ReadLarryPowell.com

The family sleepers...& more hurricane animals...

It is the long Labor Day weekend and, to honor Labor many of us won’t labor.
In fact, there’s every possibility that we’ll follow the snoozy lead of these two dogs and work at sleeping. They are our spotlight critters in this weekend’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
They were nominated by a longtime tipster of ours, Kelly Andrus, a big fan of Bulldogs. You’ll note that neither of those slumbering rascals is a Bulldog.
But they do look sort of like a set of graduated canisters, don’t they?
The one on the left is 120 pounds and the one on the right graduates down to 12 pounds. And the 12-pounder is the boss, Kelly says.
Kelly writes that these are the “two newest members of the Andrus household – Huggy the Golden Retriever (7) and Rusty the wirehaired Dachshund (2). Somehow people get it into their heads that we adopt and rescue, and you know these 2 just came to live with us. It was either our house or the pound, so here they live for the rest of their days.”
Yep, they hardly feel comfortable enough to sleep, it looks like.
You can read about Bulldogs on the Facebook site for Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue HERE. And if you go to the Club’s site HERE you’ll see upcoming events to help rescue and treat bulldogs.
Oh, there's one more personal touch to the story of Kelly and hubby Brandon. She says, “We thought once we had a kid (our little boy Bradley is 3), the amount of dogs would go down in our house. Right now we have 4. Turns out God has other plans for us.”
 [To nominate your sleeping dog, cat, reptile, amphibian, fish, insect or companion in-law for Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, send photos and information to [email protected]. The purpose of this feature is to convince insomniacs that there is hope that one day we, too, can nod off as planned.]
MORE HURRICANE ANIMALS AT SPCA: The SPCA of Texas is getting more animals from Louisiana early, early Saturday morning, according to a news release issued just before 11 p.m. Friday.
According to the news release from the SPCA's Maura Davies, 46 cats and 39 dogs will arrive at the McKinney SPCA facility sometime after 7 a.m.  Saturday. These annimals from from Plaquemines Parish which was treated pretty poorly by Hurricane Isaac.
The SPCA is running a half-off special on its animals in order to make room for the hurricane refugees. Details are at www.spca.org.
---To comment, click below. ---

A dog in trouble in so many ways...

As the Labor Day weekend arrives along with the human “taking some time off” attitude, here is an afternoon crisis at Dallas Animal Services.
The DAS Rescue Team’s Nickole Self sent out this plea for help out at 3 p.m.
”This poor guy (A738914) came into our shelter today and has possibly been hit by a car.  The vet staff has started him on pain meds but he is down on his back end.  They think he has a spinal injury, but would be a good candidate for surgery because he still has a deep pain reflex.
”Info about dog:  He is a 7-year-old stray black Lab mix.  Good personality, even with injury.  Due to his injury we need to get him out of the shelter by tomorrow.  If anyone can help this guy, please let me know ASAP.  Email us back at [email protected] or call Nicki at 214-668-7181.”
[Larry soapbox aside: Yes, this is a good dog in danger. First, he's a big black dog and only those of us who have ever had one will sign up for another one of the loveable rascals. Then, he was insufficiently tended to by some human out in the world. When that went foul, he was delivered to a “shelter”  with a city hall minimum expense budget and no x-ray machine (still waiting on a promised donation, I understand). And now he’s going to get the needle if there’s nobody who can help him.
What’s the challenge? Just go get him, right?
Most rescuers already have their personal limits on animals and budget. Rescue groups are strapped because of the big puppy and kitten season, hurricane animals and efforts to promote healthier animals out of overcrowded shelters.

Call me a pessimist, but if this dog survives all this, I’ll be stunned. And I say that as someone who long ago reached his family limit on critters and budget. If only I’d won the Lotto this week….I’m sure I’m not alone. Let me know if you save this dog. I’ll sing “How Much Is That Doggie In the Window” at your wedding.]
A NOTE OF BEAUTY: D Magazine is still taking votes in its Most Beautiful Woman in Dallas contest and one of the finalists is Holly Forsythe, an animal advocate who makes room at her Sambuca Restaurant for animal rescue-themed events. You can vote for her HERE
---To comment, click below. ---

At month's end, planning and possibilities...

