ReadLarryPowell.com

HOW COOL IS A CAT? WE GET A HINT FROM A DOG AS SUMMER TAKES OVER...

Our focus this searing weekend in June is "Advice From Cats."
 They are known for their warmth but
they are, indeed, cool.
 If you've been following the news, "cool" would be a good thing to have around.

Turn your attention from political matters and the eyeball-shrinking summer heat. Think about napping. Get your pillow out of the refrigerator, turn the lights off and cuddle the pillow while watching a cool movie as the AC fights off summertime.
Wait. Better save that for immediately after after you finish reading this edition of our long-running weekend feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.

What are you doing, by the way, to keep your cats and dogs "cool"? Though, of course, most cats will confide that they don't really think dogs can be as cool as cats.
"A cat's cool comes with the feline DNA," my personal dog Porche Noel told me, then she alleged, "My DNA, for example, is pure and without personality inflextations." [LARRY SIDE: She smiled when she said that, so I think she was just kidding me about the word "inflextations." It's not real. Dogs will kid you.]

What you see here for this weekend are photos from the household of Cats, Dogs, harpistfunspouse Martha and her cranky husband who can tune a guitar but that's about it. Why would the husband be cranky? It's either the heat or this confession: The scientist that created my experimental DNA in a Martian lab failed to remove the cranky gene from the finished Earthlings DNA. It ran in the family.
Odd human thoughts aside, this edition features the phrequently photographed -- frequently fotogaphed? -- but rarely exhibited Esme.
One name only. Martha named her in honor of a star of the 1978 motion picture comedy Foul Play. The lead couple was portrayed by Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn, but the key character role of Esme the snake was portrayed by Shirley Python. You can look it up via IMDB (International Movie Database).

Back to the photos of the napping cat.

That first photo is Esme on a big thick dogbed that is, now and then occupied by a large fellow named Dudley the Angel. I caught her napping on it Friday morning -- it's in the path of a fan that blows a cool breeze down the well-air-conditioned hallway into the bedroom. 
When she saw me snapping her slumberphoto, she got up and quickly moved about 5 feet to her left to a point right behind Martha's recumbent bicycle, Pedal Pusher.
As you can see via my poor photography Esme is a Torbie, i.e., a Tortie and a Tabby combo.
My office cat, William, is a Tabby. Esme is a front porch feral kitten we kept in 2012. 
They may be kin. But don't jump to conclusions. Cousins? Maybe.

While Esme showed up in a front-porch feral litter at our house in 2012, William, then only a
few months old, didn't wander up to watch me paint the house until 2018. We know for a fact that Esme's never had kittens. We only know that William didn't father any kittens after a quick visit to his new vet while the paint was still drying on the house in 2018.

You see, though, that as Esme likes to crash on a big, thick dog bed in the bedroom, William likes to flop on the other big, thick dog bed near the TV in the living room. 
Two cool cats with tendencies to catnap. Wait. It's more than a tendency. It's a gift. They have a talent for catnapping. The humans have a word for this: "envy."
This penultimate photo is one i snapped of Esme and William sauntering through the kitchen toward Martha's office.

William runs  the famed International Cool School For Office Cats in his spare time. It keeps him in
cat treats.
This is William Powell at work in my office -- at
the other end of the house from Martha's office.
William isn't just cool -- he's Office Cat Cool.
[DEAR READERS: Send us photos of your slumbering critters and the stories of why you love them. That email address is [email protected]. If readlarrypowell.com wins Lotto Texas on Saturday, we'll pay you $25 for the photos and info. If there is no winning ticket, you won't get diddly. But failure to win will keep me awake nights (I'll already be up with insomnia anyway) trying to figure out why I can't pick lucky numbers in my home state. Insomnia has many irritants.]


IT IS TIME TO GATHER THE FORCES FOR A NEW GROUNDBREAKING?

[EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY JUNE 27-28, 2024 PetPowellPress] Just about every day of the week that isn’t a holiday we get emails about animals on the clocks while crowded into the big and small shelters all over the area.
It’s a rotten, so-far-unsolvable situation that, though it concerns many people, appears to be ignored by multitudes.
Everyday you, also, Dear Readers, may get a load of emails with the opportunities to help animals on the brink of death at the hands of a human who is paid by taxpayers to do that job….Are the shelters too small? Are the hearts of the residents too small?
Do I want my tax-dollars financing the needless death of animals?
As I was opening animal emails this week I wondered if the City of Dallas might have figured out a way to expands it’s animal-care facility and, indeed, get that national recognition it once desired to get as the premier animal care organization among American’ cities. Did that bond issue proposal fail last fall? I looked for the result online and couldn’t find it — might not have asked Google the right question. I'll keep trying as you read along.
In a moment of daydreaming I went back nearly 20 years. My brain works like that — a slight hint of a happy moment in the past and I’m traveling there at light speed.
Here’s where I landed: In November of 2004 I was one of the spectators on a big ol’ lot at Westmoreland and I-30 when then-Mayor Laura Miller, shovel-in-hand, led the ground-breaking ceremony for what we were calling “the new shelter.”
You may not remember this, but the old shelter was adjacent to the Dallas Zoo and it was a small, smelly, dark and dank place with limited interest in reacting favorable to the animal advocacy community. It was, basically, a “processing
facility” for eliminating unwanted, stray or surrendered dogs and cats. Irony? Across the fence, the Dallas Zoo worked to help save entire animal species.
Back to the gathering on that lot next to I-30 at Westmoreland. Why were we there? Because the city’s dedicated animal advocates had bonded and “gone political” to influence/lead the right people both in office and out of office to support building the shelter that now exists at 1818 N. Westmoreland — just 10 minutes (if the traffic is rolling) — west of busy, energy-filled, money-making Downtown Dallas.
On Nov. 8, 2004, I wrote a report about this gathering for the folks who clicked into readlarrypowell.com. I’m repeating some of those impressions of the event today. Please read on. It was a really nice day in Dallas.
The story read: "Lots of folks turned out for the event, including virtually the entire staff of Dallas Animal Services and their director Kent Robertson who, at the urging of Mayor Laura Miller, got a nice round of applause for the hard work they do under trying circumstances.
“The mayor also praised the various animal groups and supporters that had, through determination and polite arm- twisting, persuaded the city to build a state-of-the-art shelter and adoption center. She cited Skip Trimble, Fred Brodsky, Andy Allen and others from the hardworking Dallas Animal Shelter Commission. Elaine Munch of the Metroplex Animal Coalition came in for a round of praise, as did the faithful rescuers and animal fans who make up the coalition.”
[LARRY ASIDE: You see a few names in the list that have been stilled by the passage of time. Their hard work, powerful souls and love for animals survive in the hearts of many rescuers and advocates who have come along after them — or who walked that walk with them two decades ago.]

