A would-be robber looked so goofy — well, Pluto, actually — that a convenience store clerk burst out laughing, foiling the attempted holdup.
Cranberry, Pa., police Sgt. Dave Kovach told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the man walked into Gordon's Mini Market (search) Tuesday evening wearing a mask disguising himself as Pluto, Mickey Mouse's long-eared, tongue-wagging dog.
The cartoon canine walked up to the counter, pulled out a gun and demanded cash from the till.
The clerk, alone in the store with the robber, took one look and broke into laughter.
"The frustrated Pluto robber then left the store," Kovach said.
Another witness saw a white male, about 20 years old, get in a car and drive away.
Kovach said that laughter isn't usually the best crime deterrent.
"I don't want to give the impression that that's an advisable thing to do," he told the newspaper. "Pluto could have been a strung-out heroin addict. You never know."
— Thanks to Out There readers Rich R. and Mike C.
Shih Tzu Subpoenaed in Murder Case
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Prosecutors hoping for a witness in a murder case were barking up the wrong tree.
They sent out a batch of subpoenas for anyone who had contact with Albert K. Smith while he was jailed awaiting his murder trial.
One of those subpoenas went out to 5-year-old Murphy Smith — Smith's dog, it turned out.
The defendant had written his dog a letter from his cell, and that is how the Shih Tzu's name got on the witness list.
Prosecutors realized the mistake on Tuesday after the defendant's brother brought in Murphy to answer the subpoena and a deputy would not let them into the courthouse because no dogs were allowed.
Prosecutor Robin Green said she apologized to the brother for any inconvenience, and added: "The dog was friendly enough and probably would have been a very cooperative witness."
Albert Smith is accused of shooting to death his ex-wife's boyfriend.
— Thanks to Out There readers Debbie M., Sarah D., Nick H., Tim J. and Travis W.
BATES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A man cooking in his kitchen was shot after one of his cats knocked his 9mm handgun onto the floor, discharging the weapon, Michigan State Police said.
Joseph Stanton, 29, of Bates Township in Iron County, was shot in his lower torso around 6 p.m. Tuesday, the state police post in Iron River reported. He was transported to Iron County Community Hospital.
Michelle Sand, a spokeswoman at the Iron River hospital, said Stanton was treated there before being transferred to Marquette General Hospital for further treatment
But Marcie Miller, a representative of the Marquette facility, said there was no record of the hospital receiving a patient by that name.
State police said Stanton was cooking at his stove when the cat knocked the loaded gun off the kitchen counter behind him.
— Thanks to Out There reader Maureen S.
INKOM, Idaho (AP) — Torri Hutchinson's cat might just have one less life to live.
Hutchinson was driving along Interstate 15 (search) one day recently when a motorist kept trying to get her attention and pointing to the roof of her car.
She said she was wary of the man, but wondered if perhaps her ski rack might have come loose.
She pulled over to the side, but kept her doors locked and the motor running.
The man pulled up behind her. Hutchinson rolled down her window to hear the man frantically shouting, "Your cat! Your cat!"
He reached for the roof of her car and handed the shocked Hutchinson her orange tabby.
She had driven about 10 miles with the cat on top of the car, and didn't even notice the feline when she stopped for gas.
Hutchinson said Cuddle Bug, or C.B. for short, had climbed into the back of her car as she was getting ready to leave. She put him out, but he must have jumped on the roof while she wasn't looking, she said.
— Thanks to Out There readers Shannon O., Ruth-Ann W. and Aaron M.
Waitress Dodges Alligators to Get to Work on Time
WESTON, Fla. (AP) — Waitress Ana Maria Amaya could have been excused if she decided to take the day off.
As Amaya drove Monday across Alligator Alley (search), which connects Fort Lauderdale and Florida's Gulf Coast, her car went airborne when she clipped another vehicle and splashed down in a canal.
"It was like the Dukes of Hazzard," said Don Schild, of Quakertown, Pa., whose car Amaya bumped. "It was amazing."
As Schild called 911, Amaya's car began to sink.
Another witness spotted two alligators in the water and thought, "Oh, great! Now I'm going to have to go in and get her."
Amaya, 32, climbed out and started to make her way to the side of the canal. But first the Salvadoran woman, who can't swim, returned to her car to get her immigration papers.
She made it to the canal bank, where she stood dripping in six-foot-tall sawgrass, biting her nails and waiting to be rescued.
"She was so calm and cool," said Beth Schild, Don Schild's wife. "It was amazing."
Some fisherman brought her back to the highway, where she was checked out by paramedics and then driven back home by police.
A few hours later, Amaya got a ride to the Miami restaurant where she works, arriving on time.
— Thanks to Out There reader Harley W.
Compiled by FOX News' Paul Wagenseil.
Got a good "Out There" story in your hometown? We'd like to know about it. Send an e-mail, with a Web link (we need to authenticate these things), to outthere@foxnews.com.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox