khou.com | News for Houston, Texas

July 29, 2005

The cat that was covered in mud...

Stories like this one remind me there are good samaritans out there... This one's from animal friend Tiffany Nachefski..

It was Sunday, a humid, overbearing swelter of a summer day. The rain fell furiously against the windshield of the car as I waited for the access gate to open at my apartment complex. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw something white lying motionless in a puddle of mud. I stepped out of the car to take a closer look. I knelt down and gazed upon what appeared to be an animal. The mud blurred the contours of its small, still body. I gently and softly began to wipe away the thick, wet veil of dirt. To my astonishment my excavations revealed a tiny white and grey tabby kitten possibly 3 or 4 weeks old.

Both front limbs were badly injured; the right paw was mangled and encrusted with mud with the digits and pads all but displaced. The left leg’s fur was stripped away leaving the injured leg raw and bloody. I quickly gathered up the kitten in my arms and headed for home. Curiously the kitten began to purr as if to say “I need a friend and I need help, thank you”. Surely the loud purring was not a sign of contentment but instead a sign of great pain. I cleaned the kitten up as best I could and wrapped it in a warm towel and then headed for the Petco nearest my home at Westheimer and Wilcrest for guidance. Once there I spoke with a kitty rescuer/volunteer. She advised me to take the kitten to CAPS and so I did. A volunteer at CAPS stated impassively that the kitten would be euthanized. I left with the kitten and returned to Petco again desperate for help for this wee, damp soul. This time the volunteer directed me to the emergency clinic on Gaylord Drive and to my surprise arrived there a few minutes later to stay with me and provide support. After an initial exam, x-rays and testing the doctor recommended that the kitten see a specialist in orthopedic medicine.

Presently this seriously injured kitten is at the Stafford Oaks Veterinarian Hospital (telephone # 281-499-3538) in Stafford, Texas awaiting surgery. Dr. Michael Moore, DVM, is the attending physician. The medical costs for this kitten’s surgery and post surgical care will be significant. If you wish to participate and contribute to this worthy and heartfelt cause please send your donations to Stafford Oaks Veterinarian Hospital, attn Dr. Michael Moore, DVM, 927 Dulles Avenue, Stafford, Texas, 77477; include a note indicating that it is a donation for the medical scholarship fund set-up for Tiffany’s injured kitten christened Joey. Leonardo Da Vinci once said “The smallest feline is a masterpiece”. Joey is such a masterpiece. I graciously and humbly thank you for any financial support you are able to give

July 28, 2005

Puppy Mill Dogs

I have a love/hate relationship with the stories we do on puppy mills. Usually it's the Houston SPCA or the Houston Humane Society doing the dirty work. We see the video of them going in to pitiful conditions, bringing out pathetic looking dogs, crating them and taking them to what I hope will eventually be a better place.

Oftentimes, it's the breed rescue groups that step in to pick up the slack. Alyson from Cocker Spaniel Rescue of East Texas emailed me to tell me about these poor dogs who came to them in June from a Lufkin puppy mill.

Chip

Joey

Alyson says these two are feral. They spend most of their time hiding and are scared of people. Cocker Kids has more than 90 dogs in their program and they're looking for foster parents to help socialize them.

If you - or any friends of yours - are considering buying a purebred dog, please consider the rescue groups in town. You can find a list of them here on my blog page. If you can't keep a dog on a permanent basis, perhaps you could offer to foster one. All of the breed programs on my list need help!

July 28, 2005

Disaster volunteers for animal rescue needed!

Every hurricane season, we talk about THE BIG ONE that might come for Houston, and we always hope you're prepared. We hope you've prepared your animal as well (but that's the subject of another blog post). If something did go wrong, and you were evacuated and left your animal behind (we hope you wouldn't!) who would be there to rescue your pet?

Enter EARS, the Emergency Animal Rescue Service. It's a group of volunteers who mobilize to search for stray animals who've been left behind in disasters: fires, floods, hurricanes, you name it. EARS is looking for a few good people with big hearts to attend a volunteer workshop the weekend of October 15th and 16th at the Holiday Inn Northeast in San Antonio.

