Prelude to an editorial: Opportunities to raise money, help and adopt

EDITION OF MONDAY, MAY 23, 2016 (PetPowellPress) -- Dear Animal Lovers and Other People Who Are Hopeful for the City of Dallas:  Our contemplation today is in the segment that follows this edition. It looks at the past and how it relates to the present and the future. It’s long, but this is Dallas and it’s my town. If you don’t live in Dallas, read it anyway. You may have ideas that will help Dallas change its image and behavior patterns. 
First, we have these notes -- presented in the spirit of supporting people who work hard to make things better for people and animals.

That dog is Blossom, a resident, for now of Dallas Animal Services -- in case you've begun reading this and decided, "I need a good ol' Dallas dawg at my side." You can't go wrong with a Dallas dawg. Or an Anywhere Dawg, either. Or a cat.
ASSORTED NOTES ON A MONDAY

Monday. Whew. Mondays are proof that weekends are too short. Of course, we have NEXT Monday off (Memorial Day) and that will prove that three-day weekends are too short. Some opportunities and the first two are MONDAY ONLY!

 DINING FOR DALLAS ANIMALS will be the on the menu at the Casa Linda Chili’s on Monday. Show this flyer -- got to have a copy of it -- and, as it reads, “With each flyer presented on Monday 5-23-2016 Chili’s will donate 15% of the event day sales back to the great organization.” 
In this case it’s the Dallas Companion Animals Project. We got the tip on this from the DCAP Prez, Maeleska Fletes, a member of the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission and a veteran rescuer. See how to get involved by going to the website, www.dallasanimals.org. Click on the artwork and blow it up big enough to print out and read at Chili's.

[LARRY ASIDE: What can we recommend at Chili’s for vegetarians? The chain has a vegetarian menu including salads and a spicey black bean burger.  With each bite you help an animal beat the odds. Then you can go home, jog for five miles and beat your own odds! Oh, and Maeleska has this message at the end of her emails: “Save a life. Adopt don't shop!”]
PAWS IN THE CITY is currently having one of those “pop up” fundraisers. For $17.99 you can order this entertaining shirt (one of the reasons I decided to post this photo and opportunity -- it's funny. And, also, it's posted in honor of the dog Miley that I once helped transport from being minutes away from the needle in the Panhandle to bringing rule-by-canine-affection to a home in the Metrosprawl -- adorably wonderful dog. There are others available at Paws.) And, we like the current Paws president, Mark Verma, bit of a renaissance man with a tendency to adore and rescue animals. 
This particular design will be available through Monday only. Go HERE to buy one or more. We all know people who gleefully agree with the message -- "dog hair IS my glitter!"
[LARRY ASIDE: It comes in two styles: for women and "unisex" which, in the current political climate may mean you can wear it into any bathroom you want to. [I hope people see the humor in that line.] And, Paws in the City at pawsinthecity.org has plenty of adoptables, such as that cat Marigold who appears to be comfortable in a home with a staircase. The dog? That is Sweet Pea, being fostered in the Paws in the City Guest Animal Program.
Two things Paws and all rescue groups need: Donations and foster homes. Find a rescue close to you and sign up. It’s a hoot and it’s a good deed.

FROM FORT WORTH we get a note that Cowtown Loves Animal Shelter Pets -- that’s CLASP -- will host its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Family Pet Care Center, 1501 Handley Drive in Fort Worth. Karen Westmoreland, the CLASP president, urges, “Be a part of making a difference in the lives of the lost and homeless pets in our community.”
 REMINDER, AGAIN: All rescue groups can use enthusiastic members, rescuers, fosters and donors. You’d be doing a good thing to get involved. Google somebody and help a critter or two or two dozen. It could become a lifetime good deed.

WATCHING A TENNIS MATCH?
First time I saw this “Photo of the Week” on the current Greyhound Adoption League of Texas newsletter, I thought, “Someone caught them watching a tennis ball.” Whatever the case, here’s the story from GALT: “Thelma & Louise are bonded sisters that came to us after who knows what kind of adventures together as strays. We are so pleased they have found their forever homes together. They are now known as Peaches & Penny, and they look so pretty together!” The GALT folks urge Greyhound fans, “If you have a hound photo (or video) that you would like to share, please email it to socialmedia@galtx.org.” [FYI: They were found “running stray” near Highway 121 in Lewisville. Their litter numbers had been “double-tattooed” so that made it impossible for GALT to track them and identify them.
CONTEMPLATION: Please scroll to the next segment. Take some time to contemplate the piece about things in this nutty town of Dallas. Maybe the writing and the city have things in common: flaws. Maybe the piece and someone in the city have answers.  Whatever I've written has, it has good intentions for the animals in Dallas and the people who deal with them when other people dump them. In advance, thanks for reading it and thanks for working for animals.
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