EDITION OF MONDAY, FEB 22, 2015 (PetPowellPress) -- Alright, idiots, get the dogs and cats to safety as awful weather descends on North Texas. That clear enough? [Please, some applause for our direct approach -- appeals haven't worked, it's time for in-your-face demands. Grrrr.]
We’re publishing this Monday report a little early just in case the TV weather forecasters get it right. Sleet? Ice? Power outages? Not needed. None of it. Just warm up about 4 or 5 degrees and give us rain instead. Now, having made a futile attempt to do something about the weather, we’ll move on with today’s report.
TIMING, THE KEY TO EVERYTHING
We got this note from the great folks at the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection and, prior to the arrival of what may be the Blizzard of Ought-15, the announcement began, “The much anticipated grand opening of TCAP's new Allen Clinic is finally here!”
Then I checked with TCAP's Stacey Schumacher and late Sunday afternoon the grand opening of the spay/neuter/vaccine clinic was postponed from Monday until Tuesday. (All TCAP offices are closed because of the weather, Stacey reported Monday morning.) The clinic is at 717 S. Greenville Ave., #113 -- that’s at the intersection of Greenville and Bethany in Allen. You have to arrange a spay/neuter appointment by calling 940-566-5551 -- and, the TCAP people say, “Surgeries are just $20 during the month of March with the purchase of a full set of vaccines. A full set of vaccines for a dog or cat is just $25 at all TCAP clinics.” Those walk-in vaccination hours are 9 a.m. to noon Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. See more about TCAP at www.texasforthem.org. Well, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays if the weather cooperates.
IN THE CATEGORY OF THINGS WE’VE NOT REPORTED BEFORE IN THE MORE THAN A DECADE OF READLARRYPOWELL.COM
The subject line read, “We need clear vases.”
Yes, someone is setting up a goldfish display to entertain cats if the weather knocks out the power and cable and the TV goes silent. [QUICK! READ THIS LARRY ASIDE: I’m kidding. Easy, Texas Goldfish Rescue. Easy, cat fans. I know cats. Cats are prepared. Our cats have battery-operated, generator-supported electronic equipment so they can continue to enjoy their den.]
So, of course, you might have guessed already that the email “We need clear vases” came from our reliable laketroplex tipster Sydney Busch of the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake. Those folks are getting ready for the April 25 Animal Friends Gala at Cedar Creek County Club. (Ticket sales start soon for this annual event benefitting the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake and the Friends of the Animals Spay/Neuter Clinic, the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City.)
Sydney explains, “You know when you get flowers from the florist and they are in those clear vases and you can't bear throwing them away so you put them in a cabinet usually never seen/used again? Well, WE NEED THEM! Not the bulbous ones but the tallish ones that are square or circular. We will be using these in a centerpiece theme for the gala - and anything that is donated means we don't have to spend money on it!”
To arrange a drop off -- wait, ill-phrased -- to arrange a delivery of the glass vases, email [email protected].
In the meantime, Sydney forwards a note from Margaret Qualls about trying to find a home for this dog Beaude, a 4-year-old Purebred Miniature Party Poodle who is housebroken, crate-trained and “extremely intelligent.” Loves everybody. Is well-trained. Vet records up to date. And he’s sharing a stretch of misfortune with his human. Margaret reports that Beaude is “being given up due to his owner’s health.” The human is moving to a senior citizens’ community “that does not allow pets.”
To ask about giving Beaude a new home, call 903-286-9212 or email [email protected].
AND ANOTHER HEALTH-RELATED CASE
This info was forwarded to us by the reliable Leighann Hayden, longtime tipster and animal hustler! In this case the story is generated from Grapevine, Texas.
You see the dog in question -- a sporty fellow at home in either mortarboard or on a couch. He’s headed to a shelter if someone doesn’t step in and save him.
His bionote reads, “Colt is an a very cute, extremely lovable Aussie mix - about 18 months old, Look at the cute markings and goober ears - so cute. Housetrained, has all his veterinary paperwork, is obedience trained, knows commands, but his owner is SO allergic to him that the dog needs gone ASAP! He will end up in a high kill shelter!”
Yes, it’s one of those situations that is not the dog’s fault. The number to call is 817-905-1910. The note ends with, “This is such a good boy -- please, can someone save him?”
MEANWHILE IN BURNS FLAT
Honestly, somebody needs to write a book about Burns Flat, Okla. It’s way out in the western area of the Sooner State (about 100 miles north of Wichita Falls, Texas.) It’s home of the actual Oklahoma Spaceport. It’s not named after its terrain or how the town burned, it’s named after Sarah Burns, the postmistress (as the pre-enlightened term went). And the most energetic, vigilant and overworked rescuer in the town is Terry Lynn Fisher who got into rescue years ago when one of the town cops called her dog over and shot him to death.
So, as you can imagine when we get a note from Terry Lynn that begins, “Sometimes, I see things I wish I didn't,” we expect a dramatic story that has a possible brighter ending than was in the works at first.
Terry Lynn’s Saturday night mail began, “Sometimes, I see things I wish I didn't. This is one of those times. However, if I hadn't seen these, I would not have known about her and offered help.
