This would be the last day of February if it were not for Leap Year. So, with a firm grip on that reality, let's move on to our Thursday report.
A LITTLE DOG'S JOURNEY: We learned about Sassy the Dog from our longtime pal and tipster Jan Gifford, a veteran animal wrangler and rescuer.
She says this little dog "has had it rough in her seven years of life, first at a breeder (puppy factory) for six years."
Well, of course, that would leave an impression on anybody. And some of the difficult things that she'd picked up lead her to be a "re-bound dog," meaning that she was brought back by adoptive families. "That is why she came to live with me in foster last fall," Jan explains. "To help her learn to be a dog and to ensure that her next home is the right home for me."
Now, after months of loving care and affection, Sassy is again available for adoption.
When she came into the system, this little Maltese was terrified of loud noises and unsettled by active dogs and children.
"In foster," Jan says, "Sassy is now finally learning how to be a dog and has done very well with my brood of fairly laid back dogs and cats. She is a little aggressive on walks when she spots and first meets a new dog, but she has discovered walking on a leash is fun, and that there is a loving and safe world beyond a cage; although her crate is her safe haven. It has been difficult for her to understand housebreaking, but has made progress since in foster. She is pad-trained and very diligent in this regard. She was most likely abused because when you approach her she recoils, but as you speak gently to her she crawls to you wagging her tail. Once picked up, she loves being on your lap. With time and understanding she will make a wonderful companion."
As you can see, this little dog has a way of finding a warm spot in an open heart. She is available for adoption through Operation Kindness. To ask about adopting her, e-mail [email protected] or call 214-557-5578 or get in touch with Operation Kindness at 972-418-7297.
It's obvious that Sassy knows how to sit for photographs. Now she just needs a home in which to pose.
THE RUNNING DOGS: Is that not a quartet of happy rompers? We got the photo of these ankle-tall rompers from Dana Dicker, our reliable Houston tipster who tells us that Dollie, Madison, Able and Ben are available for adoption. (That's Madison's mugshot on the left and Dollie's on the right.)
They are, according to the note, "our precious little babies who were rescued from an abandoned house that had burned down. Their mean (and VERY irresponsible) owners just left these little ones behind to fend for themselves after the house burned. Thanks to a very kind animal control 
officer and a kind man who stopped by to feed them, these sweeties have found their way into Scout's Honor Rescue and are now looking for their forever homes! In spite of their rough start, they could not be happier little 
doggies that are just ready for a home of their very own!"
They "appear to be" terrier/dachshund mixes "with a little bit o several other breeds." They are 4 or 5 months old and weigh about 12 pounds -- probably will top out at around 30, the vet says.
There are two ways to ask about adopting these little rompers. You can e-mail Cindi Perini at [email protected] or call 832-651-4512 or you can got see them from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at a Scouts Honor Rescue Meet-and-Greet in The Heights, 1136 Heights Blvd., in Houston.
The event starts at 10 a.m., but the theory is these dogs will be adopted swiftly.
NOTES FOR THE CASUAL CLICKER AND VIGOROUS DONOR: So many puppies and kittens are arriving (being dumped?) in area shelters these days. How can this cycle of being born just to die be eliminated? Spay/neuter. The Metroplex Animal Coalition's annual Have-a-Heart campaign to raise money for spay/neuter is underway. You can read about it and donate by clicking HERE. We've mentioned the Ohio rescuer Mary O'Connor-Shaver of Columbus Top Dogs here several times through the years. Now, she gets some East Coast ink in a story in Newsday about the Ohio dog auctions and her efforts to stamp them out. Click HERE. ... Reliable tipster Barb Oates sends us a note about The Unexpected Pit Bull calendar. Great photos and only ten bucks by this point in the year. Click HERE. ... Wonder how long it is until Christmas? Click HERE.
LUCY NEEDS A BREAK: This dog has fans -- she just needs a rescuer, a home. She's one of the animals spotlighted by veteran Irving Animal Shelter walker Russell Posch.
