MISSING MILLIE THE BEAGLE; SMALL SHELTERS' ANIMALS; HERCULES & OTHER THOUGHTS

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY FEB. 1-2, 2024 [PetPowellPress] As this is being written, my Office Dog Porche Noel, found in wretched condition on our porch at Christmas in 2009, is snoring and snoozing on a blanket on a rug near my chair.
I find great comfort in her closeness. Our opening item, today, may help you understand why.
You may also feel that special grace of the privilege and blessing of companionship when you look around and see your dogs and cats in the places they belong. Porche's wearing a harness these days because her hind legs got "iffy" during the cold weather and my sharpspouse Martha figured out a way to help her get up and down steps -- the humans steady her with the handle. It's a privilege to assist this member of our family.
REPORT: RESCUED LAB BEAGLE
NAMED MILLIE GOES MISSING….
You see the poster/announcement that was prepared for this dog Millie and distributed online and in the Dallas/:Fort Worth Area. She was last seen in the Dove and Highway 114 area of Southlake, according to the poster.
We learned about this via our longtime tipster, the veteran animal rescuer/advocate Kimberly Jones. The original post from Dallas-Fort Worth Beagle Freedom Project reads, “Sweet Millie was recently liberated from an animal testing laboratory. Despite safeguards and great care, she escaped her foster home. She was wearing a tracking device and we are doing EVERYTHING we can to find her: hiring trackers, hanging posters, setting humane traps, scent-marking, infrared/drone searches, engaging animal control and the fire department.”
According to the post as January drew to a close, “Millie was last seen in Southlake … We know the power of this community and social media, and we need volunteers to hang more posters, expand the search, and if you have drones or cameras, they can make a real impact!
“If you spot Millie, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAP OR CHASE HER. Please NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY or contact us if you can help with the search: Community Engagement 818-382-6500 or [email protected].”
The appeal for help ends with this: “It breaks our hearts to think of Millie alone, scared and hungry. Our search continues and we are committed to bringing her home! Thank you for your support. Please share!” Here’s a link to the Beagle Freedom Project Facebook page.
MORE on lab Beagles in Contemplations…
SMALL SHELTERS STILL HAVE
TRUCKER'S DOG, OTHER ‘PROJECTS’
As you know, there’s a team of rescuers who focus on small shelters and the animals in them. These small shelters are generally overcrowded and underfunded and infrequently visited — geez, sounds like a big city shelter, doesn’t it? Nevertheless our point in this edition is to get the animals into good rescues or good homes.
We’re able to write about them because of tips from the 4-Legged Helpers folks. So, to help these animals, call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].
STILL WAITING IS A BIT OF A MIRACLE DOG. His name is Mason though some at the Ferris Animal Shelter call him “Roman.” This is him romping with another dog at the Ferris shelter. He’s a Catahoula/Boxer Mix who was “left behind.”
Here’s the story from our tipsters: “CUTE! CUTE! CUTE!  I have never seen a dog so much loved as being the best dog EVER per the animal shelter staff …Sadly no one knows his actual name. He was apparently lost by a trucker at the Love’s Travel Stop in Hutchins on I-45.  This was months ago now. The trucker did not leave his name or number with anyone.  We posted this teddy bear on numerous sites but could not find his original owner.
“The shelter staff believe he is house-trained and is definitely kennel trained!  They said he adores all other dogs and they use him as the “helper” or tester dog when new dogs come in.  They tell us he is SO well-behaved.  Comes out into yard.   Does his business then follows them around for a bit then returns himself to the kennel.  We think maybe he is thinking this i s like a truck cab.  Please help save him!!!!!  Very special.  Very loving and so sweet!!!”
We’ve mentioned this former Glenn Heights dog Joey before, too. He’s 2 or 3 years old, weighs 56 pounds and was originally in the Glenn Heights animal shelter, but when a euthanasia date was set for him, he was rescued and moved.
That is some face, isn't it!
You will not meet a more lovable guy than Joey! He is everything a sweet dog should be.  Loves nothing better than being next to his person or people.  He looks at people with puppy dog live in his eyes.  Calm. Loving.”
