The weekend looks busy...and rescuers do, too

Some busy weekends start on Friday. Sometimes a weekend can start years earlier and culminate in a big party – that’s a reference to this weekend’s 10th birthday celebration for the White Rock Dog Park. Here we go with our Friday report:
BIG SALE FOR THE BIG CATS: I don’t know how many years Cathie Desell has been doing this garage sale benefiting the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary at Boyd and some other rescue groups – probably since she saw her first lion or tiger. They’ll emotionally grab folks.
The spring garage sale is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Saturday at 2528 Corbeau Drive in Irving (Zip 75038). There’ll be clothes, purses, accessories, home decorative items, toys, games and many other things.
That tiger tonsil photo is from the Sanctuary’s website, www.bigcat.org. That is Noel, the Siberian Tiger, abandoned as a pet at a vet’s office in Arlington and rescued by the sanctuary. I have run his photo in order to have a good reason to run one of my favorite cat’s photos for the third time – that would be Archie, rescued from the Carrollton Animal Services shelter this week. He has a championship set of whiskers – as does Noel.
By the way, probably no danger of a rainout for this garage sale.
CELEBRATING WHITE ROCK LAKE DOG PARK: The big 10-year anniversary for White Rock Lake Park – the Raise the Woof Pup Rally -- begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at the park – this is all a celebration of the 100th Anniversary of White Rock Lake, Dallas’s biggest pond. (Sorry, I’ve seen Lake Michigan – after that, everything else is a pond.)
At any rate, do you remember who cut the ribbon for the grand opening of the White Rock Lake Dog Park a decade ago? Nolan Ryan, then a retired Texas Ranger and now the top dog with the Texas Rangers – sorry, that’s American League Champion Texas Rangers. You may also recall that key to getting the dog park open in Dallas was the hustling of Texas Rangers radio broadcaster Eric Nadel who led a fundraising campaign and promoted the benefits of the off-leash park.
Saturday’s event includes all sorts of contests, vendors and other family-oriented things and live music by Grand Theft Auto.
You can buy Raise the Woof Pup Rally 2011 t-shirts. And they’re asking for a $5 admission donation to help with expenses.
Because of the larger-than-usual crowd and limited parking, there’s even going to be a dog-friendly shuttle bus service. Get all the festive details HERE. (Don’t know who did the logo for the event, but it’s a great picture.)
A GREAT LOOKING DOG WITH GREAT CREDENTIALS: This is Pugsy, a Lab/Border Collie Mix who is so photogenic he looks like he came off of a big-time magazine cover or maybe even out of an ad for a high-priced hunting lodge. Problem is the 8-year-old fellow is losing his home in Tyler because his humans have hit an economic snag and must move to a place that doesn’t allow dogs – not even this good fellow.
Our tipster in this case, Stephanie Mosby of East Texas-based C.L.A.W. (Citizens League for Animal Welfare), says the dog will lose his home this weekend.
He’s great with kids and other dogs (nobody knows about cats).
Stephanie writes, “Now, normally, here is where I jump in with ‘my 2 cents’ but after speaking with these people, it’s obvious that they are devastated enough.”
She is working to find a new good home for Pugsy and, she adds, “He was due shots in October, so I will pay to get him up to date on vaccinations.”
To help Pugsy and Stephanie, e-mail [email protected].
REPORT FROM AUSTIN: Brad Kirby, who talked Dallas into passing the stolen dog ordinance, was in Austin to speak on behalf of House Bill 1102 which changes theft of a pet from a misdemeanor to a state jail felony. He says the contact to support the bill is State  Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) HERE.
Not sure, but if the state passes a law tougher than the Dallas ordinance, perhaps the Dallas ordinance, which is unfriendly to rescuers, might be superseded or even erased from the local books.  Guess we’ll see. Geez, wouldn't it be awful if justice helped common sense prevail and the law punished the bad guys instead of the good guys.
CRUELTY TRIALS SCHEDULED: We hear from Jonnie England, the Metroplex Animal Coalition’s Director of Animal Advocacy and Communication, that there are two felony cruelty cases scheduled at the Dallas County Courthouse today.
Don't read any further in this item if you are the least bit squeamish or prone to revenge on behalf of the innocent and defenseless.
The cases are
(1) Amanda Faye Simmons has a trial scheduled at 8 a.m. in Judge Robert Burns’ Criminal District Court No. 1.
Ms. Simmons, 23, of Wylie, faces a maximum of 2 years in prison if found guilty. Quoting from the police report,  Jonnie’s note says that on Feb. 17, 2009, police were summoned to Ms. Simmons’ home by her roommate. There they found a dead cocker spaniel in a crate in a bedroom closet, two other dogs, a kitten and five exotic lizards – all suffering from starvation and dehydration. The roommate said they hadn’t been fed in 18 days and the dogs had not been taken from their crates during that period.
