ReadLarryPowell.com

Hurricane help and happy endings

Oh, my goodness, things continue to disintegrate in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. Lives are changing. Spirits are being tested. Americans will pull together again -- this time, instead of helping people in far-off nations, they'll be helping each other.

Another good example for the world.

The American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) and the Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org) are on the job. So are lots of other groups of what we ol' cynics have sometimes labeled "do-gooders." I suspect Hurricane Katrina may have converted a few cynics into people who might even hug these "do-gooders." Bless ALL their hearts.

A note came out late yesterday from Lou Guyton of the Dallas-area's Humane Society of the United States that all the animals that had been evacuated from New Orleans shelters had been placed with groups in Houston and won't be coming to Dallas. There are many other animal groups working on animal safety in the stricken areas. (For HSUS Katrina info go to www.hsus.org.

And Maura Davies of the SPCA of Texas reports that representatives of the SPCA and the HSUS will leave just before noon today in a caravan to Louisiana to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deal with animals left homeless by Katrina. There'll be a temporary shelter set up somewhere between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. (The SPCA has a Pet Haven program that may help some storm refugees give temporary care to their animals --- those folks can apply by calling 972-562-7297, ext. 123.) For more info on helping, go to http://www.spca.org/katrina   or call 1-888-ANIMALS, ext. 128. Maybe you know someone temporarily bunking in North Texas who needs a bit of help.

A HUSKY NEEDING A FOSTER: This is one of those heartbreaking things....This gray and white husky needs a good break and a foster home asap. A tipster with A Different Breed (www.adifferentbreed.org) has seen this dog says she has "crystal blue eyes." And that she is in heat right now. There's always a complication of some kind, isn't there?

Of course, there wouldn't be if people would spay and neuter. But that's just too simple for the minds of some people to comprehend. OK, help me off the soapbox. Thanks.

Meanwhile, Barbara Pfenning, who issued the original call for help, was obviously moved by this dog. She reports that "Pretty Girl, as they are calling her at the shelter, doesn't even have a real name. But believe me, she is a pretty girl." (E-mail [email protected] for details on the dog.)

Her "kennel card" says she was picked up in the 10800 block of Woodmeadow on Aug. 20. Her "review date" is Sept. 1. That's tomorrow. Let's hope she gets a good review. She's "Animal No. A000685." Check with Dallas Animal Services, too, at 214-670-8226 or visit www.dallascityhall.com/dallas/eng/html/animal_control.html.

Those folks would much rather adopt out the animals than ... well, you know. When you call Dallas Animal Services to ask about helping this dog, ask for Janet.

Look, this is just one dog out of who knows how many dogs and cats currently at peril in area municipal shelters. This one gets today's spotlight because your friendly neighborhood writer took a look at that photo and said, "No dog should ever look that cowed."

Dog are naturally merry beings. Why else would they come equipped with a natural wag?

A THEORY ON THE GREAT DANE: Perhaps some of you took the time to take a look at Shadow the Great Dane, an "extra large" fellow in the care of PAWs of Austin. (See www.petfinder.org/shelters/TX555.html --be warned, it's graphic.) Reader Roxanne Waggoner of Phoenix, Az., clicked onto the site and has a suggestion for the folks with PAWs who are trying to solve the mystery of Shadow's situation. She writes that "it reminds me of cases I've heard of where people would put kerosene or similar material on a dog as an old-fashioned flea/tick removal treatment. Hopefully, if someone were to have been ill-advised enough to put a chemical on the dog, surely there's no sign they also 'touched it off' with a flame!"

I mention Roxanne's thoughts on this because sometimes, in our modern medical world, we don't think about the failed "folk cures" people try on dogs and cats. In fact, until she mentioned this, I'd forgotten that I'd also heard of "tar treatment" for ticks and fleas. I prefer, of course, the “tar and feather” treatment for the humans who try this idiot stuff.

WHEN THINGS TURN OUT MUCH, MUCH BETTER: Beverly Miles with DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue tipped us (see Aug. 12 post) about a sad-faced little cocker named Celeste who really needed a good home. I'm a sap for cocker spaniels, as my boy Inky will tell you. Oh, yeah, I'm a sap for other dogs and cats, too. Some people, too, but not that many, I guess.

Anyway, there's always great joy when a cocker spaniel story turns out to have a demonstrably happy ending. (Go to www.dfwcockerrescue.8m.com to see adoptables.)

Cassie (an adoptee formerly known as Ginger) is on the right and Mandy, the cocker formerly known as a Celeste, is on the left. Beverly, thrilled at the successful adoption, wrote of the former Celeste, "Can you believe how great she looks--after how skinny and sad she looked at the beginning. Won't they be gorgeous out walking together!"

Inky the Cocker Spaniel, my constant companion and the dog most likely to be sleeping on my feet as I type, was not a DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue foundling, but he could have been if I hadn't beaten the group to him about six years ago as I walked in Kiest Park with the two big dogs, Baby Jane Doe and Hambone Jack. Inky, completely hairless except for one long ear, stinkily romped up and said in a high-pitched puppy voice, "I'm going home with y'all."

Inky endorses the work of DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue. He knows he's not the only nearly perfect cocker spaniel in the known universe and he wants other people to enjoy the companionship of a dog that's often smarter than an anchorman and twice as charming as a politician.

Don't those cocker spaniels look happy? Bless their hearts and the people who love them.

The storm of life, the chance to help

Looking at the wretched effects of Hurricane Katrina is a reminder that maybe those 100-degree days in Dallas aren't such punishment after all.

Broadcast Irony: During a commercial break from hurricane reports, an Oreck commercial ran on the Fox News Channel at 8:19 a.m. And Dave Oreck, the voiceover man, described the vacuum cleaner as having the power of a "Category 2 hurricane." Probably wouldn't have noticed the comparison last week, I guess.

