Tsali’s Happy Story

In July, 2007, Robin found whimpering 4 month old “Callie” all alone and tied up on a tennis court. Robin took her home, cared for her, and enlisted the help of Paws in the City. Read more

New Shelter and Clinic for Paws in the City!!

On June 14th, at Top Hat & Tails, co-founders Jonnie England and Cathi Wood will celebrate 20 years of animal rescue with an announcement to expand Paws in the City’s mission by building a no-kill shelter and spay/neuter clinic in Dallas!! Read more

Hattie Escapes Death and Finds Her Forever Home

Dear Paws in the City,
I just wanted to send a quick update on Rosie, the chocolate lab who was pulled out of Plano the day before she was to be euthanized. We pulled her out of the shelter and boarded her until a foster home or permanent home could be found. I visited with her daily, then after the many email pleas on her, I had ONE person interested. I met with them and they really seemed to like Rosie but had to think it through. The next day I heard from the son and he told me the good news…they had decided to adopt Rosie! Read more

An Update On Sam

In November 2006 we were looking for a dog. We had some ideas. We wanted a medium sized dog (25-50 lbs.). He had to be good with kids and cats and a little bit protective would be nice. We stopped at several adopt-a-pet events at various pet stores. Lots of wonderful dogs, but not one we really felt sure about. Read more

Winnie’s Happy Home!

We adopted Winnie in December of 2007. She was at the Petsmart on Inwood Road and had literally just been rescued by Paws in the City from the Dallas Pound. I immediately fell in love with her and she has been a welcomed addition to our family ever since. Read more

1 Year With Jack

Dear Paws,

Just wanted to let ya’ll know that Jack and Spot are great little friends. Jack has been a great little friend for both myself and Spot. We also go and see family and they play with the other friends and everyone gets along great. Jack had that surgery on his leg last year

after I got him and he is full blast now. He is the biggest people person (dog) that I have ever seen. He just has to be petted and he is very happy. My mom calls him the energizer bunny because he will play for hours and not seem to get worn out. They both love playing in the rain and sprinkler.

One thing that is pretty funny with him is that you just put him on his back while you are sitting in the chair and he’ll go to sleep pretty easy. Well he kind of holds his mouth open and his teeth get dry and it makes him look like he is smiling. I wish I had one of those pics because it is pretty funny looking!

 

 

Richard Bothwell

Vinnie Finds A Great Home

My name’s Onyx, but let me start at the beginning. I was living in awful conditions in a not very nice place when I was found by Paws in the City. At first I was called Bub, but then they named me Vinnie Barbarino because of my personality. I was very sick with a bad case of heartworms and a respiratory infection. But now I’m all better and I’ve found the BEST home ever. My new family has named me Onyx. I have a wonderful sister, Pepper, who looks kind of like me, only even prettier because she’s a girl. We just play so hard all day that we have to lay down and rest. I’m telling you, this is a great place. They let us run all around the living room and play tag. They take us for rides in a big SUV and we go on walks and all kinds of stuff. My sister even lets me eat and drink out of her very same bowl. So even though I started off on the wrong side of the street, I’m definitely on the right one now. I hope that all my buddies from the old neighborhood can be as lucky as I am.

Ice, aka Frankie

It took a vet, a trainer and Paws in the City to turn this dog’s life around.

Ice is deaf. He was bought as a puppy from a breeder. The man did not realize that Ice was deaf and became very frustrated because Ice would not “listen” to him and was out of control. When Ice was about 8 months old, the man turned him into a vet to be euthanized. He told the vet the dog was worthless. The vet soon realized that Ice was deaf. He called trainer Alan Brown from K-9 Direction. Alan began working with Ice using hand signals and before you knew it, Ice was obeying! Ice was making progress, but the vet could no longer board the dog. No other shelter would take him into their program. The vet was going to have to euthanize him after all.

Alan called Paws In the City. The problem was, Paws did not have a foster parent willing to take in a deaf pit bull (no matter how sweet and friendly he was). A couple of Paws’ volunteers would not give up, and they got on the internet and posted him on many websites and one day got the call that changed Ice’s life.

Nancy from New Jersey read his story and fell in love. After lots of phone calls and checking out Nancy’s background, Ice was on a plane to his new home. Nancy was given a video with instructions on the hand signals and a special collar for Ice to wear to train him. He is now a happy dog living in a family with 2 other pits! We get regular updates on Ice’s antics and because of his gorgeous blue eyes, he is now named Frankie (after Sinatra).

Lucy’s Story

While feeding feral cat colonies in the “Projects” area of South Dallas, a Paws in the City volunteer was caught off-guard by the sight of a boy literally dragging a puppy along the sidewalk. When this kind lady questioned the boy she discovered that his mother frequently took in Chihuahuas from her brother, a breeder, and enjoyed throwing them in the trash and kicking them. In addition to this type of treatment, the boy’s puppy was attacked by another dog and was too weak to walk on her leash. We rescued the puppy and rushed her to the emergency vet.