I also reported that “there were several dogs there, too, including some darling rascals who are among the dogs one-
woman rescue unit Tawana Couch has pulled out of the city pounds and turned into very charming and adoptable dogs.  The dogs didn't applaud, but, hey, ‘clapping’ wasn't on their list of things to do today.” [LARRY NOTE: Tawana is still hustling to get animals out of Dallas so their lives can be saved and made wonderful in cities in other parts of the nation. Contact the SFCA -- the Society For Companion Animals -- at this LINK.]
After watching this groundbreaking, I wrote, “Look, let’s just admit it -- there was a lovefest on a big spot of bare ground where Oak Cliff and West Dallas are separated by a freeway. You don’t see a lovefest in Dallas all that often. It was a pleasure to be there and a wonder to behold.”
Local dignitaries participated in this great groundbreaking. I reported, "Council member Dr. Elba Garcia was there. I’ve never heard her give a speech when she didn’t cite the importance of education -- I'm with her on this issue. She did it again at the groundbreaking, citing how the new shelter will help educate Dallas residents about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets and taking care of them, too. (Once, at a literacy event in West Dallas, I watched her keep a few hundred kids spellbound as they listened to her own story of her pursuit of education and career. Heck, a few adults were spellbound, too.)”
[LARRY ASIDE: Yes, this was a city-wide celebration/groundbreaking. You could look at each shovel of dirt and already see the promise of the construction of a better future for the animals of Dallas. Perhaps, by influence, animals in other cities, too. That might be daydreaming,

but sometimes daydreams come true.]

For that decades-ago edition of readlarrypowell.com, I also wrote that “It was simply a great thing to see the groundbreaking for this shelter. Dallas has taken a step toward a more humane approach to animals. And that means we’re a kinder place than we were yesterday.
“I’d rather my town be thought of as a ‘kind city’ than a city that is tough on both man and beast. This town is big enough to be kind to animals.
“Years and years ago, Mayor R.L. Thornton advised the civic leaders of Dallas to ‘keep the dirt flyin’. Finally, we’ve got the dirt flyin’ for the new animal shelter. It’s a beautiful day in Dallas.”
The “new” Dallas Animal Services Shelter & Adoption Center opened in either late 2006 or early 2007 — I can’t pinpoint the date right now. Email me at [email protected] if you know.
The "new shelter" has been full of unwanted dogs and cats for a while now. Spay & Neuter and take care of your animals properly — three non-fatal ways to cut down on the number of animals in a city shelter.
When ground was broken for the “new” shelter in 2004, the population of Dallas was 1.2 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And now it’s pushing 1.3 million. And all the new residents apparently brought fertile dogs and cats that they set free — because, surely t people already living in Dallas were spaying and neutering their animals and keeping them lovingly confined to households and safe yards. Right? Yes, I wisecrack now and then.
Here’s the link for a report I titled “Good Day for a Groundbreaking.”
We've also got a link to the Dallas Animal Services pages where you can click your way to adorable, available dogs and cats that will stand a better chance of surviving in Texas if you’ll adopt them rather than let them try their luck in the care of Big Ol’ Dallas, the city that named it’s airport “Love”
Click on this link where you’ll see “ADOPT” and click there and you’ll be sent immediately to a place where you can navigate to adoptable dogs and cats. We’ve used some Dallas shelter dogs and catds to illustrate this edition. You'll have to go to the website to see their full bios -- and how to adopt them.
Now, once again, anybody remember what happened to last fall’s bond proposal to finance building a larger, more modernly efficient animal shelter in Dallas. I went looking for the result online but only found examples of moaning and groaning. Maybe the newcomers to town would like to pitch in and get that new shelter built — perhaps in honor of the hardworking people who got the “old” shelter built nearyly a quarter of a century go. That's a lot of dogs and cats in human years.

— Offer ideas and hope by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] make that subject line read “Save ‘em ALL!”

A DOG FROM A 'CAMPING AREA?; SMALL SHELTERS HAVE ADORABLES READY; THE OFFICE CATS' TALES

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY JUNE 26-27, 2024 [PetPowellPress] As the midweek arrives and begins to wane, we present some notes about animals and even about people. Read on. Send no money to this site — we’d just blow it on snacks.
SOME SMALL-SHELTER ANIMALS
LINGERING IN THE APPEALS
I can’t remember how long I’ve been seeing appeals for these particular dogs. Weeks. Maybe months. They’re in small shelters with the lingering curse of small-town shelters: Rare walk-through human traffic seeking an adoptable animal.
But these animals have advocates — the folks with the 4-Legged Helpers bunch. These animal advocates try to get more people into the shelters and more animals out of them. It’s a mission of love. D
Should you want to help these particular animals or get involved with the organization, call 214-949-2726 or 97e2-897-4926 or email [email protected]..
Today we’re citing 3 thanks to the hard-working advocates — and if you’re a 501c3 rescue, these folks can help arrange transportation for the dogs, too.
That first dog is in the Wilmer Shelter. He’s Shadow, a Lab described as a “great young dog” who may be less than a year old. Purebred, the description says. He’s underweight at 50 pounds — he was “out and about on his own” when he was found and brought to Wilmer.
Shawn and Suzie are possible siblings, a couple of Black Mouth Cur mixes found east of Ferris.
The bio reads, “They were found out and about in a very rural area of the county all by themselves. Known dumping area for every kind of dog you can imagine.  And these are such great dogs it defies reasoning if that is indeed how they got there.   Both are young dogs and incredibly sweet.  Very loving.  Available individually or together.”
[LARRY ASIDE: There are more availables and there will be more dogs in the small shelters. Email [email protected] and ask to be put on the mailing list. You may know someone looking for a new dog to add to the family — there are, after all, any number of reasons to adopt dogs and cats, the first being “love.”]
AN ODD NOTE SURFACES AMID
THE MANY ANIMALS IN NEED…
I can’t really explain how readlarrypowell.com got this note about Cowboy Franky — might have been on animal advocate Jeremy Boss’ Facebook page HERE.
It'll eventually become clear to me, but never mind all that. We have a dog to help. What caught my attention was, appropriately, the headline: “COWBOY FRANKY GETS NO EMAILS!” And the second line which read, “Cowboy Franky was found near a homeless encampment in Dallas.”
And the third line: “Sadly, someone spray painted him with bright fuchsia paint! The spray paint is finally wearing off!”
The note also read that "Word on the street is that it's a sign used in dog fighting but this sweet boy loves to cuddle!”
He’s a year old and weighs 46 pounds and, the note read, “This boy has a great temperament and has never met a stranger and is great with other dogs!”
Jeremy, as you may recall, is the President of the Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission. And the combo of advocacy and the Cowboy Franky photo is what lead us to Elise Bissell, president of the Dallas Street Dog Advocates. — that’s  dsda.org.
And dsda.org is where you can apply to meet and maybe adopt Franky. Click on www.dsda.org/adopt and you can see the official bio of Cowboy Franky — he’s described as a “Male Plott Hound Boxer” who is “an adorable, sweet brindle boy.”
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED NOTES FROM NOWHERE
From nowhere? Well, except for this note. It’s from right here at my desk. My Senior Office Cat William Powell texted me, “Crop the nose photo and make another pitch for the fun-loving nature of a veteran office cat. We always see nose-to-nose on editing, right?” William feels the same way I do about usage of the needless punctuation known as "The Oxford Comma." We ain't British. So, there you have it. That’s why you see that photo again. William also suggested that I post a second photo promoting the intellectual nature of office cats. So, there it is. Senior Office Cat William explaining the concept of “window on the world” to Junior Office Cat Stevie Ray.
Both boys showed up at our old house in a notoriously fertile 75224 Zip Code in Dallas. It's an area that periodically shows up in the list of "must preach the gospel of spay and neuter" notices.  [Back to the painting: William, close to six or seven months old at the time, stopped by to watch as I stood on a ladder and, without hurting myself, painted the wood trim on the house. When he saw my skills, he decided to stay. I believe he said, “He’s OK on a ladder, but he’s bound to roll off that roof someday. I don’t want to miss that.”]
Junior Office Cat Stevie Ray Treeboy? Got him as a nearly handful of kitten — he was clinging to a flimsy mimosa limb about 6 feet off the ground and I just reached over, plucked him off the limb and we’ve been buddies ever since. He was raised in the guest-room by Senior Office Cat William Powell. William asked me to note that he will train your kitten in the art of office diplomacy and skills for a substantial fee.
— YOU’VE ALL GOT TALES OF CATS AND DOGS, SEND ‘EM TO [email protected] (just the stories, not the animals — WE’RE ALL FULL UP HERE!). —-

