Photo of unrelated puppy by droid via Flickr

In Lancaster last night, a six month old dog was lit on fire. Luckily, witnesses heard the yelping puppy and extinguished the fire with a jacket. The dog, a pit bull mix, was taken to an animal shelter while police investigated looking for the culprit. More odd news came out of Lancaster earlier this year when a man was killed by an arrow while crossing the street.

In Orange County, two rookie deputies on probation were released from their duties after allegedly tasering a cat to death. "Because they were on probation, the two deputies could be let go immediately for such things as being evasive during questioning. Officially, their release would be recorded as a no-fault failure of probation... A necropsy was unable to determine if the cat had been shot with a stun gun," reported the Orange County Register.

Meanwhile, up in Northern California in Vallejo, a Santa Rosa man was arrested for allegedly punching a camel at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom after a dare from friends. Security had caught him, but the 24-year-old man ran, eventually being caught by police.

Back in the Southland in El Monte, three 10-year-old girls did something nice for an animal -- they set up a lemonade stand this weekend to raise money for a dog, a bullmastiff mix, with a tumor in its shoulder. For a quarter, you could help their cause by purchasing a glass of lemonade, but they still have a ways to go. KNBC says, "for more information or to donate, call 626-377-1292."