There's never really a dull day in Los Angeles.
This year had everything from unusual pursuits, rogue animals and even a person in a fake bear costume claiming an animal had damaged their car.
Take a look at some of this year's strangest stories:
Woman clings to hood of car after French Bulldog is stolen in downtown LA
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In January, a woman was seen clinging to the hood of a car after her dog was stolen in downtown Los Angeles. The car was seen driving down the street after the woman's French bulldog was taken from her.
The woman had been having lunch at around 3:45 p.m. in front of Whole Foods near W. 8th Street and S. Grand Avenue when she said she tried to stop four thieves from getting away with her dog.
In a news release, the Los Angeles Police Department said two people had stolen the dog.
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Nude woman swings spiked club in Venice Beach duel, puzzling onlookers
A bizarre February altercation between two women at Venice Beach had onlookers do a double take.
Video from the Southern California beach showed two women – one of them nude – using what appeared to be spiked clubs to fight one another on the boardwalk as people curiously watched. The naked woman wildly swung her weapon while the clothed woman pulled out her own bat from behind a trashcan, leading to what looked like a duel.
Phil Bourque, who works at a nearby store, captured footage of the unusual fight.
“Like, they were fighting and then people were gathering around watching,” he said of the crowd. “I mean, entertaining, that’s all I can say.”
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Watch: Daring trespasser walks between ‘Graffiti Towers' high above downtown LA
In a shocking video recorded in May, a slackliner was seen walking 80 feet between two graffiti-filled towers on the Oceanwide Plaza Development in downtown Los Angeles.
Ben Schneider said he’s a performance artist. He walked on the slackline Sunday morning more than 40 floors up and more than 500 feet high.
“I wanted to create the greatest art piece Los Angeles has ever seen,” Schneider said.
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Rideshare driver shoots man who was brutally attacking a woman in Orange County
A rideshare driver in Orange County said he acted on a "fight-or-flight" response after shooting a naked man whom he witnessed attacking a woman in June.
Turan Sanders was dropping off a passenger nearby when he noticed the man running toward the woman by the dumpster area of a condo community in Stanton. The driver took immediate action and fired off a warning shot, which didn't stop the man from attacking the 60-year-old woman.
"This female was defenseless. He began to like brutally beat her — he was kneeing her — slamming her head against the ground," said Sanders.
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Man does pushups and sprints while on top of bus in downtown LA for 5 hours
A bizarre scene unfolded June 3 when a man climbed on top of a bus in downtown Los Angeles and stayed there for about five hours.
The shirtless man with his cap on backwards ran back-and-forth and performed pushups on top of the articulated Foothill Transit bus, which was stopped on the side of Pico Boulevard between Figueroa and Flower streets.
The man climbed the bus at about 9 p.m. when he was kicked out of car, according to authorities. The man tried to board the bus, but the operator refused because he appeared intoxicated, the LAPD said.
That's when he climbed onto the top of the bus. Passengers were taken off the bus.
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Watch: Firefighters rescue man stuck in downtown LA building's chimney
Firefighters rescued a man in June who was stuck for nearly two hours inside the chimney of a four-story downtown Los Angeles apartment building.
Video showed the man climbing down into the chimney like Santa Claus from the rooftop of the building in the 1300 block of South Flower Street. He appeared to hold onto a metal bar above the chimney before losing his grip.
Firefighters used cameras to pinpoint the man's location in the chimney, which extended through all four stories of the building. LAFD Urban Search and Rescue crews broke through an interior wall and entered the shaft below the man. Rescuers were able to slide the man down the chimney to safety.
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How woman's lost luggage from Burbank Airport ended up in Hollywood homeless encampment
A woman demanded answers from American Airlines after her luggage ended up in a homeless encampment in Hollywood.
Aunny Grace was able to find it thanks to an Apple AirTag inside her suitcase, but she wanted to know how it got there. Grace said the travel headache started at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on May 29 when her flight was delayed.
She spent the night in the Dallas Airport as she waited for her flight home to Hollywood Burbank Airport. She understood her luggage would be delayed but wasn’t prepared for what came next.
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Man gets back tattoo of graffiti-filled towers in downtown LA
The abandoned Oceanwide Plaza Development has been an eyesore for some and an art piece for others. For one man, the graffiti-filled towers are now a backpiece.
