Sophie the Schnauzer who’s smart enough to go to college figured out a way to jump the fence around the yard & would take the four new rescues with her. Two are close to 70 pounds (32 kg) & the two bambinos are about 25 pounds (11 kg) each. By the time I figured out where they were jumping, the entire neighborhood was up in arms threatening to call animal control. They were likely afraid of the two galoots. It took me two days to find where they were jumping & build a barrier wall to keep them in.
Wouldn’t you know, Sophie found a way around my new barrier wall & took them all out this morning. I repaired the weak spot & tried to corral the dogs back in the yard with treats & threats but they were on a roll. Meanwhile, I had an appointment to meet someone & couldn’t be late. So off I went with two dogs still running the neighborhood. I figured animal control didn’t work Sundays if the neighbors called them & the dogs would come back to where the food got dished out.
On the way home I saw an animal control truck out & thought my goose was cooked but lo & behold, Sophie & Gustavo the galoot had broken through the front fence barricade to get back in the yard. For their own safety they have to get on a caravan north for adoption but the hurricane threat also made me realize the problem of evacuating with twelve dogs & nine birds in one small car. News reported that in Houston a lot of those being rescued are family pets left behind when people fled the flooding.
Many people among my friends have been through monsoons, hurricanes, floods, tornados, & other natural disasters so I know you will understand the criminality of US immigration policy during hurricanes. Since this area is the border region with Mexico & a major transit point for undocumented immigrants & refugees, there are thousands living & working here without papers. That’s because about 50 miles or so north of the border the US Border Patrol has checkpoint stations on the highways. When you travel north you have to pass through these checkpoints car by car where you’re briefly interrogated by an agent. It is extremely difficult for undocumented immigrants to bypass, especially in blistering heat, & many die in the attempt.
Originally they thought Hurricane Harvey (which has Houston, Texas buried in two feet of water) might be headed for this region which is one of the poorest in the country because of the high population of undocumented immigrants. The US Border Patrol announced that if the hurricane hit the region they would still maintain the checkpoints lest any undocumented immigrants evacuate with everybody else. That is not a Trump-era policy but was fully in force during Obama’s tenure. Consider the barbarism of a policy that would allow human beings to endure a hurricane, often without shelter, just because they did not have papers. Consider the ignominy of a policy that would force thousands fleeing a hurricane to stop in hours of traffic so that agents can confirm they are not undocumented. It isn’t just Trump we have to take down but also these barbaric policies.