The puppy, Lucy, was going into shock and was so dehydrated that the vet had to put a needle in her hip bone as all of her veins were collapsed. This was a very painful process and Lucy’s screams were audible in the waiting room. Poor Lucy only weighed one pound and had a chemical burn on her head the size of a quarter. Lucy went into foster care for her recovery, a 24 hours-a-day job because of her fragile condition. Lucy accompanied her foster mom to the office in the daytime and at night slept curled up by her side. She recovered remarkably quickly and her foster mom could not let her go and has given her a wonderful forever family!

A generous Paws in the City volunteer stepped-up to foster little Lucy during her recovery, a 24 hours-a-day job because of her fragile condition. Lucy accompanied her foster mom to the office in the daytime and at night slept curled up by her side. Because of all of the nurturing she received, she recovered remarkably quickly. By the time Lucy recovered her foster mom could not let her go and has given her a wonderful forever family. Today Lucy is almost a year old, weighs just over 4 pounds, only has a very small bald spot on her head, and likes to boss around her 82 pound Great Pyrenean big brother!

Jelly, Dolly and Sissy Move To The Convent

It was another hot Texas summer. Inside brick walls surrounding their 7-acre compound, two religious sisters diligently worked in their flower beds. Suddenly, they heard the sound of boots scraping the walls of the convent, and the anxious murmurs of men. In dismay, the nuns watched as men in Navy uniforms scaled the wall and dropped into the compound.

The sisters, one leery, one naive, approach the men. The naive sister asked, ‘‘Are you in need of prayer?’’ The other sister, more skeptical, wondered why the men were wearing winter garb instead of summer uniforms.

The soldiers pushed past the nuns, weaved their way across the property, and held themselves up in an abandoned garage apartment near the convent. A few days later, Navy officers retrieved the seamen from the apartment. They turned out to be escapees from the brig at the Naval Air Base in Grand Prairie.

It was shortly after this episode in the early 1970s that the Sisters gathered and decided that, in order to discourage unwanted visitors, they would take in a few backyard dogs.

And so it was, 30 years later, that the nuns were interested in adopting a dog from Paws in the City. Paws in the City volunteers have conducted several home visits, but this one was unusual.

The dogs accompanying me were practically lost in the shuffle. Jelly, Dolly and Sissy were living on the streets of New Orleans, then later in a shelter in that city. After Hurricane Katrina, they were transported to Dallas where they were not immediately adopted, and went to live on a farm. For two years these dogs became very attached to the 20-something other dogs living on the farm, but the environment didn’t lend itself to the dogs learning people skills.

Eventually, the farm owners gave up on the dogs. They weren’t transported to adoption events, and they were frequently referred to as ‘‘unadoptable.’’ Shortly before the dogs were to be transported to an animal sanctuary in Utah, sisters living in the convent took a liking to Dolly, whose picture appeared in a local rescue magazine. The sisters submitted an application. Imagine the surprise in our group (many Catholics) when we learned of a religious convent interested in Dolly!

The application to adopt Dolly was stellar. The nuns had 3 other dogs and were cloistered, meaning they were available to nurture the dogs all the time. The application surely beat out those who intended to put the pups in a cage from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. while they bolted off to work. The most heartwarming statement on the application: ‘‘”Who will care for your dogs if you are unable to do so yourself?’’ Answer, written in stylish cursive: “Dolly will always have sisters.””

Paws in the City contacted the Mother Superior at the convent, a soft spoken but very friendly woman. She expressed the excitement around the convent about Dolly, and told us how precious Dolly’s smile was. Although our group loved the fact that Dolly was wanted, there was a little sadness since Sissy and Jelly would lose their companion, and that the three dogs would never be reunited. Knowing this, a short letter was sent to the nuns from Sissy letting them what a wonderful addition Dolly would be to their convent, but that Sissy would miss her very much.

The nuns responded: “Dear Sissy, We received your fax and asked the family here if we could open our hearts to bring you along with your friends; we were all of one heart. (Sassy really understood how you felt, because she and her sister Sparky suffered much as puppies and it took her a little while to warm up; she is still shy with other people but does fine with her family.) Sissy, if it could be arranged for you to come tomorrow with Dolly and Jelly, we will be very happy for you to come and join our family. We so hope you will in time become happy with us. Affectionately yours in Christ, Mother & Community.”

Oh, the tears that came to all of the volunteers eyes when we read their note. Surely years of prayer and contemplation, along with brilliant, deep personalities had opened these ladies’ hearts. If only we were all so blessed!

The warmth that invited us into the convent is hard to describe. The feeling of safety, the loving words that were spoken to the dogs as Mother knelt next to them and said, “Oh Sissy, you don’t have to be frightened. You never have to leave here.”

The creatures living on the monastery property abound: squirrels and rabbits, a 14 year old dog with one tooth named Grandma, two German Shepherd mix sisters, Sassy and Sparky, and birds and bugs native to the area. It’s a paradise for dogs and people alike. There are beautiful statues all around and a flower garden next to a kiddie pool for the dogs to cool off in. These Sisters have truly opened their hearts to these fearful dogs.

Follow up calls revealed that the dogs have managed to sad-face their way into getting plenty of tasty treats. They are sleeping indoors at night and sunning themselves during the day outside.

Special dogs to special people.

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