Watercooler Stories

Dog survives 11-mile ride in grill of car

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Animal authorities in New Hampshire said they are looking for the owner of a dog that became stuck in the grill of a car for an 11-mile ride.

The East Providence Animal Control Center said a motorist traveling on Route 44 near Taunton, Mass., slammed on the brakes of his Toyota sedan when he saw what appeared to be a white poodle mix in the road and continued driving when he was then unable to locate the canine, the Taunton Daily Gazette reported Tuesday.

William Muggle, animal control supervisor in East Providence, said the driver drove another 11 miles, entering East Providence, R.I., until another motorist at a stoplight informed him the dog was wedged in the front of his car.

"We took (the dog) to an emergency clinic, and now she's actually doing fine, crazy enough," Muggle said.

Muggle said the dog suffered a concussion and a possible minor rupture of the bladder, which has now healed.

Muggle said his department is working with the Taunton Police Department in an attempt to identify the canine's owner.

Man arrested with cocaine at courthouse

AURORA, Ill., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Authorities in Illinois said a man on probation in a cocaine delivery case was arrested when he allegedly brought cocaine to a courthouse.

Kane County sheriff's deputies said Alex Robinson, 37, of Aurora, was due in court Wednesday on allegations of violating his probation from the 2006 cocaine delivery case when he emptied his pockets at the security checkpoint and dropped a bag of cocaine into a bin, the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network reported Tuesday.

"I don't know how you forget," Kane County sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said. "It's not like you don't know there's a checkpoint coming up."

Robinson was arrested and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.

Suit: Man wrecked $1M car on purpose

GALVESTON, Texas, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A Texas man is being sued by his insurance company, which alleges he intentionally drove his $1 million Bugatti car into a lagoon.

The lawsuit, filed by the Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. against Andy House, alleges he intentionally sent the luxury vehicle into a Galveston pond in 2009 to collect on a $2.2 million insurance policy he had taken out just three weeks beforehand, ABC News reported Tuesday.

The company's lawsuit said the incident was filmed by witnesses and contradicts House's argument that he swerved to avoid hitting a pelican.

House filed a counter suit against the company, seeking the $2.2 million policy payout.

"We will not try our case in the media, but will rely on the facts and evidence admitted during the trial of the matter," a lawyer for House said.

The case is scheduled to go to trial this month.

Man fired over pant legs

SKENE, Sweden, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A Swedish union said it may sue the owners of a packaging plant after a worker was fired for rolling up his pant legs on the job.

Anders Sjoblom, 59, said he often rolled up his pant legs to just below his knees during his more than 30 years on the job at the Stora Enso plant in Skene, but he was told to stop when the company imposed a stricter dress code in June, The Local.se reported Tuesday.

Sjoblom said bosses told him the dress code requires all employees to wear long pants and his apparel would not count if he rolled up the legs to expose his calves.

"It's warm. And it's much easier to climb up and down on the annoying stairs where I work," Sjoblom said of why he prefers to roll up his pant legs.

The worker said he received a number of verbal and written warnings about dress code violations during the summer until he was eventually sent home and given notice of his firing, which was made official Monday.

A union representative told the Dagens Arbete newspaper the issue will be taken to court if the company does not reinstate Sjoblom and allow him to wear his pants as he chooses.

"It hasn't been proven that employers have the right to put these kinds of demands on staff," union representative Magnus Leson said.