Pets

Ex-UCF star football player Otis Anderson Jr. was allegedly shot and killed by his dad on Monday night ... after the two had gotten into an argument over a dog bite.

It's all spelled out in new police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, in which cops say Otis Jr.'s mom, Denise Anderson, told them the whole, violent altercation started after her son's girlfriend's dog had bitten Otis Anderson Sr.

Cops say Denise told them Otis Sr. was so enraged over the bloody wound caused by the dog -- he and Otis Jr. proceeded to get into a verbal altercation.

Denise claimed the two were eventually separated when she told Otis Jr. to go upstairs ... but cops say she then got into an argument with Otis Sr., one in which Otis Sr. flipped over a recliner, causing Otis Jr. to come back downstairs to check on his mom.

When Otis Jr. made it back downstairs, cops say Denise told them the father and son "got into another verbal altercation and it appeared like they were going to fight."

It's unclear exactly what happened next -- the report was heavily redacted by police -- but in the docs, cops note when they arrived on the scene, they found Otis Jr. suffering from "at least one gunshot wound to the chest."

The cops also noted in the docs Denise was "suffering from multiple graze wounds."

Officers say Otis. Jr. was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, while Denise was treated for her wounds at the facility and later released.

In the docs, cops say they eventually arrested Anderson Sr. and booked him on charges of murder and attempted murder.

Jail records show he's still currently in custody.

As we reported, the NFL community is mourning the loss of Otis Jr. -- who signed with the Los Angeles Rams earlier this season before getting cut in September -- with stars like Jalen Ramsey and Micah Parsons expressing sadness over the situation.

UCF has also commented on the tragedy, saying in a statement, "He was revered by his teammates, our fans, and everyone within Knight Nation."

"Our deepest condolences go out to everyone who loved Otis. He was taken too soon and will truly be missed."

History repeated itself on Turkey Day, when a pooch snagged back-to-back championship titles at the National Dog Show.

Her name is Claire -- a Scottish Deerhound -- and she killed again when she was named Best in Show. It's the first time in its 20-year-history the org doled out the trophy twice in a row to the same canine.

It was a doggie breath of fresh air, with a vaccinated crowd showing love for the various 4-legged contestants, but it was all about Claire. The event went down at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.

There was more than a trophy on the line. Claire's owner, Angela Lloyd, snagged $20k.

As for those Claire left in the dust, MM, a Lakeland Terrier, Jade, a German Shorthaired Pointer, Mo'Ne, a Kuvasz, and then there's Winter, a Bulldog.

Unlike "The Bachelor," The National Dog Show sticks with its hosts. John O'Hurley and David Frei have fronted the show for its entire 20-year run.

Paul Shaffer's kid is following in her old man's footsteps -- not so much with the music, per se, but certainly with spreading positive vibes for dogs in shelters and the people who love them!

We talked to David Letterman's longtime bandleader and sidekick, as well as Mr. Shaffer's daughter, Victoria, on "TMZ Live" about this new initiative she's got going that puts an emphasis on dog ownership via adoptions/fostering from shelters.

It's called Pup Culture Rescue, and basically ... Victoria and co. are here to educate people on the process of becoming a pooch parent, and why shelters should be the first place to look for a furry friend.

She's also got an accompanying book out -- "Pup Culture: Stories, Tips, and the Importance of Adopting a Dog" -- which helps serve as a guide to picking out the right pup, where to look and how to help your new pet get acclimated to its new home.

It sounds like VS and the rest of the folks working for Pup Culture Rescue have been pretty busy during the pandemic -- when people were adopting dogs like crazy while stuck at home ... but she says a lot of owners are now returning canines to those same shelters.

That's pretty sucky, in Victoria's view ... as she notes, adopting a dog isn't just a hobby or a fad you pick up for a while -- it oughta be seen as a lifelong commitment.

Madonna's former Miami mansion has hit the market for more than $31 million ... and we have the poop and the scoop about the seller.

It's Gunther VI ... a German shepherd with some pretty impressive lineage. Turns out Gunther inherited the property, along with a fortune estimated at $500,000,000!!!

Yeah, it seems absurd, but here's the deal. A German countess named Karlotta Leibenstein created a trust and made Gunther's great grand-paw, Gunther III, the beneficiary. When Karlotta died in '92, Gunther III struck gold.

