We have several things to go over today. Opportunities to help abound, the SPCA is acquiring more puppy mill dogs and, of course, there is that sad, sad animal abuse trial that is underway in Dallas.
Later in today's report we'll outline what went on in the courtroom.
THE STRAY MAKES A COMEBACK: People navigating the choppy waters of rescue should remember that there are good people working hard to save animals.
And, according to the Gospel of Readlarrypowell.com, dogs are often too clever for their own good. Sometimes the people outsmart them.
We get this report from veteran rescuer Becky Delgado. She points out that we first told readers about Emily the Dog on July 3.
"She was a stray dog near death that had been spotted in a wooded area around the University of North Texas' Dallas campus [in South Oak Cliff]. It took a small, dedicated group of rescuers a few months to earn her trust," Becky recalls. Regular readers may recall that we referred to this group as "Team Emily." The team finally was able to get her to eat food doctored with a tranquilizer and that led to her capture.
"She was delivered to City Vet where she was diagnosed with severe malnutrition, heartworms, a variety of other parasites, sarcoptic mange, conjunctivitis, a severe skin infection, flea & tick infestation and a wound to the side of her face which was probably caused by her being attacked by a coyote or other dogs," Becky says.
If a human with good insurance had all that stuff, a clinic would be celebrating its windfall profit.
Emily's potentially fatal condition was reversed by the folks at City Vet. And in the two months she's been there, she's obviously thrived.
"Through the generosity of a lot of people," Becky says, "Her medical and boarding expenses have been paid for. Now she is well, she has gained 30 pounds and is ready to move on to a new stage in her life. A better stage!
"Emily is the sweetheart of City Vet; she roams freely greeting customers and their animals....She is as gentle and sweet as can be. She loves to be petted and hugged."
Team Emily wants to place this dog in an adults-only home. She's not that keen on kids for some reason -- possibly an early life experience.
"She also doesn't care for rain storms," Becky says. "After having spent too many months caught in rain storms with no shelter, it's not surprising."
And, so we come to this point in Emily's life: She needs a home. To ask about auditioning to adopt her, get in touch with Companion Animal Network by e-mailing HERE or calling 214-808-3238.
Becky says, "The lady who first spotted Emily and continued to help feed and capture her, Myla Johnson, has also continued to go to City Vet nearly every day to see her and help socialize her. Emily is indeed learning what it's like to be a dog who is loved and cared for, and as you can see in her 'after' pictures."
ANOTHER PUPPY MILL RESCUE: The SPCA of Texas, thanks to the authority of the Upshur County Sheriff's Department, is going to rescue about 200 dogs from a puppy mill near Gladewater today, according to an SPCA news release.
The SPCA says Upshur County officers " arrested the property owner earlier this week on animal cruelty charges. The dogs, which include toy breeds such as Boston Terriers, Yorkshire Terriers, Chinese Crested, Jack Russell Terriers and others, were being bred in filthy, overcrowded conditions and forced to live in wire cages, pens, crates and kennels on the property. Dogs were found inside a feces- and roach-infested dwelling and also in a trailer, a shed and in various kennels, pens and cages..."
And, readers, we've seen enough of these to know that the animals go into the SPCA's evaluation program and that the SPCA will need a bit of fast cash to help pay for all the medical expenses. Ways to help at are the SPCA site HERE.
How about a way to help the puppy millers? Dial 911 and help 'em out of business.
CHECKING IN ON HALO: On Sept. 19 we reported that University of Dallas graduate student Jennifer Caves had found a dog near Military and Jim Miller in Dallas.
This is that dog. Some mugshot, eh?
And some profile.
You may recall that when Jennifer picked up the dog, the dog was "starving" but "appears to be pregnant."
Jennifer is looking for someone to take over care of the dog. It's not just a time thing. "I am taking more than full-time hours in graduate school, plus trying to take care of Halo, my other dog and my three cats."
Obviously, there's a big vet bill in the works and the two hardest things for rescuers to come up with are (a) money and (b) foster homes.