Back to our serving of nature: Rain fell on our neighborhood late yesterday afternoon. It was a nice rain. Not such a violent thing. You could, as I did, stand on the porch and watch it. And, as I stood there wondering if the rain would help my amateur pumpkin crop, I was joined by Ol' Doc White, one of the front porch feral cats. In a nod to civilized behavior, he was inclined to sit a few feet away, under the shelter of the roof, and watch the rain with me. It was a gentle moment -- quite the contrast to the news of the day.

A DOG AT PERIL: Here is the note sent from Gail Whelan of the Companion Animal Network (www.ca-n.petfinder.com): "This beautiful girl has been at a local shelter waiting to be adopted. Her time is up and she is also getting very, very depressed. She has a fabulous personality and the staff just loves her -- her only 'thing' may be that she does not always get along with other dogs. She would make a wonderful 'only pet' for a lucky family." The e-mail contact at Tri Cities Animal Shelter (in Cedar Hill) is Tammie at [email protected].

Tri Cities works hard to increase adoptions in the Cedar Hill, Duncanville, DeSoto area. You see a great looking dog like this -- a dog whose personality shines through the camera -- and you just have to wonder how it is that this dog can be at peril. What human circumstances conspire to put this dog on the brink of death? Goodness. Maybe some forces will conspire to save her. And the other dogs and cats in the shelters and "pounds" around here, too.

BULLY BOY: This is Ozzy, a 4-year-old currently taking up expensive space at a vet's office because Lone Star Bulldog Rescue has run out of foster homes. He needs a place to go, says LSBR's Kelly Andrus. But there are special circumstances. Ozzy is a male who is afraid of men. You just hate to think of what abuse might have sent him off in that direction. He is "great" with women, however. A real charmer. "He shakes and gets so nervous around the men and starts barking," says Kelly. "Around women he is just a wiggly love bug."

There's got to be a special home that can take this lad in and help him. (E-mail [email protected] or call 214-488-7788. Visit www.dfwbulldogrescue.org)

Before he was rescued from his unpleasant situation, the one-time indoor dog had been relegated to outdoor life. That, of course, meant he became an ignored dog, developed some bad habits and, somewhere along the way, decided the male humans on the planet were the enemy. They probably were in his bulldog world.

But, there are males who will work to help this guy -- his nerves just can‘t stand the challenge right now. It would be easier on the dog if women worked with him and helped him toward an emotional recovery. Bless his heart.

HAVE YOU NOTICED: Maybe I spotted this sort of thing because I'm aging with unpleasantness, but every time some prescription medicine is advertised on TV, the announcer reads a long list of side-effects, some of which may be more unpleasant than the ailment. It's like the new medicines are designed for the emotional benefit of sympathy addicts: "We'll cure you, but, thanks to modern science, you'll still have things to gripe about."

Missing dogs, found dogs

TWO MISSING DOGS: From an Old East Dallas tipster we get this message. Justin and Jennifer Ashford of the 4800 block of Swiss Ave. are looking for their two dogs. The dogs have been missing since Sunday morning and are described as "large but friendly."

That means they're endangered in Dallas. You know how this city is.

Brody is an 80-pound brown-and-black German Shepherd/Chow mix and Battie is a 64-pound black Lab-Pit mix. Read more about them at www.OldEastDallasVIP.us and if you know where they are, call 214-532-4007.

ASSORTED NOTES: Reliable tipster Christi Hansen got a note this morning from someone who is trying to help a Great Dane currently in custody of PAWS of Austin. The Dane has some sort of foul and mysterious skin disease. Before you click on Dane to go to the photos, let me warn you that they are not pretty and I have set up a gentler way for you to get some info from PAWS. Someone in the reading audience may have run into this before and may know a way to help this dog. You can read about PAWS of Austin at this site, www.petfinder.org/shelters/TX555.html, then click on adoptable pets and go to Shadow's listing. That's where the ugly photos are. ....

Katie Brown of East Lake Pet Orphanage says that the very handsome three-legged poodle mix Frances (featured last week) has been adopted and will be going to his new home today. Visit www.welovepets.net ...

Mandy, the momma dog Charlene Orr rescued off the side of a road in Kaufman County, is now living at Hillcrest Animal Rescue in McKinney under a different name. To ask about her, tell the Hillcrest folks you’re interested in "Babbs," Charlene says.

When you go to the Hillcrest site, www.petfinder.com/shelters/hillcrest.html, you can also read the story of Maddie, a little white dog that was the victim of a real jerk but has since triumphed thanks to loving humans.

Sometimes we have to keep reminding ourselves that most humans aren't jerks. But some of those jerks are certainly overachievers in their chosen field.

Storms, horses, carhops, issues and Danes

Astonishingly, we have reached the final Monday in August. The next Monday we see will be a holiday. Labor Day. Already.

When I was gainfully employed at a go-to-the-office job, I'd sometimes run into people who'd say, "You'll have to forgive me. I work at home -- I've lost track of what day it is."

Easy to do. So, I'm offering you this information so help launch your week. It is Monday, Aug. 29.

And, I guess, the folks in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama will have no problem remembering Aug. 29, 2005. I was watching one of the cable news channels before 6 a.m. today and a dry anchor in the studio was interviewing a reporter standing in a windy rain in Gulfport, Miss. The reporter had been talking about how deserted the streets were when, suddenly, moving along behind him on a road was a car. The reporter and the anchor then swapped a couple of lines criticizing the driver for being out in the storm and basically saying "What kind of idiot would be out in this weather?"

And, yes, indeed, one could see the irony in that situation.

HURRICANE AND ANIMALS: By now, this has become a familiar story. A hurricane threatens an area, the Humane Society of the United States sets its disaster plan into motion and shelter animals are evacuated to safer cities.

So, as Hurricane Katrina began its assault on the Gulf Coast, the HSUS contacted the Metroplex Animal Coalition to round up help. MAC President Elaine Munch and MAC Groups Coordinator Rebecca Poling passed along this info from Lou Guyton of the HSUS in Dallas.

