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An odd kitten crisis; finding more dogs than expected and assorted Olympic and animal notes in the heat

Welcome to the final episode of July 2012. Now, let’s get on with today’s presentation and, remember, if you’ve got an animal situation, don’t expect the animal to solve it. Humans, they are the answer. There’s a chilling thought.
We’ve done so well in so many other areas. Now, grip your Olympic Gold Medal for Fretting and read on about a battered kitten, two Duck Team 6 rescues and other examples of people rising to help while others have not.:
A KITTEN IS SAVED: The unpleasantness of some individuals is staggering; the hearts of others so admirable.
Thus Georgette is safe.
Our pal Della Wallace got in touch with us over the weekend about a man “who has a huge problem with his neighbor” in an unincorporated area of Denton County, near Little Elm, north of Dallas.
Now, here’s the problem and this is a heads-up for those of you who are squeamish.
Della writes, “The neighbor is killing kittens and throwing them over into his yard.  It seems that if he hasn’t got video of it so there is not much that can be done by the animal control people.  Now there is a kitten that the creep threw a rock at…”
Yes, that is the little survivor of brutality Georgette – she’s named after the man who rescued her so Della could get her into veterinary care.
But the neighbor is a “situation” for careful reckoning. “The creep has killed lots of cats and kittens before because he thinks he can get away with it and it appears if that if they are in his yard he has the right to kill them,” Della writes. “Animal control told him that, I heard the recording. He threw the kittens a good 30 feet into my friend’s yard.  Don’t know if the fall killed them or if they were dead before.”
Della says her friend “had a camera set up but the creep was out of shot. I’m going to call animal control … He was told that if they are strays, they can be killed, or if they are in the creep’s yard killed, also.  I hope that is not right.”
The latest report on Georgette is that her leg is not broken and her problem using it could be neurological. She also was suffering from an abscess and she had a large gash on her head.
Georgette has been taken in by New Beginnings Cat Rescue and she is at Murphy Veterinary Clinic in Murphy, Texas. Her veterinarian is Dr. Rick Hamlin. (New Beginnings has a donation page HERE.
[Larry aside: We’re unclear on animal cruelty laws in “county” areas, but surely the state’s anti-cruelty laws would suggest that “Scat!” is the more lawful way to get a cat out of your yard. If anyone knows, please click on “comments” and let us know. We’re not sure there are animal cruelty-investigators in that area near Little Elm.]
LOOK FOR ONE, FIND MORE: That’s not the Duck Team 6 rescue motto but it is how things work out.
We get the latest story from Rekka Melby who asks if we have room to “share the story of little Tiger.” It is, indeed, a family story.
”JP Bonnelly was out trying to rescue two other dogs (because we had fosters for them), when he came across another momma dog in urgent need of help. He talked to the locals and found out that this momma dog (Ebony) had one surviving puppy (Tiger).”
That is Ebony in the back seat of the car and Tiger in the bottom half of his rescue crate.
Rekka says Tiger “was living in a flea infested and condemned 4-plex apartment.  They went to look for him and came out with 40-60 fleas on each leg!  The neighbors said that Ebony's ‘owners’ moved and left her behind about 6-8 months ago. Tiger, the puppy has a very bad case of mange and was very malnourished and weak.
”Even though we did not have a place for him, we could not leave him behind.  So for now JP squeezed him in but he already has a full house so we really need to find a rescue group and foster to take Tiger in.
”He has started treatment for sarcoptic mange and is about 12 weeks old. Ebony also has a bad case of mange but we're happy to report we rescued her too as a wonderful foster home stepped up for her and she is now in the care of Take Me Home Pet Rescue.
To help with these dogs or to offer to adopt or foster, email [email protected].
You also note there is a “poster” here – click on it to make it larger and you can read about Saturday’s 7 p.m.-9 p.m. “first ever fundraiser” for Duck Team 6 at Blackfinn in Addison. Ten bucks gets you in and helps the animals.
THE COLLIN COUNTY CRITTERS: Each day we get an email from the volunteer shelter walker Allison Roberts about the animals on the clock at Collin County Animal Services in McKinney.
On Friday we mentioned Nyla (left), who’d been brought into the shelter with Lilman and the body of a dead dog – remember that lovely story?
Lilman was adopted right away and over the weekend, Allison says, Nyla was adopted. Allison says, “The lady is planning to train her to be a therapy dog for autistic children.”
So, good grief, all Nyla needed was a home and now she’s getting a job, too!
Then, yesterday we mentioned (again) that Ross, the dog who was surrendered because the mom was allergic to him, is back in the shelter. Miranda Fick, the Volunteer Coordinator for CCAS sent us a note this morning that included a video of Ross exploring the shelter and getting a surprise.
Miranda described it as “Ross's report on the strange noises coming from the shelter!” See it HERE.
FYI, while it is the “Dog Days of Summer for sure at the shelter,” Miranda writes, the shelter also has “Going for the Gold $25 adoption fees” Aug. 1-3 for ALL dogs and cats.
The shelter is at 4750 Community Blvd. in McKinney. E-mail [email protected] and [email protected].
CARROLLTON NOTE: They may be heading toward euthanasia day at the Carrollton Animal Services shelter unless people respond to save some dogs and cats -- some are adoptable and some are rescue only. Go ahead and Google Carrollton's animal shelter to see the inventory. If you want to help email [email protected]. That dog? That's Melvin, a 37-pound Pit boy who is usually friendly and happy, but kind of froze before the camera. He's "rescue only" because they don't want the lovely guy falling into the hands of some bad actor who just wants a yard dog or a bait dog.
DOGS IN SMALL, HOT AREA: Earlier this month we reported on an animal supporter’s attempts to get some common sense help for dogs being kept in a small fenced area with no comfort in this brutal North Texas heat.
The report is the dogs, fenced near the west end of that new bridge over the Trinity River downtown, have vanished – we don’t know if they’ve been moved or surrendered or if some authority moved in and took them.
Our source was totally disenchanted by the lack of official response to the plight of these dogs.
But they are gone now, our source tells us. And she is not happy with not knowing where. For now she is left with no details of their fate and only the images of dogs panting inside a far-too-small fenced cage under a blue plastic tarp in the middle of a hot spell that sends people running for indoors.
These people who toss the dog out in the yard and leave the poor soul must think,“Dog in a fur coat in 100 degree temps? It’s just a dog. Who cares?” And the evidence around here all too frequently is “Nobody cares.”
 CONTEMPLATIONS: When I watched the gold medal swimmer Missy “The Missile” Franklin on the podium as the Star-Spangled Banner played this morning, I got a little bit manly misty-eyed. Sappy, I guess. I expect to mist up, also, when our Olympic representative Inky, the Cocker Olympian Laureate of Texas, is on the podium getting his gold in the Four-Footed Synchronized Single-Swimmer Competition. (Favorite is Nyet Nyet, a four-legged duck from Chernobyl.) … The last day of July 2012 has arrived with a surprise in that it is here already. If we were going to positively affect everything facing us in July, we’d need at least 60 days. … One more thing. Anybody else out there listen to BBC London on your computer or cellphone? I did until the Olympics began and then if you’re not in the UK, you can’t get the streaming audio. You can get other British stations, just not BBC London. I know, why listen to the BBC? I guess because I appreciate the nation and our connections, though there’s apparently one less until the Olympic games are over.
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Hot time in the city...surprise?

It's summer in Texas and hot. Surprise.
Let’s just start with the tough stuff: All the weather forecasters say it’s going to be a hundred and something today, may set a record, could fry tires right off wheels.
So, if you know someone who has an animal outside, there are two things to do:  (1) Get the animal to safety and (2) take that human and tether the pinhead to a fencepost well out of the shade.
Oh, wait, that would be wrong.
If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need to be reminded to protect your animals from the climate.
That’s our Readlarrypowell.com staff impersonator, Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas. Here he gives us his impression of a happy dog hearing the clatter of serving dishes in the kitchen and rushing in to find a big steaming platter of Mom’s Melt-in-Your-Mouth-Not-in-the-Yard Meatloaf with a cool salad, iced tea and a desert of Coddled Canine Cake and Ice Cream. And he says he just can’t lose weight.
