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On Leap Day, some things to consider

{Inexplicably, this posting didn't "take" this morning, so we're just now getting it to show up on Readlarrypowell.com. You'll apprecaite a "contemplations" sentiment at the end of the post.)
Happy birthday to you Feb. 29 folks. You Leap Year Babies. Leaplings, some people call them.
Yep, finally, your actual birthday shows up.
Must be the toughest thing in the world to explain to kids who have no concept of calendars. Oh, and it’s National Confusion Day For the Calendar Impaired. This will all clear up by the time the sun rises on Feb. 30
Oh, that photo?
Why that is a dog taking part in a Leap Day fund-raising campaign. We know this because we got the e-mail this morning from the folks at Legacy Boxer Rescue. You know Legacy, of course. It’s the group with it’s mission statement in its web address: www.savetheboxers.org.
At any rate, this is a photo of the Legacy Boxer Rescue alumnus Klondike. The email caption reads that “Klondike shows off his leaping skills for Leap Year! He would like you to donate $29 in honor of this day we only see every 4 years! He's a little sad every day isn't Leap Day!”
And, of course, you can click HERE  to go to Legacy’s donate page.
While Legacy had the notice, probably any rescue group would love to get a donation today. And tomorrow. And the day after that.  These shelters and rescue groups can’t just survive on puppy love and cat tales.
MAC TO HONOR TWO REAL MEN: A couple of years ago the Metroplex Animal Coalition and Dallas Animal Advocates  started a spay/neuter campaign themed “Real Men Neuter.”
You may have seen the ads on the sides of buses.
Because North Texas is the nation’s Premier Party Prairie, MAC and Dallas Animal Advocates began organizing an annual Real Men party honoring actual men who’d made a difference in the world of animals. Last year’s was the first. For the second…well, click on that artwork to get the details.
This year, MAC plans to honor two more Real Men who’ve been instrumental in bringing attention to animal issues – Skip Trimble, longtime chair of the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission and eternal animal advocate, and the Dallas County District Attorney’s famed animal case prosecutor David Alex. (Aside: Both Real Men are attorneys and I don’t know what we can say about that except that in this age of idiot people, animals need lawyers.)
Click on that artwork to make it larger and see how to get your tickets to the Real Men Party on May 6 at Sambuca Uptown in Dallas. Just FYI: To see how to become a sponsor or to help in ways other than just showing up and celebrating, click HERE.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT: We got this note from Arley Hulstrand of Denton who has become a friend of Barbara Wagstaff who live in Livingston, Texas, and looking for her dog, Sugar, lost in Ponder back in October.
Arley says she first became acquainted with Barbara’s plight when she saw the ad that has been steadily running in the Denton newspaper.
You can tell from the photo that this is a not-so-big dog. In fact, his human, Barbara, says Sugar, now about 3,  is a Miniature Schnauzer who has had neither his ears cropped nor his tail docked.
He’d spent his life playing in “safe woods,” she says, but now he’s in a dangerous area and she’s aware of the risks he faces.
But, she’s hopeful that someone knows what has happened to Sugar – Is he living with someone’s outdoor dogs? Has he been taken in by strangers and charmed them? Barbara is not so young that she can go look for him herself, so she has been trying to engage other folks’ eyes to look for her beloved therapy dog, Sugar.
Arley explains, “Barbara is an elderly woman who has been devastated by his loss, as she had rescued him from a bad situation and blames herself for his disappearance -- which she shouldn't.”
If you know Sugar’s whereabouts, call 207-337-0355 or email [email protected].
(Aside from Larry: Yes, we know this dog vanished in October, but every now and then dogs and cats show up after weeks, months and years in other homes or on the road. Maybe this is the case with Sugar.)
TWO NOTES FROM OUT AT THE LAKE: Ah, “out at the lake.” What a great thought on a day when the Dallas temp is heading toward the 80s and spring fever is setting in. The lake in this case is Cedar Creek Lake, about an hour southeast of Dallas and well known as a getaway place for Metroplexians. In fact, it’s a Dallas Colony and everybody at the lake might as well pay City of Dallas property and sales taxes – stop your gasping for air; I was just kidding. Nobody would try to figure out a way to pull that off.
--Our Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake tipster Sydney Busch forwarded a note from Kay McAdams. The subject line is “little dog dumped out – needs new home please.”
In fact, this is a photo of the cutie who was dumped.
And, as afternoon waned, we got a note from Kay that the dog, found in Mabank, already has a new home. So, there you go.
Kay wrote (on Tuesday), “This little girl was dumped on my street. She has grown up teeth, likes my other dogs, cats and is a very sweet and lovable .Will take for bath tomorrow and then needs home.” (To offer to help out, e-mail [email protected] .)
--We’ve been mentioning the special dog and cat food needs and money needs and volunteer needs and freezer needs at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake shelter in Tool, Texas.  Ah, but here’s the latest need: “weed-eaters.” Shelter Manager Krista Mc Anally says, “The grass is growing and the weed-eaters are worn out from last year! If you have a weed-eater that you would like to donate, we are in dire need. It would be greatly appreciated. We fear losing the dogs in the grass and spring has not sprung.”
To offer to help, e-mail [email protected]. Call 903-432-3422. Visit the adoptables at www.texaslittlecuties.org and see the Society’s website at www.hsccl.org.
LOSING THE BATTLE OF DEATH ROW:
--Earlier in the week we mentioned 3 animals on the clock in Carrollton and one of them – the Lab Blacky -- has been saved, but the little older stray Santiago and the black cat Jemma are waiting. This is their last day if nobody steps up. To save them, call 972-466-3420 or email [email protected].
--Also earlier in the week we mentioned that Dallas Animal Services has 16 dogs on the clock for 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Not a single dog – each and every one healthy and adoptable – has been claimed.
The contacts are [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312. If you’re with a rescue group, e-mail [email protected] or call 214-670-8298.
Go to www.dallasanimalservices.org to see the inventory at the city shelter. And remember, in January, according to shelter figures, the City of Dallas taxpayers paid to have more than 1,200 dogs killed. It’s the ol’ Texas theory: “Got an animal problem? Let’s kill it.”
CONTEMPLATIONS: This morning I was swapping a computer problem frustration note with a local animal fan who wrote, “I want to throw all this crap into the deep blue sea.” It was a line that tickled me and, of course, I noted that should she do that, she’d simply come back home with a van full of orphaned penguins and down-on-their-luck walruses. … Also this morning, another animal advocate, a vigorous worker in the critter world for decades, lamented that sometimes she just wants “to drive off into the sunset…or open a snow cone stand on Maui.” These are emotions she’ll get over with in a few hours. … I guess “compassion fatigue” is more than a theory. But I am thinking of opening a booth at the end of a dock so people can walk out with a computer, donate to an animal group and throw that computer just as far as they can hurl it. Dolphins, too smart to be burdened by compumisery, would politely applaud the human folly.
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OK, just shake your head and read on...

Thanks for reading today. Let’s jump right into today’s report like a Cocker Spaniel into the food dish. Good rule for the day: Keep your ears out of the gravy.
Which reminds me: East Lake Pet Orphanage is celebrating National Pig Day – more on that in a moment. Now, today’s report:
WHAT ANIMALS ARE UP AGAINST: Our longtime tipster Deborah Verner, who has rescued many an animal in southeastern Dallas County, has a son who lives in Dallas and he snapped this photo last night.
At first glance it seems to be a picture of a dog trying to hide behind a utility pole. In reality, this is another not-all-that-uncommon situation in Dallas. Tethering without food, water or shelter.
Deb says this dog has been tethered to a pole in an unpaved alley behind a small apartment complex near Downtown Dallas. For how long? Who knows for sure?  Apparently most of yesterday and as late as 9 p.m. last night. Gone today, however – but nobody knows if the owner got it or if someone else took it or if it chewed loose and is running free.
Last night, Deb emailed that the dog had been there since at least mid-afternoon. (She would have gotten the dog, but was having car trouble and already has more than a houseful.)
Was it sunny yesterday afternoon? Not much shade from a telephone pole.
“My son says she looks healthy, growled at him when he approached her,” Deb writs.
The site is on Knight Street near the Dallas North Tollway.  And you can just about bet if someone cares so little about a dog that they tie it to a pole in an alley, the human also hasn’t bothered to give the dog heartworm preventative and proper vaccinations or have it spayed.
Now, on the other hand, we learn from Deborah that she’s found a home for Bailey. We’ve written about Bailey many times – one of the dogs rescued in the traditional southeast Dallas dumping area near the Dallas-Seagoville city limits.
That was in July 2010 – Bailey was dumped with her pregnant mom, Sadie, who was tended to by Dawna Carabajal. Dawna was able to find homes for Sadie and her 9 younger puppies. Deborah took Bailey and worked and worked with the dog.