A succession of pooches have come before Gunther VI and embraced lavish lifestyles with trips to Milan and the Bahamas, etc. In fact, Gunther VI has a thing for the Bahamas, where he dined at various restaurants.

And, there's more ... Gunther has a chef cook him breakfast. He likes caviar and travels by private jet, and not in the cargo hold.

As for his digs, well, Gunther sleeps in Madonna's former bedroom. The house sits on more than an acre, and it's one of the best pieces of real estate on the market. Madonna bought it for $7.5 million 20 years ago, so the current $31.75 million price tag is eyepopping.

The realtor selling the home is clearly impressed with the canine, saying, "He literally sleeps overlooking the most magnificent view in an Italian custom bed in the former bedroom of the greatest pop star in the world."

Hundreds of people honored Tina Tintor and her golden retriever, Max -- who were both killed in the Henry Ruggs car crash on Nov. 2 -- by having a special dog-walking event in Las Vegas this weekend.

The "Pack Walk" happened in the Town Square shopping center in Vegas on Saturday -- just two days after the 23-year-old was laid to rest.

About 200 people -- including Tintor's family -- showed up for the tribute with their canines, dressing the dogs up in white bandanas to symbolize peace.

Tintor's family brought Tina's other dog, a 3-year-old husky named Bella, to the event.

"Las Vegas is a large community of dog lovers and knowing this unfortunate event brought so many feelings," one of the organizers said.

"We need this. We need the family to know the community is here for them as well."

Tintor was also honored with over 2,000 donations to her GoFundMe that was launched a few days after her death. In total, over $103,000 was raised.

As we previously reported, Tina was tragically killed after officials say Ruggs struck her Toyota from behind with his Corvette.

Cops say Ruggs was going 127 MPH at the time of impact, causing Tintor's car to burst into flames and ultimately killing her and her dog.

G-Eazy has a new family member ... an 8-month-old pit bull that was rescued from an abusive former owner.

The "My, Myself & I" rapper adopted the pittie, named Phoenix, and we're told the pup had been abused by a homeless man before landing in a Los Angeles animal rescue.

G-Eazy rescued her from The Labelle Foundation, which tells TMZ ... Phoenix had been posted on their site for 2 months, but hadn't gotten many inquiries.

We're told G-Eazy saw the adoption post and reached out to the owners of The Labelle Foundation through a mutual friend, and he came by Monday to pick her up.

G-Eazy and Phoenix wasted no time getting to know each other -- after he picked her up, they hopped in his classic car for a drive through the Hollywood Hills, stopping for a bite at the famous Beachwood Market near the Hollywood sign.

It's a big step up for Phoenix ... we're told a Good Samaritan saved her from being kicked and abused by the homeless man. She's since been boarded, trained and is obviously a very good girl.

As if Texas' football season couldn't get any worse -- a monkey belonging to Longhorns special teams coach Jeff Banks' GF is being accused of attacking a young trick or treater on Halloween ... but the woman says it's all the kid's fault.

A report late Monday night claimed the white-faced capuchin "seriously hurt" a boy during Halloween festivities ... with the monkey's jaws having to be "pried" open to free the child.

Banks' GF, Danielle Thomas -- AKA "Pole Assassin," a professional pole dancer once featured on "Jerry Springer" -- admitted something happened, but quickly defended her monkey ... claiming she was hosting a haunted event at her place, and the kid went where he wasn't supposed to.

"I had a haunted house on one side gated off/ he had no permission to go pass the gate i had no idea he went in my back yard," Thomas posted on Twitter before scrapping her account.

Thomas also claims she had no idea her monkey bit anyone until a local doctor told her about a "small bite."

Thomas says the kids were told to turn around when they came to a set of balloons ... and an "11/12" year old should be old enough to follow the rules and not venture off in someone's yard without permission. She even posted a video detailing the kid's assumed walk to the monkey cage ... with a sign that reads "Do Not Enter, emotional support animal, no touching."

"How could she viciously bite someone if they don't stick their hand in there where they don't belong?" Thomas said in the video.

We've reached out to law enforcement ... so far, no word back.

When it rains it pours ... as Alec Baldwin reels from the fatal shooting on the "Rust" set, his wife just revealed a member of their family is MIA.

Hilaria Baldwin just posted, "We can't find our cat, Emilio. If anyone sees him, please help him get home. We are all so upset. He's microchipped but no collar."

Last week, Emilio was put in a car with the Baldwin kids and belongings and sent to Vermont where the Baldwins have been staying since the fatal shooting last month that left Halyna Hutchins dead.

