truTV: Not Reality. Actuality.

Police in Franklin Township, N.J., charged a 20-year-old man with shoplifting two pythons from the Animal Trax pet shop and driving away with them. The man's poor judgment was not the reason police caught him, but when they did later encounter the stolen snakes in the man's house in January, he admitted that one of the snakes had wriggled out of his pocket during the getaway, wrapped itself around his leg, and bit him in the "groin area."

In December, Putnam County, N.Y., passed a law to further the aims of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by permitting shoppers in wheelchairs to bring their service monkeys into stores to fetch items from shelves. (Legislator Sam Oliverio said he didn't know of any service monkeys in use but wanted to be ready.) And in July, a ranch owner in San Diego County, Calif., was found not guilty of cruelty for disposing of 30,000 live, "nonproductive" hens by dumping them into a wood chipper, pointing out in defense that it was basically a "standard industry practice" endorsed by a member of the animal welfare committee of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

In a December Boston Globe story about wild bears roaming Denville, N.J., animal control officer Meredith Petrillo reported solving the problem of one bear's nesting ("denning") underneath a homeowner's deck: Petrillo advised the resident to have her husband urinate under the deck (after which the respectful bear began denning elsewhere).

Latest Important Animal Research: A team of researchers that included Ben Wilson of the University of British Columbia (Vancouver) reported in November that herring communicate with each other via a high- pitched, "raspberry"-like sound emitted from their anuses. (Since the sounds were frequent, whether the herring had eaten or not, the researchers concluded that the noise was not produced by digestive gases.)

Prof. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University said recently that, hoaxes aside, there is enough legitimate evidence of Bigfoot to warrant a comprehensive scientific investigation of his existence, once and for all. (National Geographic reported in October that a Texas fingerprint expert, as well as noted chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall, have said they are certain of Bigfoot's existence.)

For New Year's, the Japanese department store Mitsukoshi Ltd. offered traditional "bento box" meals but expressly for dogs (at least, dogs whose owners were willing to pay about US$175 each). The ornate, two- layered container housed 30 delicacies, including pork dumplings, black beans, strawberry mousse, and green tea, and was a bold attempt by the store to pitch to Japan's growing upscale pet market.