It's been a good week for ...

parrots

An Aberdeen woman was left red-faced after calling the Scottish SPCA to rescue an injured parrot. I'm not sure if you get many exotic birds in the northeast of Scotland in the middle of winter, but we all make mistakes. It transpired that the feathered friend in question was actually an abandoned Christmas hat.

The driver thought she saw a parrot lying in the middle of the city's Great Western Road, and the charity was called to the scene.

However, when the SSPCA arrived there was only a woolly hat in sight.

"It's fair to say the lady who called was mortified when I called her back," said animal rescue officer Karen Hogg. "The hat has green holly which she assumed was the body and a red bobble sticking out which she thought was the parrot's head.

"When I got there it was a nice surprise to find there wasn't an animal in danger and I must admit it gave me a bit of Christmas cheer."

The hat is now safe and well and being cared for at the SSPCA centre in Drumoak. If anyone recognises the hat they are welcome to go and collect it.

It would, after all, be a shame to lose such a stylish accessory. Parrot fashion is all the rage.

It's been a bad week for ... dogs

All was not as it seemed for visitors to a travelling circus in Italy.

Two cute pandas posing for photos with children were actually chow chow puppies with black patches painted on them.

The circus owner has now been charged with the use of false documents.

A spokeswoman for the Italian forestry corps, which deals with many offences involving animals, said audience members paid to have their photograph taken with the kid-on pandas. It seems the unsuspecting public failed to notice the animals had waggy tails and a propensity for barking.

The circus was visiting Brescia near Milan when the fake fur was uncovered. Forest rangers raided the circus accompanied by vets to discover that not everything was black and white.

Thankfully, the dogs were in good health and it was decided they could remain with their owners, on condition that they were no longer used for impersonation.

Reports that the pups are now training as trapeze artists remain unconfirmed. But I'm sure no-one would notice once they were dressed in leotards ...