Hundreds of animals from Louisiana are being moved to Houston for redistribution. The HSUS hopes to place at least 145 animals with Dallas-area groups (e-mail [email protected].)

Area shelters and groups, already crowded with dogs and cats, have somehow managed to squeeze in the hurricane animals in the past. And, I guess, the fact that the hurricane areas. so soon after the last hurricane, have a new load of animals to ship out shows that Dallas is not the only area of the country with a relentless supply of shelter animals.

COURTS AND HORSES: Word came late Friday that a federal court ruled that a 1949 law prohibiting slaughter of horses for human consumption was just not viable. (I've shorthanded this in college dropout terms.) Authorities had been using this state law as the basis for trying to end the horses-for-the-platter business at the state's two plants, one in Tarrant County and one in Kaufman County.

Look for more efforts to end this horsemeat trade, according to the folks at the Texas Humane Legislation Network (www.thln.com), The indication is this will have to occur on the federal level -- with the U.S. Congress, bless its heart -- since the court ruling implies that selling horsemeat for human consumption is a federal issue and not a state issue.

Besides, the Texas Legislature is too busy trying to come up with a good plan for financing and improving the state's education system. What? Oh. Sorry. They took two shots at that this year and missed. Well, better luck next time, kids.

Sheesh, two things you'd think Texas would really protect: kids and horses.

SONIC BOOM; VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Those folks at the Companion Animal Network are always hustling for money. Of course, name a rescue group that has enough! It's like Marlene Dietrich told Ray Milland in the movie Golden Earring. She asked him if he had money to fund their escape from danger. He said he had enough. She replied, "Enough? Hah. There is never enough."

So, on Oct. 1, the CAN folks are going to be delivering for cash, or, as Barb Weinberger describes it, "Car Hopping for Can." First, though, she needs volunteers who are willing to help for four hours on Saturday, Oct. 1, as a Sonic Car Hop at the Sonic Drive-In at 3404 Coit Road in Plano, just north of Parker.

Volunteers won't have to wear Sonic uniforms, roll on Sonic skates, make change or clean the kitchen. They simply deliver food orders to the cars and all of the tips will go to the Companion Animal Network.

Barb sees it as a relatively easy way to add hundreds of dollars to the CAN treasury. To volunteer, call 214-923-9160 or e-mail [email protected].

Ah, yes, by October 1, we should be enjoying autumnal weather. You can be at Sonic, car-hopping and living the good life -- the opportunities for nostalgic sensations will be dramatic. Especially if you give in to temptation and have some of those cheese tater tots. Oh, my. Well, let's remember to help the animals, not to help ourselves. It's OK to tip big, though.

MOVING ALONG NOW: This isn't animal-related, though, of course, I have seen some real animals at the place, but Dick's Last Resort, a stalwart of Dallas' West End, is moving out. The move isn't far in distance, but it is far in location, location, location.

Dick's will move from the south end of the West End to the north side of Woodall Rogers Freeway, i.e., closer to the American Airlines Center and the Victory project.

Specifically, on Sept. 6, Dick's will open its new location next door to Hooters at Houston and N. Lamar.

The move will be celebrated with (how's this for irony considering today's weather news) a "New Orleans-style funeral process and jazz parade winding through the West End." That'll start at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday the 6th -- fair warning.

I've never been to a Hooters restaurant. I have been to Dick's Last Resort many, many times. There are vegetarian dishes at Dick's. I'm not sure what they have at Hooters -- no sense straining my marriage.

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER: Reader Angeline Welch describes herself as "a member of HSUS, SPCA, ASPCA, PETA and a bunch more animal welfare groups." She lives with rescued dogs and has a great feeling for the plight of animals.

She is concerned that animals "belonging to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan" are routinely being dispatched because of a military order that says "kill 'em."

Here is the link to the Humane Society story that has upset Angeline:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/enemies_of_the_state.html

Gosh, it would really be great if the first human solution to every situation on this planet wasn't "kill 'em."

THE GLORY OF GREAT DANES: My shutterspouse Martha snapped this family photo during a visit to “the kids” in Longview on Saturday. The magnificent dog in the foreground is Henry and the black Dane is Frog. The humans are the newlyweds, Andrea and our little boy, Bret. Only by being photographed with a 180-pound dog could Bret look like a little boy.

I guess I could have titled this photo: “Three Big Boys and the Love of Their Lives.”

People who don’t have access to Great Danes probably just think “big” when they see them, but if you watch them, you’ll think “grace” and “gentle” and “endearing” and “adorable” and “We’re going to need two couches in this room.” Yes, Bret and Andrea have two couches in their living room.

Two couches are enough for the dogs. The family's big ol' black cat, George W., has his own wing of the house. Yes, I believe it is the West Wing.

O, give me a home, where the Westies can roam!

Well, my goodness, it's sleepytime in cyberspace. Time for our weekly feature, "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie and Napping Cats Nap."

Before we get to that, I understand that at Saturday night's Dallas Cowboys game at Texas Stadium, the fans are going to undergo mandatory "pat downs" for security purposes. (This may set a U.S. record for Most Sweaty People Patted Down. In fact, as hot as it is around here, it's probably going to be a "Splash Down.")

It is ironic, considering the arrest records of the Dallas Cowboys, that it is the fans who are getting the pat-downs.

Now, on to the business at hand. In this case, the business is a couple of Westies, or, as they are officially known in the dog world, West Highland White Terriers.

So, what of Westies? Well, if you go to the Westminster Kennel Club's site (www.westminsterkennelclub.org) and seek breed info, you'll find an explanation. Veteran dog show watchers might enjoy clearing their throats and reading this description in their best impression of the nice, round tones of the late, beloved animal fan Roger Caras, Westminster's longtime announcer. "Possessed with no small amount of self-esteem, the West Highland White Terrier is an all-white compact, sturdy package of frolicsome energy."

