Five stories that have North Texas talking: the lost West Dallas puppy has a home, the Perot Museum marks its first year, meet a zombie cheerleader, and more.
Stormy the puppy has a home for the holidays. The Terrier mix was a local media sensation last week after city workers rescued from a West Dallas storm drain. He was taken to Dallas Animal Services, where he recuperated. On Sunday, he was put up for adoption. Scores of residents showed up to enter a drawing. KXAS-TV caught up with the lucky folks who won the drawing. Two of Stormy’s siblings were adopted, too. Stormy’s mom and dad had been on the loose, but they were discovered last week. (The mom had been spotted pacing outside the storm drain where Stormy was stuck.) They are staying at the city animal shelter – for now. Dallas Animal Services hopes to adopt them, too.
- If you live in Dallas, what are you thankful for? The Dallas Observer came up with 50 reasons. They include: “Craft coffee, urban farming, urban parks, cycling -- it's like living in Portland in the '90s without having to time-travel.” And this one: “Corruption at our City Hall is pretty easy to expose and generally involves fairly small amounts of theft, so it's more entertaining than chilling.” And this one: “Klyde Warren Park at 10 p.m. on a Friday welcomes all comers, whether they're wearing $6,000 suits or $6 sweatpants. And there's pingpong.”
- The Perot Museum of Nature and Science marked its first birthday Sunday – and not only has it exceeded attendance projections, it’s being used as a centerpiece to attract visitors to Dallas. That’s according to The Dallas Morning News, which also reports that 1.3 million people have visited the museum, including more than 200,000 who were part of school groups. “Museum leaders had projected 19,000 memberships the first year. That goal was reached in the first 100 days of operation. The number of memberships is approaching 50,000.” But there have been problems, including when a visitor lost a finger after his wedding ring hooked onto a button in a sports exhibit. And some exhibits closed at times for maintenance. The News reports that the museum has become a popular venue for convention receptions, weddings and birthday parties. The museum produced this video showing highlights from its first year:
- Meet a zombie cheerleader. A University of North Texas student is a stuntwoman and zombie on The Walking Dead, AMC’s zombie drama. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram profiled Taylor Towery, 19 and a Grapevine native. “Taylor Towery has been stabbed in the head, shoved down a hill and shot more than once,” the newspaper reports. “She has stalked humans and sunk jagged teeth into their flesh.” Towery appeared on the show last season after her dad joined the crew as stunt coordinator. So how do you become the perfect zombie? Her dad told her to “think of the zombie strut as a drunken stumble.” Towery told the newspaper: “You bring your own ideas to it. They let you interpret the zombies however you want. So none of the zombies are the exact same. It’s not uniform.”
- Artist Robert Wilson appears tonight at 8 at NasherSalon at the Nasher Sculpture Center. The Waco native has worked with major European theaters and opera houses, creating original works. His drawings, furniture designs and galleries have been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally.