FOR A HOT DAY IN JUNE, WE HAVE ANIMALS TO RESCUE AND MUSIC TO HEAR....

EDITION OF TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY JUNE 25-26 [PetPowellPress] Altogether now, let’s do something good for animals we don’t even know — yet. The opportunities abound because caged dogs and cats are available all over North Texas. Why is that?
Easy now. We don’t use that language when referring to the *!?!&*@86^^9s who hurt them, dump them, “set them free” or hand them over to be killed in overcrowded shelters. Second worst thing they do is break the hearts of these animals.
Here are some examples of animals needing the good humans on this planet — you know who you are. Bless your overburdened souls and overburdened rescue budgets and …well, you get the drift. And we’ll get to that Dallas guy in a minute. First we cite Campbell in Fort Worth fellow.
THE DEAF DOG? READY
TO GO WITH LOVING HUMAN!
You can see a lot of amazing stories via the internet — and a lot of opportunities to save an animal.
We begin with this story of Campbell who appeared in a message with the familiar Fort Worth shelter names Paige A. King and Ginger D. Leach “and 2 others at Fort Worth Animal Care & Control.”
The message was about Campbell, i.e, #56126687. He’s been in the shelter since the 13th, so that makes the opening sentence in the post particularly upsetting to anybody who has ever loved a dog. The passage reads, “No one has come yet! He’s definitely deaf. I just put the leash on his neck and he hopped up to go out. He’s a nice old boy.”
“A NICE OLD BOY” is such a wonderful way to describe a dog, a cat or even a human. It’s a wonderful summary.
The earlier note from these shelter folks reads, “Does anyone recognize this old man?? I have an address! Please share! Campbell 56126687 is an 11 + yr old male, unaltered.
“He’s very hard of hearing or deaf. He was sound asleep and I had to touch him (with the leash at a distance, safety) and it def startled him.
"FOUND 6/13 at 3909 German Pointer Way 76123.”
Fort Worth Shelter Adoptions are closed on Tuesdays. But you can email [email protected]. Want to foster this “nice old boy”? Email [email protected]. Rescuers should email [email protected].
This “nice old boy” is at the Fort Worth Animal Care & Control Chuck Silcox Adoption Center at 4900 Martin St. in ZIP area 76119 on the southeastern side of Fort Worth. Very accessible.
A DALLAS SHELTER DOG’S
EARS INSPIRE SOME ANGER
You probably know of animal rescuer and advocate Jeremy Boss,  the “President at Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission.
On Tuesday Morning, Jeremy posted the story (and some rage) about this dog Lobo, currently ID# 1218011 at Dallas Animal Shelter and Adoption Center.
That’s a photo we clipped from a video at the shelter. And here’s Jeremy’s first posting on Tuesday.
He wrote, “LOBO’S OWNERS CUT THE TOP OF HIS EARS OFF.”
Then Jeremy added, "I can’t even describe the anger I felt when I saw this. He is broken and shut down and who knows what else has happened to him .
“I am so angry and wish that I could be face-to-face with the people that thought it would be cute to cut the tip of his ears off like this , this is pure animal cruelty, and so wrong. This is not even a breed that is supposed to have their ears clipped. This is pure evil to do something like this.
“I’m making this post in hopes that this dog can be shown some kind of compassion and love instead of sitting in a shelter and waiting for his day to die."
While the is moving enough, Jeremy’s note closes with, “I cannot tell you how much animal rescue can make you hate humans. I am still so sick about seeing this.”
At the shelter, Lobo is #1218011 and he’s listed as 2 years old and 56 pounds.
About a half-hour after Jeremy posted that Tuesday morning note, he added this one: “Lobo was picked up as a stray. Some stupid-ass sick [BLEEP] still walks the streets while Lobo will pay with his life. THIS IS SO BACKWARDS! 2024 and the human race has become NEANDERTHALS! These SUBHUMANS HAVE to be STOPPED! Again, the innocent suffers while the guilty walks and will continue their torture of the innocent.”
The link to Lobo’s site on the DAS catalogue of “waiting” dogs and cats is HERE.
I clipped that photo of Lobo and the adoption info off the site. It is there that you can click on the adoption button. And you can also see a “bio” reportedly “written by” Lobo.
[LARRY ASIDE: We have no photos of anyone who mutilated the dog nor any explanation of the act. Jeremy may have come closest when he typed “SUBHUMANS.” Being in the Dallas shelter and getting out alive can be a challenge. Darnit.]
FROM THE OL’ HOMETOWN
A COUPLE OF BROTHERS


Each morning I’ll take a look at the ol’ hometown newspaper where I started my journalism career in the summer of 1965, the Texarkana Gazette. On Tuesday morning I saw, once again that The Gazette makes room for animals that need homes.
Thus you see here the photo of Charlie and Archie, the Texarkana Animal League’s Pets of the Week.”
The TAL provided this info for The Gazette:
“Charlie and Archie are a bonded pair of brothers who are seeking a forever home. The dogs are approximately 2 years old and neutered. The duo are very shy and sweet and current on their shots and heartworm prevention. Charlie and Archie are microchipped and their joint adoption fee is $500. For more information, contact the Texarkana Animal League at 877-525-4825, 903-949-6728 or [email protected]. (Photo courtesy of TAL)”
And here’s a LINK TO THE TEXARKANA ANIMAL LEAGUE.
 CONTEMPLATIONS
AN ASSORTMENT WITH MUSIC