Holy smoking speeding calendar, we’re already at the end of August, but this last week was a doozy.
And as we enter the Labor Day Weekend, we’ve got animal opportunities all over the area.  Adoption, foster and rescue. And, of course, we have the traditional household opportunities: hug, reach down and pet, pick up and tummy-rub, seek investment advice – should have listened to the dog all this time instead of the experts.
OK, we’ll get to that nattily dressed Chihuahua in a second.
THE ARLINGTON CRISIS: You’d think that the growing City of Arlington – the town with a World Series baseball team and an NFL franchise known as “America’s Team” would have a fabulously-supported no-kill shelter. 
All the elements are there. Money, people, available animals. (Click on that collage of availables to make it larger.)
Yet, this example of municipal success just doesn’t quite have what it takes to be no-kill.
Yesterday, thanks to the Partners of Arlington Animal Services, we were able to publish a collage of animals scheduled to die at 2 p.m. in the Arlington Animal Services Shelter. It was a last-minute alarm, a desperate push by volunteers to help otherwise adoptable and healthy animals dodge the death needle.
How’d it work out?
We got the report this morning from Susan Tandukar of Partners who says that “out of the 10 yesterday, we lost 7 dogs.”
So you’ll know that these dogs were not just numbers, you can look at yesterday’s collage and check off these “lost” names: Naomi, Fancy, Avery, Valentino, Ray, Leo and Asher. They didn't make it. "Didn't make it" -- sad phrase.
Susan says that on today’s collage (upper left) from Partners there are 13 dogs.  Some are facing euthanasia, Susan says. The contact point is [email protected]. “
[Larry aside: Yes, I live in Dallas and monitor Dallas’ animal crises and successes, but I also am an actual native-born Texans who is totally ashamed of the fact that a state this big and great has kill shelters. I’m even more ashamed that we have people who don’t care. So, whenever we see a chance to help or hound, we fire up the computer and point out opportunities to help. So, yeah, I’ve been around here long enough to watch Arlington grow from a town known for a car plant and an amusement park to an internationally recognized city of success. Be nice if the shelter could go along for the ride as an exemplary no-kill facility.]
DALLAS HOLIDAY NOTE:  Dallas Animal Services will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Probably other shelters will be closed, too. Don’t know what those people who planned to celebrate Labor Day by dumping their dogs and cats will do.
We did get a note from DAS this morning with a list of adoptable animals – the figure at the top says 129 and the figure at the bottom says 170, but in reality there are hundreds more animals at the shelter and you can see them by actually going to the shelter at I-30 and Westmoreland in Dallas.
Click on this Download Aug31dasintake2012 to see the list distributed this morning.
Rescuers should email [email protected] and people interested in adopting should email [email protected] .
WHERE SOME DALLAS ANIMALS GO: Oh, goodness, we asked the question about where animals would be dumped in Dallas and one of the next emails to pop up was this one from longtime rescuer Beverly Fyfe on behalf of Angie Manriquez, the Fairy Dogmother of Dallas.
Beverly writes, “Angie Manriquez in West Dallas needs a hand! A friend told her about five (5)  2-week-old puppies dumped in a ditch with their little eyes just open.
”Please send this to any bottle feeder you know that may be available to take one or two or all 5 just until they are off the bottle.
”Time is running out and Angie is overwhelmed from all the work she already does feeding chained dogs and feral cats every single day! Please help and share.”
To offer to help, email [email protected].
BEYOND WEST NILE: Yes, the focus has been on West Nile around here but TCAP keeps plugging away with the old familiar challenges. From 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, TCAP will offer low-cost vaccines at the Flower Mound Canine Courtyard , 3209 Justin Road, and North Richland Hills Big Lots at 6300 Rufe Snow Road.
Rabies is $5 and the full set of dog/cat vaccines is $25. TCAP is the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection. See www.texasforthem.org.
MEANWHILE IN EULESS: The Euless Animal Shelter continues to have more animals than it needs and the Euless Trinity High School Girls Awareness Program (GAP Club) continues to help with promotion, fostering and networking.
The shelter is at 1517 Westpark Way. Call 817-685-1594.
You want to foster an animal? Email [email protected].
That nattily attired Chihuahua is Chocolate Chippie, one of the availables at the shelter. You can see more by clicking HERE.
FOUND CAT: Here’s a situation. What do you do with a found cat?
Our former longtime colleague at the big paper in Dallas, Kim Pierce, reports, “My son found the most wonderful young adult cat wandering around Deep Ellum Brewery – NOT a good place to be a stray.
“I think the cat was a pet rather recently. At the vet, when we checked him out, not even FLEAS. Great bill of health.
”He is further one of the coolest cats I’ve ever been around – highly social and affectionate, but also very laid back. No crying in the cat carrier/car. A perfect gentleman while vet poked, prodded and stuck.
”I keep thinking that someone HAS to be missing this guy.”
So, if you know where this cat belongs or you want to give this cat a home, e-mail [email protected].
MISSING DOG IN CORSICANA: This is a bit of an out-of-the-ordinary missing dog case.
We get the details of Maya’s disappearance from Lynn Gatlin, founder of Project Pawz.
She reports that the dog had just moved to Corsicana. “Actually she rode all the way from California in the back seat with the kiddos!! Immediately upon her arrival, while getting settled into her home and yard, Maya apparently made a run for it. Probably confused by all the recent changes, she made her big break into unfamiliar surroundings on the evening of Monday, August 13. She disappeared from the area in and around Oaklawn in Corsicana, very close to the YMCA.”
When last seen, Maya, who is spayed, was wearing a basic black collar and a tag. She’s not aggressive and loves kids. To report her whereabouts, call 951-496-5652 or Project paws at 903-874-3722.
There’s a reward.
A COCKRELL HILL DOG: Renata Korzeniewska, who works to help the animals in the town of Cockrell Hill, a city within the southwestern sector of Dallas, is hustling to find a place for this dog Lou.
”He needs ether foster home or adopter. We can afford only few weeks of boarding,” she says.
And, indeed, she says, “It is kind of urgent. The lady that has him right now can't keep him much longer, because he has too much energy for her and not long ago she had knee replacement surgery.”
Initially Lou was described as an American Bulldog/Pit/Lab Mix. But Renata says a DNA test described him as a Staffordshire Terrier/Russell Terrier mix.
He’s about 18 months old, neutered, healthy and microchipped.
To offer to help him, email [email protected] or LAP Rescue at [email protected].
CONTEMPLATIONS: Things you can do during the Labor Day weekend:. Enjoy something you never expected to enjoy or enjoy something you always enjoy. … Watch an old movie you love with someone you love. …Do your Christmas shopping. That’s so you can be haughtily above the fray in November and December. … If you are in Texas, enjoy the natural sights of the Lone Star State – the beautiful clouds against the brilliant blue sky, the vision of herds of cattle in pastures, the pine trees of East Texas, the desert of West Texas, the people of the state and the chilling temperatures. Oh, wait. Weatherpeople say it’s going to be 100 around here this weekend. OK, enjoy some air-conditioning.
--- To comment, click below. ---

No rain, no wind; get the needle ready...

Consider this an example of what happens around here without a single drop of rain or a hurricane-force wind.
This just in during the noon hour from Susan Tandukar of Partners of Arlington Animal Services:
"I know it's very late to hit you up, but if the attached dogs do not get adopted/tagged by 2 p.m. all 10 of them will be EU'd.  The Arlington shelter is SUPER FULL but for whatever reason won't reach out for media help! So, I'm reaching out to MY media help! There are some AMAZING DOGS on this list and I am just sickened and heart broken that we will lose them."
That's the story from a rescue partner in Arlington. Here is the collage from the Partners:

If you're a rescuer, you probably know how to reach Arlington Animal Services. The shelter number is 817-459-5898 and the email is [email protected].
--- To comment, click below. ---

 

The numbers add up at SPCA; solitary dogs in a fix elsewhere; Big Tex bites and contemplations

