EDITION OF TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2018 (PetPowellPress) -- One of our missions at Readlarrypowell.com is to get more people to look at the available dogs and cats at Dallas Animal Services and any shelter in the greater metrosprawl. This is my second edition after returning from pneumonia-enforced time off. I thought I’d look through the DAS adoptables and see if there was a dog who looked as happy as I am to be back at the keyboard. Sure enough, there was Francesca (A1024694), a spayed black and tan, smooth-coated Chihuahua mix. She’s 2 and and I think she’s been a happy Earhound (scientific name: Grinningus Earhoundus) every day of her life which, I hope, is long enough to be listed in the record books. (She’s been at the big shelter since March 22. See how to adopt her at dallasanimalservices.org).
IN THE MEANTIME, the gleeful expression on her face reminds me of the one on my ol‘ hounddog face 17 years ago today. This is the 17th anniversary of the day on which I became a grandfather. Thank you, Hannah Rose and “Happy Birthday.” What is amazing to me is that I am just now turning 27. Perhaps my recent triple-digit, pneumonia-inspired fever is bending the truth as I type. That’s the kid -- she’s an artsy type (that's her doing her impression of a 1950s movie star). Multi-talented. Runs in the family, I’m told, as people look at grandpa and scoff.
THE PRESSURE IN WILMER
The report is that the small municipal shelter in Wilmer, just south of Dallas, is overloaded. As Laura Macias, whose mission is to get more
attention for smaller shelters, notes, “When kennels are full, they must euth -- this is a space-based shelter.”
Also, she notes that “this shelter is very close to Dowdy Ferry (that most of you know is a dumping ground) and many of the dogs picked up are either picked up by the county officer in that area or make their way into Wilmer’s city limits.
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To help any animal in the Wilmer shelter, email Laura at cat_girl_71@yahoo.com or call or text her at 214-949-2726.
The three opening photos are the undeniably cute Alexa, Alyssa and Alana, possible Husky or Akita mixes. They’re about 4 months old and “completely adorable,” Laura’s note reads. “Baby sweet -- they love and adore everyone.”
That handsome Bulldog/Staffie mix is Bryson, an affectionate fellow in need of a life-saving effort by an adoptor or a non-profit rescue.
Astonishingly, there’s also Lexie, apparently a purebred Rottie girl. “She is SO loveable,” the note reads.
And then there’s Zen, a Catahoula or hound mix of some type. “Zane is super cute and friendly - this is the best boy. He has big beautiful brown eyes, and loves and adores everyone.”
[LARRY ASIDE: How these dogs wound up unwanted on death row in shelter is beyond me. I have a simple answer: Free-roaming idiots.]
DAY OF GIVING
AND A 'LITTERAL' REASON TO GIVE
Our Operation Kindness tipsters sent word of a fundraiser. The news release reads, “On Thursday, April 5, Operation Kindness will host its third annual Day of Giving. Starting at midnight and running until 11:59 p.m., Operation Kindness will be taking donations through their website for the shelter. A generous benefactor has also offered to match those donations up to $10,000!”
The website is operationkindness.org.
FYI: That dog is Missy who, according to the OK news release about Day of Giving, was a wandering dog “out in the country” who had a litter of 7 and stored them in a tree trunk to protect them. Mercifully, someone rescued the whole gang and now they’re in the care of Operation Kindness and will soon be available for adoption. [LARRY ASIDE: This is a personal note to anyone “out in the country.” Spay/neuter isn’t just a city fix. Missy wasn’t the last unfixed, free-roaming dog not living in a yard in North Texas!]
CONTEMPLATIONS:
DEDICATED TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE A CAT (OR CATS!)
Somebody sent this to me Monday afternoon and my first thought was “this was written by someone who doesn’t have a cat.”
No cat ever got up who couldn’t get down.
The story is Gypsy had to be rescued from the top of a utility pole.
In the real world that my catfanspouse Martha and I have enjoyed for more than a quarter century, we have never seen a cat that was not able to find a way down. Inside a home or garage or some other roomy area, a cat goes to a high vantage point just to test its power over the human.
My theory is, after some contemplation, Gypsy was simply wanting to control the entire city of Phoenix. See the story HERE.
FYI: I could not recall seeing a cat sitting atop a Saguaro cactus.
So, I googled “cat on a cactus” and, sure enough, at Big Cat rescue online there’s a photo of a Bobcat sitting atop a Saguaro. Why? Mountain Lion chased the cat up the spiked giant. What happened? According to the story, the Bobcat waited until the Mountain Lion left and came back to earth. Where did this happen? Where else? Arizona.
Just in case you’d like to have a cat that looks as if he could handle sitting atop a utility pole or a cactus, that is Lenny (A1024186), currently awaiting adoption via Dallas Animal Services at the PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center,16821 N. Coit Road in Dallas. Lenny will probably be lounging somewhere that’s reachable and doesn’t require a ladder.
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