Pets

Joaquin Phoenix didn't wait long to walk the walk after mentioning the plight of mother cows and their babies in his Best Actor speech at the Academy Awards ... and a mama and her calf are living happily together because of it.

The "Joker" star visited a slaughterhouse run by Manning Beef in Pico Rivera, CA the day after the Oscars to have a sit-down talk with Anthony Di Maria, president and CEO of the company ... and it led to something remarkable.

Though the 2 butted heads over the nature of the industry, Phoenix and Di Maria found some common ground ... and the actor helped LA Animal Save liberate a mother cow and her newborn calf, a daughter.

Joaquin's seen carrying the baby cow away from the holding area where she was born and onto a trailer with her mom. The bovine family will now be able to live and grow together at a Farm Sanctuary location in northern L.A. County ... and they now have names.

Phoenix named the mama cow, Liberty, and the calf, Indigo.

Joaquin says ... "I never thought I’d find friendship in a slaughterhouse, but meeting Anthony and opening my heart to his, I realize we might have more in common than we do differences. Without his act of kindness, Liberty and her baby calf, Indigo, would have met a terrible demise."

He adds that he and animal rights activists like him will continue to "fight for the liberation of all animals who suffer in these oppressive systems" ... but he's happy about this victory.

Liberty and Indigo are the fifth set of mother and child cows saved by LA Animal Save ... but they're aiming for many more.

This isn't a first for Phoenix either. As we reported ... he passed on the SAG Awards after-parties last month and instead headed to a slaughterhouse, where he comforted trucks full of pigs on their way to be killed.

Joaquin joined dozens of protesters who congregate there twice a week, calling their demonstrations "pig vigils." Of course, Phoenix also reportedly convinced the Hollywood Foreign Press to serve an all-vegan menu at the Golden Globes.

Heather Elizabeth Parkhurst -- an actress who's appeared in "Alpha Dog" and "Beverly Hills Cop III" -- damn near got her arm torn off when her pit bulls turned on each other, mauling her in the process.

Heather's fiance, Mark Nason, tells TMZ ... the scary incident went down Friday night at their West Hollywood home. We're told Heather was petting their 7-month-old pit, Baby, when their other pit bull, 8-year-old Buddha, suddenly appeared to get jealous and growled.

And, that's when Baby and Buddha lunged at each other but Heather's right hand and arm got caught in the middle of the violent melee.

The attack left Heather -- who's also acted on TV shows like "NYPD Blue" and "Married with Children" -- a bloody mess. She was rushed to the hospital to treat gruesome injuries, including crushed bones in her hand, torn ligaments and other deep cuts throughout her arm.

We're told doctors inserted pins and stitched up her arm but she remains hospitalized.

It's snuggle season and these famous faces have recruited their four-legged friends to join in on the festivities!

From celebs such as Zendaya and Hailey Bieber to Eric Decker and Sean Gunn it seems like everyone could use some love and affection ... and maybe a lint roller too!

These fur babies sure are getting spoiled by their parents, and it seems like they have no shame in sharing their connection!

Join in on some of the lovin' yourself by scrolling through our gallery of stars cuddling their furry friends! Get a good look at whose all nuzzled up!

Tragic day for the Cleveland Browns ... the team's first-ever live mascot, Swagger, has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 6 years old.

The 145-pound bullmastiff joined the Browns as a puppy at the beginning of the 2014 season ... and ran out with the players before every home game until Week 10 of the 2019 season.

The only home game Swagger missed was in 2017 ... when the Browns played in London.

Swagger's son, SJ, took over the mascot duties as the cancer progressed ... and the beloved dog served as "Dawg Pound Captain" during his final Browns game.

Swagger was a fan favorite at FirstEnergy Stadium ... and even got some one-on-one time with folks like UFC champ Stipe Miocic and Baker Mayfield.

According to Browns fans in our office ... the dog was a true bright spot during some of the Browns' worst years.

Mayfield posted a tribute to Swagger, saying "Doggy heaven got a good one today."

The team says SJ will continue to fill his dad's shoes for 2020 and beyond.

#RIP

Jessica Simpson couldn't escape the wrath of animal rights activists incensed over her wearing fur.

The "Open Book" author was leaving Il Mulino restaurant in NYC after midnight when she was accosted by some anti-fur protesters who shouted out "animal abuser," "murderer" and "shame on you" as she hopped in her SUV.

One guy hammered his point home by screaming ... "What type of person would wear fur in 2020?!"

This wasn't Jessica's first run-in of the day with the angry activists. Earlier Tuesday night, her Barnes & Noble book signing event for her new memoir was crashed by a much larger group of anti-fur folks.

They began screaming and holding up their signs as Simpson came out to give a speech, forcing her to take cover for a couple minutes while security booted the protesters.

