In our early Friday edition of Readlarrypowell.com we mentioned that the SPCA of Texas was involved in another seizure of mistreated animals.
We'll give you that follow-up in a second. It seems appropriate first to mention the note that Erin Eads sent us this afternoon.
"Our church is going to have another free 'Blessing of the Animals' tomorrow (let's hope for another sunny day')," Erin writes.
Here are the details: The blessing is at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, 3014 Oak Lawn Avenue in Dallas. Erin says each blessed animal gets a free certificate with the pet's name and the blessing.
When I saw Erin's note, it struck me that there will be a lot of animals who need "blessing" that won't get there Saturday. So, maybe, someone can just say a "blanket" blessing for all of those and a prayer that they'll all find a helping hand from a good human. There are good humans, though we tend to overlook them sometimes and forget that they, too, are blessings for their animals and all animals they encounter.
Maybe someone can come up with a "Blessing of the Animal People."
Now, this morning we mentioned the news release from the SPCA's Maura Davies. The organization had been busy in Van Zandt County to the east of Dallas on Thursday, picking up 8 small dogs and 3 cats from an unpleasant and dangerous "rancid" house. Those dogs went to the SPCA's Dealey facility in Dallas.
On Friday morning, the SPCA and the Grayson County Precinct 2 Constables's office teamed to confiscate six dogs -- no evidence that the dogs were receiving food and water. (Click on the photo to make it larger and you can see the tether on the dog's neck.) Fleas were everywhere and didn't just bother the dogs -- the infestation was so dramatic that the SPCA rescue staff suffered from intense attacks.
(Aside: If you've ever been in one of those situations, I apologize for the graphic detail. I know your skin -- like mine -- is crawling already.)
How did the SPCA and the Constable know about these six dogs? A "concerned citizen" tipped authorities.
Despite visits by authorities, the owner made no effort to improve things, so a seizure warrant was issued. Those six dogs are at the SPCA's McKinney facility.
As per usual, the animals seized will be subjects of custody hearings. Eventually, if all goes like it usually does, courts will grant custody to the SPCA and order the dogs' original owners to pay restitution. Then, the dogs, if they're healthy and social, will be available for adoption.
Read more about the SPCA's rescue work and see how to submit rescue tips to the organization at www.spca.org.
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