Critter News:

• Aggressive Owl Attacking People on Popular Trail in Bethesda. (NBC Washington) — Beware of what’s flying above the Capital Crescent Trail. An aggressive owl is harassing people who use the trail in Bethesda, Maryland. Montgomery County Parks posted a sign warning about an owl attacking people between River Road and Dorsett Avenue. Del Wilber told News4 he was jogging when an owl clawed his head while he was running about 7 p.m. Monday. “I felt like something hit me from behind, like a bottle or a big stick and I fell to the ground,” he said.
• Del Quentin Wilber: @DelWilber: Was attacked by a rogue owl while running in Bethesda tonight. They are not so cute up close or when they dig their talons into your head. 9:13 PM – 12 Oct 2015
• INTERVIEW with DEL WILBER about his Aggressive Owl Attack!
• Officer distraught, desperately searches for confiscated K9 police dog. GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WJLA) — A respected Montgomery County police officer can’t get a straight answer about what happened to his K9 partner Chip , a five-year-old Belgian Malinois. In May, the Montgomery County Police Department forced Chip into early retirement. The move came only five weeks after Chip bit his handler’s left arm during a training exercise.
• Amtrak: Pets welcome aboard Northeast Regional, Downeaster. BOSTON (AP) — Amtrak says it will now allow passengers on some Northeast routes to bring along their pets. Under the program, passengers can take a cat or small dog on trips up to seven hours long. The service is available on the Boston to Lynchburg, Newport News, and Norfolk, Virginia, on the Northeast Regional service lines, as well from Boston to Brunswick, Maine, on the Downeaster route. Pet owners will have to pay an extra $25 to make a reservation. The service begins Oct. 12. Pets will have to be in carriers and the carrier must weigh no more than 20 pounds with the animal inside. Pets must be at least 8 weeks old and have all their vaccinations.
• Rat fights pigeon in battle of New York’s most notorious pests. (NY Post) — Rats can’t live on pizza alone. This rodent was caught on video in an epic street fight that was hardly a contest — manhandling a hapless pigeon on a Williamsburg street. The nearly 3-minute video, called “Rat vs. Pigeon in Williamsburg, NY,” shows the rat dragging what appears to be an injured pigeon down the block — stopping every few seconds to take a nibble out of its big catch. At one point, the bird flies away, but not for long. “You only see this in New York,” someone can be heard saying on the video. The rat sprints after his lunch, bringing the pigeon back down to the ground. Eventually, the rat realizes the struggle is over, disappearing into a bushy area to devour its meal. The scene hearkens to a Halloween episode of “The Simpsons” in which Bart’s evil twin creates a Pigeon-Rat costume by sewing the back of a pigeon on top of a rat. In the show, the pigeon attempts to escape, but fails because the rat is on its back. Shortly after, the rat makes a run for it into a mouse hole but is ultimately unsuccessful because it can’t fit through the hole. The video, which resurfaced Tuesday after being filmed in August 2014, has already been viewed 22,665 times.
• Even a ‘pizza rat’ costume can be made sexy for Halloween. It’s almost October 31st, which means many fans of the costumed holiday are searching for something provocative to wear. Because it’s Halloween, OK?! Pizza Rat is a costume. Celebrate the brave little rodent who carried a slice of pizza down subway stairs… with a leggy dress and pepperoni pizza pockets!