Here’s some Doggerel by Inky:
Hot as a pistol,
cool as a cucumber, you see,
Anybody who puts a dog out
in this heat is a dimwitted SOB.
Our dogs, in spite of Inky’s rough language, are sophisticated air-conditioned dogs  -- they live a high-life. I think it’s the cable TV and their own remotes that make them feel more like companions than like property. That and the fact that each has a different personality – just like humans, only not as unpleasant.
FROM PETA ABOUT HEAT AND THE CIRCUS: I’m on a PETA mailing list and got two notes this weekend. One was about protecting the animals from the heat – you wouldn’t think people would have to be reminded, would you?
The other was about protecting elephants from circuses and specifically about protesting the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus – “The Greatest Show On Earth” – as it plays Dallas. First protest is at 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday on the sidewalk at Main and Akard. Second is from 6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on the sidewalk in front of American Airlines Center in Dallas where the circus is performing.
The link to PETA’s circus protest is HERE.
THE PRESSURE AT THE COLONY: Our reliable tipster Patricia Barrington, the animal control division manager for The Colony, has a bunch of dogs in a squeeze at the shelter north of Dallas.
She writes,  "A trio of owner-surrenders in our wee little shelter are in a bit of a bind, because 26 dogs in 15 dog runs is difficult to accommodate. These three babies are especially endearing.
”First up, is Foxee … yup, she is still at the shelter, wondering what the hell happened to land her here.  She is confused and sad, yet so grateful for every little bit of attention we can find the time to give her.  She is spayed and house-trained and just an all-around great girl.
”Next, we have Sprite.  This neutered boy is here because he wasn’t what his owner expected.  That is a near direct quote.  Sprite is 14 months old and full of energy, but settles down significantly when brought indoors and given a good, stern, verbal directive about what is expected of him.  He is no dumb-dumb.  He has enormous potential and the softest, most pettable coat!  Sprite is about 40 pounds and his thin, leggy frame, beautiful angular face and markings make me think he is a Collie Doberman mix or maybe a Collie Greyhound mix.  His owner called him a German Shepherd; perhaps that is where the failed expectations started. 
“And, finally, there is Jet.  Jet is 2 years old and was with his owner for 18 months … yet, he is not neutered and the reason given for kicking him to the curb is that he urinates in the home.  Humm.  Now, that’s a head scratcher.  Jet could be one of the most marketable dogs on the planet.  He has one ear that sticks up more than the other, an incredibly cute under bite, and a submissive roll over that will con even the most cynical person to rub his belly.
”So … there they are -- three deserving canines in their time of crisis at a tiny little shelter north of Dallas. “
And, of course, we’ve taken the liberty of salting in some more of the animals at the shelter including that cat and that obvious Earhound. Duchess is the Cat, Nolan is the little Shih Tzu and the Earhound is Fran the Flemish Giant.
See The Colony animals HERE. Call the shelter at 972-370-9250. It’s open Monday through Saturday. Email [email protected].
WHY HASN’T THIS DOG BEEN ADOPTED? Look, there are a bunch of animals at the Collin County Animal Services Shelter in McKinney and they all have stories. They all deserve good and decent homes. And, volunteer shelter walker Allison Roberts reports that the shelter is on the brink of having more dogs than places and without adoption or rescue, then there’s tragedy ahead.
We have mentioned this guy before, but his story really burns the hair off your hide if you love dogs.
He was adopted from the shelter, then returned. Why? Nasty demeanor? Nope. Bad attitude? Nope. Chewed up a Honda? Nope.
The family brought him back to the shelter because “the guy’s mom was allergic – the family was very upset and said Ross was an amazing boy,” Allison wrote.
So, there you have it – sort of explains that photo of Ross kissing up to a volunteer.
What breed is Ross? He’s a dog. Maybe Hound. Maybe not.
Here are the contact points: [email protected] and [email protected] .
FREE CATS AND BREATHING ROOM AT DAS: Last week there were 4 cats and a dog scheduled for the needle at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Over the weekend the cats got an extension to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. No adoption, no rescue – no pulse, unless some adjustment is made.
Oh, the dog? That was a friendly, upbeat fellow named Bronco. Got adopted at the last minute, according to the shelter’s Facebook page and an inside source.
To ask about helping any animal in DAS’s well-populated shelter, [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312. Rescue groups should contact [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-670-8298.
GALT’S AUCTION: The Greyhound Adoption League of Texas is conducting its annual fundraising auction through 9 p.m. Dallas time on Tuesday. You can go to the site at galtx.org and bid.
What does the money do?
It helps GALT help dogs such as this obvious Earhound, Warrior, a 6 year old whose ears look as if they’ve been caught in a breeze. The Earhound American Registry System (EARS) designates these as the “Wind-aided Model”.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Readlarrypowell.com thinks that Monday is a great day for a photo that induces you to smile and that is why we’re running this`picture snapped over the weekend by our longtime pal Diane Combs. This is Diane’s dog Martha Belle – yes, she is named in honor of the Readlarrypowell.com funspouse Martha. Diane explains, “I've got a stuffed dog animal on my shelf full of stuffed animals in my bedroom, and none of my dogs - including Martha - has touched them -- until I got a new one (given to me as a birthday present in March). Martha happens to love this one.  She only gets it when the other dogs start to bark at something. She's not really a barker.  When the other dogs bark, she either gets a Nylabone out of the dog toy box OR she gets this one stuffed animal off the shelf.  She doesn't chew it up - just mouths it. I've named him ‘Hoppy’ because he seems to hop off the shelf.  Yesterday someone was walking their dog out front and the dogs barked. I was busy getting dressed but later found Hoppy on the couch looking out the front window.  I KNEW who had brought him there.” … Hmm, I’m wondering if we should introduce a “Smile at My Critter” feature for these Monday reports. Anybody got any animals that’ll make you smile? Send photos to [email protected]. … Heat: Can’t understand why people say, “It’s too darned hot to go outside,” then leave the dog gasping in a wallowed-out spot in the yard. Idiots. … How about those Olympics? Our boy Inky the Olympianiac Spaniel continues to compete in assorted events. He’s was disqualified from the two-man handball competiton because his partner Bill the Garden Slug refused to wear official Olympic footwear. Messy story.
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Remember Hank? He's a sleeper (with a new name!)...

Every now and then I’ll write about a dog or a cat needing a good couch or family bed for sleeping. Here you see an important area I have overlooked. Some houses have a "Sleeping Porch," but we will call this "The Sleeping Kitchen,"
So, for this week’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, we focus on Michelle Stockton’s foster dog, Hank. There's good news. Keep reading.
You may remember Hank – back after all the July 4^th celebrating, Hank wound up in Dallas Animal Services. The photo to the left shows him sitting on the floor at the shelter. He looks fine like that, but when he stood up and turned you could see that his entire undercarriage, where his left leg joins his torso, had been ripped to shreds – as if he’d hung it on a chain-link fence while trying to flea firecrackers.
Then, Dr. Erin Shults of Mazie’s Mission (right) stepped up and brought the dog into that rescue group and, of course, the next thing you know the healing and happy Hank is snoozing on the kitchen floor just like a normal ol’ dawg.
Michelle explains the kitchen photos: “The first one has some sort of color effect the kids chose to use and the second one is au’ natural.”
Yep, it doesn’t matter what effect you use on Hank, he’s still snoozing -- out like a light -- on that kitchen floor.
Michelle says that Hank “had surgery on July 10th to reconstruct his wound. Dr. Shults did an incredible job and I’m thrilled to say she was able to close up the wound completely!  Hank is now on strict ‘by our side’ rest, as I like to call it.  He does not care for being placed in a crate and who can blame him after being dropped in an overnight box at DAS!!  