The good news for Jessica ... her fans stuck around, chanting her name, and she eventually came back out and talked about her book.

BTW ... if any of the animal rights activists look familiar, it's because this isn't their first rodeo. They've crashed events and confronted several other celebs for wearing fur ... like Kate Upton, Chrissy Teigen, Lil' Kim and Jennifer Lopez.

We're certain they'll do it again too.

NFL D-lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches says his life has been turned upside down over a "completely false" story about him abandoning a dog ... saying he's been forced to move due to serious threats.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers player is accused of leaving his Cane Corso, Jitterbug, on the side of a Florida road last month ... where it was later found tired, hungry and alone.

The Buccaneers have announced they're investigating the incident ... but in a lengthy statement Wednesday, Nunez-Roches says he had nothing to do with the abandonment.

"We would never abandon a dog," Nunez-Roches says. "We were expecting our first baby, so we thought it would be safer to have only smaller dogs in the house."

"Jitterbug is a Cane Corso, which is an Italian Mastiff and not a Pit Bull as was incorrectly reported, and we gave her to a family that wanted one. We have no idea how she ended up in an animal shelter, but we absolutely did not and would never abandon her or any other dog."

Nunez-Roches says the allegations caused him to receive so many violent threats ... he was forced to call the cops and physically change his address.

"We love and have taken care of dogs for years," Nunez-Roches says. "But, because a few overzealous people mistakenly assumed we had abandoned a dog that was no longer ours, we have received threats and had our reputations smeared in the media."

Nunez-Roches says the Tampa Police Department is now handling the case ... and he says he wants retractions from people who made the accusations against him.

"Hopefully the groups who falsely accused us ... realize their mistake and we can all go back to living normal lives and taking care of our dogs and other pets."

As for Jitterbug, the dog was adopted shortly after it was found in Florida ... and we're told it's doing well and is very happy in its new home.

WWE superstar Alexa Bliss has a serious bone to pick with her fans ... who keep showing more social media love to her butt than her adorable pet piggy!

Bliss has more than 4 MILLION followers on Instagram who follow the 5-time WWE champ in and outside of the ring. As Alexa points out, the fans seem to like pics of her physique!

Buttttttt ... Alexa is also a proud pig parent who's obsessed with her porker pet, Larry Steve, (who also has 97,000 followers!) and she's upset that he doesn't get the same amount of "likes" her butt racks up!

In fact, Bliss posted about the situation recently saying, "I’m not really a fan of the fact that a pic of my booty shorts got WAAAAYYY more 'likes' than any pics of my pups or pig."

We saw Bliss at LAX and asked straight-up -- why the beef?

"I think Larry is a lot cuter than my butt!"

There's no ignoring this elephant in the room, especially because he's taking over multiple rooms ... in a hotel!!!

Ya gotta see this unbelievable video of a wild elephant roaming around the Jetwing Yala hotel in Sri Lanka. As you can imagine, it gets a wide berth upon entering the joint ... no one's rushing him at the check-in line. Yes, he packed his own trunk ... and as you can see, used it to poke around the place.

Best of all, the full-grown Asian bull elephant, -- named Natta Kota by locals -- is a repeat customer!!! The hotel says he's been wandering in from time to time since 2013, spending days napping in the shade and stomping through the resort's walkways.

The pachyderm used to be a seasonal visitor, according to the hotel, stealing fruit from vehicles and grub from the kitchen -- but now he's got a permanent residence at Jetwing and he's left in peace.

No word if he's racking up rewards points, but he's definitely a bull (elephant) in a china shop. Someone's gotta pay for that lamp!!!

Well, here's the weirdest "bucking" thing you'll see all day ... a teacher cracking a joke about killing a puppy in order to motivate his students to win a vocabulary competition.

Woof!

A California high school teacher named Ryan Price at Buckingham Charter Magnet was trying to get his class fired up for the "Vocab Bowl" -- in which it was leading over some rival schools -- by bringing in a brand new mascot ... an adorable puppy named Buck.

Pretty awesome method of encouragement! Except ... Mr. Price then goes on a rant about doing your "bucking vocab" and issues a threat to the kids -- if they lose the Vocab Bowl, he'll "kill the dog."

Note to future broadcasters ... an on-air tribute to a dead pet is the WORST time to get fired up over a crazy dunk!!!

Want proof? Check out this clip from a high school basketball team in Minnesota on Nov. 30 (captured by Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools) when one announcer reveals that his dog recently died after being run over by a car.

While making the emotional announcement during a "Gone But Not Forgotten" moment, his co-announcer gets FIRED UP about an aggressive slam dunk happening in real time on the court ... and the exchange is SUPER AWKWARD.

Here's the transcript ...

Announcer 1: "Our sweet Lucy, at the age of 12 she was run over in our driveway ..."