Alec and Hilaria got Emilio for their 8-year-old daughter, Carmen, back in April ... when Emilio was just a kitten.

Emilio is an exotic-looking feline ... a Bengal cat to be exact. The cats are actually created by breeding domestic cats with Asian leopards. The kittens run between $1,500 and $3,000.

Turns out Alec is allergic to most cats, but Bengals are hypoallergenic.

No word on how the cat got away, but Bengals have a rep for having behavioral issues.

As we reported, Alec is heartbroken over the death of Hutchins, so this is just one more source of grief.

Carole Baskin is putting her foot down over Netflix's sequel to 'Tiger King' -- insisting the producers and Netflix cut out all footage of her for their latest offering.

The big cat advocate -- who was heavily featured in the OG series last year -- just filed suit against producers of the mega-hit and the streaming giant itself, asking a judge to put the kibosh on footage of her and her Big Cat Rescue in the upcoming "Tiger King 2" project.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, all the new video of her that they're teasing in their trailer completely misrepresents reality ... namely, that she is NOT on board with this new project whatsoever.

Carole explains in her lawsuit that all this footage is just unused stuff that didn't make the cut for 'Tiger King' ... and argues that producers are simply rehashing/repackaging it to make it seem like she's given new interviews or insight.

That's not the case at all, so says Carole ... who claims she never realized she'd be portrayed as a villain in the original 'Tiger King' and thinks the whole series ended up undermining her true mission -- protecting big cats from folks like Joe Exotic.

As you well know by now ... a lot of the show focused on Carole's first husband, Don Lewis, who went missing years ago -- something for which Carole believes the docuseries made her seem responsible.

CB's rationale for suing is that the contract she signed to participate in the first series simply doesn't give producers a right to continue using the footage in the subsequent projects ... including this sequel.

All Yung Bleu wanted was a baby monkey ... instead, he mistakenly ended up with a baby baboon -- which grows quite a bit bigger -- but he's crossing his fingers and trying to make it work.

We got the "You're Mines Still" rapper at SIXTY LES Hotel in NYC and our guy asked him about his little monkey mix-up.

Bleu says the guy he got the pet from told him it was a monkey, but when he started showing the critter off on social media, folks turned him on to what was really going on ... and a quick Google search confirmed he'd been misled.

But, YB tells us he's not mad about what he considers false advertising ... and it's pretty clear in the video he's got a special connection with the baboon, which he's named Moon Vandross.

Sounds like he could have been in a worse spot -- Bleu tells us why this specific type of baboon won't grow up to be a big problem. He hopes.

Hollywood's best costumes don't stop at the hottest L.A. clubs ... celebrity pets have always gotten into the spooky season with some treat-worthy looks too!

Queen Latifah's cute canine is taking to the seas in his sailor costume, Resa Farahan's festive feline pays homage to Queen and cat-lover Cleopatra, Burt Jenner's pooch is feeling French, and Justin Bieber's pup is ready to save the day as Superman.

Kaley Cuoco, Derek Hough, Chelsea Handler, and Eva Longoria are just a few other parents decking out their animals with adorable accessories!

Take a walk through this gallery of fetching celebrity pets in Halloween costumes to get you in the spirit!

A St. Louis Cardinals prospect is fortunate to be alive today ... 'cause he was involved in a horrifying bear attack earlier this month, but thankfully, he escaped with only minor injuries.

The terrifying incident went down in Wisconsin ... when Dalton Roach -- a pitcher for the Cards' Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals -- was trying to hunt some deer.

Roach told the Leader-Telegram at one point during his outing while he was in a hunting perch, a bear got close to his tree -- and then shockingly began to climb up it.

"The next thing I know I can hear him right behind me and feel him breathing on my back," said Roach, who shot video of the bear while it was on the ground.

"Then I feel a paw on my lap. He just kind of left the paw sitting there."

A few seconds later, Roach said he felt the bear biting him -- so he made an attempt to get big and scare off the beast, and fortunately, it worked.

"Luckily, he kind of leaned back, seemed to say, 'What the heck?'" the 25-year-old pitcher said, "and eventually got out of the tree."

Roach said he went to the hospital to have the wound cleaned out and to get some precautionary shots -- but he added the injury shouldn't affect his baseball career going forward.

"I'm very fortunate that this whole scenario went the way it did," Roach said, "and now I have a heck of a story to tell."

