R.I.P Ginger: Mykawa District Erupts in Dog Shootings

Last night, someone or multiple someones went on a shooting spree in the Mykawa district where Backstreet Brutality Relief & Rescue (BBRR) operates. Our beloved Ginger, a pitty mom who just came back from her spay surgery on Saturday, was killed. She still had pups who were nursing.

The day before, on Saturday, on of the patrollers for BBRR reported finding a brand new plastic dog crate with a dead blue nose pit bull inside. The dog had just been shot, as the blood was still flowing from two gunshot wounds to his face. He was healthy and perfect except for being dead. Had a chain and masterlock collar on. Bullet holes in the crate showed the cowardice of the murderers, as he never even stood a chance to save himself by running away.

Violence against pit bulls is not new. This city has countless tales and reports of pit bull fighting rings, where the dogs are routinely killed if they do not perform. There are tales of nearby "Massacre" sites such as the one in Crosby, TX; north of here where mindless shooting of puppies for target practice is routine. No one can explain why these things happen, except that humans can be cruel.

We hope that there is no relation to the recent news story (aired last night on late news, and all weekend) where a pit bull allegedly killed a 1 year old infant while at his grandmother's home. There are many stories like these that come out, and just as many where the cause of death was really a lack of supervision of the child and or the dog but the caregivers. But these stories still serve to incite the wrong kind of people to the wrong kind of action.

We intend to ask Houston police to investigate this incident. We hope that they will be fair in recording at least the occurrence in case it becomes a habit out there. This place is known for dozens of dumped dogs each year, dead and alive, out in the open, and in black trash bags.

There is a great respect for livestock in Texas, and dogs are considered livestock here. At least we hope that these murderers will be caught and dealt with like a cattle rustler or horse thief.

City Slickers- Horse Strangles to Death in Neighborhood

On Christmas Eve, one of our 5th Ward Rescue feeders came upon this scene in the rain. Where a horse had been tethered to a telephone pole, and managed to wrap herself around it enough times to shorten the length. In order to move around, she had to stand in a ditch. She stood there, said one witness, for"2 or 3 days".

By yelling and screaming and calling the police, the volunteers were able to get the HPD to send someone out, as the SPCA and HHS people were off for the holidays. (The emergency cruelty phone number was on voicemail). Two very nice policemen came out and forced the caretaker to put her back into his own yard or face a fine. This girl was finally able to move around again. The 5WRescue bought hay for her and she was eventually moved to the owner's friends' farm (or so they said).

Not so lucky for the horse that was discovered dead in a ditch today, in the 5th Ward (Link to Graphic Photo; view at your own peril).

During the Christmas Eve incident, HPD said that the residents of the area do this kind of thing" all the time". By that they mean that instead of being fed hay and feed, the owners tether the horses in vacant lots to graze, and move them around every couple of days to avoid getting cited. I know that at first, no one would admit to knowing who owned Mercedes. But eventually, the caretaker showed up when he saw the HPD officers with the horse untethered, I presume he thought they were confiscating the horse. In the days after Mercedes was moved, volunteers continued to notice horses in lots, tethered without hay or water, and moved around on an irregular basis. They all had ribs showing, or hips jutting out. One even had an "open case" on it, according to one humane group, and they were attempting to find the owner. There are many horses in that area. More that you would think, being inside the city limits.

Today's horse died a horrible grisly death. One that would have befallen Mercedes had the rescuers not intervened. She was tethered to a pole, and managed to wrap herself around the pole enough times so that she choked to death in the ditch. She might have been afraid from the recent storms. But she had pulled the tether tight enough to cause bleeding on her neck and she died in bloody misery.

This is a residential area, folks, not an isolated paddock in the country. Someone saw this horse struggling. Someone saw this horse die. Probably many someones. No one did a single thing to help her. I will never understand this.

Overworked-understaffed-underbudgeted-not-my-department-and-oh-by-the-way-this-is-Texas-and-we-do-what-we-want-with-our-property aside, this is the suckiest thing I have ever seen. And I am ashamed that humans allowed this to happen. In 2012. In a freaking metropolitan city, Oil Patch, USA. I am ashamed of Texans, and Houstonians.

Well, here is my Texas showing; This ain't over. Not by a damn site.

But I do want someone just to tell me why, until now, "it happens all the time" has been a reason not to do anything about it. It is not enough anymore. It should never have been.

Moonpie is looking for that perfect home!

Meet Moonpie. She is a 1.5-2 yr old Black Mouth Cur Mix who is in need of a great permanent home. She was found in Fall of 2011 at a park on Cullen Drive in Houston. By day she wandered around and hung out near people, but at night that park was not safe for her. She had been dumped soon after giving birth as she was in the process of drying her milk when she was found. She is a loving and friendly dog to any people who will be kind to her. She loves to be petted and will take a tummy rub from anyone! She loves to run, and be outside a lot, but is nervous in a crate for long periods. She is adorable and very loyal. She gets along with other dogs as long as they are not too high energy or aggressive, as she will fight back. Also, she does not get along well with cats. Her ideal home would be with a person or family without children or with children old enough to know how to treat a dog (not pull her ears or tail as she will not be happy). She would be happy indoors part time and outdoors part time. Please contact us to meet this beauty. She is a loyal and loving dog. She is spayed and up to date on all of her
vaccinations and HW prevention. She is HW negative.

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Mr. Gable Needs a New Foster

Male Hound Mix, 5 mos old, 30 lbs.

We are in need for a new foster for "Gable" one of the Trash Pile Pups from the Backstreet (Mykawa/Sunnyside) area. He was picked up with his siblings on Christmas Day after his sister, Sunflower was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. They had been dumped about 6-8 weeks earlier on a common dumping road in the Backstreet Zone.

He has now decided to cause a ruckus among his co-fosters, and really needs to be fostered by someone with no other dogs or a much larger dog. He is very sweet with people, and large dogs. He causes problems with his sibling (who is submissive) and a foster pitty who is about his size. He will be neutered soon, and this may help a lot.

Please share and help us find a place for Gable he is a very handsome dog and will make the right person a great pet! Contact junedogma@gmail.com