Lola, rescues, ears and things...

We’re going to begin our Friday report with a happy ending. You may recall the dog Lola, formerly known as Number 7 in the aftermath of a puppy mill raid in Nacogdoches last summer.

The good folks at The Colony Animal Control Division took Lola in – she came all the way from East Texas to North Texas where she became, as Animal Control Division Manager Patricia Barrington called her, “the best office dog ever.”

We ran a number of photos of Lola, including this cage picture sent to us by rescuers right after the raid. (Remember to click on these photos to make them larger.)

Other photos were snapped by Patricia as Lola sat in office chairs, snoozed in the lap of a staffer, rested in a suitcase/dog bed, etc.

The only other way this dog could have been marketed more intently would have been to stamp “Disney” on her backside and tie cash to her collar.

Still, for a while there were just no takers. Who knows why? Economy, maybe. Or nobody wanted to take on a pit bull – that’s likely.

So, what has happened?

Well, after some quality time charming people at The Colony, Lola has found a home. Vicki Cooper-Springer of Circle Star Pet Resort in East Texas saw one of Lola’s photos that Patricia had distributed and fell for the former puppy mill dog.

She’s been living at the resort (It’s between Tyler and Athens) for a couple of weeks and Vicki says, “Oh, my goodness, I just love her to pieces already. She is so stinking spoiled.”

Even as we did the brief telephone interview, Vicki would turn to talk to Lola because Lola was pretty sure we were talking about her.

What’s the thing that charms Vicki? “I guess it’s the way she approaches all the people. We have a lot of people here. She gets along with dogs that aren’t particularly friendly, with all the people; she gets along with the horses.”

When a pit bull runs up to someone, generally the people shrink back, Vicki says. But with Lola “she’s telegraphing ‘i’m friendly, I’m friendly, I’m friendly.’  Everybody loves Lola.”

As you can see we have several photos of loveable Lola, including the one that first caught our attention – someone involved in the puppy mill rescue sent us the photo of Lola being catalogued as “Number 7.”

Then you see Vicki and Lola in the cab of a Circle Star tractor while other dogs circle around them and, apparently, cheer Lola on. Then there’s the couch photo. Salem is on the left, then Goober, with Junior above him, and Lola snoozing on her end of the sofa. Lola also lives with a Border Collie named Cap who works with the cows and another dog named Beau.

Long way from Number 7 in a cage to “Lola On the Couch." (See other Lola photos HERE.)

A REMINDER: The first week of November is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, first declared by the Humane Society of the United States in 1986. So, how do you celebrate it? Start by saying something nice to a shelter worker.  And remember to tip big... wait, that’s National Waiters & Waitresses Day on May 21. Go ahead and say something nice to the shelter staff – they see a lot of things most of us couldn’t stomach. They also get to see happy adoptions. And that’s got to be rewarding.  Remember, you wouldn’t have seen photos of Lola in her happiness if it hadn’t been for the efforts of shelter workers.

ROCKY’S READY:  Sarah Jewell is looking for help for “a dog very dear to my heart,” Rocky – yep, she calls him Rocky Balboa now and he knows how to pose cutely. He and his brother were dumped at White Rock Lake about 5 months ago.

“When we tried to rescue the two boys, Rocky ran right up to us but his brother was scared and ran away. Since then Rocky has bounced from location to location in temporary homes while he waits for his forever family to come along.”

He’s still waiting and now he’s being boarded, which he likes, but it’s not a home, Sarah says. “Rocky deserves a chance! I’ve spent so much of my free time getting to know him and I’ve really fallen for this guy. He knows sit. He knows stay. He’s both house-trained and crate-trained. He loves to play with other dogs, he loves walks and he would be great in a family with or without kids.  He is only 1 year old and the perfect medium size of a mini-lab around 40 lbs. Although not confirmed I think he’s a lab/greyhound mix.  He has some features of both and he can run like the wind!  He’s loving, gentle and asks for only a forever home.”

 To ask about adopting Rocky, e-mail sarah@theingersollcompany.com or call 214-526-3800 or 214-927-6233.

PAXTON AND PROJECT PAWZ: Paxton is a little gray cat with black highlights who found himself left behind when his two siblings were adopted this summer after they’d been rescued from the Corsicana Animal Shelter. Veteran rescuer Lynn Gatlin and hubby Tony (Project Pawz) took the trio in to help them. The siblings were adopted on Aug. 1 and Paxton – well, Lynn says, “There was no way I was sending that little guy back to the shelter all by himself.”

