ReadLarryPowell.com

IN THIS CRAZY WORLD, SAVE SOME CRITTERS

EDITION OF THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 (PetPowellPress) -- There is just way too much mayhem in the world. We can’t get people to spay and neuter their pets, how do we get them to stop killing each other? OK, let’s see about saving some animal lives.
FROM DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES
Spotted this one on DAS’ Facebook page.
We are a household with BBDs -- Big Black Dogs, though Martha consistently instructs me to remember that Dudley the Angel is a Big Brown Dog. Whatever color I see him with my eyes, he is still a big ol’ dawg and he’s in a safe place. But this guy Oreo (A0995536) is not.
He impressed DAS personnel enough to get the featured spot on a little post about “Black Dog Syndrome,” a challenge know to most people who’ve been in rescue.
The text reads, “ ‘Black Dog Syndrome’ is known in animal welfare when shelter staff starts to see black dogs passed over for lighter colored dogs. These dogs are no different in temperament or personality, but they get passed by.
“Unfortunately, it can be hard to see their true ‘colors’ when walking by them in a kennel - but once they get out in the yard, dogs like Oreo (A0995536) shine! This happy guy is bouncy, playful and loves to play with squeaky toys. He loves people and other dogs. We have many black dogs just like Oreo waiting to meet you - and all dogs over 35 lbs are adoptable for just $35 right now.”


That picture is where Oreo is currently waiting for the Needle of Death or someone dropping by to take him home and be proud of him. He's curled up in the bed, in case you needed him pointed out. He needs a hug and a ride home.
Go to dallasanimalservices.org or stop by the shelter at I-30 and Westmoreland. Pass it on. Save this dog and all the others and the cats, too.
A DOG IN AN UNFORTUNATE SPOT
This dog Maddy is in a bit of a fix because she wet the carpet. Wets the carpet, actually.
Everybody reading this has faced that challenge, I’ll bet.
Here’s the note from Chris Lynn: 
“We have a 2-year-old Border Collie and Australian Shepard mix that had been rescued by someone who could not keep her due to apartment restrictions. We have had her for five months and outside of our not being able to break her of urinating on carpet/rugs she is a very good and loving dog that listens very well and is very good with our 7 and 8 year old girls.”
Call 214-551-7051 to offer to help this pup. Email [email protected]. }
Chris writes, “This has been a very difficult five months as just when we feel like she is getting better she urinates on the carpet and we are moving soon and need to replace the 3-year-old carpet due to the urine before we list our home and I cannot let her ruin our new carpet in this or the new house.”

[LARRY ASIDE: Maddy’s a mix, but maybe there’s a purebred rescue group that’ll give her a spot -- you know, just to honor her two family trees. She’s probably a perfect dog for an active person who takes her to parks and makes sure she goes out at the right times. It’s a balancing act.]

BACK IN TIME: BRETAGNE


We got a note from Alexandra Kelsey in Houston about an important dog and the anniversary of her death. Bretagne died June 6, 2016, in Cypress near Houston. She was the last surviving 9/11 Search and Rescue Dog.
AK wrote, “There are some things in life you will never forget, and none of us alive on 9/11 will ever lose the memory of where we were at the moment the towers went down.  Now, it has been a year since the last of the 9/11 search + rescue dogs died, and I wanted to honor Bretagne’s memory today. What a dog, and what a life this girl had. Was just short of 17 years old, the stories reported.  Here are two links to Bretagne’s story: HERE and HERE.

DON’T FORGET, WE NEED SNOOZERS! 

