24 minute read
A few
GOING FOR THE GOLD
These neighborhood pets are champions of cuteness and competition
Photography by JESSICA TURNER & SHELBY TAUBER
TULIP
Story by ALEJANDRA PUENTE
At home, her name is Tulip, but on the big stage she is Pure Delights Kaleidoscope Dream.
Michele Albright bought shy, reserved Tulip, a Biewer terrier, to become a competitor. Albright wasn’t new to agility competitions — she had a Yorkie before taking a break from competition.
“It’s a great bonding for trainer and dog, owner and dog. It’s just really, really a fun sport,” Albright says.
They started taking lessons at a Rowlett outdoor facility in January 2021. Albright readjusted how she trained with Tulip to accommodate the dog’s timidness.
After more than a year of training, Tulip entered her first agility competition.
Their schedule includes weekly three-hour training sessions and monthly competitions.
Dogs compete in groups based on their jump heights, measured from paws to the top of their shoulders. Tulip jumps 8 inches, while other larger dogs can clear 2 feet off the ground. “She’s 7 pounds and a little love bug,” Albright says.
They just moved into the “Excellent” competitive category after a memorable contest in Magnolia, Texas.
Indoor/Outdoor Remodels designed to fit your living style.
CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING
SINCE 1996
214-341-1448 OBrienGroupInc.com
shannon@obriengroupinc.com
KICK BACK & RELAX
Make massage and facials a part of your overall wellness routine
FREE ELEVATION
with purchase of a 60-Minute Massage or Facial Service $7999*
LAKEWOOD | 469.589.1234
6465 East Mockingbird Lane Suite 370 Dallas, TX 75214
Learn More!
*In-store offer valid for 90-days for first-time Guests only at participating locations. Minimum purchase of a 60-min service required to receive complimentary elevation. Complimentary elevations must be used at the same time as the purchased 60-minute service. Elevations are not performed independent from a minimum 1-hour service and do not include HydraFacial, ProPower Peel or Microdermabrasion. Offer cannot be combined with other discounts or promotional offers. Service times include up to 10 min. of prep time. Additional local taxes and fees may apply. Rates and services may vary by location. See store for details. Each Massage Heights Retreat is independently owned and operated. © 2022 Massage Heights IP, LLC. All rights reserved.
RUN FOR THE ROSES ROSIE
Story by NATALIE MURPHY
Ever seen a quadruple-threat dog? Run for the Roses Rosie is a barn hunt champion, therapy dog, model and soon-to-be movie star.
Owned and trained by Carrie Atkinson, Rosie has been competing since 2020. A rescue Jack Russell terrier, Rosie earned a senior title in barn hunt, a competition that tests a dog’s natural hunting senses and skills to find a rat along a tricky course.
“She is a hunter extraordinaire,” Atkinson says.
Barn hunt, like many dog competitions, is a sport that highlights the relationship between the instructor and the dog.
“It’s a team sport, but I’m letting my dog take the lead on everything, letting my dog do the hunting. I’ll direct them some, but they get to use their instincts of smell,” Atkinson says.
Rosie hunts the rats during trials with ease, but it’s up to Atkinson to know to make the call that Rosie has found her prey.
“That’s one of our mottos in our training with barn hunt is trust your dog,” Atkinson says. “You know if your dog’s telling you there’s a rat there, go ahead and call the rat, and if it’s not and you don’t get a qualifying run, it’s OK. You know, you had fun and you left with the best dog in the world.”
This level of communication between dog and trainer is necessary for successful competition runs.
The Jack Russell works with Pet Partners, an internationally recognized animal therapy group. Year-round, Rosie visits patients to provide stress relief in nursing homes and hospice care, as well as child abuse centers, schools and universities.
“It’s what I like to call a nice distraction, especially if we’re in a hospital setting, and we’re working with patients who might need an extra lift or just a distraction from their days,” Atkinson says.
Recently, Rosie was cast in a short film as the dog of the main character, who lives in a nursing home. This isn’t the first time Rosie has been on set — she and her siblings have been models for greeting cards.
COCO & TEDDY
Story by NATALIE MURPHY
“Y ou are coming home with me, and I’m going to make you brave,” Betsie Bolger said to her shy rescue, Coco, on their first meeting.
She enrolled Coco in agility classes to bring Coco out of her shell, but it quickly became a passion for both.