Bless those animal fans in Texarkana — it’s a twin city, you know. Marketing motto once was “Twice As Nice.” Biggest city in the Ark-La-Tex and in the 4-States Area. More nicknames for Texarkana than you’d find in an big league baseball locker room. …
Mowed the front yard in the noon-time heat Monday. There’s an area that used to have grass and weeds growing on it, but not even the weeds are surviving this year. Whenever I shoved the mower across that 20-foot long by lawnmower-wide strip of exposed soil, it looked like I was creating a West Texas Dust Devil. Yep, aiming the sprinkler at that dry earth later today. …
MY FUNSPOUSE MARTHA says I may be living too much in the past. That’s OK. I like the music. Lately I’ve been asking my office assistant Alexa to play songs by Spanky & Our Gang, the band born in the previous century. My fave number is Sunday Will Never Be The Same. The vocalist is Elaine ‘Spanky’ McFarlane who was so uplifting in the era that, her online bio says, she was “The Queen of Sunshine Pop.” You can read more about Spanky and Our Gang and their recordings by clicking on THIS LINK.  Sometimes I miss the ‘60s — and, then, sometimes I don’t, but mostly I do. Still, this week, I passed up buying two scholarly studies of the politically busy, anti-war ‘60s. So, Alexa and I agree to listen, once again, to Sunday Will Never Be The Same. Then maybe I’ll hunt down something in my memory by Country Joe & The Fish. Or maybe get Alexa to play Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel. Or, maybe we'll ponder the ‘60s later. I’m working my way through the ‘50s this week. I’m kidding.
—- Offer Soothing Music or HAPPY NAMES FOR DOGS by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “TIME TRAVELERS ARE A THING OF THE PAST’ in the subject line. —-

FOR THIS EDITION: TEMPS, DALLAS CRITTERS, BIG D TRAFFIC, ASSORTED MONDAY ITEMS

EDITION OF JUNE SWEATYFOURTH, ER, JUNE 24-25, 2024 [PetPowellPress] Morning forecasts suggest two constants for a Monday in a Texas summer — lots of traffic en route too and from Dallas and it’s too hot to plow. My office cat William Powell concurs with the next opening clause.
It might also be too hot to mow, but a Texas boy with a Texas Rangers baseball cap and quick access to an icebox and air-conditioning ought to be able to handle a small front yard.
I’m buying some goats to take care of the back yard. Relax, goatpeople, I’m kidding! Kidding — another goat word.
If cows are calving, are goats kidding? Yes, I was not raised on a farm. I was raised in a neighborhood where the gravel streets (when I was about 10) were suddenly covered with city asphalt. Whew! The auto-speller caught the typo I’d made in “asphalt.” See ITEM II next. Oh, and to my knowledge William has never seen a goat in person.
ITEM II
I like Roman neurals. Er, Roman numerals. I can’t remember where I was going with this paragraph. Let’s just move on to ITEM III.
ITEM III
HOW MY BRAIN IS CONDITIONED
I’m scrolling through a ton of e-mails Monday morning and I see a subject line that reads: “EXTENDED:L ONE MORE DAY TO SAVE BIG…” and I immediately think it’s a big dog in Dallas Animal Services. So I click on it and suddenly I realize it’s an advertisement for backyard furniture and anti-mosquito tenting. But, it sure sounded like a lot of desperate animal notes that cross the online threshold, doesn’t it!
I dramatically clicked my way to the Dallas Animal Services site HERE  and found the ADOPT photos posted for Monday. And this is the photo collection that was on the site — a bunch of adorable adoptable canines and one cat with really fascinating eyes. That’s Frankie the Cat, a feline fellow sandwiched between adorable canine Bella and dignified Wolfie.
THESE ARE JUST TWELVE (click on the pictures to make 'em grow) OF THE HUNDREDS of animals waiting for either a home or the needle at Dallas Animal Services.
See ‘em in person at the Dallas Animal Shelter and Adoption Center on Westmoreland at I-30 about 10 minutes west of downtown Dallas. [LARRY ADVICE: Just park in the shelter lot, get out of the car, whistle and yell “Come here, baby” and you’ll be surrounded by dogs and cats who already love you… Perhaps I am enhancing that  potential experience a little bit, but give it a chance.  Oh, most of the critters already were running loose in Dallas -- that's how they wound up there in the first place -- running loose and being dumped. But, if you have a heart that can belong to an animakl, you do get to go inside  the shelter— it’s a privilege — and ask about animals and the adoption fees. Might be a day or a dog or cat is available without a fee or at least at a bargain price!]
Go to this Dallas Animal Services website and navigate to all sorts of statistics, including one of the great drivers of concern for animals: the euthanasia stats at the big city shelter. [LARRY ASIDE:There are animals who aren’t even in the shelter yet who are going to wind up on death row because there are people who just don’t care and dump their dogs and cats or let ‘em “go stray” all over town. Makes me ashamed of the town I love.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED WANDERINGS…
Is Dallas’ freeway traffic worse than the legendary traffice in Houston? Haven’t been to Houston in a while, but every now and then I’m challenged by Dallas. If roundabouts are so darned good for moving traffic along, why aren’t there more of ‘em on freeways. Is the entirety of LBJ (I.e., 635) a federal interstate highway roundabout for the whole city of Dallas?…
Just a thought (we have low standards for ‘thought’ at readlarrypowell.com): Aren’t roundabouts just a little too “quaint” for an area where drivers-in-a-hurry recently prove that they are armed and dangerous?…
From a kid in small-town Texas about 60 years ago, “Get well soon, Princess Anne!” In case, Dear Readers, you missed the news stories, assorted outlets have been reporting that King Charles’ sister may have received a concussion over the weekend when’s she was kicked by a horse or when a horse flinched and bopped her noggin. The Princess Royal is a well-know fan of horses. Things happen. I remember as a commoner kid in Texarkana being cautioned by Scout leaders and relatives, “Don’t stand behind the horse.” Two good reasons and one of them is avoiding being kicked. The other one is, well, not a kick, but it’s still a darned good reason.
—- Offer horse advice or people cautions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “HOLD ONTO THE SADDLE HORN, SLIM” in the subject line. —

TAKING HOUSEHOLD STEPS TO HELP THE DOGS PAWS?

For this hot-asphalt edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, we call into service our veteran photography models. 
The mission is to help people protect their dogs' paws from frying-hot asphalt and cement on the pathways we humans demand. A trot across grass in a water sprinkler's path would be a lot better.
But we can't activate a water sprinkler in our living rooms -- too much electronic equipment to risk it.

So, in pioneering poses for the weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie etc., one of our really smart dogs, the smaller sleeper Porche Noel, said to us, "Throw a blanket on the couch and we'll handle it from there. Just shoot some pictures and don't bother anybody." 

