He may stand more than 7-ft. tall and weigh nearly 325 lbs., but judging by this picture, it seems NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is a big softie at heart! The Cleveland Cavaliers center wrapped up a tour of China on July 16 with a visit to the Panda Breeding Research Center in Chengdu. O’Neal, who told reporters that meeting a giant panda was a longtime dream, had the chance to get cozy with a fuzzy bear – who seemed quite comfy on the big guy’s lap! According to China Central Television, the pandas were quite a welcoming committee for the sports star: The bears walked outside their enclosure, climbed trees and dangled from branches during the visit!

Link: PeoplePets

This poodle is one of many dyed to order in Wuhan, China. Pet owners in China commonly have their pets’ fur colored, a portion of the 500 percent increase pet owners in the country spent on their animals from 1999 to 2008, according to the July 13 issue of the London Daily Mail.

Via AOL.com, photo credit Zhou Chao, ChinaFotoPress / Getty Images

And, oh hey, here’s another one… Snuzzy or not

Cat and mouse become pals

A Chinese family borrowed a pet cat from their neighbour to catch a mouse which had invaded their home – only for them to become best friends.

Mr Li, of Changchun in north east China, was annoyed by the mouse which had sneaked into his house through a broken window.

“It was very foxy. I tried many ways to catch it, but it always escaped and then gained revenge on me by gnawing at the family utilities,” he told Huashang Daily.

Li came up with the idea of borrowing his neighbour’s cat, Da Huang, after paying them a visit.

To make the cat more enthusiastic for the task, Li asked his neighbour to starve the cat overnight before he borrowed it.

The next morning, Da Huang caught the rodent but let it go after smelling it – and to Li’s surprise the mouse then started attacking the cat.

“Da Huang neglected his duty. He just pats the mouse off and after a while they just started playing together. Now they are friends and the cat even cuddles up with the mouse to sleep,” he said.

He believes the cat’s normal diet of chicken liver has left it too spoiled to eat mice.

I especially like the part about the mouse gaining “revenge on me by gnawing at the family utilities.” I can just see the mouse in the corner, little teeth flashing, muttering to himself:

Via: Ananova.com, sent in by Christine

I feel like at any second, one of these guys is going to take off his costumed head and turn to the others and say, “Hey before we get back to work, does anybody have any dental floss?”

Happy Monday.

Link: [Mutts] AP Photo Credit: Chen Xie