Missing Dinosaur: Hi-Noon Petroleum Truck Stop Offers Reward For Fiberglass Mascot

MISSOULA, Mont. -- The folks at Hi-Noon Petroleum in Montana have a new way to turn a dinosaur into gasoline.

They're offering a $250 gas card for information leading to the safe return of Dino, a 12-foot-long fiberglass Sinclair dinosaur that disappeared June 21 from the Crossroads Travel Center west of Missoula.

"We just wonder what happened to him," Hi-Noon marketing manager Earl Allen said Friday. "It's a little odd for him to just walk away."

The 6-foot tall green dinosaur sat on a hill overlooking Interstate 90 for at least five years, Allen said, with occasional appearances in University of Montana Homecoming parades.

"That was his home for a number of years," Allen said.

Allen said taking the prehistoric icon would have been a bit of a project.

"It's not like you can just throw him in the back of a pickup," he said.

Anyone with information on Dino's whereabouts is asked to call Hi-Noon.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/30/missing-dinosaur-truck-stop-reward_n_1639896.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Goose's life saved with prosthetic beak

It has been a quacking start to the year for Garcia the goose, after a vet saved her life by making her a prosthetic beak.

The bird is thought to have ripped off the top half of her bill when she became tangled in a fence at the animal sanctuary where she lives. It left her unable to fend for herself and she faced being put to sleep.

But she was saved when a bird expert made her a new beak from fibreglass putty – all for £175.

‘Celebrity nose jobs cost thousands, so I think that was very good value,’ said owner Terry Kemp, of Happy Endings Animal Rescue Sanctuary in Hailsham, East Sussex.

‘Who would have thought you could save a goose’s life with a piece of fibreglass? It’s absolutely incredible.’

The bespoke beak was made by vet Alan Jones, of Eynsford, in Kent. In an hour-long operation, wires were put into Garcia’s skull to build a framework that was filled with a fibreglass paste called Technovit – usually used to repair horse hooves.

‘Her new beak works fine,’ said Mr Jones.

‘She can preen and feed, and it stops her mouth from drying out.’

After surgery, Garcia returned to a warm welcome from her mate, Morgan.

‘He recognised her straight away,’ said sanctuary co-founder Chris Johns.

‘He was flapping around her, checking out her new beak. I think he was as thrilled as us.’

The top part of Garcia’s beak will grow back in up to 18 months, meaning the prosthetic will be gradually adjusted and finally removed.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/851758-gooses-life-saved-with-prosthetic-beak#ixzz1AAMDiwuK