Elvis’ teddy bear leaves building the hard way

updated 8:18 a.m. ET Aug. 3, 2006

LONDON - A guard dog has ripped apart a collection of rare teddy bears, including one once owned by Elvis Presley, during a rampage at a children’s museum.

“He just went berserk,” said Daniel Medley, general manager of the Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, where hundreds of bears were chewed up Tuesday night by the 6-year-old Doberman pinscher named Barney.

Barney ripped the head off a brown stuffed bear once owned by the young Presley during the attack, leaving fluffy stuffing and bits of bears’ limbs and heads on the museum floor. The bear, named Mabel, was made in 1909 by the German manufacturer Steiff.

The collection, valued at more than $900,000, included a red bear made by Farnell in 1910 and a Bobby Bruin made by Merrythought in 1936.

AP Mabel, a teddy bear once owned by Elvis Presley, is shown before its unfortunate encounter with Barney.

The bear with Elvis connections was owned by English aristocrat Benjamin Slade, who bought it at an Elvis memorabilia auction in Memphis, Tenn., and had loaned it to the museum.

“I’ve spoken to the bear’s owner and he is not very pleased at all,” Medley said.

A security guard at the museum, Greg West, said he spent several minutes chasing Barney before wrestling the dog to the ground.

MORE FROM WEIRD NEWS

Weird news Section Front

Christmas story: Boy licks pole, gets stuck Half-naked Santas run for charity   1788 cognac fetches $37,000 at auction Woman kept honey bear, leopard cat in condo Smuggled kangaroos freed; man arrested 15-year-old Wis. cheddar sells for $50 per pound Jail frees wrong inmate named ‘Ismail’ 'Elf' jailed over dynamite hoax on Santa Pot in a pot: Donated jug holds marijuana Stolen body of Austrian billionaire returned Weird news Section Front   Add Weird news headlines to your news reader: