Animal Rescue

Joe King Carrasco, Kim Galusha, Anna, Trixi, and the fugitive (Photo courtesy of Kim Galusha)

Celebrities. They're just like us. Except when we want to help our fine feathered, furred, and finned friends, we usually log some time at Pets Alive! and call it a day. Celebrities, on the other hand, make headlines.

Shark Week: Today, Coach Taylor Kyle Chandler will be at the Capital with his daughter Sawyer as part of Humane Lobby Day. The younger Chandler sparked the Friday Night Lights star's interest in ending shark finning. Since learning of the practice, 11-year-old Sawyer Chandler has been trying to raise awareness through her advocacy website and an appearance on the Ellen show.

Shark finning is the practice of cutting off the fins of sharks (for use in shark fin soup) and discarding the rest of the body into the ocean. The shark is often still alive, an easy target for other ocean predators. Since the shark is unable to move normally, starvation and drowning are common, and shark populations have been endangered by the practice. Currently, a bill banning the practice is up for consideration in the Texas Senate.

Wascally Wabbit: Over the weekend, Texas music legend Joe King Carrasco rescued a rabbit that had wandered into the HEB at the corner of Manchaca and Slaughter in south Austin. Although the employees tried to catch the bunny for hours, the rabbit was determined to get to the endless supply of lettuce.

After talking to the manager, Carrasco suggested calling in the help of two hard-boiled gumshoes. Carrasco's and manager Kim Galusha's Jack Russell Terriers were quickly on the case, routing out the interloping leporid from underneath a bottled water pallet.

The bunny has now entered the Austin Area Wildlife Rehabilitation program where he will acclimated to a less urban environment. No doubt there he will be less tempted by carrot cake.