EDITION OF TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 [PETPOWELLPRESS] Consider a span of 17 years.
Seventeen years after Pearl Harbor was 1958, already the Space Age.
World War II ended in 1945 and 17 years later, we were in 1962 and the fresh, youth-oriented, optimistic administration of John F. Kennedy.
For a lot of us, that old WWII stuff was history from before we were born; that new president was really something!
For those World War II people watching that new president, 1945 probably still felt like “only yesterday.”
Today, September 11, 2018, is 17 years after 9/11. See how short 17 years is, except for those who weren't born yet. We need to contemplate it today. First, our traditional topics. Then our Contemplation on 9/11.
AFTER THE SEIZURE:
HOW MANY TIMES?
Regarding the weekend seizure in Dallas, veteran rescuer Michelle Ferrer sent us an insightful note that urges action and declares that the time to let these horrible things go on is at an end. (That’s one of the dogs seized on the right; Valor is the next dog.) And if you need any more inspiration, consider that case of Valor from last week, also.
These aren’t rare instances.
Michelle wrote, “Anyone who loves animals, in this case dogs, belongs to a community larger than animal advocates, rescuers, or activists. It is common decency to treat living creatures with respect rather than chained, starved and left to die. We see these cases all the time, yet the perpetrators get nothing more than a slap on the wrist or a warning. Enough! It's long past time to shut down backyard breeders and give cruelty a penalty that will bite back hard. Texas Humane Legislative Network has worked for years lobbying for legislation to address these horrors and received pushback every time. We all must let our legislators know that their political careers are at risk.”
Yes. That’s the proper response to this. Yes, get mad, get strong, be smart, get things right.
HELPING A DOG
THAT HAS BEEN LOVED
Over the weekend veteran advocate/rescuer Gayla Geist sent this note to us and, perhaps, it falls right into the “dogs mourn, too” category. This girl, Krissi, has lost her home because her human died on September 4.
She’s a 6-year-old, smart and active 31-pound Fox Terrier. Krissi also is a “loyal and protective companion,” Gayla’s note reads. “She was adopted from SMASh - Supporting Mansfield Animal Shelter in 2013 after being the pet of the week. ... With her owner, she was used to staying by his side as he worked on his multi-acre land. She came inside with him when his day was over.”
What does this dog need? “A home where she is an inside dog that goes out to a secured backyard to potty. Krissi is fearful of children and behaves in a protective mode when they are around. She needs a home free of children so she can live a fear free life. It was believed by her owner that she was tormented by children before he adopted her.”
To offer to be Krissi’s new human, call Gayla at 682-227-4240 or email [email protected]
CODE RED MICKEY:
11 AM TUESDAY DEADLINE
Why would such a great-looking dog be on the clock for 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Mesquite Animal Shelter? “Due to overcrowding,” is the explanation in the note from our reliable Mesquite tipster/biographer/volunteer Judi Brown.
This year-old, 30-pound Pittie/Boxer mix Mickey (39457451) came into the shelter as a stray on Aug. 21. Amazingly, he is
already fixed. Fixed and, yet, in a fix.
“If you sit down, don’t be surprised if the tries to climb up on your lap,” Judi writes. She meets the animals, you know. “he is sterong willed...He can be a little mouthy but does not try to bite. He did not appear aggressive; he ust knows what he wants. He’s really sweet and no doubt wants to please.” Probably not a friend to cats, she says.
To offer to rescue or adopt him, call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
WHO THE HECK IS JACOB IRVING
AND WHY IS HIS NAME IN MY NOTES
Early in the day I was looking at my “Notes for Monday” and spotted this: “Jacob Irving.”
For the life of me I could not recall a Jacob Irving. Yet, there it was, clearly listed among “car to shop, laundry, work on bestselling novel.” Then I got got an early morning note from our long time pal and tipster Tomi Ortiz who cleared it all up by reminding me that Jacob the dog is still in the Irving Animal Services Shelter and needing a home.
We posted his story on Friday afternoon with as story about Benny, the dog who was abandoned when a family moved had been surviving in a yard in Irving. (Benny may have been adopted or rescued -- checks are underway.)