Readlarrypowell.com is always looking for photos and stories of slumbering dogs and cats for our long-running weekend feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. Email fotos and infos to [email protected]. Remember, this is a good thing to do: (A) It shows the world how much you and your critter love each other and (B) it helps insomniacs believe they, too, can find a place to sleep.
Here's an example of a napping cat and a sleeping dog. Deputy Chief Kittie Leigh Johnson is curled up on the end of the back of the dog couch (they're all dog couches, it turns out) and Porche Noel is stretched out next to her. The blinds begin each day lined up properly, but the cats like to walk between the slats. You make allowances for the beings you love.
CONTEMPLATIONS: A State Rep from Dallas gets tanked and runs her car into a tree -- that’s the way it shapes up. The odd thing is this happened in Dallas and not in Austin during a Legislative session. How about this: Someone donate Uber rides to all members of the Texas Legislature. Be good for America, good for the highways and good for the trees in Dallas County. ... The University of Oklahoma’s head football coach Bob Stoops quits the job but will stay at the university. Oh, my. What happens next? Was his recruiting year THAT bad? [LARRY FULL DISCLOSURE: I attended neither UT or OU or any other 4 years school whose name can be expressed in two letters. I also did not attend Harvard or Yale or Rice or Stanford or MIT or any other school that required a person to be alert in class. Never mind paying tuition, I couldn’t pay attention.] ... Sears is closing its Texarkana, Texas, store. I can’t remember a time in my life when Sears or Sears Roebuck didn’t have a store in Texarkana. Next thing you know, Texarkana's car lots will quit selling Nash Ramblers and Plymouths.
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A PASSEL AND OTHER STORIES...

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 07, 2017 [PetPowellPress] Some photo, eh? Pretty sure that is not just a litter -- it’s an official “passel.”

We got the story via Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com who was forwarding a message on behalf of Suprenna Rushing at the Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter, just over 2 hours northeast of Dallas on I-30. The subject line read “Litter of 10 Labby Blended Puppies Dumped at Lake.”
That about sums it up for these boys and girls. Dumped, found, need homes and rescue help. 
The contact point is Suprenna’s number at the Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter, 903-575-4174 or [email protected].
[LARRY ASIDE: What kind of mind dumps puppies like this at a lake and rolls away? Once again, if someone knows somebody Northeast Texas who suddenly DOESN’T have a litter of 10 pups, let the authorities know. Abandoning animals is against the law in Texas. I’m not kidding. The 85th Lege didn’t change that law.]

MEANWHILE, IN THE FELINE MATERNITY WARD


 Linda Ashton, our reliable contact with Texas Pawprints (Your Friendly Neighborhood Cat Ladies) asked if we could post a note about this blessed event. Or, as she wrote, “Yet another addition to the 2017 kitten tsunami.”
She writes, “Once upon a time, a friendly, homeless cat in Waxahachie found what she thought was the perfect place to have her five babies. Although the horse barn she chose kept her babies dry and out of the rain, it's also a potentially dangerous place, with unfriendly dogs. So she can't stay.  She's looking for a local rescuer or group who will take care of her and her brood, and the sister of the barn's owner will donate $100 to help out. Texas Pawprints will help out with vaccinations and neuters for the boy kittens when they're old enough.

“The barn owner's sister is named Debra Neuharth and can be reached at [email protected].”

[LARRY ASIDE: Adopt one of these cats and you can name him or her after your favorite horse and have a story to tell, too!]
A DUMPED DOG IN DALLAS
We got word of this via the great Kimberly Jones and the veteran dog helper Don Martin.

Don penned this story: “And just like that, she's homeless. ... Her owner was called, he is a lowlife with a breeders license, that does not know how many days she has been gone or doesn't want to say, if she's been hit by a car, and worse, asks which dog he is being bothered about. A twenty minute drive from home, he says he won't go get her. Says he doesn't want her back. Take her to the shelter. With that one call her life is over. She is standing by the side of the road, and doesn't know her life is over. She will be killed at the shelter because we all know, no one is coming for her! She is urgently in need of a rescue/foster. Please help get her out alive. Animal control is being called to pick her up, shelter is closed. Finder won't take her, she will have to stay on the street.”

That was on the 5th. Now she’s at Dallas Animal Services and, according to the latest report, KAJones says, the dog is heartworm negative.
The PETHARBOR LINK will take you to the bio and info for A0983873. We’re told that the “review date is 6/15 but could be shortened if the owner surrenders by phone.” Go to dallasanimalservices.org to see how to adopt and rescue this betrayed dog.

THE HEADLINE: PUPPY LEFT
IN CRATE ON SIDE OF ROAD
We got this appeal from Janie Perlman, the veteran rescuer and animal advocate. She send this Tuesday: “I received this message today from a coworker. This is horrific. Thank goodness she stopped! Puppy is ok but needs a place to go. Please consider opening your heart and home. The groomer helping can’t keep.”


