It’s Thursday. Let’s dive right in. And we’ll remind you about this dog Maggie in a minute. She’s just one more tough story in the Big MetroSprawl.
THE TORNADO EFFECT: If things went according to plan, overnight the SPCA of Texas moved abut 70 dogs and cats from the Central Oklahoma Humane Society to its Perry Animal Care Center in McKinney. As with the Human Society of Flower Mound’s movement of a bunch of Central Oklahoma’s animals earlier, these are not animals that were affected by the storm. They are animals that were already in the shelter when the
tornado struck -- they’re being moved to make room for storm-affected animals.
Now, the SPCA will need some room, so it’s dropping its adoption fees by 50 percent for dogs and cats Friday through Sunday at the Jan Rees-Jones Animal cAre Center in Dallas and the Perry Center, too.
You can catch up with the HSFM rescue efforts by going to the society’s Facebook site HERE.
[LARRY ASIDE: And that’s a photo of a puppy and a smile from the Humane Society of Flower Mound operation. Honestly, who among us would NOT be smiling if we had our arms wrapped around that beautiful puppy?]
THE DOXIE DOZEN: For a few days now the Collin County Animal Services volunteer shelter walker Allison Roberts has been telling people how crowded the facility is. Then, holy puppy breath, on Thursday she forwards a
note about a dozen surrendered Dachshunds.
And it includes one of the greatest pro spay-neuter sentences ever. She wrote, “The owner of these dachshunds wasn't a breeder by trade, just by negligence.”
So, Child Protective Services, she says, determined that the home had too many dogs and CCAS agreed to take the dozen Doxies. By Wednesday afternoon, two had gone to rescue and 10 were still waiting. “Some are not as socialized as others, but I was able to carry al of them,” Allison wrote. “They may not be great with kids, at least until better socialized.”
To offer to rescue, email both [email protected] and [email protected]. That dog? That’s Bud, #413300. He looks like a guy who is asking, "You're not going to take me? Why? I'm a nice kid."
MEANWHILE IN EVERMAN: Volunteer Heather Harrison sent this note around about the Everman Animal Shelter. “The pound is beyond full,” she wrote. “These babies must get out.”
Someone delivered 10 unwanted puppies to the Everman Animal Shelter. Click on the artwork to make it largeer. To offer to help these pups, email Heather at [email protected] or call 309-299-5665.
[Larry aside: Not sure if the person who brought these dogs to the Everman shelter was, as Allison wrote above, a breeder “by negligence.” Doesn’t matter. The people who allow these unwanted puppies to “get started” don’t suffer by being sent to a cage to await a needle, do they. Nope, they just do the drop off and drive away to shop or go to a movie or maybe say, “That’s a load off. Let’s go grab something good to eat.” Ah, you hope indigestion becomes their constant companion. You do wonder how they can look the momma dog in the face after they take away her babies. I’m sure they don’t have to look her in the face -- she’s chained out in the yard and now and then they yell birth control advice to the dogs gathered in the yard. “Don’t do that! Git outta muh yard.” Always works.]
CATS LOAD DALLAS SHELTER: This note was distributed to Dallas Animal Services’ “transfer partners” Wednedsay evening. We’re running just a couple of the photos, but there are plenty more photogenic cats and kittens on the clock at DAS.
The DAS Rescue Team appeal reads, “Dallas Animal Services is full of kittens again! Please look below at the adorable faces in need! They all just need a couple more weeks before they can go to their forever homes!! We know that everyone has kitties but are hoping that some have been able to be placed into loving forever homes We appreciate all that
our transfer partners have done this year! Thanks you all for helping DAS to save these animals! We could not do it without you!”
To offer to help these kittens or any animal in the shelter, email [email protected]. You can see more animals by going to the DAS website HERE.
The story on the orange cat (A788717) is the little rascal was found by “some citizens who owned a Maltese,” DAS says. “While waiting for our officers to arrive, the Maltese and this kitten bonded. The Maltese would chase the kitten, then the kitten would chase the Maltese! So cute! Unfortunately the people were not able to have a cat. Our officers tried really hard to keep the firends together, but no such luck.”
