OLDER CATS, AVAILABLE DOGS AND A MYSTICAL TOUR OF NORTHEAST TEXAS

EDITION OF THE FINAL DAY OF APRIL 2019, TUESDAY THE 30TH [PetPowellPress] — Welcome to Tuesday. We have a wide-ranging report today — all of it involving animals. Surprise. Surprise.
SOME EXPERIENCED CATS
NEED HOUSEHOLDS TO MONITOR

Eight-year-old cats are waiting to be adopted. 
The first 8-year-old is Mary (A0650292), in the care of Dallas Animal services since April 25 — she’s a spayed, gray tabby. You can see her at the PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center, 16821 N. Coit Road in Dallas. Visits are free and cat adoptions are $35.
That 8-year-old apricot girl is Butter Cup (2 words!) at the big shelter (I-30 at Westmoreland) since April 16. Call the shelter at 214-670-6800 or stop by and ask about #1064233.

And the neutered male brown tabby is Sammy (A1064740) — also 8 and also at the Everyday Adoption Center. He’s been at the shelter since April 20.
Go to dallasanimalservices.org to see how to adopt these middle-aged cats or the kittens and teenagers waiting.

In the meantime, this is the latest DAS adoption campaign for dogs.
Through May 5, you can adopt a dog for TEN DOLLARS in Dallas, where cats are slightly higher. But as this is being written, there are 238 dogs listed on the DAS site and 34 cats. So dogs are free; the scarce Dallas cats are $35 and there are only THREE unwanted Guinea Pigs in Dallas and they can be adopted, based on rarity, for $500,000 each. I made that up. But this cuddly girl GP is A1065247, known as Marshmellow — she’s about 14-weeks old. 

THE SOUTHERN CORRIDOR
OF SMALL SHELTERS
AND DOGS WITHOUT VISITORS
We’ve mentioned these two dogs before, Connor and Callie. They’re among the many dogs in virtually unnoticed and sometimes inaccessible shelters along the I-45 corridor south of Dallas — only minutes south of Dallas. 
Connor, the Pittie mix, and Callie, the solemn Boxer mix were released by an owner who was “unable to care for them.” They well-socialized, “precious and sweet,” according to their bios. Both are around 2 years old. And they face an awful outcome if someone doesn’t make a move to help them. 
To ask about helping these two, text or call 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
[LARRY ASIDE: The fear among rescuers is the smaller shelters are “returning” to era of “lock ‘em up and good luck” rather than following the lead of larger shelters and trying to save more lives than they take. Might be that a political movement is the only thing that will change the way business is conducted.]
SCOOTER AT GARLAND
We lifted this from a post by Kerri Thorn late Monday evening — it’s about this dog listed as A236940 but known as “Scooter.” The story reads, “Volunteer noted Scooter runs to other side of kennel while approaching, but once getting down to level, he builds up the courage to approach. He has the ability to socialize, but is very hesitant. He doesn’t mind the leash, but is nervous when someone reaches over his head. Fast movements scare him. He is more cautious than anything else once outside his kennel. He will need some time to overcome his fearfulness, and has a good chance doing so. Unfortunately, time is something that we cannot guarantee as space is very limited.”
 Stray — not claimed by his owner. Young, about 54 pounds and hard to examine because he’s skittish. [LARRY ASIDE: Why should a dog be punished because his human vanished after, perhaps, teaching him to be frightened of other humans? It’s upsetting to even think about it.]
 To offer to help Scooter, email rescue@garlandtx.gov -- that's for questions, responses and rescue tags.
CONTEMPLATIONS

A ROAD TRIP AND WHAT I SAW

No pictures — I was driving. But here’s the deal (It isn’t like I’m claiming I saw Bigfoot on a scooter in downtown Dallas):
On the way to Texarkana Monday — my mission was to tidy up my late Mom’s home — I glanced to the right off I-30 near Mt. Vernon and saw, standing on the earthen dam of a stock pond, a tan-coated Alpaca chewing pensively and looking around the terrain. That was the morning sighting. I don’t know if the Alpaca was a native of Franklin County.
On the way home to Dallas, the first leg of the trip took me on Highway 82 from Texarkana to Hooks -- this required passing through a community named Leary and in a pasture on the side of the two-lane highway, I saw a herd of what I think might be Indian cattle -- not Brahma, but the thinner mixes (maybe) that come with longer horns. However, my attention was quickly diverted from the cattle by a herd of chubby Zebras moving along at a good clip toward the pasture's pond. Could have been two, could have been 20 — the sudden stripes at about 65 MPH confused me.

South America Alpacas in the morning; African Zebras in the afternoon. It wasn’t until I got back on I-30 and saw an armadillo on the shoulder of the road that I really began to believe I was still traveling in Texas and hadn’t slipped into some Dr. Doolittle Reality Warp. Oh, and let me know if you need a Zebra. I managed to get one to crawl into the back of my car and stretch out next to the Alpaca. I’m kidding. But it could happen. Anything can happen in Texas. I once petted penguins in downtown Dallas — and I hadn’t been drinking at all.
—- To offer Zebra, Alpaca or Human advice, click on “comment” below or email dallrp@aol.com. —-