Pets

Cher spent some time with the Asian elephant she helped rescue from miserable conditions in Pakistan ... following him to his new home in Cambodia.

The icon's been working with other animal activists since 2016 to free Kaavan ... a 36-year-old pachyderm dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant" after his partner died in 2012.

Kaavan had been living for years in Pakistan's controversial Islamabad zoo, where he reportedly suffered from lack of exercise and other ailments due to living in an inappropriate structure.

Thankfully, the zoo was closed earlier this year and thanks to the efforts of Cher and her charity Free the Wild ... the animal welfare organization Four Paws got permission to remove Kaavan and send him to a sanctuary in Cambodia.

Cher visited Kaavan where he was being held in Pakistan to celebrate his departure a couple days ago, and followed him to the Siem Reap International Airport Monday for his arrival.

Pet owners showed some serious love to Kobe Bryant in 2020 -- with Mamba-inspired pet names up BIG over the past year, new data shows.

The famous dog-walking site Rover.com has crunched the numbers for its annual list of the most popular pet names ... which shows fans are honoring the NBA legend by passing on his name (and nickname) to their beloved furry family members.

The name "Mamba" is up 111% from 2019 -- the biggest spike.

"Black Mamba" is up 58% and "Kobe" is up 16%.

The site says the name "Gianna" is also up 20% from 2019, which Rover suspects is also connected to fans paying tribute to Bryant's daughter, Gigi.

Other notable increases ... Rover says the name LeBron is up among dog owners. Michael Jordan is up big with cats.

Neymar is one of the top trending athlete-inspired dog names of 2020 -- with a 58% increase.

They also note Tom Brady is seeing a surge in pet name popularity ... probably from people in Tampa?!

Obviously, the rise in Kobe-inspired names comes from people looking to honor Bryant following his death back in January.

As we previously reported, BabyCenter is also seeing a surge in people naming their human children after Kobe and Gianna as well.

The name Kobe vaulted from #595 on the list in 2019 to #216 in 2020 -- "far and away the biggest riser on the list for boys in 2020."

As for Gianna, her name among newborns rose from #76 to #24 (seriously, #24).

President-elect Joe Biden might be limping his way into the White House -- the guy twisted his ankle this weekend playing with his dog ... and is getting checked out just in case.

Biden was injured Saturday while playing with his German Shepherd, Major. He slipped and twisted his ankle in the process. Out of an abundance of caution, his team says he'll be examined by an orthopedist Sunday afternoon.

Reporters weren't allowed to view Biden going in or out of the doctor's office, per his team's request.

First of all, ouch. Second ... the news is both awesome and somewhat scary. It's great that Biden is active and able-bodied enough to play with his dog, and apparently feisty to the point that he could actually hurt himself ... even slightly.

It'll be cool having a Prez that gets out and there and ruffs it every now and then -- unlike Trump, whose only physical activity is golf ... which is pretty static.

On the other hand, Biden is an older guy ... he's 78. A sprained ankle isn't gonna make or break anything (we hope), but maybe take it easy out there, JB. We're gonna need ya intact for at least 4 years ... so tell Major (and Champ) to cool it.

Get well soon.

The National Dog Show is giving us some sense of normalcy in 2020 ... COVID be damned.

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia kept the Thanksgiving Day tradition alive with its annual dog show ... though things did look a little different out there, and understandably so. There was no crowd to cheer on the pooches prancing and strutting their stuff on the floor.

The winner this year -- a Scottish Deerhound named Claire. Congrats to the doggie!!!

And, without a crowd, it looks like the KCP borrowed a page from pro sports teams ... using cutouts of dogs and their owners to fill the seats. Those who bought cutouts were also supporting a great cause ... with proceeds going to the AKC Pet Disaster Fund.

The show -- which aired on NBC after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- complied with COVID-19 safety protocols to pull off the show, which is remarkable in and of itself.

