The heat is on -- in several ways...

Supposed to get to 99 today. Who among us was so nostalgic for summer that we were able to bring it back for a curtain call?
OK, let’s dive into the day’s activities.
A NEW PRESSURE IN COLLIN COUNTY: Allison Roberts, the Collin County Animal Services shelter walker, reports this morning that the shelter “is taking in a hoarding case. The owner is surrendering the animals because they are over the pet limit. From the same home, they are getting 27 dogs, 30-plus cats. Five dogs came in Wednesday – more to come later.”
Black Lab, Catahoula Mix, senior Chihuahua, terrier mix, Beagle...that’s the inventory so far.  (That’s the senior Chihuahua without a clue in a cage that is likely to be the dog’s final home.)
Allison says the arrival of these animals makes it nearly a cinch that there’ll be euthanasia. (Larry aside: If no one adopts or rescues, there’s only one way to empty the cages. Again, it’s the Texas way of dealing with an animal problem: Let’s kill it.)
The CCAS PetFinder site is HERE .
BLACK DOG FOUND: Not exactly headline news around here – look in the shelter cages. But this one got lucky and fell into the arms of rescuer Elisabeth Rutledge late yesterday.
HERE'S A HAPPY UPDATE: Just before 2 p.m. we got a note from Elisabeth -- Hank the Dog's owners turned up. Hank's an escape artist, they say. So, of course, we'll be happy to note that ID tags and chips are available in the greater Metroplex. This time Hank got really lucky and wasn't picked up by someone who hates animals or needs a guard dog at the drug house or needs a bait dog. Glad to know there's a home for him to go to -- big black dogs are a great treasure in a household.  Here's the rest of the report from this morning....
On second thought, he must have nosed his way into her life. Look at that great face. He’s obviously auditioning for a dental ad. Or maybe just saying, “Hey, what’s up? I’m with you. Let’s go.” That’s the nature of these big pals.
Elisabeth says she found him just off Mockingbird Lane near White Rock Lake. No collar, no chip, but, Elisabeth writes, “He does have lovely manners, an incredibly tolerant temperament and great socialization skills. He is clearly separated from his loving family and needs to find his way back home.”
She walked the neighborhood and put up signs. No response. If you’re missing a Black Lab or know where one belongs, e-mail [email protected].
OK, I’LL POSE FOR ONE PICTURE: Look, I don’t know the story behind this dog or the costume, I only know that I got a note reminding me that the Fort Woof Dog Park’s Barktoberfest is Saturday in Fort Worth and when I clicked on the official website HERE the first thing I saw was this photograph and it struck me right away that here’s a dog who was contemplating either hiring a lawyer or burying fangs into the nearest ankle.
(Aside: Seriously, I’ve been around a lot of canine costume contests in the past quarter-century, but the look on this dog’s face seems to say, “Grrrrrr. Snap the photo and get me out of this.”
On the other hand, most costumed dogs seem to get a kick out of the show – a little praise and they develop enormous pride. I’m speaking of other people’s dogs, of course. The dogs at our house have a “no costumes, no skits” rule – it’s a union thing.)
LOOKING FOR SOME WEST DALLAS HELP: Now, you’ve heard about West Dallas and what a rugged neighborhood it is. But, the truth is there are courageous women who go into it and take a stand against animal cruelty, neglect and abuse.
The legendary Fairy Dogmother of West Dallas, Angie Manriquez, works with tethered dogs, loose dogs, injured dogs, etc.
And others, such as Sherry Kunz, can’t drive through without stopping to help wandering dogs. We’ve written about Sherry’s latest project before. We’ll call them “The Dogs of Bernal Street.”
They wander free, surviving on the kindness of passersby, not far from the Aransas street house where the dog was found dead on a porch, its head stuck between the bars of a porch railing.
Sherry’s written to us today to say, “I really need some help with the Bernal St. (5700 block) dogs. This is the area that I originally counted 13 stray dogs. Most of the original dogs are gone but I still feed 2 every morning before I go to work. I've been doing this for a couple of months now. They know my car and voice. They come running when I call. I've even been giving them flea treatment.
“I am about to go on vacation in October and was hoping someone would volunteer to feed them while I'm gone. The dates are Oct. 12 through the 18th.
“I'll even provide the food. 
“The lady in Prosper has been very helpful. She feeds them one day on the weekend but is willing to try to make it one day during the week but it's so far for her and she has small children. I really wish someone would take them into their program. I would help out any way I can. 
“They are really cute dogs. I'm attaching pictures again. They can email me for further details if they wish to volunteer, [email protected].
“I worry about them, especially the little black dog. I think he may have been a bait dog before because he almost looked like he had a bad case of mange. He looks great now since I've been feeding him on a regular schedule.
“What if someone picks him up since he looks good now and uses him for bait again? He is the friendliest of the two but I have faith that either of them would make great pets for some lucky human.”
HELP WITH A CAT COLONY: As regular Readers of this Readlarrypowell.com animal-friendly news site know, the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake operate (so to speak) the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas.
Not all the fertile ferals make the trip to Gun Barrel City on Tuesdays for their “fix.”
This morning we got a note from Sydney Busch, our longtime Friends of the Animals pal who reports that a woman came to the clinic Tuesday asking for help with “Cherokee Shores’ overwhelming feral cat problem.”
Cherokee Shores is at Mabank, “out by the lake.”
Sydney reports that the woman and a neighbor have been feeding the cats “but we all know that the 15 cats she’s seeing now are actually probably 45 and by spring will be 145.
“She has been trying to socialize when she can, but they all need to be trapped. Most will probably have to be euthanized which is never a good option but better than the death they will most likely have where they are --  and better than reproducing.”
There are organizations that can help with this project. To offer that help, contact Louise Walton at 903-451-3127.
CONTEMPLATIONS: For the first time in more than a decade I was at DFW Airport yesterday and had to park and go inside a terminal --  but only about 50 feet inside and then I hit the wall. You people who travel are probably accustomed to the “wall” that separates non-travelers from the airport shops and lounges. The terrorists won. And the same government announcements are made over and over about the size of bottles in luggage and other things. Probably was my imagination, but I think I everybody in the place was looking suspiciously at everybody else. Travel used to be a wonderful thing – the journey was exciting and relaxing. The atmosphere now is like something out of a fiction about oppressive dictators and a whipped society. Made me mad all over again. Of course, for me, this unpleasant airport atmosphere is just one more reason not to fly. ... How about those Texas Rangers? Home field advantage.  And Mike Napoli, the new Babe Ruth. ... FYI: For a quarter-century I’ve planted pumpkin seeds. Lots of pumpkin seeds. I started trying to have an annual pumpkin crop after I saw Martha Stewart on the Today Show and she said anybody could grow pumpkins. So far I’ve nearly proven her wrong. In all this time I’ve produced maybe 10 Jack-Be-Littles and one – just one – larger “pie” pumpkin. I’m blaming the soil, the searing heat and, of course, the fact that my destiny has never been green – neither environmental nor cash.
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