15 orphaned Squirrels from Houston have arrived!

We picked up 15 infant orphaned grey squirrels from the SPCA of Texas in McKinney, TX, today. They expect 600 more babies in the very near future!

The Tarleton Wildlife Society and the Eagle Scouts are working both on fundraisers and getting together enough material to build new enclosures to house these baby squirrels. If the work pays off and we can build at least one more enclosure, I will accept more transfers at the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue.

The Channel 11 Dallas News was present when I picked up the squirrels and my hubby filmed them filming me. I don't know if they show me on the news or not yet. I also have not heard from the local newspaper back either:



And here are the 15 darlings:

Frank, you will be missed

Stephenville loses officer, friend

By AMANDA KIMBLE
Staff Writer
amanda.kimble@empiretribune.com

Published: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 11:07 AM CDT

The Stephenville Police Department and area residents were devastated Tuesday by the loss of an officer.

Animal Control Officer Frank Morecock, 61, died of an apparent heart attack.


According to Penny Hallmark, public safety secretary for the department, and close friend of Morecock, said he first joined the department in March 1996.


Police Chief Roy Halsell said Morecock was greatly respected as an individual and also respected for his knowledge in his field. Halsell said Morecock was a great asset to the department.

“Within the department there was a great respect for Frank,” Halsell said. “There was respect for his animal control knowledge as well as his work ethic. There was also great respect for him as an individual.”

Hallmark also said Morecock had a personality that everyone loved.

“He was always upbeat and never said a bad word about anything or anyone,” Hallmark said. “He would always come into work early just so we could talk before his shift started.”

Hallmark said in doing his job, Morecock was doing what he knew and loved.

“He was very good at his job,” Hallmark said. “He loved animals and had great knowledge when it came to animals.”

In addition to more than a decade of serving the local community as an animal control officer, Morecock was also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Morecock was born on March 1, 1947 in Richmond, VA and married his dear friend of many years, Debbie Phelps Roberts, on Sept. 1, 2007 in Stephenville.

Visitation will he held from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at Stephenville Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Valley Grove Baptist Church in Stephenville.

Those wanting to pay respect to Morecock’s life and career are encouraged to do so by making a monetary contribution to the Erath County Humane Society.

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On a personal note:

I have known and worked with Frank the past 7 years. I never forget his face when he stood in front of my door after hours or on weekends, when the shelter was closed, with tears in his eyes and a half dead kitten or puppy in his hand, asking me to try to save it. That happened quite a bit.

Frank had my uttermost respect. He was a hero to me. Always there when I needed him for any animal-related situation. He went the extra mile for the critters. I miss him already.

Rest in Peace, Frank.

Stephenville: Pitbull kills Black Lab, Owner ticketed

For weeks we had this black Lab running around here, roaming the streets. He was only out at certain times, so we assumed he belongs to somebody and they just let him out instead of walking him.

We tried to catch him, no go. We tried to follow him to find out where he lives, he kept evading us. Animal Control came out a few times, didn't work.

Last week he was killed by a pitbull. Animal Control wrote the owner of the pit a ticket.

Now ask me if I am going to walk my dogs any time soon. I know the pit is usually loose, he has followed us a few times with that red zone stare.

Maybe I should get one of those sticks the police has, because I'm not going to walk around with a baseball bat, and pepper spray has shown to be useless against red zone dogs in general.

Some of my elderly neighbors walk with a cane here, none of them needs it for walking..isn't that sad?

Every idiot in this neighborhood with a low self esteem has a pitbull to make up for it...all the wrong reasons. How do you live with that? Or a better question: what do you DO about it?

I personally love pitbulls, they are beautiful dogs, but as with every breed, there are some bad apples and because they are very strong dogs, they can do more damage. Now putting this power into the wrong hands and you have a ticking time bomb.

Eliminating the breed is not the answer, because another breed will take it's place in no time. When I grew up, the "bad guys" were the German Shepherds.

However, tougher laws on owners of exceptionally powerful dogs (above a certain weight and/or size maybe, which would include me too) might help. But laws need to be enforced and that's where the solution usually fails. Not enough manpower.

If everybody who has a dog above a certain size would need to obtain a permit and show proof of vaccination and proof of being spayed or neutered, that would be a start. Breeding such dogs would require a harder to obtain permit.

Germany has a very nice system where every dog owner has to have a permit, and that law is being enforced. Animal shelters there have waiting lines for adoptions, sometimes people wait for months before a dog becomes available! So I know it works.

Maybe it is time to propose a new law?

Stephenville, TX: Adopt Mister Mellow, Pekinese, through Petfinder.com

ADOPTED!

Stephenville, TX: Adopt Mister Mellow, Pekinese

Mister Mellow has spent a full month and the shelter already. However, since this is not a no-kill shelter and space is scarce, his time is limited. Mister Mellow deserves his name with every ounce of his being. He is not fearful, just very mellow. His sweet personality makes him suitable for a home with other pets and/or children, but for an older person as well. He is not neutered and there is no other history on the dog. He is approximately 4 years old, maybe a little bit older. He does not bark much, but is interested in his surroundings and wants to play a modest part in somebody's life and heart. Do you have a heart for Mister Mellow? For more information and photos click HERE. Erath County Humane Society Adoption Fees apply!