Two weeks ago, an e-mail sent out by Dawna touched someone’s heart and they decided to give Bailey (believed to be a pit/Boston Terrier mix) a chance. So far, it’s working.
In the meantime Deborah has been trying to wind down her rescue work – call it compassion fatigue or financial fatigue or plain ol’ “worn out.” While she isn’t looking for animals, they seem to find her. Yesterday, for example, she says there was “a male Pit Bull roaming my neighborhood, and it picked my yard to want to get into.  It tried 3 times to jump my fence, and had my 3 dogs outside all fighting because of it. One big nightmare.”
What are the two common points in these stories? (a) Humans let these animals down and (b) other humans stepped up to try to help them.  And, to quote Deborah, for some animals around here, life is “one big nightmare.”  Can it change? Maybe, for one dog at a time – or one momma and her litter at a time. Depends on the humans.
MEANWHILE IN CARTHAGE: We’ve written before about Glynis Ritter’s one-person efforts to save dogs in Carthage, about 3 hours east of Dallas – take I-20 to Marshall and go south.
Now, she’s got this little dog in her life, but today she plans to turn the dog over to Carthage Animal Control.
She explained in a note yesterday to Readlarrypowell.com, “I am taking care of 17 animals and I don't have any help of any kind.  Right now we have got it in my neighbor’s back yard and in the morning the Carthage ACO will be called to carry it to the pound. I saw it at a neighbor's house Friday and its eye was hanging out. I thought it was there and didn't see it anymore until this afternoon, when I was taking my dog out for a walk, and saw some other neighbor's kids with it in their yard. The little girl wanted me take it to the vet and have its eye fix. Broke my heart to have to tell her that I couldn't. She even thought the vet would fix it for free. I hope there is someone out there that will come save it. The children said, ‘It was a male.’”
She says it is a sweet dog and “has a little red collar on it.”
E-mail [email protected].
WORKING FOR AN ARLINGTON DOG: The noted rescuer and animal networker Nancy Underwood has sent a note about a particular dog in the Arlington Animal Services Shelter. The subject matter on her e-mail was “People never cease to amaze me.”
She writes, “This gorgeous girl's owners (1) never spayed her, (2) allowed her to contract heartworms, (3) dumped her at a shelter at 8 years old.”
And, now, Becka the Dog, a hefty lass, is high-positive for heartworms and will challenge the treasury of a rescuer or rescue group.
Still, she’s a friendly, happy dog who spent 8 years with a family and now is out on her happy ear.
All that stands between her and the needle of death is, indeed, the decency of people she’s never met.
To claim her for a rescue group, e-mail  [email protected] or [email protected] . To read about Arlington’s adoption and rescue procedures, got the shelter website HERE.
And you’ll need this: A15512653. That’s Becka’s number at the shelter.
A DOZEN DOGS IN A CRISIS: Here’s the note from the folks with Metroplex Mutts.  “One of our valued doggie day care partners is closing.  We have until THURSDAY, MARCH 1, find a place for the 12 dogs we have there. Or we can find fosters for dogs that are in other facilities and move some of these doggies into those spots.  We are asking for a one month commitment as it will be a huge job to get them all moved.” To volunteer to help or to ask for info about the dogs, e-mail [email protected].
ASSORTED NOTES:
--When the email from East Lake Pet Orphanage popped open this morning, the first thing I saw was this pig picture. I’ve seen plenty of dogs and cats at East Lake, a rabbit or two and even a goat.  But this pig was vivid enough to catch my attention. It’s the symbol of ELPO’s next big celebration – it’s from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and it’s being billed as “The Only Known Dallas Area National Pig Celebration.”
The Orphanage at 10101 E. Northwest Highway is the adoption arm o East Lake Veterinary Hospital and will host the event.
And the press release reads, “Whether you own a pig or just love them, come join East Lake Veterinary Hospital for their 1st Annual Pig Party. Refreshments, including piggy-pink lemonade and pork-free snacks will be served before the main event, a Pot Bellied Pig race! The event will be fun for the whole family!”
According to ELPO, March 1 is National Pig Day, begun in 1972 in Lubbock.  It was designed as a tribute to what many regard as one smart, loveable critter. Potbellied or otherwise, pigs are frequently described as loving and intelligent.
[Aside from Larry: I recently explained my vegetarianism to a pal of mine this way: I never eat anything that is smarter than some of the people I know. So, I don’t eat animals and there are some tubers and legumes I won’t touch.]
--Last day to buy tickets online to the March 3 (that’s Saturday) Greyhound Adoption League of Texas gala – see the details at www.galtx.org. Greyhounds are fast but they can’t outrun idiot humans and that’s while GALT exists.
--Yesterday we featured the only 3 animals on “the list” at Carrollton Animal Services for Wednesday: Blacky the Lab, Santiago the Little Dog and Jenna the Black Cat. Last night’s report from Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise (CARE) reads, “No adoptions or rescues today, May tomorrow be a better day. Any questions please email us.” You can see the photos by scrolling down to yesterday’s report and the way to contact CARE is call 972-466-3420 or e-mail [email protected].
--Last week we posted a list of things needed by the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake’s shelter at Tool, Texas. Needs have been met with the exception of puppy and adult dog food. A note from Shelter Manager Krista Mc Anally reads, “We prefer lamb and rice or chicken and rice puppy and adult canned dog food.  But we are very grateful for any and all donations.” Transportation can be arranged for large loads or you can drop food off at the shelter in Tool, about an hour southeast of Dallas. E-mail [email protected] and visit the shelter’s website at http://hsccl.org/.
CONTEMPLATIONS: I have a Seiko watch. The dial lights up. The hands keep proper time. And the watch beeps. Nothing I do keeps the watch from beeping whenever it wants to. I’ve gone online to search for beep help. I’m not the only person with this challenge. Out of the blue, tiny metallic beeps. Other than that, good watch. Beep. … If the watch were not enough, I am being driven even nuttier by classical music – the piece they played on the Oscars telecast when Natalie Portman was introduced.. I think it might be Rimskey-Korsakov, but I’m not sure. I’m starting to wonder if my watch is beeping the tune.  … How about that Daytona 500. Ninety minutes of watching a car fahr and cleanup followed by a sprint to the finish line by a bunch of battered jalopies.
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Tank finds a home; others looking...

We greet Monday with a smile. Nay, a big grin – yes, Tank the Dog has found a home.
That’s one and Lord knows how many hundreds to go this week. We’ll tell you a little bit about Tank today and touch on other animals in need and ponder things, too.
TANK’S TRIUMPH: Goodness, gracious, things were going against Tank when he was first introduced to the dog-loving world.
That was a little more than a year ago. You may recall the story. Tank and a little fluffy dog named Misty were left to die on an apartment patio in Bedford.  Tank was so week he could not bark. They were rescued and Misty was adopted right away. (That’s pre-groomed Misty below. And, yes, there was a cruelty conviction in the case.)
Tank the pit was not so swiftly adopted.  Bedford Police Inspector Jennifer Bond took a personal interest in protecting the dog and engaged the Bedford Animal Services Shelter and her dad, Gregg Bond in helping Tank. She vowed that Tank would not be euthanized on her watch.
Until he got involved in protecting Tank, Dad Gregg had been more famous for his work with Kustom Classics, the well-known Fort Worth automobile restoration and enhancement company. To some he’s the guy with the Save Tank Facebook page.
And Friday evening, Dad Gregg proudly sent around this note: “It is my honor to announce that after 1 year, 2 months and 1 day, Tank is now at his forever home. He was adopted by a local family with bully breed experience. It is a great day to see the hard work and love of so many people come to reality. It is what Tank deserved.”
That’s a photo of Tank and his new family (they didn’t want to be named). And that second photo is of Tank shortly after he was rescued off that apartment balcony.
So, what is the lesson here? Any dog can be saved if some humans will make the effort.
MEANWHILE IN THE DALLAS SHELTER: As regular visitors to Readlarrypowell.com know, the folks at Dallas Animal Services prepare a weekly list of VIP -- very important pets -- animals who are on an immediate euthanasia list – they’re perfectly adoptable, but in the busy shelter, they’re taking up space. Nobody’s given them the time of day for 45 days. Healthy and doomed.
It’s note like they’re all raging beauties who’ll wind up on a dog show list. They’re mostly mutts -- like this girl Tanner – 2 years old and 60 pounds. She’s #704389.
One of 16 dogs who’ll get the needle on Saturday, March 3, if nobody steps up to save her.
This list is generally distributed to rescuers and rescue groups and ol’ newshounds like me. But, anybody can go to the city shelter and adopt these animals.
Bring your banker and your credit report: the adoption fee for these dogs is $43.
Here are the contacts for adopting: [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected] or call either 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312.  The rescue contact is [email protected] or call 214-670-8298.
