FOR WORLD ELEPHANT DAY, SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR ANIMALS

EDITION OF MONDAY, AUG. 12, 2019 [PetPowellPress] This is World Elephant Day. Readlarrypowell.com endorses protection of these animals whether they are in the wild or on display in a zoo or carnival or roadside attraction. We also urge a ban of trophy hunting of these magnificent creatures. There’s more in Contemplations today. [LARRY ASIDE: I swear, I would not be surprised some day to get out of my car at Kiest Park for a healthy walk and about 10 minutes into my sweaty stagger discover, right in front of me, an elephant that had been dumped there overnight — probably tethered to a “dogs must be leashed” ordinance sign and with a bag of dog food and a bucket of water slightly out of reach. Dallas is that kind of town. Somebody has an elephant in a backyard pen or the garage? Waiting to cut a deal with a “collector.” You think I’m too harsh? Heck, I’m probably underestimating the tendencies of some Dallas brainiacs.]
HERE COMES
CLEAR THE SHELTERS
Readlarrypowell not only endorses saving the wildlife, but saving the animals in shelters, too, and in backyards and in lousy situations. [LARRY ASIDE: Don’t get me started on farm-to-market animals. Save the animals, eat the vegetables, you know?]
 Back to good opportunities for humans and animals. As you probably know, the annual Clear the Shelters event is coming up on Saturday the 17th. Free adoptions. Free. [LARRY ASIDE: Anybody reading this have a dog or cat they got during a Clear the Shelters event? Send us a photo [address is [email protected]] and tell us how much that baby has added to your lives. We know there are success stories and we love to tell them. We don’t have a Clear the Shelters animal— we got ours off the streets and out of parks and from the front yard where they wound up after being dumped because the street looked “nice.”]
Back to Clear the Shelters: Dallas Animal Services is participating and there’s a note on the dallasanimalservices.org official website that seeks volunteers at both the big shelter (I-30 at Westmoreland and the PetSmart Everyday Adoption center (16821 N. Coit R.).
The appeal urges, “Be a part of the largest lifesaving event of the year: Clear the Shelters! We need lots of volunteers to help us make sure we find great homes for the more than 350 pets we have available to go home that day.”

 Hmmm, 350? OK, so I went to the dallasanimalservices.org site and found that there (around noon Sunday) are more than 350 animals in the shelter — then I went to the DAS listing on Pet Harbor and found a LOT MORE than 350 adoptables listed. That's the DAS website listing in black and white and the Pet Harbor listing in color. There's a number difference, too.
Of course, almost any adoption is a good adoption — depends on the quality of human who adopts the animal.
Probably no impulse-shoppers are going to want a 10-year-old dog named Daisy (A0706644), so you can get a jump on giving her a good home — she’s barely past middle-aged if she’s in a loving home! She’s a Lab mix who has been at the shelter since July 31. (Call DAS at 214-670-6800 or stop by the big shelter.)
 That ol’ boy Rottie mix is King (A0783271), believed to be about 9 years old — he’s been in the shelter since June 12. Somebody must be watching over him.”

 Sookie (A1038776) is a 13-year-old black cat who has been in the care of DAS since Aug. 3 — he’s currently at the adoption center on Coit Road.
Call 972-381- 1588, ext. 5, or stop by the center. 
And the little guy, small enough to be held in one hand for his “shelter shot,” is Opossum (A1069708) — shelter spelling for O’Possum.)… He’s about 4 months old and has been in a foster home since August 1. Email [email protected].
HELPING ZIPPY
AT A TOUGH TIME
Oh, man, what a fix for a kittycat! 
We learned about Zippy through Patty Turner at Rockwall Animal Services. 
She writes, “Zippy really needs rescue!!! She has two broken hips and is really sweet!!! Per our vet she needs some weeks of crate rest so her pelvis can stabilize....Can anyone help her??? Please email [email protected] if you can help!” 
Time out! We just got a note from Patty that Zippy’s been tagged by rescue.
[LARRY ASIDE: As I was typing this, my personal cat and editorial advisor, The Senator, had flopped own on half of my mousepad. I think my days have been better ever since this old cat wandered up on our front porch and accepted the invitation to “come on in.” Zippy needs such an invitation and, no doubt, would enhance the human existence.]
IN LIEU OF SCRAPPY (THOUGH

