Pets

Great news for UK soccer star Daniel Sturridge -- who was REUNITED with his beloved Pomeranian after the dog was jacked from his L.A. home Monday in an apparent burglary. 

The 29-year-old, who's been staying in a home in West Hollywood, had gone to social media to beg for his dog's safe return -- saying he'd pay ANY ransom money to get his pet back ... "It don't matter the cost."

But, Wednesday morning, Sturridge got a call from someone who claimed they had found little Lucci ... and wanted to return him. 

The LAPD tells TMZ Sports ... Sturridge is now in possession of the dog and he told cops he doesn't believe the person who returned the pet is the one who stole him in the first place. 

Unclear if Sturridge paid the ransom money or how the person who returned the dog got possession of Lucci in the first place. 

Cops say no arrests have been made in the case. Unclear if cops have identified any suspects. 

Sturridge had posted footage after the burglary showing a smashed door in his home -- the apparent entry point where the bad guys broke in. 

The soccer star also claims the burglars took other personal items from the house. Unclear if those other items have also been located. 

Sturridge recently played for Liverpool and has reportedly made more than $40 million in his pro soccer career. 

Ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is begging the scumbags who STOLE HIS DOG during a burglary in L.A. to return his beloved pet ... saying he'll pay ANYTHING to get him back. 

The 29-year-old English soccer star says his adorable Pomeranian named Lucci was taken from his West Hollywood home on Monday night, along with other personal items. 

He posted video of the smashed door where the thieves likely broke in. 

"I want to know who took my sh*t. I want to know what's went on. I want to know why they've took my dog. I want to know why they've took bags from upstairs. I want to know what the f*ck's going on. I'm dead serious."

Sturridge says money is no object -- he's reportedly made more than $40 MILLION in his career -- and he's willing to crack open his wallet to get his 4-legged friend back. 

"Whoever knows who broke into my crib, I'll pay you anything. I'm dead serious," Sturridge says.

We reached out to the LAPD and they told us they're actively investigating the break-in -- but have no leads at this time. 

Hopefully someone in the area has surveillance video. Story developing ... 

PETA's celebrating a legal W that it hopes will be a big step in putting an end to using live animals in movies ... and it got some cash to boot.

The animal rights org will receive a "substantial payment" from Paws for Effect, the company that trained the puppy, Shelby, for her starring role in "A Dog's Way Home" ... which came out in January.

We broke the story ... Shelby's owners sued PETA for defamation in February, claiming the organization went on a smear campaign against Paws alleging it had racked up citations under the Animal Welfare Act.

Paws claimed PETA was wrong and was lying, but now the company's officially walked it back and has asked the court to dismiss the case.

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Paws now says what PETA accused it of was "substantially true" and admits it has "on several occasions over a period of several years been cited by the United States Department of Agriculture for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act."

Paws offered to pay for PETA's legal fees and then some, and PETA accepted. PETA says Paws has also pledged to not exhibit or broker wild animals as part of its business in the future.

PETA's Senior VP, Lisa Lange, adds that the org is "pleased to have one less player involved in such exploitation" and vows to "keep exposing exhibitors' behind-the-scenes conduct until Hollywood ends the use of live animals and embraces the many types of realistic and humane alternatives."

Wag! dog walking app promises to put your pets in the hands of the best walkers, but comes up way short and then dangles Olivia Munn as a shiny object to quiet upset owners ... according to a new lawsuit.

Dog lovers probably already know, but for the rest of you ... Wag! is an app that hooks up dog owners with nearby dog walkers -- strictly for walking pets. It ain't Tinder. 

The problem in the eyes of one user, Barbara Meli, is the app is hiring untrustworthy people to walk your dogs -- and some pet owners are paying the ultimate price. 

In the suit, Meli says she got suspicious after attempting to hire a walker through the app -- there was very little info about the suggested walker -- so she hired an attorney to launch an investigation. She claims they discovered Wag! walkers lost at least 11 dogs from 2015 to 2018, and several more just last month.

She says the recent case of a dog named Benny in NYC is a prime example. After Benny went missing ... Wag! sent Olivia Munn to meet Benny's owners and to minimize the bad press. Later that week, Benny was found at a Wag! walker's home.

According to the suit, Wag! claims to use a "robust vetting process that includes application and verification process, a third party background check, an online test covering dog safety." They claim only 10 percent of applicants make it through the rigorous checks.

