Screwworm risk and household pets

While state animal health officials race to contain the New World screwworm, federal officials confirmed the first case of the parasite in a dog. FOX 7 Austin’s Alec Nolan has more on what pet owners might want to be aware of. 

AUSTIN, Texas – Livestock and pet owners alike are on high alert in Texas after the USDA initially reported a canine case of the New World screwworm in the panhandle town of Andrews on Monday.

Federal officials later clarified that although the test was done in Texas, the dog actually lives in neighboring Lea County, New Mexico.

RELATED COVERAGE: Dog among 2 new screwworm cases; Canada blocks Texas livestock imports

Why you should care:

Regardless of jurisdiction, many Texans have been left to wonder if their pet is safe from the flesh-eating parasite.

FOX 7 Austin spoke with Dr. Alexandra Ives from Austin Urban Vet Center to better understand what pet owners might want to be aware of.

“If your animal does have an open wound and you are starting to notice like a weird smell or maggots definitely call your vet as soon as possible,” Dr. Ives said. “It is something we would report to the state boards as well.”

Dr. Ives says modern monthly flea and tick medications work as a first line of defense.

“The biggest thing is keeping them on flea and tick prevention things like Credelio Quattro, Simparica Trio, Nexgard and Brevecto,” Dr. Ives said. “They do prevent and treat these screwworms.”

The New World screwworm fly is drawn to even the tiniest scratch on your pet, unloading hundreds of eggs surrounding the break in the skin.

Within 12 hours, those eggs can hatch into flesh-eating larvae.

Dr. Ives says dogs working on ranches and farms are at a greater risk.

“Screwworm we’re seeing most often in our cattle so if these dogs are spending a lot of time with cattle or sheep or you know on these big farms where these animals don’t have that kind of protection, they are definitely more susceptible just with the exposure risk,” Dr. Ives said.

Whether on a ranch or a daily sidewalk stroll, Dr. Ives says vigilance is the key to staying safe.

“It’s most often in a wound, but they can get in the mouth, nose, orifice, it’s just not as common,” Dr. Ives said.

“I feel like people are watching their pets a little more than a thousand head cattle farm so just keep an eye on them.” 

As school districts across Texas, including Austin ISD, face budget crises and the threat of campus closures, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa is launching a new effort she says is aimed at helping communities fight back.

Hinojosa said Texas public schools are in dire condition.

“I will tell you that our public schools are on life support right now,” she said.

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Hinojosa announced a nonpartisan organizing program called Team Texas Public Schools. The program is designed to train parents, teachers and administrators to fight school closures in communities “getting hit the hardest.”

“Ten schools in this city alone in the school district are shutting down, but it is happening all over this state,” Hinojosa said.

Asked about Austin ISD’s budget process and closures, Hinojosa said, “What I think is important for the people of Austin to understand as they are in the trenches fighting this fight is that it is not just you.”

She also blamed Gov. Greg Abbott for the situation, saying, “And it is important for supporters of our public schools for parents and teachers to understand that Greg Abbott meant for this to happen.”

Abbott, Hinojosa’s November opponent, has focused his K-12 agenda on school vouchers in recent years. In February, Abbott celebrated what his office called “record-breaking school choice demand” after more than 100,000 families applied for vouchers.

Abbott said of vouchers: “Through this program, families will receive funds to send their children to a school that is the best fit for them.”

However, University of Texas at Austin professor Jennifer Keys Adair studies elementary and early childhood education, and says, “vouchers are definitely diverting funds from public neighborhood elementary schools.”

She also added, “it seems like in this voucher conversation, oh, it will allow all families to be able to choose where they go to school. But we know that that’s not what’s happening,” said Adair. She added more affluent families are more likely to get a voucher and said, “So in that case, you’re furthering the kind of pressure on teachers and we’re furthering the like lack of resources that we’re offering to children who need it most.”

Hinojosa said she opposes that approach.

“I don’t believe in public school vouchers,” she said. Hinojosa even called it a “scam.”

Austin ISD parent and former district principal Claudia Kramer Santamaria said she believes Hinojosa is the right advocate for Texas public schools.

