ReadLarryPowell.com

RILEY'S LEG, NOAH'S RIDE, HEIDI & JAN; PLUS A CONTEMPLATION ABOUT WAR

EDITION OF FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019 [PetPowellPress]Here’s our Friday report as we try to remember what a gentle, cooling summer rain looked like.
THE UPDATE ON RILEY
When last we wrote about Riley, the Lancaster stray who’d been hit by a car, he was suffering from a broken leg and was bleeding from an open wound. 
There’s an update, as you may guess from looking at that photo of a dog with a big thick leg bandage. 
Year-old (maybe) Riley, until he was taken by Purr & Bark Rescue of North Texas, was in a shelter kennel where, the report was, he “just sits there quietly whimpering! Not mean at all or anything just so sweet and calm and loving!”
 But things have changed for Riley. First, his medical care is going to cost more than about $2,200, according to small shelter advocate Laura Macias, who explains that’s for the repair surgery on the leg and the “few hundred” spent just getting him into shape for diagnosis and treatment. You can go to purrandbark.org and click on the donate button.
But that’s not all the news. Laura reports, “And the woman fostering is fostering to adopt! So he may have his home already…”
 This was posted by Beth Tyler-Rindahl on her Facebook page: “Yesterday I saw a post for this pup needing to be saved from a certain death sentence due to the shelter he was in and the fact he had been hit by a car and suffered a bad break on his rear leg. I begged for someone to help this sweet puppy and my sister stepped up and said she wanted this dog. I didn't mean for that to happen because I knew she couldn't afford high medical/surgical bills but she insisted. While I was trying to get more info, this wonderful rescue stepped up. Some might ask why this is important. A rescue is responsible for all medical treatments until an animal is adopted and these rescues aren't run by big corporations....they are run by individuals with huge hearts for animals but mostly small pocketbooks so they ask for your help with donations. This little guy's surgery, etc., will be at least $1,900!! Please please consider any size donation to help this baby...and this rescue!! They are the saviors here!! Please consider donating to his rescue!” 
Again, go to https://purrandbark.org.
[LARRY ASIDE: After a spell of bleak news, I thought it would feel pretty good to end the week with a dog-is-saved story and a way for people to get involved with making his life better.]
ONE MORE NOTE FROM LAURA:
IT’S ABOUT MOVING A DOG
This big, adorable, happy guy is Noah.
As Laura writes, “Help!! Can anyone give a dog a ride?” She’s been trying for two weeks to get this dog transported. Why does he need a ride? “Sweet shelter boy Noah needs a ride to get neutered and such!” 
I’m not sure what “and such” may be, but I do know what "neutered" means. Noah's in Fort Worth and needs to “get only 10 miles down the road on Tuesday the 13th. His foster has no car and can’t drive. Can anyone help? I can pay the gas money!” 
Offer to help neuter a dog and such through transportation by calling or texting
214-949-2726 or EMAIL [email protected].
TWO WAITING IN MESQUITE
Judi Brown, the volunteer biographer at Mesquite Animal Services, tipped us to this “very stunning” dog, Heidi (42367106), described as a 55-pound, 8-month old “Belgian Shepherd Malinois.” She is also an Earhound Magnifique.
She arrived August 1 as a stray and, Judi writes, “It’s amazing that her owner did not come for her. She not only is very stunning, but she has so much else going for her. She was very interested, as is typical of her breed, in exploring everything with her nose. She’s very alert and was in tune to everything going on in her surroundings. After she got done exploring she came around to me wagging her tail and wanting some attention.”

[LARRY ASIDE: Now, Dear Readers, before you read about this girl, let me just warn you animal nuts (and I am one) that part of this story is going to p**s you off. It represents a bit of cruel behavior, I think. But, that’s just me. I tend to think of dogs as kindred souls on a planet that needs devotion and peaceful moments.] 

Judi says “Jan” (42411509) is a 50-pound 7-month-old terrier who was “surrendered to the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 8/6 because her previous owners were moving and couldn’t take her with them. The owner surrender form did not have her name listed. When I asked the front desk what her name was they told me that the owners had known  they were not going to keep her, even though they had her since birth, and so they NEVER  GAVE HER A NAME ! She was born in January hence we gave her the name Jan.”

[LARRY ASIDE: Now if that name thing isn’t enough, see if you can spot signs of neglect in her previous home in this next passage.] 
Judi writes, “She’s a pretty dog with a very sweet face. Right now she appears bewildered. She was not used to a leash so she had to be carried out into the yard. Once she was out in the yard she started to venture out some. She would tentatively come to me wagging her tail indicating she did want to make friends. She’s definitely very gentle and sweet and thrives on TLC. However, she does crouch down when you reached to pet her. She would thrive in a safe secure environment surrounded by people that love her, and she’s easy to love!!”
 There you go. Two of many Mesquite dogs to help. Call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
Go to this LINK to see other dogs and cats in the shelter. This very dignified fellow is Paul — he is SIX YEARS OLD and ought to be in a home where a “large domestic shorthair mix” can get some adoration and companionship. He came into the shelter on June 30 — so he’s ready to leave. Look for him in the shelter’s Executive Suite.
CONTEMPLATION
I've got to confess: Tears filled my eyes as I watched a TV story of the plane arriving at Love Field with the remains of a Texas pilot killed in Laos during the Vietnam War. That happened in 1974. His remains had finally been identified and Canadian Journalist Jackson Proskow had been covering the El Paso horror and was headed back home when he encountered this scene at Love Field in Dallas. Read his story HERE. 
And here is the opening paragraph on USA Today’s story by Doug Stanglin: “When Air Force Maj. Roy Knight, Jr., left Dallas for Vietnam 52 years ago, his 5-year-old son, Bryan, came to Dallas Love Field to see him off. On Thursday, Bryan, now a captain for Southwest Airlines, brought back his father's remains aboard a flight to the same Dallas airport.” 
What a story. What a touching story in the aftermath of a tragedy echoing from so long ago.
—- Offer opinions by clicking on “comment” below or by emailing [email protected]. —-

