CATS STILL HANGING AROUND WEST U APARTMENTS, UNAWARE OF REDEVELOPMENT PLANS 
A group of 25 or so cats still hanging around the 2-and-a-half-acre grounds of the recently vacated Courts at West University apartments at 3810 Law St. have apparently not been informed of the 5-story Alexan West University complex set to go up on their old stomping grounds. An animal advocacy group concerned that the cats may get in the way when the existing buildings are demolished early next month has sounded the alarm, requesting donations and assistance in setting up a feeding station away from the demo site, as well as finding adoptive and foster homes for the uninformed animals. [West University Examiner; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Elmo at Courts of West University: Kathy Golding
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Tag: Critters
JUDGE TO HOA: YOUR POTBELLIED NEIGHBOR CAN STAY 
60-lb. porcine Spring resident Wilbur Sardo will not be exiled from The Thicket at Cypresswood subdivision — because his presence in the neighborhood does not violate the local deed restrictions, a Harris County judge ruled today. The pig’s attorney, HOA law specialist Mitchell Katine, tells Chronicle reporter Erin Mulvaney that the decision in the lawsuit filed by the animal’s owners marks “the first time a Vietnamese pot belly pig has been recognized as a pet in court.” The neighborhood’s community improvement association had argued that Wilbur counted as livestock, and was therefore prohibited. The Sardo family began an extensive media campaign around its quest to keep Wilbur after receiving a notice from the association last year that it would be subject to fines of $200 a day if it continued to keep their pet at home. [NewsWatch; previously on Swamplot] Photo: iWilbur.com
GIANT NEON COCKROACH THAT HAUNTED SOUTHWEST FREEWAY, ERADICATED AT LAST 
Bubba, the cockroach enshrined in an enormous neon sign for Holder’s Pest Control, which stood guard for years along Westpark next to the Southwest Freeway, will not return to the Houston skyline, the company reports. The 8-ft.-by-16-ft. sign was taken down in 2004, after Holder’s relocated. But after almost 8 years of residence in a company warehouse, the sign was “cut up and hauled off for recycling” earlier this year, reports Travis Alford. That menacing, old-fashioned cockroach is no longer a part of the brand identity of the company now known as Holder’s Pest Solutions, and it won’t be coming back. Holder’s just-unveiled new logo instead features a gentle curve at its top that references instead a much more modern feature of Houston: the Astrodome. [Houston Chronicle] Photo: Holder’s Pest Control
STOLEN FROM A CLOSELY GUARDED GARDEN 
Yes, those bees were under camera surveillance; don’t even think they aren’t watching the radishes too. A beehive on the small garden campus adjacent to Haven Restaurant on Algerian Way near the corner of Kirby and the 59 feeder was stolen in the early morning hours Saturday, by someone driving a dark truck with a camper — reports chef Randy Evans after reviewing security footage. Film at 11 5, promises KTRK reporter Miya Shay. [Twitter] Photo: Miya Shay
COMMENT OF THE DAY: LICKED CLEAN BY MILLIONS OF COCKROACHES “Roaches? I didn’t leave them out. I just didn’t see any — as in, not one. No living creatures at all, except us humans. The place smelled clean, like fresh water. I wonder where those roaches went…. and (ugh) what they were eating down there in the ’80s.” [Lisa Gray, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Cockroaches Found That Cistern First]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE COCKROACHES FOUND THAT CISTERN FIRST “Back in ’83 until about ’85 my buddies Colin Mazzola, Keith Tashima and myself would go down an open hatch into that thing — they closed it up sometime around ’86 or ’87 — this was back when jogging around the North side os Allen Parkway (near the celemetaries) was a little sketchy — people hanging out in the park near/under the Memorial Dr underpasses — anyway, what Lisa Gray left out was the 10 million roaches down there — we couldn’t hang out there for long — you couldn’t sit down or hang — BUT it was really cool and I remember being totally amazed that the City had an underground aqueduct/storm sewer overflow (yes it flooded and was impossible to go down the ladder) that was open and pretty much abandoned.” [David Beebe, commenting on Poking Around in Buffalo Bayou’s Abandoned Basement]
WHERE TO FIND THE PAWS THAT REFRESH 
Not 4 months into the city’s canine-friendly outdoor dining program, there are now a grand total of 12 Houston restaurants that have gained official approval to let customers bring dogs to their patios. More than half of the pooch-friendly establishments are in Montrose or River Oaks; only one is outside the Loop. [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Paws on Patios
MOSQUITO COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT DOES NOT KILL THEM MAKES THEM LARGER “UH sprayed on Monday. Now they are just bigger.” [awp, commenting on Comment of the Day: Getting Serious, Now That Our Air Conditioned Defenses Have Been Breached]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: GETTING SERIOUS, NOW THAT OUR AIR CONDITIONED DEFENSES HAVE BEEN BREACHED “A mosquito just bit me on the face. IN MY OFFICE ON THE 6TH FLOOR.” [Susan, commenting on Comment of the Day: Attack of the Giant Vampire Mosquitoes]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ATTACK OF THE GIANT VAMPIRE MOSQUITOES “My dog was carried off while we were walking at Memorial Park. I lost 6 lbs – not from walking, but from blood loss . . .” [Ellie Mae, commenting on Mosquitoes Reclaim Houston]
Okay, swatters. Got any weekend war stories to share? Add accounts of your latest battles in the comments section below.