Then Bolger started looking for a second dog to compete alongside Coco.
She stumbled upon a Facebook post for Teddy, returned by previous owners for having too much energy. That’s just what Bolger was looking for.
“Teddy was following her around over obstacles in the backyard, so I was like, ‘Let’s try him with some lessons, too,’ and he seemed to enjoy it,” she says.
Coco has been competing in agility since 2018 and Teddy since 2019. Their show names are Coco Quickly and Steady Teddy.
Bolger never expected the dogs to become the #AgilityTwins.
“I’m proud of the fact that they run for the joy of it. That is our mantra,” Bolger says.
The two dogs have won many titles, including Agility Dog Champion, Master’s Agility Champion, Champion Speedstakes and Novice Trick Dog.
Bolger describes Coco as “the embodiment of joy” and Teddy as “chill and happy-golucky” with smiles on their faces as they run the course.
Coco Quickly, left, and Steady Teddy, right, are the #AgilityTwins who compete just for the fun of it.
to me at my first trial, and it was the best advice ever: Make sure your dogs keep having fun. Because the whole point of this sport is to have fun with your dog,” Bolger says.
Outside of competitions, Coco and Teddy live normal pet lives. In their free time, they like to lie around, chew on the occasional house object and play with siblings, one of which is training to be Bolger’s next agility dog.
“Every time you step to the line with your dog is a privilege and a gift from the universe,” Bolger says. “And it will behoove
you to remember that because there’ll come a day when you want even your worst run back. Just to have the chance to step to the line with that special dog again.”
Looking to BUY, SELL, or just talk about the current value of your home?
Give us a call and let’s talk about what is going on in our Neighborhood & East Dallas Real Estate!
TOP REALTORS
2021
2014-2021
Are your trees looking a little worse for wear? With tree trimming, plant healthcare or emergency tree removal, it can be hard to find the right professionals to care for your yard. Our certified arborists can help you bring them back to health! Female-owned and locally operated, our team is focused on exceptional quality and customer service. We care for your property as if it were our own. GET A FREE
QUOTE TODAY!
469.983.1060 TreeServicesDallas.com
Defending Candy ‘Silicone Prairie’ death thrust rookie attorney Robert Udashen into the spotlight
Interview by CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB
Robert Udashen was 27 in 1980 when he was called in by the partners at Crowder and Mattox law firm to strategize one of the most highprofile and legally intriguing defense cases in Texas history.
Alongside the late Don Crowder and associate Elaine Carpenter, Udashen successfully argued self defense for Candy Montgomery, the wife of a Texas Instruments engineer who axed her lover’s wife Betty Gore to death with a reported 41 blows.
Crowder is widely recognized in TV shows as Candy’s attorney, but he had never practiced criminal law prior to the Montgomery case. Much of the footwork fell to Udashen, the firm’s only criminal law specialist.
Today the Udashen Anton firm near Park Lane and Central Expressway boasts a roster of respected criminal defense attorneys, and Udashen — after a long career that included decades of teaching at Southern Methodist University — has semiretired to North Carolina.
The Candy case, which captured the public interest 40 years ago (the book Evidence of Love and its madefor-TV movie came out in the ’80s), is still captivating audiences.
Hulu’s five-part series Candy starring Jessica Biel is available now. HBO’s Love and Death, due for a fall 2022 release, is based on Texas Monthly’s “Love and Death in Silicone Prairie.” (Silicone Prairie refers to the Lake Highlands and Richardson corridor where large technology corporations such as Texas Instruments are located.) Udashen has consulted on both shows and has appeared in episodes of Snapped and People Magazine Investigates.
Udashen, the surviving member of the defense team, speaks with the Advocate from his house in Asheville.
After all these years, why is everyone so engrossed in the Candy case?
It’s a really interesting story. You’ve got an affair. An ax murderer, which is unusual. It’s involving two women, which is unusual. So there’s the makings of a good movie or TV show
What did Hulu’s Candy get right and wrong?
There are a lot of things, particularly around the trial, that are not quite accurate. For the series, they had to condense the trial. But it gives you a misleading impression of what happened at the trial.
They have things occurring in the trial that didn’t really occur the way they were depicting it. Some of that is just artistic license. And they’re condensing everything all together. But being someone who actually participated in it, I don’t like to see it portrayed inaccurately.
What specific things most bothered you?
