Holy smoke, we're at the end of March and, by decree of the college basketball people, March Madness is continuing into April. Fair enough. Politics is year round, madness might as well be. Politics and Madness -- and the lines between the two blur once again.
Now, let's move on:
A COCKER IN NEED: The kind folks at Animal Guardians are scrambling today to find a home for a 13-year-old black female cocker spaniel named Gypsy. Her human is in an assisted living situation and has been told he can no longer have his dog. For now, the dog is in the care of a local clinic, but really needs a place to call home. (Call Animal Guardians at 972-398-2123 or go to www.animalguardians.com.)
CARING FOR CASPER: We got this report about a Bichon from Teresa Osborn of Lone Star Shi Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue (www.shihtzu-rescue.com). It will make a righteous person wince and contemplate things a righteous person shouldn't contemplate.
You may have heard of Small Paws Rescue, the nation's largest Bichon rescue. Casper is one of their wards right now.
But he originally came from Fort Worth. It's a lovely story. Just lovely. And by that I mean quite ugly.
This 3-year-old Bichon was, the report goes, "left by his owners, dying in the street for three days after being attacked by a large dog."
The owners were persuaded to turn Casper over to a shelter which immediately called Small Paws. The Small Paws people are urging that charges be filed against the owners.
Casper is now under the care of Dr. Peter Early, a neurologist at the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, according to the Small Paws folks.. The dog appears to have some damage that affects his neck and shoulders -- tests are being scheduled and this will be expensive.
To help Casper, visit the Small Paws site. To help the people who left him in the street, well, that would be a real test of your humanity, wouldn't it?
DON’T FORGET: This is the last day of the Have-a-Heart campaign for the Metroplex Animal Coalition. Donations support the spay/neuter program -- click HERE details.
CHLOE THE CAT: Just a temporary home, that's all Chloe, the white/taupe Siamese, needs, according to the folk with Paws in the City. And that situation will last for just six months.
It's happening because Chloe's mom is "leaving the country for six months." She would stay with her mom's mom, but the "new house has a large dog that is very aggressive toward cats."
So, you'd be doing Chloe a big favor if you'd take her in for half-a-year. She's an indoor cat. (But shouldn't they all be as long as humans roam the planet?)
To step up and help Chloe, e-mail [email protected].
Oh, yes, Chloe will arrive with food and other needs all paid for.
SPOTLIGHT ON CORSICANA: Regarding the shelter in that city south of Dallas, Julie Maupin reports, "We are full, full, full, full at the shelter! We have kittens, precious small Terrier mix pups, Lab pups, Husky mix teenagers, gorgeous adult cats - every and anything!" While you're in Corsicana buying a world-famous fruitcake at the Collin Street Bakery, stop by the shelter and see if you can find a new friend.
In the meantime, Julie says the Navarro County Animals at Risk Foundation has scheduled a low-cost vaccination clinic from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at the Farmers' Market in Corsicana. Prices:(rabies, $6; parvo/distempter, $16; feline leukemia, $15; feline distemper, $8. Other services available include microchipping for $15 (includes registration).
GOOD NEWS ABOUT WORF: The young, smallish Rottie Worf mentioned in yesterday's report has been moved into safe haven, according to Dianne Watson, one of our reliable tipsters who general works with the Pet Rescue Society.
Worf's not a ward of that group, but he is a fellow Dianne is keenly interested in because, she says, he's a nice, wonderful dog. In fact, for a while he was living with a woman who began teaching him how to run an agility course. She had one set up in her backyard and when she'd let Worf out, he'd run the course without her just for fun.
He's currently at a place in Lawrence, Texas, about 40 miles north of Austin, but Diane says, it's hoped that someone in the Metroplex will adopt him. (Email [email protected] to see about giving Worf a home.)
HOW ABOUT THOSE BANK DOGS! You may recall that several weeks ago we mentioned three pups rescued from a site near a Chase Bank in Dallas. They're now being cared for by the folk with Companion Animal Network.
Gail Whelan reports that the dogs were named Chase, Clint and Colin and "went to a foster home, but continued to have serious social issues. We consulted with our vet and a behaviorist and both agreed that the dogs MUST be separated if they were to become adoptable and live a good life."
Clint (he's the one standing by himself in the trio photo) is now living in a foster home where he's "made amazing strides," says Gail. He now gives kisses, walks on a leash, and has "become a truly wonderful, adoptable little boy."
The problem is Chase and Colin still need homes. Those sleeping pups are Chase (left) and Colin.
If you can give the pups a place to develop into loveable, well-behaved pups, e-mail [email protected].
The dogs will need a little extra work -- the kind of work a loving heart can provide.
HEADS UP: For the 11th consecutive year, the SPCA of Texas will host adoptions during the Spring at Galleria Dallas -- it runs April 1-15. (See www.spca.org.)
CLASS ACT: In my previous life at the big newspaper, I always included class reunions in my column -- nobody else with free ink seemed to care about these opportunities to renew friendships. Heck, if you were old enough to have a reunion, you might not fit into the desired demographic designated by the marketing geniuses. Who knows? Some papers publish for readers, some publish for statistics.
Anyway, just this week I got a note from Wesley Grigsby of Dallas asking if I could publicize the Big Spring High School Class of '58 reunion. Yes, indeed. It's April 4-5 (that's right -- Tuesday and Wednesday) at the Heartland Country Inn near Brenham. For info, call either Lynn McMahen Reynolds at 1-979-836-4093 or Wes at 214-243-4270. Why Big Spring in Brenham? The info sheet had a clue: Brenham is "1 1/2 hours driving from either Austin or Houston." Maybe that means the Class of '58 got in the hot rods and hit the highway. Be great to see all those guys with their Elvis haircuts and ducktails...oh. Sorry... sometimes hairstyles change -- by necessity.
THE ODD NEWS NOTE: During the noon hour Thursday, the dogs were napping and I was working with the TV on when I heard the Fox News male anchor say something like "We now have an alert," so I turned, expecting to see news out of Baghdad or Washington. But, no. What I saw was a "Mullet Alert" -- that's what it said across the bottom of the screen -- and film of the co-anchor's junior high graduation ceremony in which she did indeed wear a hairstyle resembling a mullet.
This reminded me of my first editor J.Q. Mahaffey of the Texarkana Gazette who once told me, "Son, don't play with the news."
And as the mullet story played out, I thought, "Would Chet Huntley have turned to the camera and said, 'We now have film of David Brinkley's first birthday party. Did you get to ride the pony, David?'"
Oh, yes, the next story on the newscast was a discussion of the men allegedly romanced by Barbra Streisand.
So, I looked up that Fox News motto: "We report. You decide."
I think I decided. CNBC had a thoughtful report on why the market was slipping. Didn't mention mullets.
