Watercooler Stories

Quebec church invites dogs to attend

BEACONSFIELD, Quebec, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- An Anglican church near Montreal has become dog-friendly, offering a Paws and Pray service once a month.

The communion service at Christ Church Beaurepaire in Beaconsfield will include treats for the dogs and bowls of water along with bread and wine for their humans, the Montreal Gazette reports. The Rev. Michael Johnson, vicar of the church 25 miles east of Montreal, plans to try Paws and Pray for four months to determine if there is enough interest to justify keeping it going.

Many Anglican churches bless animals once a year, usually on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. A regular service is a little more unusual.

"I hope the dogs will feel honored and welcomed," Johnson said.

The service was suggested by Johanne Tasse, a member of Christ Church and president of Companion Animals Adoption Centers of Quebec, the Gazette reported.

"Animals deserve our care and respect," she said. "If we can bring dogs to church, how can we turn around and abuse them?"

Whale carcass makes stench, draws visitors

GLOUCESTER, Va., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Authorities in Virginia said locals are flocking to see an unlikely and smelly attraction -- the rotting corpse of a 25-foot humpback whale.

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center's Stranding Response Program said the carcass, which was first noticed bobbing Saturday in the Chesapeake Bay and beached Monday in the York River near Gloucester Point, is radiating a powerful rotting stench that can be detected for blocks inland, the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press reported.

"Hopefully the wind switches for the neighborhood," said Christina Trapani, assistant stranding response coordinator for the program.

However, the odor has not dissuaded curious onlookers from making the trek to the beach to view the massive carcass.

"It's like my excitement for the day," said onlooker Samantha Jensen, who is six months pregnant. "Besides morning sickness."

Linda Candler, marketing director at the aquarium, told The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot the facility is in discussions with county and state officials to have the whale removed. Candler said officials were working to ensure the owner of the beach property where the whale washed up does not have to pay for the removal.

Man turns self in, requests deportation

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Police in Massachusetts said a man who turned himself in on identity-theft charges told officers he wants to be deported home to Guatemala.

Investigators said Carlos Boc, 29, approached the front window of the Framingham police station just after 8:30 p.m. Saturday and told an officer he had stolen his former roommate's identification after the other man moved home to Puerto Rico in 2007, The MetroWest Daily News of Framingham reported.

Boc, who came to the United States from Guatemala 13 years ago, showed the officer the other man's birth certificate, Social Security card and a driver's license with Boc's name and the other man's information.

Police said Boc told the officer he wanted to be arrested and deported back to Guatemala because he was out of a job and had no money.

"He said he needed help in returning to his home country," police spokesman Lt. Paul Shastany said.

Boc faces charges including fraud and forgery. He was ordered held on $200 bond and is due back in court Oct. 13 for a pretrial conference.

Man gets 18 months for hot dog theft

WORCESTER, Mass., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty to stealing a hot dog was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Police said Antonio Judd, 35, approached a man sitting under a tree about 6:45 p.m. Aug. 12 and demanded his hot dog. Judd displayed what appeared to be a handgun -- later identified by police as a realistic-looking pellet gun, the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette reported.

Officers said they spotted Judd walking near the scene and recognized him from the victim's description -- and from the mustard stain on his shirt. They said the suspect refused to stop and struggled with officers during his arrest.

Judd pleaded guilty to larceny from a person and disorderly conduct charges Monday in Central District Court. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the larceny charge and 30 days for disorderly conduct, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

He received 47 days' credit for time served.