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According to an August article in the Washington Post, Maura Hall of Washington, D.C., has spent more than $25,000 on a kidney transplant and postoperative care for Lily, her gray long-haired cat. And an August BBC News dispatch from Sao Paulo reported on veterinarian Edgard Brito and the various cosmetic procedures he offers for dogs and other pets, such as wrinkle reduction, eyebrow correction, and even full face-lifts. While Brito has performed plastic surgery on top competition dogs, he said he draws the line at operations to conceal genetic defects from show judges: “I would never attach an artificial testicle.”
The Sacred Institution of Marriage
In August, the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation rejected an appeal by quadriplegic Mark Fosbrook, ruling that he was too able-bodied to play on the British Paralympic rugby team. Fosbrook has no feet and just two fingers on each hand, but the federation rated his functionality at 4.0, with 3.5 the highest level allowed in Paralympic rugby competition.
Least Competent Criminals
In Cumberland County, New Jersey, in August, 42-year-old Kenneth Davis apparently tried to let a six-foot-long blacksnake into the home of Michael File, 26. File’s father saw the snake in the yard, however, stepped on it, and beat it to death with a piece of wood before an enraged Davis allegedly knocked him down. When Michael File came to his dad’s defense, Davis picked up the dead snake and began to whip File with it. File had grabbed a baseball bat and hit Davis in the head by the time authorities arrived. (According to police, alcohol was involved.)