In the meantime Tomi’s tip on Jacob says he is “one of the luckiest dogs around! Jacob has been posted so many times in the past few months on the Nextdoor website. So many people have found him, sent him to the shelter,and returned him to his owners. But once again he’s at the shelter. I guess after being informed that they would be fined, the owners didn’t come get him anymore.”
Jacob is about 3, weighs 33 pounds and went into the shelter on the 5th.
Tomi noted that he’d frequently been picked up by “animal loving people” but that such a thing “doesn’t always happen. He could easily get hit by a car or come across monsters like the ones poor sweet Valor came across.”
The Irving shelter is at 4140 Valley View Lane. Call 972-721-2256. And the website and access to adoptables is HERE.
And, yes, if I had room to adopt this handsome dog, I’d name him “Jacob Irving” and claim he was a direct descendant of dogs owned by Washington Irving and John Irving. Literary hound.
STILL MISSING IN FORT WORTH
This dog is Bella, described as a “medic alert dog.” The aforementioned Gayla Geist also tipped us to this story that needs a happy ending.
Sharon Courtney Richie has been looking for her dog since mid-August when Bella “got out of my fence” at her home in Fort Worth.
There’s this part of the story, too: “I was told she was picked up by a couple in a gray Honda on the corner of Trueland and Lomita. She is very friendly. Please help bring Bella home. Her service is needed. Sharon Courtney Richie. 817-991-0799.”
CONTEMPLATIONS:
THOUGHTS ON POST 9/11
Yes, as we said in the opening today, it still seems like only yesterday. As if -- at this very moment -- I could get up, walk into the living room, turn on the TV and see shaken reporters trying to explain the connections between planes hitting landmark towers in New York and the Pentagon and crashing into a field in Pennsylvania.
Only yesterday.
And, yet, kids born in 2001 are now high school seniors and, maybe, the most important thing in their lives right now is this week’s football game. It is up to those of us who were eyewitnesses to all that 9/11 TV reporting to pass along to these young Americans just how important it was for the nation to pull together after the horrifying, deadly attack that killed 2,605 U.S. citizens and 372 non-U.S. citizens -- each of those people a victim of the 19 misguided hijackers. (Photo: That was the New York skyline in 2000.)
The attack on the United States on Sept. 11. 2001, has been described as “the deadliest terrorist act in world history.” It is still difficult to comprehend the reason and the losses. I am comfortable declaring it to be the work of madmen being mad.
Immediately after 9/11, Americans seemed more appreciative of the nation and each other. I think that, for a while, we were kinder to each other. We were pulling together to reaffirm that the American way of living and protecting individual rights is important.
It is ALWAYS important for those of us who are in the United States to pull together. When we remember to pull together in harmony, it makes our nation stronger. We don’t look like a bunch of clowns. You pull together by not pulling the nation apart. The greatest nation on earth is already established -- just help guide the great ship, don’t sink it. People should stop shouting and start respecting. And if that sounds like a lecture to all political parties, then I’ve hit the right tone.
We have a system that works -- a system of laws. Democracy is ugly; that is it's beauty. Work to make it prettier. Get involved politically in a respectable and respectful fashion. You’ll become influential. You are an American -- express opinions, be angry, but don’t be so nuts nobody will pay attention to you. Lead people to think about what you’re saying, not how you’re saying it.
We all need to protect the United States by honoring its goals for individuals -- also by embracing each other as fellow Americans who love this place whether we were born here or took an oath! Love the nation. It’s 242 years old and it has a legacy of trying to make things better for everyone. It fails sometimes; it starts over. But it keeps working at it because we are America and that is what we do.
Consider what Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall said during his 1978 commencement address at the University of Virginia. The speech is a history lesson in itself. Toward the end, Justice Marshall told the grads, “This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is not perfect. There is much to be done to bring about complete equality. Remove hunger. Bring reality closer to theory and democratic principles.”
Read the speech HERE.
On this day of memories, tell a youngster about the 242-year-old greatness of America, encourage that young mind to be a part of the enduring foundation of this nation.
And, yes, remember all of those who were lost simply because they were in America on 9/11.
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