Defenseless pets

Thursday I was driving down Loop 340, and at State Highway 6 I came across a dog in need of help. I stopped and fed it what I had in the car. She had recently given birth and I thought it would be a bad idea to catch her for fear of her pups not making it.

Friday I went there again to see if she was still there. She was. I was not able to catch her and she avoided me. This time I called the animal control officers to get her some help.

While I fed and watered her, I waited. In the meantime, I learned she lived just across the street. I got a call an hour later and learned city officials had been called before about this same dog, but they could do nothing because she was not in city limits. They also told me the county had been notified.

I would like to see help for these defenseless animals. The owners obviously do not take care of this dog. What can be done and when will it happen? Please.

Linda Brooks

Axtell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since you’re asking, we have editorialized repeatedly about the need for strict spaying and neutering laws, either by legislators (who kicked away the chance this past session) or our city and county leaders.

Left unfinished

In her June 20 letter to the editor, Beth Branch denounced the Texas Legislature for not getting its job done within the time allotted for a legislative session which, incidentally, meets only from January through May once every two years. She said legislators should conduct subsequent special sessions without pay.

Maybe Ms. Branch and most Texans don’t know the base compensation for a legislator — House and Senate — is $7,500 per year.

Yes, they get travel expenses and per diem, but it doesn’t amount to much when one considers the inherent expense of being a legislator. Such expenses as housing in Austin, meals, cleaning, utilities, etc., during a regular session or special session go way beyond what they receive in recompense from the state.

They are, in effect, more than working for free for the people of Texas. That’s why they have to have occupations beyond serving as citizen legislators so they and their families can survive financially.

Harley Spoon

Austin

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Houston Chronicle says a 30-day special session costs about $900,000. Gov. Rick Perry has ordered a special session to start July. 1.

Voting race

Apparently a lot of people voted for President Obama’s black half [Trib guest column, “Hope alive for nerd like me,” Chris Scott, June 13]. What about the people who voted for his white half?

How do you like the wonders he’s performed so far with the economy, foreign policy and his ability to apologize to other nations? 

I happen to be white, so I criticize only his white half. Maybe Scott should praise only his black half.  

Mr. Scott, I admire your tenacity. I hope your blind allegiance to “change that you believe in” sustains you as Czar-bama leads you, me and this country over the cliff.

As you’re falling, remember: He may be half-black, half-white, but he’s all liar.

Sherrod Fielden

Clifton