Sunday, October 10, 2010

Day 299

The casino party last night was interesting. We drove 75 miles north of Dallas to a small town near the Oklahoma border to participate in a fundraiser for a member of the community who needed brain surgery. She had no insurance. The entire town was rallying behind this woman to help her get the $300,000 surgery she needed. A couple in town who adopted a Dalmatian from us a few years ago asked Dalmatian Rescue if we could help with the event. I didn't know what to expect, but the evening was quite enjoyable. The little town had no less than three authentic pit barbecue restaurants and one of them served a delicious dinner at the event. After dinner, the casino party began and everyone seemed to have a good time. When the gambling concluded around 10 PM, a live auction began. People in the community had donated beautiful hand made quilts and crafts for the auction, along with a ton of delicious looking baked goods.

A local livestock auctioneer conducted the auction and everyone in the room acted like they'd been to plenty of auctions before. The bidding was fast and furious. Oddly, the beautiful quilts and craft items didn't get nearly as much attention from the bidders as the food. People even bid on the leftovers from the barbecue dinner. I ended up having the winning bid on a gorgeous custom made hunting knife by Texas knifemaker Rorick Davis. I was amazed that the bidding didn't go higher on this beauty and I ended getting the knife for less than folks were bidding on the pecan pies. This was definitely a town that loved to eat. By the end of the evening, people were even bidding on potato salad and leftover barbecue sauce. I love little towns like this. In Dallas, it's easy to forget you're actually living in Texas. It's just another big city. Spend some time in Lindsay though and you'll know exactly where you are. It might be fun to go back next Summer for the annual tractor pull.

We have a new dog up at the K-9 University kennels now. His name is Neo and he's a rare lemon spotted Dalmatian. Most Dalmatians have black and white spots, although it's not that uncommon to see the liver spotted variety with brown and white spots. Lemon Dals have yellow ocher spots. I've only seen a few of these dogs, and they are usually quite striking.

I don't know what's happened with Dash. He was doing so well in the car earlier this Summer and now he seems to have regressed. We took advantage of the great weather and took the dogs up to the Wagging Tail dog park this afternoon. Dash whined and whimpered the entire way.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day