Princess, Tess, allergies & things...

On Wednesday, we should have a largely mellow soundtrack. So, here are you choices of wax to stack on your spindle -- not a holiday song in the crowd, so that oughta relieve some seasonal pressure.

Your choices: The Uniques' album Uniquely Yours with their hit "All These Things," some blue-eyed soul with the album 34:40 of John Fred & His Playboy Band or The Beatles' Rubber Soul.

Hit the on switch and let's boogaloo into the day's activities. Alright, I'm having allergy problems for the second day in a row -- perhaps I'll sit this dance out next to the Kleenex box.

NEWS FROM ROYALTY: This will give you something to smile about. It's just about the midway point in two stories headed for a happy ending.

Back on Oct. 29 we reported that Operation Kindness had turned to Prince, a former stray who was about a year old, for help. Prince became a donor and gave a life-sustaining blood to a starving little girl named Princess.

Prince was a former stray -- a charming, easy-going fellow -- who'd been in the shelter since April. Little Princess was picked up at an East Dallas church on Oct. 24 and taken to Operation Kindness.

You can tell which photos are the before photos of Princess. And, you can tell, also which are the after photos.

We met Prince at the recent Canines, Cats & Cabernet fundraiser -- he was the big black dog with the shaved area under his chin. Friendly, warm and the kind of dog who'd like to sit on the couch with you and talk about the day's activities or watch soaps or sports.

In the meantime, Princess continues to grow stronger and healthier each day, as these photos from Operation Kindness demonstrate.

You can read more about them and see how to audition to adopt them by going to the Operation Kindness website HERE.

It took a few heroes to save Princess' life -- the woman who picked her up, Prince, the folks at Operation Kindness and the vet.

Just takes one hero to step up and give the dogs a home.

TESS AND HER PAW: Oh, goodness, this is a dog who needs some immediate help.

When I spoke to Chris Valentine, the Rockwall Animal Services supervisor this morning, she was enthusiastic about finding a good home for Tess.

But the truth is, Tess is in a kill shelter and if she picks up a virus, she will be put down to keep from spreading that virus. Her immune system may be compromised right now because she has a horrible paw injury -- she gets antibiotic cream on it, but she doesn't get any other meds so she's as vulnerable to viral infections as the rest of us.

We were tipped to Tess' tale by Cary Birdwell of Adopt-a-Dallas Pet.

Tess is an 8-month-old border collie mix and, Supervisor Valentine says, a "very sweet dog." Chris says she really appreciates it when "somebody helps my babies." So, as you can see, the heart of the staff at Rockwall is interested in helping Tess find a home quickly. This photos is of Tess in her crate at the shelter. And you'll note that her paw is bandaged securely.

Rockwall Animal Services had received a call a few weeks ago "about a dog howling in a ditch," the report goes. The officers found Tess with a mangled left front paw -- probably the result of either being caught in a trap or a metal fence. She was crying out for help from humans.

Dr. David Loftis at Rockwall Veterinary Hospital "worked his magic to save her paw," according to the report. And, because no one came forward to claim her, Tess was taken to the Rockwall Animal Shelter.

Her paw will require about two more months of attention -- the bandage has to be removed, antibiotic ointment applied and the paw rebandaged. It must be kept dry.

A city shelter uses lots of water to clean the cages, so Tess is being kept in a crate. She gets to exercise, but spends most of her time crated.

Crating a border collie seems like a surefire way to drive a dog nuts. But Tess is patient.

She just needs a home and she's available right now. You can contact the Rockwall Animal Shelter by going HERE.

Trust me, plenty of people at the Rockwall shelter are dedicated to getting Tess a home before anything else can happen to her. She's had a rough enough autumn already.

PERSONAL OBSERVATION: About these animal shelter viral infections in big towns or small towns: While humans may get a shot and go on about their business, city shelters don't have much of a medical budget. In general, elected officials, who approve the budgets, think taxpayers don't want  to spend tax dollars giving medical care to stray or unwanted animals -- they think taxpayers prefer the cost-efficient method of euthanasia. This falls in line with the traditional Texas method of coping with an animal problem: Let's kill it.

Among the sad things is that these animals are victims of human folly, neglect, ignorance, meanness and budgeting. And, until taxpayers convince their city officials otherwise, shelters will still be buying euthanasia juice in bulk.

A CORSICANA SITUATION: Several months ago we told the story of some people who were working with a dog that was living under a bridge in Corsicana. From one of our sources, here's the latest on the dog being fed for months under at bridge at Exit 237 off I-35 in Corsicana. As you recall, these people were "desperately trying to get her some help. Well, I'm sad to tell you that  there really WAS no help to be had because no one would come outside of the city limits for a rescue. The last time I went to feed her, I had  a plan for enticing her and hopefully grabbing her with some help, and she had been seen just 3 days before, waiting patiently for her handout.  When I arrived she, for the first time, was nowhere to be seen. I got out and walked under the bridge, but nothing. Then out of somewhere came a man on an ATV and he zoomed out, faced me, and made a call on his cell phone, and then left.  Can't say exactly what that meant, but the poor dog is gone---end of story. I guess she waited as long as she could, and it is a sad day when there is no help to be had  for a stranded animal in this day and time. Thanks for  letting us tell her story---maybe next time things will go differently."

THE WEST DALLAS PUPS: On Nov. 7, we told Sherry Kunz' story of seeing a litter of way-too-young-to-be-on-their-own puppies in a West Dallas yard on her way to work. And help came in the tradition form -- the Fairy Dogmother of West Dallas, Angie Manriquez.

A veteran rescuer who wants to remain anonymous reports: "Angie Manriquez asked me to let you know she collected the pups out of the yard in West Dallas yesterday, all six of 'em, maybe 4 weeks old, maybe chow/shepherd, just furballs right now.  People in the house said there had been a mother dog around days ago but animal control must have picked her up.  Anyway, Angie called the SPCA, and they actually agreed to take them BUT they require a $30 fee on every animal turned in.  Now I can well understand making worthless people who are turning in their own pets pay, but all Angie did was rescue them from certain death. Angie lives on a social security check and when I asked her what she was going to do, she said she would just have to max out her credit card because they had to get to safety. Anybody who ever thought rescuing was cheap…. As Angie was about to leave her house a lady came by to drop off some supplies for her, heard the situation and wrote Angie out a check for $180 to get the pups into the shelter. Thankfully, sometimes things do work out but, geez louise, that policy needs to be changed…. Do you have any ears at the SPCA?"

It would seem like exceptions could be made, but, in animal rescue, there is a prevailing truth: no good deed goes unpunished. The SPCA has to pay for the upkeep and meds for the pups -- of course, that's what they're pledged to do. But money doesn't grow on trees. The SPCA has to harvest money like other non-profit animal groups.

Anything that involves hearts and emotions is always tough to keep funded. I don't know what the answer is. Registration as a bona fide rescuer, maybe?

RATS: Here's something you may never have expected to see. The headline reads "Rats Are The New Dalmatians in the German Capital." Here's the link.

OK, I'm going to go treat my allergies with some over-the-counter stuff -- I keep some tequila over the counter -- just kidding -- and hope that storebought meds work. I'm tired of talking like a frog trying to sing opera.