GROVES — A local version of Jack and Diane is playing out in Groves a bit differently from John Mellencamp’s “two American kids growing up in the heart land.”

Jack and Diane, also known on social media as the “Walmart dogs,” have had a rough year or so living on the streets, scavenging for food, braving all that Mother Nature has to give and dodging cars along the busy stretch of road from around the 39^th Street and Normandy Apartment area in Port Arthur, down Twin City Highway in Groves to near Saba Lane in Port Neches.

The pair is now recuperating and getting veterinary care at Wilcox Veterinary Clinic in Groves and the two are in need of a good home, hopefully together.

But their journey to this point has been eventful.

The mixed-breed dogs, likely part Cur, caught the eye of a group of people wanting to help. People put food out for them, some tried to trap or capture them for the better part of a year.

The search begins

Karla Crossett, who takes photos of dogs at the Port Arthur Animal Shelter in hopes of helping them find a home, was tagged online by Mid-County Paws of Hope about the two strays sometime near Thanksgiving.

She searched but never saw the dogs, Crossett said.

Then, on Jan. 1, Crossett was tagged on a video that showed the dogs in the Walmart parking lot.

“The female, we later named Diane, was in rough shape, very skinny, had some sort of mange. She needed vet attention,” she said in an email. “You could see the male, later named Jack, hobbling around. He was very skinny and had an injury to his left hip-leg that he definitely needed to be seen by a vet ASAP.”

About a week later, Jack was caught and brought to Wilcox Veterinary Clinic under the care of Dr. Brady Hanson. After he was stable he underwent surgery to fix his left hip/leg that was likely injured after being hit by a car.

Fast-food junkie?

“It took all of us to try and figure out where Diane was.

There would be sightings of her near fast food places along Twin City Highway such as Sonic, Taco Bell, Wendy’s and McDonald’s,” she said. “At times she would come close to someone’s car if they threw food out the window, but if they opened their door she took off.”

Diane became fearful as other people tried to capture her and Crossett and the group were fearful a car would hit her.

Eventually, Statewide Animal Control Rescue and recovery from Houston came in to help and a gofundme account ( https://www.gofundme.com/jack-amp-diane-walmart-dogs ) was established partly to cover this expense.

Diane was captured March 1 and brought to the vet and on March 14 Jack and Diane were reunited.

“I had to sit in the kennel with Diane and put food under her to get her to eat,” Amber Elmore with Wilcox Veterinary Clinic said while watching the two dogs play in the sunshine earlier this week. “It took three days before she’d eat from a bowl.”

The rescuers believe Diane had an owner at one time as she had a tag on her and while interacting with Elmore, the dog knew some simple commands.

A bonded pair

“We estimate the dogs have been together about a year, maybe longer, and that Diane had puppies at one time.”

Also unknown is the relationship between the two dogs; either they are mates or mother and son.

“We really want them to stay together; they are a bonded pair,” she said. “They have been on the streets for over a year together. We just want them to find a great forever home.

“We can’t thank Dr. Hanson and the entire staff of Wilcox Vet Clinic Groves for the excellent care they have received. They literally saved their lives.”

The pair would need a fenced-in yard.

Anyone wishing to adopt Jack and Diane can call Karla Crossett at 409-527-0754.