Keep in mind that Tanner and the other VIPs are not the only animals at peril in the city shelter. As was pointed out in the shelter’s report to the Animal Shelter Commission last week, in January of 2012 the city killed more than 1,000 dogs – dogs, cats and other animals euthanized in January totaled 1,234..
MEANWHILE IN COLLIN COUNTY: There are a bunch of animals on the clock at the Collin County Animal Services Shelter in McKinney.  Volunteer shelter walker Allison Roberts describes the shelter as “still completely full.”
Take note: The shelter is closed on Mondays, but in an effort to be available to the general public, it is now open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. (Rescuers can make appoints to rescue on Mondays, however.)
Among the dogs available at shelter is this dog Biscuit, a 2-year-old Aussie Shepherd.
Why is such a beautiful dog in a kill shelter? The background is he got involved in a “scuffle with the other family dog and one of the kids go in the middle and got nipped.”
When Biscuit finished his quarantine time, the owner said, basically, “Keep the dog.”
Biscuit knows “sit” and other commands and is affectionate if he’s not involved in a scuffle.  But aren’t we all.
To as about any animal in the Collin County Animal Services Shelter, e-mail [email protected]  and [email protected]. 
AND IN CARROLLTON: As Carrolton Animal Rescue Enterprise (CARE), the city shelter, enters the new week, there are three animals held over on the euthanasia list for Wednesday the 29^th – yep, Leap Day.
Blacky is the big Lab – he’s 80 pounds, heartworm negative and 1 to 3 years old. Owner-surrender. Yep, someone dumped this dog.  The Carrollton shelter report is that he was surrendered “because he kept jumping the fence to go out and look for a bit more excitement than he had as a back yard dog.” In the shelter, he is a nice get-along dog who is a perfect candidate for a family that’ll embrace him as a housedog. (Aside: At Readlarrypowell.com, we can’t imagine a home without a big ol’ dawg – it would just seem empty of home and heart.)
There’s also a black cat on the list for Wednesday – this girl Jenna. She came in as a stray and, lately, has become disenchanted with shelter life. The stress of the shelter is affecting her moods. Otherwise, she’s adorably friendly and loves a good session of “Pet the Cat.”
And that little dog is Santiago who may be about 15 years old. He was picked up in the middle of the street in a state of confusion. But, in the shelter, he’s been a lovebug and shows some spunk now and then. He’s neutered, had no tags or chip and didn’t have a note explaining who he was or where he belonged.
Nobody has come looking for him. But he didn’t get this old without someone having some affection for him, did he?
To ask about any Carrollton shelter animal call CARE at 972-466-3420 or e-mail [email protected].
CONTEMPLATIONS:  While the price of gasoline has been steadily rising lately, so has the price of soda pop – if cars ran on Coca-Cola instead of gasoline, we’d still be broke at the end of a fill-up. … Discuss: Is the world nuttier than it used to be? … Speaking of nutty. Just got back in from LA – Inky the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas and I took the redeye back from the Oscars.  Nobody asked me who I was wearing but the answer was I’d squeezed myself into a  vintage Coco Chanel LBD. And, Inky simply growled when anyone asked him “Who are you wearing?” He’s sensitive about his luxurious coat ever since Uggi beat him out in the auditions for The Artist – they said Inky was “too handsome.”  Hard to argue that. His big drawback in auditioning for a silent film was he couldn’t be silent. Arf. Arf. Arf. Ad arfbarkinum.
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Portrait: Jessie In Her Chair....

When we saw the photo there was no doubt that this dog would get the spotlight of our weekend feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
The dog is Jessie (actually Jessica Marie) who was caught snoozing by her human Lisa Holcomb.
”This is one of my three dogs, Jessie, snoozing in Her Chair,” Lisa wrote.
Where is Her Chair? Jessie, Lisa and her hubby Matt live in Amarillo, out in the Texas Panhandle. Back to The Story of Sleeping Jessie.
”All of my dogs are rescues,” Lisa says, “But Jessie is the rescue that kept bouncing back to me. She was rescued in 2000 by a trucker, who found her half starved and dumped in the country. He brought her to the Amarillo SPCA, where I was volunteering, and I fell in love with her, and took responsibility for screening her [new] home. I eventually chose a home for her with a family in a nearby town. She lived happily with them for about five years, until the parents decided to divorce.
”They were willing to keep Jessie, but only as an outside dog. My ironclad rule with any animal I place in a home is that if it doesn’t work out, EVER, I want the animal back. They are MY babies, no matter where they are or how much time has passed. And my babies do not live outside.”
[Larry aside: Can we get a vigorous AMEN on that? And, oh, yeah, I just noticed the shadow of a duck’s head on Jessie’s side. At first I thought “pet duck.” And then I realized the very talented Jessie is making a shadow puppet with her ear. Now, back to the real story…]
Lisa continues, “Now, picture this scene. I had been married for less than two months, and my husband and I were eating dinner when I got the call that Jessie needed me. I made plans with the lady to retrieve Jessie, and hung up. I was busily finishing dinner, when I realized that Matt was frozen with a fork in midair, staring at me. He asked mildly, ‘Did we just get another dog?’ (We already had three dogs at that time.) My response was, ‘Oooo, yeah, I guess I should include you in these matters’.
”To be fair, I was happily single until I was 35 years old, and marriage took some getting used to! Thankfully, I married a Perfect Man!
”I spent the next year trying to re-home Jessie, but not everyone is intelligent enough to want a wildly hairy German Shepherd mix in their house that loathes small children (I can’t really hold that against her, because I’ve never met a toddler I liked, either!).
”Jessie went to a couple of homes, but it never worked out (through no fault of Jessie’s -- it was always freak circumstances). For instance, a wonderful older couple adopted her, but they found out very shortly after they took her home that the gentleman had terminal cancer. They were concerned that Jess would get shortchanged with all the uproar in the home, so she came back to me. That was the last time I tried to adopt her. I cried and cried when I went to pick her up, and I told my husband that I just couldn’t give her up again. He smiled and told me to bring her home for good.
“So I did. She is a delight. I call her the Secretary of Defense, because she takes her home security duties seriously. She is currently engaged in an archeological expedition in the backyard with her Basenji mix sister, which is probably going to collapse our shed sooner or later. She loves to go to Sonic for ice cream cones, and she’s learned that the rattling of cookie sheets likely means I am baking dog treats. Not that she gets out of her chair for the treats, mind you--she knows I will bring them to her, so all she has to do is raise her head to get the goodies.
“Anyway, I love her dearly and would not trade for her. She makes me happy and I believe she is happy. I thank God every day for her.”
[To nominate your sleeping dog, napping cat, dozing dingo, etc., for Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, send photo and info to [email protected]. We’re proud to show off your slumberers to the rest of the world. Remember, no matter what time zone you’re in around the globe, there’s an insomniac who might be reading this feature.]
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A commission meeting -- an illuminating event...

You know what they call the euthanasia room at Dallas Animal Services?
They call it “The Lab.”  More on The Lab and a little dog's fate later.
Penny Lane, Rewind, the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meeting – three of our topics today. And, yes, we’ll address the city's euthanasia rate, too.
This Friday report may be a little longer than usual but I’ll try to use short consonants and reduced calorie vowels and see what we can squeeze into the space.
To summarize, Penny Lane is a safe dog, Rewind is a famous sewer cat and the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meeting exposes some good, some bad and some waiting to happen. The euthanasia rate isn’t plummeting. Here goes:
ANIMAL SHELTER (The Unhired, Part 1): To keep this Commisson meeting report from being one long, long block of type, I’m going to break up the shelter story in brief (I hope to high heaven) segments. The first has to do with PDQ and jobs.
I was going to summarize the Commission meeting but I tried about a dozen times and kept bogging down on the part about how the city’s shelter hires are on the slow track. There are more than two dozen openings (result of the giant RIF of regulars in favor of temps back in October) and there may not be a fast track.
In fact, one of the things some of us learned at the meeting was that in the bureaucratic lingo at Dallas City Hall “PDQ” doesn’t mean “pretty darn quick.” It means Position Description Questionnaire – and creating one for each position was a time-consuming event.
That poster (click on it to blow it up) is about a “community outreach” effort Saturday by Dallas Animal Services and supporters. And, yes, the community reached back to embrace the idea, Why? One reason was that a key person with the Trinity Mission happily explained that his beloved cat came from DAS. Yes, DAS is and has made great matches and build up community support for years. (We now take a break.)
PENNY LANE’S STORY: We’re interrupting our shelter report to follow up on the story of the elusive wandering dog Maria Llano spotted in the White Rock Lake area 2 weeks ago and followed and watched as Garland Animal Control picked up the pup and got her to safety off the streets.
