Crises and considerations

Please set aside your thoughts of the Dallas Cowboys' march to the Super Bowl and concentrate for a moment on other challenges in our world.

The price of gasoline, dieting during the holiday season and the inexplicable lack of fins on any American car. Of course, we can do little about those things, but we may be able to help other people with problems. Maybe save a dog now and then. Find a place for a cat. You know the drill.

That dog? Oh, I couldn't resist putting his photo at the top of today's report. His name caught my eye, too. This dog's name is Tater. I believe he may be the first Weimaraner in the history of the world named Tater. More on Tater later.

A FAMILY SITUATION: We spoke this morning to Julie Martin Lowe who is currently in Clifton trying to help with nine dogs of varying sizes and ages and 33 cats that are living virtually without care in a home "they all shared with the elderly couple who had accumulated them."

Julie is from back east. "Eddie and I have driven here from our home in New Jersey to do our best to help find placement for, at the very least, some of these poor guys."

She said that she thinks six of the cats may have been placed. But that still leaves a tremendous challenge in this small town of Clifton, about two hours southwest of Dallas.

One member of the elderly couple that had these animals recently died and the other has been placed into assisted living.

The animals were left without much hope.

Julie writes, "My in-laws have been doing their best to provide at least basic care for these poor souls for the past several months while they sought help from local animal groups, but no one has stepped into assist them."

Conditions in the home are unpleasant, but the animals appear to be relatively well cared for and there are no fleas or other pesky problems. It's just a big load of animals brought together by fate.

Julie can tell people about each of the dogs and most of the cats -- they've been a little difficult to line up, as you can imagine.

All of the dogs are congenial and only one has a shyness problem. That is Hillary. "I am hopeful that someone out there will be willing to take on the challenges that this poor doggie presents. She is in her mid-years, about 55 pounds, and looks to be part Heeler, or Border Collie, or some other such herding breed. She is exceedingly wary, will not allow anyone to approach her (not even her elderly care-takers) and is apparently a fear-biter when cornered, though when left to her own devices, does not appear to pose any threat. She is perfectly calm and well-behaved around other dogs and cats -- only humans seem to agitate her. Please keep in mind that I have moved around in her area freely, without ever feeling threatened in any way. She is not at all overtly aggressive -- only responding out of fear when she feels pressed. It will take an extraordinarily patient and talented person to rehabilitate this beautiful girl into a pet. But, if she could find a place where she could be cared for, and left to her own space, she could live the rest of her years in peace."

And that, basically, is the story of things at that house in Clifton. The situation offers an opportunity for agencies and shelters to step up and help just as if a hurricane had raced through the county and left a bunch of animals in dire straits. Only instead of facing death from weather, these animals may face death from authorities. Julie and her family are working against the clock to try to save these animals. 
To offer to help or to give sage advice regarding this situation to Julie, e-mail julieis@gmail.com or call 254-675-2921.

REGARDING TATER: Our pal Cary Birdwell of Adopt-a-Dallas-Pet sent us the note about Tater, currently a ward of Weimaraner Rescue of North Texas.

He's one of several dogs the rescue group is hoping to find home for -- and he is said to be "a goofy, happy boy."

He also made a lot of good first impressions with visitors to a recent WRNT "meet-and-greet" in Dallas.

To ask about auditioning to adopt this guy, call Weimaraner Rescue of North Texas at 972-994-3572 or e-mail bark@weimrescuetexas.org or visit www.weimrescuetexas.org.

Tater -- no telling how he got that name. Looks like it might fit, though.

URBAN ANIMAL REMINDER: We are approaching deadline for submitting events for listing in the December edition of Urban Animal magazine. Send the simple info -- who, what, where, when, why and how much and a contact number or e-mail -- to dallrp@aol.com. Our deadline this month for submission is NOON THURSDAY NOV. 15. Read that again. It's solid because of production schedules. Prod your PR people into getting the info to us ASAP.

Again: Keep it simple. Just the bare facts. No flourishes. Don't pretend an animal wrote it. When deadline approaches, there's no time for cute.

UPDATES ON ASSORTED SITUATIONS: This arrived last night from Anne Burgess who'd been fostering Rigley, the Sheltie mix (see yesterday's report). "Wonderful news," she writes. "Rigley went to his new home tonight! A wonderful couple who live in Waxahachie and have 3 other dogs took him. They had lost one of their dogs last week. Rigley took right to them!! He is a blessed little fellow to have gone to such wonderful people!"

            On Friday, Stacey Butler wrote to us about an emergency situation on the Lincoln Tech campus in Grand Prairie. A pregnant pit bull was living on the campus and needed rescuing so she could be properly cared for -- and her pups, too, of course, when they arrive. Stacey reports that a Lincoln Tech faculty member came back to campus with a crate and "took her home with her." We'll continue to monitor the situation to see if a good-hearted Lincoln Tech faculty member soon needs help placing pit puppies.