Welcome to Thursday. This dog is Austin. He has a story. Don’t we all. Yeah, but may not as challenging as Austin’s.
Or as challenging as the current stories working at the SPCA of Texas.
And a reminder, Labor Day Weekend is arriving and shelters have more animals than they can handle and rescue groups are teeming with critters. And, apparently, other residents continue to think the best way to unload the family dog or cat is to “set ‘em free” to roam and forage like wild beasts on the frontier prairie. Only this isn’t the wide open spaces. It’s the ever-constricting metrosprawl with speeding vehicles, mean people and vicious predators large and microscopic.
So, here we go, first with the SPCA, then with this dog Austin (that’s a “before” picture) and then with “The Phantom of The Tractor Lot” in Grand Prairie followed by assorted lighthearted tidbits. Maybe – depends on whether I’m still light-hearted by the time I finish these significant stories of animal rescue and their rescuers.
AT THE SPCA:  In a 48-hour period this week, the SPCA of Texas took in 353 animals at its shelters in Dallas and McKinney. They didn’t all come from the hurricane hullabaloo.
Yesterday the SPCA issued releases about seizures in the area and the arrival of hurricane refugee animals. Combined, the numbers approached the “staggering” level and Readlarrypowell.com asked if this might be the biggest load ever at the SPCA.
Nope. The hurricane of the Gulf still can’t top a seizure in the city of Hurricane Harbor for shear numbers.  You may recall the U.S. Global Exotics seizure in December, 2009.  
The SPCA’s Maura Davies cited it right away as the largest intake -- 26,411 animals from the U.S. Global Exotics raid. Many of the animals were “quite small,” Maura says, recalling “a couple of thousand red-eared turtles with shells less than 2 inches in diameter, hundreds each of all sorts of small mammals and even snakes and spiders. Oh, and scorpions. The bigger mammals were sloths, wallabies and others. No lions, tigers or bears, though.
"We could not have done that rescue but for the support of and excellent teamwork with groups of all sizes—from zoos to rescue groups to shelters big and small--from across Texas, the United States and even the world (we had one veterinarian come over from England to help out back then!). We’d have dozens of people come in shifts all the time to make sure all of those thousands of critters had everything they needed.”
That brings us to the current situation. “We are definitely bursting at the seams,” Maura says. “We definitely credit our amazing staff and volunteers for taking excellent care of all of these precious critters. We indeed have two very full houses.”
Caring for all these hurricane animals and the latest in a line of seizures from east of Dallas challenges the ol’ bank account, too. Maura says that late summer is “a typically lean time of year” and community support is always appreciated. “Whether through adopting or giving, we need the support of the community to help the animals.“ (See how at www.spca.org.)
The latest acquisitions at SPCA include 120 animals from a previously investigated place in Hunt County.  Yep, as animals were arriving from Louisiana and Mississippi, the SPCA was fetching scores more from nearby, hurricane-free Hunt County.
The SPCA and the office of Hunt County Precinct 1 Constable conducted the operation yesterday. The 120 animals – allegedly kept in poor and unhealthy conditions -- included 90 fowl (various species), 12 rabbits, 12 cats, 5 dogs and a duck. The SPCA says, “These animals were discovered on the same Hunt County Property from which the organization seized 249 animals last month.”
The SPCA veterinary staff is examining the animals both at the Perry Animal Care Center in McKinney and the Jan Rees-Jones Animal Care Center in West Dallas. The custody hearing is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Hunt County Courthouse, 2801 Stuart St. in Greenville, about an hour northeast of Dallas.
SPCA Chief Investigator Colby Grady said, “It is sadly not uncommon for us to see the same person start back up operating their breeding operation even after a seizure and civil proceedings take place. There is no provision on the Justice of the Peace Court level to prevent people who have had animals seized from them from turning around and getting more animals."
The previous raid in this case was in mid-July, not even six weeks ago.
[Larry aside: Hello, Texas Humane Legislation Network. A little loophole-closing chore for the next legislative session?]
You can see how to help the SPCA at www.spca.org.  And you can monitor the adoptions of the hurricane animals by going to the special SPCA Isaac blog HERE.
And you can navigate to just plain ol’ Dallas SPCA animals on the PetFinder site HERE. For example, the two animals with this story are on that PetFinder list. That dog is a young Border Collie named Pepperjack and that cat is a young rascal – yep, black and white – named Oliver. I posted them because (a) I'm fond of pepperjack cheese and (b) black and white cats reign in our universe of zany felines.
Oh, yeah adoption fees are 50 percent off at the SPCA through Friday to try to ease the load.
Of course, you never know if there are more investigations leading to confiscations under way. No shelter – city or non-profit – in North Texas ever announces that it is out of cats and dogs.
MEANWHLE IN ROYCE CITY: We got an email from Laura Fine asking, “Is there anyway you can publicize this boy on your website? I heard he was going kennel crazy and getting growly at the shelter. He needs out and is a beautiful boy. He has a sad story and needs another chance.”
Any animal in a shelter has a sad tale – otherwise they wouldn’t be in the shelter. So, Laura put us in touch with Jill Randolph, a rescuer and someone who has been around this guy Austin.
She has his story. “He was brought in on a Saturday night to the Rockwall shelter many months ago, extremely emaciated with open wounds all over his frail body. The wounds were deep, large and on every extremity. The back of his bottom area and tail were really bad.”
