THEN, ONE DAY, THE GUY TYPING WENT NUTS OVER THE LOADED SHELTERS IN AN AREA OF ALLEGEDLY SMART PEOPLE....

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY APRIL 14-15 [PetPowellPress] OK, Dear Readers, what can be done to keep people from dumping unwanted animals into taxpayer-financed shelters that must take any animal that is driven up, caught stray or dumped in the parking lot?
Wait! What do we want people to do? Drive ‘em to East Texas and turn ‘em loose on a lonely road? Take ‘em to a busy
grocery store parking lot and tell ‘em “Go find a home, fluffy!” 
The ugly truth is, we can’t fix this animal overloading without fixing the brains in humans.
Has there been a worse era of shelter overloading than is currently afflicting the Dallas/Fort Worth area?
Small shelters, big shelters — they’re all in a fix. 
Is it the animals’ fault? And there you have the clue to the answer to this problem. Humans are letting animals down. Animals they once swore they’d love forever. “Forever” can last until the first piddle or the first "alert" barking at 2 a.m. Or until someone in the household says, “I keep scolding that dog for getting pregnant but it don’t do no good. Take her to the pound. We’ll git anothern for thuh kids. A boy this time.”
If you’re a veteran rescuer/advocate, you know I’m not exaggerating. If you’re new to the challenge, you’ll quickly learn how ugly people can be when it comes to taking care of their dogs and cats and horses and any other beast that gets adopted or purchased.You think ever goldfish swirling down the toilet was actually dead? [Tell you about Lucky the cat in a moment...]
You get the feeling sometimes that people with a yard full of puppies chasing a momma dog with overloaded and overworked nipples are completely unaware of “the birds and the bees.” Or confused by the simple references.
And what about those people who just “set free” animals they don’t want? Isn’t that against the law? Yeah, but how are you going to prosecute if you have no witnesses — the dogs and cats can’t talk and those magic doorbell cameras are only interested in thieves and intruders. Don’t even bring up the awful humans who put a litter of kittens in a plastic bag and throw it into a Texas creek.
We have got to figure out some way to educate humans to be kind to animals — oh, yeah, maybe we can get ‘em to be kind to other humans along the way. There’s a challenge for you. 

You see, scattered through this opening rant, some animals in assorted shelters. Here’s the list in order and the links.
And, when you go to the links, and you already have a houseful of mutts and cats, think about people you know who have loving souls and no animals and gently ask ‘em if they’d like to save a life. The alternative is to sit in a room during a newscast and shake your head like the concept of dumped animals is something news cameras catch on the other side of the world.
It’s right here, ladies and gents. Right here in the overloaded metrosprawl. Here's the link to Dallas Animal Services and here's the LINK TO THE ANIMALS (free adoptions right now). Click on "Be A Lifesaver" and see how to foster and adopt. Remember, finding homes for big dogs will help lighten the load on the shelter’s kennel population. These are adult dogs — at some point someone surely loved them.
That cat #A1144724 in DAS’s shelter is Lucky — she’s an 18-pound, 9-year-old domestic shorthair. We don’t know the circumstances of her arrival at the shelter, but we do know that she’s a senior cat who appears to have been well-cared for at some point. And she deserves a wonderful home.
Moving to the west: Navigate to Fort Worth Animal Care & Control and see who
is in its two shelters and off-site adoption spots by clicking HERE.
That basic white dog is Poppy (#32093858) and she is 8 years and 9 months old. She came in on July 15. Only this dog has ever wanted to be with her -- their humans were indifferent. He is Canelo (#32043998), nearly 8 years old and a Pittie mix. Also arrived on July 15. [LARRY ASIDE:  Might we be sensing a 2-dog dump at the North campus?]

And that Rottweiler “mix” is Hunter, an “XL”-sized fellow who came in on March 12. He’s #34019094. [LARRY ASIDE: Rotties win human hearts — personal testimony based on my late rescued Rottie Texas Earl the Cheeseman -- I miss that guy dramatically, painfully. I know he's the leading Rottie in the Hereafter.]
The Pittie proudly, jauntily bouncing across the yard is 5 1/2-year-old “large” Freddy. He came in on July 8, the shelter site says.
That elegantly attired black cat with white accents is Cake (#49913735), a 2-year-old girl who came into FW’s shelter on April 5 — she’s now the large black cat waiting at the PetSmart Cat Adoption on Hulen.

