Kitty bitter: A publication called Jury Verdicts...
Kitty bitter: A publication called Jury Verdicts Weekly reports that a Sherman Oaks woman sued a toy store and a toy manufacturer after her cat swallowed a toy with “a string and bell attached.” The animal survived emergency surgery but her owner “contended that the subject cat toy was not manufactured safely for a cat to use as a plaything,” the Weekly said.
Before the case could find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the owner settled for just $400.
Still, the Weekly notes, “according to plaintiff attorney,” the feline “now has the resources to go to kitty college and learn not to play with dangerous toys.”
Quiz of the day: While we’re on the subject of money, here’s an estimate for medical services sent in by a reader. You guess the operation:
Aceprom/Robinul Premed: $9.00
Endotracheal Intubation: $4.50
ECG Monitoring Fee: $4.50
Ketamine + Valium Induction: $17.55
Isoflurane Inhalant 60/min: $37.80
Ultrasonic Scaling Level 2: $15.75
Subgingival Curettage: $9.45
Teeth Polishing: $9.00
Flouride Therapy Canine: $14.85
Day Hospitalization K9: $10.35
Total: $132.75
Answer: One teeth-cleaning visit--for a dog named Oliver. Fortunately, he doesn’t need any dentures. But if Oliver was our hound, we’d just feed him a couple of Milk Bones.
Welcome to Psychics Central: Times are tough for sidewalk merchant
Joe Sigler, proprietor of Joe’s Venice Walking Tours. Not only has the recession cut into the sightseeing biz, but it has spawned an invasion of psychics peddling visions near his once-isolated patch of concrete on Ocean Front Walk by the Sidewalk Cafe.
“There were about 50 of ‘em,” grumbled Sigler. “None of ‘em live in Venice, either. They come from the Valley, Long Beach, other places. There were so many that some’d get up at 4 a.m. to set up tables. They’d start arguing for spots. It got ugly. They’d be literally throwing each other’s tables. Some of ‘em were real good about screaming profanities. To me it was a real embarrassment. There’s about a dozen of them left now.”
We say, turn Oliver loose on the rest of them.
Saving the 10% agent’s fee: Screenwriter Jeff Kelley and performer Denise McCanles are the latest would-be Hollywood types to take to the streets in their own cause.
Throwing oneself on the mercy of the cop: Observed in Echo Park--a car with the license plate YME OFSR.
miscelLAny:
One hundred twenty-first day of captivity: The Madonna bustier stolen from Frederick’s of Hollywood during the L.A. riots is still missing. But another Material Girl bustier sold for $17,800 at a Sotheby’s auction in London. At least we think it’s a different bustier . . . .
