Ten dogs saved from one Oak Cliff neighborhood

We are thrilled to report that 10 homeless dogs are no longer living on the streets of Oak Cliff!  In August, Karla Kirk contacted JP Bonnelly regarding a stray dog that had recently given birth to puppies.  They survived weeks in the 100 degree weather.  The two puppies, now named Daisy & Devin were the first of the ten to be rescued.  They are available for adoption through TMHPR.

Daisy at about 6 weeks old

Devin at about 6 weeks old

Next in line was their mom.  The neighborhood folks that had been feeding the dogs nicknamed them "Boy" and "Girl."  JP, Pat and Karla were able to catch the momma dog using a trap.  Our friends at the Humane Society of Flower Mound had a foster home so they took her into their group.  She actually ended up also being named Daisy.

"Boy" and "Girl" hanging out in their crappy neighborhood

"Girl" (notice all the garbage stacked up behind her)

"Girl" right after she was caught

We often found "Boy" hanging out at the car wash trying to cool off

When "Girl" was caught that spooked "Boy" so we had to wait and try to get him another day.  He spent a lot of time at the car wash as the guys there fed him and he liked to cool off in the bays.  JP tried using the trap again but "Boy" came by and peed on it so I guess he told us what he thought of that idea after we had taken his family away!

He proved to be a very elusive dog!  We tried trapping him in one of the car wash bays by using makeshift fences and netting but he was too quick and we tried all sorts of other ideas too.  I can't even tell you how many times JP, Pat, Yvonne and myself went to that awful neighborhood to try and catch Boy, it was several times per week for months on end.  Of course Boy wasn't the only stray dog in the area.  JP and TMHPR get a lot of requests to rescue stray dogs.  We would love to save them all but before we go and get them our agreement is we have to have a place lined up for them to go.  The family fostering Girl/Daisy was also willing to foster Boy so that's why we were so determined to catch him.

So he kept luring us out there and it was so sad to see all the stray dogs so we started picking them up one at a time and squeezing them into our homes even though we already had full houses. 

The first "extra" stow-a-way was a cute little brown dog that we named Callie.  She was part of a pack of brown dogs we'd seen hanging around and on Aug 18th we noticed her hanging out with a little scruffy chi.  They were near a busy street (Jefferson) and it was dark out and we were worried they'd get hit by a car.  JP had just gotten a new tool for our street dog rescues-a giant butterfly net!  So we started luring the dogs over by throwing them pieces of chicken and as they started to trust us we set the net down on the ground.  Then we dropped some pieces of chicken on the net and when Callie stepped on it JP scooped her up!  The surprising thing about Callie is she was spayed and microchipped which is unheard of in these types of neighborhoods.  We fulfilled our legal obligation and called the owners and they didn't even know she was missing!  Fortunately they did not want her back, whew!

Callie is now living with a wonderful family in Lewisville

The next one was another from the pack of brown dogs.  On Sept 10th, she was just laying along the side of the road and looked like a puppy so I told JP and Pat that I was going to try and get her and they were like "yeah, ok."  You see most of the time these dogs are very skittish and hard to catch, they don't realize we're there to help.  So I got lucky as she came right up to me so I just picked her up and got in the car, I think they were surprised at how fast it happened!  Hazel has now been adopted by a wonderful family.

Hazel was rescued on Sept 10

The sad part though was that the rest of the brown dogs were also right there and they're all friendly and came right up to be petted.  One looked to be the mom and the other two looked to be her puppies who were probably about 6 months old at the time.  We hated leaving them behind but couldn't take 4 dogs at once when we didn't have fosters lined up.  We'll go back for them if we find fosters.

Momma dog and her 2 pups

On Sept 21, JP and I were back at the car wash looking for Boy when a cute little big-eared puppy walked right up to him.  She must know a nice person when she sees one so he scooped her up and took her home.  We think she's probably related to the other brown dogs so she's the lucky one.  We named her Ripley and she hit the jackpot with the Young family!

Ripley, right after she convinced JP to take her home

Ripley made herself right at home!

Love her ears!

So just when you think it can't get any cuter, on Oct 5th, JP found an adorable little puppy sitting all by herself on the street corner.  It was dark out so we're so glad he somehow spotted her as she is one of the best puppies we've ever had come through TMHPR.  She was about 8 weeks old at the time.  We named the fluffball Little Orphan Annie and the good news is she just found her forever home!

Annie

November 2nd turned out to be the big day...JP had been tracking Boy and discovered that he liked to hang out at a nearby shop.  He talked to the guy that owned the place and found out he had also been feeding Boy so they were finally able to lure the dog into the shop.  Once they shut the door, JP was able to corner him and loop him, woo-hoo!  In the weeks leading up to the capture we had noticed Boy was hanging out with a black dog.  So as JP was leaving with Boy, the other dog jumped in his lap as if to say "hey, please don't leave me behind-take me with you!"  So the black dog came home too!  He was named Binks after the Star Wars character and he moved in with his new family just 3 days after going home with JP!

Boy-right after he was caught

Boy, now named Zeus

Binks

So just when we thought that was the end of our time in Oak Cliff we were able to save one more...the guy who owned the shop showed JP another scruffy little brown dog that was hanging around. 

So we welcomed her into the TMHPR family!  She was heartworm positive and is currently underdoing treatment.  Her loving foster family has named her Penny and they just rave about her!

Penny

So there you have it, ten dogs are no longer worrying about where their next meal will come from or trying to find shelter from the extreme heat, rain or cold.  All of the dogs are now in loving foster or forever homes!  The Humane Society of Flower Mound took Boy and Girl.  The other eight are TMHPR dogs. 

Two were male and the other eight were female.  Had we not intervened, each of the female dogs had the potential to produce two litters each year, well since Callie was spayed that would have left a possibility of 14 litters each year!  Those that survived puppyhood would have lived sad, short, desperate lives on the streets or they'd end up at the full animal shelter where less than 30% of the dogs entering make it out alive.  We hope that helps people further understand the importance of spay/neuter!

We love saving the street dogs and are so grateful for your ongoing support.  We've made goal for our 2011 street dog campaign but more donations are always greatly appreciated and will help us in 2012.  Please donate via this razoo link, we are a 501c3 and will send you a tax receipt, thanks! http://www.razoo.com/story/Saving-Street-Dogs

We are shocked that no one has adopted Daisy or Devin yet!  They're now about 5 months old and are in a foster home with kids and another dog.  They are wonderful pups!  Penny will be available for adoption after she completes heartworm treatment.  For info on adopting Daisy, Devin or Penny please email info@takemehomepetrescue.com.  We do adoptions in the DFW area.  For info on fostering, please email foster@takemehomepetrescue.com.  Thanks!

Daisy and Devin would love to find homes before Christmas!