That’s hard to narrow down. Some of the things — with Don Crowder, the lead lawyer, for example. He kind of came off as a caricature. Don really did a fabulous job at trial. To me, the way he was portrayed didn’t really do that justice. They had him doing a lot of the things I actually did. But, at the time, I had been a lawyer for about three years. Don was a senior partner at the firm (Crowder and Mattox), but this was his first criminal defense case. The part in the show where they have Don talking to Candy about what happened that day, that was actually me. I was really involved in the strategy part.
How did the case come to your firm?
Don knew Candy from church. They both went to the Methodist church. When Candy first goes to talk to the police, before we’ve been hired, she mentions to Don that the police want to talk to her. He says “you don’t have anything to worry about” so she talks to the police. Then they wanted to talk to her a few days later. When it was clearer that they were looking at her as a suspect, Don told her to come in and see me because I did criminal law. Don
Did you know how big this case was going to be when they called you in?
This was 1980, there’s no social media, no Facebook. But what you did have is two daily newspapers, Dallas Morning News and Dallas Times Herald, and then the Fort Worth, Plano, McKinney newspapers, all the local TV stations and they all are competing for stories. So there was something on TV or radio or newspaper every day for months.
Don got involved not only because he is the senior partner, but also he liked all the publicity. Candy had already talked to the police twice when I came on. And by then I knew it was gonna be big, but I didn’t know how big it would become over the next few months. I remember waking up on one morning seeing this headline on the front page of the Dallas Times Herald: “Lawyer dares police to arrest ax murderer.” I was kind of enjoying talking to press, but I do remember thinking I didn’t really mean to do that. I decided I needed to become a little more careful when choosing my words.
Was the judge (Tom Ryan) as biased as portrayed in Candy, and was Don really arrested for contempt?
Don was held in contempt twice. It didn’t really happen the way it was depicted in the show. By the time the trial rolled around, we were under a gag order not to talk to the press. But Don, right when the trial started, was standing outside the courthouse talking to the press. So Judge Ryan held him in contempt for that. Then there was an incident that occurred during the trial where Don and Judge Ryan got sideways with each other and he held him in contempt again and threw him in jail at the end of the day, which was something not allowed by Texas law. So I had to go to the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin to get him out of jail.
Seems like judge Ryan and others were working against you — was that so?
We had to deal with a lot. For example, once they got a warrant for Candy, I negotiated an agreement with the district attorneys, and I drove her up to McKinney. I was gonna take her to the sheriff’s office and they weren’t supposed to notify the press, because we were just trying not to have a bunch of cameras and reporters there. But there’s all these people. They completely violated their agreement. I turned her in and I made arrangements to have a bondsman post the bond before I ever drove Candy up there. The sheriff wouldn’t take the bond and wouldn’t let her out. Then we had a hearing on that, and we finally got her out.
After we get her out, just a matter of two days later, Judge Ryan orchestrates this hearing, which was supposed to be about the gag order. I took Candy up there and the judge does impose a gag order, but then he launches into a hearing on whether Candy’s bond was sufficient. It was clear that the judge, DA and sheriff are all prepared for this hearing. No one bothered to tell me about it. Then they throw Candy in jail again. And then I’m under a gag order and I can’t go talk to the press. Things like that. The whole time we’re working on the case.
How much did the makers of the Hulu show consult you?
I was contacted really early on by writers and producers who I met by Zoom. The writers and I spent a number of hours talking while they were writing the script. And initially this show was supposed to star Elisabeth Moss. So I talked to her on a Zoom call. And then she dropped out. She has so many things going on. I never actually spoke to Jessica Biel.
How about the HBO show?
I worked with HBO for months. They’re going to do a much more
Robert Udashen faces the press in 1980. Photos courtesy of Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.
I really do think it was self defense... I think the jury made the absolute right decision.”
detailed look at the trial, than Candy did.
I’ve talked to all the actors involved in the HBO series, and I was there when they were filming scenes and helping try to make the trial scenes as accurate as possible. And maybe there’s always some artistic license involved in this, but HBO did want to be as accurate as possible. And that’s what my role was during the filming, to try to make sure they were.
When Candy told you the whole story, were you surprised, or what were you thinking?
I won’t say I’m surprised at that point. By then I knew she had been there, and I knew that the police had at least a fingerprint. I mean certain things tied her to the scene. But I didn’t really know exactly what happened. And so when she came out and finally told us what happened, to me it was clear that it was self defense. Now we just needed to document and put the defense together.
