The 'Goat Tote' & Other Notes

What will you be reading about this Friday the 13th? A goat, some abandoned and rescued dogs and a chow hound in The Colony.

EMILY THE TRAVELING GOAT: We arrive at Friday the 13th with an uplifting story about a goat named Emily.

I'm trusting that most of us don't run into a goat named Emily all that often -- Nanny, maybe, but not Emily.

Also, I'm not sure how goats feel about Friday the 13th since I've never actually known a goat that had a calendar.

Regular visitors to Readlarrypowell.com first met Emily the Goat back on Dec. 6. We'd heard from Maggie Dahl of Animal Rescue of Texas who'd been in touch with Debbie Lhotka of Denton Animal Services. Debbie was looking for help for the goat. ART  board member Jennifer Griffeth was said to "love a challenge" and, as Maggie told us, "Jennifer knows a thing or two about goats."

Emily, we were told, was probably a Nubian/Boer cross -- she weighed in at about 85 pounds. (The photo on the left is from December; on the right you see Emily with a more substantial appearance.)

Emily was in Denton and needed to go to Quinlan, about 20 miles east of Rockwall. The organizers of this transportation event called it the "Goat Tote."

It turns out Emily would not be traveling alone.

Here is how things, er, developed, according to Maggie in an update from earlier this week. (I saved the "news" for Friday the 13th figuring we could use something positive.)

"Once we had Emily checked out," Maggie writes, "We found out she was expecting and, because of her size, the vet through she would deliver pretty soon. time passed, no kids. Then the doc said he thought he heard THREE heartbeats.

"Well, lo and behold, last week Emily delivered FOUR little kids -- yes, 4. Evidently pretty rare in the goat world, but ART never does anything small ;), Two boys and two girls: Harry, Herby, Ebbey and Elley.  One of the boys was having some problems with his back legs not wanting to work right (common in multiple births because of the cramped space) but the vet gave instructions on making some braces and how to use them until he uses his legs on his own.

"The real rescuer here is HC 'Bud' Harmon, one of our board member's (Jennifer Griffeth) good friends and neighbor, who took Emily in and is now taking care of all those babies.

"As it turns out, Emily is unable to nurse her babes, so Bud, Jennifer and a host of neighbors are having to feed every 3-4 hours using a 2-liter soda bottle with a nipple to feed each one, it takes about 20 minutes each.

"Bud has many goats, so they all fit right in -- although they think they are lap dogs right now and are learning to fetch (dog rescue habits run deep)."

(You see the kids at play in these photos -- on the right it looks as if they're contemplating giving the chickens a bit of a chase. Ah, these kids today.)

So, when the Animal Rescue of Texas people and Debbie Lhotka of Denton Animal Services and everybody teamed up to create the "Goat Tote," they didn't just save Emily, they saved four kids, too.

As Maggie says, it's a "different kind of rescue story."

SOME GOOD DOG NEWS: On June 3 we mentioned two more dogs from the continuing "Gravel Pit Project" being overseen by Johnna Bigley and, for lack of a better name, "Team Gravel Pit." A number of dogs have been dumped in the area of an abandoned gravel pit and former tree farm at Seagoville.

These two particular dogs were starving and had obvious health problems:

Johnna sends us this update:

"I just couldn't take it any longer.  I was racked with worry about them and couldn't sleep knowing they were fending for themselves out there and the one was in such need of medical attention."

She took the brown dog, now named Maggie, to her vet's office where damage in her "private" area was repair and, as long as she was under anesthesia, she was spayed, too. The vet also stitched up the horrific gash in the dog's back leg.

all this work and routine tests cost $305, Johnna says.

The other dog, Dollie, is "the sweetest brindle girl ever," Johnna says. Amazingly, she had few health problems -- was NOT heartworm positive -- and will be spayed next week.

Writes Johnna, "Now, I just pray someone will take these two precious girls into their program or a wonderful family will want one or both and hopefully soon. I have them in a small 8'x8' chain link pen under some trees with a tarp over it but it's really no place to keep them for long. I just had to get them to safety though. Right now, no one has shown any interest in taking them and that's really so sad.

"I have to tell you as a previous owner of pits throughout my life, these are two of the most gentle and loving pittie girls I've EVER been around.  They eat out of my hand, share their food, let me take a bone out of their mouths and actually thought I wanted to play tug of war with them! Not one shred of aggression. I get non-stop kisses and loving...but that's actually going both ways right now! 

"When I took Dollie to the vet yesterday...a little 7 year old girl plops down right in front of her and before I could do anything Dollie just started licking her!  And...EVERYONE fell in love with Maggie!  They're both incredible and I just know they're going make excellent dogs for some lucky person. ... So, there you go! They're safe and being showered with love and ready for their forever home or a great foster. No one will be disappointed in these babies!"