”We set up a comfy doggie bed for him but he prefers to lie on the cool, kitchen tile most of the time!  Next to Hank in the photo you will see a somewhat creepy looking ‘Santa weenie dog’ plush toy which he absolutely adores! You can bet it will go with him when he finds a forever home through Mazie’s Mission!  We will miss him, as he is a wonderful family pet, but we must let him go so we can save more dogs in need.”
[Larry aside: Just the thought of Hank leaving a happy home makes me mist up with sadness, then, maybe there’s some happiness in these extra manly tears because I know that this demonstrates that far more people care about him now than ever before. I hope he sleeps easy on the cool tile of life for the rest of a long, long happy existence.]
Oh, wait, I’ve buried the lead. Hank has been adopted. Michelle says, “Dr. Shults worked wonders on his wound which closed and healed completely. There is a pic of him with his new family on the Mazie's Mission Facebook page as well as the DAS Facebook page.”
[Readlarrypowell.com lifted the photo from the Mazie's Mission page.]
So, there you have it. Hank’s got a home and the photo shows a “dog family.”
Oh, and one more thing: Michelle says Hank is now known as “George.”
In the early hours Saturday (we'd posted this late Friday), we heard from one of the new George's new humans, Bruce Morrice. He had the explanation for the names in the household. "There is a reason that we renamed Hank. His black Lab brother is named Guinness and his chocolate Lab mix sister is named Godiva. So we have a G theme. Since we have been calling them the Gs for three years we figured that we would continue with it. Both were also rescues. George still has the toy although it is less than pristine since Godiva likes to tug with him. George loves his big brother too and follows him around the house all day long. What a great story about Dr. Shults and Michelle. Thanks to both of them for all that they do. George has his own Facebook page, too, if you want to keep in touch. Bruce Morrice and Julie Petroski."
The Mazie’s Mission Facebook link is HERE and the DAS Facebook link is HERE. You’ll have to do some scrolling to see the story on the DAS page, but it's worth the roll down the pages.
And, here is George's address:
https://www.facebook.com/george.morrice.562

(To nominate your slumbering critter – any kind, any time of day or night, any planet – for the spotlight of our world-wide-read feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, send photos and inphos, er, info, to [email protected]. We’re proud to demonstrate for insomniacs that sleep is achievable. First, find a cool spot on the kitchen tile...)
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SPCA offers reward in cruelty case

The SPCA of Texas is offering a $5000 reward for info leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who taped a dog’s mouth shut in Kaufman County – the dog was found dead. The body was transported to the SPCA of Texas in Dallas for a necropsy. Kaufman County authorities have begun a criminal investigation. If you have information about the cruel treatment and death of this dog, contact the Kaufman County Sheriff’s office at 972-932-4337. (FYI: Readlarrypowell.com is working on getting additional details, i.e., type of dog, gender, place the body was found, etc. But the case is ongoing and the SPCA has released all it is going to while officers are working the investigation.)

Boxer dumped for being a dog and BULLETIN: DALLAS HAS EUTHANASIA AND IT'S SCHEDULED TODAY...

FRIDAY PM EDITION: Afternoon editions take me back to my early years in journalism when we had both a morning and an afternoon paper in my hometown. Deadlines all over the clock – much like it is now in the 24-hour computer world.
Let’s try this like someone who just woke up: OMG OMG! DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES HAS ANIMALS ON THE EUTHANASIA LIST FOR TODAY! OMG OMG. (Insert the TV-style tease here.) Handsome anchor says, " More on that crisis at Dallas Animal Services after this heartbreaking story of a Boxer dumped onto death row at a suburban shelter. Now, from on assignment, our reports:
THE BOXER IN THE COLONY: Foxee, 6, is “terrified,” in a shelter situation, we hear from Patricia Barrington, the animal control division manager for The Colony.
Not her fault. She’s in unfamiliar surroundings. She’s six and dumped.
”Her owner gave her up,” Manager Barrington says. “Seems Foxee and the other family dog chased down a rabbit and had a scuffle over who was going to get to keep the prize. Foxee won the scuffle and, as a reward, she lost her home.”
[Larry aside: You can imagine the conversation at the house. “Congratulations on acting like a dog. You’re outta here.”]
So, Foxee, who warms up to people after a little tenderness is exchanged, is waiting for a home or a rescue or, sadly, what can come next in a taxpayer-financed animal shelter that has to take all animals dropped on the doorstep.
The thing is, according to M. Barrington, “She is a good girl and should hate people in general for being such poor examples of solid moral fiber.  But, she doesn’t.  She is loving once she knows she can be a dog and no one is going to yell at her.  She doesn’t like yelling.”
To save this sweet but dumped dog, email [email protected] or call 972-370-9250.
On the upbeat side, as we were discussing Foxee, the manager revealed, “Good news: We just got a senior Dachshund placed with a group out of Pennsylvania, That’s long distance success.”
OMG OMG OMG DALLAS HAS EUTHANASIA!!! OK, I’m poking a little fun at the people who suddenly come out of a long coma and realize that tax-payer supported animal shelters budget money to buy euthanasia juice in bulk.
Some of the animals that are threatened this very day --- in fact at 6:30 p.m. – at Dallas Animal Services include four cats and one dog. This cat is Wilson. That dog, whom we’ve featured before, is the adorable Bronco.
No adoption, no rescue? No pulse.
There’s also no adoption fee for these five animals on this special list.
To ask about adopting them, e-mail  [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312.  Rescuers should contact [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-670-8298.
A NOTE FROM CARROLLTON ABOUT CATS: Plenty of cats at the Carrollton Animal Shelter and that has inspired CARE (Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise) to stage Feline Frenzy -- going on now through Saturday. All cats are $10 and that adoption includes a fpay/neuter voucher ($50) for cats not already fixed. Email [email protected] or call 972-466-3420 or Google Carrollton Animal Services for more info. A $10 cat -- maybe it's a life-saving price.
CONTEMPLATION: A dog here, a cat there and pretty soon they add up to a mass slaughter of unwanted animals -- you'e seen the stats here. Sure it’s not a “slaughter” in the sense of attacks with swords or hand grenades, but they’re just as dead and maybe it’s meaner because the system is designed to make them think nothing out of the ordinary is happening to them. Then, a sting and a blackout. Deader than a damned doornail and not a human stepped up to stop it. That’s on somebody’s head.
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Fun with the Games; SERIOUS situations prevail across the Texas prairie...

DATELINE: LONDON, ENGLAND: Welcome to the 2012 Olympic Games Committee To Support Cocker Competitors, reporting from the grounds of Buckingham Palace where the Queen's Corgi Corps is the official host.
Yes, that is Inky, Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas, in his omni-purpose Olympian outfit – made in the USA, by the way.
Inky has qualified for a number of events including tai kwon dog, the four-pawed backstroke, the two-pawed breastpaddle,  one-man/four paws synchronized trampolining, synchronized swimming (with his long-time colleague who swims as “The Electric Eel,” Willie “Big Jolt” Watt from Sparks, Nev.) and several marksmanship competitions including quick-draw paw. In gymnastics, he has qualified for the rings – his legendary routine highlighted by doing The Iron Cross with his ears (it's a crowd-pleaser, ears out, four legs spread wide, hanging motionless -- magnificent). We see at least five medals coming his way. More to come as events unfold in London.
(Some of you sports fans have sharp eyes and knew right away that he is wearing his official USA Olympics ping pong helmet. Hey! Maybe six medals if his ears stay out of his eyes during the volleys.)
 Now, our daily factual report (because if you think a Cocker Spaniel is in the Olympics, I probably need to point out that we’re going to now be dealing in facts and, frankly, if dogs and cats could  get into the Olympics, maybe people would treat ‘em better),.
Here are RANDOM NOTES FROM ZIP CODES ON PLANET EARTH:
FROM DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES, ANOTHER EARHOUND:  Mindy Swell, the rescue coordinator at Dallas Animal Services, says the momma shih tzu and her puppies from yesterday’s edition of Readlarrypowell.com have been claimed by a rescue group. That leaves a whole bunch of dogs without puppies but who may, in fact, be mere puppies themselves, looking for a way to beat the needle in The Lab at DAS.
