TALL TAILS

Meet the Nebraska farm cat who traded up for a Preston Hollow mansion, the 40-pound $100,000 beauty-pageant koi and more amazing tales

By LISA KRESL Photo by DANNY FULGENCIO

Just after 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, a woman on Davila Drive called the police to report her own dog for biting her on the right hand. These are the pet stories on the mean streets of Preston Hollow. There’s Sevy, the cat who married up from a Nebraska farm to the PH lap of luxury, the beauty queen koi on Crestover Lane, the dogs holding court at the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Samson, the three-legged pit bull rescue who now lives in an antique-filled house and Norm, the cat who bravely escaped a house fire.

How Norm Survived A Housefire

Norm lived in Houston and then moved to Chicago in 2008, where everyone knew his name. Adopted by Meredith Powell when Norm was about 10, he also lived in Washington, D.C., Louisville and finally in Dallas, where he cohabitates with a Catahoula hound named Stella.

“Everyone who meets him says, ‘He looks like Norm,’ ” Powell says.

Then on a peaceful Sunday evening in his Dallas home, an outdated electric wire started a fire in the attic. Powell and Stella were snuggling in the den. Powell’s fiancé, Mark, was cooking in the kitchen. Norm was feeling safe in the master bedroom.

Suddenly Mark heard a pop and saw smoke coming through the eves. He ran into the den and yelled, “There’s a fire! Get Stella and get out the front door.” Norm was in the master bedroom, and the door was closed. Mark tried to run back to the master bedroom to get Norm, but there was too much smoke and he couldn’t see the cat.

The fire department assigned teams to look for Norm, but they couldn’t find him. “I called and called for him,” Powell says. “A lot of pets will hide under beds. I was really upset. I thought he was dead.”

Suddenly, from the den, Powell and Stella heard a meow. Norm had made his way from the riskiest room, through a dangerous fire, to the safest room in the house.

Norm was taken to the vet and treated for smoke and stress. He had a bath, which, Powell says with a smile, “I’m sure he really loved.”

Pet Patios Of Preston Hollow

Find a list of restaurants approved for pet patios at this link: https://dallascityhall.com/departments/ codecompliance/restaurantandbar/Pages/restaurant_dogs_faq.aspx

Online Extras

Go to prestonhollow. advocatemag.com to: Find out how:

Clarice Tinsley’s cat became the mascot or Ursuline Academy. Meet Shelton sophomore’s Gracie and Snowball.

Samson’s favorites:

Nudges dog treats, Trader Joe’s chicken strips, tummy rubs and a squeaky toy

SAMSON, THE SWEET PIT BULL

Claude Lee had been a cat person, but since December his antique, collectible-filled home now has a new resident. Samson is a three-legged pit bull mix whose enthusiasm and happy leaping never knocks over a bauble. After living in a stairwell at Baylor with a homeless man, Samson seems to instinctively know how not to outstay his welcome.

Neighbor Vince Lee Stevens reached out for a forever home on Nextdoor, and Lee responded. “Well, I thought he’d be smaller, and I didn’t know he was a pit bull. Something said, ‘Let’s give it a shot. He has a lot of energy.’ “

Stevens and her ex-husband originally took in the homeless man and the dog. “I actually care more about animals than I care about people,” Stevens says. She took Samson to get fixed and to get his shots. After finding the man an apartment for a year, they tried to find him a job and checked on the two. They found Bible verses scrawled on the wall of the apartment, and the formerly homeless man still hadn’t found a job. So when their year commitment came to a close, they decided to focus on the dog.

Sampson has been an expensive pet. He had heartworm disease. Then in April, he was staying overnight with dog walker Pam Silverstri. He and another dog, Oreo, had their leashes on, but when she opened the car door, they leaped out, and a car hit Sampson on his ankle, crushing the bones. The driver never stopped. The best thing for Sampson was amputation.

Sampson is so strong now that sometimes he forgets about his missing limb and balances on his front paws to pee against a tree. He sleeps on his bed in the middle of the living room, near the chimney. He attempted to co-sleep with Lee a couple of times, but the 64-pounder has a tendency to spread eagle in the bed, so he was banished to his own sleeping bed.

Nebraska Farmcat To Bachelor In Paradise

Sevy the cat’s life resembles the Tom Petty song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” Born on a Nebraska farm, where predators abound, he was rescued by Richard Collins, the chairman and CEO of Istation and brought to the House of the Seasons, a bed and breakfast in Jefferson, Texas. But Sevy’s farm-like frolicking among the B&B’s antiques created a challenge, especially after he broke a 19th-century candelabra. Next stop: Collins’ mansion on Lakehurst, where there’s plenty of room to jump and play. He’s sweet and laid-back with the grandchildren, walks on the counters and curls up in a decorative coffee-table bowl all the while soothed by classical music. You can take the Nebraska out of a kitten, but you can’t take the Petty out of this cat.