The humans wore masks. As for the dogs ... there's usually around 2,000 competing, but this time around only 600.

This could be you, Joe Exotic -- President Trump just issued his first lame-duck pardon ... sparing a feathered friend from ending up on someone's Thanksgiving dinner plate.

POTUS emerged Tuesday in the Rose Garden for the annual pardoning of the turkey in advance of Thanksgiving. It's the final time he'll cut a break for a bird -- this one's named Corn -- during his Presidency.

Two turkeys arrived in D.C. for the special event, with Corn getting the honor as the official Thanksgiving Turkey. Standard ops call for there to be a backup ... and Corn's understudy fowl was Cob. Naturally, they both hail from Iowa.

The White House soldiered on with the light-hearted event despite the dark cloud looming -- there were signs of the resurgent pandemic ... the farmers who raised Corn and Cob wore masks, while Trump went mask-free. Again, naturally.

It was a rare public appearance for Trump, who continues to stew over his loss to President-elect Joe Biden -- but he resisted referencing the election results during the ceremony, and at least put on a happy face for cameras.

COVID is now ruining the greatest dog race in the world -- because the reigning Iditarod champ says travel restrictions are forcing him to bail on the 2021 event.

Thomas Waerner -- the musher who famously won the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race back in March -- says getting in and out of Alaska with his 16 dogs seems like an insurmountable task with the pandemic still wreaking havoc all over the world.

"I had to make the difficult decision to not start in the Iditarod 2021," Waerner said in a Facebook post.

"It is a lot of work to get to the starting line in a normal year, and in this COVID times it is not possible to get dogs and myself to Alaska."

The race is slated to begin on March 7 -- with mushers and their pooches trekking through 1,000 snow-covered miles to the finish line. There are still 57 mushers expected to compete, according to the AP.

Waerner -- who's from Norway -- famously won the event earlier this year ... but got stuck in Alaska for MONTHS after his victory due to travel restrictions. He finally caught a flight home in June.

As we previously reported, the 2020 event was highly criticized for allowing fans to gather in masses to watch the event without masks or any PPE. This year, organizers are taking the COVID issue much more seriously, bringing on a doctor who specializes in infectious diseases to help with the safety protocol.

As for Waerner, he dominated the 2020 race and adorably thanked his lead dogs -- K2 and Bark -- after crossing the finish line.

Prince William and Kate Middleton's beloved dog, Lupo, has died ... a dog that was responsible for choosing the name of the future King of England.

The couple announced the sad news, saying, "Very sadly last weekend our dear dog, Lupo, passed away. He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much."

Lupo, an English Cocker Spaniel, has been the face of the breed for several years and is responsible for the gain in the breed's popularity across the pond.

The pooch is the offspring of a dog owned by Kate's parents ... and Lupo was happily adopted by William.

Lupo, which means wolf in Italian, is responsible for Prince George ... well, sort of. Back when Kate was pregnant, she and William reportedly wrote a bunch of names on paper, which were strewn across their floor. They turned Lupo loose to see which piece of paper he would tap ... sure enough, it was the one bearing the name George.

Lupo was 9.

David Spade must be struggling, because he's apparently auditioning for the job of TMZ photog ... and he's so good he may get a callback!!!

David put his cellphone to questionable use Saturday, when he interviewed a squirrel about the pandemic. The critter was very tight-lipped -- probably because his mouth was filled with nuts. Nevertheless, David peppered it with questions ... some of them questionable.

Note to David ... it's okay to ask the squirrel about lockdowns, but asking the rodent to talk smack on Fauci -- well, that crosses the line.

David persists, but the squirrel isn't having it and scampers off into the field.

A puppy learned firsthand how scary nature can be, but luckily a brave man came to its rescue ... by battling a gator with his bare hands.

The wild scene went down in a pond somewhere in Florida -- naturally -- where the poor little doggie wound up in the mouth of an alligator ... which thankfully wasn't nearly as big as that one who visited a golf course in Naples last week.

