Before the predicted second snowstorm in a week freezes all the extremities in Oak Cliff, Texas, let’s find something warmish to write about, or, following rules of old school grammar, about which to write.
THE UPDATE ON CHANCE: Back in the autumn we told the story of what appeared at the time to be a Schnauzer mix but later turned out to be a Bichon Frise mix who, according to the tale beeing told, had been cast out of his home in East Texas due to unfortunate financial circumstances.
As if that were not enough, he landed in a foster home that was suddenly afflicted with great misery and mourning when there was a death in the family.
After all that misfortune, animal people stepped in to help the other animal people during their time of grief and Chance wound up in the care of Metroplex Mutts.
Tricia Todd of Metroplex Mutts says the little guy is undergoing heartworm treatment and will do his first couple of weeks of treatment in Met-Mutts foster home.
After that, says Trica, he’ll “go to his new home in Rockwall – the perfect home.” She’s talking about the home of Elizabeth and Patrick Trowbridge – “I wish I could clone them,” she says.
And who is this in the photo with her new dog? That is the Trowbridges’ daughter, Clara. Tricia says Chase “just picked her out and she picked him. It’s a match made in Heaven.”
He’ll have a Golden Retriever playmate and a “view of the golf course and the lake.”
Clara used her “Christmas money to buy him a sweater and new food bowls. She can hardly wait for him to arrive.”
TOUGH TIMES IN BURNS FLAT: I don’t know beans about Burns Flat, Okla., except that (a) it’s not named for what happens when it catches on fire and (b) it is where there is a city animal shelter that is monitored with skill and heart by Terry Lynn Fisher.
As you may have noticed in weather reports, Western Oklahoma is going to get the big winter storm before North Texas gets it.
Last night Terry Lynn wrote, “I have been trying to get shelter for the overflow [animals] because we are having more snow tomorrow.”
These animals are among a number that are on the clock today in wintry Burns Flat – the shelter is an out-door shelter which means, of course, that it’s only actual shelter when the weather is good. In lousy weather, it’s just a covering – and the wind whips through and snow will blow through fences.
Terry Lynn’s message last night was e-mailed from “the parking lot of a motel 25 miles from home....The internet is down at home, but I can check e-mails on the phone.”
If you can help Terry Lynn get these animals to a safe, warm place, e-mail [email protected] or call her at 580-330-1459.
She explains, “I have exhausted all my funds this month. I have transported dogs 3 and 4 times each week. I need help and fast. ... I need houses, tarps, kennels, and a safe place to bring these poor throwaways.”
A DISCUSSION OF KYLE: We got this note from our reliable tipster Patricia Barrington, the Animal Control Division Manager for The Colony. (Last week she was also helping people in addition to helping animals.) Here’s the Kyle story:
“This hopeless, unremarkable dawg is named Kyle. Kyle is a favorite name of mine -- I’ve never known a bad Kyle. We have Kyle listed as a Dutch Shepherd Pharaoh Hound mix -- who knows what he really might be?
“He’s got a slender head and body and athletic legs. Kyle is about 8 months old and around 30 pounds. His brindle markings have people dubbing him a Pit Bull Terrier, even though his svelte shape is more that of a Greyhound … poor brindle fella.
“Kyle is extremely intelligent and is very treat-motivated. He will quickly learn most commands with a little motivation in the form of a peanut butter jar. He’s a great mid-sized dog that will be an excellent family pet or running buddy.
“Sadly, he’s just a little too unremarkable looking to get any attention.”
To ask about the splendid unremarkable dog, e-mail [email protected] or call 972-370-9250.
NEW YEAR’S DATE? Well, this Chihuahua can really dress up, apparently. The little white fellow was found wandering somewhere in Eustace and we got the note about him from Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake. The original note came from Tina Hamilton of Happy Tails of Gun Barrel City. Contact her at [email protected] or call 903-880-4124 or 903-275990. You can reach Happy Tail at www.happytailsofgbc.org.
OH, GOODNESS: i’m going to warn you about this story. We got the links from Denise Rinker. It’s an upsetting story about someone slashing a dog. For a while, it looked like the dog would survive in a Christmas Eve miracle – but no dice. And now there’s a petition urging maximum prosecution against the jerk who did this to Chazz the dog – only nobody knows who did it except the villain himself, apparently. To read the first story from KENS in San Antonio, click HERE. The second story is HERE. And the peitition is HERE. Maybe someone in the reading audience recognizes the work of this fiend from another case or recognizes the dog. Maybe there’s a clue somewhere.