In the News: Mike Tyson's Gone to the Birds, Ellen and Portia's Good Deeds and More

Mike Tyson is entering the realm of reality TV. This doesn't surprise us one iota. Nor does it surprise us that there has been some controversy. What does surprise us is that the show will be on Animal Planet and is based on pigeons. Yes, really.

Not every dog lays around all day, waiting for you to come home. Take Rosie the Newfie, for example. When her neighbor became seriously ill, she found a way to lend a paw and give a dying woman a reason to smile by leaping a fence to visit the sick neighbor every single day. And her owners had no idea.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are really doing their part to make tails wag across the country. Ellen has teamed up with the USPS and her dog food company, Halo, to raise awareness and feed homeless pets a million meals -- all you have to do to help is buy some stamps! Portia, on the other hand, is focusing on the feral cat population by working with Alley Cat Allies to tell people why the trap-neuter-return is the best policy.

If you're seriously hurt, you get yourself to the emergency room, right? Sure -- because you're human. Well, an injured German shepherd did just that after wandering away from home. Fortunately, the ER staff took pity on the pup and he's since been treated by the local animal shelter and returned to his owners.

The illegal trade of endangered animals is common in the Middle East, but the UN is taking measures to eliminate the practice. Delegates at a conference to discuss endangered species are looking at everything from animal abuse on a small scale to the sale of highly specialized species. It's going to be a hard (and heartbreaking) battle, but we're glad to see the UN addressing the issue.

Tags: animal planet, AnimalPlanet, ellen degeneres, EllenDegeneres, ER dog, ErDog, feral cats, FeralCats, mike tyson, MikeTyson, pigeons, portia de rossi, PortiaDeRossi, rosie the newfoundland, RosieTheNewfoundland, trap-neuter-return