At midweek, many facets of the world...and one cold room...

Today’s Readlarrypowell.com report involves wayward cats, a filling station dog, an old guy in Fort Worth, a beloved fellow named Simba and other topics. We’ll also address the coldest – the absolute coldest – room in Dallas, Texas.
THE HARDWARE CAT: I went to the hardware store for plumbing and found a cat.
I didn’t keep the cat. Not that I’m not interested. The cat isn’t interested. Another cat too clever for its own good.
This black and white cat – believed to be a girl – has taken up residence on the planting material inventory they keep on the walk in front of the big windows.
The store is Westlake Ace Hardware in DeSoto. The cat just showed up, one of the guys told me. They’re feeding the cat and wondering what to do next. I figured if I mentioned this ultra-cute, not-quite-totally unsocial cat here, maybe someone would pursue a rescue. It isn’t like the odds are on this cat’s side in a busy parking lot. The store is at 324 E. Beltline in DeSoto, a few blocks east of the Hampton Road intersection.
THE APARTMENT CAT: This cat appears to be a stray living in a Dallas apartment complex near Maple and Knight in Oak Lawn. Veteran rescuer Deborah Verner hunted her down after being told that “a young white cat was sleeping in a clump of monkey grass in a flowerbed outside the apartment building.”
The first day, she couldn’t find it. The second day, it was in its usual spot in the flower bed. This photo shows it moving between its traditional two resting spots – the flowerbed or “hiding under a truck parked a few feet away.”
Deborah’s been feeding the cat this week. “I’m trying to gain its trust,” she says.
The cat appears to have a pronounced protrusion on its right side – not sure if it’s an injury or a result of being way pregnant.
To offer to help this cat, e-mail dtrevino60@aol.com. And, of course, we can't mention Deb without reminding you that she is still trying to find a home for Bailey, the black adn white terrier mix. Go ahead, ask her about helping with the cat and adopting Bailey, too. No rule says you can't do both.
THE SERVICE STATION DOG: We don’t have a photo of this dog, but we do have a word picture from veteran animal advocate Kim Polen.
She got this story from a friend whose interest in the situation dropped dramatically after the handoff of the info. Here’s the story from Kim: “There is a Red Pit Bull mix that was very skinny and it was obvious she had pups someplace. She was begging for food and my friend gave her what food she could. It just breaks my heart she did not see the pups but she said momma was skin and bones.
“She was begging for food at the Valero at Lake June Road and 635. I Googled it and the address is 12531 Lake June Rd in Balch Springs. The number for that Valero is 972-289-2488. If you could get the word out or pass on to a group in that area I would appreciate it. I know nobody in that area to call.”
There you have it. Momma dog at a filling station – that always works out nicely.
PRAYERS & PASSAGES: Simba, who took over the house and hearts of Andy Allen and her husband John, has gone on. Andy writes a wonderful tribute to this dynamic personality on our Prayers & Passages page today. (Click on the Prayers & Passages button in the upper right corner of this page.)
STRUT YOUR MUTT/WIZARD OF PAWZ AT THE SPCA: Those SPCA folks are hustling without taking a break
The SPCA of Texas is already registering participants for the April 28 Strut Your Mutt 2012 at Fair Park. (Click that logo to make it larger.) The aim is to get even more participants than last year. More than a thousand people and pets showed up for the festival. Register online at www.spca.org.
And of course, coming up on Jan. 29 is the Paws Cause 2012: The Wizard of Pawz fundraiser at Sambuca in Uptown Dallas. It benefits the SPCA of Texas Village Fair Spay/Neuter & Wellness Clinic.
Tickets are $150 each and you can get them HERE. There’ll be an auction, raffles, and a $25 cork pull – that’s a game of chance for charity, not a contest involving rescued sled dogs and opening champagne bottles. Get details at www.spca.org and navigate to “events” and Paws Cause.
Cute logos, eh? Don’t know who did ‘em. Always happy to give credit to the artists.
A STRUTTABLE MUTT? Maybe, maybe not. He’s a little old and right now he’s in a fix. He’s at the Fort Worth Animal Care & Control Shelter and he’s on the rapid clock.
We heard around him through Houston contact Alexandra Kelsey who heard about him through rescuer Susan Austin Jones who is a volunteer for a DFW Lab rescue group. She ran across this dog at the Fort Worth shelter.
She wrote, “My heart was stolen by this 8-9 year old senior heeler/Aussie/cattle dog mix, so I am trying desperately to save him.  He came in as a stray on 12/9, went into adoptions, had an adopter, but the adopter never showed...twice....Grrrr!!!  He is currently in the rescue-only album for being, so his days are numbered.  He is potty-trained, his kennel remains spotless, very sweet, calm and mellow. He does have a patch of hair missing from his rump, but appears to be ok, otherwise.  I know everyone is so full right now, but I thought I would see if you guys had room for this guy or could put me in contact with anyone who could help.  I have Lab contacts across the country, but no contacts for this breed, so am feeling a bit helpless.  I wanted to check Texas rescues first, before I put out a plea nationwide.  Transport is so hard on these seniors, so I would love to keep him in the state.  Please let me know if you can help him.”
Contact Susan at susan_austin_jones@yahoo.com.
AN OLD LAB GIRL AT THE LAKE: Holy smoke, look at this face. This is Jasmine and she needs someone to love her. That’s the story we get via Sydney Busch at Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake. She’s been in touch with Krista Mc Anally, director of the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake Shelter at Tool, Texas, about an hour or so southeast of Dallas.
