Texas Wildfires & Almost-Zombie Dog

Photo: Mayra Beltran / © 2011

I'm going to take this time to discuss something non-nerdy today but something that has had a huge impact on my state.

In Texas we are dealing with massive wildfires that has destroyed hundreds of homes. In fact, I live so close to the fires that my entire neighborhood is covered in smoke. To help out, I volunteered at Austin Pets Alive and was just amazed by how much people were donating. In fact, we had to temporarily store some supplies because some shelters have too much stuff and we have to wait until tomorrow before they start accepting them again.

What else struck me was a dog I saw while I was helping with some Thank You letters. First of all, I kept hearing about some dog who got attacked by a snake. Everyone was horrified about what happened to this dog and despite being so badly damaged, he's still a sweet dog. So, as I'm finishing up some letters a volunteer comes in freaking out and yelling, "I shouldn't have looked!!!"

Curious, I got up to see what she was screaming about. In front of me was an adorable, but slighly roughed up dog that had patches of fur missing and some scars. The lady tells me that's the dog with the snake bite. My first thought is, "Awww, he's not all that bad."

Then the dog turned his head.

HE HAS A GOD DAMN HOLE IN HIS FACE!

 

Photo Courtesy of Austin Pets Alive

I could literally see inside of his face! It was like a dog from a zombie movie but it was real... and not trying to eat my brain. (I had to mention SOMETHING nerdy...)For the most part, the dog was surprisingly well and he'll have surgery this Thursday. 

Edit: Austin Pets Alive is collecting donations for Happy, the Almost-Zombie Dog. Any amount will help!

Anyways, I'll be spending some of my time the next few weeks helping out. If you live in the Austin area, please donate or volunteer. If you are outside of Texas but would like to donate, try these two links:

+ Texas Wildfire Relief
+ Austin Disaster Relief