everything humanly possible to get care for the dog, to let people know that we could not take the dog."

Shamrock says his search for a new home for Zelda lasted up until just minutes before he had to board a plane back home ... so he decided the best thing to do was to tie her up with food and water and call security to come get her.

The problem? Security never found her, and she was stuck in the pickup bed for 5 days before police officers rescued her.

Now, Frank tells us he's heartbroken over the whole ordeal ... mostly because he can't believe people at the airport let her stay in the truck for that long without getting her.

"The dog stayed there for five days. I can't believe that," Shamrock said through tears ... "That wasn't what I was intending. I thought they would come get it."

Frank is now under investigation by the Dallas Police Department, who tell us they are expecting to file a charge of Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals -- a Class A Misdemeanor -- against the former fighter.

Shamrock says he'll accept any charges, telling us, "I take responsibility for what has happened."

As for Zelda, a spokesperson for the SPCA of Texas tells us she's doing just fine since the incident -- and has received "a ton of TLC" and care while she's been in the organization's custody.

The spokesperson also tells us they expect to put Zelda up for adoption within the next few days.