Blankets, Danes, neglect and a party school?

Before we get to some venting and some neglected dogs, let’s just stipulate this morning that all shelters have more animals than they need and not enough money for publicity to constantly remind people to shop a shelter before they hand over a ton of dough to a roadside vendor, a mail order kennel or a flea  market entrepreneur.
SHELTERS HAVE NEEDS: For example, this morning the interim director of Dallas Animal Services, Dallas Police Lt. Scott Walton, sent out a request for help with bedding at the shelter. “We are quickly running out of blankets,” he reports. The blankets are used to offer a little extra comfort to the animals in the cages. When Lt. Walton took over the shelter, he set as a goal to have these blankets for each animal – the shelter has around 800 cages – almost always full. Almost any kind of blanket works. Lt. Walton says, “Any size will work because it’s for dogs and puppies.  We can cut down large blankets. We are pretty flexible on the material as well.”
Contact the shelter at 214-670-8246 or drop the blankets and other bedding at the lost and found entrance to the shelter, I-30 at Westmoreland.
That dog? That's Angie, a Dachshund mix, who was photographed next to her Dallas Animal Services bed -- and she kind of looks as if she might have done a little time at a boarding school in a previous life and was waiting for the dorm mother to conduct an inspection. (See Angie and other adoptables at www.dallasanimalservices.org.)
A READER VENTS: Our rescue tipster Lorraine Johme has been at this sort of thing a while but every now and then even the most gentle of angels hits a boiling point. Steamed? Read this and see if you’re steamed, too. This morning she writes, “I need to vent to someone who understands the ignorance of animal owners.
“A co-worker had told me some months ago that his neighbor’s dog had puppies again (pit bulls) and they were giving them away. He then explained there was one puppy left and it was the runt and no one wanted it. The couple keeps the four adult dogs in the house but threw this puppy in the back yard to live by itself. My co-worker felt bad for the dog and would go back and pet him and give him treats and we had been trying to locate a safe home for him.
“The last week or so we have worked a lot of hours and my co worker has been sick. Yesterday I asked him how puppy was and he told me he hadn’t gone out to see him in about a week. This morning he came in and told me he went out and called him -- they call him ‘Puppy’-- and he didn’t come to the gate.
“He asked the neighbor if he had found a home for him and he told him no but something was wrong with the dog. He thinks maybe it was bit by something because it is real sick.
“My co worker went back to the gate and called him and he finally came all skinny and sick looking, He looked so bad my co-worker’s wife had to walk away. The neighbor says the puppy has had all his shots, so he doesn’t know what is wrong. UGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!  This drives me nuts!
“So I’m praying today he makes it until 3:30 when we get off and I can get him to a vet. This may cause a 27-year marriage to end in divorce but I’m not going to sit by and watch a dog die. I have four sometimes five on the weekends and can’t take him home. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Lorraine could use some help with this rescue – a place for the dog to go, specifically, and a tip on a vet who’ll help with the treatment. (Maybe even some pledges in case the dog isn’t fatally ill from neglect and the sad and sickening behavior of humans.) E-mail Lorraine at [email protected] or call 972-948-7907 to offer help.
IT’S DANEFEST TIME: One of the biggest dog events of the year is this Saturday. It’s Danefest, a celebration of the big ol’ dawgs. This photo and the Danefest info came to us courtesy of GDRNT volunteer Kayrene Janak. She says this dog is Bubba and he’s one of the adoptables available through Great Dane Rescue of North Texas, the organizer of Danefest. It’s a combination festival and reunion. (The adoptables won’t be at Danefest, but there will be Danes that have already been adopted so, if you’re contemplating adopting a Dane, you can talk to people who have already taken the plunge and discovered the joys of a big dog around the house.)
As you may note, while big ol’ Bubba lounges on the floor, there’s another dog blissfully enjoying some time on the couch. This demonstrates two things: Bubba will pose for photographs and another dog got his spot on the couch. Some people think Great Dane’s have natural outdoor tendencies, but the truth is they are nearly human in that they love air conditioning and prefer to be on a roomy couch while watching television.
You can get to know the breed at Danefest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Dogs unleashed Daycare, 2740 Keller Hicks Road, in Keller, Texas. Read more about Great Dane Rescue of North Texas HERE.
Not only will there be food and vendors and conversation at the Danefest, but you can buy raffle tickets ($5 each) for a “3G/54GB iPad.” (Larry aside: I don’t really know what all that means but it sounds like it’s worth five bucks and the money goes to help the Great Danes. FYI: This makes me miss our big ol’ Dane/Lab mix, Hambone Jack – Hammy was the best of both breeds united in the most remarkable of souls. If you live your life without a friend like Hammy, then you’ve just about wasted a lifetime of love.)
THE COCKER SPANIEL IN MESQUITE: I’m not sure how to report this. But I will start with the latest note from the person who found the dog and issued a request for help via Craigslist and the Mesquite Animal Shelter “found” website yesterday.
This morning the finder responded to my question about the dog’s whereabouts with “The dog is at Mesquite shelter as of now. A lot of people asking for someone to help but don’t know.”
On Wednesday, the first note read, “Found it yesterday. Posted on Mesquite and craigslist and in my area. Husband said I have to get rid of it today. I don’t think it has much sight at all. It is fat so I know someone was feeding it but it wasn’t being cared for. It has a cough also. Gave it a flea pill. I have to take it to the shelter when they open. I hate to do that but husband putting his foot down.”
That’s a picture of this dog. Anyone who knows Cocker Spaniels knows that neglect is the biggest enemy (like for most dogs with long coats) and that it takes an investment of love to nurture a dog. Any dog. They invest in you first.
I don’t know what the fate of this Cocker Spaniel will be – or has been – but I do know that this is a dog that hasn’t gotten a break. Maybe, if it’s not too late, it’ll get one. The shelter’s number is 972-216-6283 (it opens at 11 a.m.) and the shelter is at 1650 Gross Road in Mesquite.
CONTEMPLATONS: How can the Animal Rescue Community educate people to be kind to animals? And don’t say “two-by-four to the head” because I’m not sure a blow to the head will affect some of these people. Got to be education – or shock collars on the people. The thought of that kind of makes me smile. When it’s time to feed the dog, zap. Heh, heh. ... Saw a headline on AOL: “Actor may come out of retirement.” Hoped it was Gene Hackman. Wasn’t. Joaquin Phoenix. Didn’t realize he had retired. ... I didn’t graduate from Texarkana College, but I did attend the school for two years and several years ago the college presented me with an “Honorary Associate Degree in Journalism.” I bring this up to proudly point out that my old school is NOT on Playboy magazine’s latest list of the top 10 party schools in America. Yep, at Texarkana College, it’s the knowledge that counts. And they’re not even paying me to say this. I also haven’t been invited to any parties – not that they have any, of course.  
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