Today's presentation will include some upbeat things and a sad thing. That's life. The upbeat things include grandkids and a rescuer finding justice at the courthouse. The sad thing...well, read on.
Remember, you can't enjoy life without embracing the upbeat..
For example, last night we had dinner with our grandchildren: Hannah Rose, Emily Grace and Connor Michael. Their father, Bart, was there, too, but we put a big plate of food in front of him and he stayed quiet for an extended time and let the grandkids talk to us.
You can't sit in a restaurant with three well-behaved children and their well-behaved father and not be grateful. We've seen other children in restaurants and, frankly, well, our grandkids would NEVER behave like that...I'm kidding. All kids have the potential for localized tornadic activity.
Ever go to a Cracker Barrel? The front lobby is full of carefully balanced items made of stuff that doesn't have much of a "bounce factor." More of a "clatter and crash factor." To me, getting the kids to sit still at a table and eat was no challenge. But getting three kids under the age of 5 to negotiate the lobby without running up a "breakage bill" -- ah, that was the challenge.
At the end of the evening, their soft-touch grandmother, who declares that she's not all that fond of kids, took them on a shopping spree. There's a great joy in seeing a smile that emanates from a kid's eyes. And a great joy in seeing that "holiday credit card glow" on the face of a woman who claims to have no maternal skills.
Now, before we move on, take a split second to consider the blessings of your own lives.
We're about to encounter a story that has a terrible ending. But it also has a blessing .
SWEET CHICKEN: Back on July 12 we outlined the story of Chicken, a dog so named because her original owners had acquired her and wanted her to be a "fright dog" and it turned out she was mostly a "frightened dog."
They, perhaps, named her with contempt, but it was a name she came to know and to respond to when called by someone who loved her.
Al and Cindy Gomez have some friends who buy and rehab houses as investments. The friends stopped by to check on property they'd just bought and found Chicken abandoned and starving in the back yard. They called their friends, reliable dog rescuers Cindy and Al, who took over care of Chicken.
Subsequent investigation found that 5-year-old Chicken had been an indoor dog for the first year of her life, then had become an outdoor-only dog. She was no guard dog. She was shy. She needed love, not confrontation.
In a few short days, she learned to walk on a leash. She also learned to love bounding back into her home and she loved sleeping on the couch in the air-conditioned comfort.
She was rescued. She was a loved dog. She was home.
As rescuers know, dogs that are "saved" in Dallas often have a rough road ahead. Sometimes they have horrific mange. Sometimes they've been shot, hit by cars, beaten, kicked and their wounds allowed to go untreated. And sometimes -- all too often -- a stray in Dallas will suffer from heartworms. This is, generally, a condition of neglect.
And that was the plight that sweet Chicken faced.
There are treatments. They are expensive. They are tough -- you must keep the dog so still that it is just driven nuts by inactivity. For weeks and weeks this is the challenge -- the dying and dead parasites can still kill the dog.
On Tuesday, sweet Chicken went to the vet's for her first heartworm treatment. She was not an unhappy dog. She had a visible joy. And her style and grace in spite of her circumstances touched Cindy. It is a bond that is common between the rescuer and the rescued.
Chicken would not stay overnight at the vet's -- a dog that had suffered years of neglect and anxiety needed to be "home" where things were calm and she was treated like a princess.
Her greatest challenge, it seemed, would be waiting out the treatment.
Sometime Tuesday night, as Chicken slept in her own bed in the den, she slipped away. The vet told Cindy that a clot had formed in Chicken's parasite-ravaged body and caused a blood vessel to rupture. And, shockingly, she was gone.
She was a victim of human behavior. The people who neglected this sweet dog killed her just as certainly as if they'd placed a gun to her head and pulled the trigger.
They didn't care for her. People who took her in did care for her. The burden of mourning fell not on the hearts of those who'd abandoned her, but on the souls of those who cared.
At least in her last days, she was a dog that was loved, a dog that wasn't ignored, a dog that had a chance to get and give love. She was the adored Chicken -- embraced, not abandoned.
ASSORTED THINGS: My friend and former newspaper colleague Bonnie Lovell, a longtime rescuer of dogs and cats, spotted what she calls "a heartbreaking picture" of two beautiful Himalayan cats in a Denton restaurant window. She said she was passing the info on to our readers in hopes of helping these 12-year-old brother cats find a good home. The sign said the family's son was allergic to these older gentlemen. (Call 972-539-7449 to inquire.) ... Reminder: Monday is Aug. 1 and that is the deadline for entering the annual Operation Kindness Calendar Photo Contest. This is the chance to show the world how cute your critter is. The Operation Kindness Calendar is always a joy to see. (See the details at www.operationkindness.org.)
SHOW BUSINESS: David Howard of Kinder Harbors Animal Sanctuary reports that there is a broadcast schedule for The Bow Meow Show. He says the first episode will be shown at 4 p.m. Sunday on Cable Channels 13B & 73 and at 8:30 p.m. on Channels 15B & 75. It'll again air at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday on 13B and 73 and at 11:30 a.m. Friday on 15B and 75. In mid-August, it's supposed to have a regular time slot on Channel 27. Reach the producers of this animal-friendly show at [email protected] or 972-380-5644.