Were you thinking insanity defense at first?
I brought in two psychiatrists. I did want the psychiatrists to look into any kind of mental issue. That was to me just part of documenting what happened. I wanted the doctors to see if they could explain the overkill, because that was always going to be a big problem here. We could see the self defense and how it got started based on what Candy said. But there’s so many blows that I thought by the time we got to trial we’re gonna need to be able to explain why it happened.
How did Candy’s case affect the trajectory of your career?
At that point, it was clearly the biggest case I’d ever been in. And it was a great learning experience. I did so many different things in that trial. Most young lawyers never get a chance to do it. I think it put me on a path to be a really successful criminal defense lawyer. I used to, particularly at SMU when I was teaching there, give talks on the many legal issues that came up working on that case that were just fascinating and a great learning experience. So it did kind of propel my career. I was prepared to handle lots of big cases after it. But at the time, I was so young, it was really learning by fire.
How does a lawyer working on these gruesome cases balance that out emotionally in your life?
I don’t have a specific routine, but it could be really crushing. Particularly in something like Candy. Another case that comes to mind is Lisa Diaz, which was capital murder trial where she was accused of killing her two children. When I get cases like these, particularly when I believe the people were really innocent, it’s really stressful. Their lives are at stake and I don’t want to do anything wrong to cause an innocent person to end up in prison.
So whenever I can travel, I do. Whenever I finished up a big trial, my wife and I would go take a vacation somewhere to get away and clear my mind.
Have you been in touch with Candy?
I have not talked to her in a long time, and she moved shortly after trial. It was just impossible for her to stay in the area. She couldn’t go to the grocery store without people saying something negative to her. The book Evidence of Love came out a few years after the trial, and Candy did cooperate with that book, and I think she was sorry she did. So did Don Crowder and I. But then after that. They made a movie with Barbara Hershey. Candy would not cooperate with that, and there’s been a bunch of shows since then Candy would not cooperate in.
What do people ask you about the most?
People want to know where Candy is and if I really think it was self defense, and I really do think it was self defense. I really believe that for these reasons. I mean, I think the jury made the absolute right decision. Even though there was a lot of hostility to that decision. Yeah, I think we got it right.
THE WATCHERS OF WHITE ROCK LAKE
25 years of the White Rock Lake Task Force
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
In 1984, East Dallas neighbor Michael Jung wrote a letter to then-city council member Craig Holcomb about issues at White Rock Lake Park. One fresh on his mind was the “unmitigated disaster” of the Fourth of July fireworks display held at the park the year prior. Someone on the west side of the lake had a heart attack
Red Sun Landscapes
Beautiful, Functional, Affordable
214.935.9779
& One of the best Advocate's for our neighborhood.
Contact local resident & award winning Realtor, Lee Lamont for all your real estate needs.
SOLD
8326 Forest Hills Blvd | $2,695,000
SOLD
8318 Forest Hills Blvd | Private Sale
SOLD
8506 Santa Clara Dr | Private Sale
FOR SALE
11315/11317 Lochwood Blvd | $495,000
LEE LAMONT, REALTOR
214.418.2780 lee@lamontrealestate.com LamontRealEstate.com
Call Lee Lamont, and watch Real Estate really work for you.
Lamont Real Estate
214-418-2780
Executive Assistant LamontRealEstate.com Ana Juarez | ana@lamontrealestate.comlee@lamontrealestate.com
NASDAQ : EXPI
NASDAQ:EXPI
*For Great rates & Great service call on Michael Fooshee* 972-215-6422 | www.foosheegroup.com
NMLS #184299
The White Rock Lake Task Force usually meets monthly at Winfrey Point to discuss crime, events and other issues at the park.
and died; first responders were unable to reach the person because of the crowds and traffic congesting the streets.
In the letter, Jung mentioned a citizen advisory committee to help manage White Rock Lake Park. Nothing came of it.
“If there had been an advisory committee before that, they would have said, that’s a ridiculous idea — find some other place,” Jung says.
Four years later, Jung wrote another letter. This time it was to Frank Wise, who was director of the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. Jung suggested monthly meetings with representatives of neighborhood associations surrounding the park, and Wise agreed with the idea, Jung says. But again, nothing happened.
Throughout the ’90s, several projects were coming together at the lake — a master plan, a shoreline tree enhancement plan and a dredging feasibility study among them.
