Here's one from the even-after-you-read-this-you're-not-going-to-believe-it file:

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - After his Jeep was rear-ended in the parking lot of a Taco Bell, Tinker Melonuk stepped out to have a word with the driver of the offending Chrysler.

In the driver's seat was a Chihuahua named Mr. Chips, one paw on the wheel. The dog had just had a wild ride, with the car careering across five lanes of traffic from a nearby McDonald's.

``I said to myself, 'If this dog's mouth moves, I'm getting out of here,''' said Melonuk, a Baptist pastor.

Taco Bell, after all, has commercials featuring a pointy-eared, pint-sized, Spanish-speaking Chihuahua named Dinky. Its signature phrase ``Yo quiero Taco Bell'' means ``I want Taco Bell.''

All Connie Sies wanted was her dog back. The strange ride started Thursday when the 77-year-old Corvallis woman stopped at the McDonald's to buy her pooch some McNuggets.

When she stepped part way out of her car to pay for her order, her foot slipped off the brake. The Chrysler, with Mr. Chips in the front seat, took off without her.

It slipped between a telephone pole and a tree, and then rolled across the street - straight into the Taco Bell parking lot, where it hit Melonuk's Jeep and came to a stop. Damage was minor.

Ms. Sies said Mr. Chips, her companion of 15 years, was a little shaken up but glad to see her: ``His little tail was wagging and he licked me and licked me.''

We'd love to be able to finish this story with a witty remark, but nothing we can say will do it justice...