Betsy Fleming, the EARS Texas state coordinator, says it should be a great weekend with the class for new volunteers on Saturday and discount pet chipping on Sunday. If you need more information, you can check out the event's website here.

EARS' slogan is "No Animal Left Behind." You could be the good samaritan who reunites a pet with his loved one!

July 27, 2005

Typing so fast my fingers are numb

Holy cow. You guys are keeping me busy with all of the great stories and events I you're sending me to blog about. Please be patient; I have a lot to get on the 'ol website and I want to make sure no one gets short shrift! Hang tight. I promise to get more goodies up this afternoon.

Thanks, as well, for all of your support! In the meantime, I'll introduce you to my "kids": Indy, our Golden, and Bailey, our Rottie mix, hanging out with us in the bluebonnets last year in Boerne..

July 26, 2005

Update to the llama killings story....

Brian Bennick with Marvel LLama Ranch wanted to let us all know the reward for information about the people who killed their llamas is now up to $1300. In case you didn't see our story or Marvel Ranch's website, these are two of the victims:

Confetti's Devine Creation

The Flash

A third llama was mauled by a pit bull, but it appears the dog was stolen from a neighbor's yard and "used" for the killing. The dog's owner is also upset. If you have any information that you think could help solve this, you can call the llama tip line at 281-702-4873 or the Mongomery County Sheriff's office at 936-760-5800.

July 25, 2005

You think it's hot? Ask your dog

I was doing some trackwork at Memorial Park this morning. I'm out there so much I have begun to see the same people on their morning runs, as well as some of the same dogs: Labradors, little Chihuahuas, and mutts. Even a beautiful Great Dane named Andy was out for a walk today. Fortunately, Memorial Park has water fountains for dogs, and at 8:30 in the morning, the heat has not become unbearable. It's a good time to get dogs out for a short walk.

Flash forward to 12:30 today, and I drive past Memorial Park on the way to do some errands. By gosh, if I don't see people out there running with their dogs. Can I tell you how much this drives me NUTS? It's 12:30 in the afternoon, folks. It's HOT to us. Imagine how a running dog feels. No matter how much water you give your dog, the afternoon is not the time to be taking Fido out for some exercise.

I went to The Weather Channel's PetCast page to see when it would actually be safe to take a dog out for exercise. On this page, you can fill in the pertinent information about your animal, where you live, and VOILA! You'll get the hours of when it's safe to walk your dog or play outside with your cat. Tomorrow, the "safe hours" for KHOU's zip code are from 6-9AM in the morning.

We humans can complain all we want about Houston's heat and humidity. Our pets can't. Remember that when you're heading out for a bit of exercise with your pooch.

July 22, 2005

The World Series of Dog Shows

48 thousand feet, a ton of treats, sleeker hair than most of us, and drool... lots of dog drool. Yes, it's DOG HEAVEN! The annual World Series of Dog Shows is on at Reliant Park through Sunday, and it is a dog lover's dream. This is a great chance to see your favorite breeds (yes, I'll be hanging out around the Golden Retrievers) as well as the breeds you've only seen in pictures (a Komondor, anyone? It looks like a mop!).

I took this shot (you can click on it
for the full size) a few years ago
when the show was still at the Astroarena. Golden heaven!

While breeders are showing their "standard" dogs, you'll also have the chance to visit with breed rescue groups and area shelters. Unfortunately, many breed rescue groups get their dogs because an uniformed person purchased a dog without understanding what they were getting into. The dog show gives everyone a great opportunity to talk with breeders about specific dogs you might be interested in. Everytime I've asked, they've been happy to answer questions. Just be sure you ASK before you touch any dog!

Besides the judging contests, you can see dogs strutting their stuff in agility contests and flyball games, in addition to meeting some hard working search and rescue dogs.

Doors open at Reliant Park at 8 this weekend, closing at 7 on Saturday night and 6 on Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, and children under twelve (with an adult) are free.

July 21, 2005

Preying on broken hearts

I lost one of my cats (who's since passed on) a few years ago. Somehow, she had slipped out of the house and was nowhere to be found. I posted signs and called the shelters and the pound, but she was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, she turned up a few houses down, no worse for the wear.