“SEVY’S LAST CHANCE”

He grew up on a Nebraska farm, had a good lookin’ momma who never was around. But he grew up blonde and he grew up right with them Nebraska tomcats on a Nebraska farm night.

Well, he moved down to a Texas B&B, he blew the cats away. It was more than they’d seen. He tried to fit in, not to jump on what he saw. All of a sudden, he broke a candelabra.

We dig you, blondie, but you gotta keep movin’. Keep movin’ on.

Well, I don’t know what Sevv’s been told, he never slows down and he never grows old. He now sits on his Preston Hollow throne. Mr. C says, “Welcome home.”

See Sevy curl in a coffee-table bowl. Languish where he’s not been told. And classical music, it soothes his soul.

Last dance with Mr. C, one more cuddle, and he won’t be cold.

Sevy feels summer creepin’ in; he knows he’ll get that shave again. Other cats would surely freak, but Sevy feels very chic.

Serve me some water, buy me a feast. Take me as I come, I’m not hurtin’ in the least.

There’s grandchildren down on the cobblestone square. I know they’ll dress me in some cute playwear. Oh, my, my. Oh, heck yes, they’ll probably put me in a party dress.

I was so happy when I woke up to roam. Instead of Nebraska, I’ll live here at home.

THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S TOP DOGS

At the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, in a new building on Preston Road, innovative leaders assemble for its nonprofit cause to improve life in North Dallas.

On slow days, rescue dog Elliot, Miss Murphy and Dudley take over, calling their own meeting to order. There is a quorum. The pups vocalize — especially Dudley. Where are “Robert’s Rules of Order” when you need them?

Megan McQuery, the owner of Elliot and Miss Murphy, corral them around the chamber’s conference room, but the dogs prefer the architecturally comfy chairs in the hall. The dogs have a lot of opinions about the photo shoot. Miss Murphy barks for a snack. Most prefer ice. Dudley, owned by Jeff Kitner, CEO of North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, is on a carrot regimen.

Among the cacophony and between shoots, Kitner shouts, “Dudley, this is not your business” he whispers, “Dudley is a handful.”

But when no one is looking, Dudley poops on the new carpet and Miss Murphy pees. Miss Murphy also drinks water from the bottom of the potted plants. Owners are quick with sanitizing spray and wipes.

“We have guests show up announced and unannounced as well,” Kitner says. “Everyone seems to enjoy the dogs.”

The Beauty Pageant Koi On Crestview

The 40-pound koi swimming in the 10-foot pond behind an unassuming house are hardly coy. The $100,000 specimens have won pageants from England to Oklahoma and Houston. Dear-departed Nigel has been featured in “Koi2Kichi,” a book by Peter Weddington. He’s a rock-star among koi.

Beauty pageants for koi is a thing. In Japan, plastic surgery on koi is also a trend. Preston Hollow’s Dan Charmes is koi-kichi. Translation: koi crazy. For 18 years Charmes has been raising them like any good Texas beauty pageant mom: nurturing natural genes, flying in expert help, watching their diets, providing plenty of filtered, heated water and overwhelming them with loving attention.

Judges give points for body shape, color, skin quality and the overall beauty of the koi. Owners receive extra points for the age of the fish. Older koi are bigger, which mean they are better cared for. The breed can live for 20 to 25 years.

“It’s basically bragging rights,” Charmes says. “You get a trophy. We’ve stopped going to pageants. It’s a lot of effort. A lot of Xanax. These are my babies. I don’t want anything to happen.”

The first time he spent $500 on a fish, he thought he was crazy. “I don’t like to spend that kind of money on a fish, because they can die. The most I’ve spent is $15,000 on a koi. If you get to be a really good koi person, you can get them to grow.”

How do koi travel? They’re put in water-filled plastic bags and shipped on planes. “We always go to England first,” Charmes says. Then the fish are quarantined and they rest a couple of months before a pageant. A vet must examine them to prove they’re healthy.

Charmes has two ponds in his backyard. The 5-foot pond houses the 3-year-old kohaku, which means “red-and-white fish.”

“I haven’t sexed her yet to see if she’s worthy to go to the main pond.”

The second-pond is 10-feet deep. The water has five filters and is heated. “My pool water is from the tap and not heated,” he says.

Charmes feeds the koi food from Japan every day at 5 p.m. It takes about an hour. Charmes uses a giant net from Japan to help position the koi for their photo shoot. Koi are photographed best from the top rather than from the side or the bottom, says Charmes, who has a penchant for wearing Hawaiian shirts.

“Come on, girls. Come on,” he says. “Look at the shine on the fish.”