Earlier in the day, finder Joyce Davis told the “in the trenches” story: “I was on my way to work and stopped to get coffee this morning when I found a puppy in a crate on the side of the road. It looked like he had been there for several days so I had to go home and get my Jeep because he was filthy and I’ve spent most of the morning trying to get him cleaned up, fed and taken care of.  He was so thirsty and starving.  The pet store I took him to for a bath is now trying to find him a home.
“So sad that someone would do that do a puppy.”

She adds that he has “big webbed feet.” He’s at Pet Supplies Plus In Hurst, Joyce wrote, and we’re going to go ahead and designate her as a “Local Hero.” 

To help the Roadside Crate Dog, email [email protected].

CONTEMPLATIONS: We were glad to mention Mt. Pleasant, Texas. The little Texas town has a Fort Worth connection. Remember the tornado that bounced through the Montgomery Ward area a decade or so ago? It wiped out the offices and kitchen of Sweet Shop USA. So, the best candy in Texas moved to Mt. Pleasant. At the factory, you can buy bags of the factory rejects at bargain prices. I’ve done that for years and I have yet to find a piece of candy that I’d declare was a “reject.” I put on two pounds just typing that sentence. ... Let’s talk healthy eating: Green grapes or red grapes? ... Furthermore, you want brown rice or white rice? Here’s a dieter’s hint: Chocolate, grapes and rice all taste better when served in a dish with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla. I didn’t say it was a successful dieter’s hint.
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ON D-DAY, DOGS, CATS AND FREEDOM

EDITION OF TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2017 (PetPowellPress) It’s D Day. Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion in 1944. Lots of us Baby Boomers know the people from that era. Salute. Without them, I’d not have had a career in journalism that allowed me to wise off about politicians, office holders and candidates. Democracy is important. We’ll contemplate it a bit later. In the meantime, some animal notes:
CLETO OUT; SASSY STILL IN
The email about this owner-surrender Shepherd/Husky Mix reported “Happy Update” because Cleto had been rescued. 
The happy message came from our Denton tipster Amy Poskey who provided her traditional celebratory note:
“I am soooooooooooooooo thrilled to report that Mike & Mary Frazier with I AM DOG RESCUE have pulled this precious boy who will be going to a wonderful foster home!!!  WOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  THANK YOU MIKE & MARY!!!


“Sweet Cleto is in hog heaven now; however, he will still need to be treated for his heartworm.  Mike & Mary are SO AWESOME and I know they could use our help with donations for his care.  No amount is too small.” (Visit iamdogrescue.org.}


In the meantime, you may recall we featured Denton’s Sassy in Monday’s edition. She’d been on the clock all weekend.
Amy reports, “She is still alive cuz there were some adoptions this weekend which made more room.  However, if the shelter fills up again she will be in danger again.  Most rescues won’t pull the pooches who are dog aggressive so their only hope is adoption.  I know there are people out there who only want one pooch but so many of them live in apartments and they aren’t allowed to have Pitties.”

Here are the contact points: [email protected], paul.o’[email protected], [email protected], and/or [email protected] and, also, [email protected].  
The McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center is at 3717 N. Elm St. in Denton. Call 940-349-7594.
HOW ABOUT A BLUE-EYED DARLIN’?


 Our longtime tipster Deborah Lynn Verner, a veteran animal rescuer, is holding onto one more and trying to find some help. 
This is Oreo, about 8 weeks old, and he needs a rescue to take him, Deborah says.
“He was originally found in a horse barn in Rowlett, where other kittens had been discovered dead after being stepped on by the horses. He's off the bottle now, and eating some kitten milk mixed with Stage 2 powdered formula. He won't eat kitten canned wet food yet.” Click HERE to reach Deborah.
GRANT NEWS FROM SPCA 

Here’s the text of the SPCA’s Monday News release: “The SPCA of Texas is excited to announce that it has received a generous grant in the amount of $123,298 from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, for emergency relief support. The grant includes $75,000 in cash and an estimated $48,298 of in-kind goods, to support an estimated 3,000+ pets the SPCA of Texas’ Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit rescues annually from abuse in North Texas and animals affected by natural disasters.”
Learn more and learn how you can help the SPCA by going HERE.
CONTEMPLATIONS

This is the front page of a paper from D-Day 1944. It was an “EXTRA.” There was even a minister’s prayer. Online you can find dozens of these.