Yes, that’s the before photo of Austin. Starved to near death. Oh, the story get meaner.
Jill writes, “I volunteered at the shelter the following day and fell in love with him. He just sat in the corner wanting and waiting to be noticed. I bathed him and cleaned his wounds the best I could and got every last flea off of him. He was found living inside of a trash can for shelter at the Rockwall airport.  Not 100% sure, but I think people there saw him fall from a moving vehicle.  That's what I was told anyway, and his wounds were consistent with that account.
”I contacted shelter management about his care, when after a couple of weeks his wounds weren't getting any better.  I was assured by them that he ‘looked fine and was eating dry food real good.’
”Not really the answer I was looking for.  Very soon after that, he was adopted by a city employee that was friends with the shelter manager.  I asked about him a time or 2 more and was told he was doing well. 
”Fast forward several months, and a friend of mine was taking pics of the dogs at RCAS for Rockwall Pets.  She [and some other rescuers] thought this boy looked awfully familiar.  They sent me his pics and without a doubt I knew it was him.  His tail was now docked, but that made perfect sense because of the nature of his injuries to his tail. And he had put in a lot of weight. 
”I emailed Rockwall's shelter manager (the friend of the original adopter) with his new pics and he couldn't remember what he looked like...but he did tell me that his friend no longer had him.  He ‘had to get rid of him because he tore his house up.’
”The shelter manager at Royce City said he was an owner-surrender because Austin was ‘too rough with the people's toddler.’  I don't know if the person who turned him in to RC was the original adopter, or he was given to someone else by the original adopter and then OS?  That part remains a mystery. 
”However, this boy really needs out of the shelter environment.”
He’s starting to go kennel crazy, she says.
Royce City’s shelter is small and not overrun with employees, so Austin’s human interaction is limited and he doesn’t like it. He’s a social dog. And he’s losing weight – so he’s not the robust dog in these photos that were taken when he was first turned over to Royce City.
Jill says, “Austin needs a patient adopter or rescue that is willing to work on his manners and proper socialization.  He will need some work.  But I know this is a great boy, who has had a very hard life and really needs to feel safe and loved.”
Jill says that people who want to help Austin can contact Rockwall Pets and volunteer to foster him, call 972-696-9738.
The Royse City shelter is at 1101 N. Josephine St. and is open by appointment. Call 972-524-4834.
THE PHANTOM OF THE TRACTOR LOT: Oh, OK, she’s not a phantom, but she is on the tractor sales lot at Trophy Tractor Inc., 602 Wildlife Blvd., in Grand Prairie.
And she does appear to have a mask akin to that of The Phantom of the Opera.
We’ve mentioned this dog before. A couple of weeks ago. We thought she’d go pretty quickly to a rescue or a home.
But, nope. Our Trophy Tractor tipster LouAnn Norris says nobody’s been interest.
She’s still trying to find a home or a rescue group to take in this well-behaved, precious dog that was dumped like a bag of bad trash on the company property.
To offer to help LouAnn with this dog – one of dozens discarded on the property over the years – call 972-264-6700 or e-mail [email protected].
Some rotten SOB made the people at Trophy Tractor “temporary fosters” of a dumped dog.
Since nobody knows who the SOB was, we have to concentrate on saving the dog rather than applying the Two-by-Four of Enlightenment to the melon of a dimwitted knuckle-dragging mouth-breather with a woefully inadequate heart. Hope he doesn’t get tired of his kids. Wonder if he’d dump them on a parking lot at night? Probably.
FOR PEOPLE OF EXQUISITE OR FAIR TASTE: The State Fair of Texas is getting ready for the annual run (Sept. 28-Oct. 28 this year) and that means the Midway treats are being judged.
At a special private judging session on Labor Day, some of the fair’s valued judges will be testing the 8 finalists in the Eighth Annual Big Tex Choice Awards – top prizes are Best Taste and Most Creative.
Sue Gooding, the State Fair’s PR maven, sent us a list of the entries. Sorry for any cravings this may set off..
And, yes, that’s a photo of Big Tex from his early days at the Fair – this is his 60th year. You don’t get to be a 60-year employee without eating deep-fried food – pretty sure that’s in a healthy eating rulebook somewhere.
The 8 entries this year are: Chicken Fried Cactus Bites; Deep-Fried Divine Chocolate Tres Leches Cake; Deep Fried Jambalaya; Deep Fried Mac-N-Cheese Slider; Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll; Fried Mexican Fire Crackers; Picnic on a Stick and Fried Pork Wing.
I’m a vegetarian and can’t eat most of those, but I’m not a vegan, so I think I may consider the Deep-Fried Divine Chocolate Tres Leches Cake to be a vegetable.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Watching those assorted scenes on television, I am moved to write, “Thank Heaven we don’t have to suffer those things in North Texas.” What? The hurricane flooding? No, I’m talking about some of those ridiculous outfits at the Republican convention. … I think that maybe old newshounds like to watch the political conventions because they give us faith that there is room for every thing on the planet – from the devoutly sincere to the resolutely zany. And that is a dynamically bipartisan assessment. … Am I alone in failing to understand how the approach of a hurricane causes both a rise in sea levels and inland gasoline prices? Mother Nature may be soaking the land, but somebody else is soaking the people. We’ve canceled all Labor Day motoring plans in response to the gasoline outlets taking on the usurious nature of mortgage banking. To combat these expenses, Readlarrypowell.com proudly announces that you can now read the daily report for free.
-- To comment, click below. --

