The rescue in Dallas; a 3-legged dog in Decatur and other tales of humans and animals

You can see the dogs sometimes – they resemble wild creatures only instead of living among the trees in a distant forest, they roam a landscape of manmade ditches, trash bins and traffic.
In Dallas, they aren’t brought down by cheetahs or lions, they are felled by cars or people with poison or parasites that invade their hearts. They die unloved, scruffy and starving.
But, now and then, against great odds, they survive in a world they created for themselves by virtue of ancestral cunning and modern caution.
Such a dog is this one – Norah, who lived “in a drainage ditch near 175 and Buckner for a few years,” according to one of her rescuers, Rekka Melby of Take Me Home Pet Rescue. The group provided these photos of the pursuit and rescue of Norah.
The irony is there are people who will tell you they never see a stray in Dallas. Never. They just aren’t looking.
There are people who never take in a stray in Dallas. They just aren’t trying. You can nab a stray a day in this city. Ask Dallas Animal Services. They don’t keep that shelter full because of a monthly delivery from the Acme Critter Supply Company.
Sometimes mercy smiles on these Dallas strays. That is the case of Norah, who, for a while, would be only as close to a human as the zoom on a camera lens would allow. (That closeup was shot from far away and the photo of Norah lounging in the ditch shows the pipe she would flee to.)
Here is Norah’s story, as told by Rekka. It involves a cast of rescuers we’ve mentioned in previous episodes. They are with Take Me Home Pet Rescue which, by the way, is having a fundraiser at 6 p.m. Sunday at Studio Movie Grill on Central Expressway at Royal Lane in Dallas -- $10 donation and you get to see “Hotel For Dogs” and support efforts of the rescue group.)
On Saturday, rescuer Jean-Paul “JP” Bonnelly managed to catch Norah. The rescuers had learned of her more than a month ago from Norah Meier, who volunteers at the Seagoville Animal Shelter. Norah, JP, Rekka, Yvonne Ybarra of Dallas Dog Life and Take Me Home’s Pat Rodriguez had make efforts for several weekends to try to catch this elusive dog. (That's JP with Pat holding a bundle of Norah's puppies.)
“Several folks that live in that area have stopped to tell us they’ve been feeding her for a few years – yep, you read correctly: YEARS!,” Rekka says.
“So as you can imagine she's very street-smart and has proven herself to be quite difficult to catch.  As you know JP doesn't give up easily and has an impressive resume when it comes to catching elusive dogs such as the LBJ dog and Jack the Church Dog.
“We tried using a trap baited with chicken but she wouldn't go near that.  Then JP pulled a MacGyver-type move and crafted something to slide down in the drainage hole so she couldn't go back so far, tied rope to it and waited patiently for her to go in the hole and then we were going to try and trap her in it but we never got that plan to work either.
“A few weeks ago we started to notice she looked a bit bigger so were worried she might be pregnant but weren't sure. 
“But when we saw her on March 26, she looked noticeably thinner so we realized she must have been pregnant and must have had the puppies since we last saw her on March 20. 
“We had also noticed that she spends time hanging out at the nearby House of Prayer so JP started looking through the bushes and found the puppies hidden up against the wall of the church -- 9 pups total.  As you could have guessed Norah took off but we were lucky that the pups were in a courtyard area of a manageable size to try and contain her.  So we baited a trap with a few of her puppies, got back in the car and waited for her to show back up.  
“We watched her walk in and out of traffic for over 2 hours and then she came back to the courtyard so JP was able to shut the gate and I guarded the fence to try and scare her back into the courtyard if she tried to get out.  Fortunately JP was able to loop her!
“So, now, we're happy to report that Norah and her 9 babies are safe and off the streets.  However, sadly as soon as we caught her we saw two more stray dogs show up -- ugh.  Over the past few months of trying to catch Norah we've seen an additional 13 dogs hanging around that area. None of the males are neutered and most of the females look to be pregnant or nursing.  “Some of these dogs have collars and we think one of the other momma dogs belongs to someone as we've followed her back to one particular house and even saw one of her young puppies just hanging out in the front yard (loose).  Apparently they're not feeding the momma dog as every time we've been out there we've seen her out crossing the busy roads looking for food, it's so sad.
“We really need more fosters and we need people to spay/neuter and care properly for their pets!  So while we're frustrated by that, we are relieved and happy that Norah and her 9 puppies have been saved and will go on to live long and happy lives. ...  JP has kept the little family the past few days and reports that Norah is super sweet and already starting to snuggle up to him!” 
You can see a video of the Norah story HERE and you can see how to help at www.takemehomepetrescue.com.
Nobody knows what breed Norah is (that's her taking it easy at JP's house.) JP kids that she’s an “odd looking little girl but cute as a button at the same time!  I think she may have some Italian Greyhound maybe with a touch of Chupacabra!”