SACHSE SENSATIONS: Laura Wise of Sachse Animal Control reports that the city shelter has some wonderful animals up for adoption. The shelter, at 6436 Sachse Road, is open 7 a.m.-5 p.m. "every day of the week," she says. Only fair. Dogs and cats are in trouble every day of the week.
The featured animals -- available without an adoption fee! -- are Bear, a 7 month old dog that is a "definitely mixed breed," says Laura. He's the size of a "tall Schnauzer, but has Labrador hair... some black spots on his tongue indicating there is some Chow in there somewhere. ... He is so friendly and has the temperament of a happy Lab."
Tiger is a mature cat who "follows you everywhere and comes when you snap your fingers He is calm and mellow and loves to be held and petted. ... I had a heck of a time trying to take pictures as I couldn't get him away from me enough to get a good shot!"
And the kitten -- no name yet -- was "dropped off Saturday by someone who found him running loose."
As Laura says, "I can't help but feel compelled to get these guys to a home." They were pets, she thinks, of someone "who didn't want to pay the fees to get them out of impoundment or else didn't bother to look for their lost pet."
Here's the Sachse system according to Laura: "Anyone interested can come by the shelter in Sachse between 7-5 any day (including weekends)." She says if you drop by the shelter and no one is there "that means we are off on a call." So, call the Sachse Police at 972-495-2271, then dial 0 for the dispatcher and ask the officer to summon animal control for a possible adoption.
BIG BOY ON THE MOVE: Big Boy needs a home again. He is the original Hard Luck Akita. In the past few years, his "people" have either died or been placed in assisted living centers. So, now he's available for adoption again. He's a Skip Trimble Project -- and, as you rescuers know, Skip, the legendary rescuer and pro-animal activist, is a determined fellow. .
(That's Skip in the photo with Big Boy.) Big Boy is possibly 4 years old, neutered, housebroken, microchipped and up-to-date on his shots. Because of his size and nature, Skip believes he "should go with a single person or adult couple with no kids or grandkids. He's fine with other dogs. They should be large dogs and believe it or not he currently lives with a cat, so I'm assuming he would get along with cats as well."
(To audition to adopt Big Boy, contact Skip at 214-855-2960 or e-mail [email protected].)
JUSTICE FOR A RESCUER: Randy Turner, the Fort Worth lawyer who often handles animal-rescuer and activist-related cases on a pro bono basis, has won another one. This time it's on behalf of Retta Roberson of Euless who had rescued a Rhodesian Ridgeback that was tied to a tree and abandoned in Johnson County.
Many of you know of this case because you were planning on attending her trial in Cleburne next week. Mercifully, the charge of "theft of property having a value between $50-$500" was dropped.
It would have been heard in Johnson County Country Court-at-Law Number One, but the county attorney had a change of heart.
The story goes that Ms. Roberson, having been told by neighbors that the dog had been abandoned and having seen that, indeed, it appeared to be in bad shape, took the dog to her home. Then, after the dog had been saved, the owner broke into her yard and took the dog, then filed theft charges against her.
Mr. Turner says, "No one has seen the dog since then. Retta tried to file criminal charges against the owner for breaking her fence and for trespass, but the Euless police were not interested. I tried to get the Johnson County Attorney to file cruelty charges against the owner for abandonment but he refused.
"The case against Retta was dismissed simply because the prosecutor decided that he couldn't win. I told him I was bringing witnesses who were going to testify that Retta had been told the dog was abandoned and witnesses who had been giving the dog food and water over a number of weeks.. I told him that Retta's vet was coming and she would testify that the dog was in bad shape. It was obvious to anyone who looked at the facts of the case that Retta had no intent to steal the dog. She was simply rescuing an abandoned dog, or at the very least, she was rescuing a dog she thought had been abandoned."
He says he convinced the prosecutor that the defense of "mistake of fact" would prevail -- "that if she was mistaken about the dog being abandoned, then she did not have the requisite intent to deprive an owner of her property."
In a note to her many supporters, Mr. Turner wrote, "Needless to say Retta is extremely relieved. Retta and I want to thank all of you for your tremendous support and your plans to take off work to attend her trial next week. She told me today [Thursday] that the support of all the rescue groups and the animal rights community gave her the courage to fight the criminal charges rather than enter into a plea bargain."
It would have been so easy for Retta to plea bargain for probation. She faced a possible fine of $2,000 and SIX MONTHS IN JAIL. Can you imagine what that looks like to a law-abiding citizen who was doing a good deed? She sure had some courage.
So, in my own simple mind, the wrap up of this case goes like this: A rescuer is free, a dog has vanished and the woman who put the dog at peril gets away with shoddy, if not criminal, treatment of an animal.
But at least an innocent has not gone to jail.