Nineteen very good boys and girls duked it out to see who could really make the crowd say "Woof" ... and in the end, a mangy mutt was crowned World's Ugliest Dog.

The competition was held Friday night at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds & Event Center, and this year's winner is a former stray pooch who goes by the name Scamp the Tramp ... and he was runner-up last year!

According to his bio ... "no amount of conditioner can calm" Scamp's matted and messy fur. His owner says she rescued him at the "last hour" from an L.A. animal shelter, and it's been a match made in heaven.

Scamp has been a pet therapist at a senior center for 7 years, and also listens to first graders read stories on a weekly basis. Now, he can add celebrity status to his bio too -- he appeared on the "Today" show Monday morn.

In addition to his new title, Scamp took home a trophy and $1,500 ... which will be matched in a donation split between the Humane Society of Sonoma County, Angels Fund, and Compassion Without Borders.

As for the other dogs ... there was a lot of cute and ugly to go around. A 3-year-old Pekingese with a wild tongue aptly named Wild Thang took second place, and a rescue pup named Tostito -- who's missing his lower jaw -- came in third.

Taylor Swift's newest pet is on the family payroll now -- so get out there and start working, Benjamin Button!

Swiftees already know Taylor filed docs to trademark her first 2 cats -- Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson -- but she didn't want to leave the new cat out in the cold. That's right, she's now added BB to the squad.

According to the new docs ... Taylor's applied for the trademark, "Meredith, Olivia & Benjamin Swift." The legal move now opens the door for Taylor to cash in on every kind of merch imaginable -- clothing and phone accessories, toys, luggage, home furnishings, key rings, arts and crafts kits, ornaments, glassware, coloring books, magazines, etc ...

You get the picture ... she can now milk these cats for all they're worth, and then some.

And yes, cats have nipples.

Meredith and Olivia made their merch debuts last year ... so this is old hat for those cats.

Taylor adopted Benjamin earlier this year after they met on the set of her "ME!" music video.

Mally Mall thinks State Farm makes for a terrible neighbor, claiming the insurance company's screwing him out of big bucks ... like $300k for his saber-toothed tiger head!!!

According to a new suit ... the hip-hop producer went with State Farm for a policy to cover his property in 2016, but after an unfortunate series of events -- a house fire and 2 subsequent thefts -- it failed to pony up the money he thinks he's owed ... specifically for the extinct cat head he says he lost.

As for why State Farm's to blame -- Mally claims he trusted his agent to get him properly covered a few months before his Vegas home caught fire and damaged his master bedroom, master bath, safe room and media room ... but the guy vastly underinsured him.

Mall claims the fire caused him to cut power to his home, which disabled his security system, and led to 2 separate thefts in the months afterward ... so he filed claims for property loss for the fire and the thefts.

Here's how he says he got screwed -- Mally claims his agent set his policy limits way too low ... and as a result, State Farm paid well over a million dollars LESS than his actual losses. For the thefts, Mall says the company also refused to cover various luxury items he owned ... like the tiger head.

Post Malone could NOT look more ecstatic living life in the wild.

The rapper and his crew are currently in South Africa getting in on all the touristy stuff. They all hit up the popular Lion & Safari Park in Broederstroom, South Africa and got a little taste of everything ... from petting cheetahs to feeding giraffes. Side note: who knew giraffes were huge Lays chips fans?

Check out the vid ... Post also got to pet a lion cub and even had a cheetah lick his hand. BTW ... Post was in South Africa because he performed earlier this week at the Castle Lite Unlocks hip hop experience in Johannesburg.

2:47 PM PT -- Cesar's team told us he would be working with the bird, however, a spokesperson for the Metropoulos brothers says Cesar's team is full of it. The rep tells us, "As the owner of the Playboy mansion, Daren Metropoulos is very proud to have the only private zoo in Los Angeles. He has provided every resource necessary to create a protective environment where these very unique animals are flourishing."

The statement continues, "Because of the iconic status of the property, Daren receives many requests to visit the zoo. Cesar Milan contacted Daren a year ago and he granted him access."

"There are no plans now or in the future, for the African grey crowned crane, or any other exotic animal to leave the zoo or to be cared for or trained by anyone other than the current team of professional caretakers. Any reference to the contrary is inaccurate."