Pax is an inside-only cat and is “quite the little entertainer.” He’s well-trained and adorable.

You can see a video of Paxton by clicking HERE. To offer to adopt him, e-mail lynnsoldit@yahoo.com.

OUR ARIZONA OUTPOST SPOTS A TEXAS EARHOUND: For years we’ve been swapping messages and critter stories with Rocky Wingo who lives in the great state of Arizona. Yesterday she sent us a nomination for an “Earhound.”

“I saw this baby on the margin of your web page and wanted to nominate her as your next Earhound.  Poor little thing!  If I was in Texas, I'd adopt her!”

And, so that is why we have this photo of the great Rosebud who – in an amazing coincidence – actually is an EARS hound – she’s listed on the site for EARS, the Education and Animal Rescue Society in Dallas. (Contact EARS at 214-559-2817 or adoptions@earstexas.org to ask about Rosebud.

The background is this year-old, gentle girl had a rough start and doesn’t really have any ears. According to the EARS folks, the vet “thinks they were cut off with crimping shears. Can you imagine how cruel and inhumane that was for a young puppy?”

She was living on the streets, picked up by animal control and scheduled to be euthanized when her foster mom spotted her. Now, she waits, in safety, for a good home.

She’ll need a little patience – when she is put on a leash, she “stats shaking and gets very frightened.”

One can only imagine the awful places she was dragged when the ear crimper put her on a leash. The only reason these jerks cut off a dog’s ears is to keep them from being torn in a fight. Whew, hand me a sedative.

THE DUMPED DOG: We reported earlier in the week that Irene Nazar has been trying to find some help with a dumped pit bull in a rural area of southern Ellis County. Here’s her report from yesterday: “I heard from a rescue group so I took her to the vet. She is about 2 years old, spayed, in good health except for early heartworm. She was microchipped from the City of Mansfield but it is not a registered number." The rescue group will "dind space for her within a week so the as-yet-unnamed doggie got a rabies shot and bordatello shot and is at the vet’s to get a bath and stay inside for a while.” You can see photos of the dog HERE and if you want to offer to help, e-mail nazar428@airmail.net.

FESTUS AND THE DENTON CROWD: All week we’ve been getting notes about how crowded the Denton Animal Shelter is and how slow adoptions are going. Perhaps this weekend will pick up. And we’ve got some of the Denton animals to discuss – keep in mind that the cat and dog areas are overloaded. Little ol’ college town Denton has big city critter problems.

We heard about this guy Festus from someone who’d seen his pictures, so we checked with our reliable Denton contact Amy Pelzel, the shelter volunteer, to see about his story.

He is an old guy, probably 12, and has enough problems to make you cringe. He also has survived this long apparently on his own. He came into the shelter as a stray, Amy says. And, perhaps in honor of his age and condition, people decided to see if they could help him live out his life in a way other than in a cold cage with a needle at the end.

The guy has persistent ear infections, earlier this week he had a tumor removed from his side, he has hip dysplasia, and he is food aggressive, guarding the dishes and keeping other dogs at bay. HIs saving grace, Amy says, is he’s house-trained. And the astonishing news is this old wanderer is heartworm negative.

“I don’t think the dog had ever been petted before in his life,” she says. He’s “not your affectionate dog who wants to be with you. This will take a special dog person. He really doesn’t care about people.”

Festus has been neutered and is up to date on his shots now and takes thyroid medicine.

“He needs love and someone to care about him,” Amy says. (To ask about adopting or fostering Festus, e-mail amy_pelzel@yahoo.com.

You can also contact Amy about other animals in the shelter. And they are all on the clock.

There’s Matty, a 2-year-old female Black Lab weight heartworms (and a sponsor who’ll help with the treatment); Cleveland, a 2-year-old purebred Yellow Lab; Frick and Frack, a couple of Black Mouth Cur boy pups; Syd, the 2-year-old Great Pyrenees; Cookie a 4-month-old owner-release Black Lab ....oh, the list goes on and on. You can see the animals at www.denton.petfinder.com.