Lucy came into the shelter on Feb. 18 and at first was "fearful and defensive, however, with just a few minutes of one-on-one attention, she is very friendly now and enjoys being petted." She's believed to be a Chow/Shar Pei mix. She weighs about 30 pounds.
She was an owner surrender and she had puppies recently, Who knows if the events are connected?
The shelter is at 972-721-2256 and on Briery Road, just east of the Belt Line/Rock Island intersection in Irving -- that's south of Airport Freeway a couple of miles, but it's not too far to go to rescue a friend.
THE PUPPY EXPERIENCE: Last week we told of a "border collie puppy" that was on the brink of being saved. The people who had the dog were vowing to take her to a shelter. The Companion Animal Network volunteered to take the puppy. But, patience was not the dog's friend and the people took her to a shelter. The CAN folks, however, diligently hunted for the dog and found herin a local shelter.
Now, after further review by a vet, it turns out that the dog isn't a border collie, says CAN's Gail Whelan. "She is a Bernese Mountain Dog. The vet thinks she may be purebred. Imagine that! Isn't she gorgeous?"
Yep, that's the gorgeous pup doing what pups do -- capturing a leaf and chewing on it.
She's now known as Darcy and she's going to be available for adoption -- as are all of CAN's other critters. Click HERE to go to CAN's PetFinder site and you'll see how to ask about adopting the dog and how to donate to help CAN's cause and critters.
SADIE'S SITUATION: Big dog. Possible allergies. Family moving to smaller home. Sadie needs a new place to stay.
And it's not like this purebred Boerboel (South African Mastiff) is unloved. I spoke to her human, Shea Spradlin, last night. He's determined to find the dog a good home. He and wife Lesley have spent a lot of time and money on trying to get the dog's health problems cleared up. She's had two eye surgeries to repair a condition in which the lashes grow into the eyes, entropion. And she's been taken to specialists for her periodic ear infections and skin "flare-ups," Shea says. The theory is the ear and skin problems are environmental. Food elimination diets indicated that food was not the culprit, Shea says.
So, he's trying to find Sadie a good home where she can live comfortably and happily. And the person who adopts her will have to pass a rigorous audition, he says. This dog is two years old, but she has been with the family since she was seven weeks old -- adopted from "a very reputable breeder in Oklahoma."
She was, according to a descripton from Lesley, "brought up with our other two dogs (a Beagle and Italian Greyhound) and seems to get along well with other dogs...She is very sweet and playful. she has always been an inside dog, but loves to sunbathe and be outside."
Sadie is crate-trained, uses the doggy door and has had some obedience training. "She also rides great in a car and can be easily walked." But, the family keeps her in a choke collar in public "so everyone else feels safe." People sometimes don't understand that a 110-to-120-pound dog is just as docile as your maiden aunt's lazy cocker spaniel.
The Sadie scouting report reads, "She has a face that can melt your heart, but a bark that sounds reminiscent of a lion."
To ask about adopting Sadie, call Shea or Lesley Spradlin in Watauga at 817-281-0994.
According to Lesley's assessment, "She does like to wrestle with my husband and allows our 20-pound Italian Greyhound to chew on her. She has been around out baby since he was born and aside from a few over-eager licks, she has been very gentle with him."
CONTEMPLATIONS: Leno or Letterman? ... When you eat a meal at your home, do you have witnesses who sit on the floor beside your chair and look at you as if you were the only point of hope left in the world? And, do you share? ... I don't know much about economics, but when I see a headline that says "dollar hits new low" and one that reads "gasoline hits new high," I sort of think this is working out: I don't have enough money to spend on anything, but I couldn't afford to drive to a store anyway. .... When Starbucks shut down for three hours, why didn't other coffee chains jump up and offer free java to customers to help them break the expensive Starbucks habit? If your car ran on Starbucks coffee, could you afford to drive across town?