Announcer 2: "LIKE THAT?!!! Was she run over like that?!!"

Yeesh.

Thankfully, there was a time out in the game that gave everyone a chance to calm down and reset ... and later on, Announcer 2 offered his condolences to his broadcasting partner.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have dug deep into their pockets to help in what seems like an impossible battle to fight the devastating wildfires in Nicole's country, and they have a very personal stake in all of this.

The donation will help the Rural Fire Service. As you know, 13-million acres have gone up in flames with grim prospects for the future. There are 146 fires in New South Wales alone, and the summer heat has been unforgiving.

An estimated half-a-billion wild animals have died in the fires, 1,500 homes have gone up in smoke and 24 people have died.

The world's first cloned pet, a feline named Copy Cat, is celebrating a major milestone ... she's been on this Earth for a whopping 18 years!!!

Copy Cat, or CC for short, was cloned back in 2001 at Texas A&M University and she recently celebrated her 18th birthday on Dec. 22 at her adopted home in the Lone Star State.

It's a pretty momentous occasion ... when Copy Cat was created, researchers believed animal clones would die at young ages ... but CC is still pawing around.

CC's caretaker, Duane Kramer, helped spawn her in a lab and his wife, Shirley, adopted the cute critter shortly after her birth. Now, Copy Cat lives in a special shed in the Kramer's backyard in College Station.

Copy Cat's got a feline family of her own too ... she gave birth to a litter of 4 kittens back in 2006, and 3 survived -- their names are Tess, Tim and Zip.

Hooray for science!!!

Who's a good public urinator?!? You are, yes you are!!!

Ruff day for the lads at Sheffield United ... who were getting ready for their big Premier League showdown with Liverpool on Thursday when a dog ran onto the field at Stanley Park and peed all over a practice cone!

At first, the players seemed a bit confused as to why the dog was there -- but when the 4-legged fan lifted his leg and opened fire, you can hear the whole team crack up laughing.

Funny moment ... but now, they've gotta focus quick -- Liverpool is #1 in the Premier League. They're 18-0-1 on the season so far and look unstoppable.

Meanwhile, Sheffield United is in 8th place ... they're 7-5-8 this season, but they've won 3 out of their last 5.

The troubling story about Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches allegedly abandoning his Cane Corso has a happy ending ... because the sweet pooch has found a new forever home.

TMZ's learned the dog, whose name is Jitterbug, has been adopted by a woman named Andrea Johnson and her husband, Keith. Andrea tells us they already have a Cane Corso, and when they heard there was another at a Tampa rescue they drove to meet the pup and interview to adopt her.

Andrea says she explained to the rescue that Jitterbug would be in loving and caring hands because she and Keith are familiar with the breed ... and they have a large home with a big backyard and a pool.

Plus, Jitterbug will have a new canine pal in their other Cane Corso, whose name is Addi.

The rescue group approved and the Johnsons picked Jitterbug up on New Year's Eve after she was spayed. We're told she's doing great ... and enjoyed her first meal of 2020 -- steak and sweet potatoes.

More positive news -- Andrea tells us she reached out to Rakeem's wife about Jitterbug to learn more about her temperament and what she likes, and she was very helpful.

Andrea says the wife filled her in on all the commands the dog knows, what food she prefers, her love of walks and car rides and that she's a great house dog and very chill.

We're told Rakeem's wife claims they had to give Jitterbug away because they are expecting a child, but it's still unclear how the dog ended up abandoned on the side of a busy road.

As we reported ... the Tampa Bay Bucs are looking into the situation.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have launched an investigation into allegations defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches abandoned his Cane Corso on the side of a busy road, where it sat for 36 hours.

An animal rescue group found the dog on December 8, whose name is Jitterbug -- sitting on a Florida road tired, hungry and alone. The dog was also missing some teeth.

Turns out Nunez-Roches is also a dog breeder. In case you're unfamiliar, Cane Corso's are a form of pit bull.

The animal rescue group took Jitterbug to a shelter and an official there says they contacted Nunez-Roches to say they had his dog. The official said, "He had responded back that he would pick her up on Sunday, which I thought was odd because they played Detroit on Sunday and they had a 4:25 game, so how would he get back in time to pick her up at 7? Was football more important?" He never picked up his dog.

The dog remains in the shelter and she's been pre-adopted.

One of Kourtney Kardashian's Christmas presents barked this year ... so get ready for some serious cuteness overload.

Kourtney introduced her new puppy to the world Thursday ... and she's truly a beaut!!! Hard to tell if she's a golden retriever or a lab ... but cute is cute. There's only one problem ... Kourt doesn't know what to name her. Seriously, she captioned her pics of the pup with her kids, "But what should we name her?"

Here are some suggestions ... Dollar? Billion?! TRILLION?! Fine ... Goldilocks works too.