Maria took a personal interest in this 2-year-old dog’s future and didn’t let the case drop. And, as a result, well, here’s Maria’s report. (As you can see from the photo, the pup is on the affectionate side.)
Maria writes, “She is OUT of the shelter and is now named Penny Lane.  I have no idea why that name came to me, it just did.  I like The Beatles but I'm not a huge fan....it just stuck and it fits her. She is a small, compact girl, only 44 pounds but all muscle.  The vet said overall she is healthy and strong.”
Penny Lane went to a foster home yesterday and spent her first night off the streets and out of a shelter in who knows how long. But she still has a bit of a road ahead of her.
”Unfortunately she is heartworm positive, has kennel cough, an ear infection and is in heat.  She was at the shelter for 10 days in a cage by herself so the probability that she is pregnant is low.
“The good news is that her cyst [on her leg], based on the vet's opinion, is a fleshy mass, no fluid and can be removed easily when she is spayed.
”The even better news is that she is a total doll. She let the vet and vet tech poke and prod her, pick her up, trim her nails and Penny remained a trooper and wagged her tail the whole time.  Next steps for her will be spay and mass removal then heartworm treatment.
”I took her for a walk in my neighborhood and she walked by two yards with barking dogs and she walked up to each with a wagging tail, sniffed and moved on....not much interest.
“She has an interested adopter as long as she is calm and non-aggressive.  Of course, she has been locked up for 10 days and is in heat so her foster will be monitoring her personality closely and a meeting with the potential family will be coming up soon.”
Maria also says that “she's got to have someone missing her; she has obviously ridden in a car, walked on a leash and been around other dogs and kids and been socialized.  I hate that whoever her owner was didn't take the time to spay or microchip her.  She has had a few litters in her short life.”
So, there you have it. Penny Lane is on the way to being a totally saved dog. There will be expenses. If you or your group would like to help with those expenses, contact Maria at [email protected].
ANIMAL SHELTER (The Unhired, Part II): Returning to our Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meeting: In practice, for most of the two dozen jobs OK’d for DAS, people cannot be hired until a bunch of Civil Service hoops have been jumped through. That includes creating a PDQ for the job – but, of course, PDQs take time. PDQ doesn’t mean “pretty darned quick” and isn’t that a cat litter pan full of irony.
While Dallas Animal Services Director Jody Jones provided the bulk of the positive report and fielded a lot of tough questions, Code Enforcement Director Jimmy Martin (Code is over animal services) provided some of the not so positive notes though it was clear he has hope for many good things developing on behalf of the city and its shelter.
For example, Mr. Martin explained that as the different departments at the City of Dallas begin their budget work, the city manager’s office has ordered an 11 percent reduction in the annual budget.
This alarmed commission co-chair Jonnie England, a veteran of the panel and of animal issues and of actually running a shelter. She exclaimed disgustedly that if the shelter’s budget is cut by 11 percent “just close the doors.”
Mr. Martin explained that the budget development process was just underway and that the animal shelter was not going to be exposed to the 11 percent cut. [Aside: Having watched many municipal budgets develop during my journalism career, I will simply say, “Stay tuned. The politicians haven’t been heard from yet.”]
So, to summarize: slow hiring, threat of budget cuts and hampered shelter operations.
Regarding the PDQs: These appear to be job description forms arrived at by consultations, conversations and calculated estimates of actual duties, implied duties and duties that may occur that nobody thought about before.
A shelter veterinarian can get hired a lot quicker than someone designated as a customer service representative these days. For example, the city is planning to hire 9 customer service representatives for the shelter – the interviews are scheduled Feb. 28-29.  The city’s civil service  has designated 200 current city employes who must be asked first if they want to interview for these jobs.After that process, the jobs can be advertised to the general public.
The city has known it was going to replace current workers with temporary contract workers and other workers since before last October. This is the end of February so that’s 4 full months working understaffed and overburdened at the shelter. At this speed, there’ll be more months at this speed. How does that affect animals? Answer in next segment.
That cat? Well, that cat wasn’t at the Animal Shelter Commission meeting Thursday but he could have been – he’s at the Dallas Animal Shelter & Adoption Center right now. Has been ever since commission member Jonnie England picked him up off the street in the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff – he was a roamer with no identifying chip or collar or owner. He’s A710980 and he should be available for adoption on Saturday.
A QUESTION FOR SAN ANTONIO: One of our reliable tipsters, Cathie Desell, a dedicated caftan, is trying to help a pal with a feral cat problem in San Antonio. The pal asks, “Do you know of anyone in the San Antonio area that will help me trap 16-17 feral cats/kittens?”
The cats are living (and reproducing) in a culvert at the end of a road and the folks who have been monitoring them need help stemming the flow of unwanted cats and kittens. Anybody with any San Antonio feral cat connections can e-mail helpful info to [email protected]. Tell ‘em Readlarrypowell.com sent you.
ANIMAL SHELTER (The Unhired, Part III): So what if the city isn’t hiring shelter employees in as swift a fashion as a responsible private concern would hire them? Well, it affects shelter operations, stretches manpower to the breaking point, means that some areas don’t get the treatment they deserve and every now and then, means  problems in adoptions, sheltering, recovering, rescuing or protecting animals in this city.
An example came up during the meeting: Over a recent weekend, an emaciated, mangy and ailing Great Pyrenees was taken in off the streets of Dallas. No telling how long this dog has survived on its own. Commissioner Maeleska Fletes told the city personnel that, indeed, calls were made and messages left indicating that someone in rescue was planning to come and get this dog.
Inexplicably, the messages never went anywhere and a veterinarian on staff (FYI, the shelter is operating short of vets and has been for a while) made the decision that this dog would be euthanized because of its health challenges. The dog didn’t last 24 hours in the shelter after it had lasted lord knows how long on the streets.
This occurred during a weekend. The implication during the commission meeting was that the dog might not have been killed if a full staff had been present to pass rescue messages along. Nobody disputed that. And, indeed, all sides agreed that all animals coming in should be assured of the best chance of survival while in city care.
The next ANIMAL SHELTER SEGMENT will demonstrate how a short staff affected adoptions at a special event.
REWIND THE CAT: For quite some time, Dallas Animal Shelter news was focused on ugly things: employees charged with cruelty, the manager indicted for letting a cat die inside a shelter wall, etc.
But things have changed – you can trace the change back to the decision to put Dallas Police Lt. Scott Walton in the position of interim manager. He introduced such things as compassion and pride and dignity to staffers and shelter operations.
Maybe that’s part of why two shelter officers – Shannon McLeod and Amy Carlisle – risked their lives to go into a treacherous underground tunnel and save a scraggly, starving cat now named Rewind. The story, sent to us by DAS rescue liaison Mark Cooper, caught the hearts of readers and, thanks to some sincere PR work by Jonnie England, the story wound up on TV last night. You can see the WFAA, Channel 8, story HERE. Rewind is in the care of Catmatchers now.
While it’s not routine for DAS officers to crawl into tunnels to get cats, it is routine for them to get animals out of difficult situations. And, why are situations difficult? Because residents of Dallas let down their animals on a daily basis – they don’t spay and neuter them, they don’t properly confine them, they don’t give them heartworm prevention, they don’t… well, the list goes on and on.
ANIMAL SHELTER (The Unhired and Live Release Rates, Part IV): DAS Director Jody Jones was talking about the many positive things that have happened lately and mentioned that during the special Valentine’s adoption event that ran Feb. 11-14, there were 150 adoptions with a “record 60 placements” on the Saturday that opened the “bargain adoption” period.
There could have been more, commission member Molly DeVoss said. And, yes, she was there working as a volunteer.
The response was so great that the limited number of shelter employees could not handle the load. At one point, the wait to adopt an animal was 2 hours. Some people gave up and left. Other people waited and when they finally got to one of the 3 computer stations set up for adoptions, they discovered that someone else had beaten them to their favorite animal.
As Director Jones, still in the early months of this career challenge, said, organizers learn from these things and try to do better next time.
FYI: On her “Placement Result” report (which included this Valentine’s Day event), Director Jones included the “Live Release Rate Comparison for 3 months. She suggested that holding the “live release rate” at a steady number for three months could be indicative of a positive trend in saving animals.
The live release rate for December 2010 was 33 percent of animals taken in by the shelter, December 2011 was 41 percent live release.
January 2011 was 30 percent while January 2012 was 40 percent. And so far in February the comparison is 32 percent in 2011 and 40 percent in 2012.
”Live release” means that the animals were adopted, reclaimed or moved into a rescue group. And if the shelter took in 10 animals a month, then a 40 percent live release rate would mean that only 6 animals were euthanized.
The sad fact is that, for example, in January 2012 the shelter took in 2,077 dogs cats and other animals. You do the math on that 40 percent live release rate for Jan. 2012.