            Chex, the handsome black and white dog who'd been at The Colony, has found his way into the arms of Companion Animal Network.

            And Faith Quintana gives us this report on the cute dog that has been living on the Minyard Grocery Store parking lot at Camp Wisdom and Polk in southern Oak Cliff. "A very nice man loaned me his live trap this morning [Monday], so went to set it up around 11.  Placed little pieces of Hot Dogs leading up to the trap.  She went inside, but not all the way to the back to set it off.  I stayed for a hour, then took the trap and left.  Will try again tomorrow around the same time.  It's frustrating, but I'm not going to give up!  Does anyone have other solutions to catch this poor baby?  She's pretty street smart, but
luck might not be on her side to much longer if we don't get her out of that parking lot.  Too much traffic in and out!" To volunteer to help Faith, e-mail fquintana001@tx.rr.com.

OPIE'S SETTLING DOWN: And, settled though his tummy may be, he needs a home. We get this story from Kristin Riebel of the Frisco Humane Society.

She's been fostering Opie since Valentine's Day -- for you romantics who have forgotten, that's Feb. 14. "He's very, very sweet, just a bit light on the brain cells. He's a bit of a special needs boy. He has food allergies and needs to take an oral steroid every third day. His food is Duck and Potato by Natural Balance, available at most pet stores. His steroid comes has to come from a compounding pharmacy but is only $50 for a 3-month supply. "So while he's got some special needs they are not complicated or terribly expensive."

Alright that's where he's at -- how did he get there? The story:

"Opie took 3 trips to the ER while we tried to determine why he would get sick and pass out. We thought it was due to an insect bite which considering the events always happened at 2 in the morning and his bed is in our bedroom made us a bit uneasy. Nothing like calling your husband and asking him to very carefully remove Opie's bedding to the garage and be sure nothing is in them.  My husband doesn't do spiders. It took a specialist to determine that Opie has food allergies that can cause Irritable Bowl Disease which in turn makes him violently sick, over stimulates the vegas nerve from the brain to the heart and then he passes out. Since he's been on allergy food and a mild steroid he's been just great. No more episodes."

This "perfect lap dog" is about 2 and weighs around 17 pounds. He came from Fort Worth Animal Care and Control and the Frisco folks have been working on his ability to deal with strangers.

Kristin says, "I can see him really doing well in a home where he can go for walks and continue to be socialized."

His family tree? "Our best guess at breed is that there maybe some poodle, maybe Pomeranian or Eskie, perhaps some terrier?  He'll need grooming but he doesn't shed much.  He's just a really sweet boy who needs a calmer, adult home."

You can read more about Opie and see how to volunteer to adopt him at the Frisco Humane Society website HERE.

CHIPOTLE CONTEST: Our pal, the writer Robert Vernon, is monitoring the Chipotle restaurant chain's commercial contest with a personal eye. His son has produced what may be the winning entry at the University of Texas -- you can read about Zach's effort's  in an article in The Daily Texan HERE.

You can still vote in the contest by going HERE -- when you watch the commercial, that's a vote.

IDLE THOUGHTS: I don't have a lot of time for idle thoughts today, but I will declare that trying to watch Monday Night Football on ESPN is like taking a beating. Sometimes you get the feeling that the game isn't the reason they turned the cameras on. They talk about everything in the world except what's being played out in front of them. The screen has more graphics than a geek's laptop. And last night, when the game is underway, the three lackluster people in the broadcast booth are talking to Drew Carey about the changes being made on The Price Is Right. The only good thing to come out of that was Drew got to slip in a word on behalf of spaying and neutering.  All this convinces a reasonable person of two things: ABC is where Monday Night Football belongs and spaying and neutering ought to be practiced at some TV networks. You don't really want some of those geniuses reproducing.

OH, ONE MORE COWBOYS THING: Jonnie England of Operation Kindness reports that someone has given the shelter "two great seats and a parking pass" to Sunday's Cowboys-Washington Redskins game at Texas Stadium. The tickets' face value is $129 each and the parking pass is worth $53 -- parking at that stadium is atrocious, but that pass makes it so much better. Anyway, you can bid on this ticket package and help OK raise money by going to famed radio star Russ Martin's website at www.RussMartin.com. Bidding ends at 10 a.m. Saturday. Just think, you'll help a good cause AND get to see the Cowboys plaster the Redskins. Not so fast. It's the Redskins. Anything can happen -- and if the Cowboys wear their blue jerseys, well, old-timers know that the Curse of the Blue Jerseys is no laughing matter.