It was a stormy Tuesday...

Hurricane Isaac sent a bunch of Gulf Coast animals to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, thus area shelters will be with the Isaac Effect for a while.
And the Tuesday Technostorm may be over in communications at Dallas Animal Services’ Shelter and Adoption Center. It could not have come at a worse time.
How are these things connected? They both involve animals at peril in a period of crises – communications and weather.
--The SPCA of Texas took in at least a couple of hundred animals from Mississippi and Louisiana
That’s about as many as the Dallas Animal Services Shelter will acquire in only two or three days sometimes.
If people are adopting those poor hurricane animals – and they deserve to be adopted – then there will be adoptables elsewhere that go unadopted. For example, the Dallas Animal Shelter has more animals coming in than it can handle and, yes, they have to go somewhere. Mississippi and Louisiana aren’t calling to say, “The hurricane’s gone. Send us your unwanted animals.”
It’s well known that when animals are neither adopted nor rescued from the city shelter, they are euthanized. Not the fault of the shelter. It’s the fault of the residents who simply hand over their unwanted animals in great numbers and walk away.
Here are some random thoughts and stories we’re working on.
-- When communications failed at Dallas Animal Services yesterday there were 10 dogs, including this one, Sneaky, scheduled for euthanasia. Word had been distributed earlier about saving these "VSP" (Very Special Pet) animals – rescue groups were urged to call and help save their lives. But the communications went down. Mercifully, cool heads recognized the situation.
The  DAS Facebook page reported during the communications crisis that “the VSPs have all been given an extension! We've got a little more time to keep networking and trying to find fosters.”
This morning, Danielle Fry of DAS told Readlarrypowell.com that “all the VSP dogs left from the last list have been given an extension till 9/4/12.  We are working on the updated list as well as the new VSP list and will send it out shortly.” (These animals were available without an adoption fee before the system crashed. We’re waiting to see what develops afterward – there are ways to get reduced fees at DAS. Just ask. And it doesn't matter what the price is, an animal is always a bargain when you're saving its life.)
-- DAS reports on its Facebook page that the computers and phones are back up and running after after a day of outages. And, indeed, we’ve had phone conversations and email conversations with the shelter this morning. So far, so good today. And that’s good for saving animals. (See www.dallasanimalservices.org.)
These things happen. Readlarrypowell.com has some second-hand experience in this field and now and then the line that has both the phones and computers on it will fail for some 21st century reason. A computer routing mishap.  A misguided automation. A hefty bird landing on the string going from the telephone pole to the tin can in the communications closet at the main switching center.
It’s all way too technical and, since the shelter’s system is part of the City of Dallas system, we’ll just find familiar comfort in this old line: Blame city hall. Or a rat chewing through a line. Who knows? It always happens at a really bad time.
-- The SPCA of Texas made room at its “expandable” McKinney facility to handled all the unwanted Gulf Coast animals and it appears that those animals are now being wanted by people in the area. They’re blogging adoptions and info HERE.
This is great, but, as was demonstrated by Katrina, the arrival of these Isaac animals in McKinney takes potential homes away from the animals in the woefully crowded Collin County Animal Shelter in McKinney. They need life-saving rescue, too – not from a hurricane, but from a disgusting miasma of human indifference that prevails in North Texas. You can see the unwanted animals at the Collin County shelter by going HERE.
The SPCA has working agreements in place with other shelters -- might be a good thing for other North Texas facilities to consider if laws and policies permit.
--Meanwhile in Arlington, even before the storm there was a crisis. Susan Tandukar, our contact with Partners of Arlington Animal Services reported to us that the shelter is “FULL FULL FULL” and that of the 17 dogs on yesterday’s euthanasia list, six of them were killed.
So, 6 dogs went down yesterday, there are 8 new ones added to the list today.
Susan sent a collage of the latest 8. You can see how to adopt these animals by clicking HERE.
You can seethe Partners of Arlington Animal Shelter site on Facebook HERE and the Friends of Arlington Animal Services on Facebook HERE.
You know that a shelter has lots of animals when it has both Partners and Friends.
CONTEMPLATIONS: You know, these shelter animals aren't threatened by an Act of God, they're threatened by inaction of man. Isn't that a shame. Why can’t there be a national shelter animal exchange – Tawana Couch and the Society for Companion Animals manage to get Dallas shelter dogs adopted in such far off well-to-do places as The Hamptons by the handfuls. Surely there are other places that would appreciate Dallas dogs by the hundreds. … When all these crises – hurricane, communications, human stupidity – arrive at the same time, it really demonstrates the need for a drive-through sedative window at fast food joints. …. The people who adopt these hurricane animals will proudly tell their stories. And I’ll bet it makes their hearts feel good to adopt an animal who could have been killed by a hurricane. You know what? I’ve talked to many a person whose heart feels good because they adopted their dog or cat just before it was about to die – not in a hurricane or tsunami or volcano, but in a simple room at a nearby animal shelter. Anytime you save an animal, it makes your heart a happier place.
--- To comment, click below. ---

