Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Man fined after dog goes 'wee' on lawn BRISTOL, England, June 19 (UPI) -- A British man says it is unfair he was ordered to pay about $2,000 in fines because his collie went "wee" on his lawn. Advertisement Paul Griffiths, 48, who has health problems related to his lungs, was initially fined nearly $160 after surveillance footage captured what authorities thought was his dog, Mitzy, fouling the property in front of his home, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. Griffiths said he received additional fines after he failed to show up to Bristol Magistrates' Court because of health complications. He was found guilty, despite not being in court. "I think it's disgusting. I took my dog downstairs for a wee and because she's a girl she squats," he told The Daily Telegraph. "They say I have 21 days to pay. How on Earth can I do that? I'm on benefits." Advertisement Court officials have stood by the decision and say Griffiths deserves the penalty. Residents protest doggy daycare CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill., June 19 (UPI) -- A group of residents said they are opposing a city plan to convert a Crystal Lake, Ill., building into a doggy daycare center. Critics attended a meeting of the Chicago suburb's Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday to speak against a proposal to open Cruizin' Critters & Canines Doggie Day Care, the Chicago Tribune reported. Crystal Lake resident Lisa Soens said she is trying to get approval to open the center to look after about 40 dogs during the day. She said the facility would be great for commuters because it is near the train station. "I'm very conscious of the neighbors, and I can make this place fully contained," Soens told the Tribune. Residents fear the doggy daycare center would be too loud, smelly and even dangerous for the neighborhood. "I don't mind anybody having a pet but a whole bunch of them? It's not safe," resident Allen Radovich said. Flight delayed after skunk found on plane MIAMI, June 19 (UPI) -- The takeoff of an American Airlines international flight was delayed in Miami after workers discovered a skunk in the cargo hold of the Airbus A300 plane. Advertisement American Airlines Flight 915 to Bogota, Colombia, was delayed for nearly 2 1/2 hours at Miami International Airport due to the discovery of the skunk and thunderstorms in the area, The Miami Herald reported Thursday. Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline, said the skunk had taken up residence in the bulk-cargo compartment, where it was apparently found by airline ramp workers. "I think they smelled it," Wagner said. "We don't have any idea how the skunk got on." However, he told the Herald wasn't unusual for workers to discover animals living in planes. "There've been other animal environments found in the cargo hold from time to time," Wagner said. Family forced out of home by skunks SHEFFIELD LAKE, Ohio, June 19 (UPI) -- An Ohio woman said she is having a nervous breakdown after her family was forced out of its home by four skunks living under the floors. Karen McCullough, her husband and teenage son have spent a month living in a crowded rental home with their two dogs, two cats and a bird while workers repair the floors in their house, The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland reported Thursday. "I've cried a few times. Inside, I'm having a nervous breakdown," she told The Plain Dealer. Advertisement Contractors haven't said when the McCulloughs will be able to go home. The family said the skunks sprayed after their dogs began barking at noises under the floors in November. The skunks have been removed but the McCulloughs are stuck waiting in their rental home until contractors finish repairs, the newspaper said.
