EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, AUG. 28, 2019 [PetPowellPress] So, the headline on this San Francisco Gate story reads “The story of an abused dog horrified people nationwide. It was all a hoax, police say.” People lined up to help. The guy with the dog said he’d found it with its throat slit and muzzled taped shut. The story is HERE. And while the story is a hoax, the reality is that anybody who’s been involved in animal rescue and dealt with mean humans knows why it’s so easy to believe such a story: The human element.
MIKEY IN BURNS FLAT
We opened with that hoax about an animal in trouble. This story from Burns Flat is no hoax. We got hit from our reliable rescue tipster Terry Lynn Fisher. She wrote, “Meet Mikey. At one time, he was loved by his owner. He was spoiled and went everywhere with her. Sadly, his person changed and took a wrong road. Mikey paid the price. Left alone at the house for days and weeks, he slowly started to feel the neglect.
“We have had heat index higher than 110 degrees here. How this 13-plus-year-old dog survived laying in that heat with no water is a miracle in itself.
“It had been 5 days since anyone had been to the house he was at — in a small kennel out back, he just couldn't fight the heat, hunger and thirst anymore. So he laid down in the dirt and just closed his old eyes. He had sores all over his body and was covered in a million fleas. He was covered in ants and they were eating the rotten tissue around all the sores on his old body. He decided life was too hard and sad, so he would just go to sleep...
“A neighbor was out back and looked his way. He thought this old boy had died and was so angry. He called the police. Imagine their surprise when the dog looked at them. They called me to help get him to the vet. They wanted to humanly help him pass. I asked them to bring him by so I could check him out. When they came by, I went and touched his face. He lifted his head and licked my and my Granddaughter’s hand and face. He is almost totally deaf and blind. The sad look in his eyes haunted me. I knew then we would fight for him and give him at least a chance.
“After MANY baths and several mini meals and water, he perked up a little. He still could not stand on his own, but he sat up. By the next afternoon, he was standing — wobbly, but standing and walking a few steps.
“He is now at my vet’s. He has a very bad fever and a heart murmur. His gums were white from being anemic from being eaten up with fleas. The open sores are all infected. BUT HE WANTS TO LIVE!!!!!
“So, for now, we will continue to fight with him. With each little meal, his body gets stronger. This morning, with a little assistance, he WALKED out to go potty.
“At 13, blind and deaf with a heart murmur, nobody knows how much time this old soul has left on this Earth. But the one thing I CAN promise is that he will not die alone, in the dirt, being eaten by ants.”
[LARRY ASIDE: The dog’s vet bills are rising. But Terry Lynn is appealing for help with a dog who deserves better in life. Email her at [email protected]. Get in touch with Elk Creek Clinic at 580-225-4863 — its at 1301 Airport Industrial, Elk City, OK, 73644. They know Terry Lynn’s rescue heart and help her.]
THEY’RE WAITING FOR HOMES
IN THE MESQUITE SHELTER
Our veteran tipster, Judi Brown, the volunteer biographer at Mesquite Animal Shelter, spent some time with this 1-1/2-year-old Dobie girl Athena who arrived at the shelter Tuesday. Surrendered. Why? “Because her owner was pregnant and she said Athena was too strong for her,” Judi reports.
Judi visits the dogs she writes about. She says, “My experience with Athena was that she was extremely sweet and gentle. She’s a bit on the timid side but definitely wanted to make friends. She stayed close. She even gave me one tentative kiss. She wants to please and sits on command. Her previous owner said that she knows to catch, stay, and go. Athena was also raised with children from ages 2 to 7 years old and lived with other dogs. I also noticed that when I took her through the bay she went nose to nose with some of the dogs without a problem. Her previous owners said that she does not like cats."
Athena weighs 47 pounds and is already spayed. Ask about #42586693 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmes- quite.com.
If someone beats you to saving Athena, there are other dogs and cats waiting at Mesquite. We went online HERE and discovered that the big cat James Bond (42099196), first mentioned here a month or so ago, is still unclaimed by a
loving human. He’s nearly 8 months old and has been at the shelter since July 1 — look for him in the Cat Room.
That fabulous Earhound is Reese (4388997), just over 3, and she tips the scales at 44 pounds. She’s been in the shelter since August 3 — you guessed it! She was a stray. Nobody has come for her. Walks nicely on a leash, likes to play with toys, “exuberant and lively although not hyper.” [LARRY ASIDE: That sounds like the perfect student at an elementary school.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED NOTES ON THINGS
I’m typing this as the Texas Rangers are involved in a baseball game on the West Coast against the Angels — I’m still not sure where they’re Los Angeles, California or Anaheim Angels. That aside, it’s actually kind of chilly in Big D as 11 p.m. approaches. Chilly in that it’s not 101 — the online temp reading is 76 degrees. One day you can’t breath the hot air, the next you’re wondering where you packed the sweaters just after Christmas 2018. … When you’re dieting, nothing looks as good as fast food sweet treats on late-night TV. Something about an ice cream cone — even when it’s only 76 degrees. … I just saw a restaurant ad that promises “endless fries.” Can that really be good for you? I ask that as a guy who once considered Pancho’s Mexican Buffet to be a place of culinary miracles. All-you-can eat sopapillas? Oh, my. OK, enough of this silliness. I’d really rather be working out right now — but it’s just too darned cold.
—- Offer chilly opinions or hot options by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected]. —