One of them is this 50-pound Pit girl (#A732171). Mindy writes, “One of our great Customer Service Reps fell in love with this beautiful girl and brought her to my attention hoping I could find a rescue partner who would be able to take her in. It is not her fault that her owners did not have her spayed and she now finds [she is] in the family way and abandoned at the shelter. We hope that someone will fall in love with her as much as we did and give her a chance.” To ask about animals at DAS, email [email protected].  Plenty of cats at the shelter, too, as we’ve noted for weeks now.
Back to the pregnant dog: One might think, “That’s an Earhound?” Yes, indeed, ol’ #A732171, is a total Earhound. This time it’s not based exclusively on shape, though her floppy ears are nicely draped with dignity and made for a calming thumb-and-finger-pull while watching TV. Ol' #A732171 gets the Earhound tag because of the color schemes on those ears. Fantastic – something you’d see in a museum dedicated to magnificent use of color themes, contrasts and patterns.The Earhound American Registry System (c 2012) has an “Artists’ Wing” which describes this type of ears as being in the “Palette-on-a-Pup” category.
TWO OUT OF THREE SURVIVED (SO FAR): This is an odd one. It comes from Allison Roberts, the volunteer shelter walker at the Collin County Animal Services facility in McKinney.
She writes, “These 2 dogs were surrendered by their owners - the owners had been evicted from their home and living in various hotels and other places.  They also brought in a 3rd dog that was DEAD from heat exhaustion.”
Yes, they brought in a dog that was already dead. Is that not tragic?
She continues, “We talked at length with the owners about homeless shelters and other options but they would not consider anything.  And to be honest I do not think these dogs are safe with them anyway. They couldn't afford the surrender fee but the shelter supervisor took the dogs anyway because he was very concerned about their safety.
”Nyla (sitting) and LilMan are both a little scared but after they know you they warm up and are very very sweet.  They are both cuddlers and really do adore people once they know you.  LilMan, the male, is a little growly at first but he is just nervous with new people.  We really need to find a rescue or adopter - they are not going to have much time!  They are house trained and according to the owner, they slept in bed with them, know SIT and love to play.
”The shelter is WAY over capacity and we could lose these dogs at any time.”
Just as we were putting the finishing touches on this passage, Allison emailed that Lilman has been adopted. So now, Nyla, who used to sleep in a bed with her pals and her humans, is left along with strangers at a crowded shelter where the clock is ticking.
To ask about saving her, e-mail [email protected] and [email protected].
PRAYERS & PASSAGES:  There are two new tributes on our Prayers & Passages page (click on the button in the upper right corner of this page). One is for Wee Wee the Doxy, one of rescuer Terry Lynn Fisher’s wonderful little companions. The other is for the big ol'Rottie fellow, Junior, beloved family member at Dwana and Joe Carabajal's home.
One thing a family dog or cat will get you to do – even after he or she is gone – is get you to feel with your heart. That’s how strong they are.
WAITING IN ARLINGTON: The Arlington Animal Services Shelter, like most shelters, has a bunch of animals on the clock.
And there are people monitoring the animals and their availability.
This morning, animal advocate Susan Tandukar, on behalf of the Partners of Arlington Animal Services sent us a couple of collages “ [click on 'em to make 'em larger] in hopes that you could share them as well.  The shelter is super full (with dogs AND cats) and the lists just don't seem to slow down :(The ‘EU’ list is those that are in danger of being killed today at 2 p.m. and the ‘urgent’ list is those that are next in line and can be added to the EU list at any time due to space.)”
Well, there’s a fix for you. You’re on the long clock, but could wind up on the short clock because of things completely out of your control. Oh, wait, all of the animals – dogs and cats – are on a list because of things out of their control.
Only humans have an influence over these situations. Only humans can save the animals.
You can see Arlington’s dogs at the Partners of Arlington Animal Services site HERE and you can see the city’s unwanted cats at the Friends of Arlington Animal Services site HERE.
You can see how to adopt, how to get to the shelter (if you’re a human) and how to contact the shelter by going to the city’s site HERE.
 [Larry aside: A special appreciation to Susan and the Partners for providing these photos in a “collage” style. The thing to remember is every one of these animals has the potential to be a best friend, a family dog, a treasured companion and, of course, a best-selling novelist. Well, maybe not that last thing. Attention span usually limits some of the dogs to writing short stories and brief poems.]
KILLING CATS IN HOUSTON: We got this from Houston tipster Alexandra Kelsey. No photos, but the words are enough in this story. Candidly, dealing with this has worn her down -- like it would any well-balaned individual. But it's a story that must be told.
She writes, “A man is using the last shreds of his resources to try to save some cats. This man lives in a really, really bad area.  I’ve been there.  About 15 feet from where I stood and talked to him, someone had been murdered not long before. 
”Someone in the area is poisoning cats, and this man, who loves cats, tries to save them. Some have survived.  Some he gathered up before they ate the poison.  But now, this man cannot even stay in the burned out unit he’s been in. 
”At one time, this man worked in the office of a major company, one you have probably all bought tickets from.  He bought a townhouse, admittedly in a very bad area near the IAH airport. Now, after a fire and long unemployment, this man has lost what is left of the roof over his head, and he is desperate to place some cats.  He has seven adoptable cats, including his beloved cat Champ, a long-haired orange cat adopted from a shelter in better days. … This man reached out to Friends For Life and they are taking two of the cats, Badger and Rolly. They’ve offered supplies to others who could take cats.  If you can help, please email me ASAP.  This man will not be able to make contact after July 31 and will be on the move.”
To offer help, e-mail [email protected].
Among the cats are Lilly (white with black markings), Jack (black and gray tabby), Sport (female tabby), Pete (female shorthair black and white) Badger (tuxedo with a white strip on his nose), Rolly (black and gray tabby) and Champ (white and orange coat.)
I don’t have any photos, but you’ve all seen cats, so you have a basic idea. Does it matter what they look like if they're in trouble and you can save them?
ANOTHER CAT CONSIDERATION: You’ve just read about cats being killed and unwanted in Houston. In Monterrey, Calif., -- you can Google the story -- someone found 113 dead kittens and a bunch of ailing cats in an apartment. In Mesquite, police get 80-something cats from a rescuer who is having hard times – mainly because there are not enough people to help with all the cats and kittens around here..
And in Dallas [these are photos of DAS currently available cats] and in other area shelters, the cages are overloaded with cats and kittens. Been that way since early spring.
Every week CARE (Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise) sends out a note asking for help with unwanted animals on the euthanasia list – the aim is to save them via rescue or adoption. This week, the CARE note read, “We are happy to share that we are able to hold onto all of our current animals another week!  We would also like to ask that you keep our cats in mind as we are slowly filling up our available space.  So if you know someone looking for that little fuzz ball of love, send them our way!”
Hoarders, rescuers, neighorhood lots, abandoned houses and legal shelters – all overloaded with unwanted cats. Is society ignoring the message? We have plenty of cats?
For crying out loud, spay and neuter now. Isn’t that what needs to happen to keep next season from being such an overload that it triggers poor judgment by rescuers and hoarders and causes shelters to continue to buy euthanasia solution in bulk?
Yes, if you hold to the Texas tradition of “Got an animal problem? Let’s kill it!” then what shelters are buying in bulk is “solution solution.”
Sad to think about.
But who will save all these unwanted animals? Nobody. That’s the answer. Nobody will save them all. It’s just not possible because only a relative handful of people care about spay/neuter and responsibile animal stewardship. Outside of the hard-headed, big-hearted animal people, nobody gives a damn. "Regular" people think of "animal people" as nuts -- that's their limited involvement in the community -- don't help the animals, condemn the big hearts as "nuts."
How do you get people to care? Geez, that is the question, isn’t it. You can’t offer them money. You can’t offer them free kittens.  Give ‘em American Idol or Real Housewives tickets? You have to appeal to their hearts – get them to pay more attention to the plight of others than to whatever simpleton fascination currently has waded into the shallows to grab hold of their brains.