- Swarms of mosquitoes spotted across the Houston area [KHOU]
- Mosquitoes swarm, but relief is on the way [Houston Chronicle]
- Mosquitoes seem to be swarming Houston [Newswatch]
Photo: Christine Tremoulet [license]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: COUGARS ON THE PROWL “We have had cougars travel through the rural areas of Harris County for years. I saw one crossing the road near Tomball several years ago. This one was a young one, about a year old, most likely a young male moving on to find a new territory. They will follow creeks and wooded areas to find food and new mates. They have been spotted several times near Spring Creek, south of the Woodlands. They may be coming closer and more bold with the drought and decline of food source. If you live in an area that backs up to a natural area, wooded creek, or other undeveloped area, it would be wise not to leave small pets outside alone from sunset to dawn. That’s when the big cats hunt.” [Lynn, commenting on Very Large Bobcat Visits Sunrise Pines Back Yard, Doesn’t Stick Around for Dinner]
CATCHING PIRANHAS AT THE PARK 
Found in the 23-acre lake at Tom Bass Park, just southeast of the intersection of Hwy. 288 and Beltway 8: a red-bellied piranha. That’s the second piranha ever caught in a Texas waterway, and the first verified catch in 28 years. [Houston Chronicle] Photo: Paula Moore
The restaurant dog ban is over. Ziggy’s Bar + Grill at 302 Fairview in Montrose, one of the first establishments to get involved in the Paws on Patios campaign begun last year, was the recipient last week of the first-ever city of Houston dogs-on-patios permit. Establishments that want to follow suit will need to maintain a separate self-closing doggie entrance gate to the patio, labeled with a sign identifying it as a “dog friendly patio”; keep hand sanitizer and disposable water bowls available; keep the patio free of visible “dog hair, dog dander, and other dog-related waste or debris”; and make sure restaurant personnel don’t pet or serve any four-legged customers. Owners are supposed to keep their pets on leashes and away from the tableware.
- Paws on Patios success: Ziggy’s is first to get restaurant variance [A Pets Chronicle]
- Montrose restaurant gets first dogs-on-patio city permit [Houston Chronicle]
- Dogs to be allowed on restaurant patios [abc13]
Photo: Paws on Patios
Western West U residents may be fretting about the coyotes hanging around the Bellaire-side train tracks, but Northeast Houston resident Tim Wooddell has an encounter with a larger animal to report: He says a “very large bobcat” paid a visit to his Sunrise Pines back yard one night last week. Not the kind of Bobcat with wheels, the kind with very large paws. At least that’s what the Texas Parks & Wildlife biologist thinks it was; Wooddell still suspects the cat he spotted might actually have been a mountain lion. Wooddell tells Swamplot his visitor “was about twice the size of my Labrador retriever, it was about 7′ long with a long tail, dark brownish gray in color and probably weighed about 175 lbs.” The bobcat may have been more shaken by the encounter than Wooddell; after spotting the homeowner and his dogs, it jumped over the back fence, loosening a few pickets on the way.
For all you suburban wildlife fans out there, here’s the rather extensive (but entertaining) account of the encounter Wooddell sent to Swamplot:
