This is one of the most amazing stories you'll read about: A dog is recovering after its owner dove in to save his pet from a shark . Greg LeNoir said he took his 14-pound rat terrier Jake for a daily swim at a marina last Friday. The five-foot shark suddenly surfaced and grabbed nearly the entire dog in its mouth. LeNoir said he yelled, then balled up his fists and dove headfirst into the water off a pier. He hit the shark in the back and the creature finally let go of the dog. The result: Man and dog are safe and recovering. The owner said Jake ( here's a photo of him ) doesn't like swimming pools, but they'll have to find another place for him to swim. After getting attacked by a shark, I think Jake might reconsider the charm of swimming in a pool.

This just in for about the fifth straight day: The bailout is about to pass or fail. That's still the top story in the nation, overshadowing stories such as this: A Florida teenager claims he was attacked and robbed by four topless blonde women on his way to work. Olmer Morales, 18, told police the attack happened as he rode his bike to work. They stole $100, according to the police report. Maybe the women actually considered it a tip for a very unusual exotic dance.

The economy is struggling and people are trying to save money. That could mean that your planned trip to the fancy resort is off this year. You're probably a little bummed about that, but hey, at least you won't be wasting your money on these spa services: Nightingale Excrement Facial Bird droppings on your head might be a tragedy, but nightingale droppings on your face are a luxury. At least that’s how the Diamond Hawaii Resort and Spa in Maui feels. A cream with nightingale droppings is part of every facial there. The Snake Massage At a spa in Israel, you can have snakes placed on your back to slither away the aches in your muscles. Don’t worry, the spa says, the snakes are non-venomous. So it’s not creepy or anything. Ear Candling You might be surprised how many spas offer this service, in which a hollow candle is placed in a person’s ear and the top is lit. Why? Well, according to one of the spas, it improves mental clarity. Yeah, sure. And celebrities go to rehab centers ...

A friend of mine sent me the link to this video. All I can say is wow. These guys were so very cool. Or they thought so. If you thought the first MTV videos were pretty low-budget, you'll be amazed by this:

The bravest squirrel ever has made my front yard his home. A couple of days ago while I was doing some yard work, I saw him climbing up and down our Oak tree and running around the front lawn, burying acorns in the yard. "Squirreling" them away I guess would be the best description. At one point, he came within five feet of me, chewed on the outside of an acorn and then buried it in the grass. I needed to walk in his direction, but I didn't want to scare him, so I said, "Hello there." (Yes, I was talking to a squirrel, and no, I don't do drugs. If I did do drugs, he probably would've talked back.) When the squirrel heard my voice, he got up on his hind legs into an alert position and swooshed his tail. But, although he was only a few feet away and was facing me, he actually looked off to the side a little. That's when I wondered if maybe he's a squirrel with impaired vision. Whatever his situation, it was fun to watch the squirrel scurry around t...

Next time, maybe the football players can get some kids out of the stands to help after the touchdown:

If someone passes gas next to you, it's not just an annoyance. According to the police in South Charleston, West Virginia, it's battery. When police were trying to get fingerprints, police say Cruz moved closer to the officer and passed gas on him . The investigating officer remarked in the criminal complaint that the odor was very strong. But not strong enough to be considered assault with a deadly weapon. The officer is expected to fully recover.

We've got trouble in Moscow. Well, Moscow, Idaho, anyway. It seems that some people have deemed the cheerleading outfits too skimpy. Less than a month into the football season, the Idaho Vandals are undergoing another makeover after spectators complained that cheerleaders' uniforms were flashing a little more than school spirit . Sorry, no photos available. But the Idaho football team has been outscored 163-45 this season, so the fans need something to look at. Also, the story says that the football team's uniforms have been changed because the school logo didn't look right on the seat of the pants. Who would've thought that would happen? Here's the quote from another story: Rob Spears, the school's athletic director, says nobody realized just how the logo placed in the center of the players' behinds would look before they tried their pants on .

There are many ways to warn kids about the dangers of drugs. One way that I don't recommend is to have them read this book: Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say "No" to Drugs I'm not sure why she's a naughty horse, but the book includes illustrations of horses drinking and smoking. It also spurred this funny user review on Amazon.com: On the surface, Sylvia S. Gibson's stirring account of equine tranche de vie is an eye-opening page-turner. When picked up for the fourth and fifth time, however, the story is far deeper than initially expected. These horses represent humanity, and they are smoking drugs. WE are smoking drugs. Gibson is a wordsmith, subconsciously compelling the reader to put oneself in Latawnya's hooves. This brillant work is rated with 4 stars because the story is deceptively written for children, but it deals with heavy issues: horses smoking drugs, horses drinking alcohol, horses overdosing, and horses dying. Some of the illustratio...

By MATT WIXON It's the first day of fall, the season of crisp mornings, nippy evenings and colorful leaves crunching beneath your feet. The long, hot summer is over, and the change of seasons can be felt in every chilly breeze in North Texas. But close the refrigerator door, would you? Even the excitement of autumn's arrival isn't worth the chilling reality of a whopping energy bill. It's better to wait for Mother Nature's frosty breeze, which should arrive in Texas any minute now. Or in a day or two. Or a week. Or perhaps by early October, a month in which the Dallas temperature once reached 106. It's hard to complain about this year's September temperatures, but autumn's arrival here is much different than in Minneapolis, Chicago or Denver, which had more than an inch of snowfall on this day back in 2000. That same day in North Texas, the temperature hit 96. That's 10 degrees warmer than normal, but 86 won't send anyone scurrying for the long j...