When Cocker Spaniels Ruled The Earth or The Tuesday Report & a Farewell

[UPDATE: This just in shortly after 11 a.m. -- the computer and communication systems at Dallas Animal Services are down. The shelter expects these things to be back in working order around 1 p.m. Just FYI.]
While there’s a hurricane or tropical storm or deluge sweeping the Gulf Coast, let’s just look at assorted Dallas Animal Services info gathered in the past few days.
You’ll note that the official DAS logo is now a pleasant dominant blue instead of old cheese green. That’s a recent change and it shows up on promotional DAS book bags and other items.
That aside, here is something important for people to remember. DAS Director Jody Jones told me last there are now two email addresses at DAS: One for people interested in adopting, one for rescue.
The adoption email address is [email protected] and the rescue email is [email protected].
In the meantime, as August winds down and September arrives bringing with it Labor Day and football season and, perhaps, Major League Baseball playoffs for the Texas Rangers, we find that once againDallas’ unwanted animals will have a place at the State Fair of Texas. (Though she looks like it, the dog on the right is NOT a midway prize. Read on.)
The fair runs Sept. 28-Oct. 21, but as per latest plans revealed by Dallas City Hall,, there’ll be a DAS available adoptables booth at the Fair from Oct. 1 through the end of the fair.
City Hall says the city’s staff will operate the booth from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday starting Oct. 1 during the run of the fair. At other times, City Hall says, the booth duties will be “covered by DFW Rescue Me, our Fair Partner.” (We’re trying to find out if the “partners” will be there on weekends and evenings. Last year, you may recall, the thing became a “kissing booth” --- didn’t even need official State Fair coupons – you could give actual cash! )
In the meantime, the DAS folks are trying to find places in rescue for these little bitty dogs.
This little dog (on the upper right) is A737633 VT06  -- she arrived via the night drop box at the shelter. She’s called Blossom at the DAS because, according to a note from DAS Customer Service Representative Danielle Fry, “With a little care she will ‘blossom’ into the dog she was meant to be. She has had a pretty rough life. ...She came into the shelter with an embedded collar; our veterinarians have treated her and her neck looks completely healed!  She is so sweet and loves her dental treats!”
And the little dog on the upper left is Tiny (A732856 DLF53). Why is she in the shelter? “She was an adoption return because she is so tiny and just gets so scared of things.  We have her testing out a Thundershirt and it is working!  She has calmed down a lot.  She still needs to be in a quieter environment without children.  She is already spayed and microchipped.”
To ask about these animals, email [email protected].
And we would be remiss if we did not mention one more time this dog Sneaky, a 7-month-old, spayed Cattle Dog mix who is a genuine Earhound and, obviously, a distant relative of Blossom -- related by ears. She’s on the euthanasia list for today with several other animals that have been on the shelter’s adoptable list for at least 45 days with no takers.
Again, [email protected] is the contact point.
Oh, that dog all tangled up? According to CSR Fry, “He was found by a good Samaritan who called DAS out to help him.  Someone had abandoned him, tied to a tree.  While tied he of course got all tangled up and scared! One of our officers went out and got him untangled and brought him into the shelter. He has since begun to come out of his shell!  He wags his tail and loves to go outside! Unfortunately he is starting to get sick. He needs to get pulled ASAP.”
Use that DAS Rescue email address. And if you want to see adoptables, go to www.dallasanimalservices.org and navigate to the list. Don’t see what you like, click back the next day – the shelter takes in scores of animals a day.
COCKERS AND GROUPON: I get those Groupon things in my email. Maybe you do, too. I also get email from DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue. And this time I got one e-mail about BOTH of them. It’s a chance to help Cocker Spaniels, so we’re all for it.
Here are the basics of the release:
”DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue and Groupon Grassroots, the philanthropic arm of Groupon, announce the launch of a local campaign to raise funds to care for DFW’s homeless Cocker Spaniels.
The DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue campaign will be available on the Dallas/Fort Worth Groupon Grassroots page beginning on Monday, August 27, 2012 and running through Sunday, September 2, 2012. Utilizing Groupon Grassroots’ collective action model, Groupon subscribers can pledge support for the DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue initiative in increments of $10, with each $400 providing medical and grooming care for a homeless Cocker Spaniel to get them ready for adoption.
”DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue’s objective is to save the lives of defenseless cocker spaniels that have essentially been ‘thrown away’ by the people they trusted.”
That dog with the flying ears is Vader (also known as Chester), an 8- or 9-year-old Cocker who is available for adoption. He came into the rescue group from a home that abused him. And, yet, he’s all Cocker – excited to be around people. They call him Vader because when he’s excited he breathes like Star Wars’ Darth Vader. You can read about Vader and the other adoptables and about the Groupon project at the Cocker rescue website HERE.
Our DFW CSR source, Karen Campbell, say, “Vader is a great little guy.  Not overly lively, but a very nice dog.  I've seen him at Meet & Greets every weekend for quite a few months now.  Just as I've been bringing Ceciley Rose for those many months too.  Nobody's been drawn to either one of them yet, but in time someone will show up for each of them.”
The rescue doesn’t know much about Ceciley Rose except that she may be about 5 years old and gets along with everybody. She’s a beauty. But, aren’t they all?
TWO DOGS AND A MISSION: Carol Eicher sent us a “just the facts” note that read, “Here are the two dogs that we need to find homes for. Hopefully, they can be kept together. Both are girls, fully vetted, chipped and housebroken. The one looking straight into the camera is the runt, PJ and the other dog is Larissa. They have lived at Westchester for the past two years. Their owner died a few weeks ago and now they need new homes.”
PJ is licking her chops. Larissa is waiting for the treat. Larissa is the leader of this two-dog pack. And you, like me, probably sense there’s more to this story. It’s kind of tender and you’ll see why Carole is working to find a good home for these two.
She explains, “Westchester is an assisted living facility for low income people.  I have placed several pets there. …The two dogs I am trying to find homes for are part of a litter of 7 puppies and the Momma who were found in a park in East Fort Worth. 
”The mother was in the road when my friend and another woman drove by.  They stopped to pick her up and she ran a short distance away from them, stopped and looked back.  So they followed her into the park and found the puppies. 
”They took the puppies and the Momma to Family PetCare Clinic.  That wonderful staff took them in, loved them, fed them and socialized them. 
”The Momma, now named Sasha, lives at Westchester as do 3 puppies. 
”The two that I have now belonged to a wonderful lady named Pam Johnson.  Pam was my eyes and ears at Westchester.  She was the animal control officer for the place. 
”At the time of her death, she had Larissa and Parker (beagle mix) and was fostering PJ (named after Pam by PJ's owner who would have been evicted if she continued to keep PJ).  Pam had already decided that PJ was hers also. 
”I promised Pam that I would keep all 3 dogs together if possible.  Pam's son wanted Parker because he said that she was Pam's ‘daughter’ and he wanted to keep her. It was agreed upon that Charles could take Parker, that Pam would approve. So now, I am trying to find just the right person for Pam's ‘children’
”If anyone is interested, they can call 817-451-5592 (Family PetCare) and go see them (1501 Handley Drive in East Fort Worth).” Email [email protected].
ROCKY, THE PATIENTLY WAITING DOG: I am prepared to offer $500,000 to the person who adopts this big dog Rocky. I’m prepared to offer it, I’m just not prepared to give it, so don’t even bother. But you don’t need half a million to adopt Rocky, you just need about twenty bucks.  He’s a clearance dog at The Colony’s Animal Shelter.
Yes, we’ve mentioned him before – mentioned him last week when we pitched Soda Pop the Cat and Onyx the Border Pig. They were both adopted, but Rocky didn’t draw a nibble.
He can’t stay in a city-run shelter forever. Eventually he’ll get squeezed out. And “out” doesn’t mean he’ll be moving to a condo.
Here’s what the shelter’s bio says about him: “Labrador Retriever/Boxer Mix: An adoptable dog in The Colony, TX.”
Pretty simple. Two great breeds. One great dog.
To ask about Rock or any animal in The Colony’s shelter, e-mail  [email protected] or call 972-370-9250. You can see more of the shelter inventory by clicking HERE.
CONTEMPLATIONS: We learned yesterday of the death of a great asset to genuine journalism and the world, Helen Parmley, the longtime religion editor at the big paper in Dallas. I worked with Helen for more than two decades. She was class, nice and tough. She got scoop after scoop in this town without being a jerk. A great journalist and a great person all in one big heart. When Helen was on the church beat, she was so well-respected that she didn’t have to call preachers to ask for the truth, they’d call her up and confess. She had integrity and decency. The tendency is to suggest that she had everything today’s journalism is missing. I’d say that tendency is spot-on. Here’s a sentence that will tell you how much her colleagues thought of her: The newsroom loved her and they don’t love anybody. Appropriately, God bless Helen Parmley.
--- To comment, click below. ---

SPCA of Texas taking Isaac animal refugees, slashing adoption fees to make room

UPDATE: Shortly after 5 p.m. the estimate of arriving animals jumped from 190 to 265 when the Mississippi facilities confirmed their need for help. Just FYI. Check the SPCA website for updates throughout this weather challenge. Click HERE.

