Posted 4/26/2008 03:29:00 PM by Douglas

Panchito is Puddles again, and all is right in South Texas.

ALICE — The high-profile tug-of-war over a small dog ended abruptly here Thursday when an irate judge ordered the city's former mayor to give up the Shih Tzu she has kept since a neighbor asked her to care for it 10 months ago.

State District Judge Richard Terrell blistered both sides after presiding over a brisk two-hour lawsuit trial that included testimony about flea infestation and degrees of house-brokenness.

The bizarre story of puppy love drew international media attention earlier this year, from the front page of the New York Times to the Geraldo Rivera show, much of it at the expense of the city's image.

'Just plain, flat ridiculous'

And Terrell was clearly ready to bring it all to a quick end at trial, holding the lawyers on a tight leash and keeping the legal focus narrow.

And when both sides rested, he unloaded.

"I can't tell you what a spectacle this has been and the multitude of jokes that I've had to hear," Terrell said, adding, "A lot of this is just plain, flat ridiculous."

Yeah, but never underestimate the extent to which local politicians will engage in pointless, petty bullshit.

Labels: Panchito

Posted 2/02/2008 05:51:00 PM by Douglas

The embattled mayor of Alice, Texas finally resigns.

A small-town Texas mayor who secretly kept her neighbor's dog after telling them the pet died has resigned as a judge is set to decide custody of the Shih Tzu next week.

Grace Saenz-Lopez, who was indicted last month on two felony charges related to the alleged dognapping, apologized Friday to Alice residents and said she believed her actions were in the dog's best interest.


"I am sorry for the division that the events of these last few weeks have caused," Saenz-Lopez wrote in her resignation letter. "It was never my intention to bring any negative exposure to our city."

A custody hearing Monday is expected to decide who gets Puddles, who Saenz-Lopez renamed "Panchito" after taking the dog last summer.

A neighboring family accuses Saenz-Lopez of refusing to return the dog after leaving it in her care while they went on vacation. A day after her neighbors left, Saenz-Lopez called to tell them Puddles had died.

As I said earlier, as far as small town news goes, it don't get no better than this!

Labels: Panchito

Posted 1/23/2008 05:39:00 PM by Douglas

Small town scandals: They're as boring as they are pointless, but the mayor Alice, Texas, sounds like a complete nut-job.

City commissioners have voted unanimously for a resolution urging the mayor to resign over legal problems stemming from her alleged theft of a neighbor's dog.

Grace Saenz-Lopez was indicted Friday on two felony counts of tampering with physical evidence related to the Shih Tzu, according to jail records.

A neighboring family has accused Saenz-Lopez of refusing to return their dog, Puddles, after they left it in her care while they went on vacation.

[. . . ]

This summer, the mayor agreed to watch the dog belonging to Rudy Gutierrez and Shelly Cavazos. A day after her neighbors left with their children for vacation, Saenz-Lopez called to tell them that Puddles had died.

Three months later, a relative of Cavazos saw Puddles — renamed Panchito — at an Alice dog groomer. When Saenz-Lopez refused to return the dog, the family filed a criminal complaint and a civil lawsuit.

What? Pretty funny stuff. Not really. Too bad the writers are still on strike, or The Daily Show would have already dispatched a camera crew, although it could never be as funny as the drunken, castrated goat-mayor.

Labels: Panchito