Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Family surprised when bull comes for dip

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland, July 15 (UPI) -- A St. Andrews, Scotland, family said a planned party for their new pool was canceled after a large bull came barreling down a hill and plunged into the water.

Jamie Stewart said the party was canceled after the unexpected visitor took a dive into the 10,000 gallons of water that had just been placed inside, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

"It was definitely an 8.5 out of 10 dive," Stewart said. "I couldn't believe it. It's not everyday you see a bull in your pool. The kids had been looking forward to trying out the new pool but they quickly saw the funny side."

He said firefighters pumped all of the water out of the pool before shooting the bull with tranquilizers.

"The vet had to shoot it twice with a dart gun before it conked out," Stewart said. "They then managed to get straps underneath the animal and it was lifted out by a digger with a front lift.

"The solar covering on the pool has taken a bit if a battering and the bottom is a bit scraped but otherwise it appears to be OK. At the end of the day it was a pretty funny incident although not one that we would want to repeat," he said.

Burglar returns to bargain for wallet

NEW YORK, July 15 (UPI) -- A New York man whose home was burgled said the perpetrator was foiled when he returned to the scene of the crime to ask for his wallet back.

Yaakov Kanelsky, 49, said the man who showed up at his door and said he had left his wallet inside claimed to have snuck into the apartment to use the bathroom, but the excuse seemed weak and the suspect eventually admitted to taking $200 from Kanelsky's bedroom, the New York Post reported Monday.

"I didn't even know any money was missing," Kanelsky said.

When he checked his bedroom he found the cash was indeed gone.

Kanelsky told the man to return the money first and police arrived as the suspect, identified as Victor Marin, 20, was sliding the bills through the door one by one. Marin was charged with burglary, petty larceny and possession of stolen property.

Lawn decoration returned, with photos

PORTLAND, Ore., July 15 (UPI) -- A Portland, Ore., woman who had given up hope of ever seeing her missing ceramic dog again said the item has returned -- with photos of its travels.

Edwina Cramer-Norris said she had assumed the dog was gone for good when it disappeared last month, but then she began receiving postcards addressed "To Master" from "Lucky Dog," KPTV, Portland, Ore., reported Monday.

Cramer-Norris said she saw a blue van leave her driveway Sunday and when she went outside to investigate, she found her missing lawn decoration sitting in a makeshift dog house alongside a photo album documenting its adventures. She said the pictures depict the dog with a family at locations including DisneyWorld, Graceland, the Mississippi River and New Orleans.

She said a note accompanying the pictures explained that the dog had needed a vacation from Oregon because the weather was too rainy.

"It's a strange thing," she said. "We're happy to have him back and it gives us something to share with others. (It's) some kind of a strange story."

Cramer-Norris said the missing dog returned with two new additions to the family -- a pair of ceramic puppies.

Space alien advocate descends on DNC

DENVER, July 15 (UPI) -- A Denver man who wants a wing of the government to study space aliens said he plans to hold a news conference during the Democratic National Convention.

Jeff Peckman said his proposal for the creation of an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission will be the centerpiece of his news conference on extraterrestrials and the "technologies that they appear willing to offer," The Rocky Mountain News reported.

He said the conference was timed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention -- where Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is likely to be formally nominated as the party's candidate for president -- to take advantage of the media exposure.

"Having so many foreign media here I think will be a good lesson for the American media about how seriously this subject can be treated and how serious of a subject it is," he said.