Our PM edition is a weather alert just in from the SPCA of Texas.
The Dallas-based SPCA will be taking in about 190 dogs and cats-- maybe more -- from Gulf Coast animal care facilities starting tonight and perhaps through tomorrow.
The animals will come from the Louisana SPCA in New Orleans and perhaps the Humane Society of South Mississippi in Gulfport. There may be others. See www.spca.org/tropicalstormisaac for updates.
To make room for these animals, the SPCA has dropped the adoption fee on the current inventory by 50 percent through Friday. The more open kennels, the easier it is for the SPCA to handle this sudden influx of animals.
This transfer from Louisiana has been in the works since Friday; since Sunday the Mississippi folks have been asking for help.
You can see the current SPCA "Texas" animals at www.spca.org.
--- To comment, click below. ---

From Earth to the Moon, but that's it...

Two words. Neil Armstrong.
In 1969, it sure appeared that America’s world of 2012 would be different – “world” looked like it might be redefined as “launching place for off planet life and adventures.”
That passage is a headstart on today’s contemplation. It’s dedicated to those of us who embrace Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Rocky Jones, Jim Kirk,  Jean Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Alan Shepard, Buzz Aldrin, John Young (you oughta look up John Young), etc.  If you don’t know who’s fiction and who’s real, you may be the reason no American is currently getting Martian sand on his workboots – well, that we know of, anyway.  You never know where developers will go if there are inadequate zoning regulations.
That moon-faced cat in an apparent space capsule? That’s George, in a fix on Earth in Carrollton. Keep reading.
RETURNING TO EARTH, HERE’S A DELIGHTFUL FIRST: We got this uplifting note this morning from a local adoptor of a far-off cat.  And, you know, Monday’s a good day to share the uplifting notes.
We first reported on this cat way back in late 2010 or early 2011 right after Frank and Edna Taylor of Houston rescued her and, as in so many earlier cases, began to foster while hunting for a home. Ivy wanted to be an only cat and in the “cat-happy” Taylor household, that was not going to work out. The message went out that there was a lovely human-friendly cat needing a home and Frank and Edna delivered Ivy – now “Ivy Joy” to Lezli and Michael Ragland in Big D. You see the photo we got this morning. Here’s the message that came with it and it mentions Readlarrypowell.com, noted animal advocate Jonnie England and, of course Edna and Frank.
”Happy First Got'cha Day to sweet Princess Ivy Joy....one year ago today she came into our lives and hearts forever. Thank you Larry, Jonnie, Edna and Frank for making this happen.
“Our hearts are connected by paws,
”Lezli--Ivy Joy's mom.”
Maybe this will remind you, my fellow critter fans, of the day you got that special member of your family. Kind of a sweet thought, isn’t it. Keep it with you all week long. Every day is a “Got’cha Day” somewhere – even today.
MEANWHILE, A CHANCE TO HELP AN ANIMAL PERSON: The woman in this photograph is Holly Forsythe, who has been mentioned on Readlarrypowell.com now and again as a rescuer and animal advocate with Paws In The City.
The dogs are River and Dakota.
Oops, I’ve buried the lead. She’s a nominee in D Magazine’s annual Most Beautiful Women in Dallas event.
I mention this in case you are wondering which candidate to vote for in D Magazine’s annual 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas contest –  click HERE to see how to vote.

Holly is co-owner of the restaurant Sambuca, frequent site of animal-related fundraisers.
The concept of beauty is not unknown in the animal world. Paws In The City had a rep in last year’s contest, Tara Harper, who the camera also loves.
And, as you can see, Holly’s smile is enhanced by the presence of her dogs. We should all remember that animals can enhance our smiles. And, oh, yeah, “Beauty is as beauty does.” Remember that one?
JOB OPENING: We got a job note from our pal Toni Liquori of radio station KPRR – I’m kidding. KPRR is Katy’s Promise Rottweiler Rescue in Austin – but every time I see KPRR I think “radio station.” Still, here’s job opening note from Toni: “Thought I'd pass this along in the event some of the wonderful Metroplex animal lovers ever thought of relocating to lovely Central Texas! The Bastrop Animal Shelter is currently taking applications for the shelter director position. Please forward this to any responsible, experienced, caring individuals.”
Click HERE to see about the job, Toni says..
And, of course, go to www.kprr.rescuegroups.org to see some beautiful dogs who need homes.
[Larry aside: Rotties are big ol’ babies – our rescued-from-the-park guy Texas Earl the Cheeseman (don’t know why that’s his name, it just is) may be the most huggable dog on the planet. Bit ol’ moosehead just demands a hug from your heart when he gets up out of a chair, pads across the room, drops his chin onto your leg as you’re typing and looks up with those sensationally soulful eyes. He has to step over the sleeping Cocker Spaniel, Inky, to get to me. “Tread lightly around the cocker – that’s my motto,” Earl once told me. “Those Cockers are dynamic little smartypants.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Nope, no kidding, apparently.
Nobody’s made a move yet to rescue Pete the Shepherd at the Cisco Animal Shelter, we learned this morning.
A note from Stacey Carney known by her email as [email protected], reports, “Pete still has had no interest. Please keep sharing! He's really sweet and super urgent. One share could save his life. Please pass along!”
So we’re passing it along. Cisco is a couple of hours west of Fort Worth. It’s worth the trip, especially if you’re fetching a good friend like Pete.
CARROLLTON’S COLLECTION OF CRITTERS: Oh, goodness the clock is ticking in the Carrollton Animal Shelter and the folks with Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise (CARE – as the shelter staff is known), are pitching cats and dogs left and right.
Among them is this guy George who came in as a stray. The official bio reads, “He is a big headed tom with a brown tabby coat and white paws.  He will let you pet him but appears to be more focused on being invisible then being playful and sits perfectly still in his hiding box for most of the day.  We feel George’s shyness would be easier to over come once he is in a quiet environment that will let him be himself again.”
Then, there is this oh-so-obvious Earhound, Chapel. According to the Earhound American Registry System (EARS) Chapel is a “Pigmented Adorable Variety.” How about those spots!
She’s nearly 86 pounds of dog and she and her Chow friend Buddy were brought to the shelter because the person who had them was moving to a smaller home. She is around 7 and is mirochipped and friendly but has developed “a bit of a kennel cough.”
So adopting her or rescuing her would be a good thing.
To ask about any animal in the Carrollton shelter call 972-466-3420 or email [email protected].
Keep in mind that though Tuesday, Carrollton has set a $15 adoption fee for cats and kittens – adopt a cat and get a free spay-neuter voucher and rabies shot. Kittens get the spay/neuter voucher, too.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Here we are in 2012 and no astronaut has been out of sight in decades, the shuttle is retired, Americans hitch rides into orbit with newcomers to space and movies are still the best ride to other planets. Nobody’s beaten the common cold. Budgets are bigger except for what we used to call "The Space Age,", solicitations to fight diseases we were going to beat in the 20th Century are more intense, people still fight wars and Congressmen still cough up a hairball now and then.
There are two ways to look at this: (a) Shame on us for not doing more in the high sciences or (b) thank heavens we still have a comfortable, familiar place to call home.
This is an oversimplification of reality, of course, though you cannot deny the truth that it was not the challenge of developing outer-space technology that keeps us in low-orbit or on land, it is the politics of budgets and dreams.
You hate to think that in America, land of the free and home of the brave, that someone would ever say, “That dream costs too much.”
--- To comment, click below. ---

