Sideswipe: December 13: Muddled message

A newspaper advertisement gets the message a little muddled. (Via Bad Newspaper).

Santa Claws

Find yourself kid-free at Christmas? Never fear, you can blow your hard earned cash on your pets! Turkey-flavoured mince pies among the Christmas treats on sale to dog owners. Conventional recipes are a festive nightmare for dogs because raisins and sultanas can make canines ill, prompting UK supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury to offer dog-friendly alternatives. Tesco has also launched a range of macarons for small breed dogs, filled with mutt-friendly yoghurt and alcohol-free mock "prosecco" for cats, called Pawsecco, as well as an alcohol-free beer for dogs called Bottom Sniffer — still on sale in the "Fetch" aisle of online supermarket Ocado. A study of Britain's cat and dog owners found that the average pet owner will fork out £44 ($89) on treats, outfits and toys for their animals this Christmas. At the same time, 92 per cent said they would be buying their pet a gift because they did not want them to feel left out. Britain remains in the midst of a dog and cat obesity epidemic, with 52 per cent of pets obese or overweight, and with vets telling owners not to overindulge pets. (The Guardian)

What a deal

There's a deal at this shoe shop in downtown Auckland.

What dummies

One of India's most gridlocked cities has come up with an unconventional solution to manage drivers. Mannequins dressed up as traffic police have been placed on roads in the southern city of Bangalore. Dressed in police caps, white shirts and brown trousers, and wearing sunglasses, the mannequins are now on duty at congested junctions. It's hoped drivers will mistake them for real police and think twice about breaking the rules. Home to India's IT industry, Bangalore has eight million registered vehicles on its streets. This number is expected to grow to more than 10 million by 2022. At 18.7 km/h traffic speeds in the city are the second slowest in the country. Cameras at junctions have recorded more than 20,000 traffic violations every day.

Cowboys of the sky

Pigeons wearing small cowboy hats are being spotted in Las Vegas and no one knows why. Mariah Hillman, who operates a pigeon rescue called Lofty Hopes, said that at first, "I was like, 'Oh my God, that's cute'" before asking herself, "Wait a minute — how did they get those hats on there?"