LEFT AT THE DOOR: Oh this is just rich, but, it beats being shoved out of a car on a busy highway. Hank was simply tied up to the door. Here’s the story from Melissa Knott of the 380 West Animal Hospital in McKinney. On Saturday, after attending a charity event with the rest of the crew, one staffer dropped back by the hospital. “On a normal Saturday, we would have left here at noon and not returned until Monday.  We were very lucky she returned on this particular day.  When she got to the clinic she found a dog tied to our front door.  He simply had a note that said ‘We found this dog running loose.’  There was no name, phone number, or other information on the note.”

So, the pit bull mix, probably 10 months old, is now living at the hospital, but needs a home. He isn’t neutered but he is heartworm negative. He’s “sweet and hyper,” so cage-dwelling is a trial for him. To ask about adopting him or helping to place him in a good home, e-mail melissa@380westanimalhospital.com or call 214-544-7881.

GARLAND PROTEST CONTINUES: Garland CRASH (Citizens for Reform of the Animal Shelter) have scheduled a protest Tuesday against the city’s continuing policy of gassing animals rather than killing them by lethal injection. The protesters will gather at 5:30 p.m.  at the Garland downtown DART station, then march to city hall by 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. meeting. To contact CRASH, e-mail endthegassing@gmail.com or call 214-563-4069.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT IN MINIATURE DONKEY THEFT: Here is KXAS-TV Channel 5's report on the case in Mesquite of the miniature donkey that was reportedly taken when some bad guys or a bad guy stole a big rig. Click HERE.

DUNCAN/BARKLEY AND JUNO: You may recall that earlier in the week we got a note about a dog named Duncan who turned out to be Barkley and was, indeed, in the Arlington Animal Services Shelter.

We have now heard from the note’s originator, Leslie Engleman of Texas Little Cuties that Barkley/Duncan has been adopted.

So, in an attempt to help Arlington place more animals, Leslie has sent us a report on Juno, a young shepherd mix who is on the clock at Arlington. “He has been there nearly a month and he needs a home,” she says, noting that veteran shelter folks are “all in shock” because they thought Juno “would have been long gone.”

The dog is about a year old, weighs around 55 pounds and has “exceptional” temperament.

Leslie suggests contacting her for information about adopting Juno – e-mail txlittlecuties@yahoo.com.

THE ADB GARAGE SALE: Talk about timing. Last Sunday, the rescue group A Different Breed staged a garage sale at their adoption site in Pepper Square (Beltline at Preston.) Volunteer Coordinator Joni McConnell sent out a note saying, “Well, it was a lot of hard work, but SO WORTH IT!  We had a very successful garage sale Sunday, and raised over $4,000!  YEAH!!!  So hopefully we will have a roof over their heads this winter, and some gravel or cement instead of water and mud under their feet!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!”

Then, she adds that not only did the group adopt out three dogs, but also (and this is where the timing comes in) “took in 7 sickly, dehydrated 3-4 week old puppies that had been left in a box behind someone's garage on Friday. One died within 24 hours, but [foster] Jan Norris bless her heart, took them all home to nurse them until they are older and in good health.”

Timing – some cash comes in, some expenses do, too. It’s just like real life.

CONTEMPLATIONS: I think our dogs are starting to blame me for the rain. That’s the look I get when I snap the lead onto Hammy’s collar, grab the umbrella and say, “OK, let’s go.” He does like to be toweled dry, though. ... All these flu stories remind me that the first great flu outbreak I recall was the “Asiatic Flu” which struck when I was in elementary school, along about 1957. They said it was so bad that it would make the hair fall out of your Davy Crockett coonskin cap. (I made that up.) Through the years we’ve heard of the Asiatic, Bird and Swine Flu – that’s in addition to the regular ol’ Fall Over and Moan Flu. ... Don’t forget to change your clocks this weekend – 2 a.m. Sunday, fall back. And to my fellow multiple-dog households, bless your hearts and good luck.

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Comments

[Roxanne Wingo]

Thanks for the mention, Larry! I hope darling Rosebud finds her home! Just thought I'd mention that the great state of AZ does not subscribe to "daylight saving time" so we don't change our clocks in the fall nor the spring. Maybe you could start a movement in TX to do the same! Since my pack wakes me up between 4:30 & 5:00 a.m. all year 'round, I know what you're going through!

[Dianne]

I'm so happy Lola found a loving home and will pray that Rosebud is as lucky. I'd like to see the US stay with one time and not keep switching. I wouldn't care which one they decided on as long as it would be the same year round.

[Maria]

I am very happy Lola got a home. I pray for the others to do so.