For fiscal year 2010/11, the shelter took in 31,191 animals and euthanized 21,763. So far this 2011/12 fiscal year, the shelter has euthanized 5,344 animals.
And at least two different factions around here want to make Dallas a no-kill city. The euthanasia figures indicate that it’s going to take more than the sincere efforts of a relatively small number of the usual animal welfare volunteers and professionals to defeat the incredible attitude of unconcern shared by the “general population.
Or, the question might be asked, “Does Dallas have more than its share of village idiots?”
ON THE BRINK OF EUTHANASIA, A DOG GETS A BREAK – MAYBE:  Kelly Bond, a shelter walker for Homeward bound Animal rescue and DFW Humane Society, was at the Dallas Animal Services Adoption Center yesterday talking with ACO Mark Cooper when one of the staffers made sure they saw this dog.
The dog (we don’t have a name or a number yet) was designated for euthanasia, Kelly says. The staff checked one more time for a microchip before giving her the needle and, lo and behold, a chip showed up.
The staff called the owner who said, basically, “I don’t want the dog. Do what you want to do.”
The dog is extraordinarily affectionate and appears to be adoptable but the numbers are so overwhelming at DAS that she’s on the euthanasia list.
The dog has gotten a brief reprieve.
Kelly says the staffer was walking the dog back to “The Lab” after the owner rejection and saw her and Officer Cooper. She “couldn’t help but stop to make sure Mark and I saw her and how precious she was. She felt really bad taking her to be put down because she was a little on the shy side but would be such a great pet for someone. She is only about 5 months old and she gives great hugs!”
To ask about saving this dog – there must be some reason she’s dodged death once – e-mail [email protected].
FROM BURNS FLAT: Terry Lynn Fisher, our hardworking rescue tipster in Burns Flat, Okla., has been struggling lately to fend off the needle at the city’s shelter. She’s kept it no-kill by vigorous networking with people not only in Oklahoma but in other states, particularly Texas.
Beatrice, pictured here, is still at the shelter and she’s just one of many who are currently filling the kennels and pens in the little western Oklahoma town.
Terry says she’s desperate to empty these pens now because “I have learned they [city officers] are trapping dogs. I am praying they bring all of them to the pound. I will be honest –my fear is they are going to secretly shoot them, and, yes, I can see that happening. … I need some moved so if they bring others in, there will be room and none will die.”
To offer to help Terry Lynn, email [email protected] or call her at 580-330-1459.
ASSORTED NOTES FROM THE SHELTER COMMISSION MEETING: Computers are being added to DAS’ office and field equipment so processing can be faster and “live data” can be gathered from the field. This will help Dallas Animal Services determine where it needs to focus rescue and education efforts. … You’ll note that some photos of adoptables at www.dallassanimalservices.org look professionally done. They were. It’s a guest pro shooter program in the new photo studio at the shelter – better pictures should mean more adoptions, Director Jones says, noting that the pro photo equipment was donated by Jack Knox and photographers are donating time and talents. … DAS has been meeting with rescue groups to enhance working relationships and is planning on sessions with unaffiliated rescuers so everyone can understand how everyone else works. … Color photo IDs and bar codes are being used on kennels and critters to help prevent euthanizing the wrong animals. The color printer used for this was donated by commission member Skip Trimble. … Many commission members do volunteer work at the shelter in addition to their other animal volunteer work. … The shelter had been paying $13 for heartworm tests, but now will buy the tests in bulk, dropping the price to $4 per test and allowing testing upon intake so the adoptability of a dog can be determined more quickly. ... There are so many more notes to report, but my fingers are tired of typing and you're probably getting tired of reading. 
CONTEMPLATIONS: Running a big city animal shelter isn’t a case of just keeping the kennels clean and a handful of critters fed. Holy smoke there are so many facets. One person would be overwhelmed by the challenges – and of course, at some point more than one person will be dividing up the duties – that’s just as soon as the city hires the staff to compliment the efforts of Director Jones. Seriously, from an outsider’s vantage point, it looks like the city hired her to captain a yacht and when she got here they handed her a broken paddle and a canoe with a hole at the water line. … New Commission Chair Mary Spencer noted that City Council Member Sheffie Kadane is enthusiastic about making the shelter beacon for the city. All commission members were encouraged to report to their council members and make sure the political arm of the city is aware that efforts of staffers and volunteers are deserving of the enthusiastic and fiscal support of the council. …The commission is also looking for effective ways to advertise happy stories from DAS. Our readlarrypowell.com suggestion is “bumper stickers.” That’s right. People would proudly display a sticker that reads, “I GOT MY MUTT AT DAS” or “MY BEST DOG CAME FROM DAS” or ‘MY BEST FRIEND IS A DAS CAT.” Or, “I’M PROUDLY OWNED BY A DAS CAT.” Seriously, these rolling advertisements would remind people of a place to find a happy pal. And maybe that would help cut down on that hideous immoral euthanasia rate. We are too good to follow the old Texas rule: “Got an animal problem? Let’s kill it.”

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Meeting, rescues, mange and mulling...

Before we get to today’s report, here’s a quick announcement: the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meets at 1:30 p.m. today in Room 6E South at Dallas City Hall.
See the agenda at the City Secretary’s website HERE and note that it was posted too early to include the fact that some positive mention will be made of the rescue of Rewind the Sewer Cat.
That is a photo of Rewind being cuddled yesterday during a visit at the vet’s office. And, as you can tell, the young girl kitty has a magnificent set of whiskers.
Oh, and FYI, e-mails are making the rounds noting (independent of Rewind’s adventure) that there are several momma cats and a load of kittens waiting on rescue, adoption or the needle at Dallas Animal Services today.
People will rightly applaud DAS staffers for saving a cat in a bad plight, but the same people will simply ho-hum  the fact that because of human neglect and unconcern, the city, on behalf of us taxpayers, kills  cats by the scores week after week. Just go to www.dallasanimalservices.org to see how to help save the cats and kittens and dogs and puppies, too.
One note, from Kelly Bond of Homeward Bound Animal Rescue, included this photo of a DAS family and notes that the momma cat weighs about 5 ½ pounds and she’s not much larger than her 6-week-old kittens – two "blue" and white, 3 tuxedo and a black kitten. Yep, a kitten per pound for this Dallas mother. 
Seriously, is this irony or what? Citizens applaud saving one cat while they don’t do a thing to save thousands and thousands each year? (Yeah, I’ve seen the euthanasia reports at DAS.)
CHANGES AND NEEDS:  Krista Mc Anally, who manages the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake Shelter at Tool, about an hour southeast of Dallas, reports that the organization has a “new and improved website (volunteer Vivian Goodnight is credited with the hard work).  See the site at www.hsccl.org – it links to the Texas Little Cuties PetFinder site where the society’s available dogs and cats are on display. Also, when you click there, you’ll see that the shelter needs a commercial-style freezer.
Also, the Society needs someone to transport dogs and cats to spay/neuter appointments.  And the shelter needs canned dog food (lamb and rice or chicken and rice puppy and adult).
And Krista’s note also announced that the Society’s shelter “has been accepted as an SPCA of Texas Transfer Partner.  This means that we will transfer pets to SPCA of Texas to their new McKinney adoption center, the Jan Rees-Jones Adoption Center on a weekly basis.  This will provide another great avenue to save more lives.”
To ask about helping or adopting, contact the shelter at [email protected] or call 903 432-3422.
THE MANGE DOGS: I just couldn’t present this story right off the bat today – it is quite an upsetting story.
Perhaps you’ll recall the West Dallas dogs we mentioned yesterday – savagely attacked by mange. Nobody had a place for the momma dog and her four pups surrendered to Angie Manriquez, the veteran rescuer known as the Fairy Dogmother of West Dallas.  Word went out that the dogs needed some quick help – the reason they needed quick help is their human had slowly allowed them to be ravaged by an easily treatable disease until, finally, persuasive help arrived and the owner said, “Aw, heck, go ahead an take ‘em.” (Probably already has a new dog tethered in the yard.)
At Dallas Animal Services, the veterinarian reported that they were all far too sick to recover, we're told. The five were then euthanized rather than allowed to suffer to death. One of my sources tells me that this case got to the much-admired and loved Angie and brought her to tears.. It’s not her first rodeo – not her first tears. Bless her heart.
AND NOW A SOAPBOX MOMENT: So, perhaps, today, there might be some things to think about: (1) Is there a way to educate people about treating mange? For crying out loud, some idiots still think you can “kill” mange by soaking the dog in motor oil. (2) Is there a way to bring authorities in and treat such mange cases as neglect and cruelty? (3) Is there a way to adopt West Dallas as a “Respect the Animals Zone” much like a civic club adopts a highway and keeps it clean? The Dallas Animal Services headquarters and the SPCA of Texas are both in West Dallas – seems like West Dallas would be easy to target. But, the old, entrenched idiocy is sometimes hard to defeat. And, of course, you can't pay people from the other side of the Trinity River to risk their necks in the "war zone" that they imagine is West Dallas -- yeah, it's a tough area, but there might be a way to reclaim it. After all, that fancy new bridge crosses the Trinity and leads right into West Dallas. Oh, yeah, econcomic development, profit motive -- some reasons to re-think this animal zone thing.