It's still terrifying nonetheless, as the gator had the puppy completely submerged before our hero jumped in and pulled them out.

As the frightened pooch yelps for help, the man uses his brute strength to pry open the beast's jaws, allowing the dog to get free and run to safety.

Florida's version of Crocodile Dundee wasn't done dealing with the gator, though. He reportedly tossed it over a nearby fence, in hopes it would not return to the pond.

Jeff Lowe is back under Uncle Sam's microscope -- the feds have more concerns about animals at his zoo, and want to check things out for themselves -- but Jeff says they can kick rocks.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds claim the 'Tiger King' star is displaying animals at Joe Exotic's former zoo in Oklahoma without the necessary licenses or care. Prosecutors believe the animals are in "serious danger" because they don't have an attending veterinarian, and are getting substandard care.

The feds paint a grisly picture of the scene on the ground, claiming some animals are malnourished, dehydrated and licking wounds from fights in their enclosures.

However, Jeff says it's impossible for the feds to know what condition the animals are in because no one outside of his team has seen them in 2 months! Jeff says, "How arrogant and ignorant of them to deduce that my animals are in anything but perfect health. Their filing doesn’t have a single factual accusation in the entire document."

Jeff also gave us a pic shot Thursday at the park, showing 2 very healthy looking tigers. He tells us all of his animals has a perfect body scale rating.

As we reported ... the USDA inspected the zoo this summer and found a bunch of problems -- including a razor-thin 16-week-old lion cub that could barely stand -- and suspended Lowe's license for 21 days.

Making matters worse, the feds claim Jeff's zoo doesn't keep good records of everything that's going on with the various animals.

The government wants an order declaring Lowe is in violation of federal law, and giving federal investigators immediate access to inspect the park ... to determine the condition of the animals.

Orlando Bloom might have just expanded his family of 3 with Katy Perry to a family of 4 ... thanks to a new pooch.

Orlando's version of Sunday fun day included a little shopping with a new fluffy companion ... a white poodle. Orlando and his new companion hit up a pet store in Montecito, and it looks like Orlando grabbed a bag full of things for his new best friend.

The new pup comes into Orlando & Co.'s life nearly 4 months after the actor made a tearful goodbye to his beloved dog, Mighty. As we reported ... Orlando was inconsolable after his dog disappeared in the Santa Barbara area.

We don't know yet if the new dog is a permanent addition or just a visitor in the Bloom-Perry household -- but a new pup would just be more for them to celebrate.

We have POTUS, FLOTUS, SCOTUS and now ... an official title for the First Family's furry friends, DOTUS, which just became Twitter official.

Dr. Jill and President-Elect Biden set up online accounts for their 2 German Shepherds, Major and Champ, with a handle of @First_Dogs_USA. Unfortunately, some troll already snapped up @DOTUS, which is dedicated to "The Don of the U.S." -- so the Bidens settled for this.

Their bio reads, "We are the First Dogs of the USA, Champ and Major Biden,” their Twitter profile said. “You can call us #DOTUS. We love nom noms, snuggles and we can’t wait to explore the WH!”

Doesn't look like the dogs have a formal Instagram account dedicated to their White House adventures just yet ... which would be a good idea, since more people probably wanna SEE Major and Champ more so than read their canine thoughts and musings. Just a thought!

As of Monday morning, the DOTUS Twitter page has over 94k followers, and counting.

Like we told you, Major and Champ will be the first dogs in the White House since Barack Obama was there with his family's two Portuguese Waterdogs, Sunny and Bo. Not just that, but Major is the first rescue to set its paws down at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Joe Biden's newest German Shepherd is set to be the first rescue pooch to ever set paws in The White House -- and it's especially great because canines have been dog-sona non grata for the last 4 years.

With JB officially winning the presidency this weekend, that means his two doggos -- Champ and Major -- will join him and his wife, Jill, at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. come January. Champ's been with the Bidens since 2008, and Major joined the party in 2018.