FARRAH & MILO also wait in the small shelter in Hutchins, according to the report. The bio reads: “Possibly Pocket Pointer Mix? Rat Terrier Mix?  •  Hutchins TX• Baby Female & Baby Male. Approximately 5-6 months …
These precious babies were found out and about literally starving to death. They are incredibly sweet, and very deserving!!!  Not very big. Can easily be held. … They only weigh 19 and 26 pounds.”
Again, to volunteer to help these dogs or any dogs or cats on the radar for these dedicated small-shelter monitoring animal advocates/rescuers,
call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].
MEANWHILE, THE ADORABLE FACE
OF A DOG WAITING FOR A HOME
This is the face of Hercules. He may not be a Roman god, but he is a good lookin’ dog!
Reliable Mesquite Animal Shelter volunteer dog-writer Debra Chisholm reports that Hercules is not Roman but he was “roamin’.” He is an American Pit Bull “with some Catahoula in the mix” who arrived as a stray on Jan. 23. At a year old, he weighs 65 pounds and has been neutered.
Debra writes, “ He has the most beautiful merle coloring. He walks OK on a leash but has a very strong pull. Leash-training would be a great idea. Hercules likes treats and takes them nicely. 
“A citizen found him and kept him overnight before bringing him to the shelter and reported that he took a long nap and wanted to stay close to her.  He was OK with her three dogs. 
“Hercules is a friendly youngster, affectionate, gives kisses and wants to cuddle.  He's a real love bug.  He appears to have been taken care of well. 
“This playful, tail-wagging boy is more than ready to leave the shelter life behind and find his forever home.”
And Debra, a veteran at assessing shelter dogs, their needs and behavior, writes, “All dogs need appropriate decompression time, separation from other animals and patience during the time of adjustment.  This will be a loyal and devoted companion to some fortunate person or family.  Will you consider helping Hercules by networking or tagging at [email protected], typing in the subject line TAG, ID 55150411.  Our shelter is critically overcrowded and we could use some good adoptions and rescues."
Use Hercules’ ID #55150411 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 email rescues@ cityofmesquite.com.
You can see many more Mesquite adorable adoptables by going to the shelter’s site HERE
That’s dogs and cats — plenty of both, you know. The Mesquite staffers and volunteers hustle constantly to get animals into homes and rescues.
Cats? We featured the fantastic face of Katness in our previous edition. For this edition we put the spotlight on Ariel (#54894988). She’s 2 years-and-a-month old and came into the shelter on December 5. You can meet her in the Mesquite Animal Services Conference Room. [LARRY NOTE: As a veteran observer of the intellectual abilities of cats, it does not surprise me ever to find that cats have been assigned to a Conference Room. They often add a lot to a discussion of local, regional and global situations — with a calm, cat style, of course.] The beautiful Ariel is a small girl who is one of those extraordinarily rare felines, a Domestic Shorthair Mix. [LARRY ASIDE: We’re still waiting to hear back from our “Committee on Rarity” about this “rare feline” designation for Domestic Shorthairs. May prove to be a myth. Our committee is composed of  two dogs, two bobcats, , a possum, a chupacabra and, from Southeast Arkansas, The Fouke Monster, a noted philosopher. A skunk serves as the tiebreaker if needed in the voting process. Ooops, I think I typed part of a novel into this aside. Beg your pardon. It’s this new keyboard.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
THE FATES OF ANIMALS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
This has to do with the early life of Millie the Missing Beagle — not a direct connection, but a story that relates to the system from which she came.
Decades ago a guy I knew who’d graduated from dental school told me that Beagles were used as “teaching” implements. “Beagles are great lab dogs,” he told me. And, that theory of using Beagles in lab experiments and training continues to haunt me to this day. There have been, of course, many efforts through the years to outlaw using animals for lab experiments and medical training. Here’s a story from 2022.  You can google a lot of these stories of despair and rescue regarding lab animals. I’m not going to compare lab animals to the dogs and chickens used in dogfighting and cockfighting but sometimes the results are just as fatal. …
What a depressing topic. Sorry I brought it up.
Check with the Texas Humane Legislation Network to see if you can help Texas become a kinder state when it comes to animals. Sometimes when people are kind to animals, they also may become kind to their fellow humans. Aw, heck, that’s just too much to ask, isn’t it.
—- Offer ideas and solutions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put ‘SAVE ‘EM ALL; LOVE ONE ANOTHER’ in the subject line. —-