The media landscape was a different beast back in the day – print newspapers weren’t haemorrhaging money and journalists could take time over a story without fear of being beaten to the punch on Twitter.

Of course those days are long gone and there is a constant need for new content, which means that every now and again a story pops up that has the ability to surprise.

Ladies, gentlemen and crow lovers, we give you ‘Blackie The Crow Steals Owner’s Smile’ from the front page of News24. First up let’s see what image accompanied this piece:

Well now, attention grabbed. Now for the story’s bite:

Chris Pretorius, who rescues and rehabilitates injured animals on his farm outside Grahamstown, was busy cleaning his dentures in his bathroom on Monday morning when his phone rang.

He rushed into his bedroom to answer the call, and later found Blackie, his tame crow, in the lounge smiling at him with his own teeth.

Blackie was brought to Pretorius in December after he almost died from heat exhaustion. He has now made himself at home, and cannot leave anything alone, Pretorius said.

Blackie did not want to hand over the teeth, and Pretorius could only retrieve them when Blackie hid under a cushion.

But wait, I’ve only gone and saved the best bit for last. These are the actual words that finish off the article:

A smile can brighten anyone’s day, even if it comes from an unexpected source, Netwerk24 reported.

Well Netwerk24, to speak a language you will understand, ‘ek voel vere’ – thanks for the day brightening smile though.

You think we’re done here? You’re wrong, because then you won’t have seen the lead story (at the time of writing). A sceenshot here must suffice because I’m growing exasperated:

Good news everyone, Molly managed to give owner Zach enough time to grab his 9mm pistol and fire back at the robbers. He then described what followed as a “sixth world war”, shots ringing out as four other attackers also opened fire on their double-storey wooden house.

Yeah that escalated, I just came here for the cute dog story guys.

Slow news day.

[sources:news24,news24]