And anyone who has ever worked with Angie Manriquez knows how tough she is. Here’s the thing: If a case has moved Angie to tears, the rest of us would be sobbing.  We’re just not as tough as Angie Manriquez.
THREE DOGS WAITING: Yep, apparently just three dogs are waiting for homes at the Cockrill Hill Animal Shelter – Cockrill Hill is a city within Dallas on the Oak Cliff side of town. The shelter is at 4125 W. Clarendon, near Loop 12 at Jefferson.
And these three wait there.
There’s a puppy, a brown dog who likes to sit and be petted and a larger black and white dog with a Border collie look and a questionable future.
To offer to help any of these dogs, contact Shelter Manager David Hernandez at 214-697-6216.
Three dogs in a shelter – seems like they could all be in a rescue group by sundown, doesn’t it? Geez, I hate to think positively this late in the week.
CONTEMPLATIONS: A note about Dallas City Hall Room 6E South while I can still move my typing fingers. Temps outside may be in the 80s but, if the temp is maintained as it usually is inside 6E South, we’ll be huddling around the chimineas and breaking up furniture to fuel the warming fires and try to stay alive until a U.S. Navy Arctic Rescue Team can break through and save us. I’m not kidding – it’s cold in that room. I like it until the ink in my pen freezes and I begin to hallucinate that I’m at the only penguin rescue center in Texas.  … There was a story bouncing around yesterday about the “super Earth” planet that space scientists think they’ve found and one of them said the surface temperature of the planet is around 446 degrees Fahrenheit, so, while that planet may not be completely “earth-like” it will have a bit of Texas that’ll make us feel welcome… Seriously, why can’t there be “Animal Friendly Zones” in Dallas? We’ve had city council members call for “sweeps” that result in the pick up and euthanasia of scores of free-roaming animals in their districts. Why can’t these same council members help animals rather than kill them? Animal Friendly Zones might lead to “People Friendly Zones” or, dare I mention this, “Voter Friendly Zones.” A person can dream.
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Update on Rewind the Rescued Cat

This is a photo of the cat that was rescued overnight by Dallas Animal Services. The dramatic story of life-risking rescue leads our morning edition of Readlarrypowell.com below, thanks to the writing of DAS Animal Control Officer Mark Cooper, the rescue group coordinator for the shelter.
The ACOs who went in after the cat were Amy Carlisle and Sharon McLeod, we're told by DAS. The Dallas Fire Department also helped with making sure this event didn't end tragically for the rescued or the rescuers..
And now we have an update on the cat from Tammy Kidwell, president of Catmatchers, which took the little rascal in.|
She says the group has named the cat “Rewind” and explains, “The name came from the part of the story where the cat was walking towards DAS officer Carlisle across a rickety narrow ladder... The officer was telling the cat to rewind, rewind...  because she was afraid she'd fall. 
”Well that's when the cat fell another 60 feet. So in honor of Officer Carlisle we
>have named her ‘Rewind.’”
Before Rewind got a name, though, there was some medical work. Tammy reports, “Rewind was treated for shock overnight. She is extremely emaciated and dehydrated, so she is also getting fluids and food. The vet did a preliminary x-ray and found NO fractures!  It is amazing.  She is staying at the vet's office for care at this time.
”The xray revealed a seed like substance that is filling her intestines.  It is the size of BBs.  They have been able to get some out and it looks to be some kind of seed or berry that is rough and a white color.  The vets are not sure of the substance, but watching her now as they make sure these are not harmful to her body. 
”Rewind is about 7 or 8 months old and extremely underweight at 4 pounds.
”Thanks to all who saved this cat. “
You can contact Catmatchers by going HERE.
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A dramatic cat rescue by DAS officers ...

Ah, Ash Wednesday arrives – the day more people are told “You’ve got something on you forehead” than on any other day of the year. Such is the burden of the believer.
Now, religion aside, let’s pray that someone can help the animals and the people who are trying to help them. Maybe a prayer of thanks would be appropriate, too. You'll see.
THE OFFICERS SAVE THE CAT STORY: We begin with a dramatic story sent overnight by Mark Cooper, the rescue coordinator for Dallas Animal Services. [More to come on this.]
Officer Cooper wrote last night, “I'm sorry for sending emails out so late, but I have just been contacted by one of my fellow ACOs who has asked that I please help save a cat in desperate need. As you all know, the life of a rescuer never ends.
”Officer McLeod was dispatched to a call tonight where a cat has been heard since Friday crying from an underground sewer line in a near downtown area. With the assistance of Officer Carlisle, they embarked on a daring underground rescue to save the trapped and scared cat.
”As the officers climbed down the long ladder, the cat tried to meet them by climbing up towards them. Almost like it was trying to save them the long climb by meeting them half way.
”Once the cat climbed about 30 feet up, he fell to the ground below. This fall has  broken either its leg, hip/pelvis or something of that nature.
”Once they reached the cat, they found themselves also trapped almost 70 to 90 feet below the streets in a dark, wet and cold sewer tunnel with large turbines. They described it as a freaky movie scene. They quickly realized they where also trapped and radioed for DFD to save them.
”After an hour of DFD's assistance the two officers, along with a badly injured cat where pulled to safety. Officer Carlisle called me in route to the shelter asking that I find a rescue immediately. After this struggle to save the cat and after all the cat had endured, it's important that we save this poor cat.”
Officer Cooper’s note asked for help with this cat. Catmatchers responded and today we’ll see what develops. Stay tuned. (Contact Officer Cooper at [email protected]. Might be nice if DAS got some “way to go” notes.)
THIS MAY BE WORKING OUT: Readlarrypowell.com has two more than firm stances: We’re for spay/neuter and just as much as we are for that, we are doubly against mange. It is easily the most preventable, fixable disgusting problem animals face.
And her are two examples, two of five, in fact. If you’ve ever seen dogs with horrific cases of mange you know that they are very sick. That one photo of the little dog with the “O not me” pose is a prime example The other dog shows nobility in spite of the plague.
The back story on these animals is this: Maeleska Fletes, the rescuer who is also on the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission, got a call from Angie Manriquez, the legendary rescuer known as the “Fairy Dogmother of West Dallas.”
The momma dog and her four pups are “covered with demodes mange and cannot stay any loger with the owner,” Maeleska’s note explained. The owner asked Angie to take them to Dallas Animal Services. That’s a rough spot for these sick dogs to land.
So, Angie began looking for help placing them with a rescuer or rescue group so they can get some help and live to become someone’s loved and adored pal.
To ask about helping, e-mail [email protected] or call 214-766-3577. And, remember, in these cases, finding a place to land is not the end of helping – there will be vet bills that have to be covered.
Sometimes with animals it is the human factor that is difficult to defeat.
AMONG THE THINGS WE CAN’T BELIEVE: First, we can’t believe that the Dallas Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game this century, but that’s not important. The big thing we can’t believe today is thtat this dog Payton hasn’t found a home and is still in the Rowlett Animal Shelter. (And, by the way, bless those folks for holding onto him and giving him a chance.)
Do you recognize him? He used to be known as Scarface. That’s how he was identified on Groundhog Day when we first wrote about him. He’s been at the shelter since December 8.
Veteran rescuer Dawna Carabajal has been pitching this dog like he was the next sliced bread, the next big thing, the next … well, you know. The greatest.
She says, “The shelter first named him Scarface because he came in looking a little beat up. However, they just changed his name to Payton because he is all healed up and beautiful now. I was at the shelter Saturday and got to spend sometime with Payton. He is a real lover boy. He LOVES attention and he LOVES other dogs. He really enjoyed his walk (even though it was raining on us). He looks like a big boy in his pictures, but really he is a small guy, only about 40 pounds. He is the VIP Pet of the Month, so his adoption fee is only $25.”
Yes, 25 lousy dollars.
To ask about adopting handsome Payton, call the Rowlett Animal Shelter at 972-412-6219 or e-mail [email protected] – that’s Dawna’s email and she’ll happily help with introductions. Click HERE to see other Rowlett adoptables.