“This is Liberty. Someone called in to a Sheriff Department that there was a dead dog that needed to be picked up. When they went to get her body, the tip of her tail wagged. They were shocked that this starved creature was still alive. Rushed to the vet, they gave her a 5% survival. Her temp was way below normal and she had no body fat at all. Skin and bones, this poor girl was as close to death as possible. .She has been given blood three times and kept a little food in. After two days, she was finally able to stand on her own.
“There was no place for her to go once stable, so I agreed to bring her here. She will be going to my vet as soon as she is strong enough to travel (She is about 3 1/2 hours from me at this time.) This poor sweet girl will need lots of medical help. And tons of love and gentleness..
“Once well, she will also need a rescue to take her in. She’s about 2 years old; she appears very sweet and kind. Time will tell us more about her personality as she feels better. So here I am. . needing desperate help with another dog thrown away like trash. ... And prayers -- please send them for her.”
Contact Terry Lynn by emailing the address that honors her shooting-victim dog, [email protected] or call her at 580-330-1459.
IRVING URGENTS
Five dogs on the Irving urgents list, according to photo-taking, shelter-walking Russell Posch. You can read about all them HERE.
We’ll tell you about Nala, though, the one that’s not batched with the quartet. She's 24948264 and she's a spayed Pittie. She’s about 2 1/2, weighs 50 pounds, appears healthy and is friendly -- in the time since she arrived as a stray on the 10th, she has begun to show “animal aggression.” [LARRY ASIDE: Of course, she has! She’s a dog who wasn’t meant to live in a kennel. She was meant to live with a human, sit on a couch, snooze on a bed, eat in the kitchen, walk in the yard, in the park, greet people with a smile and wag. How many of these animals have to be euthanized before the rest of humanity wakes up? Sheesh.]
See Irving’s dogs HERE and Irving’s CATS HERE.
The shelter is closed on Mondays, but there’s a rescue hotline at 972-721-3597 and email [email protected] and [email protected]. The office number is 972-721-2256 or 57.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Hope the Oscars went your way. Our favorite movie this year was Element of Surprise, the story of an unusually gifted cat that using makeup and modern clothing, learned to mimic a human child and eventually graduated from the Sorbonne in Paris with a degree in Ocean Cuisine. Charming film starring the chameleonic Johnny Depp, also overlooked by Oscar. ... We get these regular notes from Greyhound Adoption League of Texas and just for contemplation’s sake on what is expected to be a wintry day, we’ll mention that the latest email from GALT -- that website is galtx.org where you can read about next Saturday’s Greyt Athletes Dinner and Auction (actual ol’ Cowboys, broadcasters and the actor Burton Gilliam are skedded to be there). You also see here some of the assorted faces available for adoption through GALT. Here’s the part of the letter that will give potential adoptors of these beautiful dogs some comfort: “Almost all incoming GALT hounds start out in Training Camp (TC). GALT's Training Camp Greyhounds are awaiting medical treatment (such as spay or neuter) and/or are in boarding until a foster home becomes available. Sometimes a Greyhound that is extra-shy or that was a stray for a while will need some extra socialization time in their foster home before being ready for adoption. These hounds are also in Training Camp. Training Camp hounds are not yet available for applications or meeting appointments but may on occasion attend a Meet the Greyhounds event if they have completed their medical processing and are just waiting for a foster home. Greyhounds graduate from Training Camp to Available based on the Foster Coordinator's evaluation.” [LARRY ASIDE: Most everyone in rescue knows how this works, but just in case someone merely looking for a dog or cats happens across this site, I thought maybe they ought to know that rescuers don’t just rope the strays and drag ‘em to an adoption event. They put in time and expenses and that is why rescue groups have adoption fees. That and the fact that all North Texas
Rescuers drive Range Rovers and Cadillac Escalades. Heh, hey, thought that might get a rise out of rescuers who also drive a pickup from the last century and nurse an older car along year after year so you can afford vet bills and special food for the road-damaged tummies of former strays.] ... Two things from New Jersey. Last week we published our pal Andy Fisher’s photo of a “free offer” in snow-punished Denville, N.J., home of Andy’s neighborhood on Indian Lake. A couple of days later, Andy, a longtime print/broadcast journalist and former Today Show
writer, sent word that “the rotten weather got me back into journalism. CNBC.com did a slide show of pictures of the awful winter weather and my ‘Free Snow’ shot is number 4 in the sequence!” You can see ALL THE WEATHER PHOTOS by clicking HERE . And we’ll close with a note about the cat that owns Andy, Peaches. We’ve written before about how Annie brought animals into the marriage and Andy suddenly found himself being described by at least one friend as the “Critter Man of Indian Lake.” Only a real “animal nut” would take a photo of a cat as she went about her duties as an inspection officer. We previously published a photo of Peaches inspecting lettuce in the kitchen. Now we have this photo of Peaches at work on Sunday. Andy explained, “My very festive wife is putting away the last of the Christmas decorations. Our self-appointed cardboard box inspector is doing her thing, too.” As I told Andy, “I understand Peaches has never lost an ornament during her career as NFSCO -- Nativity Festivity Storage Compliance Officer.” I'm pretty sure that's one of those special New Jersey union jobs.
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