OK, that's enough. Your honor, I'd like to introduce into evidence from Carrollton, this photograph of Vicki Henderson's dogs, Dixie and Murphy, dogs who appear to be not so frolicsome at this point in time.

On the other hand, perhaps they simply know where they want to sleep and don't mind staking out their claim. Vicki describes this photo as "Dixie and Murphy getting their beauty sleep!" Then she adds, "Don't worry....I'll sleep in the crate next to the bed! They have me well trained!"

She's also devoted to her Westies. She's helping the Trinity Valley West Highland White Terrier Club (where Murphy came from), put on the Oct. 8 Texas Westie Walk at the Josey Ranch Sports Complex in Carrollton. (Read about it at texaswestiewalk.org.)

Dixie, 4, "is the sleeping diva on her back and Murphy is curled up like a cat. They both think they are much bigger than they actually are. I've had Dixie for 3 1/2 years and Murphy joined the family in June 2004 from the local westie rescue.

"Dixie usually prefers sleeping on the pillow next to me or will paw my head in the middle of the night requesting that I move over. I have discovered that a queen-size bed is not big enough for one human and two Westies! I try and get situated before they do, or else I'm hugging the edge of the bed!"

And, now, a point for readers to ponder: Don't you think it's true that the smaller the dog, the more like a furnace the dog's body is? Our little dogs always give off more heat than the big dogs. Of course, even when they're heating up the house, all dogs are cool.

(Remember, if you'd like to nominate a slumbering critter for our weekend feature, send info and a digital photo to [email protected]. Be sure to include contact information -- I'm too old to play detective and it's been so hot that my psychic powers have wilted and I'm unable to divine phone numbers and names out of the clear blue cybersky.)

Pickle, Wilma and the Weekend Sleepers

Ever order anything from a catalogue? It's like ordering the delivery of a forest to your door, isn't it?

Order from one catalog and for the rest of your life you'll get dozens a week delivered to your front door. Somewhere there's an empty field where a forest once stood.

And at some point in the summer, you'll start getting catalogs with a vivid message on the cover. It'll read something like "If you do not place an order, this is the last catalog you will receive."

They don't mean it. Just this week I've gotten evidence that stacks up about a foot deep.

Please join me in congratulating the catalog industry for providing jobs for copywriters, editors, photographers, press operators, design experts, ink manufacturers, the post office, truckers, landfill bulldozer drivers, etc.

I was going to gripe about all the catalogs until I accidentally had a clear thought about how much the industry might mean to the economy. So, catalog that gripe under "never mind."

And now, moving a stack of unread catalogs off the computer desk, we'll move on with the day's activities.

WILLLLMAAAAA! Sorry. That was my Fred Flintstone impression. Couldn't resist. The dog we'll be discussing is named Wilma. What a doll. Our tipster is Diane Combs, SPCA volunteer and friend to all animals and roommate to several precious dogs. She spotted this note that was being sent around courtesy of a "neighborhood captain" in an area near Midway Road and south of Walnut Hill in Dallas.

Sandra Fennell, the woman who has Wilma, has gone to extraordinary efforts to make sure this foundling has a sensational chance at a good life. She even set up a Wilma Website at www.sfennell.com/dog/.

This morning, when I talked to Sandra about Wilma, she was just nearly giddy because she'd discovered another good point to the dog. Wilma's great in the crate. It is so hot that Sandra didn't want to park Wilma in a backyard, so she got one of her big dog crates and it turns out Wilma likes the "den" concept of crating. She especially likes it because the crate is in the air-conditioned kitchen.

Here's the story of Wilma as it is known so far, according to Sandra. "I live in Glenridge Estates .....I found a dog at Thornberry and Northwest Highway. I am trying to find her owner (no luck after 3 weeks) or find a good home for her. She is sweet and loving and gets along great with my other 2 big dogs. (I can't have a third or I would keep her.)"

So, folks, Wilma needs a home. And Sandra needs some applause for going the extra computer mile to try to find that good home. And, should you apply to adopt Wilma, be prepared to undergo a rigorous audition. "I'm not giving her to someone who's going to turn her into a yard dog," Sandra says. "She'll be an indoor dog."

PICKLE IN A PICKLE: One of our reliable tipsters ran into a young woman at a local PetsMart. The young woman was there because her dog, Pickle, goes to day camp at the store. And in conversation our tipster learned that Pickle was given to the woman as a birthday present a couple of years ago. Now the woman is returning to school and moving into an apartment. Because of her all-too-common-human situation, Pickle the Dog needs a new home.

Here is the young woman's description of bull terrier mix Pickle: "He is going to be 2 years old on Nov. 29. He is a loving puppy. Many people think because he is a bull mix that he is aggressive but that is the total opposite. He is a playful puppy who is very energetic. He loves to play and run around like crazy. He is great with older kids ages 8 and above because he likes to wrestle. He is good with other dogs his size that are playful like him and not aggressive."

Pickle has a slight allergy to some things, but it "isn't a big problem," his human says.

"Pickle also is housetrained. He does all his business outside. When he needs to go, he lets you know by standing by the patio door. Pickle is an in-home puppy."

He sleeps in the human bed, he rides in the human car. He just needs a new human home. E-mail [email protected] to ask about Pickle.

(Note from exasperated writer: The Pickle story came to my in-box without a phone number or way to swiftly contact the human so we can make sure Pickle still needs a home. I've included Pickle here today because I'm erring on the side of caution and I'm trying to help the dog. Please, include contact information, especially when you forward e-mails. Many a time I've gotten forwarded e-mails labeled "desperate situation" and they just don't have a way to contact the desperate people. Always include solid contact information. It's a simple concept. Failure to include a contact number or valid e-mail address isn't helping the animals.)

COMING UP THIS WEEKEND: Ah, if the weekend is coming it's time for our weekly feature "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie and Napping Cats Nap." This week we'll spotlight a couple of dogs that forced the human off the bed. Big dogs? Well, visit www.readlarrypowell.com this weekend and you'll see how big.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to nominate a critter -- any kind of critter from lizards to llamas, from ants to aardvarks -- for this feature, snap a digital photo of the sleeping animal and e-mail it to [email protected]. We're always happy to remind the world that a good nap is worth taking.