FOR THURSDAY, A CAT COLONY, SHELTERS WITH ANIMALS AND CONTEMPLATIONS

EDITION OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Welcome to Thursday’s edition. Please proceed and react appropriately, kindly. I have yet to check Wednesday’s Lotto Texas numbers, so I’ll be typing as if I am not suddenly wealthy.
LET’S TALK FERAL CATS
THAT NEED SOME HELP
We got this report from Marta Slobodián, Cat Colony Caretaker. That’s not an official title, but that is what has happened. 
 She needs some help with a Dallas colony — it’s at the 7-Eleven at 111 N. Carroll Avenue, where Columbia Ave. becomes Main St., a couple of miles east of downtown Dallas. You see here photographs of several of the cats being fed. They appear to be grateful for the grub. Probably, there’s no other place for them to eat.
 As you may expect in the nation’s most fertile city, Dallas, Texas, the usual colony care places are all full up right now. So, Marta is looking for help. 
“I have been feeding homeless kitties since July 2018. I saw them one day by chance at the 7-Eleven and around the corner of the 7-Eleven in Dallas, on 111 N. Carroll Avenue to be precise.  A friend who used to rescue kitties helped me in rescuing a few.we took them to the vet; the little ones found foster homes and eventually were adopted. The bigger ones were trap/neuter/returned.

“I feed them every morning before I go to work. There are about 5-7 new kittens that should be rescued and the rest should be TNR if they are not tame-able and adoptable.  I travel quite a bit and can't feed them all the time. I need assistance. They are so unprotected, always hungry and run to me when I arrive.  Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated.”

Please send suggestions to Marta at [email protected] and to readlarrypowell.com at [email protected].

RILEY AFTER RESCUE,
A SUDDEN CHALLENGE
We got an afternoon note about Riley, the dog struck by a car in Lancaster and rescued from the city’s shelter Wednesday morning by Purr and Bark Rescue of North Texas.

We’re awaiting updates. You may recall seeing the x-ray of Riley’s broken leg. We posted it in our special edition Wednesday morning. 
The report in the afternoon, from small shelter advocate Laura Macias, who arranged the rescue, was that Riley was being taken to an emergency room. “He is bleeding, and we don’t know where,” she reported.
So, ladies and gents, you see what rescues can be up against and why donations fuel the treatment of unexpected injuries and conditions. The Purr and Bark Rescue website is purrandbark.org.

BALCH SPRINGS FOLLOW-UP
Earlier this week we mentioned the joint seizure of 176 animals being kept at a particularly aromatic (that odor led to the initial investigation) property in Balch Springs. The SPCA of Texas, Balch Springs Police, Balch Springs Animal control and Balch Springs Code Enforcement teamed to get the animals to safety.
On Wednesday, the property owner agreed to give the SPCA custody of the animals: 111 hens, 31 roosters, 10 chicks, nine puppies, seven pheasants, six dogs, a peacock and a kitten. The SPCA’s news release read, “Criminal charges are expected to be filed.” 
Go to spca.org to see how to financially support the SPCA’s cruelty investigations and, also, how to help the animals.
See the seized anmals' photos HERE And I picked that cat’s photo because he or she appears to be puzzled at the entire situation. Then I picked that photo of that box because it was found on the property with all those hens and roosters. No idea what it suggests.
LET’S GO TO THE MESQUITE REPORT
Our tipster, Judi Brown, the volunteer biographer at Mesquite Animal Services, cites FOUR dogs that are on the “urgent” list because, indeed, the place is crowded. So these dogs need either adoption or tagging for rescue.
Oreo is the 5-year-old Black Lab mix surrendered to the Mesquite Animal Shelter on June 28. Why? “Landlord issues.” After a year. Oreo is 43 pounds, 
“long and lean” and adorable and adoring. She’s #42076517.

Hudson (40644798) is a “real sweetheart and does not deserve this (none of them do),” Judi writes. He’s also on the urgent list because of the crowd at the shelter. He’s a year-old “American terrier, Pit/Dalmatian mix” who came in on July 2 — yep, “landlord/apartment issues.” He’s a year old and had been in the apartment for just 2 months. Hudson weighs 63 pounds. He fetches and retrieves.
Pepsi (42178870) is a 2-year-old, 46-pound, already-fixed Lab/Pittie mix who came to the shelter as a stray on July 14. Judi writes, “He is stunning with his glossy black coat and shiny brown eyes! He is affectionate and playful. He actually entertained himself by leaping and bounding back-and-forth in the yard. He also chased toys and would play with them but would not bring them to me. Because of his need to run, he would do well with someone that is looking for a running partner. He would also need a large yard and an active family.”
And that brings us to Bella (42161672), an already-spayed 48-pound, 4 year-old Pittie Mix who is in the shelter because, the family says, the son couldn’t take care of the dog. She’s beautiful — with a happy face,
now, but not so happy in that early photograph in her shelter experience. She’s a “work in progress,” Judi says, a dog who needs some time and some patience on the part of a loving human. Great face — and clearly an Earhound.
For any of these dogs, call the shelter at 972–2 16–6283 or email [email protected]. See more animals — dogs and cats — by clicking on this LINK https://www.cityofmesquite.com/1239/Animals-in-the-Shelter. That cat is 4-month-old Halsey (42397714), a small girl who is a Gray/Orange combination currently awaiting her first real family in the Mesquite Cat Room. [LARRY ASIDE: “Mesquite Cat Room” sounds like a jazz club.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
ATTEMPTING ONE LINERS, FAILING
The Texas Rangers managed to lose two more games in one day Wednesday and that may eliminate the “team of destiny” hopefulness, though destiny doesn’t always turn out so swell — I cite the Dallas Cowboys of the 21st Century. … Hot enough for you? Please. Yes. I have no good response for “Hot enough for you?” Other than to quote my funspouse Martha who announced, “I don’t want to live in a world without freon.” Honest, if Texas banned freon, I’d be typing this in one of those places that brags about a “midnight sun” — as an insomniac, I could use a midnight sun now and then. … Just for the sake of hoping this will influence someone around here, “Spay and neuter. Spay and neuter. Spay and neuter.” After all, Dallas continues to demonstrate that it is the most fertile city in the Western Hemisphere. Dogs, cats, freeroaming nitwits… Any arguments to that point?
—- Offer opinions or objections by clicking on “comment” below or emailing [email protected]. ——

