It started when a concerned neighbor saw a group of very young puppies thought to be from the same litter near a storm drain in the Spring Branch section of Houston.
The area has become known as the area for ‘puppy dumping’, which is as odious as the term implies, in a city that has an estimated one million stray dogs and cats.
Not having a mandatory spay and neuter regulation only compounds the problem.
By the time the concerned neighbor began searching the area, there was no sight of them.
But from below the surface, from inside the storm drain, she heard the unmistakable sound of whimpering.
She called the emergency services, who put her off.
So she called the nonprofit animal rescue organization, Paws Off The Streets.
It was founded seven years ago and run by a compassionate five foot spitfire, Callie Clemens. ( Ex daughter-in-law to baseball’s Yankee Hall Of Famer Roger Clemens. )
She arrived immediately on the scene, knowing that the puppies couldn’t climb out of the storm drain, and would probably go further down into the sewer, but also because a storm was reportedly a few days away, and if so, they wouldn’t stand much of a chance.
So, on the night of Friday July 28th, flashlight in hand, she descended into the cockroach infested, motor oil greased, fetid storm drain.
Her small stature was key to entering through the small opening and navigating the tight tunnel.
“There's no way the puppy can get out by it's self so it's up to us and I have no shame to go down and get it.
I can't sleep knowing there are puppies in there going to die.
I knew nobody would do it, so I had to jump in."
So before and during assembling a team of volunteers to help her scour the sewer, she and her trusty dog- sniffing companion Giselle went down themselves, spending an hour at a time, crawling through the low and narrow tunnels, leaving food and water and yelling herself hoarse.
She could hear them, but not see them.
She stayed down until 2:00 am.
When she came back up and then re-entered, the food that was left was already eaten and the water already drunk.
The city at first didn’t provide the care necessary.
“Houston is so bad that 311, which is who we call, and animal control, they have rules that we can’t get down in there, and then 311, none of those people can fit in the tunnels, so it leaves it to the citizen, the little guy.
The ASCPA who are too swamped with phone calls to stay on site more than an hour.”
Compare this to the city of Arlington, who spent tens of thousands of dollars to dig up the street to rescue a blind and elderly dog www.dailykos.com/…... well, what’s the point of comparing, and just deal with what’s on the plate.
The city did unlock the sewers and nearby storm drains and removed manhole covers, to make it easier to enter and exit, as Callie believed the puppies went further north, meaning she must utilize different entrances to reach them, some even narrower.
A city engineer went so far as to create a map of the drainage system to aid in the search.
By Saturday night, she had three dedicated volunteers joining her in the sewer, and with no specialized equipment, they used the map.
Volunteers small of stature, though huge on heart.
"It's difficult to get in there. You have to be very small because not anybody can fit," said Callie.
"I'm invested, I am hopeful and I remain optimistic. It's very hard to get me to quit. I'm very passionate about it.”
They heard them.
They played the sounds of dogs on their phones to help attract them.
"The puppies screamed. They got louder and ran away. We had to try and corner them. We ended up going more north. I saw them pretty quickly. They ran away, they were tiny.”
Eventually they rescued two, but two others avoided their grasps.
So on Sunday, they were back at it.
They preferred the evening as it was just so blazing hot in the day, though they searched during the day as well.
And lo, they located and rescued the last one.
Her nails all but gone, her voice all but gone, her foot injured, cuts and abrasions made worse by crawling around in a toxic brew and as such, on antibiotics.
“I already told my mom, “I’m going to keep this dog if I find it,’ I’m so invested.”
It doesn’t seem that Callie allows fear to hold her back.
“I do some pretty stupid stuff, I just try not to think about it and just do it.”
Respect, Callie.
Respect.
//////////////////////////////
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”
- Matthew 25:40