Pei -- a sleeper with a wrinkle, or two...

Is that not the mug of a genuine sleeper?
Ah, my fellow insomniacs, are you not envious!
This is absolutely the big ol’ face of someone who knows how to sleep.
Yes, that is Pei, spotlight dog in this weekend’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
Pei was nominated by our longtime tipster, reader and pal Roxanne “Rocky” Wingo who lives in Sandstorm, Arizona -- oops, I mean Phoenix.
You’ll note in this collection that there is a dog piled atop Pei. That is Pokey.
All I can figure is that Pokey thinks Pei may be filled with helium, so Pokey quickly slid down from the back of the couch to sort of anchor Pei and keep her from floating off in the Arizona breeze.
“Pokey” is short for “Poquito,” Rocky says. “ He's supposed to be a Chihuahua mix (probably a Chorkie). … I adopted him last summer (2011) when it was publicized that the 2 county pound locations had more than 200 Chis and Chi mixes at one point, and so many were going to be euthanized, so I did what I could and went down and got one. (You know what a sucker I am for a sob story...)”
That explains why Pokey looks like a dog with a yarn, doesn’t it? Dodged a bad situation.
And that dog on the floor is Sweet Polly Purebred, a formerly featured Sleeper. She’s a Pit mix who “be 10 years old, this fall, and is the oldest in my pack, at this point.”
Oh, and as you veteran dog lovers read this story of Pei from Rocky, you’ll note a shared emotion regarding the “accidental” acquisition of a dog.
Here goes:
”I don't think I've shared with you the story of my little girl, ‘Pei.’ She is so named because I did not intend to keep her, so I didn't want to become more attached to her by giving her a ‘real’ name. 
”Well, by the time it became obvious to me that she was staying in my home, she had become ‘The Pei’ and that is the name that stuck.  Of course, she has a plethora of nicknames, but she is mostly just ‘Pei’
”The reason I did not originally intend to keep her is because I have too many dogs, already… I was not looking for another when I found her.
”It was 2 Thanksgivings ago.  I had taken the week off from work. On that Monday before the holiday, I went to PetsMart to buy dog food.  I saw this Oriental fellow, with an adorable Shar Pei puppy on a leash, and, of course, I went over to meet her.
”My own Shar Pei passed away in 2005, and my family has had several over the years, and I just LOVE the breed.  Well, it turned out that the harness was imbedded in the back of this adorable 6-month-old pup that day, and the guy didn't even realize it!  He said he was trying to sell her and I asked how much and went to the register and got $100 cash and bought her to get her away from him. 
”So, I came home with this sweet, people-friendly pup, but she was scared of everything at first - she wouldn't let the other dogs near her, and most normal household noises scared her.
”She barked at the TV, at the dishwasher when it was running, etc.
”In a day or 2, my sweet French bulldog, Sisi, had managed to work her way into the Pei's trust, just enough that The Pei allowed Sisi to lick and clean the sore back where the harness had been, as they lay on the living room floor, side by side.  From then on, Pei accepted the other dogs, and has actually become ringleader among the wild players in the pack.  She often instigates wrestling matches and chases. 
”Well, as I've said, I had not intended to get another dog, and had decided to rescue her from the neglectful prior owner, so I could see that she was placed in a good home.  Of course, knowing how things are in the pet overpopulation department, I decided to have her spayed and vaccinated before placing her in a home.  That way, no ‘accidental litters’  would happen to her.  So, with it being Thanksgiving and then Christmas and New Year, I had managed to get her vaccinated, but not spayed, yet.
”Then, on New Year's Day, 2011, I finally made the decision that I was not going to be able to keep the house I had bought a few years earlier (long story - it had eaten me alive, financially, and the ceiling literally fell in, on New Year's Day.)  So, with all the activity involved in finding a house to rent, getting moved, etc., it was March before I was re-settled, and finally managed to have the spay surgery done on the Pei. 
”Well, by then it was too late [to find her a new home] and I was no longer fooling myself that I would be able to let her go.
”Anyway, she is a sweet, goofy dog who (I imagine) will always be like a puppy.  She is not real bright, and is clumsy and not at all graceful.  But she is silly and playful, and sweet, sweet, sweet!  When she is sleeping, she always looks like a puppy to me, with all of those wrinkles.  I've attached a few pictures.  The one where she's on the floor shows how her loose, extra skin ‘puddles’ around her when she's lying down.  The one on the couch was taken with my cell phone, as she slept with her back against my thigh, while I was watching TV.  She can sleep in the oddest positions!  She is just a sweetheart, and is much loved by my family and the other dogs!”
Rocky always ends her notes with “God bless” and if all homes and dogs could be blessed with such good fortune, we’d all sleep better and probably wear as peaceful a face as the one on The Pei.
[To nominate your slumbering critter – any kind from anywhere on the planet – for the spotlight of our weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, send photos and info to [email protected]. We love to hear these stories. We love to publish them, too. We like to think that insomniacs can gain inspiration to sleep from a drooling dog or a purring cat. We don't know where the inspiration to stay awake comes from -- we know it's there. We've seen it at work all night long.]