Sydney’s note heartbreakingly reads, “This absolutely gorgeous dog deserved better than to be dumped at a shelter when the owner got tired of her. She is a bit arthritic (but aren't we all??) and is heartworm positive (but that is not a factor for her now.)”
The dog is 12 -- barely late middle-aged in a loving, attentive home.
The note reads, “Please can someone take this wonderful dog and let her live out her life in peace and love?”
This morning Krista tells us that the dog's problems seem to be nothing that can't be fixed with a little time and care -- she got the dog into a foster home so she could get a better look at these challenges. But Jasmine appears, so far, to be adoptable. [Larry aside: Now and then you see why these places are called "shelters" -- they live up to the name by giving shelter to animals that need a break.]
Contact director Mc Anally at dogshsccl@yahoo.com or call 903-432-3422.
MOVING UP: As you digest the assorted conditions of animals in your own neighborhood, or the neighborhood you drive through to get to work or the animal plights you helped with or read about, consider this: Texas is moving up in the animal protection rankings. See the story in the Texas Tribune HERE.
THE BLACK AND WHITE OF SHOW BUSINESS: The folks with Pegasus Theatre in Dallas are, as is the company’s tradition, in black and white again – this time detective  Harry Hunsaker is up against the evil Dr. Big in a production called The Frequency of Death. It’s a murder mystery set in the studios of radio station WKIL.
And, if you haven’t guessed by now, that is a photo of Harry as portrayed by the playwright and creator of the series of “Living Black & White” productions, Kurt Kleinmann. (That photo is by Mark Oristano, the local broadcaster and actor who has become a noted photographer.)
The Frequency of Death is in the middle of its run at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, then moves to the MCL Grand Theater in Lewisville for another week of performances. You can get the details and purchase tickets by going HERE. What makes these productions remarkable, other than the fact that you’ll find more laughs than two months of any Real Housewives From Anywhere series, is that they are, indeed, in “Living Black & White,” a trademarked process that makes the stage and the actors look as if they’re from old, late-night, black and white movies on TV.
Audience members are treated to witty dialogue, action, mystery and all the good things of live theater with the added touch of the atmosphere. FYI, the star and producer Barbara Weinberger, who plays a key colorful role in the production, are, indeed, animal fans.
A NOTE FROM LAST WEEK’S ANIMAL SHELTER COMMISSION MEETING: When the public comments portion of the meeting finally arrived – yep, it was a long meeting – one of the speakers was Stephen Benavides, representing the North Texas Association of Public Employees and United Steelworkers Local 9470.
He asked about a couple of issues at the shelter. One is an alleged incident in which an employee was injured when using euthanasia fluid as a cleaning agent. Shelter Manager Jody Jones said the shelter keeps the euthanasia fluid – a controlled substance – locked away in an entirely different part of the shelter. Mr. Benavides countered that he had a photo showing otherwise. Then, they moved on with polite promises to enlighten each other and get to the bottom of the story.
Mr. Benavides also brought up claims that he’d heard – that back in the late summer and early fall, the employees who were about to lose their jobs in the city's “Reduction in Force” at the shelter were forced to train their replacements, the city’s vaunted “temporary workers.” He said he thought such actions might have been bad for morale.  There was no city response. But, Assistant City Manager Joey Zapata, who had engineered the transition, was out of the room at the time. He has been a staunch supporter of the "temporary labor" method of staffing the shelter and employed the commission earlier in the meeting to continue to monitor it and "give it a chance."
Not sure what any of this means except that the union folks are watching developments in the city labor pool.
[Larry aside: Some of us who've been 'riffed' think this train-your-replacement practice is  not a morale question but a morality question.Texas, however, is a right-to-work state meaning that you have the right to work without having to join a union. Of course, the actual right-to-work practice is that your employer has a right to sack your unsuspecting backside for  any ol' whim or to cover up errors in managerial judgement or to fool investors into keeping the faith.  To borrow from renowned philosopher/entrepreneur Michael Corleone, "It's not personal....It's business."  Yeah, and I'm a ballerina. Now, help me off this soapbox before the slats crash through and two union crews argue over whether picking up injured fat men is in the hydraulic contract or the big crane contract.]
CONTEMPLATIONS: Please allow one more note about the most recent meeting of the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission in Room 6E South – sixth floor of Dallas City Hall, right next to the City Council Chambers.
Even during the intense summers in Dallas, it is the coldest room in town. Why should anything be any different in the winter?
I’ve been a professional journalist since 1965 and it’s the first time I ever covered an indoor meeting in which the participants wore gloves and scarves and members of the audience left to go get more winter clothing. One hoped they’d bring back a chiminea or an electric heater. [This type is blue to represent the dominant color of extremities in the room that day.].
When the meeting was over, people didn’t stand up to leave – they had to be chipped free and thawed.
It was so cold the city catering director could hang meat in there. If I were a wise-acre, I’d say that room is where they store the hearts of former mayors, but I’ve known a few of those mayors and at least one – maybe two – didn’t have hearts.
Perhaps at night, when they turn off the lights, the city’s vampires meet in 6E South and rehearse the stage version of Twilight. Some say city hall is zoned for bloodsuckers. I’m kidding – my sense of restraint is still frozen this week.
If it had gotten any colder in that room, the animal shelter commission would have been in danger of polar bear attack. As it was, three penguins had to be discouraged from voting and, honest, I am almost certain a group of Norwegian explorers came through hoping to plant their flag on the West Pole.
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