All hell broke loose at a dog show in Florida last weekend -- when people threw haymakers AND chairs at each other in an insane brawl -- and the wild scene was all caught on video!

The fight went down at an event called the Miami Bully Takeover at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel near Miami airport last Saturday ... and it appeared to all start over a verbal argument between two women.

A spectator in the crowd caught the chaos on camera after things turned physical -- and you can see in the video, it's violent.

The footage shows two men striking each other, while another man picked up a chair and threw it. You can also see in the clip another person was being stomped out on the ground.

Eventually, the fight was broken up ... but a few seconds later, another fight started in a different area -- with more chairs and punches flying.

Security finally stepped in to shut everything down ... and thankfully, no humans or dogs were reported injured.

One of the organizers of the event -- which was a bully breed convention for dogs, owners, kennels, rescues and vendors -- apologized for the melee on social media following all the day's action.

"My heart really hurts and I know the money that goes into showing and We want to make it right and refund people that were unable to show," the organizer said. "I wanted to finish but the cops would not allow it."

"My shows are family shows and this really is hurtful and not the image I want people to see."

The organizer added, "It's truly sad that grown adults act like they did."

Dr. Fauci and the NIH are getting a clear message ... STOP supporting animal testing in the wake of allegations his agency used taxpayer money to bankroll torturous dog research.

The Beagle Freedom Project, a nonprofit animal advocacy and rescue organization, fired off a letter to Fauci ... demanding he and the NIH immediately stop funding research using animals. Not only that, they want anyone involved in the research to face criminal charges.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, the org rips animal testing as outdated, flawed, cruel, unethical and harmful ... and demands Fauci and the NIH put an end to the practice.

As we've reported ... Fauci is under fire because a watchdog group claims to have obtained documents linking NIH-funded animal testing overseas, where over 40 beagles were killed during experiments with insects. There's a photo that appears to show 2 Beagles with their head in netting as sand flies bite their faces. There's a report their vocal cords were removed to prevent them from howling.

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina previously fired off a letter to Fauci, in which she and 23 colleagues from both sides of the aisle asked the doc to sit for a hearing on the subject.

Here's something new ... Dr. Anthony Fauci getting grilled, but not over COVID-19 -- instead it's allegations his agency used taxpayer dollars to fund torturous dog research ... and a congresswoman's turning up the heat.

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina explained why she fired off a letter to Fauci last week ... in which she and 23 of her colleagues (from both sides of the aisle) asked him to sit for a hearing on the subject.

The Congresswoman told us on "TMZ Live" ... Fauci handles a lot of the National Institutes of Health's distribution of grants, and, therefore, he should step up to explain why it's backing such a brutal study.

As we reported ... a watchdog group claims to have obtained documents linking NIH/NIAID-funded animal testing overseas -- in which around 44 beagle puppies were gruesomely killed during experiments with sandflies.

Rep. Mace notes that most Americans would NOT be okay with their taxpayer dollars going toward such awful research ... so, she simply wants to find out why that's allegedly happening.

Dr. Fauci might be getting grilled anew -- Congress wants to know why his branch of the NIH allegedly funded research that saw puppies being tortured in the name of science.

A bombshell report from The Hill -- based on docs a nonprofit called the White Coat Waste Project claims to have obtained via FOIA -- suggests the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases partially funded experiments being conducted in Tunisia between late 2018 and early 2019, in which upwards of nearly 4 dozen young beagles were being killed.

WCWP alleges these docs show the NIAID, under the umbrella of the NIH, paid anywhere between $375k up to $1.68 million in grant money for drug research ... which was apparently being carried out on 44 puppies, this despite the fact the FDA condemns such practice.

Some of the twisted experiments alleged to have been carried out include putting puppies' heads into mesh containers, and letting sand flies eat them alive. Some of the puppies are also said to have been left out in the desert overnight for 9 days straight -- where there, too, they were devoured by the infectious flies ... which can carry deadly viruses.

The lab workers are alleged to have silenced the dogs' barking by surgically removing their vocal cords, so they could work in peace. As a result of these ghastly claims, 24 members of the House of Representatives have fired off a letter demanding accountability.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R) led the charge, but got support from several colleagues across the aisle ... including signatures from Reps. Ted Lieu, Cindy Axne, Steve Cohen, Jimmy Gomez, Josh Gottheimer, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mike Quigley, Terri Sewell and other Dems.