Just FYI: Johnna says her network of supporters and people who want to help dogs have given enough to cover the vet bills so far. "Prayers do get answered," she says.

To ask about adopting either or both of these dogs or to help with the additional dogs at the gravel pit, call 214-673-3844 or e-mail johnna1228@yahoo.com.

TIMING -- THE KEY TO EVERYTHING IN THE COLONY: Yesterday we were checking in on the fate of Savannah with Patricia Barrington, The Colony's Animal Control Division Manager. You may recall from earlier in the week that Savannah was an owner-surrender 8-year-old cocker who had no idea why she'd been dumped.

Patricia says the good folks with DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue claimed Savannah just before I called. So, she's out of the kill shelter and into the kiss-and-snuggle group.

In the meantime, Patricia had another adventure story in the world of animal control. She sent photos of the dog "Smiley."

On Monday, says Patricia, she and ACO Stephanie Byington had been out "running calls" all morning and "we were hot and hungry. We kept trying to make our way to Dickey's Barbecue, but kept getting calls. We finally had a break and had Dickey's in sight when Smiley literally ran out into the street in front of us with , of course, a Dickey's Barbecue bag in his mouth. True story!

"We buckled with laughter and rounded him up. (The bag was empty. You can imagine our disappointment.)

"Smiley is the variety of dog that I label 'sensitive.'  See, he’s a little shy, and when approached he sort of cowers and wags his tail and smiles. He doesn’t bare teeth, or growl, he’s just terribly sensitive and the lip curling is sort of a reflex; he’s friendly.  Smiley crawls and smiles all the way to me and puts his head in my lap. Smiley is a young active Shepherd mix with a cherry eye that needs to be fixed (those things hurt).

"This boy will be a loyal companion … and he can fetch take-out, as well.  A little work and I bet he could manage opening a beer.

"Unfortunately, with a bum eye and pearly whites a-shining, he’s not the most marketable animal to grace our shelter and he hasn’t had any looks. 

"He’s a staff favorite and we would love to help him find his perfect home.  So, if you know anyone looking for a smiling, devil-eyed dog, who is 100% pure sweetness, please send them to The Colony."

To offer to adopt or help Smiley, call The Colony Animal Control at 972-370-9250 or email pbarrington@thecolonytx.gov.

ASSORTED NOTES: Don't forget the Top Hat & Tails fundraiser this weekend hosted by Paws In The City. Details are HERE. Celebrities, fun, dancing, and news, no doubt, about plans to build a new no-kill shelter in Dallas. ... The annual Operation Kindness Dog Day Afternoon is Sept. 20 this year at Hawaiian Falls Water Park at Firewheel in Garland -- see the details at www.operationkindness.org. ... The little injured owl we mentioned earlier in the week was successfully transported from Gun Barrel City to Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation in Hutchins. In the meantime, the owl transit arranger Tina Hamilton of Happy Tails Rescue of Gun Barrel City is looking for some help with water for dogs. She needs gallon plastic jugs with the caps. E-mail HappyTailsofGBC@yahoo.com to make arrangements. ...  And here's one for you vegetarians and vegans: Our pal Chef Jeanette of Crosby Catering & Coffee will demonstrate how to prepare "three different vegan pates" during the 5th Annual City Arts Celebration. On Sunday, she'll be in the Culinary Showcase 10 at 1 p.m. at Pearl and Woodall Rodgers downtown. 

VILLAGE IDIOT? Oh, we're really talking about the mayor of a small Arkansas town and surely he isn't the village idiot even though he decided to empty the city's animal shelter by having the dogs driven out to a nearby national forest and turned loose. To see the Helena Daily World's story on the event click HERE. A deer you could set free in the forest, a raccoon, a daft politician, but not a dog.

CONTEMPLATIONS: Back in the day when Dallas had two newspapers, the Dallas Times-Herald, which died a sudden and not lingering death in 1991, used to announce the beginning of summer with a photo of people buying snowcones at Aunt Stelle's in Oak Cliff. I was by there yesterday and there was a line in the middle of the afternoon. I never worked at the Times-Herald, but at one of my former newspapers, the tabloid Fort Worth Press, we celebrated the arrival of summer by trying to figure out a way to get out of the building -- it wasn't air-conditioned. ... Remember when there were just three TV channels and politicians would buy time and knock your favorite show off the air? Think that'll happen this year? ... Favorite Sylvester Stallone non-Rocky, non-Rambo movie? Paradise Alley? He sings the theme, but the movie works. And he was pretty good in Copland, too. Non-singing role.