Over the last week, 5 dogs have died and more than 100 heat-related distress calls have been made to two of Houston's largest animal cruelty tip lines.

Animal cruelty investigators have to walk a fine line when it comes to these situations. They don’t want to separate animals from their owners if it’s not needed and they need to follow protocol – but they also don’t want to risk an animal’s life. The heat can kill quickly.

It's sad Houston has this problem. But the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act, which went into effect earlier this year, is helping change things. The law aims to save dogs from dying on the end of heavy chains in extreme weather.

“When you go to communities like Houston, where there probably at one point were thousands of dogs on chains, that’s going to take some time to implement,” Shelby Bobosky, executive director for the Texas Humane Legislative Network said.

We still have a long way to go. Until then, please bring your dogs inside, Houston.

Following the Uvalde mass shooting, the Houston Chronicle analyzed Institute of Forensic Sciences data to determine the number of local children who were killed by gun violence so far this year.

19 children died in Uvalde. 19 children have also died in Houston, in various forms of gun violence, excluding suicides, so far in 2022.

They died after being shot in the chest and head. They died on the streets of Houston and in homes. Sometimes, they died feet away from their loved ones.

They all died before the age of 18.

We remember their lives and stories here.

As Texas and the nation reel from the latest mass shootings, including Uvalde, the deaths of children and teenagers in the Houston area offer a clear reminder that young people are affected by gun violence every day.

For kids, any exposure to such violence can reverberate for the rest of their lives. One researcher said some studies show the impact can present mental and physical health concerns immediately as well as years later in adulthood, ranging from not playing at a park down the street to lifelong trauma.

“The impact on children living with our nation’s gun violence crisis is just enormous,” she said, “and in some ways immeasurable.”

Read more on Houston's escalating gun violence and the toll it has taken on kids here.

Story in the Houston Chronicle today on the city's rampant stray animal crisis that has local rescues burned out:

Houston is in the midst of a stray animal crisis — part of a nationwide drop in adoptions coupled with an uptick in pandemic pet surrenders and abandoned animals — that is leaving volunteer-run rescues, fosters and shelter staff burned out.

“It’s just nonstop, there is no break,” Anna Barbosa of Houston K-911 said.

Houston-area shelters have seen a significant drop in adoptions and fosters that is pushing facilities beyond critical capacity levels.

As the pandemic waned and employees returned to the office, animals started showing back up at shelters in droves. The uptick in evictions after COVID relief programs ended has added to the numbers.
The crisis — which is unfolding in the midst of a booming kitten and puppy season — has Aaron Johnson of the Montgomery County shelter and Rene Vasquez of the Fort Bend shelter feeling like all the progress they’ve made in recent years is lost.

“We all feel a little bit discouraged kind of, because we have all been working very hard in this industry to elevate things and this feels like a big hit to the animal welfare community as a whole,” Johnson said.

The issues that maxed-out local shelters are facing trickle down to rescues, which heavily rely on volunteers who foster animals waiting for adoption.

“It feels like we are sinking, and we are trying to stay afloat,” Kali Cabrera of Spring Branch Animal Rescue said.

Houston-area animal shelters are being pushed to critical levels thanks to a steep drop in adoptions and a stark rise in intakes that has several local facilities totally overwhelmed.

Local shelters are waiving or reducing adoption fees as part of a citywide event this weekend that aims to help alleviate strained facilities. The event runs April 30-May 1 and coincides with the National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day on Saturday.

See below for a list of participating shelters in this weekend's event. (Interested adopters or fosters should contact a shelter directly for information on reduced fees, the adoption process and requirements.)

• BARC (City of Houston Animal Shelter)
  Adoption hours: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  3300 Carr St.
  Houston, Texas 77026
  713-229-7300
• Best Friends Animal Society
  May 1 adoption hours: 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  Pop-up adoption
  St. Arnold Brewing Company
  2000 Lyons Ave.
  Houston, Texas 77020
• City of Baytown Animal Services & Adoption Center
  Adoption hours: Tuesday-Saturday, Noon – 5 p.m.
  705 North Robert C Lanier Drive
  Baytown, Texas 77521
  281-422-7600
• City of Pearland Animal Services
  Adoption hours
  Saturday 8 a.m. – noon, 1–5 p.m.
  Sunday 1–4 p.m.
  2002 Old Alvin Rd.
  Pearland, Texas 77581
  281-652-1970
• Ft. Bend County Animal Services
  Adoption hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  1210 Blume Rd.
  Rosenberg, Texas 77471
  281-342-1512
• Harris County Pets
  Adoption hours
  Weekdays 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
  Weekends 1–5:50 p.m.
  612 Canino Road
  Houston, Texas 77076
  281-999-3191
• Montgomery County Animal Shelter
  Adoption hours
  Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  8535 Hwy 242
  Conroe, Texas 77385
  936-442-7738

Melissa Lucio's execution is scheduled for next week despite serious questions about whether she committed the crime. If she is innocent, it wouldn't be the first time Texas sent someone to death row for a crime they didn't commit.

A new project from the Houston Chronicle profiles 12 former Texas death row inmates who narrowly escaped execution after fighting for their lives for years — or in some cases, decades: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2022/texas-death-row-freed/

FYI for Houston pet owners: it's against the law to leave animals out in below-freezing temperatures in Texas.

If you see an animal that has been left out in the elements tonight/during the freeze or you suspect animal cruelty of any kind, please contact the Harris County Animal Cruelty Taskforce at 832-927-PAWS or the Houston SPCA at 713-869-7722.

"Bright blue Portuguese man o' war have been spotted washing up on beaches this week, and while they look beautiful sparkling in the sun, they pack a horribly painful sting that could leave you suffering your way into 2022."

Anyone seen these before?

The Houston area is set to undergo a major transformation with these 17 new projects spanning from the inner city to the suburbs.
Expect massive redesigns of some of Houston's most famous landmarks, brand new architectural centers that will elevate the city as a cultural hub and strikingly beautiful upgrades in some of the Bayou City's most talked-about areas.

A Houston Chronicle investigation found critical failures by multiple authorities tasked with ensuring the safety of attendees that day, including inadequate and poorly trained security, deficient coordination between city officials and festival management, and a nearly hourlong delay in halting the show after the danger became apparent.

It also revealed crucial decisions made during the planning of the event, including the venue layout, that experts said increased the likelihood something would go wrong and limited the ability of authorities to manage a crisis.

Interviews with dozens of attendees and concert staff, as well as a trove of public records, show a catastrophe weeks in the making.

This is No Escape Plan.

Other components of this investigation:

• An in-depth, interactive timeline with concertgoer videos + first-hand accounts from attendees, public officials & medics.
• Plus a concise roundup of the most important revelations from the Chronicle's investigation, summed up into 8 key parts.

Still have questions? The Chronicle will host a live Q&A session with some award-winning reporters behind this investigation Monday @ 7PM on Twitter. See you then.

Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival went from one of the most highly-anticipated events of 2021 to one of the deadliest concerts in U.S. history. Here's everything that's happened so far, from the start of the mayhem to the aftermath.

Texas mega-chain Buc-ee's is suing a Sugar Land man over claims that his “Buky's” gas station and convenience stores are “confusingly similar” to the brand’s famous logo.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bucees-Bukys-lawsuit-El-Campo-Texas-Rosenberg-16552694.php