By the way, our site-tracker this past week has pinpointed readers in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Ivory Coast in Africa -- not to mention readers from the Atlantic to Pacific on our own continent (including Canada!). If your sleeping animal is featured on www.readlarrypowell.com, there's no telling who is going to see the photo. After all, the Queen of England has corgis -- I'm hoping to hear from her some day soon. Those corgis have to sleep sometime.

Thanks to you all for helping animals.

It must be the heat....

Look, it's time for honest, emotional reaction involving the heat. Better at the keyboard than at the steering wheel, right?

I'm a native Texan. Born in Bowie County, two blocks inside the state line. I love my state. I love it from Texarkana to El Paso, from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, from the Red River Valley to the Rio Grande Valley....You get my drift, pardner. But if this heat doesn't break, I'm moving Martha, the dogs, the cats and me north. Way north. Arctic Circle north. (The photo at the left is an "art shot" of a cocker spaniel and a Chihuahua mix flat out on the cool floor on a hot afternoon.)

A former colleague of mine, a really nice person who also got the heave-ho from the big paper, started her new job at a paper in Anchorage.

While we were sitting here in Dallas simmering at more than 100 punishing degrees, the afternoon temp in Anchorage was SIXTY-ONE DEGREES.

The Anchorage Daily News even had a quote about a current storm from National Weather Service Meteorologist Bob Hopkins: "We don't usually see this sort of strong storm in August. We're definitely in the fall [weather] pattern now."

Oh, to be in a fall weather pattern. My personal heat index isn't functioning because my sweat shorted out the computations. I know I'm not alone in wishing that autumn might come a little early to Dallas.

We're quite an afflicted town: Impossibly hot weather and a city hall that's having a melt-down.

There was one sign of autumn yesterday. My perspirespouse Martha went to Fair Park to help judge the entries in the "Holiday Corner" arts and crafts displays for the State Fair of Texas (www.bigtex.com)

The Farmer's Almanac (www.almanac.com) says autumn will arrive in Dallas on Sept. 22. The State Fair runs Sept. 30-Oct. 23. It'll be all autumn, all-the-time at the Fair.

Once I thought I saw the Northern Lights. It was simply a hallucination brought on by a Christmas Day heat stroke. I'm kidding -- but only a little bit.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS FACE: Oh, my, this is Frances, though Katie Brown of East Lake Pet Orphanage, says he really should be "Francis" because he's a boy and was named after St. Francis of Assisi. But, the dog doesn't care. He's above disagreement over a vowel.

Frances arrived at the East Lake Pet Orphanage via the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter, the Cedar Hill-Duncanville-DeSoto facility. Katie says the theory is someone had abandoned him. His fur was about 5 inches thick and "completely matted. He was also covered in these weird thorns, many of which were imbedded under his skin, causing abscesses all over his body."

But that wasn't Frances' main problem. This lively poodle mix is a three-legged dog now..

A break in his left rear leg was so complete and so old that "he had not been using that leg for a long time," Katie says. Amputation was the only solution to his leg problem.

"His recovery has been remarkable," Katie says. "He runs as fast as any four-legged dog and is so loving and sweet you'd think he has led a life of pampering but clearly he has had a very rough go of it in the two years he has been in the world."

He's available for adoption to a really special home. Visit East Lake Pet Orphanage at 10101 E. Northwest Highway or go to www.elpo.org.

Katie says "when I hold him in my lap, he puts his head on my shoulder and wraps his paws around my neck."

CISSY'S SITUATION: Well, my goodness, Cissy has some miles on her. She was abandoned as a puppy in a thrift store parking lot in 1995 in Springfield, Ohio. As it turns out, the thrift store was operated by the local animal welfare league.

We get this from Jan Gordon of Lexee's Legacy. She's currently fostering Cissy, a housebroken, smart dog who prefers -- well, insists, actually -- on being an only dog.

Why does Lexee's Legacy have Cissy? It's a sad tale. Both of Cissy's longtime humans are gone now. But people took steps to make sure Cissy would be able to find a home for her golden years. To volunteer to help with Cissy, call 972-245-0900 or 24-876-1372 or visit www.lexeeslegacy.com.

OH, MY, LEON! Here's a dog with a sensational set of ears. This dog's name is Leon and he's currently in the care of HART, the Humane Animal Rescue Team. Patty Spring is fostering him and she says, "I know there are many, many foster animals out there, but I have had my current foster for over six months and am trying desperately to get him placed. His collar still says 'BE MINE' because I rescued him the shelter around Valentine's Day.

" He's a sweet, little loveable dog who is getting way attached to me. I am worried that if I don't place him soon, his transition into his forever home will only be more traumatic." (You can inquire about adopting or fostering this fine-eared dog at www.hartoftexas.org.)

Leon's official description is 6-year-old corgi-pom mix, 20-pounds, great on a leash, congenial with other pets and "a happy little guy."

Here's the telling sentence: "He likes to be with you as much as he can, even if it means following you to the bathroom."

OH, BOY, HERE IS A DAWG! This guy is Walter. He's a Black Mouth Cur mix and he's currently in the care of the Humane Society of Lewisville (www.hsltexas.org). But he needs a home. And he's a special needs dog, says Colleen Ament of the HSL.

"This dog is so easy to love, I don't understand why we still have him," she says.

Walter is 8 years old, neutered and "a perfect gentleman, says Colleen.

"He was abandoned with 4 other dogs. His owners moved away and left them. Walter is heartworm negative and housetrained.

"He has some arthritis in his left elbow that is being treated with Cosequin and seems to be improving.

"Some cruel person also shot him with a pellet gun. He has 3 pellets in his backside."

