Thursday afternoon ALERTS

TWO BE-ON-THE-LOOKOUTS: One in local, one is governmental, but we ought to all be alert all the time anyway!

THE LOCAL DOG ALERT: A few years back I wrote about a dog named Jag when he and his siblings, Mercedes and Beemer, were having a problem getting adopted from the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter.

Jag found a home with one of the shelter workers, but on Monday, the now adult Doberman/Rottweiller mix "came up missing," reports our Tri-Cities tipster Tammie McHam. "He belongs to one of my co-workers here at the shelter and it's tearing her up."

Jag is a black and brown dog with white on his chest. He's neutered and he was wearing a red collar with an ID tag when last seen.

Tammie says, "He was lost in 'The Woods' area of Dallas, on the border of both Cedar Hill and Duncanville." (Tri-Cities is the municipal shelter for Duncanville, DeSoto and Cedar Hill and is a pro-adoption shelter.)

The Jag search party has put up fliers all over the area, Tammy says, and contacted all area animal control offices. "We thought more exposure might help."

If you happen to spot Jag, call the shelter at 972-291-5335.

Heck, if you see any dog loose, pick that pup up and give it some help.

THE GOVERNMENT NOTE: Margaret Morin, a Dallas fan of animals, sends us a note reporting that a vote is due Friday in the U.S. House of Representatives regarding what's called the "Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act." It's HR 4239. And it is designed to curb protests at facilities such as animal testing labs, factory farms, etc. See http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas.

Supporters see the bill as an "anti-terrorism" measure. Opponents see it as an attempt to squelch free speech in the arena of protecting animals from abuse. Opponents also say other laws already cover what this law is designed to cover.

PETA's take on this is at this SITE.

ONE MORE THING: It is such a beautiful day in Dallas -- perfect temperature, perfect sky -- that we ought to all take a moment and enjoy it. We're not quite to the "let's go see the foiliage stage" yet, but there is beauty in the big skies over Texas.

WHERE THE SUN IS SHINING: For a long time, there was a company-ordered blanket over local TV coverage by nationally famed and skillful TV critic Ed Bark, but Ed is now operating under his own colors and you can read about his assessment of the Terrell Owens coverage at www.unclebarky.com. It's worth the visit, especially if you are convinced that too much attention is paid to sports freak shows in the Goofball Carnival We Call Dallas.