Wendy gave us the "You still here?" attiude.
Our ultra-intelligent Border Collie mix, Dudley the Angel, declared that the floor beneath the ceiling fan "Feels not one bit like a sidewalk or a stretch of asphalt." This is Dudley's second-most comfortable sleeping area in our house." First-most? His big fluffy bed on the bedroom floor from which he keeps an eye on his best human friend, Martha. If she moves, he might just bark. Vigilant fellow. Very devoted to his Martha. [LARRY ASIDE: IF I move, he whispers to one of the cats, "Take care of that -- don't let him near the kitchen or the refrigerator." Yep, his background is keen on herding humans day or night.
]
Now, here are the steps to protect your dogs and cats from the heat of Texas:
1. Give 'em their own TV (if they don't already have one and cable, too). Also, make sure they have reading material. And don't give them a "Clapper" to turn their reading lights on and off -- Clapper does not have a "Paws Model."
2. Create a "Cool Quiet Corner" for them in the living room. Dedicate an entire expensive sofa and an entire air-cooled floor to the animals' paws and backsides.
3. Make sure there is no direct sunlight at morning. Dogs like to sleep late in hot weather. You may have to stand between the dogs and the eastern window and create a Sunny Shield. Because you'll be occupied standing still in the sun, you may want to hire a professional dog-feeder and dog-tender to take up the slack created by your interception of the sun.
4. Do not agree to show the dogs how to run a marathon in a Texas summer. They're just kidding you before they nod off. It's a gag that works every time and there you are outside in the yard, alone, in your running shoes and your Midnight Jammies repeatedly setting off the motion-activated light as you practice your fast starts in your nighttime shorts and shoes. You can hear the giggling from inside the cool house -- but you can't hear another human opening the door. You may hear more laughter, however. [LARRY NOTE: That is my Office Cat William Powell on the living room casual spot he shaes with the dogs. He suggests that readers be informed that he had nothing to do with the content of this edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap -- "I was asleep at the time," he explained.]

[DEAR READERS: None of the preceding can be verified, except that Wendy Louise and Porche Noel love to sack out on the couch and Dudley the Angel enjoys a floor nap. Send photos of your slumbering animals and their tales of adoration to [email protected] and we'll celebrate them in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap year-round.]

PEOPLE WHO WORK HARD FOR ANIMALS; LOVING ANIMALS; AN ARREST STORY

EDITION OF FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2024 [PetPowellPress] Constant drumbeat in the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Bulging Shelters Area. Every city’s and county’s shelters and all rescue groups are loaded with animals nobody wants yet.
Oh, brother, do we have a Contemplations for you today. I’m saving it to last because I possibly will have cooled down by then and you don’t need it to start your reading day on our critter-friendly site.
ONE OF THE BLESSINGS
TEXAS/OKLA SHARE…
For years we’ve been writing about an animal rescuer, Terry Lynn Fisher, who works to save animals in the area of her hometown in far western Oklahoma, a place called Burns Flat.
This has been a rough year so far for Terry Lynn — lots of dumped puppies and injured animals and wandering “pets.” And, yet, Terry Lynn keeps on goin’ even if her latest email came with the subject line: “Some days, it’s honestly too much…”
Take a look at that photo Terry Lynn sent. Now read her note: “This momma — She still has milk, so there are babies somewhere.
“I’ve tried to slow down on taking more in. I have no room and I’m scheduling surgeries in between dog issues. When they called me on finding this one I said I couldn’t take anymore.
“Then, they sent me the picture.
“She was dumped in the middle of nowhere. She is starving to death. Sweet momma girl.
“My boys hurried and rigged up a kennel-like area to put her in. …I’ll go feed small meals every so many hours. I need help     She needs soft food. She needs a kennel. She needs vetting. “I’m in tears over this momma dog. My heart is honestly breaking. If anyone can help please let me know.”
Email Terry Lynn at [email protected].
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE
THE SUPPLY OF ADORABLES
CONTINUES TO ARRIVE
As you may recall, the Mesquite Animal Shelter is one of those “really full” facilities in the Metroplex. And the “special” for the month is dog adoptions are just $25. Twenty-five bucks will add to your life and give a dog a new life.
This Mesquite dog is Sapphire and we got her story from our longtime dog bio-writin’ pal Judi Brown.
Judi opens with, “Can’t you just tell by looking at these photos that Sapphire is sweet? The shelter has her listed as a mixed breed. One time my Dog scanner said Doxie mix and another time it came up with Patterdale Terrier. Her front legs look like she’s got some Basset in her also.
“She’s just a sweet mix of love! She’s two years old and weighs 30 pounds. She came to the Mesquite Shelter on 6/14 as a stray. Because she was so timid and nervous it was hard to get a true reading on her personality. There’s no doubt she has a lot of potential and is very sweet. At this point, she would do best with a laid-back family with older children. She needs time to decompress and to build trust.”
Regarding a trip to the shelter yard, Judi wrote, “Because it was a warm day she wanted back in the shelter. She was telling me she doesn’t like the Texas heat and wants to be a mostly inside dog.” Sapphire is #56139666 when you contact the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
Judi also provided bio of this guy Rusty and wrote, “I don’t know if it would insult Rusty’s manhood to be called gorgeous, but that’s what he is! He needs to be groomed, and then would be even more stunning. Rusty is a 2 to 3 year old mostly Australian Shepherd that weighs 41 pounds. He was brought into the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 6/14 by one of our officers. I don’t know whether he was wandering for a while, or if he just was not well taken care of, but he had tangles, mats and some burrs. He was very patient being brushed out…even his tail! … He didn’t seem to know the sit command and was not interested in toys or balls. He did stay close, but he didn’t come to me except for one time. At that time he did let me pet him. I get the feeling he hasn’t had much socialization and doesn’t know how to accept love. …You can tell from his furry body, that he would be very soft and cuddly. With the amount of hair, he would not do well in the Texas heat and would need to be mostly an inside dog.”
His shelter ID is #56138626 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283or email [email protected].
There are many other animals — dogs and cats — waiting for homes and humans at the Mesquite Animal Shelter. See them by clicking on this LINK .
For example, this is Annie (#56128968), a Rottie/terrier mix. And that cat? Little guy doesn’t have a name yet — answers to #55875653. Just past being 2 months old, he’s a little guy who came into the shelter on May 7.
And he’s currently in the quarantine section of the shelter. Waiting for someone to un-quarantine him. He’s “rescue only” right now. Could change if the right human comes to see him.
CONTEMPLATIONS
AN ODD CHARGE IN WILLS POINT
This news release came from the hard-working folks at the SPCA of Texas just west of Downtown Dallas. The headline on the release reads:
“Wills Point Animal Control Officer Arrested
as a Result of SPCA of Texas ACI Unit Investigation”.
Then, the news release read, “Michael Goggans, Animal Control Officer for the City of Wills Point, Charged with Animal Cruelty, Arrested.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Get ready to grit your teeth as you read this SPCA report.]
The release says that on Wednesday “an arrest warrant was issued for Michael Bradford Goggans, City of Wills Point Animal Control Officer. He was taken into custody and charged with Cruelty to Non-livestock Animals – Torture, which is a 3rd degree felony, and booked into the Van Zandt County Jail with a $50,000 bond.”
Keep reading. The SPCA report continues, “On Wednesday and Thursday, June 12 and 13, 2024, the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office responded to separate reports that an unaltered male, mixed breed dog named Rip, who belonged to Michael Goggans, was running at large and playfully jumping up on the neighbors.
“On the 13th, a sheriff’s deputy advised Goggans that he needed to keep the dog confined to his property and warned him that he would be issued a citation if he continued to allow the dog to run at large. 
“Goggans responded to the deputy’s warning by informing him of his intent to kill the dog. He contacted the deputy again to inform him that he had killed it and that the dog was in the front yard of his residence.”
[LARRY ASIDE: That is awful enough so far…Read on.]
The news release reads, “Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office personnel immediately contacted the SPCA of Texas Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit who responded to Goggan’s property. Upon arrival, the SPCA Investigator met with Goggans, who identified himself as the Animal Control Officer for the City of Wills Point. He admitted to shooting and killing his dog with a shotgun and using a type of ammunition that is commonly utilized for bird or small game hunting.”
This next part? It’ll make a grown-up cry and want to sit in on the trial. The SPCA release continues:
“SPCA of Texas took the deceased dog into custody and transported it to their facility in Dallas for forensic evaluation. A necropsy was performed on the dog to determine the nature of the dog’s injuries that ultimately caused its death. On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, the forensic evaluation was completed, and the necropsy revealed that the dog was shot in its side from a distance with birdshot ammunition. Multiple tiny pellets entered the dog’s torso and caused the dog to slowly bleed out internally. This act caused unjustifiable pain and suffering to the dog before it succumbed to its injuries.”
[LARRY NOTE: We’re going to take a brief pause to consider what it took to get thedog to this despicable point. Gut shot slowly to death by the guy he probably thought loved him.’]
And there’s this from the release:
“Texas law does not prohibit an individual from euthanizing their own animal; however, it must be done in a humane manner that prevents pain and suffering,” said SPCA of Texas Chief Investigator, Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit, Courtney Burns, CAWA. “Unfortunately, in this case, the evidence shows that the dog suffered greatly at the hands of his owner and without any justifiable reason.”
[LARRY ASIDE: I do not have a photograph of the dog Rip. The SPCA did provide a photo of the accused, but I can’t bear to display the confessed accused’s picture in a website that supports adoration of animals and the people who protect them. My question about the death of Rip the Dog? “Why?”]
The SPCA of Texas, founded in 1938, has a place on its website to “rescue, heal and find homes for animals from cases of cruelty and neglect.” See it at www.spca.org/give.
[LARRY ASIDE: I’m a lot older than the guy accused of shotgunning his own dog. I’ve covered cold-blooded murders; a fatal gunfight over a lcafeteria lady allegedly insulting a second grader in lunch-line at a rural; school — heck, all sorts of man-made mayhem. It’s been a while since I raced out of the newsroom to “get the story.” But, had I been sent to the scene of Rip’s agony, I’d be asking this question: What kind of jerk shoots his own dog? Was he just trying to “teach the dog a lesson”? Note to the District Attorney: Don’t take a plea deal. Have a trial and let the public know the “why” of this dog’s death. Ask the court and jury for the maximum and forbid the defendant from ever being around dogs for the rest of his life. ]
—- Offer answers or prayers by clicking on ‘comment’ below or email [email protected]. —-