(2) Billy Wayne Whitaker Jr., 37, of Dallas, is due in Judge Linda Howard’s Criminal District Court No. 6 at 9 a.m. He’s charged with torturing an animal. He was arrested on July 3, 2010 when police “responded to an assault complaint. The complainant told officers that during the assault, Whitaker picked up her dog and threw it against a wall.” He accused of beating the dog with a sandal until the poor dog passed out, then after threatening to kill the dog, he tossed it into a trash bin. “The dog was taken to an emergency clinic but died before it could be treated,” according to the report.
[Larry aside: Not sure I could stand being in the same room with people who behave like the police say these people behaved. These cases are every bit as despicable as the Michael Vick case.]
REPLACEMENT DOGS: Yesterday, in telling the story of Joey (left), we mentioned a German Shepherd that had been rescued from life on a chain. Tina Austin, the rescuer, tells us that dog is in a happy home and learning to walk and play. (That’s the dog, now called Champ, in the photo provided to us by dedicated local rescuer Karla Kirk..)
My jocular question was “Have those people got a replacement dog yet?”
And the answer from Tina is – no kidding – “Yes, last week they came home with two 8-week- old puppies and they will breed them to sell and make money.   They are in the same place the German Shepherd was and are crying all night.”
Have goodness and decency abandoned one Dallas address, two little dogs?
A COUPLE OF SURVIVORS: Our pal Alexandra Kelsey of Houston tipped us to this story of two cats who “are so adorable! They’re just waiting for a great lap to sit on.”
She writes, “If Karen has to release these kittens as strays, she might as well have burned up the $1,400 she spent on them, never mind her time and emotional investment.”
Karen Cauthen is hustling to find a home for these two before she runs out of money.
You may know how that pressure feels.
Here’s the story, according to Karen: “A year ago, 3 small male kittens and their mother appeared in woods by our office. The mother disappeared and we started handling, feeding, caring for the kittens when we worked. About 2 months ago, 1 of the young cats vanished and the grey cat had a broken leg. I took the grey male to my veterinarian who repaired the cat’s leg. Then I took the grey and striped cat (male, too) in to keep while his brother’s leg healed.
“Both cats now have all their shots and are about 1 year old. They are both friendly due to us all holding and petting them for now a year.
“I have boarded the cats and paid for their shots and the grey cat’s surgery on my own. My vet did the neutering of the grey cat for free while he did surgery on the grey cat’s leg.
“I have 3 dogs at my home in Port Arthur and I feed 5 stray cats there too.
“I hate having to release the cats back in the woods here by my office so I am praying some organization/kind person can take these 2 cats in.”
She says, “I can't bring them home with me any longer either as animal control in our town came to our home -- -we can't bring more animals into our home! I have helped keep these cats alive since they were small kittens so I hate having to now put them back out in the woods now since I can't keep them.”
To offer to help these two cats e-mail [email protected].
CACTHING UP:
--Remember the “tiny dog” that Erin Keogh got from the homeless man in Downtown Dallas? Erin reports that thanks to you Readers, that dog has gotten another break in its young life. She says, “Thanks to you, I found a wonderful home and I'll be delivering the puppy to her new home on Saturday.”
--And Buster, the little puggle who was just not fitting in with a family’s older big lab, has also gotten a break. Our original tipster Johnna Bigley, the Seagoville shelter volunteer, says that Bettye Baker of Oak Hill Animal Rescue has taken in the dog. Read about Oak Hill HERE http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TX1340.htm.
THLN DINNER PLANS: Texas Humane Legislation Network gets 20 percent of the happy hour/dinner proceeds from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday March 30, thanks to the folks at i Fratelli Ristorante & Wine Bar, 7701 N. MacArthur Blvd. in Irving’s Los Colinas. Mention either Texas Humane Legislation Network or “the animal group” so the ristorante “redattore di attesa” (pardon my Alta Vista Babel Fishing translation – “wait staffers”) will know to donate from your purchases.
CONTEMPLATIONS: This upcoming Texas Rangers season is bringing a whole new level of anxieties. It’s not longer a question of “Is this the year?”, it’s a question of “Will they go back to the World Series.” And isn’t that a great feeling! ... Walked in Kiest Park yesterday afternoon and saw several people with dogs – all on leashes, all happily walking along. None running loose or starving. But it’s early in the spring. ... Maybe I’m a creature of habit and also a creature who doesn’t give a dribble about college basketball, but without the sitcom The Big Bang last night, there wasn’t anything on any of the 500 channels we get. Nothing. A reality real estate show captured my funspouse Martha’s attention, but, I swear, these shows allow people to run at the mouth and say less than I can say in a conversation about quantum theory with Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas and an acknowledged expert on the behavior of matter and short scent hounds.
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