(NOTE TO PERSON WHO SHOT WALTER: What I am about to say to you is not endorsed by the Humane Society of Lewisville or any other humane society or animal rescue or welfare group, or the Congress of the United States or the White House or anybody else, but if I find you, I will take that pellet gun and shove it so far up some place tender that, unless the rifle barrel warps, you'll never have to worry about slumping again. I promise you. Pardon my imagery. It must be the heat.)

Now, back to helping Walter, bless his jovial heart. Look at that face! He's quite a gent, isn't he! Somebody really nice who just needs a good dog and probably doesn't have any cats can adopt him by either going to www.hsltexas.org or e-mailing Colleen at [email protected].

REMINDER: Send your event notices to [email protected] for the monthly Urban Animal magazine list of critter-related activities. We're working on the October/November edition and we already have some interesting events on the schedule including a festival called "Bull-o-ween," a celebration of bulldogs hosted Oct. 8 by the Lone Star Bulldog Rescue people. (Visit www.dfwbulldogrescue.org.) This is how the bulldog folks and their friends raise money by celebrating Halloween.

In November, of course, we'll list the annual Giblet Festival at Turkey, Texas -- everything else is gravy.

On Target; opportunities to help

As someone familiar with at least 24 of the 26 letters of the alphabet, I'll read anything, even junk mail and spam. Of course, at my age, the print is always too small.

My New Yorker arrived Monday afternoon, the same day that Garth Brooks announced that he'd signed an exclusive contract to distribute his music through Wal-mart. He's now like everybody else who retired earlier. Going to Wal-mart to see about getting a good deal.

Now, here's the thing about my Aug. 22 edition of the New Yorker. It's sponsored by Target. That's right. Every display ad is a Target ad. Odd, eh? Might be the wave of the future. Some company buying an entire magazine for a month. Money talks.

You do wonder who'll buy that ad space in the next edition, though. If you'd like to sponsor the rest of my publishing life and your checking accounts are extraordinarily healthy, why, e-mail me. We can work something out. You'll have big money, I'll have big money and neither of us will have to go to Wal-mart and listen to relentless Garth music on the public address system. Not that he's all bad, but I'll bet there's a Garth Christmas album that'll be playing from Halloween until the reindeer are back in the barn.

By the way, this New Yorker issue has an interesting story about Kinky Friedman, or, as I like to call him, "the next governor of the Lone Star State." Some people may think his candidacy is a lark. But, if it is, that's OK because the lark may be running against some real dodo birds. And, frankly, Texas taxpayers are probably tired of being the pigeons.

CLEAN WEEKEND: Dana Miller of the Richardson Humane Society reminds us that you can get your dog washed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Petco at the corner of Spring Valley and Plano Road in Richardson. Medium-to-large dogs get the beauty treatment for a $15 donation, small dogs get all spiffed up for $10. The money goes to help the homeless critters taken in by RHS. (See www.richardsonhumanesociety.org.)

MANDY'S NEEDS: "I love her dearly already," says Charlene Orr. "Her" is Mandy and she's got quite a story. Charlene found Mandy on Rose Hill Road in western Kaufman County. This poor momma dog was standing on the side of the road with one of her pups and they were looking back onto the asphalt at her other pup -- dead from an encounter with a car. Someone, Charlene says, had dumped them all on the side of the road and driven away. The pup was taken to the SPCA. Mandy is at Charlene's place and though she's a gentle dog, the family already has three dogs and a cat. "She needs a home that can provide her all the opportunities she's never had," says Charlene. Mandy is recovering from assorted minor problems (fleas, etc.). You can read more about Mandy's adventure at http://www.saveadog.net/Mandy/mandy.htm. If you're interested in fostering or somehow helping Charlene find a really good home for this heartbreak dog, e-mail [email protected].

ROCKY AND FRIENDS: I'm starting to think of Cary Birdwell as the "Authoritative Dog Try-out Guy." He's got a knack for spotting the extra special dogs -- oh, come on, as Cary and the rest of us know, they're ALL extra special. In recent weeks, Cary's "tried out" several dogs for their congeniality, manners and companionship.

In this case, he's met up with Rocky, a "short-haired Heinz 57 ... and I was surprised that a dog like this should be homeless." He's well-behaved, "light on the leash," isn't an intrusion and is polite. Cary says Rocky was found in Alvarado by a family that took him in, had him checked out and, of course, neutered. This was six months ago. Right now Rocky shares a home with 5 adult male dogs and "gets along with all of them," Cary says. He doesn't get along with the neighborhood squirrels and he probably wouldn't do well in a home with smaller mammals, but his foster mom says he's "the perfect companion." And Cary says that Rocky seems like a perfect guy's dog. (To inquire about Rocky, e-mal [email protected] or call 817-275-3588 or 817-261-8023. Or e-mail [email protected]. Visit www.adifferentbreed.org.)

Cary also pinpoints some dogs that are in Dallas Animal Services that are desperate for homes -- and you know why. Time's moving on toward their final deadlines.

Among them are Dolly, a young Rottie mix; Dakota, a year-old male Collie/husky mix ("Very stunning and lots of character," Cary says.); Rabbit, a 6-month-old collie/Aussie mix and, a 4-month-old black lab mix named Martha. Cary says, "Martha is clearly upset in this photo, but she was much livelier at the adopt-a-pet..

You can see these photos of these dogs at http://www.petfinder.org/pet.cgi?action=1&pet.Shelterid=TX236&preview=1&. Or you can see them in person at the City of Dallas' animal shelters, the Forney Road Shelter or the Oak Cliff Shelter. And don't be afraid to go there because you'll be depressed. Think how great you'll feel if you rescue Martha or Rabbit or Dakota or any of the dozens and dozens of dogs and cats from the city shelters. You'll make the city employees feel a little better, too. Dallas Animal Services would much rather adopt animals than consider the alternative.

I realize that most of the readers of this site are already booked solid with dogs and cats, but you never know when someone who isn't in the "animal rescue community" will wander past and we'll be able to preach to someone other than the usual choir! Can I get an amen! And, of course, here's a big "thank you" to Deacon Cary of the Church of the Adoptable Critters. Hallelujah!