HELPING ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PEOPLE AND CONTEMPLATING AN ODD DAY OFF

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY JUNE 20-21, 2024 [PetPowellPress]  I’m typing this well before 3:51 p.m. Texas time when spring gives
up and summer arrives. A person just never gets enough of spring — unless there are too many storms, bad winds, fires and the fave local hockey team and fave local basketball team cough up the playoffs like an ol’ dawg hacks up a bad bite of Aunt Tohmayne’s special picnic sandwich and glares at the person who made it.
Whoa, that’s an ugly image. Let’s just move on.
Oh, that’s my personal dog Porche Noel, glaring at me after I asked her if she’d “like to go to a country picnic in a pasture with cows and goats and human kids collecting ticks.” “Not hardly,” she grrred. That Porche — Delightful City girl, you know.
THE PARVO PUPPY
& THE CHALLENGES
We told oh-so-briefly in an earlier edition of the death of the puppy Tilly — the hardest-hit of three puppies rescued by the wonderful animal people at Trinity GAP Rescue. The GAP rescuers got the trio from the Jacksboro Shelter.
The medical bill for helping these dogs went beyond the $4,000 mark. On Thursday morning we checked with the GAP folks about the pups and the financial situation and got a reply from the founder and guiding light of the non-profit Trinity GAP
Rescue Steffenie Vela.
As you may recall, puppy Tilly was stricken fatally — parvo can do that to a puppy. Steffenie told us Thursday morning that “Levi is doing great and thriving. Cali never developed parvo and has been adopted.”
What of the bill? She says, “We were able to raise the funds for the vet bill with Karen’s help and generous donors.”
And, as our Dear Readers know, Karen is Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com, the organization she and hubby Dennis created in honor of their pup in 2013. They focus on helping animals and animal fans with the vet bills. Read about the moving story at barkleyworld.com.
To ask how you can help the Trinity GAP Rescue mission, email Steffenie at [email protected]  or GAP at [email protected].
You may recall that the GAP Rescue organization evolved from the Euless Trinity High School’s Girls Awareness Program. It has the spirit of youth, the guidance of experience and the love of critters at its core.
And those are six of the many dogs and cats posted for adoption on the Trinity GAP Rescue website. The GAP folks deal with healthy adoptable dogs, too. Here’s the link to clink, er, click: https://trinitygaprescue.org/

