EDITION OF TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2016 (PetPowellPress) -- OK, it’s the first complete day of summer. It arrived during Dallas/Fort Worth rush hour Monday afternoon.
Today, then, is the perfect time for the rest of us to step up: Remind people to take proper care of their dogs and cats in this miserable season.
Are we talking shade and water? No. We’re talking air-conditioning, a nice cool place to nod off, fresh food and fresh water. How difficult is that?
It’s a philosophical problem. Some people don’t want animals in their homes, but don’t mind sentencing them to a hot miserable death outside. Also, some people need the dog to function as a bioalarm system. Sad.
This is Dallas. Just bring the dog inside and sit out on the porch with your shotgun.
I’m kidding. Sit out there and make a sound like a car alarm -- if a Mockingbird can do it, you can do it.
Or, just don’t leave anything outside worth stealing. I keep hoping someone will break into our backyard and mow it, cut down needless shrubbery and haul off my old deck. I know the dogs like the deck, but they also like the couch and the floor by the A/C vents, too.
That photo? I snapped it in Dallas last week. I’m sure the dog was happy. But dogs frequently don’t know that they are in a dangerous situation that may be illegal in the City of Dallas. Animal safety, whether automotive or atmospheric, is up to humans. Whoa. How’d you like to be in a fix like that.
SOME GOOD PUBLISHING NEWS
We’ve frequently mentioned the achievements of local author James Martinez and artist Timothy Civic. It’s a good thing. And here’s an even better thing. We got this note from James: “I wanted to share some great news. Our latest book has been included in a national magazine's list of the 12 books dog lovers should read this summer. The magazine is Modern Dog Magazine. Here's the LINK.”
And that’s the cover!
A PAWSITIVE DEVELOPMENT
We got an appeal as the weekend arrived from the Denton McNatt Animal Shelter animal advocate Amy Poskey. It read: “CASSIDY is a 10-12 week young female Labby with a broken paw that should heal with crate rest. The shelter environment is not conducive to healing properly.”
Before I could go to cyberpress with that note, Amy sent this interstate news on Saturday morning: “Cassidy has left the building and will be heading to Chicagoland Lab Rescue! YAY!!!”
Chicago Lab’s website is HERE and its Facebook page is HERE.
Since those folks have a Texas dog now, we’ll just mention this handsome boy who was featured on the Facebook site. The message reads “Foster desperately needed. We would love to help Dexter, a 9-year-old male Lab mix. His time is up, Dexter is dog friendly and loves everyone. Please consider helping!! Applications can be filled out online at www.chicagolandlabrescue.org or email [email protected]."
And, if you go HERE, you can see video of Arlo, described as “a sweet 6-month-old male Lab mix [who]... came up from Texas a couple of weeks ago....”
Has spirit, might be a Metroplexador.
[LARRY ASIDE: Connections, ladies and gents, connections. We live in the age of communication -- some people communicate and others may be too shy to try. Don’t be shy, you might have just enough voice to save a critter.]
FROM THE GREATER LAKE-TRO-PLEX
As you know, the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake operates the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City on Tuesdays. There’s a new development with a charitable mission, reports our Friends tipster Sydney Busch.
She writes, “We have a new volunteer who also volunteeers for HCHS. ... Tuesday the 21st, she will be collecting for the Litterbox Thrift Store which funds the Henderson County Humane Society's Shelter (in nearby Athens). All donations are tax deductible (she'll have the forms). 100% of the money raised by the Litterbox funds the shelter as all of the workers are volunteers. She can accept gently used household items/appliances, clean clothes, toys, games, furniture, yard equipment and jewelry.” (That's Friends of the Animals artwork!)
You can drop things off at the clinic before 5 p.m. Tuesday. The clinic is in the heart of Gun Barrel City at 122 Old Gun Barrel Lane S. Call 903-887-7387.
A TULSA CAT
Our Middle-Oklahoma tipster, known as BrighterStarKaren, forwarded a note from Samantha Polen who is trying to help a cat that Tena Hyde Baker is trying to help. How’s that for connections?
The cat is in Tulsa. The email subject line reads “Tulsa, OK Area/ Innocent Cat To Be Posted On Craig's List.”
The note reads, “He's 5 years old, current on all vac's and neutered. He needs a good home. I've been given 2 weeks to place him or he goes to the pound. ... Last resort will be Craigslist next weekend. I have not met him but I hear he's a sweet lap cat. His owner was a elderly women. Call if you have interest or know of someone who might be a good home for him. 918-630-9940. I'm Tena Hyde Baker.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Keep calling that number. I’m told it’s Tena’s office number and she’ll get the cat calls there.]
A NOTE ABOUT A FAVORITE PLACE WITH FAVORITE PEOPLE
Click on the artwork to make it larger so you can read about the 10-year anniversary celebration of the great Tolbert's in Grapevine.
Our connection is we worked at The Big Paper Downtown with the legendary Frank X. Tolbert, the writer and columnist who was a founder of the
Terlingua World Chili Championship with writer Wick Fowler. The late Mr. Tolbert also dazzled Texans with his historical writing and fiction, and founded the original Tolbert's in Dallas decades ago. But more importantly for the purposes of this note, he's the dad of Kathleen Ryan who opened the Grapevine Tolbert's. D Magazine's "What You Must Do in Dallas" was once headlined, "Eat chili at Tolbert's in Grapevine." It's on Main Street and celebrating a fun decade. (And Kathleen is pretty nice person! Many more good things to a good people!)
CONTEMPLATIONS: Regarding the opening photo: Unless a city ordinance has been changed in Dallas, this site lists the local animal laws including Sec. 7-3.5 which incudes this passage: “A person commits an offense if he carries or transports an animal within the open bed of any moving pickup, flatbed, or similar vehicle.” ... The tragic death of actor Anton Yelchin is more than just a Star Trek move series loss. If you get the chance, catch a romance named 5 to 7 about a young novelist’s affair with a diplomat’s wife. Interesting film and performances. ... A woman in Druid Hills tells her NextDoor neighbors that she has this situation. I figure someone who visits Readlarrypowell.com has a solution. Here’s what the woman wrote: “I have a neighbor that insists on feeding my dogs. She say they look hungry. I have told her time and time again not to feed my dogs. She feeds them in white paper plates and stick them under the fence. Everyday I have to go out and pick up white paper plates. I feed and water my dogs well. She had a little dog that she let poop in my yard, don't know what happened to him. I wish she wouldn't feed my dogs” So, a solution? Anyone? [LARRY ASIDE: As a veteran dog roommate, I can swear on a stack of treat boxes that I’ve rarely seen a dog that didn’t look hungry at the sound of a can opening, a refrigerator opening or the sight of a paper plate.]
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