SHE MAY BE AVAILABLE)
As the weekend came through at 101 MPH — WAIT! I meant 101 degrees. Anyway, during the weekend, we got a note from Amy Poskey about a Chihuahua named Scrappy who needed an adoption at the Denton Animal Services McNatt Shelter. We checked Sunday and Scrappy may be on her way out of the shelter — possibly a rescue but nothing’s done until it’s done in the rescue world. 
She came in with a hair loss and she has a cataract in one eye. She’s between 2 and 5 years old and, Amy’s note read “very scared and shy at the shelter, but does great when she is out of her kennel. In fact, you might say she is an absolute ham.”
But as long as we were at the website, we decided to browse the list of dogs and cats.
That Pittie boy (#83747) with the magnificently distinct face and (probably) amateurish ear trimming is Tank. He’s a year or two old. Adoption fee is $60.
And that cat is Raja (83720), maybe 8 to 10 years old. Beautiful cat. 

For all these animals, call the shelter at 940-349-7594.
So, if you adopt Tank or Raja, your thanks should be directed to Amy Poskey and Scrappy!
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE:

THE PRESSURE ON BOSS
This is Boss (424-12065), a 60-pound, 9-month old Pittie mix, who ha a “beautiful Hershey coloring” and is “affectionate and sweet — neutered.”
Why is he in the Mesquite Animal Shelter? Our tipster, the volunteer shelter biographer Judi Brown writes, that he “was surrendered to the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 8/6 because of landlord issues. His owners hated to have to surrender him as they had only good things to say about him. They raved about how friendly and affectionate he is ....also saying he’s a really good dog! Boss is very striking with his Hershey coloring and hazel eyes! He stands by his window watching everyone that goes by. He was somewhat timid and a little nervous when I interacted with him but definitely wanted affection. He enjoyed being petted. He is very gentle. … His previous owners said he was an indoor/ outdoor dog. They also said he knows the sit, down, and ‘no’ commands.”
Call the shelter at 972–216–6283 or email [email protected].
 [LARRY ASIDE: As you’ve probably guessed, Boss is an Earhound. Note how his right ear droops — when I saw that I realized he is very special category of Earhound — the Veronica Lake Earhound, named after the movie star of the ‘40s who was nicknamed “The Girl with the Peak-a-boo Hairstyle.] 
Oh, and there are other animals at the Mesquite Shelter, see the dogs and cats HERE .
Among the cats is this fellow we’ve spotlighted before, the very handsome Lord Byron (42302377). He’s just over a year old, has been in the shelter since July 24 and is in The Cat Room. [LARRY FYI: Few shelters have a Romantic Poet Room.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
WEATHER; OAK CLIFF CATS & ELEPHANTS
If it’s too hot to plow, it’s too hot to write . I’m kidding. I’ve seen those big tractors tilling the soil with farmers in air-conditioned comfort at the wheel and talking to their brokers on their cell phones, listening to the radio or watching Netflix on the screen in the cab. I kid the farmers — I’m a vegetarian; I want you to be as comfortable and money savvy as is possible! … You might note this cat photo and wonder what it has to do with Interabang Books in Dallas. Two words: Stevie Ray. Here’s the deal: Alan Paul and Andy Aledort are scheduled to be at Interabang (10720 Preston Road) at 6 p.m. Friday to discuss their book Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan. The cat fits in because he's another cool Oak Cliff cat so his name is Stevie Ray Treeboy — I pulled him out of a mimosa tree about a month ago — he weighed 2.5 pounds and now is pushing 5 pounds. Adorable. … Back to World Elephant Day. You can read about the Humane Society of the United States’ efforts to ban trophy hunting HERE, read about World Elephant Day efforts HERE , and see some magnificent elephant photos in this feature from The Atlantic magazine HERE. Power to the pachyderms. All categories of ‘em.
—- Offer advice or share consternation by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing [email protected]. —-