Earhounds, free dogs, cats with bad timing and the loophole for idiots

You’ve heard of “stream of consciousness”? Today we’re more like a “gurgle of consciousness” – I’m not sure what’s going to show up. I got one more hour of sleep than usual – inexplicable! But appreciated. And it likely will influence the mental processes. And set off a longing for a full 8 hours rather than the usual 5.
And, of course, we keep typing along because, frankly, we’re lousy at yard work, plumbing, carpentry, painting and electrical repair. In an act of self-preservation, we sit at a computer and type madly. Or, sometimes, angrily. And, even merrily at times. Rarely profitably.
One of the things that makes us merry is an Earhound. This one is Chloe. We think the Earhound American Registry Services (EARS) will catalog her as a “Dynamically Diverted Variety.”
SPCA of Texas Communications Coordinator Stephanie Daniels sent the photo to us. “Meet Chloe, a 6-month-old Hound – Earhound that is! Abigail Glavy, digital communications coordinator, took this one!” And, of course, Chloe is available at the SPCA. Remember, an empty cage at the SPCA makes room for an animal that needs a safe spot. (FYI: Do yourself a favor and schedule a visit to the SPCA – you’ll adore the doggie display and be calmed by the cat rotunda. Honest.)
THE REWARD INCREASES: Nobody’s been arrested or charged yet in the case of two Fort Worth boxers apparently intentionally poisoned with anti-freeze, but Legacy Boxer Rescue has faith and has added another grand-and-a-half to the reward for information leading to arrest and conviction.
Sharon Sleighter, the president of Legacy Boxer Rescue, sent us the new poster – click on it to make it larger.  “No leads yet,” says Sharon, “We raised the reward today [Monday].”
Anybody who uses antifreeze to kill an animal can’t be punished enough. It’s a horrible, horrible way to die – and there’s no way to save the animal once it has sampled this stuff. There are pet-safe antifreezes but hardly anybody uses it in their vehicles.
[Larry aside:There are other area animal cases that are still unsolved, i.e., nobody knows who shot the dog that Dallas Animal Services had to euthanize last week because it had been damaged by pellets, nobody knows who poisoned the dog of the pastor who was offering counsel to the young man charged in the Justice the Dog case… No doubt there are other cases still open. It’s not like there’s a squad of investigators assigned to pursuing animal cruelty cases.]
MEANWHILE IN ARLINGTON: Our tipster Susan Tandukar with Partners of Arlington Animal Services reports that there are “14 dogs on the EU list for today at 2 p.m.” at the shelter. “If you could please share that would be wonderful..” So, here’s the collage of the dogs in danger and the place to email to try to help is [email protected].

FREE DOGS IN  DALLAS: Two ways to read that headline. Either it’s a directive or it’s an announcement of the adoption fee for these five dogs.
That’s right. There is no adoption fee. Just go save the dog’s life.
Yes, there’s a reason they have no adoption fees. These five dogs are scheduled for euthanasia on Oct. 6 – they have all been in the shelter for at least 45 days without drawing anything except the admiration of staffers at the shelter. These dogs are all very adoptable – good attitudes, nice manners, no health problems and two of them have been on Dancing With The Stars. I may have made that last part up.
But as you can see, they are all very distinct.
And they are among scores and scores and scores of unwanted animals currently awaiting either rescue, adoption or the needle at the Dallas Animal Services Shelter & Adoption Center at I-30 and Westmoreland just west of downtown Dallas.
 To adopt or to ask more about these particular critters, email [email protected] or [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]. You may also call 214-671-0249 or 214-670-8312.. Rescue groups should email [email protected] or call 214-670-8298.
Who are these dogs? The first photo is of a dog we’ve mentioned here before, Delilah (A#734783), who is spayed, just over a year old and weighs in at 31 pounds.
Then, the dog that looks as if he is an actual piece of art created by a careful brush is Johnson (A#734771), neutered, almost 2 and 55.6 pounds. “Gentle dog, very polite and well-mannered,” the shelter says.
Then comes Laci (A#734566), a year-old, 48 pound “super-friendly girl! “ She has a video HERE.
Sasha  (A#733914) is a 3-year-old, 16-pound spayed pup – she’s heartworm positive, but there is a deal for treatment that comes with her. (Dallas Animal Advocates has a program to help rescues with heartworm treatment – email [email protected]  for more info – or contact  KCAAP about its “lower-cost” heartworm program at [email protected]  or call 972-472-3500..
