IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY, SOME HOT TOPICS WITH ANIMALS

EXTRA EDITION FOR FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Don’t tell me animal people don’t have their limits. I got this note from A Different Breed Animal Rescue Friday morning. 
It was sent in red text — perhaps to emphasize the subject: 
“Due to temperatures reaching the 100-degree mark and above, there will not be an adoption drive this Saturday.” 
Then the announcement adds hope: “We should be having one next weekend and you will all get the email with the details. Thank you all for your great volunteer work.”
 So, since the dogs won’t be won’t be subjected to the lovely Texas temps, we’ll remind you to go to adifferentbreed.org and click on adopt-a-dog. And, to influence your decision to click on that site, we’re offering up the photo of Adidas (2019-343), one of several Lab/Border Collie puppies available. [LARRY ASIDE: We live with a Lab/Border Collie named Dudley the Angel — he loves to herd, but he’s very polite when he does it — great mix of two breeds.]
And, they’re not all puppies at ADB. This guy is Issac (2019-338), a 7-year-old Maltese fellow who tips the scale at 10 pounds. Why does ADB have him? ADB says, “We received him from a breeder release program, and will have him cleaned up and neutered, vetted etc. He came in very matted and had to be shaved down and start over. Don’t know too much more about him just yet!” [LARRY ASIDE: We “fostered” a Maltese for more than a decade, Glinda — darling, darling, darling and a joy to the household!]
 Now, everybody stay cool.
LANCASTER ANIMALS:
NEWS IS SPREADING
That’s the face of Jenna, one of many dogs waiting at the Lancaster Animal Shelter. And we got a Friday reminder from Laura Macias, the small shelter advocate. She reminds us all that there are animals on the clock in the shelter, including this girl Jenna, a Lab Boxer mix who is “incredibly urgent” and has magnificent eyes, the kind that are designed to look right into the heart of the human she loves. Get a list of more animal and learn how to help by calling or texting Laura at 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].

[LARRY ASIDE: Note to Lancaster…Word of the Lancaster Shelter’s abundance of kittens has made its way to Houston. We got a copy of an appeal that had been sent to our Houston tipster Alexandra Kelsey. People are reaching out to other areas of the state and maybe the country to help the situation in Lancaster. The cats on the email include Sasha, the Pastel Tortie, whose photo we’ve run recently, and Tallie, the Tortie, in a “be still and pose grip.” Call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].]
AGAIN, IT’S THE FACES
ON THE SHELTER DOGS
This guy is Chester and we learned about #42407354 from Judi Brown, the volunteer biographer at Mesquite Animal Services. Judi says he “has a worried look” and that appears to be an accurate assessment.
Chester is 5 and weighs 76 pounds and is pretty confused because he was “surrendered’ to the shelter on August 6 — his humans were moving and he wasn’t going with them. Instead, he’s on the clock in a city shelter.
Judi says, “He’s a really good guy! He’s friendly. He does not try to jump on you. After exploring the yard, he stayed close seeking attention. He’s just needing some assurance right now that everything will be all right and that he will get a loving home. He would like a home where he can be inside most the time with his family. I had him out in the yard on a hot day and all he wanted do is go back inside.” 
[LARRY ASIDE: That is the behavior of a really smart Texas dog. He knows his place is on the couch in the cool, napping while you watch TV. Dang-it, if we weren’t at the limit, he’d have a home right now.]
MEANWHILE, SPEAKING OF
TEMPERATURES AT THE LAKE
We got this appeal for help with a transport project — it came from Sydney Bush of Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake on behalf of the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake Shelter in Tool. 
The subject line read “Want to help save some lives?” and then the note got quickly to the, as Sydney wrote, “good part” of this 25-dog event. She explained that each dog has to have a health check and “Here’s the good part: You can help with this! Each dog will need his temp taken as part of the health check. NEED VOLUNTEERS TO TAKE TEMPS.”
[LARRY ASIDE: The hard part is getting to dogs to hold the thermometer under their tongues…what? Oh, sorry. Not that kind of thermometer.]
 This event starts at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 26. To volunteer, email Wendy Rapp at [email protected].
 Keep up with the work of Friends of the Animals on Facebook HERE.
THE HANDSOME DUKE
NEEDS A BREAK IN DENTON
Yep, Basset/Beagle mix, just like you thought when you saw those front paws.
Our tipster Amy Poskey is trying to help Duke find a new home — Duke is close to 8 years old, healthy, house-trained and weighs 57.8 pounds. Amy explains, “Bless his heart, through NO fault of his own he just can’t catch a break.  Duke was surrendered to the Denton, TX Animal Shelter last year with four other dogs and he was adopted by a very sweet girl; however, she has recently moved in with family and the resident dogs are picking on Duke and instigating fights with him.  Poor baby got along just fine in his first home with four other dogs and he got along just fine with his adopter’s dog, but the resident dogs in his new home apparently don’t want him there.  Duke has done nothing wrong and now he’s looking for a new home again.” 
One of our occasional tipsters, Debra Myers, is the go-between for Duke and his human. Contact her at 940-367-4627 or email [email protected].
AND THEN, ON JACKSBORO HIGHWAY…
Yep, over in Fort Worth, there’s a dog who is the target of a rescue. Tracie Rives says the dog roams in the area of Jacksboro Highway and Long Avenue and has been the target of some unpleasant behavior by children in the area. “She has a big skinned area, that is healing, Thank the Lord, on her shoulder…I’m not sure how that happened”
The dog needs to be spayed, but needs a safe place to go first!
Tracie’s early note read, “I have been feeding her for a couple of weeks now, hoping her owner would claim her. That is not happening.”
 The skinned place on her shoulder may have come from being hit by a car. No proof.
And Tracie says, “She is super sweet. Not a mean bone in her body. Even the cats that I feed are not afraid of her; they eat next to each other.”
To help Tracie and the dog, email [email protected] or call 817-454-2623.
CONTEMPLATIONS
MUSING DURING A FRIDAY NOON HOUR
Last week I wrote about a couch that had been sitting on the side of U.S. 67 South at I-20 for several weeks. It’s gone now. Replaced by a line of orange barrels as someone gets ready to reconstruct the freeway. Which would I rather have: A couch on the side of a Dallas road or more road construction in the Metrosprawl? Yeah, line up the couches. … I’ve been walking in Kiest Park in the cool early spells this week. I have seen a runner or two hustling Chihuahuas and other small dogs along the walking track and other runners leading panting big dogs along the path. I’d like to go on record as saying that no dog in Texas should be forced to “tag along” on a Texas running/walking/biking path from about April 16 through October 15. Humans, well, we’ve got the ability to say, “No, do you think I’m stupid?” Dogs just do their best under all that fur. … That’s the tri-level water fountain outside the rec center at Kiest Park. You may think that some dog has stopped by to drink, based on the water splashes, but it could have been where the out-of-shape dog-and-cat writer flopped over and shoved his face into the basin just to try to cool down his forehead, cheeks, eyeballs, bearded chin and big ol’ nose. Or, maybe a Chihuahua stopped by and took a stip. I can’t remember who I shoved out of the way. I’m kidding.
—- Offer opinion or agitations by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected]. —-