DOG STRUCK BY CAR WAITS IN LANCASTER

[NOON HOUR UPDATE: Laura Macias, the small shelter advocate, reports that Purr and Bark Rescue of North Texas is taking Riley! Reach Purr and Bark at purrandbark.org.]
MORNING EXTRA WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019 [PetPowellPress] In the overnight mail, we got this from Leighann Hayden of the small shelter advocates. This is part of a list of several dogs waiting in the Lancaster Animal Shelter.
But this one is different. As Leighann wrote, “Pictures of injured dog Riley - please help - EMERGENCY - Has broken leg - needs rescue!!!  There is a $500 donation and a foster that wants to help.  He has to have a rescue group to get out and be helped - please, please, won't you help?”

To get involved with saving this dog’s life and helping him heal, call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].

Riley was hit by a car. Now he’s waiting for the next turn in his life. 

To get on the mailing list for these Lancaster appeals, email [email protected] or [email protected]. 
There is no Facebook page, no website because, the advocates report, there is no one working with them who can set up such mechanisms. So, they rely on a mailout. Maybe someone with free time can help these advocates set up a simple page on behalf of animals in the Lancaster Animal Shelter.
Some Lancaster animals are listed on PetFinder HERE. The dogs, not the cats.
—- Offer opinion or advice by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing [email protected]. —-

CHECKING THE TEMP & HELPING ANIMALS, PLUS A TREE GROWS HIGH IN TEXARKANA

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019 [PetPowellPress] We arrive at midweek in a state of disorganization. For the duration of this edition, we will attempt to be organized. 
I’ve been cleaning out my home office and discovering everything from magazines I saved for six or seven years, some 12-year-old utility bill receipts and a collection of pen and ink drawings of Inky, the late Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas and our staff impersonator. 
Here’s one of the drawings that was committed to computer years ago. It shows Inky participating in the Olympic Ice Fishing competition at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
 (It's signed by Ivana -- that was my artistic nom de pencil in 2014.)
That year Sochi experienced the warmest Winter Olympics ever with temps for the winter sports events ranging between 33 degrees and 68 degrees. This may have affected the fishing on that part of the continent and account for Inky's failure to win the gold -- noboy else won the gold fishing medal, either. And, of course, I’ve chosen to highlight Inky at the Olympics because maybe it’ll help you feel cool when the local temp nudges or passes 100 on Wednesday.
The 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Beijing and, no doubt, all those trade hot spots will be worked out by then. Beijing is usually colder than Sochi in February. Well, let’s, uh, ski on.

WAITING IN LANCASTER
Here are a couple of the many dogs (and a by-now familiar cat photo) from the Lancaster Animal Shelter. 
You know why the Lancaster Shelter is like the Moon? Very few human footprints these days. The shelter and the moon don’t get a lot of visitors and, according to the small shelter advocate Laura Macias, that puts the animals at peril. No traffic means no adoptions, no rescue groups working to help the animals. It’s an odd situation for this era of the 21st century. 
That Husky is Kylan, describe in the appeal as “incredibly urgent. This is such an amazing dog — stunningly beautiful with the pretties blue eyes and very, very sweet and loving.”

Then there’s this expressive girl Jenna, a Lab/Boxer Mix.
And that cat is Sasha, the Pastel Tortie who has been waiting for a while now in the Lancaster shelter which also has 11 kittens that nobody’s looking at except the small shelter advocate team. 
Ask about any animal in Lancaster’s shelter by calling or texting Laura at 214-949-2726 or email her at [email protected].

MEANWHILE, ANGIE’S FRIENDS
HUSTLE TO HELP SOME KITTENS
We learned about this thanks to the longtime rescuer and Angie’s Friends advocate Beverly Fyfe.
The story on the Angie’s Friends Facebook page reads,
“URGENT cat rescue or foster needed. This little baby just came out of one of the feral colonies Angie feeds. Maybe only 3 weeks old and in need of experienced kitten foster or rescue. Please contact us ASAP if you can help. This kitten is in Dallas, TX."
The Angie’s Friends link is HERE.

