On Monday, animals, politics and loving vegans...

Whew. Some game. Glad its over. At least the Dallas Cowboys didn’t embarrass themselves. Now, on with today’s business including a wayward bird and a political battle in Corsicana.
LOOK! UP IN THE SKY! Those folks in the Little Forest Hills area of Dallas are known for being artists and animal lovers and protectors of the neighborhood, so you’d almost expect a colorful bird to show up.
That’s what happened Sunday morning – we got the tip from Maeleska Fletes of the Little Forest Hills Animal Alert.  
Amy Crenshaw took this photo of the bird in a new cage she quickly bought for it and explained that it “was on a phone wire but flew down when I coaxed it. Very cold . Very friendly. Very sweet. Obviously someone's dear pet. I can't keep it but will try and find owners or new family.”
She says she can’t keep the bird “although I love animals and have had many cats and a few budgies but no pets right now.”
The dog has a “yellow  head in front, dark gray circles under his eyes and [is] gray and white [on the] back of the head.”
And, she says, the bird “wolf whistles and needs a good nail clip.
If you recognize this wayward bird, e-mail info@lfhanimalalert.org or mitchcren@gmail.com or call 214-532-6352 or 214-930-5910.
AN AVAILABLE EARHOUND: We’ve got to give Karen Lee, who sends us lots tips, a big thanks for spotting this Earhound Sally and, as it turns out, she also spotted right away how Sally needs some help, specifically, a home.
She put us in touch with Stacey Carney, known as Stacey the Stylist, who is trying to help a client place Sally, who is about a year old and may have some heeler in the family tree. She loves playing with kids but was too rough for the adoptive family’s senior Lab, Stacey says.
The client got Sally as a companion for that dog and the kids, but it hasn’t worked out and the older beloved dog is becoming stressed. The kids are 4 and 2 and may be a little too young for such an active puppy.
”The lady really loves her but believes it's not the right fit for her family,” Stacey says. “She called the rescue lady and she made her cry and basically told her she didn't have room right now so she would have to wait. She hasn't heard from her since. I believe animals are for a lifetime but I also believe it was a good choice to surrender the dog back to the rescue rather than take her to a shelter. That's why I'm helping her. I don't want Sally to end up back in a shelter.”
There’s a re-homing fee, Stacey says – it’s to make sure the new adoptor knows there’s some value to this dog and she’s only going to someone who really wants her.
To ask about helping Sally the Earhound find a new home, e-mail stacey_the_stylist@yahoo.com.
HOMER AND SOME OTHER ANIMALS: A few weeks ago we got a note about a dog named Homer – the writer had spotted this dog and wrote that the dog was from Houston but was in the Carrollton Animal Services shelter. Some more checking indicated that the dog had come to Carrollton from Irving.
Tags and chips didn’t all match up and no matter what humans did Homer the Heartworm Positive Dog still wound up on the euthanasia list in Carrollton -- until last week when the Dallas-based rescue group Paws In The City claimed him, the Carrollton folks report. So he’s out and being treated and will at some point be available with his lop-eared look.
In the meantime, over the weekend, the Wednesday euthanasia list at Carrollton was reduced to one dog and one cat because of adoptions and rescues.
The cat is this girl, Ethel (#25344), who is already spayed and has been declawed on the front paws. That makes her indoor only. The shelter folks wrote “This beautiful lady was found as a stray, near our facility, meaning she was probably dropped off here in secret by her people who no longer wanted her. She is a sweet girl who likes to take long naps and get lots of loving and attention. She is on the older side, estimated to be about 10 years old or so but that means she has much more experience at being the perfect cat.”
And, then there’s the one dog, Heidi the Chihuahua mix (#25099), a 20-pound senior dog who came in as a stray. Has a microchip, but the info on the chip isn’t current and Carrollton has no idea where she belongs.
According to the Carrollton folks, “After nearly 2 months of trying to locate her people we have decided it is time to find her a new home, one where she will be loved and cared for properly.
She is a great dog, who loves to be petted and get lots of attention. She likes to go for walks so she can roll in the grass and lay in the sun.”
I also like to go for walks, roll in the grass and lay in the sun, but, of course, my microchip number rings the phone on my funspouse Martha’s desk.
To offer to help Ethel and Heidi or any Carrollton critter or to just thank the CARE (Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise) team for working for the animals, call 972-466-3420, or email us at CARE@cityofcarrollton.com. or email us at CARE@cityofcarrollton.com.
