Jackson's animals know, move on

In case anyone was concerned, Michael Jackson's tigers have been told that he died.

The L.A. Unleashed blog in the Los Angeles Times reported the Tippi (The Birds) Hedren, who operates the Shambala preserve that now houses Jackson's tigers, said she personally informed the beasts of Jackson's passing.

"I went up and sat with them for a while and let them know that Michael was gone," Hedren told AFP. "You don't know what mental telepathy exists from the human to the animal. But I hope they understood."

Oooohkay.

And I joked to some friends on Facebook that I wasn't going to watch any coverage of the passing of Jackson "until Bubbles had his presser."

Well, click the TV on.

From CNN.com:

Bubbles was born in Texas in 1983, and it's thought he was born in a biomedical facility before being sold. When he lived with a supercelebrity such as Jackson, Bubbles could be seen in videos, posing for fan pictures, attending a news conference, his likeness appearing in a Michael Jackson video game.

Those days of appearing before the camera were long gone, until today. Bubbles still likes making faces for the camera, faces that Jackson might have recognized, had he visited the sanctuary. Bubbles might have recognized Jackson, too.

And then totally not pet-related but Jackson-related and funny, comes this story from the Iowa State Fair.

Officials announced they will have a statue of Jackson at the fair made out of butter.

I can think of no better tribute. (I resisted writing "no butter" tribute.)