The story goes ... Joe and Jill fostered him at first after being flagged to a new litter of puppies needing a temporary home by their daughter, Ashley, which spurred her parents to take one in. One thing led to another, and eventually ... they adopted him from the Delaware Humane Society.

Word is the dog is very well trained -- much like Champ -- to endure major travel and lots of people around. After today, he's really gonna be put to the test now that dad's POTUS

Of course, this will be the first presence of a snout at the People's House since a long 4 years ago -- when Obama's two Portuguese Water Dogs, Bo and Sunny, were residents there ... upholding a long tradition of having man's best friend as part of the First Family.

Jay Cutler needs help -- the ex-NFL quarterback's beloved dog, Bane, has gone missing in Tennessee ... and he's asking everyone in the area to join the search to bring him home.

Bane joined Cutler and Kristin Cavallari's family as a pup in February 2015 -- and was featured on their reality show, "Very Cavallari." He also became a regular on Kristin's IG page.

Jay was particularly close with the German Shepherd -- and when Jay and Kristin broke up earlier this year, he apparently kept Bane at his Tennessee home.

But, Bane is now M.I.A. and Jay is concerned -- posting a call to action on social media to help find his pet.

"Ok Instagram it's time to do some good today," Cutler said. "Bane is missing. 80lb German shepherd. Last seen on Old Hillsboro in Franklin, TN."

"$1000 dollar reward for his return. Let's find him."

There have been issues on Jay's ranch this year -- remember, his chickens were being massacred by a mysterious predator that turned out to be a raccoon.

Jay personally sat watch to protect his chickens -- ya gotta believe he's on the ground searching for Bane too.

The dog owner who was caught on camera slapping around his dog has just been charged ... TMZ has learned.

The Santa Monica City Attorney's Office charged Jeffrey Previte, CEO of an environmental consulting firm in L.A., with 1 count of animal neglect ... a misdemeanor. If convicted, he faces up to 6 months in county jail and a maximum fine of $500.

As we reported ... Previte snapped on the dog, Bici, back in August in the hallway of his Santa Monica apartment building. The video was pretty damn disturbing ... showing Previte dragging, choking and slapping his poor dog after it started peeing.

An infamous claim Amber Heard dropped a deuce in her and Johnny Depp's bed has been shot down as unlikely by none other than a judge, but the truth may never be known.

Judge Nicol -- who presided over Depp's libel suit against The Sun -- weighed in on the crappy sitch, which has long dogged Amber after Johnny alleged either she or a friend shat on their bed and tried covering it up ... which sparked the nickname "Amber Turd."

Hizzoner's official two cents ... it probably was NOT Amber who made brown on their own bed, and the offense likely came from their notorious Yorkshire terrier, Boo, whom the judge concluded -- based on evidence, it seems -- ate a nug of bud and had an accident.

The judge writes Boo, "had an incomplete mastery of her bowels after she had accidentally consumed some marijuana." As for why it couldn't have been Amber, he says the supposed prank would've been ineffective and harmed her before Johnny (y'know, since she slept there too).

If you're unfamiliar with this tale, it goes something like this ... back in 2016 before Johnny filed to divorce Amber, she was having a birthday party at their DTLA apartment -- which Johnny showed up to late, and ultimately bailed on, something he says seriously ticked her off.

The next day, their maid called Johnny up to say she found caca in their bed -- and Johnny assumed it was Amber who'd done it as a way to "get back" at him for skipping out. That ended up being the last straw ... shortly after that, he dumped her and the rest is history.

What's funny -- and what the judge appears not to have addressed -- is the fact that we're told this maid attested a while ago that she knew Boo's poo inside and out ... claiming it was usually quite small, and what she found was what Johnny described as a "whopper."

The feces was tossed out, so there was no realistic way to test the DNA to confirm who the culprit actually was. As it stands, though, seems like Amber's rep is no longer in the toilet.