[LARRY ASIDE: You can click on that link and see the larger photos or -- maybe -- click on the photos and make 'em grow. Either way, they all need some homes and you can see more of 'em at that clink, er, click site.]
AND NOW SOME FREE
SPAY/NEUTER IN DALLAS
The message of “Spay & Neuter” isn’t anything new, but there are people who haven’t considered it because they’re unaware of programs that help with the expenses. We’re speaking specifically of the great cost-cutting work of the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection.
Arriving in the email was a note about a program designed to help people in 23 Zip Codes in Dallas. The headline on the announcement was “Dallas Free Dog Spay/Neuter Special." [LARRY FYI: My ol’ neighborhood in Zip Code 75244 (in the area where Love Freeway, Polk and Ledbetter all run together in southern Oak Cliff) is among the free zones. And, indeed, we used to see a lot of free-roaming dogs and cats in that area. Save ‘em all, you know? My dog Porche Noel wandered up on our porch there at Christmas in 2009 — she’s was spayed before the new year arrived,
That's a photo of her starving, rasping self on her first trip to the vet -- she'd been so poorly treated by her previous person that it was years before she could bark without nothing but a rasp.]
When you go to THIS LINK, you can see all the ZIP Codes in this program and also the rules and what you’ll get in addition to helping control the unwanted puppy population of Dallas and the free-roaming passionate boy dogs of the city.
The Coalition’s note explains “Free Spays and Neuters for Dogs in 23 Dallas Zip Codes. There is limited availability for large female dogs for this special. Residents living in 23 Dallas ZIP Codes will receive a FREE spay or neuter, 3-Day Pain Combo, Microchip, and rabies vaccine for their dog at any TCAP location.”
And The Coalition says, “This special aims to mitigate pet overpopulation in North Texas by targeting high-intake Zip Codes in Dallas as indicated by Dallas Animal Services.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Human cooperation is key to the success of spaying and neutering — you hardly ever see a dog hiring a cab to take him to the vet “to get these things clipped so I can get some sleep.” Honestly, humans, be responsible and keep puppies from being born just to be killed on a shelter’s process line or in a street or in a bag tossed into a creek.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
EXPLANATIONS AND ANTICIPATIONS
I took Wednesday off. In the more than two decades I’ve been writing this daily report about dogs, cats and the people who save them from the people who won’t, I’ve almost never taken a day off.
Why was I taking a day-long goof-off session?
Because sometime around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, I woke right up thinking about upcoming social engagements, writing responsibilities and medical appointments.
I sat up in the bed with a brain-rattling jolt. And, yes, as I recall dimly, my brain rolled out of my head. It bounced off the comforter onto the floor. Our youngest cat, Hastings (right), always wide-awake on the night shift, slapped the smallish gray-matter orb with his right front paw and went gleefully chasing it down the hall. Two adult cats and an older dog followed him in gleeful pursuit of my rolling brain — a little smaller than a tennis ball and not as densely packed.  
Martha and the other critters maintained their comfortable pre-dawn don’t-bug-me slumber positions. 
Anyway, Doctor, that’s how. I remember waking on Wednesday -- I have no idea how accurate the memory is, but my ears do feel loose, as if the connecting tissue that kept them taut has been removed and I am left thinking while dealing with the echo of a tennis ball rolling on hardwood and bouncing off a wall. I’m lucky I don’t have a brain the size of a 20-pound bowling ball — I’d not only need readjustment surgery but I’d have to pay somebody to fix the hole in the hallway wall.
And that concludes the explanation for why I took Wednesday off — the only thing I did that was routine for me was this: I bought a non-winning Lotto Texas ticket. It is simply IMPERATIVE that I get some new lucky numbers.
— Offer guidance or doubt by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put new lucky numbers in the subject line. —-

SAVING ANIMALS, HELPING PEOPLE -- IT ALL ADDS UP TO GOOD-FOR-THE-HEART WORK....

EDITION OF TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY JUNE 18-19, 2024 [PetPowellPress] Here we are on a Tuesday and moving right along. We’ll get to the “Strawberry Moon” in Contemplations.
First, some animal news and challenges….

THE CHALLENGES
OF PARVO FOR A PUPPY
AN OVERNIGHT UPDATE....

A TOUGH REPORT:  Late last evening we got an update from Trinity GAP Club Rescue's Steffenie Vela about one of these little pups who'd been battling parvo. The note was the awful kind. Steffenie wrote, "Tilly passed.  Her little body could not beat it. She was also ravished with hookworms.  We did all we could."

[LARRY NOTE: Here is the edition from earlier Tuesday evening. It has information about helping Trinity GAP Club Rescue with the expenses. Two dogs are still in the battle. -- Larry.]
The folks with the Trinity GAP Club Rescue in Euless did a good deed and now they’re dealing with puppies with parvo and the price of helping them. Yes, this good deed is continuing because of the Hearts of GAP!

Our pal Karen Lee of barkleyworld.org, a longtime supporter of the Trinity Gap people and their mission, tipped us to this story of 3 little dogs.
And on Tuesday afternoon GAP’s guiding light Steffenie Vela provided this latest report on the three puppies. And we know the names of two of the three dogs: Tilly and Levi.
The report reads, “Levi is doing better but Tilly is struggling. She has to stay in the ER for another day. We are praying for donations. 
“We are struggling right now with vet bills.  It is $1500 per day to keep her there but we are going to do it on faith.  We can’t lose her now.  The third puppy has not tested positive for parvo—YET—but still could contract it so we are holding our breaths…”
You may recall that theTrinity GAP Club is the student-powered pro-animal organization that evolved from the Euless Trinity High School Girls Awareness Program. The GAP Club works closely with the Euless Animal Services folks and other organizations. [LARRY ASIDE: I got the photos from the GAP folks via Karen, but I cannot individually ID them — we’ll work on that and be proud to post their photos and IDs when they’re in better shape.]
GAP Club Rescue volunteered to take this ailing trio from the Jacksboro Animal Shelter a few days ago and work to save their lives. Such a rescue situation is normal-enough in the animal world around here, i.e., angelic people helping angelic people in order to help animals beat the odds in some tough situations..
These are 8-week-old Jack Russell mixes that came down with the dreaded parvo after making the trip from Jacksboro to the Metroplex. More to come. Donations can be made at GAP's website links HERE  or HERE.
GAP’s Facebook page is at this FB LINK. Contact GAP’S guiding light/founder SteffenieVela at [email protected]  or GAP at [email protected] for more info.
[LARRY ASIDE: We know puppies can survive parvo. One of the biggest helps to survival is making sure puppies get all their shots! You can ask any vet, any vet’s staffer, any rescuer and anybody who’s ever pulled a puppy through parvo about the odds and the rewards.]
MEANWHILE, AT THE SPCA,
THERE’S A ‘FELINE FRENZY’
Yep, as we’ve noted recently, June is National Adopt-a-Cat Month. And, as you probably guessed — or already knew — the SPCA of Texas has some cats. And the SPCA is, according to a news release, “proud to partner with World’s Best Cat Litter” — that’s the copyrighted name of the product — to celebrate the 48th annual National Adopt-a-Cat Month.”
What this means is that the World’s Best Cat Litter folks are teaming with the SPCA “to offer free cat and kitten adoptions” through June 24 at the SPCA’s Dallas Animal Care Center, the Ellis County Animal Care Center and in foster.” You not only get a new friend, but you get a free adoption kit “courtesy of Word’s Best Cat Litter,” the news release says. (You can read the entire news release by clicking HERE.   And when you go to www.spca.org you can click on “cats” in the adoptions and you’ll see plenty of adorables from little bitty kittens to a 10-year-old, 7-pound girl named Banana. That's her upper, left. [LARRY SWEARING THE TRUTH: A 10-year-old cat? Barely a teenager in the life of a tenderly adored and properly cared for kitty cat. Personal experience has taught us that.]