As a professional journalist since August 1965, about 21 years after D-Day, I’ve always appreciated the freedoms that survived World War II. A free press is the spotlight that makes the roaches nervous.

That’s not as eloquent as what Supreme Court Justice (1937-1971) Hugo Black said: "Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." He also wrote, “The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to bare the secrets of government and inform the people.”

How about this one from Albert Camus (1913-1960), the French philosopher, writer and journalist: “A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.”

And, then, there’s this from British writer Sir Ferdinand Mount, born in 1939, a kid during World War II when his nation was under attack from a crazed dictator who’d silenced the free press in Germany. Sir Ferdinand said, “One of the unsung freedoms that go with a free press is the freedom not to read it.”

And remember, the reader of the free press, the consumer of the general media, has the responsibility of paying careful attention to what you’re reading or hearing. You can’t go through life ignorant and not expect to be punished for your unwillingness to monitor and shape your own fate.

So, pay attention. Read up on things. It’s your duty. Just as surely as those people did their duty on D-Day in 1944 so you could have the freedom to decide whether you’re going to watch and try to understand the Kardashians or you’re going to watch and try to understand the evening news. By acquiring knowledge, you're protecting the nation. It's an important responsibility.
--- To comment, grip your MediaMouse and click wisely below. ---

SOMETIMES THE ANIMALS WIN...

EDITION OF MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2017 (PetPowellPress) I’m typing this BEFORE I check the numbers on Saturday night’s Lotto Texas ticket. That’s how much faith I have in my lucky numbers. Why are they my lucky numbers? I have no idea. There is no evidence to support the description. Unless you think I’d go nuts if I were suddenly wealthy and not winning is Fate's way of protecting me. Here’s our report:
A DOG OFF THE LOT
The noted rescuer Marina Terashevska posted the first notice of this dog on her Facebook Page. The story, she wrote, begins, “He's been living in a parking lot of a crime infested apartment complex in Dallas for months. He's dirty, tired, and very weathered by life on the streets. He weighs only around 20 lbs and he is a one cool looking dog who deserves so much better than his miserable life competing for dumpster food with a pack of large dogs living in the woods. ... I have dogs in the car with me and can't even grab him with me.”
There’s the challenge.
And, on Saturday morning, this photo with the dog, a new pal and Paws In The City President Mark Verma shows up on the organization’s Facebook page with this upbeat note. Mark wrote, “Got him checked in at the vet [North Tollway Pet Hospital] this morning and he is eating good food, wagging his tail and making friends with the vet staff! He is now named Bernard and is one of our newest additions to Paws In The City!”
Marina sent Mark a note of gratitude and he replied, “I am fortunate to volunteer with so many awesome folks at Paws In The City. I love it when our rescue organizations work together to save lives!”
To see the dog on the parking lot, click HERE.
You’ll ask yourself, “Why didn’t someone pick up this baby before now?” HUMANS -- some are angels and some aren’t even trying
To volunteer to help Marina, email [email protected]. To get involved with Paws In the City, go to pawsinthecity.org.
[LARRY ASIDE: Don’t know of a dog or cat to help? Why, heck, just drive around in Dallas for a half-hour. You’ll find many. Especially after the big rains. People who leave their critters outside frequently never see them again because the animals are not so stupid that they’ll sit in the yard in a thunderstorm -- unless they’re “Tethered in Texas,” of course. Then, they’ll just sit and suffer.]
MEANWHILE, IN BURNS FLAT
Now and then, when you hear the stories that Terry Lynn Fisher can tell, you might just think that some of the jerks who were mean to animals in Dallas have moved to Western Oklahoma and taken up residence near Burns Flat.
Terry Lynn sent us several photos of this dog (I picked one photo), and she also wrote, “I apologize for the weird pictures. It's dark so this is the best I could do for now
Last year I took an entire litter of pups. Mom is an Aussie. Dad a Doberman. But they kept this one because they loved him so much. Barf.... 
So here we are now about 7 to 8 months later and they surrendered him to the pound and I'm overflowing. Oh, it gets better. This is the family i got a near-dead Doberman from a couple years ago and another one a couple months ago...And, momma to this young boy has a litter of 3-week-old Aussie Dobie babies. She is going to call me about them
.
“I want to scream. I want to punch someone in the face. I want to cry.
"PLEASE. Help me. I'm drowning and can't handle much more.”