In the second photo, that’s A786041, a black Momma cat with 4 tiny brown tabby kittens. [Larry aside: I’m sure they’re simply the result of human idiocy. You can blame idiot humans for a lot of things on the planet -- sometimes you can blame them for neglecting to do the right thing, i.e., being responsible when it comes to preventing the arrival of animals born just to be killed.]
The shelter is at I-30 and Westmoreland, just a few minutes west of downtown Dallas. It’s open to the public. You may have a friend in there waiting to join you in a happy household.
HELP FOR MAGGIE: Three days ago we wrote about Kathy Brewer’s attempts to find help for this dog Maggie, previously a chained all -day dog, then a rescued dog and now a dog that really needs to be somewhere without the dynamics of other dogs.
The pressure, the constant fear of a big dog fight and the worrying are getting to Kathy and she sent a note to Readlarrypowell.com asking, “Do you know what Maggie's chances will be if I relinquish her to SPCA? My old Lab Hailey is so fearful she trembles all the time and I can barely get her to go out and come back in. And it is not fair to her."
So, if you help Maggie you’ll be helping Hailey.
Perhaps someone has a spot in a rescue group or a no-kill shelter. It would be the merciful thing to do for Kathy. To offer help, email [email protected].
JUSTICE TRIAL RESET: We got this in a note from animal advocate Jonnie England who has been monitoring legal proceedings in the famed Justice case in which four people are charged with animal cruelty in the death of the dog -- by fire -- in April 2012. The new trial date is June 10. If it starts on time, picking a jury will take a while and testimony may start at midweek in 292nd Criminal District Judge Larry Mitchell’s courtroom in the Crowley Criminal Courts Building. The defendants are in jail awaiting trial. They are Darius Ewing, Adrian Ayers, Darius Carey and Richard Valentine.
ELEPHANT PROTEST: Animal Connection of Texas and PETA are teaming to protest the elephant rides offered at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival n Waxahachie. The organizers are planning a peaceful protest from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. For more information, email [email protected]. Organizers also will provide the posters and leaflets, but not the parking and the weather may be a factor.
A BIG TEX UPDATE: Sue Gooding, the PR Guru at the State Fair of Texas, sent word yesterday that Big Tex’s head is coming together. [Larry aside: Some of us, unable to get our heads to come together in a sane fashion, are envious.] You can watch the shaping of the noggin at this YouTube site HERE. The reconstructed Big Tex will make his debut on the Fair’s opening day, Sept. 27. The fair runs for 24 days through October 20 (Tex went up in smoke on the last Friday of the Fair in 2012). Sue reports that individual donations for recreating Big Texas are at the $74,707 point. Check out the Fair at www.bigtex.com.
CONTEMPLATION: Today we’ll address spam ‘n’ hackin’. We’ve got a number of contacts in the animal rescue world and two have recently had their email addresses hacked and used to distribute what looks like a real problem. Here’s what the totally fake email labeled “Vacation Problem” says: “Just hoping this email reaches you well, I'm sorry for this emergency and for not informing you about my urgent trip to Manila,Philippines but I just have to let you know my present predicament. Everything was fine until I was attacked on my way back to the hotel, I wasn't hurt but I lost my money, bank cards, mobile phone and my bag in the course of this attack. I immediately contacted my bank in order to block my cards and also made a report at the nearest police station. I've been to the embassy and they are helping me with my documentation so i can fly out but I'm urgently in need of some money to pay for my hotel bills and my flight ticket home. All i need to get these sorted out is about $2,450 USD and promise to REFUND as soon as back home. Kindly let me know if you would be able to help me out so I can forward you the details required for a wire transfer.” One of the people who’s email suffered this fiction was an animal rescuer named Lydia who got word of the transgression and sent out a clever note that read: “Hi, Folks! My contacts are all pretty savvy, so I'm confident no one has fallen for the scam e-mail you received about me being in Manilla, having been robbed and needing funds! I have to say, the e-mail, itself, cracked me up big time, but it's a crime, so shame on the hacker. I'm broke, alright. But, I'm broke in Houston, not in Manilla :)” [Larry aside: Heck, if I had extra money, I’d send it to Lydia to help her get out of Houston. I’m kidding. I’m kidding!]
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