Relax, I'm not taking up an offering. If I ask for donations, I usually wind up with an extra dog or a box of kittens. When you already have a houseful of critters, it really is better to give than to receive.

Paving, postman and partying

Congratulations to Mayor Laura Miller. We'll get to that in just a second. I know she's proud, though!

Looks like a scorcher today, they say. And today is the day the city picked to put down a new surface on the street in front of our house.

The dogs and I are trapped in our own home. For the first time, I can relate to Martha Stewart. Annie, the giant puppy, tearfully asked, "Are we going to have to wear ankle bracelets? And what are 'ankles'?" (That's Annie being held by an old wino about 14 months ago. That's also Annie on the back of the couch this morning after she spent a little time watching the paving crew at work on our street.)

The official paving notice, slipped onto neighborhood doorknobs last week, said "Depending on weather conditions, the material sets in 4 to 5 hours and then will not track when walked or driven on."

Unfortunately, the note doesn't explain "weather conditions." One wonders if the street sets better in 100-degree heat or if the heat will make the surface soft until nightfall. Well, at least they're paving in Oak Cliff. Someone must have needed to hide a body in a pothole and cover it up.

TV NOTE: The Bow Wow Meow Show, put together by the Kinder Harbors Animal Sanctuary people, is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight on Comcast Channel 27 -- that's a cable access channel. Just FYI.

HIGH FIVE, MAYOR! TEQUILA SHOOTERS FOR EVERYBODY! Dallas' Mayor Laura Miller is a proud grad of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (www.lauramiller.com/html/biography.shtml). And word out today is that Wisconsin-Madison has been voted -- by America's genius college students -- to be the nation's best party school.

I think the university has had this reputation for a while now. And I suspect that attending a party school is probably the best preparation you could have for being mayor of Dallas and dealing with the city council and the plan commission. Heck, city hall ain't nothin' but one big party these days. Just ask the FBI.

AFTERMATH: The postman arrived Monday afternoon about the time a TV weatherman said the heat suppressing clear thought in our area felt like 105 degrees.

I knew that the postman was arriving because the dogs went ape at the window behind the couch. They throw themselves atop the couch then bark as if they've spotted Bigfoot trying to steal my pickup.

This was a relief postman -- not the usual guy. I went out onto the porch to apologize for the dogs barking frenzy and it's one of those rare times I've felt sympathy for a postman -- usually I've envied them. But this poor guy, bless his heart, was just about to drown in his own sweat.

Wiping his brow with a white hanky, he said he'd much rather have the big dogs barking at him than the little dogs chasing him. The big dogs seem to be friendly after the initial rush, but the little dogs are determined to rip your leg off.

As I explained to the postman, he was getting an unusually shrill and cacophonous greeting because we'd lost Vera, the Chihuahua mix, last Thursday and she'd been the leader of the "Kill the Postman Pack." She felt it was her duty to kick off the barkfest, then made sure everyone else kept time. A period of adjustment was underway in our canine world.

On Friday, and again on Saturday, I watched as three or four dogs realized the postman was already at the mail slot, then they hustled to sleepily jump on the back of the couch and give a few half-hearted woofs toward the back of the letter carrier as he walked away. They felt shamed that they'd let a postman sneak up on the house.

And, it was obvious that they kept waiting for Vera the Conductor to set off the Rage of Barks. They were lost. One or two of them kept coming in late on the chorus..

But on Monday, Baby Jane, the 100-pound shepherd mix, happened to be propped on the back of the couch when the postman started across the driveway. She lept to her big paws, glared through the window and waited until he was standing with his mail-filled hand out toward the mail slot.

Then she unleashed a shrill, terrifying bark that nearly cracked the glass in my bifocals. I don't know what it did to the postman. But I sure felt the need to apologize.

At least five other dogs joined in on this barking madness and I finally calmed them down by saying, "He's our postman! He's our postman!" (That's how I keep them quiet when they spot a feral cat walking through a flowerbed. "He's our cat! He's our cat!" They usually return to napping.)

The postman left the mail Monday. There were some bills. Of course. And I'm thinking the dogs' have the right attitude about trying to scare off the bills.

So, the conflict continues. I chide the dogs for being stereotypical, but, of course, they are like our children. They ignore my advice, too.

Dogs in need, a vigil report

Here, as the afternoon wanes, we've got some thoughts on lost-and-found dogs at the Richardson Animal Shelter and the Saturday night vigil for homeless animals.

LOST AND FOUND AND LOST AND FOUND DOGS NEED A HOME: My longtime newspaper colleague Karen Patterson, one of a legion of animal softies in journalism, managed to grab two dogs Thursday morning from their hangout near Dickey's Barbecue, across from Medical City on Forest Lane near Central. It wasn't easy -- Karen had to give up her bag of Sun Chips in exchange for capture of the big dogs.

One is a "big affable boy (perhaps some sort of lab-shepherd mix, tan-colored, interesting face)." That guy, charmed by the chips, "without prompting, climbed into the back hatch of my Subaru," Karen reports.

The other, a black-and-white mix, possibly with border collie, was a little more skittish and didn't want to get into the car, but he also didn't want to be separated from his friend, so Karen says she "was able to coax him over and lift him into the back."

Running late, she rushed home and put the dogs into her back yard-- Karen's personal dogs set up a howl from inside the house. When Karen returned home later Thursday, she says, "it was apparent immediately how clever the two were. They'd found the spot in my fence where termites had eaten out the bottom cross-bar, popped out a few boards there and made their escape."

This upset Karen quite a bit and she made a desperate but futile search of the neighborhood. On Friday when she returned home, she saw a yellow sign on a corner utility pole that said the dogs had been found. A woman down the street had grabbed them on Thursday. "The big, friendly boy lumbered easily into her Suburban and snuggled in right next to her kids. When that happened, the apparent border mix circled and circled her car, trying to figure out what to do. Eventually she was able to capture that dog, too."