ANOTHER ABANDONED DOG: Rescuer Karla Kirk is trying to find help for this dog who was abandoned at a warehouse near Harry Hines Boulevard at Brookhollow.  The dog recently had puppies, Karla says. “The owner dropped her off (most likely to avoid having her spayed or just to avoid having to take care of her), and most likely kept her puppies, who she continually tries to look for ... We are making a desperate plea for someone to foster or rescue this dog. She is currently in the care of a warehouse employee who agreed to take care of the dog for two days.”
To offer to help this dog, e-mail [email protected] or call 214-382-7523.
THREE LEGS AND MAYBE SOME PRAYERS IN DECATUR: Louann Smith sent us this note last night. She’d spotted this dog on Facebook and because Decatur isn’t far from where she lives, she offered transportation services to get the older dog to safety.
So far, people have donated and pledged $200 to help get her to safety.
The story is the dog is an owner release and at 8 or 9 years old, that puts her at the top of the euthanasia list in most shelters. Except that this three-legged dog still has a hold on the fellow who released her, Louann’s note says. The owner still comes to the shelter to feed her and visit her. She just can’t go home with him.
To offer to help call 940-627-7577 Or call Louann at 214-289-5114 or e-mail [email protected]. The Decatur shelter’s number is 940-627-7888.
ABANDONED? TOO KIND A WORD: Yeah, “abandoned” just doesn’t cover the sorry nature of this dumping.
We learned about this from Sydney Busch of Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake. She’d been contacted by George Gomez who is trying to get help.
He wrote to Sydney that on Tuesday night his daughter was coming home from school when “she saw someone dump a Mama dog and two puppies. They are at my home in “Forney and I need to place them since I already have two dogs...
“I am guessing they are a Bull Terrier mix.”
Mama is probably under 2 years old and the pups are more than two months old. (That’s mom and one of the look-alike pups.)
“Mama is very affectionate and wants attention. The pups want to play, but are fearful and tend to stay just beyond reach when you try and play with them.”
Then George asks the $64,000 question: “Where can I take them? I already asked the no-kill in Dallas and they are full. Who else can I contact?”
We’re turning to you Readers to try to help George answer this question and save these dogs. You can e-mail him at [email protected] or call 800-344-7216, ext. 9934.
THE DALLAS DEADLINE APPROACHES: Remember when Dallas Animal Services announced that animals scheduled for euthanasia on March 29 were getting a reprieve until April 1 – that’s tomorrow? There were 11 animals on that list.
Today there are 10 dogs on that list. And tomorrow is the day.
Among the 10 are the sweet-faced Bentley (left) and the collie/chow mix Cadi. These are healthy dogs who have been at the shelter for more than 45 days.
Maybe they were owner-surrenders, maybe they were strays, maybe someone drove up and shoved them into the “night drop” at the shelter. Animals wind up in city custody through a variety of ways – none of them all that happy for the dogs and cats.
For crying out loud, if no one takes these dogs, they will be just as dead as if you threw them out into traffic at rush hour, or fed them antifreeze, or starved them in a closet. Just as dead.
To ask about adopting, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312. Rescue groups should e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-670-8298. See more animals at www.dallasanimalservices.org.
CATS, CATS AND MORE CATS: There’s not a shelter around here that doesn’t have more cats than ... well, more cats than you can imagine. It is kitten season. And big cat season, too.
This guy is one of the cats at peril in the Collin County Animal Services Shelter in McKinney and we got his photo thanks to shelter walker DeDe Whitcombe. You can ask about him at 972-547-7292 or by e-mail [email protected]. He’s #287149.
Other shelters have an abundance of cats.
If their cries were broadcast over loudspeakers in our cities, the agony would be deafening.
Alas, in our society, turning a deaf ear to tragedy is far too easy to do. Indeed, we have a system for euthanasia. And isn’t that a heart-sickening sadness.
IDIOT ALERT: And, now we have Fort Worth high school baseball players allegedly sacrificing chickens on the school baseball field to help the team play better. Oh, parents, be so proud. Read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's story HERE. Just when you think all the idiots have been isolated to Austin, Washington and parts of California, a new outbreak crops up in Texas. I’m just kidding about idiots being isolated in those other  places. They run free in Dallas, unfettered, unapprehended, unbridled. Our city limits sign ought to read: “Welcome to Dallas. Idiot Crossing.”
CONTEMPLATION: Often, when I am typing, I am the only mammal awake in the household. Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas, snores like a freight train. At least they go to sleep BEFORE they read what I write and not while they’re reading it. ... The Texas Rangers baseball season opens tomorrow. To some of us, this means the world is going to become more interesting and less threatening. ... Do you miss filling stations that had attendants? (They still have them in New Jersey – it’s a law.) Do you miss filling stations with $2 gasoline? When we all go solar, it’ll be interesting to see which oil company claims rights to the sun.
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