The morning after a sickening Dallas Cowboy defeat is always so wretched. And that loss came on the same day the Texas Rangers once again coughed up a hairball to make certain we won’t have to worry about them embarrassing us in the playoffs again.
Yuckamundo. Nearly 40 years of “Wait ‘til next year.”
This photo? That is our official Readlarrypowell.com impersonator, Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas, giving us his impression of a Dallas Cowboys fan, who has already over paid for a ticket and for parking, rushing into the All-You-Can-Stand Buffet Section at the new Cowboys stadium and spotting a big cold platter of Mom’s Tony Romo Misfiring Meatloaf with a side order of Flozell Adams’ Turkey Legs. (Aside: If you saw the game, that all makes sense. If you didn’t, trust me, you are better off.)
Now, take your mind off two ol’ dogs that can’t be helped, and focus on some animals that need assistance from humans.
CUTE GUY, NO HOME: This big dog is named Cooper and we got his story from Gail Rushing of the American Black & Tan Coonhound Rescue. In that one photo, he and a pal look as if they’re part of the “Knothole Gang” at a baseball park and they’re watching a game intently. Of course, there is no Knothole Gang at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, just a knothead gang in the front office.
But back to Cooper. Gail reports, “I have been trying to help the folks at Vickery Place Animal Hospital place a beautiful dog named Cooper. He's been at the clinic for 5 months. They just don't get enough foot traffic for adoptions and they are desperate to find a foster or permanent home for Cooper. He's at 11 months old and fully vetted. They contacted me because they had been calling him a bloodhound mix. I don't see bloodhound and my group can't take a dog that is so far from our breed. Hopefully if you could put him in one of your daily posts someone would step forward and help out Cooper and all his human friends at Vickery. He loves kids and in his perfect home he would have a kid or two to call his own.
Vickery Place Animal Hospital is at 2720 N Henderson Ave. in Dallas. Call 214-252-0800. You may also e-mail Gailforce@sbcglobal.net to ask about Cooper or about helping with Black & Tan Hound Rescue.
MEANWHILE IN CARROLLTON: This cat Buckley was photographed just as Tony Romo threw an interception that was run back for a touchdown in last night’s Cowboys game. I’m kidding. This guy, Buckley is one of many animals at the Carrollton Animal Shelter and hard-working staffers are trying to find homes for all of them.
Buckley, despite this fang-filled photo, is said to be a friendly guy who was “found as a stray wandering around without a care in the world. He is very friendly and very outgoing. … Buckley loves to talk to you and is a sucker for a scratch behind the ears.”
And, yes, he’s not the only cat. And this dog, John, is not the only dog in the Carrollton Shelter on the clock, either.
John also was a stray – a senior dog found in the streets. He’s about 13, the shelter folks think and “looks to have a bit of arthritis in the hind end as he is slow to get up and a little unstable when he first stands, though he works through the stiffness pretty quickly.” You can see a video of John HERE.
To ask about any animal in the care of Carrollton, e-mail Joe.Skenesky@cityofcarrollton.com or call 972-466-3420.
TWO CUTIES: The dog is a rescued Aussie named Cooper, and the little girl is Emily Stephens, 7, niece of Sara Shepperd of North Dallas Dog Rescue.
Emily had her first soccer game this weekend and Cooper happened to be along to watch, so it was just natural that Emily and Cooper pose together – after all, Emily has been involved in rescuing nearly her entire life, Sara says.
Cooper was on “death row” at Collin County Animal Services when he was spotted by Debbie New of Plano Animal Services, Sara says, “Thankfully..Debbie “remembered my love for Aussies and called!”
Cooper was picked up in a storm last Wednesday night. “He is limping and can’t put his back left leg down, so I don’ know if he was hit by a car of if he has a general hip problem….He is bothered at all and is still jumping on and off the sofa and fetching and retrieving a tennis ball.” (He’s en route to the vet today.)
Sara says Cooper is a “full-Aussie – h is less than 40 pounds but still a standard size… He is all chocolate colored with some caramel markings and a few white spots on his chest. Once we got him into the car he crawled right into my niece Emily's lap and cuddled with her! (By the way, at age 7 Emily has been in animal rescue for 4 years - she has always been my ‘child-friendly control group’ for dogs we save, She has volunteered at Operation Kindness and now understands and knows the cruelty of euthanasia and importance of spay/neuter laws. Saturday was her first trip to an actual municipal pound/shelter to save a dog's life). … Coincidentally Saturday was her first soccer game of the season, so I snapped a few photos of the two of them together. Cooper, knowing me for a mere half hour, hammed it up for the camera - Emily always does!”