Cassie (#49819427) is that 7-year-old orange and white girl at the PetSmart Alliance Cat Adoption site. She’s large, too.
See Fort Worth’s MANY available animals by clicking HERE
https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/code-compliance/animals.
WE FREQUENTLY CITE SMALLER SHELTERS than Dallas and Fort Worth — for example, we adore the folks at Mesquite Animal Services for their volunteer work. And we’ve noted recently that Mesquite’s shelter is also experiencing the “loaded up” situation.
Our pal Judi Brown has been in touch with this guy Sarge — he’s a 3- or 4-year-old, 50-pound Rottie who arrived at the shelter on April 6 because he was “seized” by officers. Why? “He was abandoned in his backyard,” is the explanation. Nice people, eh? 
As Judi writes, “Look at this sweet face and tell me how anyone could move away and leave this handsome boy behind? … He’s a very handsome boy but also well-mannered, easy-going, friendly and loving. He’s somewhat cautious although definitely wanting human attention. He stays close and wants to please. He sits for treats and takes them gently. Because he is so highly motivated by treats he should be easy to train. He kept sitting even when I didn’t ask him to because he was wanting a treat. When I ignored him he would nudge the pocket where I kept the treats. I couldn’t interest him in playing with a ball or toys but that’s something his new owners could do. He had a strong pull on the leash to get outside but once I walked him in the yard he stayed right by my side. He was not interested in meeting the other dogs in the bay and pulled to go outside, but he did stop to visit some smaller dogs in kennels outside the bay. I didn’t see any aggression. …Before I put him back in the bay he came and sat by me and even gave me kisses. Come meet him. I guarantee you will fall in love with him like I did. He deserves a better life and to be a major part of the family and to share their home with a him.  He would like a soft bed and plenty of cuddles!” Sarge is #49920617 — use that ID when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com. 

That brings us to Pablo, a 3-year-old, 46-pound “Terrier mix” surrendered to the shelter on April 11 “due to the health of his owner.” Volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm reports that Pablo’s surrendering human says the dog is OK indoors with other dogs and with kids — no idea about cats. Debra also writes, “Pablo is nervous and uneasy in the shelter with the noise of the other dogs and is doubtless confused  as to why he was brought to this place.  He walks nicely on a leash and is well-mannered, calm and gentle.  He is a friendly fellow and when I would sit down he came to me and put his head in my lap.  He is affectionate and enjoyed receiving loving attention. Pablo knows the sit command.  He was not interested in treats, nor did he care about toys or balls.  However he has only been at the shelter 2 days and doubtless will acclimate and his true nature will shine through.  Hopefully a rescue or potential adopter will see his sweet demeanor and his time in the shelter will be a short one. Our shelter is critically overcrowded and kennels are full.  Dogs continue to stream in the door as strays and surrenders.” Call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.

And this is Trina, the Earhound, a “very cute livewire” Terrier mix who, Debra writes, “was picked up by one of our officers on 4/6 as a stray…Trina weighs 60 pounds, is approx 3 years old and is not spayed. She has the energy level of a puppy. This happy-go-lucky and lively girl is playful and loves toys and tennis balls.  She will go to the toy box, choose a toy, play with it for a while and then get another one. She is entertaining to watch!  She will jump on you in her exuberance and therefore it would be wise for her not to be in a home with young children until she can be trained not to do this.  Obedience classes would be a good idea for Trina.  She likes treats and will take them gently.  She walks OK on a leash but has a strong pull.  A staff member told me she keeps her kennel clean and when taken to the yard will immediately potty out there so she may be house trained. This girl needs an active family who will invest in daily playtime, exercise and training.” Trinia is #49916293 and use that number when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email resuces@cityofmesquite.com.
Remember this note from Debra on Trina’s bio: “Our shelter is critically full with surrenders and strays streaming in.  Kennel space is badly needed so please help if you can by networking or tagging.”
See more Mesquite animals HERE. Among the animals is this very handsome 7-year-old, smallish cat named Oliver. He’s #49895219. Came in on April 2.
[LARRY ASIDE: Allow me to remind you as you look at Oliver’s beautiful face and eyes or that happy countenance of Trina the Earhound that Mesquite also has space problems. Do you know anyone who would be a great human for these animals to live with? And there’s this, “Can you stand the thought of either of these two animals being held firmly so a needle full of death can be slipped into their bodies and take the sparkle out of those eyes? Son of a gun, it grinds my heart to think of such a situation in any shelter anywhere. There’s already too much killing on this planet.]
AND WE HAVE REPEATEDLY cited the hard work of 4-Legged Helpers in small shelters in the metrosprawl. These are shelters without public relations experts on the staff — usually “staff” is one or two overworked people at the most. These shelters have few to zero visitors. The cities and counties they are in have people who dump animals, set them loose to roam or just abandon them in yards. Small town/big town — there are people with the same lousy standards of taking care of animals. You can see the 4-Legged Helpers’ latest missions by going to their Facebook page HERE.  Griffen is one of the dogs you’ll see.
If you live in a town around here, it probably has an animal shelter or a connection to animals via rescuers and advocates. Want to help save lives? Get involved.
As you consider the worth of humanity on this planet, consider, also, how you can help humans who are helping animals. Those heroic people are helping animals avoid being killed just to make room for the next surrendered, abandoned or strayed animal who will be be killed when it can’t get adopted, either. That’s the ugly system when shelter’s are full and sometimes when they are not full.
 Got to be a better way to help animals avoid human folly.
—- Offer advice or opinions by clicking on ‘comment’ or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. Save ‘em all. —-