Hmm, that doesn’t sound like I’m buttering them up, does it? Doesn’t matter, they’re not listening anyway.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Sometime I don’t see how animal people keep going. When they signed on, you know that most of ‘em thought they’d have this thing whipped in a year or two. Now, decades later, dogs and cats continue to be killed in great numbers while animal people are still battling the don’t care, do-nothing, ill-informed and willingly ignorant public. … You might have noticed that odd photo. That is a dilemma. You know, perhaps, Sir Paul McCartney’s vegetarian rule: Never eat anything with a face. That, my friends, is a Morningstar Farms Garden Patty with a face -- the eyes are, I think either onion or olive slices. Heck no I didn’t eat it. Stored it in the icebox for weeks until Martha suggested it was time to throw it out. She said I'd never be able totake it on the road and make a profit with an exhibition of a veggie patty with an owl’s face. … I’ve saved this one for a couple of weeks. I was watching TV one morning and some female anchor revealed that the Mini Cooper folks had put together a commercial for the Olympic Games on which Mini horns played a national anthem. The station then played the commercial and the music was, indeed, Mini Cooper horns playing, And after listening to what sounded like “My Country Tis of Thee,” the witty sports guy wagged something like, “You mean every time we win a medal we have to listen to that?”  Nobody had the heart to tell him that (a) My Country Tis of Thee is formally named “America” and is sung to the tune of the British National Anthem, God Save the Queen. Eventually, you hope, someone told him, “Hey sport, that U.S. anthem is The Star-Spangled Banner. You know, that song they play while you’re puttin' mustard on your hot dog in the press box before ball games.” God save the Queen and this old colony, too. You can see the commercial HERE.  And one more thing: USA USA USA! Sorry. Got carried away.
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The seat-warming rescue, mommas in the shelter and opinions sought...

In an attempt to bring some order to a zany world, ….oh, who am I kidding? If I could bring order to the world, I’d have a cable TV show and take up offerings twice a day. Can I get an “Amen!”?+
Here’s our Thursday report.
THE DOG AND THE SEAT WARMER: Just a couple of editions ago we told the story of Diane Randolph’s attempts to help a dog that had been, perhaps, dumped on an unoccupied spot of land next to a highway in the Ovilla Road area south of Dallas.
Diane’s usual job is managing the local SNYP (Spay Neuter Your Pet) campaign.
The dog was getting food and water but had no place to go. So, arrangements were made and yesterday the dog was taken into loving custody.
Diane reports, “What a surprise that a dumped dog in the country would have a chip. I didn't even think of it but my work isn't usually hands-on dog rescue. The chip showed a disconnected number.”
So, at that point, the dog became “Goldie” and found a place in the SPCA of Texas shelter, according to Diane’s report.
And how comfortable was the ride? Dianne forward this paragraph “from my friend, Chuck who offered to go get her (his first rescue work) that I thought was funny.”
Chuck wrote, “That sure was a great experience, Diane! Goldie is a great dog! I enjoyed the experience and I'm confident that someone will see what I saw...a truly great pet and companion. So very well behaved.
”Oh, I have to mention this. On the drive to SPCA all of a sudden I felt my butt get HOT. It seems that Goldie had accidentally pressed the seat warmer button for the driver's seat.”
There you go. Goldie. SPCA of Texas. Already knows how to operate controls in an automobile. May qualify for a Texas Driver’s License soon, (Basing that on the abilities of fellow Dallas drivers.)
THE HALTEMAN’S HAVEN CATS: As many are already aware, the cats under the personal care of Keli Halteman of Halteman’s Haven have become wards of the City of Mesquite Animal Shelter after what is being described as a dispute with a neighbor. Whatever the cause, the cats are in a city shelter and on the clock. Appeals have been made by several emailers for help in getting the animals out of the shelter. But there are, we’re told, 86 former Halteman’s Haven cats – a big load for any dozen rescue groups these days. You can see the Mesquite cats list HERE.
We had an email exchange with Keli this morning and, needless to say, she is quite upset and working to save the animals she thought she'd saved already. Her challenges are many and are typical when a heart proves to be larger than a bank account -- and that is a sad, traditional condition in the rescue world.
MOMMAS IN THE DALLAS SHELTER: Yeah, as if to demonstrate it’s still puppy and kitten season in Dallas, here are two photos of mommas and their babies at the Dallas Animal Services Shelter & Adoption Center.
We learned of the cats in a report from Kelly Bond, the shelter-walker for Homeward Bound Animal Rescue who spotted A731807 with her 3 “super sweet” babies. They’re all on the clock.
To offer to help the cats, the email contacts are  [email protected] and [email protected]. And if your rescue group needs transport help, email [email protected].
The Shih Tzu mom with the four puppies is Lady (A732752) She weighs 10.8 pounds and the puppies don’t.
DAS Rescue Coordinator Mindy Sewell made the pitch for Lady and several other dogs in an e-mail.  Of Lady, she writes, “Meet the sweetest momma in the world, a 4 year old named Lady, and her 2 week old puppies who are just soooo precious!” (Email [email protected] to ask about this mom and her pups or any animal in the shelter.)
Now why would a sweet momma and her tiny puppies be in a city shelter? Mindy’s note explains, “She and her little ones were surrendered by their owners.”
[Larry aside: I wasn’t there when the mom and pups were surrendered, but I’m betting some guy said, ‘Take this dawg. Ah don’t know what’s wrong with her but she just won’t quit havin’ puppies. She just goes out there and gets pregnant. I tell her not to, but she don’t listen to me.” Ladies and gentlemen, the preceding scenario is EXACTLY why programs such as the $20 spay/neuter Big Fix For Big D exists. That’s www.bigfixforbigd.com in case you have acquaintances who can’t quite figure out how that birds and bees thing works with dogs and cats.]
FREE-ROAMING EARHOUND: Not all the Earhounds are in shelters. They may be rampantly breeding and walking the streets of Dallas.
Except for this one. He’s at The Kornblum Residence in Dallas.
Veteran rescuer Rebecca Kornblum is looking for help placing him because she’s got a household full of cats and new baby.
She writes, “My husband picked up this cutie last Friday night. He's been vaccinated, dewormed, and started on heartworm prevention. He's about 10 weeks old and weighs 16 pounds and is ridiculously sweet. We need to find a place for him --just too many cats here. (He's young enough to be afraid of them, at least.)” [To offer to help the Earhound,  email [email protected].]
FYI: The Earhound American Registry System (EARS) classifies this fellow as a “Free-roaming Double-Pointer.” Not so rare as yesterday’s Minnie the Double-Bender, but, still a valuable dog to have around the house listening on your behalf to things on earth and in the solar system.
CONTEMPLATIONS AND A SURVEY: Not wanting to affect your opinion, but here the Readlarrypowell.com stance. PetFinder, which up dates once a day, works best for people looking for a pet and PetHarbor.com, which updates hourly, we’re told, works best for shelter professionals and rescue groups who know their mission. You just Google PetFinder and the city you’re in and it goes to the proper link. On PetHarbor, you find yourself having to make so many selections that it’s like being the mark in a card trick performed by an amateur magician.
Seriously, PetHarbor is great if you know how to manipulate it, but the people who come to a shelter site who aren’t working at the shelter or who aren’t in resecue have no idea what they’re up against when they open that page and type in the name of their town. Yes, people aren't interested in learning a system,they want to see a dog or cat. Why make it tougher than it needs to be with a bunch of maze-solving?
There are so many questions that the easily discouraged may never get to the dogs and cats who need a home. You’ve got to figure out the secret code.
Anybody else got an opinion? If you’ve got one that differs, you’re obviously wrong, but we’ll entertain a look at it. Click on comments and let us know.
We’re for keeping shelter access simple and, of course, the best way to see what friends are in a shelter is to get yourself up out of the chair and go to the facility for a walk-through. You may only go to a shelter once or twice in your life and, these days, in most cases, it’s not a trip to a dark, dingy, stinky, depressing little building with big misery and little hope. Though, sometimes, the AC will be struggling.
