The tiny island nation of Malta is rallying behind a stray dog that defied the odds and miraculously survived a horrible act of animal cruelty at the hands of an unknown assailant.
Officers investigating an unrelated case near the city of Birzebbuga last week heard faint whispers from under a plank with a tree stump on top of it. After removing the plank, they made the gruesome discovery: a dog buried alive in dirt up to its face, its snout and limbs tied up, and multiple bullet wounds in its head, The Times of Malta reported.
The dog, a female mixed-breed that rescuers named "Star," was dug out and taken for emergency surgery at the Ta' Qali hospital. Doctors were able to save her life, despite removing more than 40 gun pellets from her skull.
The case caused an uproar in Malta and led to calls for the country to revise its animal cruelty laws. Currently, anyone convicted of animal abuse faces a maximum one-year jail sentence....
Awww, so sad. Just heard the news:
Berlin's beloved polar bear Knut, who rose to international stardom as a cuddly cub hand-raised by zookeepers, died suddenly on Saturday, a zoo official said.
The world-famous bear died alone in his compound without warning, bear keeper Heiner Kloes told The Associated Press.
"It was a completely normal day: He was with the female bears before, who had just been shut away," Kloes said. "Then, Knut strolled around the enclosure, went into the water, had a short spasm and died." A post mortem will be conducted on Monday to try to pinpoint the cause of death, he said.
Between 600 and 700 people were at Knut's compound and saw the four-year-old bear die, German news agency DAPD reported.
One visitor said she watched Knut lying on the surface of the water motionless with only his back showing for ten minutes until zookeepers came and fenced off the compound. "Everybody was asking, 'What's going on, why is Knut not moving?'" said Camilla Verde, a 30-year-old Italian who lives in Berlin.
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