Email Terry Lynn at [email protected].
And, say some prayers for the dogs in Oklahoma. And for dogs in Texas. See the next item.

FROM DENTON, A SASSY NOTE    
Readlarrypowell.com hopes that by the time you read this note from early in the weekend, it is obsolete -- that someone has paid THIRTY LOUSY BUCKS and save the life of Sassy The Dog.
The note that came from Amy Poskey, the reliable volunteer monitor at Denton McNatt Animal Shelter, read that Sassy had become “urgent” at the shelter and was “walking a fine line” between survival and euthanasia. She added, “In fact, the ONLY reason she hasn’t already been EU is because one of the ACOs is in love with her.  I also found out Sassy’s story…  Her daddy died and his daughter took Sassy but decided she didn’t have time for her. Sassy really is a SWEET girl but she just doesn’t like other pooches and she is HW positive.  That shouldn’t be a death sentence for her cuz I know there are people out there who want just one pooch and would be willing to treat her heartworm.” 
Here are the contact points: [email protected], paul.o’[email protected], [email protected], and/or [email protected] and, also, [email protected].  
The McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center is at 3717 N. Elm St. in Denton. Call 940-349-7594.
CAT CONNECTIONS?

Take Me Home Pet Rescue is going to benefit from Fish City’s generosity June 6 and so will cats -- don't miss Kitten Palooza on June 11!  Yes, there is a connection between fish and cats. That connection is Take Me Home Pet Rescue. Visit takemehomepetrescue.com.

AN EARHOUND IN HOUSTON

Clearly Jaylo is an Earhound. Look at that face, perfectly accented by a stellar set of ears. She’s one of many in the care of Red Collar Rescue in Houston. Here story reads, “She looks like she may have some Bull Terrier in her lineage. They are known as the ‘Clowns of the Dog World’ and that seems to fit this girl to a tee. She is a goof. She currently lives with several smaller dogs at her foster home, and enjoys their company. She also loves a good belly rub. Jaylo is looking for her forever home. Email [email protected] to meet her.

CONTEMPLATIONS
So, you’ve probably seen the stories reporting that a Toyota-backed flying car may be used to light the torch for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. If you’re a Baby Boomer, you’ve been waiting for a flying car since The Absent-Minded Professor invented Flubber in 1961. ... The NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs are still underway -- kids have been through spring break and the second semester and STILL basketball and hockey have yet to crown a champion. The Dallas Stars haven’t suited up since April 8 and the Mavs turned in their uniforms April 12. Both started their seasons before Halloween in 2016. And people complain about the long baseball season. Oh, wait. Yeah, the Texas Rangers season can FEEL a LOT longer in some late innings. Ouch.... We (my Funspouse Martha and assorted critters) watched big portions of the Monk marathon on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Cable Channel Sunday. In honor of all you Monk fans, here’s Randy Newman’s theme and here’s Jeff Beal’s Monk theme. Real Monk fans can enjoy them both. ... Pray for peace and enlightenment on this goofy planet.
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NIBBLES & LUCY IN THE SPOTLIGHT

That one photo demonstrates why Nibbles (left) and Lucy are in the spotlight for this weekend’s edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.  Nibbles covers the “lie” part and Lucy has a grip on “napping.” 
One of these eats apples and bananas! One thinks she’s a dog. Wait. Maybe they both think they are dogs.

If my memory is correct, they are our first slumbering critters from Columbia, S.C. 
They are members of the family of Cookie Atkerson, who is a friend of our friend, noted animal fan Diane Combs, who tipped us to this Carolina Cuteness.

 Cookie sent the top photo of the pair to Diane and when she saw it, she says, “I thought it would be perfect for one of your weekend features.”
She forwarded it to us and got Cookie to send us the stories and more photos of these two slumber pals. You’ll find the stories endearing and inspiring.
Cookie’s story of Nibbles: 
“Nibbles belonged to our friends, Brenda and Michael Jones. They needed to find a new home for her and only wanted her to go to someone they knew. Well, the rest is history.  She's been part of the family since 2008 and she is definitely an 11-pound spitfire!!  