I was frantic and heartbroken when she was lost, and feeling especially vulnerable. Unfortunately, that's when con artists like to strike. You may have heard stories of unscrupolous people who see those "lost pet - REWARD!" signs and call the unhappy owner, demanding money and threatening to hold the pet (that hasn't been found at all!) for ransom.

Now, we have the internet to help us search for pets, allowing people who lose their pets to connect quickly with those who find them. And it appears the scammers have found that route, as well. The founder of FidoFinder.com says someone tried to scam a woman who'd listed her lost dog on the site. Despite what must have been an exciting possibility of her pet being found, she kept her head and grilled the caller about her dog, eventually finding out he was trying to con her. You can read the entire FidoFinder.com report here.

July 19, 2005

5000 homes for CAP animals

We're sending out a hearty congratulations to Citizens for Animal Protection. Director Kappy Muenzer says the 5000th homeless pet has been adopted from CAP's mobile adoption center at the Westheimer/Dairy Ashford Petsmart. Rowdy, a nine month old red tabby cat is the lucky boy, and his owner, Christina Chang, will get a big gift basket with goodies on a ceremony at the Petsmart this Friday.

July 19, 2005

The animal abuse gets worse

I told you about the dogs. Now, it's llamas. The Bennick family has lost three of them: two babies and an adult. Kim Bennick found the two smaller ones Saturday morning, shot in the head. Her husband discovered another llama being mauled by a pit bull. That one died as well, and Kim thinks someone deliberately put the pit into the llama enclosure to do some harm.

These were valuable, prize winning llamas. But more importantly, they were family, and they're understandably crushed. The Bennicks' 11 other llamas have been moved indoors to keep them safe.

There's a $500 reward in this case. If you have any information, call 281-702-4873 or 936-760-5800.

July 17, 2005

The value of a dog

I'm still trying to sort some of this out in my head: a lot of stories and tips we've gotten recently about puppies that have been abused. We aired a story a few weeks ago on Brownie, a brown puppy who was set on fire up in northeast Houston. Then, a friend sent me some pictures of a little black and white pup named Domino who had his tail cut off, exposing some of his backside. He needs some complicated surgery, but is finally in the care of loving people who'll look after him.

I have a dreadful suspicion that some, if not all, of the criminals in these cases were juveniles. I don't get it, and I'm sure if you've taken the time to read this far you don't get it, either. Something terrible happened to these children to enable them to act out in such a malicious and hateful manner.

I did some surfing and found a whole section about animal abuse and kids on the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection website, part of the the U.S. Department of Justice. You can see the entire report here. It's a summary of various studies that attempts to explain possible causes of juvenile animal abuse, and how it is connected with other abuses and adult crimes. The researchers found links between animal abuse and violence toward people. Children who've lived in homes where domestic violence occured often saw animal abuse there, too. The researchers also discovered children who've been neglected or sexually abused report higher incidences of seeing or participating in animal abuse. Other studies have shown many violent adult offenders had abused animals when they were children.

Seems to me these abusive kids should set off some warning bells. It just drives me NUTS when I hear people saying these kids were "just acting out" and shouldn't be punished. These horrible acts could very well could be a cry for help, warning police and animal welfare groups that something else could be going on in these kids' lives that needs to be remedied.

I'd like to think that kids who abuse animals, if caught early enough, can change their lives around and learn the consequences of their behavior. Learning the value of life, whether it be that of an animal or a human, is critical in our early years. Perhaps, for these young abusers, it might not be too late.

July 16, 2005

Blogging from KHOU...

Here we go, off into the wild blue web yonder with our newest venture at KHOU, the Animal Attraction weblog. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to "grow" my little section of our website. I am going to have more room to get the word out about animal news in the Houston area.

One thing to keep in mind about this blog: because it is a combination of personal thoughts and news, it is going to contain some opinions. I am pretty biased when it comes to animal related issues, so you're going to see some of my personal views on news items. Normally, I do whatever I can to be as neutral as possible when it comes to my job: just the facts, thank you. On this spot, however, I am going to show a bit of my heart.

We're still working out the bugs. In the meantime, you can find the link to Houston area rescue groups here and another page of pet related links here. Check out our pet events calendar as well! We'll be glad to post your events; just drop me a line (at petevents@baileyindy.com) with details about the event, and I'll get it posted as soon as I can.