[LARRY ASIDE: When I first wrote about Angie Manriquez and her efforts years and years ago, the people who admired her referred to her as the “Fairy Dogmother of West Dallas.” 
Her reach and the reach of Angie’s Friends go beyond the West Dallas now. She is an inspiration to so many who find themselves facing insurmountable odds in rescue. Angie would convince drug dealers to turn over their tethered guard dogs to her. She’s rescued a lot of dogs and a lot of cats and influenced other people to do the same. Dallas never runs out of the need for heroes like Angie.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
CHANGES, A TREE AND SPOTS

I spent most of Tuesday taking care of some business in Texarkana, Texas, my hometown, just across the line from Texarkana, Ark. As is my tradition with a visit to the Twin Cities, I took a spin through downtown to see if it's gaining momentum in its recovery from several difficult years. As happens in many small towns, downtown commerce moves out to the interstate, in this case, I-30. Some of Texarkana’s formerly empty storefronts have new businesses. Maybe things will change; maybe downtown will be revitalized, fueled by people determined to honor a downtown that was once the foundation for the economy of the Four States Area, the Ark-La-Tex, the Bi-State Area or whatever other marketing tag it has used through generations. 
I was snapping photos on my downtown tour and I happened to look up and spotted a tree near the top of a building on Broad Street, about a block inside Texas. You can see, I hope, from the photos that the little tree is growing not from the roof, but from a seam between bricks near the roof. Yep, that’s a wacky place for a tree. On my way out of town, I spotted — so to speak — this house on College Drive — I thought, “Holy smoke, they must really love Dalmatians — or
maybe a firefighter and a firehouse dog live there.” Probably that’s just prep work for a paint job. Probably. But, we live with hope that whimsy can survive this decade.
—- To offer opinions, solutions or lucky lotto numbers, click on “comment” below or email Larry Powell at [email protected]. —-

OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP ANIMALS ABOUND ... PLUS, A CONTEMPLATION

EDITION OF TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019 [PetPowellPress] —- Let’s get serious. The Holiday Insights calendar says that August 6 is “Wiggle Your Toes Day.” Bet you did it when you read that. I don’t know if there’s a Wiggle Your Ears Day, but local shelters are full of dogs who can help you celebrate. Call up shelters online and look for the Earhounds.

ABOUT TO POP! THEN, POPS
The opening line to a note from Amy Poskey began, “Britt, with newborns Brianna & Brandy, and Bree, who is about to pop, need our help!!!” These Chihuahuas were waiting in the Denton McNatt Animal Shelter. That was the 12:29 p.m. report Monday. 
They left the building. It was to take an eventful, not-all-that-ordinary trip. And here’s the announcement from Amy’s 4:29 email: “Thanks to Animal Allies of Texas, Britt, Brianna, Brandy, and Bree have left the building!!!  AND, while traveling to their foster Bree gave birth to one little healthy angel in the car and we’re waiting to hear if Bree had more babies!

“If anyone would like to donate to Animal Allies of Texas for both of these little families, please click on the link HERE. No amount is too small.”
The background is the father of all the pups is a small brown Chihuahua who was released to the shelter when the two moms were surrendered. The moms, according to a shelter note, are relatively young. Probably they have not been indoor dogs. The note read, “They were on a man’s property and had apparently been there for quite some time. He just wanted them to be removed.”
The opening photo is Britt, the second photo shows Britt tending to Brianna, the third photo is Brianna and sibling Brandy and the final photo shows “about to pop” Bree.
 [LARRY ASIDE: That first Momma looks so much like my now-gone Chihuahua girl Belle Starr Carmelita del Vera Cruz, i.e., Vera, that I had some emotional charliehorses looking at her — I’m just testifying that a Chihuahua is a great dog to have around the house. They are a comfort. So, someone needs to get in touch with Animal Allies of Texas and prepare to show the moms and the babies that there are properties where NOBODY just wants them to be removed.]
MEANWHILE IN LANCASTER

Well, ladies and gents, the subject line on Laura Macias' Monday note about post-weekend Lancaster Animal Services Shelter carried quite a depressing tone.
It read: “NOT A SINGE ONE SAVED — CRITICAL.”
Before we show some of the many dogs and cats that get NO attention except from the small-shelter do-gooders trying to beat the odds, the person to contact to see how you or your rescue group can help is Laura — call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].
[LARRY ASIDE: I do not know if Lancaster will be participating in the annual Clear The Shelter Event. Maybe someone with a connection could give the shelter a hint.]
The exquisite canine beauty is Honey, described as “a young American Bulldog or mix….A complete lovebug— cuddly and cute, cute, cute.” 
Still waiting, also, the girl we’ve mentioned before —- Samantha, aka Sam, a Shepherd mix who “posed for the picture —- just as cute as can be.”
[LARRY ASIDE: They don’t store dogs and cats forever at a city shelter. That’s why they buy euthanasia juice in bulk. And, these days, perhaps, saving animal lives is not top priority in Lancaster. Municipal politics appears to be.]
 "
The 11 kittens and the young cat we mentioned in last week’s note about Lancaster? Still there. Why? Laura’s note reads, “This shelter has very few walk-ins and no one comes in for kittens or cats.” 
Got to be a rescue group somewhere with room — a rescue group Lancaster will work with, of course.

That tuxedo kitten is Tallie, not exactly being cuddled for her photo. The other cat is Sasha, a “Pastel Tortie” photographed in front of a sign that may not accurately express the emotions at the Lancaster shelter or city hall.
HERE’S ONE FROM MESQUITE
THAT REALLY TICKS OFF ANY FAN
OF BORDER COLLIES & KIN
Before we get to the story of D’Arby, you need to know that this appeal was sent by Judi Brown, the volunteer biographer at Mesquite Animal Services. She meets the animals she writes about. 
Here’s what her Monday note said, “I just received word that D’Arby (#42370737) is on an urgent list. This poor boy has not had much of a life, living most of it I’m assuming in a confined area in a backyard. He needs a break. Please someone be his hero. If you cannot tag or adopt please network this deserving dog. D’Arby is a 5-year-old Border Collie mix that was surrendered on 8/1. Because he was surrendered in the field I do not have an owner surrender form. I do know he was kept in a confined area. 