Miguel Angel Rodriguez liked the graffiti towers so much he wanted to make it permanent. He came up with the idea while hanging out with his tattoo artist.
“We were smoking, I was drinking and my homeboy was like ‘Oh, let me do a backpiece.' I’m all like ‘Oh yeah, I’m down’” said Rodriguez. "And he’s like 'what were you thinking,' the skyscrapers.”
It took tattoo artist Eric Reyna two sessions to finish the back piece on Rodriguez. The artist says it's only the beginning.
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Car chase suspect leads police on pursuit with his 2-month-old baby in the car
A man who police say was connected to a robbery in Beverly Hills led authorities on a dangerous pursuit with his 2-month-old daughter in the car on July 17.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said the disturbing ordeal began with a call of an armed robbery involving three men in Beverly Hills. Those men were seen traveling in Hawthorne and then ditched the car they were traveling in. Two men were detained and a third suspect was seen driving away in a Kia sedan.
That third suspect, who is believed to have carjacked the Kia, then instigated a pursuit with his infant daughter and the baby's mother in the vehicle.
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Cow takes a stroll through a Sylmar neighborhood
Residents in a Sylmar neighborhood spotted an unusual sight in July when a cow took a leisurely stroll through the area.
Neighbors who spotted the animal called authorities at around 3 a.m. near Gladstone Avenue and Maclay Street. At one point the animal was struck by a car and fell on its side, but it got up on its own and walked away.
At around 4:30 a.m., the cow made its way back home safely where a man came outside and said the animal was his.
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Duck sanctuary seeks donations, fosters after hundreds of balut eggs hatch
Volunteers at a Riverside County duck sanctuary fought to save as many hatchlings as they could after a "horrible situation" in which hundreds of fertilized eggs were abandoned in Orange County due to a shipping delay.
The eggs were picked up by about 20 volunteers at a Walmart parking lot in Brea after The Duck Sanctuary in Winchester was contacted by a woman in possession of about 300 so-called "balut eggs." Considered a delicacy in some cultures, balut eggs are duck eggs that are incubated almost to the point of hatching and then boiled and eaten.
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Thief leaves apology note after robbing San Fernando Valley business
Several businesses in the San Fernando Valley were targeted by burglars, but one of the locations was left with something different: an apology note.
Surveillance video from one robbery showed the moment someone broke in through a wall and grabbed the money from the cash register. Police said at least 10 businesses were hit, including three burglaries. Six of those businesses were vandalized.
In one of those burglaries, the thief left a note saying “Sorry, need $ for drugs, won’t come back.”
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Burglars filmed stealing large safe out of Cheviot Hills home
Cell phone footage from a neighbor captured the moment in August when a group of burglars were seen hauling a safe from a home in Cheviot Hills.
Three masked individuals took turns breaking the home's metal gate to get the safe through.
The burglars disregarded the neighbor who was just a few feet away, filming the crew as they struggled to get the safe inside of their getaway vehicle.
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Passenger hangs out of vehicle during pursuit in Long Beach
A man was hanging on the passenger-side window of a car during a chase that began after a report of a carjacking in the Long Beach area.
The vehicle was stolen at a gas station in Lynwood by suspected armed carjackers, according to police.
A man was seen hanging out the passenger window of the vehicle traveling at speeds of up to 70 MPH, yelling at CHP patrol cars that were in pursuit.
The chase continued northbound on the 710 Freeway and came to an end after the vehicle sustained significant tire damage.
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Police arrest naked man living in crawlspace of El Sereno home
In November, police arrested a naked man in the crawlspace underneath the El Sereno home of a 93-year-old woman.
Los Angeles police said they spent hours trying to get the man out before having to resort to tear gas, causing a huge commotion in the neighborhood and forcing the people living inside the home to have to find somewhere else to sleep.
The unsettling incident took place after she and her family had reported hearing strange noises for weeks.
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Operation Bear Claw: How investigators busted group behind fake bear attacks with bear costume
Four people were charged with insurance fraud after they staged a fake bear attack with an unusual costume.
The California Department of Insurance teamed up with San Bernardino County authorities to lead “Operation Bear Claw,” which determined that the four people attempted to defraud insurance companies by claiming a bear had entered their luxury cars and caused interior damage.
In reality, the suspects used a bear costume to stage the attacks, according to authorities. The suspects then requested insurance payouts for their cars, a 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350.
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