“She thinks she's a huge dog - not afraid of anything and extremely protective of me.
“She will eat anything and loves Granny Smith apples and bananas!  
“She sleeps on me every night and follows me everywhere.  If she's not following me, you can bet she's getting into trouble!!  Sometimes, she still acts like a puppy!  She certainly has made her presence known in this household, even at 11 pounds!”

And then there is Lucy -- such a beautiful cat.
Cookie writes, “Lucy came to us after a terrible thunderstorm in 2002.  My late husband, Jimmy, and I heard a soft pounding noise on the outside of our living room window.

“There, on the outside sill, was a tiny, soaking-wet, crying kitty. 

“Jimmy went outside and brought her in. At the time we had 2 dogs, a Doxie named Oscar, and a beagle mix named Sassy (both now deceased) but this didn't deter this tiny, bedraggled kitty from showing them who's boss.  She immediately extended those front claws and hissed as loud as she could.  

“Oscar's body was wiggling all over because he wanted to play. Sassy was at the age where she didn't want to play anymore. I took Lucy to the vet on Monday and they said she was probably about 10 weeks old and she purred the whole time! 

“She still constantly purrs but thinks she's a dog! She is the sweetest and most affectionate cat I've ever seen. She constantly licks me and follows me everywhere!  She lets me pet her anywhere and loves having her front paws petted. 
“She and Oscar became the best of friends and would wrestle each other, play hide-and-seek and sometimes sleep in Oscar's bed together!  The funniest thing they did was Oscar running through the house with Lucy on his back holding on for dear life!  Lucy's getting slower these days but she still has that voracious appetite for just about everything.  Lucy was my first cat and she means the world to me!”
[LARRY NOTE: How’s that for a testimony about humans, animals and love! No wonder they’re comfy enough to snooze and no wonder Lucy the Cat feels comfortable cozying up to “another dog.”  We’ll be happy to feature photos of your slumbering dogs, cats or home-for-the-summer jobless college student child in your recliner in a weekend edition of our long-running feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. Send info and photos to [email protected]. You’ll be helping us inspire insomniacs to believe that they, too, can nod off if they can just find the right partner or, as Lucy did in that photo above, crawl atop the right towering pile of stuffed animals.]
--- TO COMMENT, GRIP YOUR SLUMBERMOUSE AND DROWSILY CLICK BELOW, THEN, IF YOU’RE AN INSOMNIAC, NOD OFF HAPPILY ---

MONEY, ANIMALS, SAVING LIVES AND MUSIC

EDITION OF FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2017 (PetPowellPress) -- Well, it’s National Doughnut Day. Darn those cravings, wrote the fat man. OK, just have the coffee and move on. We’ll get to a Sgt. Pepper comment in Contemplations.

HELPING TORNADO VICTIMS,
FINDING MATCHING MONEY

Patty Sprong, the longtime animal advocate and rescuer,  is a volunteer with an organization called AIR -- Animal Investigation and Response. She explains that most recently she’s been involved with AIR’s efforts in Canton to help “animals that were displaced during the recent tornadoes.
“
As soon as AIR had permission, they were on-site assisting this small shelter with this overwhelming task,” Patty says. “Volunteers have been there daily ever since, working in shifts, caring for about 70 animals.

 “Recently, they had to rent an air-conditioned trailer to house the overflow of animals since the shelter was beyond capacity. It is AIR’s goal to purchase this trailer for use in future emergencies. Because a donor offered to match funds, it is now possible for AIR to make this happen.
"They have set up a Go Fund Me account to raise the required funds. I have already donated as I have seen first hand what this group can do. Please share with your readers and ask them to help AIR help animals. The video shows that actual trailer along with some of its temporary guests!” 
If you click onto the gofundme page HERE you’ll see a video about the trailer and the work. As of this writing, AIR has collected $4,600 of its $7,000 goal -- still room to give. Read about the organization at animalinvestigationandresponse.org.
HERSHEY’S MEMORIAL
This is Hershey, the longtime companion of Becky Dodge. He ran away from the Weatherford shelter twice and came to her home twice. Second time, he got to stay. You can read Becky’s tribute to this boy on our Prayers & Passages page. Just click on the link in the upper right corner of this page.
It’s a wonderful thing to celebrate your friends.