Cesar Millan's spreading his wings ... using his talents to tame a moody birdie at the Playboy Mansion.

We're told the new owners of the famous mansion -- brothers Evan and Daren Metropoulos -- will hand over their African grey crowned crane sometime at the end of this month. The plan ... the famous dog trainer will calm the temperamental bird at his Santa Clarita ranch.

Cesar came into the picture near the end of last year during a visit to the mansion ... where the Metropoulos bros groused to Cesar about the bird's aggressive tendencies ... like charging people and just making it difficult for caretakers to tend to the exotic bird.

Cesar connected with the African crane during his visit and made it submit ... showing who's boss, and it astounded everyone. The brothers were duly impressed and hatched a plan with Cesar to reboot the bird.

The crane's gonna get the full Cesar treatment, and when he's done, it'll head back to the Mansion ... hopefully way less cranky.

Remember that adorable puppy the St. Louis Blues adopted during the season and occasionally let loose on the ice??

... LOOK AT HIM NOW, HE'S ALL GROWN UP AND HE'S A CHAMPION!!!

If you're unfamiliar ... the Blues picked up Barclay, a Labrador Retriever, way back when he was the cutest puppy ever in October.

They let him skate around ... they played with him ... and adorable times were had by all.

But, turns out, the good boy ended up being a good luck charm ... because he helped the Blues' win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history Wednesday night!!!

Now, STL is rewarding Barclay for the good job he did this season ... giving him a championship hat -- and lobbying for his name to be inscribed on Lord Stanley!

"Hey @NHL," the Blues wrote on Twitter on Thursday ... "Barclay was wondering if he gets his name on the Cup, too?"

Of course, Barclay won't be with the team for too much longer ... they say they're training him to be a service dog that will eventually leave the team to help people in need.

Sad he won't be around the ice anymore? Here's some photos of baby Barclay that'll cheer you up ...

AWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UFC fighter Macy Chiasson has little more than the shirt on her back after a massive crane crashed through her Dallas apartment building, and her description of the moment of impact is chilling.

Macy joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday and said she and her dog escaped the collapsing crane's path with seconds to spare. She told us the crane was there for new construction going up next to her building -- and when a severe storm struck on Monday it blew the crane over backward.

Macy says she knew something horrible had gone wrong after hearing a loud "boom," and then floors collapsing above her first-floor apartment. She grabbed her dog and ran out the door ... stumbling into the lobby to find neighbors covered in blood and debris.

The accident's still under investigation but the crane company's come under scrutiny because the crane's supposed to withstand 95 MPH winds. Winds gusted as high as 71 MPH. Video showing the crane coming down shows another nearby crane remain stable.

Ex-"NCIS" star Pauley Perrette stunned fans of the show when she alluded to a "physical assault" at the hands of her costar, Mark Harmon -- and now we have some clarity about her allegations.

Pauley went on a Twitter rant last Friday vowing to never return to "NCIS," saying she was terrified of Mark attacking her ... and accused him of an actual assault.

In a since-deleted tweet, Pauley wrote ... "You think I didn't expect blow back? You got me wrong. THIS happened To my crew member and I fought like hell to keep it from happening again! To protect my crew!"

Then came her allegation ... "And then I was physically assaulted for saying NO!? and I lost my job."

Quick backstory ... that was all a reference to Mark's dog biting a crew member on set back in 2016, which left the guy with 16 stitches.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Pauley is now claiming that Mark body checked her on set in 2017 in what she perceived as payback. We're told Pauley felt it was an attempt to intimidate her after the dog fiasco.

Our sources tell us Pauley strongly objected to the dog being on the set after the bite and lobbied CBS brass to make it happen. We're told CBS eventually caved, telling Mark the dog would have to stay in his trailer unless it was leashed.

After CBS's new rule, we're told Pauley felt Mark only trotted the dog out when she was around -- which made things tense -- and their relationship was never the same. They hardly filmed any scenes together after that.

As to Pauley's claim she "lost" her job, our sources tell us it's unclear what she means exactly. We've been assured Pauley quit "NCIS" on her own accord in 2018.

11:46 AM PT -- Jenelle and her mom, Barbara, just had a nasty little exchange outside the courthouse. Barbara insinuates the only reason Jenelle was hugging her daughter is for the cameras ... and Jenelle says Barbara -- who currently has custody of Ensley -- has blocked her number.