FROM COLLIN COUNTY: Allison Roberts, the shelter walker who volunteers at the Collin County Animal Services Shelter in McKinney, issued this note overnight: “Intake was high this weekend - lots of strays and several owner surrenders including an adorable puppy.  Shelter is filling up again fast! Any free kennel helps.”
[Note: When we started writing about Collin County Animal Services several years ago, the only way an animal got out was by being reclaimed or by getting lucky with rescue or through a contract with the already overburdened SPCA of Texas. Things have changed. Evolution and enlightenment in politicians and hard work by big-hearted staffers and volunteers – those are the keys.]
See the inventory HERE.
THE CORSICANA SITUATION: The City of Corsicana, about an hour south of Dallas on I-45 if there’s no traffic or construction (two big “ifs”), is famous for being home of the fruitcake company, the Collin Street Bakery.
But it is also known for some of its more loving residents involvement with animal causes – the Humane Society of Navarro County, for example, and the volunteers who stepped in to run the city’s shelter year before last when the city cratered big time in the effort.
Now, there’s an election coming up and the animal people have gotten involved in politics because they don’t like the mayor’s stance on the issue of building a new shelter.
Some candidates for city council are being supported because, the animal advocacy folks say, they’ll get animal shelter construction placed on the city’s next bond election.
These folks believe the current mayor thinks things are just jake at the Corsicana Animal Shelter and, in fact, Mayor Chuck McClanahan recently wrote in the Corsicana Daily Sun that he wouldn’t support placing shelter construction on the ballot – see it HERE. This ticked off animal supports.
So the supporters of animals are fighting politics with politics and have scheduled a meeting at 6 p.m. tonight (Monday, Feb. 6) at the Corsicana public library to explain their stances regarding the animal issues. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the pro-animal organizers are trying to get a big crowd of supporters to show up at the Corsicana City Council meeting to convince the council that the city need the opportunity to vote to finance a new shelter. The Corsicana Shelter serves the entire county and you can see some of the comments regarding the shelter’s condition on the Humane Society of Navarro County Facebook page HERE.
SCHNAUZER IN A DITCH: We got a tip on a foundling from Sydney Busch of the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake. She forwarded a note from Tina Hamilton of Happy Tails in Gun Barrel City who reported that the “pool old boy was found in a ditch in GBC.”
He’s a gray, standard, older Schnauzer. If you know where he belongs or why he might have been dumped in a ditch (animal abandonment is against the law), e-mail TxTina1201@yahoo.com or call 903-275-5990. He’ll need a home.
BEDTIME FOR VEGANS: You never know what’ll show up in the mail when you’re on the PETA mailing list – coming up Friday in Dallas you’ll be able to see two vegan members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in a bed at Pegasus Plaza right smack in the middle of Downtown Dallas.
It’s a Valentine’s Day celebration aimed at making people sensitive to the plight of animals who are bred for consumption. According to my PETA tipsters, these two vegans will be in a bed in front of a banner that reads “Vegans make better lovers.” The show starts at 11 a.m. and runs through noon. When I say “show” I think I mean “display” rather than a “demonstration” of the banner’s claim.
After all, I think public displays of affection may be – at a certain level – against the law in Dallas. And, of course, my theory is that if they actually do demonstrate the claim in the banner, they’d probably be doing it at Thanks-giving Square or, perhaps, at Dallas City Hall Plaza or the Dallas Independent School District administration building where the banner might read “Join the crowd.” Yeah, I just paid my property taxes.
CONTEMPLATIONS: New York won the Super Bowl because the running back with the ball accidentally fell into the end zone. Who in his right mind tells a running back to stop on the one and run the clock out when you need a score? Points win a game -- we learned that from watching the Cowboys. No points, no win.. It’s not a style competition. Sorry. Got to get that out so I can move on to concentrating on Texas Ranger pitching. … Madonna’s halftime show reminded me that without a doubt the turning point in Super Bowl halftime shows was the great Elvis Presto. Things got better after that. … National anthems? Kelly Clarkson did a sensational job – she’s the American Idol winner from North Texas. But, oh, my, during the playoffs rocker Steven Tyler caught all the lousy press because of his butchering of the song and that storm overshadowed the greatest anthem performance, that of the Oklahoman who is a Broadway star, Kristin Chenoweth. It’s worth a couple of minutes of your time. Click HERE. But this is America and part of the freedom of speech is that even if you’re an aging rocker you can sing just as lousy as you want to sing and some people will, inexplicably, pay to listen.
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