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Earhounds, other tails and a 'clipping' call...

We’re starting today’s report with reasons to smile – call this “Variations on a Theme – Earhounds on Parade.”
Earhounds make a righteous person smile. That may be in the Bible. I’ll have to research it.
We have SPCA of Texas Communications Coordinator Stephanie Daniels to thank for these photos. She spotted the rascals at the SPCA’s shelter in Dallas – that’s at 2400 Lone Star Drive, just a few minutes west of Downtown Dallas along I-30.
Cleo, the 6-month-old Shepherd mix, presents the traditional Earhound configuration.
And Minnie, the 3-month-old Pit Bull mix has ears that “have formed into the shape of a triangle!” Stephanie writes.
In the official Earhound American Registry System (EARS), we classify Cleo as the “Double Dish” (two ears reaching spaceward to catch interstellar signals) and Minnie as the rare “Double-Bender.” We have seen Single-Benders and once we saw ears that bent the same way so the dog always looked as if she were standing in a stiff breeze. But, the true Double-Bender is a remarkable sight and when you have great big ol’ soulful brown eyes to go with the custom-made ears, well, you’re obviously a very special dog in need of a very special home and, maybe, an agent to handle TV and film appearances.
(FYI: We’ll get to the SPCA and the animals recovered from an ugly situation in Hunt County later in today’s report.)
ONE MORE EARHOUND: There are many, many animals available at the Collin County Animal Services Shelter in McKinney. And that is why, yesterday, the shelter had to euthanize several dogs, according to a report from our tipster, the volunteer shelter-walker Allison Roberts. “We lost several of our urgent dogs to EU yesterday, and we are in danger of losing even more today.”
This Earhound is #363918 who became available for adoption starting today. He is obviously an Earhound, though the 4-month-old’s official shelter designation is Carolina Dog Mix.
You can see the dogs on the “urgent” list by going HERE. And you can see other Collin County animals HERE.
The shelter’s number is 972-547-7292. To ask about any animal, e-mail [email protected]  and [email protected].
PUPPY THE DOG: We told the story yesterday of Puppy the Dog being cared for by a company’s employees but being put off limits by a company’s management near the Trinity River in Dallas. Don’t feed the dog, don’t water the dog, don’t give the dog any sort of comfort and get the city to come pick it up – those were the orders.
Our contact for this down-on-his-luck dog tells us that not one person has responded to help the dog. (To offer helpful advice, email [email protected].
Our advice is that one of the dog’s friends should get it and take it to safety no matter how temporary the home. Heck, draw up a plan and move the dog from house to house night after night until you find a permanent place or can get him into a no-kill shelter. Be a shame to let corporate policy kill a dog. And, again, we're not identifying the company because we don't want to cost a tipster his job.
THE COLONY’S CATS: In an e-mail earlier this week I saw a line from someone who means well – the person had forwarded a volunteer’s email seeking help for cats and, in trying to help, had described The Colony Animal Shelter as a “very high kill shelter.”
I checked with Patricia Barrington, the Animal Control Division Manager for The Colony. The characterization is not accurate, she said. (To be journalistically accurate, the characterization of “high kill” ticked her off.)
”Our shelter has NEVER had a higher than 28% euthanasia rate,” she told Readlarrypowell.com. “However, we have had an influx of cats and kittens.  Rescues are full.  Shelters are full.  Cats are not aware of this and continue to breed and roam the streets.”
[Larry aside: Yes, amazingly people still fail to spay and neuter cats and, yet, allow them to roam so they can make more unwanted kittens.]
”We have 12 cat bays and took in 13 cats on Friday,” Manager Barrington reports. “So some space has to be made a some point, resulting in some of these cats being on the euthanasia list…Fortunately, all of the adult cats (minus the feral cats) were adopted over the weekend, thanks to the big heart and hard work of this volunteer.”
And, in response to the label “high kill,” she says, “We work entirely too hard to suffer our reputation being crippled.”
These kittens are among the available at The Colony. That lone cat is Doodle and the fellow on the left of the photo of kittens is Linus – you can see them and how to adopt them by going to The Colony’s PetFinder site HERE.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT (STILL) FOR MARMIE, BUT A NEW DOG IS FOUND: We first mentioned this missing big German Shepherd on July 11. Marmie has been missing since bolting from his new owner’s home the first week of July. He’d been Dianne Wood’s foster dog for years and she’s been searching diligently for him.
Last night, she says, she spent4 hours “driving, walking, passing out flyers, putting up flyers – mostly in the vicinity of Bishop Lynch High School.” That’s east of White Rock Lake in Dallas.
She says, “Some children said they saw him yesterday am running down a residential street - this was near Peavy, Inadale, Gross Rd - Sorento St,, maybe?  I want to believe it really was him, but this was kids.
”And anyway, adults are also unreliable - I was called by some folks who had this dog in their yard and I do not see that much resemblance, but they did. I did not put this little guy in my car - to take him where?  He is wearing a brand new harness; I so hope he finds his owner or vice versa - will check all lost reports; maybe we'll get lucky.”
The search for Marmie Continues – if you know his whereabouts, call 469-556-3152 or email [email protected], And if you recognize that second dog, why, send a note, too.
ALL THOSE HUNT COUNTY ANIMALS: You may recall that last week we reported that the SPCA of Texas had joined with a Hunt County Constable to seize more than 200 animals from a property near Terrell. At the hearing yesterday in Greenville, the judge found that, indeed, the conditions were bad enough to grant custody to the SPCA – that’s 249 animals: 186 fowl (various species), 32 rabbits, 13 cats, 11 dog and 7 piglets. Read more about the ruling and the raid and see photos HERE.  And, at www.spca.org you can also see adoptable animals and how to donate the care of the animals that have been seized.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Regarding the SPCA’s seizure of all those animals (intended for sale at flea markets, the owner said), unless a court orders the owner to stop breeding animals for sale, then the good guys have simply cleared out the old burdensome inventory so the new guy can start over right away. Oughta be a law. … Saw a story from England on line (you can Google it) in which a study links depression to late-night TV and late-night computer usage. Daytime TV will depress you, too. And computer usage in the daytime – if you click on the news reports – will drop you into a spiral, too. … We have a short mostly white dog named Porche who, because of a puppyhood injury, can barely lift her left hind leg to scratch her left side, so she walks along, stops and tries to pull her paw toward her ribcage and winds up coming close to her left front leg. Last night I was walking down the hall and she came careering around a corner behind me and whammed my right calf and knee, nearly knocking me down. “Dangit!” I said to Martha who was trailing us, “She nearly knocked me down.” And Martha said, “I don’t know why you’re surprised. She’s been signaling ‘clipping’ all week.”
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Free-roaming dogs -- a challenge or two

A local company is faced with an opportunity to get some good dog rescue-related publicity right now.
Here’s the deal: It isn’t like we don’t have enough free-roaming dogs to go around in Dallas.
Nearly everybody I know has a former free-roaming dog and the City of Dallas Animal Shelter has plenty of extras.
Today we’re reporting what may be just the first part of a story about one “stray” who found a bit of comfort at a business near the Trinity River in Dallas. But, the “welcome sign” has been removed. So, this dog -- known as "Puppy the Dog" to his fans -- needs a safe haven and finding one would, indeed, be the second part of the story. Third part would be adoption and celebration, of course.
But that’s a long way from where we stand now.
[Larry aside: Frankly, there’s a tremendous public relations opportunity here for this company. Except, of course, the decision to “run that dog off” seems to have been made. Frankly, if I had a company, and my employees took up the cause of an unwanted dog, I’d praise them and support them because of their efforts to find a safe place for the dog to go. But that’s just me. I’m not a fan of the traditional Texas theory of canine, feline, equine, bovine and any other vine solutions: “Got an animal problem? Let’s kill it.”]
In the case of this dog, we are told that the company has decided that employees should stop feeding the dog, take up the food bowls and make the dog go away.
Having made the dog feel safe and welcome, they must now turn their hearts on the dog.
