Something for a Monday...

We need to open Monday with a cheerful photo.

For example, here's a guy with a puppy.

What do we know about this scene? We know that my funfotospouse Martha snapped it Saturday when we arrived late to the costume contest at the Humane Society of Flower Mound Fido Fest 2008. (We were late because Oak Cliff is further from Flower Mound than we thought and the official Readlarrypowell.com Ford F150 Pickup will not reach warp speed.)

This is, however, a very Humane Society photo -- that young man is Blake, the son of HSFM mainstay Dot Lott, and that young dog is Zoey, a puppy Blake found recently.

Mom says Blake was "was outside at about 1:30 a.m. and looked over by the front end of his car, and there she sat!  Eyes matted almost shut, gunk coming out the nose, etc.  He brought her in, bathed her to get the fleas off, got her eyes cleaned up and took her to the vet first thing when they opened. Now they are inseparable!"

Zoey is quite the charmer. She's got a precious face that invites smiles and a some chin scratching by people who love to see happy puppies.. She's got "it." 

The whole HSFM event was a charmer -- and they even had a cakewalk for dogs. Owners (some were kids, some were not) with their leashed dogs, walked a circle while the music played. Why didn't we enter any of our dogs? Frankly, our dogs can't walk in a circle and if they saw a table full of cakes, they simply wouldn't move until free samples were handed out. They don't believe in working for their cake. Just being "cute" ought to be enough.

We also saw some great faces at Fido Fest. For example, there was this mastiff's. And we saw some cute walking-away dogs, such as this trio of jaunty rascals.

And it was a pretty swell day in the park. At the Humane Society of Flower Mound website HERE , you can read about it and see some of the adoptables that these hard-working animal lovers are trying to help.

FYI: If you want to help the Humane Society of Flower Mound by dining, go to the Z Grill & Tap, 2321 Cross Timbers in Flower Mound, between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday and either show THIS FLYER to the server or drop the society's name to your server, and ZGrill & Tap will donated 10 percent to the society. The money goes to such things as medical bills, food bills and hiring agents for the really cute dogs and emotive cats. Just kidding about that last part.

A PIT BULL STORY FROM HUMBLE: Well, goodness, isn't timing just about everything. As it turns out, Oct. 25 (Saturday) is the second Annual National Pit Bull Awareness Day.

Many people are aware of these dogs and how they are often mistreated and killed because of the reputation created by bad humans doing bad things to these dogs Our pal Cary Birdwell of Adopt-a-Dallas Dog tipped us to the national day and the website www.blessthebullys.com.

Our reliable tipster Barb Oates told us about this dog from Humble -- the original message had come from one our Houston-area tipsters Cindy Perini who was, like all good people, disgusted by what had happened to this dog.

According to the folks who are monitoring this guy, one of the Humble pound volunteers stopped by to take photos and found this injured go. "He had been left in the 'drop box' so there is no idea who did this," according to Cindy's note.

The vet thinks he's about 9 years old and has been dragged. When he was found, he was emaciated and in pain. He's currently running up a vet bill.

So, the project now is not just to save the dog, but to pay for his medical care, too. Tax-deductible donations can be made to Project K-911, 2135 S. Houston Ave., Humble, Texas, 77396. Note that the donation is for the "dragged pit." The dog is being treated at Lake Parkway Animal Hospital and the staffers are prepared, we're told, to take donations over the phone for this dog -- the number is 281-812-1355. To contact the volunteer who spotted the dog, e-mail RRR4pooch es@aol.com.

Not only has the dog been through a rough spell, he also has heartworms. So, getting this poor fellow into adoptable condition is going to take some patience and some cash.

As Cindy wrote, "This boy deserves a second chance at life to learn there are many good people out there."

THE JENNY BOOSTER SHOT: The appearance of Lily Tomlin in Dallas last week on behalf of Jenny, the Dallas Zoo's only elephant, "helped us make significant inroads with the Dallas City Council," according to a note from Margaret Morin, the energy behind Concerned Citizens For Jenny.

The organization's goal is focused only on one animal -- Jenny -- and only on moving her to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. That was the message Ms. Tomlin took to the council meeting and to the mayor and council members and zoo officials with whom she met.

Margaret suggests that Jenny supporters help the council keep its mind on the Jenny situation by showing up at council meetings (9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays at Dallas City Hall" and demonstrating that "we continue to strongly support Jenny's' retirement to The Elephant Sanctuary."

Contacts for the Concerned Citizens For Jenny group are listed on the website www.concernedcitizensforjenny.net.

RADIO WAVES: The annual Texas Radio Hall of Fame Induction Celebration and Texas Radio Reunion are coming up Oct. 26 at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth. Details are at www.trhof.com. Ticket sales end Tuesday. The inductees (as you can see from a list at the website) include J.P. Richardson, known as The Big Bopper and one of the victims in the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Richie Valens. Also on the list, KILT-FM afternoon drive disc jockey Rowdy Yates (Josh Holstead) whose entrance may make him the "son" part of the first father/son members of the Hall. His dad, Joe Holstead, who was in Dallas and Fort Worth radio for years as a newsman, died in 1995 and was inducted into the Hall in the inaugural group in 2002.

I mention the Texas Radio Hall of Fame because, as the success of Ron Chapman's Platinum 96.7 station in the Metroplex demonstrates, radio still matters to a lot of people. As the public service announcement used to say: "Radio -- your constant companion."

Heck, without disc jockeys and the less rigid program directors, most of us would never have known how to build our huge collections of vinyl, cassettes and CDs.

EVENTS, EVENTS, EVENTS: We've got our new list of events posted today -- just click on the button on the right side of this page. You'll see everything from the American Association of University Women -- Arlington Branch, books sale (Wednesday through Saturday), to the weekend's pet events such as the Golden Retriever Rescue of North Texas' 9th Annual Picnic, to the Richardson Humane Society's 8th Annual Holiday Craft Fair & Pet Photography Fundraiser on Nov. 2 and even a note about the Paws In The City Top Hat & Tails fundraiser next June.

WE WANT MORE EVENTS: We're in the process of compiling the events list for the Winter edition of Urban Animal magazine and we want your events for December, January, February and BEYOND. We want SIMPLE EVENT NOTICES -- who, what, where, when, why, how much and how to contact you -- sent to lrpmail@aol.com . Please put EVENT in the subject line. DO NOT SEND ELABORATE FLYERS. DO NOT WRITE IT AS IF A DOG OR CAT WROTE IT. TRY TO KEEP IT TO ONE OR TWO PARAGRAPHS. And, for crying out loud, make sure you mention the name of your organization and event and give a phone number or e-mail address. Give a phone number that will be answered and give an e-mail address that is looked at more than once in a blue moon. I don't have time to play detective -- if you don't provide info in a clear, concise manner, it's not me or you that's being hurt, it's the animals. Seriously, think before you hit SEND. Keep it simple. You'll be helping your own cause.

CONTEMPLATIONS: When Tampa Bay won the American League pennant last night it meant that our beloved Texas Rangers are now among only three teams (Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners and the Rangers) that have never won a league title. Never. Never. Since 1972, it's been "Wait 'til next year and please don't mind the rise in ticket or concession prices."... Favorite pickle: Bread & Butter?  Hamburger Dills? Sour? Like asking you to pick your favorite child, isn't it? ... Speaking of being in a pickle, you've got to be wondering if Dallas Cowboys fans are turning to eBay to help them unload the Tampa Bay-area hotel rooms they'd reserved for the weekend of Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2009. Oh, my, what a shellacking in St. Louis. Can't get to the playoffs when your defense is coughing up 30 points a game and your offense is choking.

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