“The owners were told they would need to extend his living space (the city even offered to give them the money to make these accommodations) but they didn’t want to bother. So it seems that D’Arby has spent most of his life outside. 
“It also seems that he has not had much socialization. He is friendly, but just doesn’t seem to know how to accept love and affection. He was more interested in exploring the yard than spending time with me. He’s a sweet boy and deserves to be pampered and loved on. He did not show any aggression. He walked okay on a leash. He went nose to nose sniffing many dogs in the bay.”

To ask about adopting or rescuing this 65-pound handsome dog, call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@ cityofmesquite.com.

At this LINK, you’ll see a number of dogs — adopting or rescuing one makes saves that life and makes room for another dog whose life buys some time. You’ll also see a number of cats — all ages from babies to “experienced cats,” such as this 7-year-old “large” baby Belinda (42376429). She’s in the Cat Room, but she oughta be in a living room or den enjoying a life with adoring companions.
CONTEMPLATIONS
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'BACK THEN' AND 'NOW'?
This is personal. It’s a little longer than usual. Maybe it’s therapeutic. I don’t know.

I get caught up in the updates on the latest shootings. Can’t help it. I’m feeling despair at not being able to “un-do” things that happened. Foolish thought, but it’s been that way since my first year as a newspaper reporter. I’d been hired by the great Texarkana Gazette editor J.Q. Mahaffey in late summer of 1965 and spent my entire senior year of high school working the 4 p.m.-1 a.m. shift 5 nights a week. Daytime in school, nighttime in a newsroom. It was a glorious time. I wrote a lot of obits, did some feature stories, police stories, learned newspapering and earned some trust from the old hands, most of them at the paper since the days of World War II.
In the relatively calm of the summer of 1966, I was 17 and excited about newspapers and about starting junior college. But on Monday, August 1, 1966, I learned something new.
I learned the importance and the difficulties of setting aside emotions to report a story with strong, accurate journalism.
That was the day Charles Whitman went to the top of the landmark tower on the campus of the University of Texas and began killing people. The first people he shot were from Texarkana — including two boys I knew from high school — the older brother was horribly injured but survived. His little brother was killed right next to him as Whitman ambushed the vacationing family in the observation deck stairwell. 
Whitman, had stabbed his mom and wife to death the night before, then killed 14 people ( -- victims including an unborn child and a person who died in 2001 as the result of wounds suffered that day). Thirty-one other people were wounded by the “sniper” shooting from the tower onto the UT campus -- I didn't remember the numbers. I had to look them up on Wikipedia.
Another thing: 
I didn’t understand that whole horrible incident. Some might say I was too young to understand it. But I don’t understand the two latest shootings. And I haven’t fathomed the incidents in between.

Later that winter, I was working the police beat when the desk sergeant got a call that there’d been a shooting at a home not far from the office. This was before 911 calls. You called the police like you were calling a cab. I jumped into my black 1963 VW Beetle and drove to the address, arriving before the police car. But the officer was quickly there and I got out to follow him into the house — things were looser in those days and, maybe, I didn’t have as much sense.
The officer yelled, “Police!” — maybe several times — and, pistol drawn on the dark front porch, he opened the door and stepped into the fully lit living room. 
He was ready to fire and I was right behind him, ready to take notes. 
The body of a woman was on the linoleum floor in a pool of blood in front of the living room couch. An older man in khakis pants and an undershirt was sitting in a slump against the back of the couch. He had a pistol in his lap. 
And he was repeatedly declaring “She’s dead, oh, she’s dead.” He looked up at the officer and, motioning toward a back door, says, “There’s another one. He went out there!” 
The officer looked at me, reached down and took the pistol off the man’s lap, hands it too me and says, “Hold this gun on him and if he moves, shoot him.” 
I’d never held a pistol in my life. The man must have sensed the danger of the moment — he didn’t move and he quit moaning “She’s dead, oh, she’s dead.”

The officer was soon back and said, “I didn’t see anybody else. I think we’ve got our man. Better let me have that.” 
He took the pistol as an ambulance arrived outside. I asked the guy for the woman’s name and he gave me a woman’s name. Might have been the victim’s.

And I went back to the office to try to beat the late deadline with four or five paragraphs about what I’d seen. 

All these years later, after a career that took me into more mayhem and city council and county commissioner arguments over funding law enforcement and more political jawing over ending “unnecessary violence” and a presidential assassination attempt, and writing obituaries of some of the Oklahoma City bombing victims, I still don’t understand why on one night in a small town in the corner of Northeast Texas, a guy felt the need to kill a woman right there in his living room.
One murder puzzles me as much as a mass murder. 
Basically, human behavior is the most dangerous thing on the planet. It can also be the sweetest, most understanding, most comforting behavior. I like to think there are more of us than there are of “them” — and that our human behavior can have a beneficial effect on the people who need to see goodness some morning when they have lost their way. Call me an “optimist in spite of the evidence.”
—- Offer opinions or solutions by clicking on ‘comment” below or by emailing Larry PowellPowell at [email protected]. —-

ON MONDAY, HELPING ANIMALS AND PUZZLED ABOUT LIFE...

EDITION OF MONDAY, AUGUST, 5, 2019 (PetPowellPress) Rough weekend. We’ll address it in Contemplations. First, we’ll try to help some people who help animals. The people who help animals have good hearts.
SOMETHING TO REMEMBER

The annual Clear The Shelters Day is coming up on August 17.
And Dallas Animal Services has a related campaign going — it’s trying to find 100 foster homes for animals that will then be available when the city’s big shelter participates in Clear The Shelter Day.
You can read more about this on DAS’s Facebook Page or on NBC5’s Clear the Shelter page HERE
[LARRY ASIDE: Probably no stats available on how many animals are returned or found wandering or dropped off at other shelters after a month or so. Not that I don’t just generally have faith in people who accept free animals. OH, WAIT. Heck, I’ve got nothing but free animals in my house — they all either wandered up or we rescued them from a city park where someone had dumped them or from a city street where they were desperately trying to chase down some teenagers who didn’t want them. May every animal cleared from a shelter have the most envious of great lives.]

