Air Force Academy's Falcon Mascot Hurt In Army Football Prank

Two West Point cadets’ prank on the Air Force Academy’s football team went seriously awry over the weekend, injuring the rival team’s falcon mascot.

The bird was bloodied during a botched kidnapping, but the injuries aren’t life-threatening and she appears to be on the mend, according to the Air Force Academy.

The West Point pranksters snatched two falcons belonging to the Air Force Academy: Aurora, a 22-year-old gyrfalcon that serves as the official mascot, and Oblio, a younger Peregrine falcon. The Air Force Falcons football team was at West Point for Saturday’s game against the Army Black Knights, which Army won. 

The Army cadets reportedly threw sweaters over the birds and locked them in a dog crate. When they returned the birds, Aurora’s wings were bloody, likely from thrashing in the crate.

“I think they had them for a couple hours and then they realized it was a bad mistake,” Sam Dollar, the Air Force Academy’s falconry team adviser, told The New York Times. “When Aurora started thrashing around in the crate, they decided that wasn’t a good thing.”

To read more on this story, click here: Air Force Academy's Falcon Mascot Hurt In Army Football Prank

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The Caw: Here’s What Happened to the Thursday Night Football Cat

After being well-fed and cared for at M&T Bank Stadium, a stadium employee adopted the cat and named it ‘Rae’ after the Ravens.

Yogi had been looking to adopt a new cat for a few months, but none seemed quite right.

That is until a kitten ran into M&T Bank Stadium, made her way into the stands, jumped onto the field, showed off some moves and became perhaps the most beloved star of Thursday Night Football.

After all that, she scampered straight into Yogi’s heart.

The well-respected stadium employee officially adopted the stray cat Friday morning, after getting the thumbs up from his wife, and named her “Rae” – short for Ravens.

It’s a pretty heartwarming story.

To read more on this story, click here: The Caw: Here’s What Happened to the Thursday Night Football Cat


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College Football Star ‘Suspended Indefinitely’ Over Animal Abuse Investigation

A Missouri State football star was suspended indefinitely after allegedly punching a dog three times and breaking its jaw, according to reports Sunday.

Bears quarterback Breck Ruddick, 20, hit the 42-pound Australian shepherd so hard, the pooch, Luca, lost teeth and was rushed to a vet with a shattered jaw, the Daily Mail reported.

The player was suspended Friday for “conduct detrimental to the team” just hours after a Facebook post detailing the attack emerged, the paper reported.

The player lost his cool, punched the dog and let him “run off, all alone and bleeding profusely,” Shelby Filbeck, a friend of the dog’s owner, Katie Riggs, wrote in a Facebook post Friday afternoon.

Riggs “spent the whole night looking for her dog,” Filbeck said, according to the Daily Mail.

On Saturday, the college said the suspension was linked to the animal abuse allegations. Reddick won’t play again “until the situation is resolved,” said athletic director Kyle Moats.

To read more on this story, click here: College Football Star ‘Suspended Indefinitely’ Over Animal Abuse Investigation



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Baltimore Ravens Center, Jeremy Zuttah’s Pit Bull, Ace, Walks with Him Down the Aisle at His Wedding

Your wedding day is one of the most memorable days of your life. Almost every moment of the day is captured on camera, either in photos or video.

When you get married, you want the most important people in your life there. Or, the most important animals!

One NFL player refused to get married without his pup! Jeremy Zuttah, a center for the Baltimore Ravens, was not going to get married unless his pit bull, Ace, could join him! I like your style, Jeremy. I’d definitely want my dog to be able to join me as a witness on my big day!

Jeremy and his fiancée Heran planned on getting married at city hall, but when they found out Ace couldn’t join them, they immediately looked for a different venue!

Ace has been with Jeremy Zuttah and his fiancée Heran for about eight years, ever since they adopted him when they were students at Rutgers University.

The couple looked into different venues for their wedding, city hall being one of the first.

But when they said they couldn’t bring Ace, they quickly changed their minds.

To make sure he was a very well-behaved boy, Haren and Jeremy sent Ace for training classes to prep for the big day at Downtown Dog Resort!

Jeremy and Heran are actually big advocates for adoption. They both take credit for Jeremy’s teammate Ronnie Stanley publicly adopting the most “unadoptable” dog at a shelter in Baltimore!

Ace was definitely the center of attention at this wedding! He was the star of the show walking down the aisle with his dad.

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Tom Brady, Posted a Facebook Video Holding Aloft His New Puppy as the Theme Song to The Lion King Plays in the Background

Tom Brady and his family have gone to the dogs, and Patriots fans are lapping it up.