[Larry aside: This looks like a perfect public relations story to me. Simply get a group of employees to organize to catch the dog, then reach into the company cash register, take out five hundred bucks, call a no-kill shelter and hand over the dog and the money – TV reporters, if properly tipped, will be on you like you were a Dallas Cowboy bravely delivering a baby in a cab. Lord knows you don’t want your company known for anything good and decent. These low-cost opportunities to show that you and your employees are good and decent people don’t come along that frequently. You don’t think people feel good about your company when you do a good deed for animals? Ask around.]
Our tipster writes, “He has always been fed by these people; he has no home but these people have become his home. He now won’t be allowed on the property and won’t be allowed to eat or drink. My fear is that he won’t know how to fend for himself - even though he is considered ‘feral’ he really isn't. He is just considered that because he has no real home. He has been cared for by the employees at this facility, this is all he has ever known.”
If you can help the dog, the go-between address to email is [email protected]. You may also click on "comments" below and leave information that will help.
So, for now, how do you make a dog go away? Call animal control. That has occurred, we're told. A couple of days ago, in fact. But, as we know from reports during Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meetings, the challenging staffing situation at DAS gives most animals plenty of time to get away. In fact, a savvy dog with a passport can go to the airport, catch a jet to Cancun, spend the weekend sipping margaritas and come back in time for breakfast on Monday That’s how personnel-challenged the DAS has become under the extraordinarily tight City of Dallas economic situation – 31 Animal Service Officers for a city of millions and lord knows how many roaming dogs and cats, though the city does field about 55,000 animal-related calls per year, the DAS says. Spread thinner than a poor man's potted meat sandwich.
What may save this dog’s life, ironically, is the lack of a prompt response.
That may give the dog’s supporters time to (a) catch it and (b) find a place for it to go. Or it could give the company time to launch a public relations story that will make it look as if it has a stake in the city-created website, Dallas Loves Animals, a joint effort of representatives of advocates, Dallas Animal Services and the Dallas City Council (represented by Councilmember Delia Jasso).
The opening sentence of the “purpose” of Dallas Loves Animals reads, “We are here to show that Dallas cares about animals.”
Our tipster, to whom we’ve granted anonymity so that he/she can keep his/her job, is trying to save a dog without losing a job.
OUT SOUTH OF DALLAS, A DOG WAITS: This dog is the topic of what our tipster, Beverly Fyfe, the veteran rescuer, simply but accurately describes as “a sad story.”
And, in reality, those three words capture the situation perfectly.
Details of the story are filled in by Diane Randolph, the longtime DFW SNYP (Spay Neuter Your Pets) director. She is “trying to help a woman help a sweet do that has been dumped,” Beverly says.
The dog is living near the Ovilla Road area south of the metrosprawl -- where she was dumped.
SNYP will help get the dog spayed, but the challenge is where she will go after that.
One option is to put her back where she’s living. That is, we’re told, “where she has been waiting for two and a half weeks behind a fence for the evil being that dumped her to return.  A kind woman has been feeding and watering her but has no place to keep her and she has driven 12 miles round trip every day for two and a half weeks just to take food and water to the dog.”
So, anybody got room for big brown dog who has been hoodwinked by one human and helped by others?
At least if you help this dog, unlike the dog in the opening story, it’s unlikely that you’ll lose your job. Email [email protected] or click "comments" and we'll forward the info to the helpers.
MIDMORNING UPDATE FROM DAS: The list of those special Dallas Animal Services Adoptables we featured yesterday has dwindled to one dog and five cats. So, basically, one dog was adopted yesterday and the cats are still there -- waiting for at least their 45th day of official unwantedness and due for the needle after 6:30 p.m,. this very day if nobody claims them. HANG ON HANG ON THIS JUST IN. DAS has given these animals through Friday and waived the adoption fees. Someone's got a shot at some great free critters -- just as if they'd picked 'em up off the streets only without having to pay the vet checkup fees.
Which dog didn't get claimed. The dog with the entertaining face and attitude, Bronco. Second week on the death list and no takers. What's wrong with people? Don't know. Don't know why the cats aren't moving, either, except that everybody in town has one or two or more already and the cats keep breeding because idiots won't spay and neuter. Got to www.dallasanimalservices.org to see how to adopt. That cat? That's Wilson. He likes neckware.
FINDING A HOME FOR KISMET: Sometimes cats that aren’t roaming or in a shelter can use a new place to live.
Our pal Kim Pierce – we worked with her for decades at the big paper in Dallas – has been active for years and years with SMU Feral Cats and one of the cats she rescued is this fellow Kismet, 4 years old and rescued as a kitten at SMU.
Now, because of life changing health issues and pressures, Kim needs to find a home for Kismet. He’s a special cat, she says, and he needs a special home.
She writes, “"Kizmet is warm, friendly, loves to be brushed, and very expressive vocally (a real talker). He also likes to drink from the bathroom faucet and will ‘ask’ you to turn it on for him once he’s jumped up. (He never jumps on tables or the kitchen counter.) He loves to sleep at the foot of the bed - very good about NOT having accidents most of the time - and loves to be around HIS person. He has been an inside cat his whole life. He’s a little shy with strangers, but gradually warms to people.”
This is a “help Kismet now” situation. To offer, e-mail [email protected] or call 214-534-0233.
She says, “He will need someone to be extra patient with him at first as he adjusts, probably lavishing more attention on him at first than they will have to in the long run. I call him ‘Baby’ because he is such a big, sweet baby."
CONTEMPLATIONS: Just mulling over the roaming dog situation in Dallas. See if you agree. Dogs should not be wandering the streets of Dallas. True or false? … When dogs roam, many bad things can happen. The dog might bite someone if provoked and it doesn’t run away or soil the lawn, maybe chew up a tasty lawn ornament, but that’s about it. If humans get involved many bad things can happen. Some threats: Dogs can be hurt by gunfire, run down by cars, fed poisons, become pregnant, deliver puppies in the shrubbery, attack free-roaming cats when there’s nothing else on the menu, contract diseases, acquire parasites, etc. Or, of course, the absolute worse thing is roaming dogs can cause people to feel really, really bad when they are seen limping along and starving as if they are in a Humane Society of the United States TV commercial.   … While the responsibility for dogs and cats in custody may fall on the shoulders of penny-pinched DAS, the responsibility for letting the dogs and cats wander is on the heads of the residents who just don’t care. Changing those hearts is the challenge.
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Dogs, cats, people, situations, solutions and contemplations...

We were going to begin Monday with a happy cat story. And we’ll get to the story of Stewie’s adoption in a second. (Is that a happy cat or what, scratching his chin on the furniture?)
But first, we’re going to offer a report on another matter before we get to a cat that has a home now, a place of protection from the summer temps and awful conditions outside.
THE DOGS IN THE CAGES: Dallas artist Heather Ezell is a veteran animal rescuer. And now and then she spots animals that are in what appear to be dangerous situations – or at least conditions that are so unpleasant that they would seem to be bad for the animals.
She has photographed these dogs living in an outdoor cage and here is her note:
”I wonder if you have any suggestions how to help some puppies living in a cage in the front yard of a home in west Dallas. While on my way home from my studio I noticed three puppies in a cage that sits in a front yard. … I reported it to SPCA Investigations and received an email stating the people were not in violation of state law. But the fact remains these dogs are living in a tiny space 24/7—in this heat. What can be done to help them?”
The dogs appear to have shade and shelter and water and those are among the requirements for safe outdoor living in Dallas.
We offer this as a point of discussion for people who have viable answers. Everybody can write, “This is not right,” but what’s needed is a solid, lawful, kind way to help make things right for the dogs. Click on the “comment” line below to offer solid, legal suggestions.
STEWIE GETS A BREAK: Catfans will tell you that photo is a picture of a happy cat who has found a place to scratch his chin!
We bring up this cat because he’s a happy story involving Dallas Animal Services’ Adoption Center.