SOAPBOX MOMENT: We’ve written about young Payton before and possibly the problem is not that he is a Pit mix but that reaching humans outside of the animal welfare world is nearly impossible. Payton came into the Rowlett Animal Shelter as a stray and stayed and that means that (a) nobody was looking for him and (b) the shelter folks have faith in him. So, how is his life going to be saved if he can’t even get a visit or even a look? The key to his survival is drawing a line from his heart to the heart of a human who’ll love him. Sounds simple. May not be a straight line, though. How in the world can the connection be made? Is that not the impossible question? Heck, print his story out today and stick it up on the bulletin board at your office, your church, your vet’s office, your dentist’s office, your parole officer’s office…anywhere. Put him in the face of the people so he can lick their cheeks and make them smile. Seriously, non-animal people, you’ve known people and you’ve known dogs – which one is easier to give away?
HELP WANTED FOR DENTON FAMILY: Overnight the folks at the Denton Animal Shelter were trying to find some place for some pups to go, according to a note we got from noted Denton shelter volunteer Amy Pelzel.
As you may note from the photgraph, that is a double armful of puppies. The lone dog is the mommy.
The pups are 5 1/ weeks old and they and their ailing mom were saved by Denton Emergency Services..
The pups are weaned and “adorable, sweet, affectionate, etc.,” the note reads. Not sure what “etc.” is but it’s bound to be good. Look at ‘em – they’re obviously happy to hang around posing for photos.
The boy is the brindle.  Mom’s going to be spayed in the next couple of days in anticipation of being adopted.
If you can help by fostering or sponsoring or adopting or rescuing, e-mail [email protected].
EVENTS:  If you click on that artwork within this item you’ll make it much larger and you can read it. One is a poster for the noon to 2 p.m. Saturday Pet Fiesta at the Trinity River Mission. It’s a family-type event for animals. …If you’re in Austin on Saturday, you can see the show “Doin’ It For Love” with Broadway mainstay Kaye Ballard – and the production benefits the Texas Humane Legislation Network. Tickets are $25. You can get the details and order tickets at www.thln.org. The THLN is the year-round “animal lobby” in Austin. I'd run the poster with this THLN event but we're having computer system problems today and it's beyond my grasp. You can see it, however, at the THLN site.
TOUGH MESSAGE: Most heartbreaking message I’ve ever seen from  Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise (the city’s shelter) on the eve of euthanasia day arrived yesterday: “No Adoptions yet today, everyone is still here at the shelter waiting for help. Any questions please contact us.” Geez, you just want to hire a skywriting plane to advertise “SAVE LIVES! ADOPT SHELTER ANIMALS TODAY.” That might stretch from Dallas to Fort Worth – heck, the message is good from border to border. See Carrollton’s inventory of adoptables HERE.
A READING TIP ABOUT A RESCUER AND HIS DOG: We’ve mentioned rescue efforts by JP Bonnelly here before and now, thanks to Yvonne Ybarra, there’s a story about his attempts to help his own dog, Miss Piggy. You can read it by going to the DallasDogLife link HERE.
CONTEMPLATIONS: This is Ash Wednesday, according to assorted Christian churches and I’m not nearly as self-conscious today as I was yesterday – Fat Tuesday. On assorted Tuesdays I meet with ol’ newhound pals at a place in Garland called Chubby’s. If we’d been thinking ahead – yeah, Fat Tuesday at Chubby’s.  ….  Get well wishes to our Aunt Gwen Peters, a certified do-gooder out in San Jose, who is “enjoying” a dynamic California cold right now. As a former ambulance driver and a guy who has played a doctor on stage, I’ve advised orange juice, rest and Alka Seltzer Plus Cold medicine. Drop the tablets in a glass of Fresca and enjoy! And I told her if she’ll stop by a vet’s office she can probably get a shot and one of those plastic collars that can double as a sneeze-guard. I’m not sure she’ll think that’s funny unto the vet says she can take it off. … The next official national holiday is – holy smoke – Memorial Day on May 28. That;s from President’s Day on Feb. 21 to May 28 without a 3-day weekend, thus, without a 4-day week. Congress is not doing its job. We need a 4-day Give Us A Break Weekend along about mid-April.. Oh, no, sorry but the Texas Rangers’ April 6 home opener is not a national holiday.
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The tragedy behind the cute...and other opportunites to help

[PM UPDATE: The SPCA of Texas found room for these puppies and the mom is being fostered by a kind soul. More to come on this family as things progress.]
Yeah, it’s a cute photo, little pups trying to get a grip on Mom’s spigots, but if you look at this photo and say “How cute” and move on, then you don’t really know what this photo represents.
It represents the prevailing tragedy of North Texas. Failure to spay/neuter resulting in puppies and kittens born just to be killed.
Yep, that needle may be in the future for these dogs – unless things work out and, as we published this morning, veteran rescuers were trying to get the gears to mesh so these puppies wouldn’t wind up just more bodies in the huge pile in the City of Dallas.
Thanks to longtime rescuers Nancy Underwood, Maeleska Fletes and Becky Haisma (of Paws In The City) we know some of the story.
Becky reports that this stray had puppies in someone’s yard and a volunteer talked the people into giving up the whole family to rescue.
There is a chance that they’ll be taken to Dallas Animal Services, already overwhelmed with unwanted dogs, cats, kittens and puppies. Maybe they'll go elsewhere. Depends on circumstances.
Now, mentioning these days brings up not only the plight at the city shelter, but also the rough way things can go in the non-profit rescue community. And, as you know, these days city shelters are partnering with more and more rescue groups in an attempt to help more animals avoid the needle.
Becky reports that Paws In The City cannot take any of these animals. Here’s why:
”We took in 4 litters in last 2 weeks, had a dog die from severe heartworms, another from birth defect on esophagus and another from distemper this week alone. Just found out 2 new puppies have parvo and did a surgery for a gunshot wound to another stray today [Monday]. … Our isolation area has parvo now, I cannot take them there and have no puppy fosters open.  We've been making pleas on Facebook all week for the other litters so maxed out.”
You think this is an unusual report? Not at all. Rescue groups are overwhelmed, underfunded and desperate for cash and volunteers. (See how to help Paws In The City by clicking HERE and you can Google rescue groups and shelters and see how to help quite easily. Remember, every time the price of gasoline goes up, it cuts into not only your travel but into rescue efforts, too. Nobody’s in rescue to get rich.)
Perhaps this photos of all the puppies trying to get food from mom is symbolic of the many forces pulling on the rescue groups and shelters around here: Too many needs and not enough help.
How can this be changed? It has to begin in the hearts of people who aren’t involved in shelters and rescue efforts. It has to begin with people who have the choice of getting their dogs and cats fixed.
We’ll let you know what happens to this mom and her pups. Either people will step up to save them or I’ll be giving you the euthanasia figures for the shelter. And that is grindingly sad.
FOUND ON THE STREET: Jonnie England, the Director of Animal Advocacy for the Metroplex Animal Coalition, practices what she preaches and, thus, this big ol’ black and white freeroamer is now awaiting a new home via Dallas Animal Services.
”I found this guy trotting up and down 8th and Bishop in front of Vera Cruz at lunch today [Monday].  He’s a real Tom cat, with those big jowls (and big things on the other end).  But a total love bug.  He was rolling around on the sidewalk, and people were talking to him and petting him.  I ran out of Vera Cruz and asked them to keep an eye on him while I got my carrier from my car. “
A check in the neighborhood failed to turn up anyone who claimed the cat or anyone who knew where the cat might live.
He looks as if he’s been eating pretty swell in the renowned Bishop Arts entertainment, shopping and dining area in Oak Cliff.
” He’s had a tussle or two (or hundred), but isn’t he a handsome fellow?” Jonnie wrote, then added a personal note: “I was thinking you knew someone who’s fond of these tuxedo guys. “
Well, of course, we adore them at Readlarrypowell.com but, alas, we are at the city limit and cannot take him, though, seriously, what’s one more cat? Well, up to a point, what’s one more cat?
To ask about giving this fellow – might as well call him Tom Bishop (uses that as an alias, maybe) – e-mail  [email protected].
THE WHITE ROCK TO GARLAND DOG: I don’t know, maybe I’m just an old sap. But this photo of this dog reminds me so much of Mercy, the dog that became cause celebre after she was brutally beaten, stabbed and burned, then died.
Maria Llano first spotted this girl roaming near White Rock Lake and followed her to a Garland Road business where animal control picked up the dog.
Maria reports this morning, “This girl is still at Garland! Her donations have gone up to $450 but no rescue has stepped up yet!”
She has had a brief reprieve at the shelter in order to give someone a chance to move her into a rescue group. The money will go only to a reputable rescue group, Maria says.
To tag the dog at the shelter, e-mail [email protected]. And you can also e-mail [email protected].
AT SUNNYVALE: We were forwarded a list of several animals at the Sunnyvale Animal Control Shelter east of Dallas and among those dogs is this extraordinarily friendly and tall 9-month-old fellow Dirk who is believed to be a German Shepherd/Anatolian Shepherd mix. Dirk – yep, Dallas Mavericks tie-in.
