Winter, big ol' black dogs, art, music and the human element

We’ll begin today’s report with an urban description which rivals none of the pastoral elegance of Frost or Waltman, er, Whitman. Sorry.
Here goes: As I rumbled the gray trash bin along the crumbling driveway to the curb of the dark asphalt of the street that would be empty if not for the breeze-blown paper bags of someone’s meals from last evening, I looked up through sleepy eyes to see leafless trees standing unclad and shivering as the hint of an orange glow began to take over the robin’s egg blue sky brushed with of wintry wisps.
Yeah, it’s that rumbling trash bin element that was always missing from the poetry of Frost and Whitman.
Still, it is important to note this fine morning that today is the anniversary of the founding of the National Weather Service, aka, the Weather Bureau, in 1870. And they’ve never missed a forecast.  That’s Readlarrypowell.com staff meteorologist Inky, the Cloudy Laureate of the State of Texas, waiting for the news anchor to throw it to him for the morning forecast. Now, the daily storm of information:
ASIA AND THE TREEING WALKER HOUNDS: OK, here are three dogs from the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake shelter at Tool, about an hour southeast of Dallas. The road is paved in all directions, so, well, start the ignition, drive to Tool and save some lives.
Here’s the deal: We mentioned Asia yesterday, but in case you didn’t see the update from Shelter Manager Krista Mc Anally, here’s the story: It was first thought that Asia killed a cat in her foster home earlier this week. Then, upon further investigation and actually witnessing another dog in the home attack a cat while Asia quivered and moved away from the fracas, it was determined that she’s innocent. But she’s still out on her ear and, if no one takes a chance on the kid-friendly, house-broken, loveable dog, she’ll be killed on Feb. 15. Yep, falsely accused, cleared and killed. Sounds damn near human, doesn’t it?
Now the shelter is also trying to find a home for two Treeing Walker Hounds. That’s Whisper on the left and Katie. Obviously they have no problem being accessorized with flowers and photographed liked models.
They just have trouble finding a home and if they don’t, they’ll be killed on the 15^th, too.
Krista explains, “Whisper and Katie have been at the shelter for over a month. I have been looking for rescue for them and there is no room for them at rescue. …  They are both about 2 years old, heartworm negative and current on their shots. Whisper is good with other dogs.  Katie is OK as long as supervised and I think with some discipline she would be fine.  Katie is very vocal.  Whisper is not.  .. They will be PTS.  They are great dogs and deserve another chance.  I posted them before and got no response.”
To ask for the opportunity to save these lives, e-mail Krista at dogshsccl@yahoo.com or call 903 432-3422. You can read more about the shelter HERE.
THE BIG BLACK DOG SYNDROME: Oh, holy smoke, what is wrong with people? Why don’t they give big black dogs a chance? Look at this guy. His name is John and he’s huggable! More than that, he’s on the clock at Collin County Animal Services.
We know this because the volunteer shelter walker Allison Roberts sent out his photo and a note this morning begging for someone to step up and save the dog – for crying out loud, he fetches.
Fetches! Yes, Even better, Allison writes, “He loves to play fetch and even gives the ball back to you. He walks great on leash and has good manners.”
And, she says, “He loves to lean against you and loves to have h is ears scratched.”
You can see John fetching by clicking HERE. And to adopt him or rescue him e-mail both of these addresses: ldrummonds@co.collin.tx.us and animalshelter@co.collin.tx.us
[Soapbox moment: Now, a dog doesn’t develop those things without having once been part of a household. So this dog, obviously, has known some affection and if nobody claims him, someone will have to prep him and pet him while they shove a needle full of death juice into him. Just not right, is it?
Sorry, I got carried away. I proudly am afflicted with “Love The Big Black Dog Syndrome.”  Remember, they’re in every shelter and nearly every rescue group has one waiting for a home – heck, I’ve even seen ‘em in cat rescue groups. But, here’s the thing:  The general population doesn’t celebrate dogs and cats enough. Good grief, they are quite often the charm that is missing from humans.  Hang on. Read the next item:]
CELEBRATING DOGS AND ART: When my glissandospouse Martha plays the harp, our dogs gather in a semi-circle in front of her and slowly, one-by-one, they slide from a sitting position down to the floor and begin to drift away to the angelic notes. (The cats huff off and declare, “I could do that, but they won’t let me claw the strings.)
Having expressed my personal experience with music and animals
I’ll now present some information that’ll help anyone celebrate animals – this is on Feb 13 and it’s “An Evening For Dog Lovers” – a “multimedia concert and silent auction” that will benefit the rescue group Paws In The City.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s principal oboist Erin Hannigan and photographer Teresa Berg have prepared this presentation. It’s from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday at Event 1013 in Old Downtown Plano at 1013 E. 15^th Street. Tickets are $50 and that includes the performance, wine and dessert. You can see how to buy tickets at the Paws site HERE .
TWO THINGS WITH DEADLINES AND FREE PUBLICITY:
-- First, we need photos of slumbering animals for our weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. Send the photos and info to dallrp@aol.com .
-- Second, deadline approaches like a freight train for the Urban Animal Magazine spring edition events list – things in March, April and May and beyond that have to do with helping animals. Send a ONE PARAGRAPH notice to dallrp@aol.com. If you send me something that has to be downloaded, coded, translated or is made to look like it was written by an animal, I will hunt you down and …oh, wait, that’s illegal. So, please, just send a short notice and we’ll get you and your fundraising event some free ink.
ASSORTED NOTES:
-- One of our reliable Metrotipsters, a veteran rescuer, has a doghouse she’d like to get to Terry Lynn Fisher, the famed rescuer in Burns Flat, Okla., way out on the western edge of the Sooner State. What our tipster is looking for is a way to get a doghouse to Terry Lynn. E-mail dallrp@aol.com and we’ll try to help out.
--A forwarded note from Jonnie England, the Metroplex Animal Coalitions Director of Animal Advocacy, reminds us that February is Pet Dental Health Month, as declared by the American Veterinary Dental Society. Healthy mouths help keep a critter healthy.
--The City of Sanger’s Animal Shelter contract with the non-profit Noah’s Ark in Gainesville is catching attention because of a year-old controversy over the euthanizing of a dog. The whole thing is too long to explain here, but for now you can Google it and catch some newspaper stories.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Our nephew Jeremy, who lives way off in Florida, came to town to visit the family. Well, yeah, that’s great that Jeremy came to town. But, honestly, all the animal lovers in the family will tell you that the high point of his visit was meeting his dog Echo, an adorable, cuddle-up next to you, handsome black Pitty mix.[That's Martha explaining how her iPad works to Earhound Echo who is listening, instead, to a family discussion of the merits of Howie Mandel's new show Mobbed. Honest.] Of course Echo is a rescue dog. He adores Jeremy, but I think he wanted to go home with us. OF course, we think they all do and many of them have, through the years. We’re really proud Jeremy got a rescued dog. And, yeah, we’re proud when anyone gets a rescue dog.… Seriously, have you ever seen so much violence in the supposedly civilized world? Around here we’ve had shootouts at a transit stop, a drug store, at an apartment where the landlord shot up a guy while attempting to collect rent, etc. Why? Got to be the worst of all elements in a bad equation: the human element. … A question for Texas Rangers fans: Baseball season isn’t getting her quickly enough, is it?
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