“We understand as former principal and teacher that we needed to really have an advocate and I think that’s what failed,” Santamaria said.

Hinojosa also criticized Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath for what she called a “rigged” A-F report card system, saying Morath gets to “make the [STAAR] test, rate the test, look at results, and then decide who fails and who passes,” and added “And he rigs it to make it show what he wants it to show. And he wants it to show that our Texas public schools aren’t strong. And he wants it to show that privatization is a better option.”

Hinojosa said that if she becomes governor she would replace Morath.

Requests for comment were sent to the governor’s campaign and the Texas Education Agency about what Hinojosa said, and we are awaiting responses.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Adrian Rodriguez provided another big hit, and then Sam Cozart slammed the door shut on Oregon to send Texas to the Men’s College World Series.

Texas topped the Ducks 6-5 in the second game of the Austin Super Regional late Sunday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, completing a sweep and booking a 39th trip in program history to college baseball’s mecca.

Austin Super Regional: No. 6 Texas 2, No. 11 Oregon 0

It’s the first time since 2022 that the Longhorns have made the MCWS field. The Longhorns will face Southeastern Conference foe No. 3 Georgia in the opening round at Charles Schwab Field either Friday or Saturday.

Rodriguez lined a clutch 2-run double down the left field line in the eighth inning to give Texas the lead, and then Cozart mowed down the Ducks for his ninth save of the season.

Cozart struck out four of the six batters he faced, getting the other two to ground out. He threw 28 pitches in two innings, 22 for strikes, and didn’t allow a hit. He lowered his season ERA to 1.65 with the scoreless innings.

Oregon appeared to seize momentum after taking the lead 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh with a Brayden Jaksa RBI groundout. Even though the game was in Austin, the Ducks were the designated home team for the second game of the super regional series.

Texas put together an eighth-inning rally with two outs to regain control. Toby Twist walked Tinney, and then Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski went to the bullpen for Derek Bell. He hit Anthony Pack Jr. with a pitch, and then Temo Becerra chopped an infield single in between the third baseman and shortstop to load the bases for Rodriguez.

Rodriguez provided his sixth and seventh RBIs of the series, sending a sizzling line drive down the third-base line past a diving Drew Smith. The ball caromed off the short wall in foul ground, allowing Tinney and Pack to touch home for the lead.

Cozart then took care of the rest with elite command of his fastball and two breaking pitches, a curveball and slider. Thomas Burns struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh, becoming the pitcher of record for his second win of the season.

The game started with a bang, two, in fact, for the Longhorns. Aiden Robbins and Carson Tinney hit back-to-back home runs off of Oregon ace Will Sanford to start the game, and then Texas tacked two more on in the second on a Robbins bases-loaded walk and Tinney RBI single.

The Ducks responded with three runs combined in the second and third frames off of Texas starter Ruger Riojas, and then tied the game 4-4 in the fifth on a Burke-Lee Mabeus bases-loaded groundout.

Sanford labored through 3.2 innings, throwing 98 pitches with seven strikeouts and five walks. He allowed four runs on six hits. Reliever Tanner Bradley did a tremendous job to keep the Ducks in the game, utilizing a terrific changeup to baffle the Longhorns’ lineup through 3.1 innings. Bradley struck out five with a walk, allowing one hit before Twist entered.

Smith and Ryan Cooney had two hits for the Ducks.

Texas outhit Oregon 9-7, and Tinney finished 3-for-4 with a homer, two singles and two RBIs. Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, and Robbins’ lone hit was the lead-off homer.

Texas (45-13) joins fellow Southeastern Conference members Ole Miss in the MCWS. Troy and No. 16 West Virginia will make their first-ever MCWS appearances after sweeping their super regionals. No. 5 North Carolina needed a third game to dispatch Southern California and advance to Omaha.

Bad weather forced two Game 2s to be suspended until Monday. Oklahoma leads No. 15 Kansas 8-1 in the bottom of the third, and No. 7 Alabama leads St. John’s 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth. The Sooners and Crimson Tide will advance to Omaha with wins.