Still, grad students obviously have faith that things will work out. So, to help Jennifer with either, e-mail [email protected].
THE SADDEST STORY: And now we come to the felony animal cruelty trial of Deshann Quattrail Brown, 23, a young man with an armed robbery conviction in Michigan and a courtroom full of trouble in Dallas.
That is a sad enough state for a young life. But it gets even worse: This is the guy who is accused of fatally injuring Mercy the Pit Bull by pouring gasoline on her and setting her ablaze. He also is accused of stabbing her. All of this, according to the tapestry being woven by prosecutors, because the 18-month-old dog refused to breed.
Tuesday saw the first day of testimony -- it took all day Monday to pick the jury. And on Tuesday, as the state presented its case, the gallery was filled with people from assorted animal rescue groups, the defendant's mother and her pastor, reporters and curious courthouse personnel slipping in and out to watch the proceedings.
Unless they were testifying, the witnesses were not allowed in the courtroom -- the "rule," as it's called, prohibits them from being within earshot of other witnesses' testimony.
On Tuesday morning, a young man testified that in the evening of April 13 he was walking his Chihuahua when a dog that was on fire ran past. He chased the dog, took off his shirt and smothered the flames. Two guys who were on a nearby parking lot tried to help extinguish the flames by pouring beer on the dog.
One of the guys called the police. Meanwhile, testimony was that the defendant came walking up, rolling a bicycle with one hand, and carrying a can of gasoline in the other.
At some point during that episode the authorities returned the dog to Mr. Brown.
Also on Tuesday, two veterinarians testified as to the severity of the dog's injuries -- and that the severe burns were on the underside of the dog (leading one to surmise that the 
dog was on her back when she was doused with the flammable liquid). The vets also testified the dog was docile, as did the man who saw the dog wandering on the Carrollton apartment property the next day -- the man who took the burned dog to Operation Kindness.
The prosecution's last witness of the day was a 17-year-old fellow who, it was expected, would testify as to what he told officers in a sworn statement.
But, something happened.
While the young man's testimony was firm on paper, it began to melt while he was on the hot seat of the witness stand. Suddenly, he could remember little about the day the dog was attacked. This led the prosecution to take the relatively unusual step of asking that its own witness be declared a hostile witness. The jury has heard only the reading of the statement -- in it the young man swore Mr. Brown (left) stabbed the dog.)
When court recessed Tuesday afternoon, that young man was on the stand and, unless something unexpected has occurred overnight, he'll be on the stand Wednesday morning to be cross-examined by Mr. Brown's attorney, Dan Wyde, in a hearing to determine whether the young man's vivid grand jury testimony can be admitted as evidence -- he has trouble recalling things, but the state happens to have his investigative statements and grand jury testimony on paper. What gets in before the jury will be determined by the judge.
Wednesday morning's cross examination will be out of the hearing of the general public (but not the press) because the young man is, by virtue of being a juvenile, a virtual ward of the court and it is the court's duty to protect his rights.
(Part of Tuesday's tension involved Mr. Wyde's objections to the way Judge Michael Snipes was running the trial in Criminal District Court No. 7. Mr. Wyde is a former judge. Most objections were overruled and at least two requests for a mistrial were denied by Judge Snipes.)
Just FYI: the prosecution uses the name "Mercy' for the dog -- it's the name her caretakers gave her as she was being treated under the auspices of Operation Kindness. Defense attorney Wyde refers to the dog as "Brandy," the name given to the dog by Mr. Brown and his girlfriend.
Tuesday's activities included getting jurors to observe large photos of the burns and wounds the dog had suffered. And the jurors were exposed to the tedium of question after question that must be entered into the record to demonstrate that a crime had occurred, etc.
All of the testimony Tuesday showed that a dog was burned, stabbed and died from the assault. Obviously, the dog didn't do this to herself -- though there is an indication that the defense may try to prove that either the dog pulled a barbecue grill over onto herself or that someone else did the deed.
Tuesday's events proved, once again, that the most difficult job in a courtroom is that of "juror."