New England’s star quarterback posted a Facebook video this week showing him holding aloft his new puppy, Fluffy, as the theme to Disney’s “The Lion King” plays in the background.

Brady’s other two dogs, Scooby and Lua, lay at his feet as the QB does his best Rafiki impersonation, with Fluffy starring as Simba.

As of midday Friday, the video had been viewed more than 2 million times and prompted more than 6,300 comments.

Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, said they adopted the pup through Wags and Walks, a Los Angeles animal rescue group.

Bundchen wrote on Instagram: “The kids are over the moon with our new family member.”

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Did You Know That Kirk Cousins and His Wife Regularly Foster Dogs Whose Lives Would Have Been in Jeopardy Had They Been Left in Shelters?

Washington, DC - We know Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins has plenty of skills when it comes to football. But did you know he's also pretty big into playing fetch?

Millions of people will be watching as Cousins leads the Redskins in their playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Among the adoring fans who will be tuning in will be a three ½-year-old wheaten terrier mix.

The dog named Gracie by her new adoptive parents was one of many pets cared for as a foster animal by Cousins and his wife, Julie. She stayed with them for the entire 2014 NFL season.

The Cousins regularly foster dogs whose lives would have been in jeopardy had they been left in shelters. Cousins often posts about the pets on social media and his wife sent FOX 5 photos of Gracie, saying in particular that she was a very tough pup to part with.

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Football Fan Cuddles Cat During Chiefs Raiders Game At Arrowhead Stadium

A photo of a stray cat being cuddled inside Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium during a football match has gone viral, with the unusual sight raising plenty of whiskers.

“Just a man and his kitty in a sea of red,” Instagram user Max Chilen captioned the bizarre snap as the Chiefs battled the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

As if the cat’s attendance wasn’t enough of an anomaly – especially considering stadiums’ strict rules on restricted items -- the man seen holding the animal is decked out in Green Bay Packers garb.

According to Chilen, the foreign fan scooped up the cat after finding it wandering around inside. Another Twitter user shared a photo of the man appearing to exit the stadium with the cat in his arms.

"Great work by Arrowhead security tonight. This dude managed to sneak in an effing cat," Taco Salazar sarcastically tweeted with the photo and hashtag #StandUpJob

But Chilen said they got it wrong.

“The dude found it in the spiral walkway heading into the game so they kept it instead of giving it to security,” Chilen tweeted to an Arrowhead Pride reporter.

“At the 4th quarter security came and there was quite the protest to let him keep the cat. Then he went away with them but … I think they planned on letting him keep the cat,” he continued.

To read more on this story, click here: Football Fan Cuddles Cat During Chiefs-Raiders Game At Arrowhead Stadium

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Controversy Over "Lost Dog" Super Bowl Spot

It appears not everyone is happy with Budweiser’s “Lost Dog” Super Bowl commercial. The Center for Biological Diversity has started a petition urging Anheuser-Busch CEO Thomas W. Santel to pull the spot because it’s “demonizing an endangered species” — namely, the wolf.

In the commercial, a Labrador makes a perilous journey to his home — a farm that was featured in “Puppy Love” and “Brotherhood” Budweiser Super Bowl spots. But when the puppy gets close to home, a wolf blocks his path. Fortunately, the dog is saved by the farm’s Clydesdales, who force the predator to flee.

To read more on this story, click here: Controversy Over "Lost Dog" Super Bowl Spot
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Ravens Will Cut DT Cody Amid Animal Cruelty Investigation

Owings Mills, Md. (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens intend to cut ties with defensive tackle Terrence Cody, who's under investigation for animal cruelty.

The Ravens made no reference to the investigation Friday, when it issued a one-sentence news release that said Cody's contract will be terminated after the Super Bowl.

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Ravens Defensive Tackle Terrence Cody Being Investigated For Animal Cruelty

When news broke earlier this week that the Baltimore Ravens planned to release defensive tackle Terrence Cody following the Super Bowl, many wondered why they would bother cutting him when his contract was already set to expire at the end of the league year.

To read more on this story, click here: Ravens Defensive Tackle Terrence Cody Being Investigated for Animal Cruelty FOLLOW US!

Seattle's Live Hawk Mascot Flew into Stands and Landed on a Fan's Head

Who says the ‘Hawks never go astray at home?

Despite having the best home-field advantage in the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks had a major mishap on Sunday when Taima, the team’s longtime live hawk mascot, took an impromptu detour into the stands and landed on the head of a fan.

Big ups to the gentleman’s poise upon the sneak hawk attack. Whereas others (such as myself) would have flipped out and run away like a cartoon character being attacked by a swarm of bees, this guy played it cool, ducking his head and waiting for the bird’s inevitable departure.

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