However the shelter bio reads, “Dirk was an owner-surrender because apparently they didn’t realize how much you have to take care of a new dog.”
To ask about adopting Dirk, e-mail Sunnyvale Animal Control or call 972-203-4138.
STAGGERING NEWS FROM CARROLLTON: We opened an email from Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise – that’s the city’s animal shelter – and stunningly read, “No Adoptions today, everyone is still here at the shelter waiting for help."
There are several animals on the list for Wednesday.
Among them, this dog. Star.
Now, she’s not the kind of dog you’d see at Westminster or any of the dog shows. She’s the kind of dog you see on death row at an animal shelter. She’s #25419.
She’s thought to be a Pit/Catahoula mix and she’s friendly with people and other dogs after she overcomes her initial shyness – that’s probably the result of improper socialization in the hands of a nitwit.
To ask about Star, call the shelter at 972-466-3420, or email [email protected].
THE ART OF RAISING MONEY: Ah, Animal Rescue of Texas (ART) will benefit when people dine at  Buffalo Wild Wings, 5000 Beltline in Addison,  from 11 a.m. to midnight Wednesday – they just have to hand over a copy of this “golden ticket,” they’re calling it, so that the waitstaffer knows the proceeds go to ART.
There some other Facebook-related app or something – look, I can’t explain it, but I’ll aim you toward ART’s Facebook page HERE and maybe you can figure it out.
The dwindling goodness in my heart leads me to post a copy of the coupon here. But, honestly, I’m bewildered by the cacaphony of Facebook, where everyone talks at once (in my brain), so best of luck. But enjoy the wings and help ART help animals, some of which will be at the restaurant from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. (Larry aside: Trust me, I know I've fallen off the train of progress and been left behind by Facebook at its easy access and no fact-check philosophy.)
TEMPS AND CHARITY: This one I can understand. Show up and drink for charity. No need to jump through hoops.
Anyway, I’d just heard a radio guy announce that the temp later this week will jump up into the 80s when I opened the e-mail with this poster for a Backyard Beach Bar event benefiting several animal groups.
In Dallas, you might as well adopt a beach attitude even if we have no oceanfront – the city has everything you need for a beach environment except a beach.
We’ve got bars, we’ve got scantily clad people and, of course, we’ve got sharks.
CONTEMPLATIONS:  My tunedinspouse Martha was driving to work while listening to KSKY (660 AM) this morning and the news guy mentioned “a spat of destructive storms.” We’re pretty sure he meant “spate” of storms, but, upon further review it’s possible he may have been thinking about cats in a disagreement or a conversation at home before leaving for work. And, in reality, “a spat of storms” makes sense. Maybe this is how word usage evolves. And when the storms are leaving an area, they become a “scat of storms.”  … Seriously, temps in the 80s this week? This is going to be the second time this winter I’ve had to mow the lawn. Just when the price of gasoline goes up. …Quick: You’ve just survived being trapped in your car by snow and ice for two months (you’ve seen the news story from Sweden, no doubt). Rescuers pop open the door, you fall out right in front of a suburban Swedish El Fenix. You race in side and you immediately order (a) enchiladas, (b) tortilla soup or (c) a glass of iced tea? Hint: If you are a native Texan, you get the iced tea and eat chips and salsa while you contemplate the menu. It’s just the natural way no matter what the temp.
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On a holiday Monday...

In honor of the holiday, President’s Day, we’ve dressed as our favorite presidents here at Readlarrypowell.com Inky is so cute in his little Texas Rangers #34 uniform.
Heck yeah, Nolan Ryan is the favorite president  Oh. The holiday isn't just any president? Not the prez of the Texas Rangers, even?. Oh, OK. Well, as you try to come up with a better one, here’s today’s report:
A CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING DECENT: In the late night mail we got a note from Allison Robert, the volunteer shelter walker at Collin County Animal Services in McKinney, that one of the new arrivals at the facility is this guy.
What kind of dog? This incredibly mangy dog is a Rottweiller. He has, Allison says, “severe mange all over his body.” He was picked up Friday night in Princeton, east of Plano.
He is very friendly. “And his teeth are really clean – I think he’s only about 3 years old,” says Allison. And, of course, he is not neutered.
How did he come to be in this shape? Neglect.
But he’s available for some attention if a rescue group wants to pull him while he’s still on stray hold. He’s #338832. To offer to help, e-mail both [email protected] and [email protected]. You can also call the shelter at 972-547-7292 and press 1 at the first prompt to leave a message.
JOB OPENING: There’s a job posting coming up Feb. 26 through March 3 at Dallas Animal Services – the title is Animal Services Officer and the job responsibilities run from working with animals to working with people. This is one of, if memory serves from discussions at Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meetings, one of several positions in the “yet-to-be-filled” category at Dallas Animal services.
The job postings at the City of Dallas appear on line HERE so, when this job is posted, that’s probably where you’ll find it.
The description sent to us also says, “Must obtain Basic Animal Control Officer Certification from the Texas Department of Health. Must possess a valid State of Texas Class C driver’s license.”
[Larry aside: So, in addition to being able to work with irritated people and upset animals, you’ll also have to come in contact with state offices and city-level bureaucrats. It’s not a job for the faint-hearted. I’m kidding the bureaucrats! Honest.]
BE ON THE LOOKOUT (STILL) FOR TIA: Over the weekend, volunteers continued to search the area around the 18700 block of Preston Road for Tia, a rescued Greyhound who slipped away from a volunteer Greyhound Adoption League of Texas handler last week and vanished into an undeveloped area. If you see her, GALT asks that you not try to catch her, but call the team of volunteers already involved in trying to trap this elusive dog. Call 214-498-3420.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT FLOWER MOUND/LEWISVILLE: Jennifer Carter says she was on vacation on Feb. 7 when her Sheltie Skylar was staying at a friend’s home in area of the Flower Mound/Lewisville city limits and was “accidentally let loose … by a yard crew.”
Skylar is 10 ½ years old and has never run away before. “He has skin cancer issues, has had tumors removed and he also has bad hips,” she says.
Jennifer says, “I hired a scent tracking dog that tracked Skylar's skin cells from the Kirkpatrick and North Valley intersection of Flower Mound near Lewisville area to Lake Lewisville where he then went through a YMCA camp and then into a neighborhood. The small neighborhood with the streets Tharp and Highland Place off of Highland Village Road is where we lost the scent. This dog is my baby, and the one who got me through a very difficult divorce and many other setbacks. I don't have children, this is my child. Please help. Someone must have picked him up because the scent was lost in the middle of the street.”
If you know Skylar’s whereabouts, e-mail [email protected].
A CAT CARNIVAL? Yes, indeed, and, they say, the first ever for Northeast Tarrant County. I’m not sure there’s been one anywhere else in Tarrant County, but that’s a research project for later in the decade.
For now, here’s the deal: On Feb. 25 Cats Unlimited will host the event at 2828 Brown Trail in Bedford. Sponsors include the City of Bedford Animal Shelter , Kittico Cat Rescue, TNR4BedfordTX and Community Veterinary Services of Euless.
Among the features: $35 cat adoptions and $25 spay/neuter vouchers and $10 immunization vouchers.”
There’s also low-cost micro-chipping.
It’s a family-friendly event with activities for kids and adults.
TOBEY’S ON THE CLOCK: Debbie Barclay, the veteran shelter walker who volunteers at Prairie Paws Adoption Center (that’s the Grand Prairie animal shelter), says Tobey is a “special one.”
And, she adds, “I will be heartbroken if Tobey doesn’t make it out of the shelter. He’s handsome, sweet, great with kids and other dogs (but no cats).”
He hasn’t been around a lot of cats – truth is, the 8-month-old dog has been in the city shelter since December, so he’s spent 3 of his 8 months in a cage. Still, he manages to be a sweet guy grateful for human touch.
To ask about helping Tobey, call Lauren Sossi at 972-237-8580 or 817-528-9225. E-mail [email protected]. Or call Jerry Horn at 972-237-8571 or 972-897-3066 or e-mail [email protected].
SHELTER NOTES: Carrollton, Dallas, Rowlett, Sherman, Seagoville, Burns Flat in Oklahoma, Houston, Nacogdoches, Longview, Humane Society of Cedar Creek lake, Corsicana, The Colony, Arlington, Irving….well, you know.  None of them are sending out notes asking for more animals. That would be a news story.
CONTEMPLATIONS: We saw the shootout romantic comedy This Means War over the weekend and the whole time I’m watching it I’m thinking, “Gosh, it’ll be nice to see Chris Pine back in his role as the young Captain Kirk in Star Trek.”  … How about this roller coaster weather? This is why closets in Texas are big and have worn out doors. You never know what you’re going to need. … OK, which movie makes you want Italian more The Godfather or Moonstruck? Yeah, it doesn’t take much to set off a craving.
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