10:49 AM PT -- Jenelle just had an emotional moment with 2-year-old Ensley, hugging her daughter in the parking lot before Ensley left with Jenelle's mom, Barbara.

10:13 AM PT-- Jenelle and David just left court -- sans any of their kids -- we're told they were simply there to give the judge updates on their progress with parenting classes and couple's counseling.

Jenelle Evans and David Eason are back in court desperately trying to regain custody of their kids ... and at least one of the ex-'Teen Mom' star's kids was present.

Jenelle and David showed up together Tuesday to court in North Carolina in their ongoing Child Protective Services case ... but had nothing to say to our camera. As you know ... the troubled couple has been making court visits almost weekly since David shot and killed the family's dog.

Not long after Jenelle and David arrived, Jenelle's ex, Nathan Griffith, showed up with their 4-year-old son, Kaiser. It's unclear if any of Jenelle's other kids -- including 9-year-old Jace and 2-year-old Ensley -- made it to court.

As we first reported ... Jenelle and David enrolled in couples therapy in an attempt to get their kids back. David will also undergo a psych evaluation to determine what is at the core of his anger issues.

All of Jenelle's kids were removed after a judge decided there were serious issues with the couple that put the children at risk.

Jenelle Evans and David Eason are turning over a new leaf ... and doing everything they can to make sure they regain custody of her children.

Sources close to Jenelle and David tell TMZ ... since losing custody of all 3 kids Tuesday, the couple has enrolled in marriage counseling, signed up for parenting classes and David's got an upcoming psych evaluation to find the root of his anger issues ... all conditions set by the judge if they hope to get the kids back.

It's all part of the plan to prove Jenelle and David are willing to do whatever it takes to get 9-year-old Jace, 4-year-old Kaiser and 2-year-old Ensley living under the same roof once again.

Jenelle has no plans to dump David, even though his brutal killing of the family dog put the wheels in motion for CPS to take the kids out of their home. We're told Jenelle and David are still committed to each other, and they want to emerge from this extremely rough patch as a family.

As you know ... MTV booted Jenelle from its "Teen Mom" franchise after her husband shot and killed her French bulldog, Nugget because it nipped at Ensley.

We're told Jenelle's firing has really lit a fire inside her ... and she's getting back to work on her new makeup line, which is targeting an August launch. With no kids in the house, she's got a lot more time on her hands.

Jenelle Evans and David Eason suffered a major court defeat Tuesday, when a judge ruled they will not regain custody of their 3 children ... and they will have virtually no face-to-face contact for the time being.

After 4 days of explosive testimony, in which Jenelle, David, Kaiser's dad Nathan Griffith and others testified about problems in the home, the judge decided there were serious issues with Jenelle and David that put the children at risk.

The trigger for the hearing was David killing the family dog earlier this month. As we reported, Child Protective Services ordered 4-year-old Kaiser to stay with Nathan, 9-year-old Jace with his grandma, Barbara, and 2-year-old Ensley also with Barbara.

Sources connected to the case tell TMZ, for the time being, Jenelle and David can see their kids only once a week for an hour with supervision.

As one source put it, "It's all David's fault."

Another source says the judge laid out a number of steps Jenelle and David must take in order to regain custody, including parenting classes, counseling and weekly drug testing.

And yet, another source told us Kaiser was "extremely fearful" of going back to the family house and claimed he was mistreated by David. His concerns were brought up in court and we're told affected the judge's decision.

As for Jenelle, one source says she was "stunned" by the ruling and believed she would walk out of court Tuesday with her kids. Instead, she walked out with David.

NASCAR stud Joey Logano needs your help ... he says his family's searching for their missing dog, an adorable French Bulldog named Luigi.

Joey's wife, Brittany, says Luigi's been missing since Monday, and she thinks he figured out a way to get past the fence at their home in North Carolina.

The Loganos say they've been calling around to local animal shelters, dialing 311 and have been putting up flyers all around their neighborhood in Charlotte -- but to no avail.

Luigi is black and brindle, weighing in at 19 lbs and should be wearing a green collar with his name and a phone number for his parents. He's also got a microchip implant, but apparently, that hasn't helped his family find him. Poor little pup.

Joey addressed the scary situation Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway ... telling reporters he thinks the dog might've been stolen.