ALLIE DUE IN NEW YORK; MORE ANIMALS TO ADOPT; A SENIOR FELLOW FAREWELL

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY JUNE 9/10, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Our area of Texas — and other areas — faces a common problem — overloaded shelters. Sometimes things work out and animals avoid the needle. Sometimes the pressure of circumstances is fatally overwhelming. 
We have stories today of animals saved, animals who can be saved and irresponsible behavior by people who once said they'd love a dog or cat forever. Please read on.

UPDATE ON ALLIE,
PREGNANT IN FERRIS
We told this story of this sad-eyed, expectant German Shepherd Allie in our previous edition. There’s news. The dog who was dumped out of a truck on I-45 near Ferris (saved by the city shelter’s ACO) is about to see a different life. She’s going to a rescue group in New York, according to Leanne Hayden of 4-Legged Helpers. [LARRY ASIDE: Allie’s sister Avery is also going to a rescue. We’re attempting to learn the names of the rescue groups so you can send a “thank-you” or make a donation. Also, we’ll want to keep up with Allie’s pups who, rather than being Texan, will be New York puppies. And safe.] Follow 4-Legged Helpers Inc. on Facebook.

THIS MIGHT BE A COMMON
SITUATION IN NORTH TEXAS
This came to me in a vision…I’m kidding. i saw it on a local neighborhood bulletin page. Terri, in western Fort Worth, posted this photo and a note reading “Do you know this dog? She's been hanging around [the 700 block of Candlewood Road in White Lake Hills for about a week. She's very sweet but timid. I'm posting this for my neighbor … The dog has been too shy to get in her car.” And, yes, the dog is getting food and water.
But she’s also roaming. James posted, “This dog also makes its way to Saint Lawrence and Emerald Lake. I’ve seen the dog around for almost a week.” 
Someone suggested “put her in a fenced yard” but the houses where she stops don’t have fenced yards. 

The reason readlarrypowell.com mentions this is to emphasize how tough it can be to just take in a wandering dog. There are all sorts of challenges including the biggest one: The clever dog just wants to keep wandering.
[LARRY ASIDE: Under current crowded shelter and distemper outbreak conditions, a lot of people are reluctant to call animal control. Catch and adopt may become catch and euthanize, they fear. But surely human hearts can try to "save 'em all."]
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE:
MORE ANIMALS WAITING
This guy is Bingo, but when you look at the patches on his sides, you do wonder if “Dice” might fit, too.
He’s a 3-month-old, 15-pound high-spirited Boxer mix who came in as a stray on May 31. 
His biographer, volunteer Debra Chisholm, says that he "he ran and played with toys during his indoor photo session." And, she says, “He jumps on you continually.  This precious pooch needs obedience classes and training just like all puppies do.  He is a frisky perky little fellow who is friendly and wants to interact with a human friend.”
And he’s “figured out that if he sits, the treats will be dispensed.  He will need a person or family willing to stay committed to training and giving plenty of enrichment daily to help him become an important part of his family.” He’s #50317770.
Use that ID when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]. 
Same contact points for these next critters, too.

 Oakley is #50350239. He a Rottweiler mix who came in on June 3 — picked up by one of the shelter officers with another dog — they’re “kenneled together” and “do fine.” Oakley is about 2, weighs 44 pounds and isn’t neutered. Debra says he is “a sweet soul, well-mannered, calm, gentle and has a mellow personality. He walks nicely on a leash. He doesn't seem to know any commands.  He likes treats and takes them gently.  He is a friendly fellow who enjoys receiving attention and affection.”
Then, there’s Betsy (#50318027), a “lively” Pittie mix who came in as a stray on May 31. She is a 25-pound, 4-months- old “high-puppy energy, spunky, enthusiastic girl.”
Debra says Betsy “loves treats and takes them gently.  Betsy walks nicely on a leash.  She loves toys and balls and would take them to a soft comfortable place in the room where I did the photo session and enjoy playing with the toy...until another one took her fancy.  She entertained herself and I found myself laughing at her antics.  She has tons of personality and is a real charmer.  Betsy needs some manners training, as do all pups, to help her fit in better with her new person or family.”
And that brings us to Roxy (#50224334). “They just don't come any cuter than this adorable girl Roxy, a mixed breed (my dog scanner app suggests Border Terrier/Chihuahua/Norfolk Terrier) that arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 5/19.” 

Roxy’s about 4 1/2 years old, weighs 11 pounds and isn’t spayed. 
Debra says, “When she came in she was very frightened and nervous in the shelter environment. She has since warmed up and I have found her now to be sweet-natured, lovable, friendly and well-mannered.  Roxy is still a bit tentative and cautious but who can blame her? …   She is a frisky, perky and enthusiastic girl.” 

Use the ID numbers when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]. 

CONTEMPLATIONS

IRRESPONSIBLE HUMANS
AND THE FATE OF THEIR ANIMALS
A couple of editions ago we posted a note about a guy named Apollo, a “senior sweetheart.” His description read, “Apollo is a handsome mixed breed boy who weighs 62 pounds, is 10+ years old and is not neutered.  Owner admitted she has never taken him to a vet, though did just before surrendering to get a rabies shot. He has a mellow personality, is submissive, well-mannered, calm and gentle.”
In previous editions, we also have posted this paragraph about the Mesquite Animal Shelter: “Our shelter is critically overfull and we are in desperate need of folks to adopt or rescue.  Dogs continue to stream in the doors daily and there simply is no place to put them all.  Frankly most days we take in more animals than leave.”

This is a situation shared by many shelters in the North Texas sprawl. 
Thursday morning I got a note from a respected and adored foster mom who said she feared Apollo, who was dumped at the shelter on June 8, had already been “euthanized for space.” 
We checked. That was the case. Apollo was killed to make room for the next dog who would be dumped or found roaming and suddenly appear on “the list” at the shelter.
Whatever overloaded shelter a dog or cat is in, the routine is the same: Petting, talking, hugs — those things come to the animals as if they were going somewhere, but they’re really just getting a fatal injection and they die puzzled. 

We have a connection who replied to my question about Apollo. “Being a senior he was at the top of The List. … Volunteers were very upset that he was not given more time in order to find a rescue and foster. For quite some time now our shelter has been critically overfull. Pretty much on a daily basis more cats and dogs come in than leave and it is very disheartening. Rescues are full and people are not adopting as much. Not even our puppies.”

The Contemplation that I suggest is not for the shelter — those people live with laws, restrictions and are face-to-face daily with the irresponsible behavior of other humans.
This is for the people who dump their dogs and cats, the people who just “set ‘em free” on a parking lot or in a park or on a highway. It is not the shelter who kills your dogs and cats, it is YOU who killed them. It’s on your soul. Bless the rescuers, the shelter workers and the people who have to make that “needle decision.” It cannot be easy. It should not happen.
And you people who unload your inconvenient pet burdens in such awful ways...
You don’t deserve animals. Get some help. Your heart isn’t whole.
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