NORAH MEIER: Pet rescuer

NORAH MEIER thinks the number of abandoned pets in our city is unacceptable, so she’s the first to scoop up any stray pups she spots on the side of the road. The Preston Hollow neighbor fosters animals in need, volunteers with Education and Animal Rescue Society and runs the Facebook group Dallas Strays and Rescues.

When did you start rescuing dogs?

When I graduated from SMU in 2006, I started my first job in sales for a trucking company on the south side of Dallas. Every day, on the way to work, I would see stray dogs everywhere — dead on the side of the road, litters of puppies run over, dogs walking around with broken legs.

One day, there were two dogs on the side of the road, and nobody was stopping. I stopped the car, grabbed the two dogs and put them in the car.

Then it started the whole process of “how do I not know what’s happening in our city?” I thought if I don’t know, other people don’t know.

How bad is the stray animal problem in Dallas?

In Dallas-Fort Worth alone, we euthanize 551 animals a day. The average age is 18 months old. There’s an estimated 8,700 strays living on the streets in Dallas County, and that’s in a very concentrated area, too.

Where all do you volunteer?

I started the Facebook group Dallas Strays and Rescues. That was a message board system to help people find a pet or adopt a pet. Up until two years ago, I was doing it all independently. Along the way, I met a ton of people. I met Kimberly, the president of the Education and Animal Rescue Society. Now I’m the volunteer coordinator and social media coordinator.

When the tornado hit in Rowlett, I started a search-and-rescue group. We went out there for three days, dug animals out from rubble and reunited them with their families.

What’s the hardest part of fostering? The hardest part for me is giving them the grace period to acclimate and calm down. A lot of these dogs — you don’t know what they’ve been through.

Have you had any fosters that have been hard to give up?

Cannoli was one that I loved more than anything. He’s a Baylor therapy dog. We raised so much money. He got so much attention on social media. He’s a big ole 100-pound pit bull, but a lap dog. He’s the most special one that I didn’t want to let go.

How do you pick the pups’ names?

I love naming dogs after food. I’ve got a whole list of names. I’m just waiting to get some little dogs for Sushi and Wasabi.

Simple Truth

Episcopal School of Dallas owns Wolf Run Ranch, a 300acre property near Anna, Texas, for students to explore.

Episcopal School of Dallas

Enrollment: 1,145

Year Established: 1974

Tuition: $16,300$28,620

THE FIRST DAY of class in Episcopal School of Dallas’ history wasn’t spent indoors.

“We didn’t start by ringing a bell and coming into a classroom in 1974,” says Eddie Eason, director of outdoor education. Instead, faculty took students to Galveston to explore nature.

Outdoor education is a vital component of ESD’s curriculum. It’s a tradition for eighth-graders to start the school year in Colorado, where they rock climb and hike. Students frequent Wolf Run, a 300-acre ranch near Anna, Texas, for camping trips and archaeological expeditions.

“To me, the ranch is just another campus,” Eason says. “It doesn’t define our outdoor program.”

He guides students while they learn to adapt to adverse weather, pitch a tent and simply socialize without their cellphones, which he collects as soon as they arrive.

“Especially in this day and age, when this helicopter parenting thing is out of control, it helps a lot of them to realize how self-reliant they can really be,” he says. Eason makes sure ESD’s four tenets — daily worship, community, ethical decision-making and service — are incorporated into the program. He’s adamant that students are respectful to each other and nature, and starts every day with a prayer.

“I get to take kids out of the hustle and bustle out of their everyday lives, and take them outdoors, whether it’s the ranch or a forest or a state park,” he says. “I just get to pass off my love of the outdoors to them.”

– ELISSA CHUDWIN

Tommy Lee Jones

ST. MARK’S SCHOOL OF TEXAS CLASS OF 1965

What He’s Up to Now:

Tommy Lee Jones isn’t Hollywood’s friendliest face. But what the four-time Academy Award winner lacks in warmth, he compensates for in ambition. He’s starring in the action film “Just Getting Started,” slated for release Dec. 8. Now he’s filming the science fiction flick “Ad Astra” with Brad Pitt and was cast in “Stoner,” based on the 1965 novel.

Three Things to Know

1

Born in West Texas, Jones’ parents relocated to Benghazi to work in oil fields when he was a teenager. Jones didn’t want to leave the country, so he moved to Dallas to attend St. Mark’s, where he juggled football, soccer and theater productions.

2

He’s an Ivy Leaguer. The English major continued his football career and fine-tuned his acting skills at Harvard. Oh, and he was Al Gore’s roommate for four years. No big deal.

3

In an interview with Meryl Streep, Jones said his first performance was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in second grade. He was Sneezy and claims he can still sneeze on command.