OH, GOODNESS, OH, MY!
ANOTHER BIG SEIZURE
This one happened on August 2 in Balch Springs after someone filed “an odor complaint” about a residence in the city on Dallas’ southeastrn side. 
The SPCA of Texas, Balch Spring Police, Balch Springs Animal Control and Balch Springs Code Enforcement teamed for this one. 

Here’s the count: 111 hens, 31 roosters, 10 chicks, 9 puppies, 7 pheasants, 6 dogs, a peacock and a kitten.
They’re all being evaluated at the SPCA’s Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center. A custody hearing will probaby be next.

These photos were provided by the SPCA of Texas and more may be seen HERE. 

Where does a residence keep that many animals?
 Here’s the SPCA run down: “The birds were found in various pens and coops, placed in narrow, winding rows behind the residence. Two of the dogs and the puppies were found in a feces-filled garage and the remaining dogs were found in pens, separated into male and female pairs. The kitten was found roaming freely on the property. None of the animals had access to adequate water, and only some animals had food or shelter. The animals appear to be suffering from several medical issues, including overheating, dehydration, open wounds and missing feathers.”
You can see how to help the SPCA finance its cruelty efforts by going to spca.org. Also, at that site you can see how to volunteer, how to adopt, how to foster, how to get involved with the Society’s many facets.

THREE SPECIAL DOGS WAIT
FOR ADOPTION IN DENTON
We got the tip on these Dentonian dogs from Amy Poskey, the veteran volunteer “shelter watcher” at Denton’s McNatt Animal Shelter.

She describes this trIo as “three youngsters who need our help.
The black Labby mix is Joyce (83126), approaching a year old and fully vetted. She’s people friendly and dog friendly and weighs 36 pounds — alas, she is heartworm positive. The bio reads, “She is just the sweetest girl with a cute little nub of a tail. Everybody absolutely loves Joyce, including potential adopters.” Denton Animal Shelter Friends “will provide a $100 voucher to go towards her heartworm treatment.”
These other two are clearly bonded. Skillet (83468) is the boy on the left and Runaway (83470) is the girl on the right and “they are fully vetted and terrified in the shelter environment. Poor babies just want to stay curled up next to each other. They are not aggressive at all — just afraid. Bless their hearts, all they need is a little time, patience and love.”
To ask about these pups, email [email protected], [email protected], and/or [email protected]
Call the shelter at 940-349-7594.
AND THE FIRST NOTICE
OF NT GIVING DAY ARRIVES…
Just as some people await the first swallows’ return to Capistrano or the first robin of spring, readlarrypowell.com celebrates the first non-profit to mention North Texas Giving Day.
Arriving first for 2019? One of the most admired and determined non-profits in the area, Mazie’s Mission, the rescue hospital, scores the "first" rating.

Click HERE to see how to help Mazie’s Mission.
The non-profit’s “motto” is “Serving Rescues. Saving Lives.” The area’s first non-profit vet hospital for rescues was opened in 2014 by Dr. Erin Shults and her team. The non-profit continues to grow and so does the organization’s ambition to help more and more rescues. 

CONTEMPLATION
WHAT DO WE DO NEXT?
There is so much good at work — yet, the bad manages to draw our attention. 
There’s no wisdom here to help people endure. I’ve got nothing. Maybe that’s the appropriate reaction from some guy hundreds of miles from either site.
In this century, as people in the last century learned, it is uncomfortable to live a wary lifestyle. But we have to accept the reality that we cannot ignore awful possibilities and awful people.

And the horrible truth is there are people who are up to no good and we need to realize always that they are there — whether their heart is determined to kill a score of people or just one person who gets in their way in a parking lot or on a freeway or won’t hand over the cash quickly enough at a convenience store. 
We must watch out for the bad. Report them to the authorities. Show courage BEFORE someone has to die bravely. And, sadly, we often don’t interpret “peculiar” as “potentially dangerous.” Heck, we’re not all walking around with a textbook on psychiatric diagnoses.
In the meantime, we must be confident that we can nurture and protect the goodness in our lives. That sounds like a nearly empty sentence. Maybe it’s all we’ve got.
It’s all I’ve got — finishing this paragraph as the TV news shows more video of hospitalized victims wondering “Why?”
—- To offer an opinion, click on “comment” below or email [email protected]

BABY BEAU OWNS HEARTS & THE SPOTLIGHT

Maybe you’ve noticed that warm glow in the sky toward Mineola in East Texas over the past few days.

Here’s why there's a glow: Beau is generating puppy love and creating starry-eyed affection within his two new humans.
 He’s the happy addition to the household of Greta and Rudy Godfrey, my longtime friends and former colleagues at The Dallas Morning News.
The first message I saw about this pup was attached to a photo of Beau. Greta typed it for her new pal. It read, “My name is Beau and my new mama and daddy are Greta and Rudy and they rescued me from the SPCA in Mineola.”
That's the Animal Preservation of East Texas SPCA in Mineola. Greta spotted Beau there and, she says, "Of course, I fell in love immediately!"
And, as you can see from these “action photos,” he quickly earned the spotlight this weekend’s edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
Beau is six weeks old. And, if you’ve been around puppies you know how to interpret these flop-over and pass out poses.
Puppies do that flop/pass out thing. They romp and romp and then they suddenly see “time to sleep” on their personal activity dial and wherever they are, they just flop down and go to sleep. It’s the cutest thing. So we’re proud to present Beau’s “sleep poses.” 

