She has had all of her shots and is not aggressive but can be unsure of new people and shy.

If you may have seen this dog please call us at 972-442-1812 or email at nick@crookedguy.com.

Casa de Benavidez has been around for more than 40 years and their claim to fame has been their awesome Sopapilla Burgers and their Chips and Salsa which is available in most grocery stores in the Southwest. The Casa is a unique building because it started as a 4 bedroom adobe home and has since grown to almost half a city block with plenty of parking including concrete areas for handicapped parking. Unfortunately I forgot about the concrete when me and Lori came in October, we parked on the other side with the gravel so it was fun pushing my scooter through the thick pea gravel. Once Inside you see a really cool fountain and waterfall and to the right they have a huge mural of a stagecoach crossing a river. You are served by the waiters pretty quickly but it was a Tuesday night so it wasn’t real busy, you start out with chips and the salsa come in 2 colors red or green. Both of the salsas were too hot for me so i had a couple chips. I told Amanda that last time me and Lori couldn’t even finish half of our Sopapilla Burger last time so we decided to split a half pound one and it was great, they come with a Sopapilla on top and bottom, a scoop of refried beans, Cheddar cheese, lettuce and Tomatoes, Green and Red Chilis are optional but we decided against that. After finishing our burger we decided to move the car to the concrete area so it would be easier to load. DunkinDonuts was calling our name as we drove by on the way back to the hotel, we stopped and they were giving half price donuts, woot woot.

I told them that this did not seem right so I called out to the Mesquite Championship Rodeo Box Office and talked to Marshall who is director of ticketing. He told me that something must have been entered wrong on their end when inputting info to TicketMaster. For our inconvenience and more importantly so I wouldn’t post that they discriminated the crooked people of the world. Marshall told me he could get us some of the best seats in the joint for same price as I was going to pay for my tickets in the middle of the arena. I hope someday soon they will actually put in some handicapped seating that is maybe next to the fence so its easier for the people behind us to see over people in wheelchairs since there is no real handicapped areas like other stadiums and arenas. Even the 4C’s had a handicapped area that was pretty good for the PBR event in Stephenville.

We picked up our tickets at Will Call and went inside the nice and cool arena to see what was happening before the PBR event. Usually we get to these things right before they start so we don’t have much time to mingle and see if we can meet any of the cowboys. Last time we were here they didn’t  mind my sister going back behind the chutes and locker room to get the bull riders to come take a picture and autograph my PBR hat.

Me and PBR Bull Rider Dylan Vick-Hice

Since the security guy had seen us last time he let us go back behind the chutes and the holding pens where its paved and scooter friendly. One of the first guys we met was Dylan Vick-Hice, a tall lanky cowboy from California. He was done doing his stretches and putting his long legs up on the top rail of the pen like a ballerina. Dylan was very friendly and had no problem signing my hat and taking a few pictures with me. Later in the evening during Dylan’s ride he got hung up on his bull rope and gets stomped and broke his leg and received a concussion. The gate man said he was spending the night at Baylor for observation.

PBR Bull Rider Elliot Jacoby and Me

There were a bunch of cowboys standing around and getting their chaps and spurs on and finish taping their hands and elbows up since it was less than 30 minutes before it started. Two of the guys I really wanted to meet was Elliot Jacoby and Pete Farley. Ryan Dirteater and Clayton Baetghe were supposed to be here but Clayton was riding on the Built Ford Tough Premier Series that weekend. Elliot was a super nice kid and he signed my hat and took several pictures with me. Next time I am giving him one of my green FOP bracelets.

PBR Bull Rider Pete Farley and Me

When we met Pete Farley who is from Australia I was able to give him a FOP bracelet. Pete put it on his riding vest for everyone to see. I thought that was really cool and hope we can get more riders to wear one and have them in pictures. The Aussie didn’t ride too well this time but him and his brother Jared have been having some issues staying on the bulls, it looks like his chin pops up and he is looking for a place to land before the ride is over.

Stormy Wing on his Short-Go Bull

One of the guys I wish we could have gotten was Stormy Wing who is a young cowboy from Dalhart who can ride very good. Stormy did end up winning the event with some very good rides that Amanda was able to take pictures of him. Zach Brown was there and got fouled out of the chute and got a re-ride which he was able to stay on this time. He hasn’t been doing as good as he was last year but he’s looking good.

Elliot Jacoby on his Bull

Elliot Jacoby was able to ride his long round bull and make it to the Short-Go where he was thrown. I had watched Elliot win a CBR event in Hobbs, NM that week on GAC so when I talked to him I told him congrats. He almost won the event this past week as well.

We had a really good time and got to hang out with Graham and him heckling the crowd

Me and my Best Friend Graham Wood

behind us who didn’t like me standing up in front of them. But until there are actual places for wheelchairs I am not gonna worry about it. Next time I want to try the BBQ buffet they have available before the rodeos and bull ridings. Till next time

Some of my favorite bull riders on the PBR is Austin Meier,Ryan Dirteater, Ryan McConnel,  Guilherme Marchi, Brendan Clark and Chris Shivers. I think Marchi’s only competition for the title this year is Austin Meier. Since they did not have a Dallas event planned this year so the only local Built Ford Tough Series event was the Iron Cowboy with the Playoff format.

As soon as I found out about the event I have wanted to get tickets for it but when I first checked on tickets online the only tickets they had for handicapped seating were over $150 each. I decided to call TicketMaster and see what kind of prices I could get from a rep. I was able to get Tickets for about $50 each and a close parking pass. As soon as I finalized the purchase I called my best friend Graham and see if Tish and him would like to go.