To ask about helping Cooper find a good home, e-mail sara8868@aol.com.
And next time you animal people (I am guilty, too) have an unpleasant thought about humans, remember, not all of them are bad and some of them are just 7 and play soccer and love animals. They’re the future of rescue.
NEEDING HELP IN CORSICANA: Back on Sept. 2 we featured Tabitha Wilkes story about this dog, Baby, found in a rural area as Tabitha made her health-care rounds. A “sweet lady named Cathy, living on disability checks,” had found 6-month-old Baby, apparently hit by a car and suffering from two broken legs.
Tabitha managed to raise funds to cover the vet bills. Baby and Cathy bonded and the dog is healing well. She’s been spayed, thanks to the Humane Society of Navarro County, Tabitha reports.
But over the weekend, Cathy’s medical condition took a nose dive and she was hospitalized. Tabitha stepped up to take in Baby, but she’s now desperately trying to find a foster for the dog. “I have nowhere to house a dog, I live in a downtown Corsicana apartment. I have no yard, no grass. I have her penned in a portion of a back room. I have two kids, 3 cats and a blind Boston I rescued earlier in this summer. Can anyone help me?”
If you have a spot for Baby, call Tabitha at 903-229-1036.
MUST READING: The great reporter and former colleague of mine at the Big Paper in Dallas, Katie Fairbank, filed a story over the weekend about the way things apparently are at the Garland animal shelter. It’s worth the read and Katie deserves praise for looking into the situation. Google "Katie Fairbank" and "Garland shelter" and you should go right to the story of unfortunate treatment of animals.
A GUY NEEDS SOME HELP: Way northwest of the greater Metrosprawl, in
little Burns Flat, Okla., tireless rescuer Terry Lynn Fisher is again trying to beat the Grim Reaper to animals in the city pound, among them this pit lad.
She says she “honestly thought his ‘people’ would come for him.
“He was picked up for chasing some kids -- not to hurt them, but because he wanted to play too. One of the moms got scared, so she called the police. They said he jumped right in the car, ready to go for a ‘ride.’ He is so sweet and loving. He has no aggressions towards any of the other dogs, big or small, male or female. He loves everything and everyone.
“But because I waited [for his people], he is very close to being out of time.”
To help rescue this friendly guy, e-mail Terry Lynn at remembering_oddball@yahoo.com or call 580-330-1459.
THIS IS OTIS CAIN: Yep, big ol’ friendly pit bull named Otis Cain. We got his story via Terry DeGaw of Serenity Springs Animal Rescue and Sanctuary -– she
deals mostly in big livestock but every now and then someone comes to her with a plea for help with a dog.
O.C. Baker has run intotrouble finding an apartment that will accept Otis because of his breed. He’s a 3-year-old unfixed fellow. The dog is “friendly – doesn’t bite – and lieks to be inside the house. He is house-trained and obeys on command (sit, lay, shake, etc.)”
His shots were due in July.
“He likes to go for walks,” writes O.C. “But mostly lays around the house sleeping. Otis Cain is a very good dog. He has been loved a lot … I want him to go to good home.”
To contact Otis Cain’s human, call 214-694-6075 or e-mail onash@twu.edu or ordonia.baker@hotmail.net.
CONTEMPLATIONS: You know, I always like a colorful poster. Must be the ‘60s influence that still roils through my Type O. So, when Laura Claffey of Wildfire Publicity sent this illustration in hopes of drumming up some publicity for the SPCA of Tennessee, I couldn’t resist. It’s a great bit of fun, I think-- particularly because the event’s title has a bit of fun, Woofstock. If you happen to be in Nashville Thursday, why, enjoy the fun. (Click on the poster to make it larger.) … Meanwhile, the State Fair of Texas opens Friday and last week we mentioned that the Fair and DART are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first State Fair trains in 53 years. That’s a reference to the new DART Green Line dropping off passengers at exactly the same spot the old Dallas trolley system dropped ‘em off way back then. If my math is right, and it may not be, that would take us back to 1956 and why would the fair need mass transportation in 1956? Because it had a hot act playing at the Cotton Bowl. Young Mister Elvis Presley. I’m just supposing that’s the reason. Might not have been any parking. … I didn’t watch the Emmys last night – I was watching the tragic Dallas Cowboys performance – but I’m wondering if, in 2009, the former TV kid actor (Doogie Houser, M.D.) Neil Patrick Harris has replaced everybody else as “America’s Sweetheart.” Besides, this morning I’m trying to find things to worry about other than whether that one bad snap, fouled up play in a critical game two seasons ago is the actual bellwether for Tony Romo’s career and the young stud has finished his run. Is it too early in the season to throw up our hands and weep?
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