And Tony (A#735021) is a 2-year-old, 46-pound neutered fellow who is “happy and handsome.” And, oh so obviously an Earhound.
WAITING IN CARROLLTON: We mentioned these two hardluck dogs yesterday. Both are in the Carrollton Animal Services shelter and waiting for a rescue group to claim them.
Chico is the top photo and Triston is the second photo.
This morning we got a note from the folks at CARE (Carrollton Animal Rescue Enterprise), the shelter personnel who work hard to find homes and safe places for animals to go.
It was an unusually dark message because Carrollton usually has great success in its appeals. The message reads, “Come on folks only 2 dogs this week who need rescue and we have not had an inquiry about either one. Both are good boys, and both need your help. I have seen this group get 10-15 animals out of the shelter and into save havens, this should be an easy week. Please consider pulling one of these great boys, if you have any questions please contact us.”
Call 972-466-3420, or email [email protected].
COLONY KITTENS: We got the tip on these three available kittens from Patricia Barrington, The Colony’s Animal Control Division Manager who explains the situation facing Roo, Boo and Scout thusly and it gives some insight into the challenges that vex taxpayer-supported shelter management:
”They are precious, playful and cuddly. But, they have been at the shelter since the 17th and no one has given them a look. It isn't the height of kitten season, so one would think maybe their marketability might be on the upswing, but not so much. 
”A shelter might consider keeping them until December when shelters will be inundated with folks demanding holiday kittens and puppies. But, they might just grow and simply be young adult cats that have gone mad due to months living in a shelter -- so, that won't work.
”Quite the dilemma, folks wanting to save lives when it is convenient and expecting shelters to produce orange tabby, declawed Persian kittens, precisely 6 weeks prior to their daughter's 10th birthday party. 
”Leaves perfectly lovable critters dead because they couldn't time their birth just right.”
Then she kids, “I'm going to have to work on this. Maybe get some pamphlets out to the stray cat population letting them know they should breed only at certain times. Seems reasonable, right?
”Oh, wait!  I could tell people, via voice, television, print and social media to spay and neuter their pets to prevent babies being euthanized!  How simple!  And, then, kittens and puppies would have more of a demand than a supply and people would save the ones that needed saved because there wouldn't be endless options out there!!  … Nah, that's just crazy talk.
”Heavens to Betsy, it is hard out there for a cat.”
You can ask about adopting any or all of these kittens or any other animal in The Colony’s shelter by e-mailing [email protected] or calling 972-370-9250.
CONTEMPLATION: We’ve been excited since the first week of June -- when it was announced -- to see the effect Big Fix For Big D will have on the unwanted animal population and we’re told the figures on fixes are still being compiled and processed.
If you go to the Big Fix For Big D Facebook page you’ll find a paragraph that says the project is “working to get 209,149 pets in South Dallas spayed and neutered.” Not sure if that means in the whole 3-year, $3 million project, or just this year. But we’ll find out. The other thing is the 18 Zip Codes targeted by Big Fix are not just in “South Dallas,” they are spread across the southern sector of town below Interstate 30 from the East to south of Downtown to well into Oak Cliff and West Dallas. So, maybe “southern Dallas” is better than South Dallas, since South Dallas refers to one specific neighborhood and this is animal over-pregnation (just made that up) is a problem across a giant swath of this fertile town.
You can get the details on how to get an animal fixed for $20 by going to the Big Fix For Big D site HERE.
In the meantime, last week one of our readers suggested in a comment that cities ought to have mandatory spay/neuter laws.
As it turns out, there is some irony to that suggestion: The City of Dallas has had such an ordinance in place since 2008. You can look it up HERE.
Here’s the problem, as I explained to our spot-on commenter: You know those speed limit signs on the freeways? The ones everybody in Dallas ignores? That's exactly the way the spay/neuter ordinance works.
You can look at the number of puppies and kitties that came through the DAS from January through right now and you can see that the mandatory spay/neuter law has been every bit as effective as the yield sign on a freeway ramp.
Why is it that Dallas’ animals breed madly, why do people neglect their animals (in violation of laws), why do people injure animals (in violation of laws),why do people allow their animals to roam and breed (in violation of laws), why do people dump their animals on streets and in parks (in violation of laws), why, why why?
Because all animal laws have this one shortcoming that lets fiends beat the rap: The laws deal with people who take advantage of “The Loophole of Ignorance and Don't Care and Underfunded Enforcement."
--- To comment, click below. ---