We posted Stewie the Cat’s photo on July 16 – he was one of many cats and kittens awaiting adoption or rescue at North Texas’ largest city-run animal shelter. It is a shelter that is constantly overwhelmed by intake. The kitten season has been rough and it hasn’t ended – that means the animals keep coming into the shelter. (You can see many of the current adoptables by going to www.dallasanimalservices.org. )
After we posted Stewie’s photo – that’s him at the back of his cage (cats do that) – we heard from veteran rescuer Tomi Jasso that she had someone interested in adopting Stewie. Kelly Bond, the Homeward Bound Animal Rescue shelter walker, had spotted him and determined that he was a friendly adoptable fellow. She reported that his shelter card said “he was brought in by a neighbor because his family’s other cat was killed by a dog. They said he bites but he sure did love all the attention from me yesterday. He was very calm and laidback so thinking the neighbor threw that on there for good measure.”
So contacts were made and the person, we’ll call her Maryann, who wanted the cat went to the shelter to do the adoption. But as things were being prepared, the shelter checked Stewie for a microchip. Indeed he had one and that delayed things.
Maryann became concerned that Stewie might not make it out of the shelter and reached out for help. People were alerted. The shelter followed rules regarding contacting the microchip “owner.”
On the 17th, Maryann got a note from a shelter staffer saying that “research reveals that staff was unable to scan ‘Stewie’ due to behavior problems since his arrival to the shelter.  It was only yesterday that staff was able to handle and scanned him.  Our policy is that pets with microchip are hold for ten days in an effort to make contact with the owners.  Therefore, ‘Stewie’ will not be available until contact is made with the owners or the ten days is up.  If he does not meet the adoption criteria, he will be available for rescue placement.  In the event he becomes available, we do have Maryann’s information.  However, I would recommend Maryann to follow-up every few days for his status.
And she also got this note from a shelter staffer, “Hi Maryann. I was the one who found the microchip in Stewie yesterday and spoke with you about him. The good news is that we got in contact with the owner late yesterday and he says he can no longer care for him. So you will be able to adopt Stewie! I have placed a hold on him for you, so please come in whenever you are able to adopt him.”
So, after some anxious moments, Maryann was able to get Stewie and these photos show the rascal enjoying life in his new home with a woman who followed his progress carefully through the system.
Not all cats wind up in such challenging spots. The shelter’s delay was understandable – you don’t know if someone had surrendered someone else’s cat to the shelter. You have to double-check. That’s the safe way to keep from adopting out or euthanizing someone’s beloved pet.
In the meantime – there are 5 cats and 2 dogs on what used to be called the “Very Special Pets List” for this week – scheduled for the needle after 6:30 pm. Tuesday. They’ve all been in the shelter for at least 45 days. They’re healthy – they’re just like the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of animals the shelter euthanizes annually; NOBODY WANTS THEM.
If you or your rescue group can make room here are the contacts:
For adoption or more info  [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected] or call 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312. Rescue groups:  Contact [email protected] or [email protected], 214-670-8298.
There are 3 black cats and a mostly black cat on the list. And the dogs have been on the list twice -- that's BK on the left and Bronco on the right.
What kind of dogs are they? The usual type of Dallas dogs: Unwanted. Purely unwanted. Same breed as the cats. Purely unwanted.
The adoption fee throughout July is $43 for the dogs and $27 for the cats.
[Larry aside: As we noted last week, the City of Dallas, had euthanized more than 14,000 animals in the first 9 months of the fiscal year.]
PRAYERS & PASSAGES: Today’s Prayers & Passages (click on the button in the upper right corner of this page) has a tribute to Jonnie England’s sweet, longtime companion Marigold, a former Dallas street dog who was rescued and responded with loving devotion.
She is a symbol of the animals that roam this city – they all have hearts and are looking for a place that will appreciate them.
MEANWHILE IN COLLIN COUNTY: Our Collin County report comes from volunteer shelter walker Allison Roberts who tells us that Mustang(right), the dog who was the shelter’s “tester” of other dogs’ demeanor and who was on the euthanasia list as the weekend arrived, has been adopted. Yep, safe.
Now, there are other dogs such as the dog with red-shirted volunteer-- that dog, 8-monthh-old Ross, a hound mix, was returned to the shelter because the adoptor's mom turned out to be allergic to the newcomer.
Then there is this guy Barley who is a 4 year old Shepherd mix and is cuddling with someone who wears a t-shirt with a mission on it – “I RECYCLE DOGS.”
Another dog still in the shelter is Dune, that great big brown dog with the fab eyes.
And, of course, there are cats in the shelter. Click HERE.
To ask about any animal in the shelter, email [email protected] and [email protected] .
MEANWHILE IN BURNS FLAT: Our rescue tipster Terry Lynn Fisher in little Burns Flat, the western Oklahoma town, is hustling for help with a cat she’s had in boarding at a vet for two weeks. We don’t have a photo of the cat just yet, but we do have a photo of Sissy, a Burns Flat dog who needs help – we’ll run the cat photo when we get one, though we’re hoping the cat gets a home before we can get a photo.
Here are the stories of the cat and Sissy, two animals from different situations except that there’s a rotten human involved in both cases:
--THE CAT: Terry Lynn writes, “I had him taken there [to the vet’s] by a woman that called me and said he was hanging around her house with his neck wide open. He is better, healing nicely. He needs to leave the vet, but I have NO PLACE for him to go. It is costing me 12.50 a day, just for him to be in a cage there.
”I have learned something that I am very concerned about and am checking into. I was informed last night by a man here in Burns Flat that his neighbor confessed to killing a lot of cats. He said he stabs them in the neck if they come to him and shoots them with a high powered pellet gun if not. This is an area I have had several injured cats come from lately, so I am believing he really does this. I am working with the police on this matter.
”I really feel that this particular cat was a victim of this crazy idiot, but somehow got away. Anyway, for now, I really need a safe place for this guy to hang out. He is very loving and friendly. I have had all his shots given to him.”
--THE DOG: Terry Lynn writes, “ Sissy-- sweet, young, very loving. An idiot that lives next door to my son brought her home. After 2 weeks, he decided he no longer wanted her, so he threw her out the front door. She just stayed on the front porch, scared and lonely. My son fed her a couple days, then, we picked her up and took her to doggie jail, to keep her safe. She is just a baby, so sweet and playful. A little timid at first, then, when she sees nobody will raise their hand to her, she is the most loving baby ever…. We have been slammed with dogs, so they are pressuring me to find rescues for several, due to lack of space. …I have animals everywhere. I need help.”
To offer to help, e-mail [email protected] or call Terry Lynn at 580-330-1459.
CONTEMPLATIONS: KRLD-AM (1080) is reporting that the great Dallas radio journalist Eddie Barker has died. Some people will know him from his days as a radio newsman – some of us were fortunate to know his kids and those of who who know the kids will tell you that his family is his greatest legacy. People with big hearts and kind demeanors – two worked as copy clerks and one as a reporter at two different papers with me during my time in print journalism. Solidly responsible and nice, too. Bless them all. …The demise of Spindletop, the Pit Bull refuge near Houston, perhaps will bring some focus to a problem that is much larger than rescuers and sanctuaries becoming overwhelmed. The reality is there are so many unwanted pit bulls that there is no place safe for them all to go. And if there’s no place for them to go, that means they take up room in shelters until they can be euthanized which means that puts pressure on non-pits who are euthanized at a greater rate because the shelters are so full. Spay/neuter and adoption seem to be the only other tools to control the populations and relatively few people want to adopt Pit Bulls and so many nitwits won’t spay or neuter. Back to square one: “Got an animal problem? Let’s kill it.” Got to be a better way. Humans acting responsibly – that’s both the answer and the challenge. … Penn State doesn’t get the Death Penalty. SMU got the Death Penalty over financial shenanigans that benefited everyone but the SMU on-field opponents and they probably got a cut of the gate. Penn State’s problem is the university joining in on the coverup of the sexual abuse of children. Yet no Death Penalty. Orwell was right: “Some pigs are more equal than others.” … We would be remiss if we did not note that morality – just follow the rule of being good to others -- is important if we are to have a kind and decent world. Sometimes we wonder if people really care about that. 
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