Because Greta was so swift in showing off photos of the little boy, I kidded her, “I assume he’s now the most important dog in Mineola.”
And Greta replied “Yes, he’s very important. He chased the neighbor’s chicken back home this morning.” It was a puppy chase.
As a good reporter, I asked the followup question, “Does the chicken come over to have morning coffee with you and Rudy? I hear those East Texas chickens are neighborly.”
Greta replied, “The chicken didn’t, but their head rooster comes over and pecks at my window in the living room.” And there is the photo of the “head rooster” dropping by for a howdy-do.

Greta also sent a photo of a “hen party” in her yard and noted that the neighborhood fowl love the birdseed she keeps out for them. [LARRY FYI: Mineola has been known as the "Birding Capital of East Texas" since around 2003 -- you can look it up! Not sure chickens fit into the binocular/birding category. But they are loved in the Greta/Rudy neighborhood.]
Back to Beau: You may wonder which family tree young Beau might call his. 
We got the clue when I asked Greta to send me some sleeping photos of Beau. 
She replied, “I’ll see if the little [rascal] will sit still long enough. This morning he’s full of p*ss and vinegar. He’s part Lab and, I think, monkey!”
So, there you have it from someone who adores him: Beau is a Lab/Monkey. The most important Lab/Monkey in Mineola and in Wood County, Texas. 
And, Greta also sent this photo of Beau, sporting his brand new harness, as he explores the joy of gnawing with his newly discovered teeth! Ah, as puppy-lovers know, there’s more chewing adventure to come in this puppy’s life. That’s why pet stores have an entire aisle of chewable merchan- -dise. 
The other thing puppies need, in addition to hugs, is sleep.
[LARRY REQUEST: It’s such a pleasure to write about the love people have for their dogs and cats — I mean that with all my heart. We write at least five days a week about dogs and cats and other animals that need just one human to love them and help them live good live, that on weekends, when we can write about the adorable and the adoring, it’s a joy. Send photos of your sleeping dogs and napping cats and whatever critter is snoozing at your house to us at [email protected]. Include the critter’s biography.  We'll post their tales in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. You’ll be helping other people decide to enhance their home with a beloved animal. And you’ll be helping the planet’s insomniacs believe that they, too, can get some sleep if only they can find the right chickens, geese, puppies, cats, dogs and ducks to provide the background chatter.]
—- Offer puppy advice or note about your own happiness by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing Larry Powell at [email protected]. —-

AS THE WEEKEND ARRIVES, THE ANIMALS HEAL AND WAIT AND PEOPLE HUSTLE ON THEIR BEHALF -- OH, AND A SPACE ALIEN?

EDITION OF FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Whoa, hello Friday. Our topics are dogs, cats, Big Tex and space aliens (maybe). Here goes:
THE HISTORY IS UNKNOWN,
BUT THE PRESENT IS TRYING
TO CREATE A FUTURE
A dog was found in the street. 

That’s not where this 4-month-old dog’s story starts.
But that’s where The Colony’s Division of Animal Services, helmed by shelter veteran Mark Cooper, got involved.
 Mark says a man called the shelter on Tuesday and told staffers that a dog was laying in a street — looked as if it might have been hit by a car. He told the staffer, “I can bring it to you.” So he did. 
Mark says, “He walks in the door with it. [Our staffer] looks at it and heads out the door with it. … It was probably headed to emergency in less than 5 minutes.” 

At first everyone assumed “Phillip” had been struck by a car “because it was in the road,” Mark says. And there were some horrible injuries to the dog’s head.
But the emergency vet exam didn’t support the theory — it supported the probability that this dog had been attacked. By either another dog or more dogs. 
And the attack wasn’t Tuesday — it was probably a week earlier. The dog was afflicted with horrid infections.
Mark says, “He had been like this for some time, so we don’t know whether he just collapsed in the street, just gave out, we don’t know.”

There have been posts referring to Phillip as a “bait dog” and suggesting that he’d been in a dog-fighting circumstance. But there’s no evidence to support that. Mark notes that The Colony has never had a reputation for dog-fighting and that it’s possible the stray could have wandered into a yard where other dogs attacked him. Whatever the case, Mark says the injuries are horrible — cheekbones and sinuses are crushed and his tail is broken, but it is the infection that he has to conquer before anything else can be done.
When Mark posted notes on Facebook seeking a foster to help tend to this dog, several rescues contacted him but they did not have fosters immediately available. Dallas Dog RRR (Rescue. Rehab. Reform.) was ready and now has custody of Phillip who has been renamed Phantom.

Mark says the dog’s face is so horribly swollen that the fear is he’s likely to be permanently disfigured. Also, the swelling keeps the vet people from telling whether his eye is still in the socket.
This dog is a mess.
But people have stepped up to help — starting with the guy who stopped to get the dog off of the hot Texas road surface and into a place that is, yes, a shelter.

[Funding is needed — by both The Colony Animal Services and by Dallas Dog RRR. The Colony Animal Services uses donations (CLICK HERE) to help with emergency animal situations, such as the injured dog Phillip/Phantom. And Dallas DogRRR is accepting donations at www.dallasdogrrr.org.]
THE FACES ON THE CLOCK
AT THE MESQUITE SHELTER
Holy smoke. A happy dog. A handsome runway model dog. And a fascinating Bull Terrier face. All awaiting adoption in the Mesquite Animal Shelter.
We get their stories from Judi Brown, the shelter’s volunteer biographer who meets the animals whose stories she tells.
 That stretched up white dog is named — what else? — Snow. She’s about 5 months old and weighs 37 pounds. Judi says the people who had her “found her two weeks ago and then for some reason decided they couldn’t keep her. The lady that surrendered her had two children who were crying when the dog was turned back in.” Snow’s a cutie with floppy ears and she’s timid at first but warms up. She’s #42351787.

