CAP report; an Earhound and a Happy Face; Seagoville's Celebration and other notes...

Greetings and let’s all put on our protective gear. You never know where you’ll pedal your bike some days. Please avoid the potholes and read on:
THE REPORT: Please finish our Readlarrypowell.com report, but when you are finished with these notes about critters in trouble and a Seagoville celebration, come back to this paragraph and click HERE and navigate to the Companion Animal Project No-Kill Task plan for ending this wholesale euthanasia in Dallas. Now, read on and then return.
GLORIOUS EARS AND A HAPPY FACE: OK, I’ll confess, the headline “glorious ears and a happy face” reminds me of my funspouse, Martha, but today we’ll note that the glorious ears and the happy face belong to two current residents of the Dallas Animal Services Shelter & Adoption Center.
There are currently three dogs on the shelter’s “Very Important Pet” list – that means they’ve been in the shelter for at least 45 days, are completely healthy and adorable, yet have drawn absolutely no interest from the adopting public. And no rescue group has found room for them, either.
One of the dogs is the adorable Stewie, who we mentioned in yesterday’s report about the progress of the Companion Animal Project’s no-kill strategy. Stewie was an owner-dumped dog back in November.
This morning, thanks to a note from our pal Jonnie England of the Metroplex Animal Coalition, we have photos of the other two dogs on the January 31 euthanasia list at the shelter.
Normally when we present the photo of an Earhound, you’ll see a dog with mismatched ears or a pair of satellite dishes or a set of ears so remarkable that they’ll stop traffic. Today we offer certified Earhound Peyton (#700560) – he’s certified by the Benevolent International & Galactic Earhound Appraisal Recognition Society (BIGEARS) which offices here at the international headquarters of Readlarrypowell.com. Peyton is a Shepherd mix who has the most splendid and graceful ears – they are quite artistic, with a gentle, almost cathedral-like, arc atop a sweet face. He’s about 2 and weighs nearly 45 pounds. He’s been unwanted since at least Nov. 6, though he wouldn’t be in a shelter if he had not been unwanted before that, don’t you think?
Now, as fans of big ol’ dawgs go, I’m betting that if they see this photo of Holly they immediately begin thinking “How can I make room for this baby?” and “Wonder if the city would notice if I added this sweetheart to my family?” Yep, everybody who loves big ol’ dawgs already has two or three.
But, look at the face on 702480!  Holly is a 47-pound baby who was delivered to the shelter on Nov. 24 – happy Thanksgiving, kid, get into that cage.
Having been around a pretty fair number of dogs in my life, I can tell you from looking that Holly is a happy dog when she’s around people. Look at that face.  And, yet, on Jan. 31, that tail will quit wagging, that big ol’ happy tongue will quit lapping, those eyes will stop flashing with joy. A shot of liquid death will turn this vibrant dog into refuse to be carted off to the landfill.
The contacts at the shelter are  Catherine.baxter@dallascityhall.com, nicole.self@dallascityhall.com or teresa.cleek@dallascityhall.com or call 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312. The rescue group contact points: e-mail mark.cooper@dallascityhall.com or call 214-670-8298.
And, if nobody acts, then the Dallas no-kill plan will be years too late for Peyton and Holly and Stewie from yesterday and lord knows how many other dogs and cats. People. People make the life or death difference. That’s part of the plan – get more people involved.
IN BURNS FLAT: The tireless rescuer of Burns Flat, Okla., Terry Lynn Fisher, has 3 urgent dogs and I’d run their photos except I’m working on an unfamiliar laptop with a program that doesn’t quite work like the one I’m used to so I’m baffled. I’m also baffled why some people are so cavalier about the lives of animals.
Terry Lynn isn’t cavalier, she’s moral about their lives and wants to save them. The three she’s working on now are girls, all under a year old and on the brink at the Burns Flat shelter.
Beatrice is a 7-month-old pup whose brother came through the shelter last month. Precious is 5 months old but has been on a chain her entire life and her family simply “wanted her gone” and “threw her out there,” Terry Lynn says. And the girl Sweetie was “hanging out at the bank here trying to get in everyone’s car.  Afraid she would be killed, they called me. She is just wonderful.”
So, there you have it from Terry Lynn – three reasons dogs wind up in shelters. To help her with them, call 580-330-1459 or e-mail remembering_oddball@yahoo.com.
CELEBRATING SEAGOVILLE: Well, I’ll be danged. Sorry, slipped into my native Northeast Texan vernacular. But, seriously, there’s a celebration planned for the big strides at the Seagoville Animal Shelter under the direction of Police Sgt. Karl Bailey. We got word of it from Johnna Bigley, the volunteer and rescuer, who wrote, “We’re having a celebration for Sgt. Bailey and the Seagoville Animal Shelter for reaching our first full year as a true No-Kill municipal shelter.”
Good grief, has it been a year? And has it worked? Sure looks like it. The shelter is claiming to be Texas’ first municipal no-kill shelter. If it’s not, we’ll hear about it.
Johnna also is the president of the non-profit STAAAR – Seagoville Texas Animal Advocates and Rescue.
Click on that artwork for the party details. It’s from 3 p.m., to 7 p.m. on the 29^th at Lee Harvey’s, 1807 Gould St., just south of downtown Dallas and not far from the Cedars DART station and the Dallas Police Headquarters. Not that such a location would remind you to pick a designated driver, of course.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Salutations from the road.  In case anybody wondered it’s chilly in Texarkana and  I’m in an animal-free environment. I got rid of the shakes after 72 hours – I nearly raced out to the Texarkana Animal Care & Control Center on the Arkansas-side of town and adopted whatever was handy. I think they have a few available dogs and cats if you know someone in Texarkana who needs a friend. … Yesterday I told the story of how I managed to drop two cups of coffee here at the hospital without ever getting a sip. Rescuer (of animals and some humans) Darcelle Cowles sent me a note about her challenges. “When I got to work this Monday. I poured water in my tiny coffee pot and forgot the filter. Well, then, I tried again. I forgot to put the glass kettle underneath. Then I gave up.” Yep, after our two experiences with the elusive Hot Cup of Joe, my theory is we’ve been involved in Solar Flare Coffee Mishap Week. … Ah, life goes on but, you know, without my sidekick Inky the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas snoring by my ankles, I don't feel confident at the keyboard. He’s been off helping in surgery all morning – some kind of brain transplant, he told me. Wait. Maybe I dreamed that.
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