Whoa. Valentine's Day is already here. Mad rush for some. Big hugs for others. And chocolates.
If there ever were two good reasons for a holiday they are love and chocolate.
And now a word from Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas. His verse, written after being groomed and before being fed:
We give our hearts
and give our hugs
to the one who keeps us
free from bugs.
We yip, we yap,
we jump and we wag
We want a bite of
whatever's in the bag.
(FYI: This is the photo he intends to use on the jacket of his upcoming book on the power of canine body language, Ear Might.)
THE STORY FROM KRUM: We first got this story of the wandering preggers pitty from noted Irving shelter walker Russell Posch who'd talked to Michael Gregston of Mobile Animal Rescue Service (MARS Rescue) in Grapevine.
So we called Michael and the story is this wandering dog can be caught, but MARS needs a place to park her after she's been removed from the streets of Krum, the little town northwest of Denton.
"Everybody in the neighborhood knows her," Michael says. "She'll go into homes. She'll jump in the car and want to be with people and they have to drag her out."
She's a pregnant girl looking for help, looking for a place to stay and give birth. It's a natural thing -- a soon-to-be mom looking for comfort and protection.
To offer a place for this unwanted mom-to-be, e-mail Michael at [email protected] or call 817-880-5858.
"Apparently all dogs run loose in Krum," says Michael, who adds, "Which is horrible."
And if you go to the official Krum website HERE you'll see a line that urges, "Come see why Krum is small town Texas at its best!"
You can't get much more small town than having a wandering dog who is trying to feel at home through any open door. Bless her heart.
LADY'S SITUATION: This 8-year-old Lab mix is called Lady, though that was not her name before she wound up in the Farmers Branch Animal Shelter a few weeks ago. Her time is almost up.
And maybe she wonders why her name is no longer the one she answered to for so many years. Who really knows what goes on in the minds of these "surrendered" dogs?
Judi Hacker of Cause for Paws is trying to find someone to take this dog. She says Lady's owners dumped her at the shelter after she'd apparently been used to produce several litters of puppies.
When Lady arrived at the shelter and discovered walking on a leash, she apparently didn't even realize there was a world larger than a cage, Judi says.
But Lady lives up to her name. The official pitch is "She is so sweet and loving and is a very calm girl and would make the perfect companion to keep you warm on these cold winter nights."
To ask about helping Lady, call Judi at 972-620-1174.
CATCHING UP WITH PEPITA: We got this note and the photos from Tricia Todd-Harrington after Pepita, the blind dachshund surrendered to the Mesquite animal shelter, was delivered to the home of Sheri and Ray Goodman on the east side of Dallas. (That's her shelter photo on the left.) Trish writes:
"To everyone who cared so much about this wonderful little pooch, check out her new photos. I knew what a great home it was when the new 'Dad' was waiting in the driveway for me to arrive. I had talked to the Mom' an hour earlier and she hadn't made him aware of their new addition to the family yet.
"Obviously she told him after I called her. He came and lifted Pepita into his arms and she immediately responded to him. He had tears in his eyes and like all of us could not understand how in the world anyone could give up their 13-year-companion. These are such wonderful people that I want to adopt them!
"Pepita has so much love to give. She now has brothers and sisters, both cats and dogs, and her tail is wagging so much it's about to fall off. She runs around the house and they say you can hardly even tell she's blind. The black poodle, Black Jack, is her new beau, and she is apparently quite the flirt, rolling on her back so he can nuzzle her. Her new Mom says Pepita comes running when she calls (probably due to the home cooked chicken she had for dinner last night!) She loves to give kisses, to both the two-legged members and four-legged members of her new family.
"She had a warm oatmeal bath for her skin disorder and she is going to the vet tomorrow [Thursday] for a full check up and shots. I'm so glad that the Mesquite shelter called me on this lovable little girl. A big thanks to everyone who helped get the word out on her."
THE OKLAHOMA DOG: Beverly Fyfe, noted Dallas rescuer, tipped us to the plight of a dog living at a rest stop 60 miles inside Oklahoma on I-35. Word got around and a rescuer from Oklahoma, Deborah Snider, is making a noble effort to catch this dog. She e-mailed this note to other rescuers yesterday:
"Sorry we weren’t able to get her today. I think she’s something like an Australian Shepherd or shepherd/setter mix, she is mostly black with some brown (most distinctly her eyebrows and cheeks), with some white, mostly on the underbelly. Longish hair, like a setter – flag tail."
The "streetwise" dog "is curious about people and will come to within 3 or 4 feet, even comfortable enough to lay down, as long as she has her flight distance. She will move away on any sudden movement or movement toward her, but she doesn’t seem particularly afraid.
"She checked out everyone that came to the rest area, even to the point of going over to some -- so she’s either looking for someone or assessing for possibility of a hand-out, or both.
"She didn’t seem hungry – wasn’t at all interested in the 'gourmet' wet food I had (maybe had never seen and didn’t smell like food to her), cheese-and-peanut butter crackers, or dog snacks. "She did like the salami the other guy offered, and he was the one who said 'use meat.' She did even come and take a piece from my hand, but then back to her comfort zone. She did seem thirsty, but I noticed the women’s room door standing open, so I think perhaps she would have opportunity to get water there when less activity. She seems very interested in digging, too – I think she may be after gophers.
"There was a couple there with a Golden, and she was very interested in the other dog, wanting to play. She got so fired up that she inadvertently put her paw on my back while romping around. We tried taking the Golden into the women’s room hoping she would follow and we could corner her – tried getting her to get in their van with the Golden. Tried leaving my car doors open and encouraging her to get in. Spent two hours, but no go.
"She will follow if you walk away from her, but also will go off on her own. But I think having another dog there is a plus, contrary to our instincts. She ran up to another guy who had a dog as we were leaving.
"She doesn’t look to be in bad shape – coat looks good, no apparent injury or illness, Paws looked swollen but I think they are just dirt-packed from digging. No collar, of course."
Additional efforts are going to be made to catch this dog. If you can help, e-mail Debora at [email protected]. You might also e-mail a thank-you to her for going the extra miles to try to help this dog.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Our Rowlett tipster Jennifer Glick, who has been working on horse and other cruelty issues, sent a note saying that a Chicago TV station was running a survey that asked the question, "Do you think it's inhumane to wear fur?" Inexplicably, the "no" votes are leading the "yes" votes. Jennifer was surprised by this and included this link to the SURVEY. The margin is narrowing. I know they're having a snowy winter week in Chicago, but, geez, don't take it out on the fur-bearing creatures. ...The MSNBC headline reads "Massive meat-eating dinosaurs discovered" and I thought, "I hope they mean 'fossils of...'" Whew, they do. And it occurs to me that nearly everything I think I learned from reading about archeologist Roy Chapman Andrews in my childhood may be outdated now. ... While watching a Dallas TV station's story about the arrest of a murder suspect, I saw on screen just one person, a reporter, and heard her say, "Police say the suspect is in fair condition behind me tonight." I'm assuming she was standing in front of a hospital. TV reporters -- there's no editor between the mouth and the microphone. Bless their hearts.