Then there’s future runway model Dixon, a 3- or 4-year-old Pittie mix who came into the shelter as, yes, a stray. Judi writes, “He’s a beautiful boy with reddish gold coloring and captivating eyes that match his coloring! He’s a very sweet, cautiously friendly, laid-back guy! Judging from the calluses on his elbows, I would say he probably spent a lot of time on concrete. He did come to me when I sat down, but I suspect he has not had much socialization.  I was really impressed with how he walked on a leash. He stayed right beside me without pulling!”
 Dixon is 60 pounds and already neutered. His # is 42303146.
Holy smoke, look at that distinct Bull Terrier face on Koda, around 4, and inexplicably a STRAY. She was held a little longer than usual at the shelter because, Judi explained there was “thought to be a possible owner.” No dice. So Koda is available for adoption. She’s happy, has waggy tail and, Judi says, “stays close looking up at you with such adoration in her eyes.” The 36-pound dog is #42286812.
 You can see, in that first picture, that Koda knows how to “stack,” as they say at Westminster.
To ask about these dogs, call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
You can see more Mesquite dogs and cats at the shelter’s LINK.
Among the cats is this Felinus Palindromus, Hannah, #42349143.

The astounding thing is she is NINE AND A HALF YEARS OLD and not in a happy family home being cuddled and having conversations about the NFL or the Texas Rangers. You know, stuff cats like to talk about.
She’s spayed and she’s currently in the Cat Room at the Mesquite Shelter. 

BIG DEAL FOR LITTLE DOGS
THROUGHOUT AUGUST
We opened the the email and read the big type: “CHERISH YOUR CHIHUAHUA” and in reading type, “Spay/Neuter your Chihuahua and Chihuahua mixes during the month of August for only $20! Sponsored by PetSmart Charities." You can find out more about this at the Spay/Neuter Network HERE.   [LARRY ASIDE: During our decades together, my funspouse Martha and I have had two Chihuahuas — a tan rescued girl named Belle Star Carmelita del Vera Cruz and a black and tan girl I rescued from Kiest Park — she was nearly naked from quite a smelly mange. We’d run out of names for rescued critters, so our vet back then Dr. Catherine Marr suggested that we name her “Rosie because she doesn’t smell like one.” We’d have another Chihuahua now if Dallas didn’t have a limit. Chihuahua shouldn’t count for a “full dog” though they frequently believe they are the biggest dogs on the block, maybe even the planet. But get yours spayed or neutered — that way shelters won’t be euthanizing so many little dogs that nobody wants. FYI, that’s Vera and my free bus stop puppy who grew up, Baby Jane Doe — Baby Jane is the lookout and when she gave the warning yip, Vera would hit the window and the blinds like she was going bash through the glass to slam the intruder to the turf and hold him or her until the cops arrived. And, doing her Batdog impression is Rosie, the dumped-in-the-park dog. All three are gone now, but they still own enough of my heart to make me reach for a tissue and dab my eyes.]
MEANWHILE IN LANCASTER
(& DON’T FORGET WILMER & HUTCHINS)
You can scroll down to the week’s earlier editions and see the Border Collies Duke and Daisy and other dogs in the Wilmer and Hutchins shelters — small, low-traffic, no budget for public relations shelters.
And, in the meantime, our small shelter tipsters Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden sent a particularly alarming word: “CRITICAL!!” and added “11 baby kittens and young cat” are on the brink of disaster at the Lancaster Animal Shelter. The note reads, “Please— No one will come for these babies. This shelter has very few walk-ins and no one comes in for kittens or cats…
Call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected]
Here are some of the kittens and the previously highlighted Jordan, the boy cat with the silent meow.
And, yes, there are dogs, too. Many are puppies just waiting for a needle they don’t even know exists. And there’s Honey, the beautiful “American Bulldog or Mix” described as “a complete lovebug — cuddly and cute.”

Laura can arrange transport for 501c3s. Again, call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected]

[LARRY ASIDE: The only hope of these animals may be the activation of a team of human hearts to get with Laura and arrange transportation and fostering and adoption. Otherwise, a political conflict — people spatting with people— may result in the deaths of dogs and cats. Deaths. Humans above this, surely.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
AS WE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND
First weekend of August and we have State Fair of Texas news. I think I felt the temp drop 10 degrees when I finished that sentence. First, the annual pre-Fair equine events begin this weekend. Here’s a BigTex.com LINK to the
Also arriving on August 1, a note from the Fair’s PR Executive Karissa Condoianis that says that “with less than 60 days until Opening Day, guests can now purchase their general admission tickets to the 2019 State Fair of Texas.” Adult prices are $18 at the gate but $16.50 online. See all the prices and rules and how to buy food and ride coupons online at bigtex.com/buy-tickets. That’s Big Tex in his 2013 cowboy outfit and clunky boots. He’s getting new boots this year. … I know there is supposed to be a movement to reduce the number of robocalls, but I seem to be getting more, for lack of a better term, robo-emails and, Thursday, as I was listening to soft music on my Amazon Echo, Alexa’s quiet efforts were interrupted by a commercial. That was jarring. …. We’ll close with a “What’s That?” I stopped by my frontyard rose bush and snapped a photo of a glorious bloom because sitting on a petal was what surely must be an Albino Arachnid. Or maybe a space alien enchanted by the scent of a Texas rose. Heads up, Tyler, Texas. Being the “Rose Capital of Texas” gives you a galactic reputation.

—- Offer opinions, solutions or tell us about space aliens by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing me at [email protected] and don’t type in Martian — the punctuation is confusing. Oops, I shouldn’t have confessed that. —-