This rescuer is new to the neighborhood, pregnant and has a couple of kids and her yard has no fence. Another neighbor took the dogs in and sat in the heat and watched to make sure they wouldn't dig out. The Suburban rescuer began making phone calls to find a spot in a shelter and, eventually, took them to the Richardson Animal Shelter "hoping they would fare better there than in Dallas," Karen says.

So, there are at least two great dogs available at the Richardson Animal Shelter. The web site is www.cor.net/AnimalShelter/homepage.html.

Be a rotten shame to let these two congenial dogs go homeless until they die. Shelters are always, as Karen says, "a big risk, especially for big dogs."

RANDOM NOTES FROM SATURDAY'S VIGIL: Ah, the 10th annual North Texas Homeless Animal Vigil is finished, but images remain -- one of the most vivid is the "Links of Life" display from Legacy Boxer Rescue (www.savetheboxers.com). Volunteers spent hours and hours pasting more than 8,000 multicolored paper bands together to represent all the homeless animals killed in our area on one day picked at random from 2004. It was a huge pile of paper -- huge. I kept thinking, "If these were the bodies of all those animals, people would be up in arms." And they ought to be even if it's only paper. ...

The Homeless Animal Vigil is always in August -- that's because the originators, the International Society of Animal Rights (www.isaronline.org) picked it and, apparently, those folks are all located in the coolish east where they say things like "Oh, it's mid-August, better bring a sweater." You know, Arbor Days isn't celebrated on the same day in all states. Maybe someone could figure out a way to move the vigil to a cooler month. I'm speaking on behalf of all people and dogs who need cool breezes, a good chill and no heat strokes! ...

One of the speakers, Dr. John Pippin, a renowned cardiologist, made it clear to the crowd that he believes use of animals in medical research is misguided. He was at Cooper Clinic until he had a falling out with the boss over that very point. You can Google Dr. Pippin and get several "hits" on his pro-animal activities. He is a really nice guy who believes that the computer is a more powerful medical research tool than one more dead puppy. (My words, not his -- he'd probably say it better.) ...

We saw Beverly Miles of DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue (www.dfwcockerrescue.8m.com) and learned that Celeste, a down-on-her luck cocker featured by readlarrypowell.com a couple of weeks ago, has been happily adopted. We also saw a cocker spaniel I wrote about last year -- he's Walker, the fellow whose face had been kicked in and his jaw broken. (That's last year's photo.) The injury left him unable to keep his tongue in his mouth and he sort of looks like he's got an attitude most of the time! He's a sweetie, though, and as one of his human's said of the now-pudgy cocker, he has no trouble eating! ....

We saw Deb Stover with a giant schnauzer who's had a metal plate put into his hip -- he didn't seem to be having any problems moving along in the Carrollton Amphitheater which, by the way, was a pretty nice place to have this vigil and I hope that's where it is next year, too. ....

We saw Jeneva O'Connor of N-Trust-Ur-Pet and Melissa Boesch, two of Martha's longtime pet-sitting buddies (I've known Melissa since she was a teenager working in the sports department at the big paper). They were there with Penny the Dog and Nemo the Beagle, a couple of lively rascals. ...

Sunny 97.1 FM radio personality Eddie Coyle and his wife, Terra, (A vivid personality, too!) were there. They're animal nuts. Eddie's on the board of A Different Breed. Monique Voelker was there with A Different Breed (www.adifferentbreed.org) , which has some interesting bracelets with which it's raising money -- the bracelets have the numbered tags of animals that nobody saved. ...

Angie Thomas, with Kittieco Cat Rescue (www.kittico.org) was there -- good to see her up and around. She had a big medical bout last year and won and is still out there preaching the gospel of spaying and neutering. Amen. ...

I know I'm leaving lots of people out -- there were lots of people there, including the Sadie Foundation (www.petfinder.com/shelters/sadie.html), Basenji Rescue, DFW Lab Rescue --heck, I can't name them all. But, to High Paws to all of you....

Speaker Jay Sabbatucci of the Humane Society of the United States brought me to tears with a story about a tragic incident in which a big dog drowned in a river -- that event inspired a woman to get into animal rescue. She wanted all the animals to have a better chance at life. ...

And, of course, you've got to be in awe of Kim Polen and the Treasured Friends folks (www.treasuredfriends.org) who presented this thing in association with the Queenie Foundation (Enid Breakstone, who ramrodded the vigil for 9 years, has moved back east and sent a recorded message to the crowd. It was about a minute long and to the point -- I've kidded that I'm going to e-mail Enid that this was her best speech ever!)....

I hope that next year there's a cold snap and that you can find time to attend this thing. It's important to remember that so many people are working so hard on behalf of dogs and cats and other animals. Heck, there was even a horse there in a pen -- a rescued horse. ...

One of my favorite moments was when I was standing near the stage and getting ready to go on to make my speech and I heard a baying coming from my left -- I looked over in time to see one of the rescued coonhounds pointing his nose into the air and letting rip with a nice coonhound "bay." I didn't take it personally. It reminded me that I was glad nobody showed up with rescued jackasses to bray when I was talking. ...

I'll probably think of more things to mention later....

Oh, yes, food! One of the people I saw there was my ol' newspaper buddy, Jeanette Prasifka -- she was a research librarian at the paper. Now she's owner and chef of highly regarded Crosby Cafe & Catering (www.crosbycafe.com) "specializing in vegetarian & vegan cusine." When I saw her at the vigil she said she had a peanut butter and chocolate brownie in the booth set aside for me -- just what a fat guy needs, one more dessert. Ah, yes, it was a great night:

Go to the park with my funspouse Martha (or, my sweat'nglowspouse, that night), see wonderful animals, see wonderful people, honor volunteers, try to save animals and get another kind of brownie to dream about when I'm trying to diet. Ah, challenges.