DENTON IS OVERFLOWING (AGAIN)    


This photo, the very image of a forlorn heart, emphasizes this shelter dog’s situation. That’s Spike, one of the Denton McNatt Animal Shelter’s 8 “love sponges” on the brink of euthanasia, as our tipster Amy Poskey reports. Spike, maybe a year old, is a “Labby/Hound mix who was adopted and returned but I don’t know why cuz he is such a sweet boy.”
You can adopt any of these dogs for $30. Email [email protected] to help these dogs. Also, email [email protected] and paul.o’[email protected]. Call the shelter at 940-349-7594. Here is Spike’s  PetFinder LINK.

TWO NOTES FROM BURNS FLAT
Way out in the western part of Oklahoma, there’s a little town called Burns Flat and it is the home of one of the state’s bigger hearts, Terry Lynn Fisher. She’s working to get animals out of the Burns Flat shelter and out of boarding -- she’s been keeping the shelter no-kill for a while now. It’s tough. That great face is one of the dogs she is keeping safe until a real home opens up. She’s also determined to improve conditions in the shelter. She writes, “I am working on another building. I WILL make it happen... someday, with extra kennels... To hold when pound is overflowing like it is now... but until then I need some moved to rescue.”
Offer to help her by emailing [email protected].

In the meantime. she works to help others, too, forwarding an appeal she got from a friend who lives in another small town about 35 miles from Burns Flat.
Pardon the entirely appropriate usage of a common term in the opening sentence, but I think you’ll see that it fits the situation: “Some assholes moved and left 5 dogs at their house they moved out of;  they were there a week before anyone realized. 2 nursing pups and 3 adults. Now at Leedey Pound, (it is just an outdoor pen used to hold dogs until euthanized) will be taken to Woodward to euthanize by next week. I will go tomorrow and get better pics the city worker sent me these.” 

Those are a couple of the abandoned animals. Again, that email is [email protected].
WAITING IN RED OAK, TEXAS
These are some of several animals on the clock in the Red Oak Animal Shelter south of Dallas. Laura Macias is the go-between for the small, low-traffic shelter and the do-good members of the public who'll save some lives. Text or call 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].
These are just a few of the animals available for adoption or for rescuing.
Ron is a big ol' lap cat. Very dignified.
Georgette and her sister (now adopted) came into the shelter after "someone taped [them] in a box and left it at a vet clinic.
And Luna is a stray who has been at the shelter for a "long time," i.e., her time on the clock is just about up.
Callie is an "unclipped, middle-age Schnauzer who was found by a Good Samaritan after a neighbor moved away." The dog stayed close to the home, expecting the human to return for her. [LARRY ASIDE: Kind of makes you want to remind someone that Texas has a law against animal abandonment.]


CONTEMPLATIONS: A former colleague at The Big Paper Downtown, a stand-up guy I’ve known for years, posted this on his Facebook page: “Whoever they got to replace Scott Pelley on The CBS Evening News just said that ‘Sgt. Pepper’ brought us ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’ No no a thousand times no. Idiots! I'll never watch CBS again.” ... So, yes, many of us will recall that Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane were first released as the A and B sides of a single (someone translate that for the young people staring into their telephone screens). They then appeared on the Beatles' 33 1/3 vinyl album Magical Mystery Tour. Isn’t that a blast from the past. ... DID YOU KNOW that in Mansfield, Texas, there is a housing area with Strawberry Fields Drive, Penny Lane, Elinor Rigby Lane and, appropriately for its relatively lengthy and wandering pathway, Long And Winding Road. Oh, and a Sgt. Pepper Court.  You can look it up! So, what’s a good song with which to end this contemplation?  The Beatles  Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band  album was released 50 years ago on June 1. The movie of the same name, starring  George Burns, The BeeGees and Peter Frampton and featuring a bunch of other acts, was released on July 24, 1978. That sentence may be the only one you’ll ever see that notes that film’s release. Reviews were savage.  Oh, and Strawberry Fields does appear in this film -- she’s played by Sandy Farina who also performs the song. Heck, here’s Beatles’ video of the Psixties psychodelic psong.
 
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