Graham and Tish came down the Friday before the Iron Cowboy so we could have some fun before our day of fun on Saturday. We loaded up the Cadillac and headed to Arlington about 2 on Saturday so we could get to the stadium with plenty of time to look around. It took a little longer than expected to get there but still had time to make a pit stop for a Tall Boy for Graham before going inside for the $8 beers.

We got parked about 3:30 and decided to head to the FanZone. We didn’t want to go when it was super busy so I didn’t get knocked off my scooter but this meant we missed most of the cowboys signing autographs and taking pictures. The first cowboy we found was Zack Brown and we ended up getting his last autograph and picture of the day. He was a really nice guy even though his handlers were rushing him around, he still took the time to bend down to take a picture at my level and sign my shirt.

The second cowboy was the leader of the Killer B’s, Renato Nunes, I was able to get his attention by driving up to him as he was walking to a golf cart. After I got him to stop I had to wait for my wife, Lori and my Sister, Amanda my photog for the day. He shook my hand and took a minute to sign my PBR shirt and take several pictures with me and my crew. The third guy was 3 time World Champ Adriano Moraes, we had to chase him down as he was being followed by a pack of fans and his handlers. I hollered “Hey Adriano” and he stopped and saw I was on a scooter and he stopped for a picture and autographs.

After that we decided to take a picture with the bull with Dickies and while waiting in line I saw Razor Jim Sharp standing behind me and chatted with him for a few. He offered to sign my shirt and take a picture with me for my collection. After Razors autograph we decided we better head back to the stadium to find our seats. On the way Tish wanted some pictures of her and Graham in front of the Gigantic Cowboys Stadium. After going past all of the ticket scalpers and checking in at the gate we had to make our first alcohol stop.

Tish bought an awesome Strawberry Swirl Margarita in a special Cowboys Collector Glass that was about 2 foot tall. I gave my camera to Tish so she could take pictures since all mine would have been butts and feet LOL. On our way to our side of the stadium we saw a crowd of people around a beer stand and it happened to be the one and only Austin Meier. I asked Tish to stroll up there since she had her cowgirl outfit on looking hot. She got his attention and asked him if he would come say hi to me since I wasn’t able to get up to the crowd and wait. I don’t mind waiting in line to meet someone if I am able to do it.

He said sure and leaned down to get to my height and take several pictures and sign my shirt and fan guide. I asked him how he was feeling and how good he thought his chances were for winning the event. After chatting we headed to where we thought our seats were to find out we actually had to go down to the basement and go in through the players area. We were escorted by a british speaking steward who took us all over the bowels of Cowboys Stadium.We ended up  going through the Miller Lite Club where all the high rollers go during Cowboys games and that is where the PBR Championship trophy was being held.

Me and my wife, Lori, have been able to still go to a lot of music concerts, sporting events, hunting and even bowling despite me not be able to move anything but my elbows, wrists, hands and slight movement in my feet.

Stay tuned for updates daily hopefully so tell your friends and join and comment on my blog!

Operation Kindness had been on the Fox 4 News at 7am everyday when we turned on the news in the morning. Operation Kindness is a no-kill animal shelter that is located in Carrollton, Tx and is mostly privately funded. That Wednesday in the end of October in 2005 the OK people had a cute puggle which is a beagle/pug mix and when grown they look like a miniature Bull Mastiff.

We decided to go look for the puggle after work so we loaded up the Cadillac truck with Lori, Amanda, Mark, Summer, Jesus and myself and headed over to Carrollton. When we got there the puggle we came to look at had just been adopted by a loving family. So we ventured into the back where all the dogs were in their cages separated by large, medium and small breeds. We looked around at the large and medium dogs but did not see any that had “it” factor we were looking for.

The Operation Kindness people suggested we come into the small breed room that had all the puppies and small dogs like Chihuahua’s, Pomeranian’s and Beagle’s. Lori mentioned that we needed to pay attention to the dogs that did not get skittish and start barking at my scooter as I drove by. One little dog, a Miniature Dachshund, was the calmest of any of the dogs in the room and came right up next to the cage door when we stopped.

I asked if we could see the little red Dachshund and see how she was with people and next to my scooter. They took us to a little room outside where we could let the dog down and see how she interacted with us. As soon as Lori bent down to let the little red Dachshund sniff her hand we knew she was the one and had “it”. The lady helping us said she didn’t have a name and would come to almost anything even Fishbait and that just cracked us all up.

After about 20 minutes or so we decided to take “Fishbait” out to meet all of our friends that came with us. After everyone held her and treated her like a baby “Fishbait” decided Mark was her new best friend. Lori and I said we would take her and to ring her up. At Operation Kindness you are required to have your new dog Spayed or Neutered before taking them to their new home. It was a long 5 days while we waited for them to do her minor surgery and fix a hernia they found while in there. During our wait we were coming up with names for our little german damsel that would be a part of our family.

We finally decided on Princess Heidi Olivia Mahler after trying out some other names for her but Heidi just fit her personality perfectly. Heidi was only about 8 months old when we got her the first week of November so that made her birthday March 11th. She was a very docile and gentle dog even around lots of new people she has not ever smelled or met before. This was the only dog I have ever had that did not bark at anything and we even asked the vet when we got her puppy shots and fully scoped out. The vet said it was normal for some dogs who weren’t around other dogs to not bark.

Heidi finally barked about 3 months after we had her when one of the neighbor dogs was barking. She was also already housebroken when we took her so we didn’t have to deal much with surprises in the morning. She loves to go bye-bye in the car and dingos are her favorite treat. Skittles are her one weakness and will act like a crackhead looking for the next hit until she gets one from the bag. Heidi has had lots of dog friends and even helped house train her cousin Indie, who is a Egyptian Basenji. Indy even learned to bark from Heidi and Basenjis are not supposed to do that LOL. I am sure you will hear more about my baby dog Heidi Ho in my blogs so keep your eyes open for it.