It’s hard to be certain without documentation, but Jung says the White Rock Lake Task Force began meeting in 1997.
Mary Poss, who was the District 9 City Council member at the time, and Gary Griffith, then District 9 Dallas Park and Recreation Board member, convened the meetings. In all, around 10-20 people met at a conference room space near the Doran Circle building to discuss matters surrounding White Rock Lake Park. Several people involved in the early years, including Jung, who represented the White Rock Neighborhood Association, and wildlife expert Becky Rader, are still members.
“We hear the concerns from the community, and those concerns are shared with the City,” says Rader, who at one point was both president of the task force and the District 9 park board member.
The group operated without bylaws until 2009. Under the rules, the park board member was given power to appoint officers, and task force members were selected by either the park board member or the district director on the park department staff. Also, the park board member could veto any bylaw amendments.
Those bylaws lasted a few years. Then in 2012, there was a controversy involving the Dallas Arboretum, Winfrey Point and a parking lot. The task force wasn’t briefed on any plans.
What resulted was “sort of an insurrection,” Jung says. New bylaws were adopted in 2013, changing the structure of the task force. It became a collective of private civic organizations that continued to interact with the City but was not dependent on the City for its existence. Also, the task force began electing its own officers, and individuals who were not specifically representing an organization could
become members. This allowed more people to have a seat at the table.
Before the second set of bylaws, the task force met quarterly. Afterward, the group began meeting monthly, with exceptions during slower times of the year.
“Our bylaws say that our goal is to be involved in every significant issue involving White Rock Lake from its first serious consideration to its ultimate completion,” Jung says.
Though the task force likes to think it has “heavy influence” over certain matters, Jung says, it has no official status. Events, management practices, policies, physical facilities and more are discussed at task force meetings. When an idea was brought up several years ago to build a restaurant at Boy Scout Hill, then-Dallas Park and Recreation Director Willis Winters said he wanted task force approval for it before anything could happen, Jung says. (The idea did not receive the task force’s blessing.) Recently, when the park department produced a maintenance plan for White Rock Lake Park, much of the task force’s feedback was incorporated in it.
After 25 years, some aspects of the task force have changed. The structure is different from what it was at the beginning, people have come and gone, and technology has changed the way information is shared. But task force members say their central goals will remain the same.
Next Generation of Affordable Rental Senior Living The Peak Next Generation of Affordable Rental Senior Living The Peak Next Generation of Affordable Rental Senior Living The Peak
Introducing The Peak at Fowler, featuring 144 apartments for individuals 62+ with qualifying incomes. Choose from studio, one- I ntroducing The Peak at Fowler, featuring 144 apartments for individuals 62+ with qualifying incomes. Choose from studio, one- I ntroducing The Peak at Fowler, featuring 144 apartments for individuals 62+ with qualifying incomes. Choose from studio, one- and two-bedroom floorplans and live among friends on our beautiful and two-bedroom floorplans and live among friends on our beautiful and two-bedroom floorplans and live among friends on our beautiful park-like grounds. Go to www.fowlercommunities.org/thepeakpark-like grounds. Go to www.fowlercommunities.org/thepeakpark-like grounds. Go to www.fowlercommunities.org/thepeak to access amenities, qualifying income levels, and rents. Enjoy the to access amenities, qualifying income levels, and rents. Enjoy the peak in senior living! to access amenities, qualifying income levels, and rents. Enjoy the peak in senior living! peak in senior living! Application now available for fall opening. Call 214-515-1367 to learn more.
August 1 Applications available August 1 Applications available August 1 Applications availableWe also have availability in Assisted Living and our I’m Still Here® Center for Excellence in Memory Care – call Tammy Oliver at 214-827-0813 to learn about these opportunities.
1234 Abrams Road, Dallas, Texas 75214 •1234 Abrams Road, Dallas, Texas 75214 • 1234 Abrams Road, Dallas, Texas 75214 • 214.827.0813 214.827.0813 214.827.0813
Hope. Health. Happiness.
White Rock Medical Center is only the second in Texas and the 11th in the U.S. to earn elite accreditation as a comprehensive bariatric surgery center with adolescent care and obesity medicine. We offer a wholistic approach to weight loss, including, bariatric surgery, on-site psychological support, nutrition counseling and more. Learn more about a bright future for you. Call us at 214.324.6100.