CONTEMPLATIONS
THINKING OR DAYDREAMING? NOT SURE…
Outside of the lunar term “full” I’m not all that knowledgeable regarding the wonderful orb that circles our earth. I’m sure — pretty sure — that other beings not from here got there before man got there, but that’s neither, so to speak, here nor there. The Ol’ Farmer’s calendar, store and almanac folks sent me a reminder this AM that read, “It’s time for the Strawberry Supermoon! Write yourself a note, so you don’t miss the Strawberry Moon.” So, in the darkness of sports that is the day after the Dallas Mavericks get stomped by the Boston Celtics, here’s my note: “Hey, dribbler, the Strawberry Moon will “reach peak illumination” — it’ll be “fullest” — at 8:08 pm Central Time on Friday. I’m not sure it’ll be a bright moon that early in the Texas Evening, but what else have you got to sit and stare up at? Make sure you have your camera when the moon takes on the appearance of a giant strawberry and is sponsored by ice cream shops all over America. I’m kidding. Nobody’s figured out how to buy advertising on the moon yet. I would not be surprised to find billboards on the lunar thoroughfares, however. a
YOU MAY RECALL several weeks ago that one of our longtime animal world tipsters Kimberly Jones was working diligently to save the life of a little guy who was stricken with not only parvo but with being offered up as “adoptable” on a neighborhood bulletin board. Kimberly saved this guy’s life and he’s gone from being a little, fragile fellow to being a robust pup with a future -- seriously, blow those photos up and look at that handsome lad.
And, you may also recall this photo of the great Apache, Mooney’s running buddy who needed surgery for torn ligaments and complications. Just makes me happy to see Apache’s face and the looks on Mooney who was a real tough situation until he met up with his Guardian Angel Kimberly Jones and the people who supported her efforts to bring good health to the little dog and his big pal.
All of you donors — well, if I don’t win Lotto Texas, I hope y’all win it.
—- Offer advice on lucky numbers by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected]. —-

FOR A MONDAY EDITION: TIME, TEMPERATURE, SOME DAYS, DOGS 'N' CATS....

EDITION OF MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2024 [PetPowellPress] Ah, Monday. Ah, Monday, June 17th -- Summer gets to our part of Texas at 3:51 p.m. our time on Thursday the 20th. Hot enough for ya? 
We'll get back to that in a few minutes....
First, I've checked with Holiday Insights, the online calendar, and June 17 is Eat Your Vegetables Day and it also is Global Garbage Man Day and I hasten to point out that is in honor of the honestly laboring people you can depend on, not people seeking higher elected offices. Relax -- it's National Kid Your Politicians Year. (I might be kidding about that.)
But, seriously, folks, June actually is National Adopt a Cat Month. We're all full up with cats at our house, so I'm depending on someone not involved with rescue or shelters or the National American Coast-to-Coast Cat Fan Club (if it exists) to adopt cats. 
Based on my association with cats, I'd say this is a good year to give a cat a happy home. Heck, I said that last year and I'll say it next year. Cats own me -- especially that one. He's my Senior Office Cat William and he gets $5 evertime I use his photo on this website I'm kidding. Cats have lawyers that wouldn't settle for five bucks.
TRUE OR FALSE?
ANYBODY KNOW FOR SURE
It's a non-holiday Monday -- can we assume that every animal in a taxpayer-financed city or county animal shelter is on the brink of getting the needle this week? Sounds improbable to people who don't know better, right? Alright, save 'em all... The latest stats show that the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area has a human population of 8.1 million -- they can't all already have all the dogs and cats they can handle. Wonder if shelters could use a giant constantly visible marketing campaign to save the lives of the dogs and cats that nobody wants. Just a thought. Maybe it would work. Two messages: Adopt shelter animals and stop dumping dogs and cats, knuckleheads. A pro PR person would clean that up, of course.
HERE'S A DOG WITH
AN EARHOUND LOOK
Years ago at readlarrypowell.com we couldn't figure out the breed on a particularly well-eared dog, so I pegged the pup as an "Earhound." And periodically I'll spot another Earhound in the inbox.
This one comes to us via Jamie Dotson, one of the volunteer dog bio-writers at Mesquite Animal Services.
This Earhound is Kaci, a 3-month-old, 20-pound German Shepherd mix who arrived at the shelter as a stray on June 6. Jamie's profile of this Earhound reports, "She is precious, so adorable and will eventually grow into her ears. Even as young as she is, she has manners. At times she will sit on her own, she takes treats gently and walks good on a leash. Being a puppy, as she grows, she will show more excitement and having toys to play and chew on would be helpful. ... She would make a great companion for a loving family that can show patience as a puppy grows. Kaci will need to have a secured yard to play in, but must live indoors where it is cool and comfy, where she will shower you with so much affection." 
Kaci's shelter ID is #56069981 -- cite it when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
Same system or this striped girl Coco (#56089197), also in the Mesquite Animal Shelter. Coco is, according to Jamie, a 2-year-old, 46-pound Cimarron Uruguayo/American Pitbull Terrier mix. Came in as a stray on June 7. Jamie writes, "Coco is a beauty! She appears to have been well cared for, yet her owners have not come to reclaim her. She has such a sweet loving personality, and a smile you can't resist. ... As she has been well cared for, that is what she wants to have with her new family. Having a secured backyard to play in, but will live indoors with her loving people where she can cuddle close watching tv on the couch.: Come meet her and you will be taken with her like we are!"
[LARRY NOTE: Before we leave the Mesquite Shelter (figuratively speaking), I need to note that the shelter is having a $25 dog adoption special through the end of the month. Then, I have a question about Auggie (#56132475). ]
When you look at that face do you see Boxer first or Staffie first? Yah, I saw Boxer first. He's listed as a year-old Staffordshire Terrier/Boxer mix.] Jamie's bio of Auggie says the year-old, 44-pound dog came in as a stray
on the 13th. She writes, "He is a very handsome boy with stunning eyes and appears to have been well cared for, yet he has not been reclaimed. He
is a true investigator and keeps his nose down sniffing every part of the shelter yard. He is a very sweet and gentle boy. ... He hopes to find his own loving family that has a secured back yard that he can spend time investigating, then most importantly come back inside to sleep the night way on his own fluffy dog bed."
Click on THIS LINK to see more adoptable dogs and a great number of cats and kittens.
Among the cats is this girl Sammie, a 2-year-old Domestic Shorthair Mix -- black and tan, the shelter says --who has been in the shelter since May 13. She's available for adoption and you can visit her in the Cat Room at the Mesquite Shelter. Ask to see Cat #55913185.
Adopt her and you can tell people you fell for her during National Adopt A Cat Month.
CONTEMPLATIONS

TIME, TEMPERATURE AND ....
As the time moves along, we are headed from Spring to Summer within a matter of days. Summer officially begins at 3:51 p.m. Texas time on Thursday the 20th. As we asked in our opening today, "Hot enough for ya?"
T ake heart, my fellow summer sweaters, the season of Autumn arrives in our Lone Star State at 7:43 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. Can't you hear the leaves falling already ....and the temps dropping, too.
Here's the important thing that will make September, 2024, autumnally cool: The great State Fair of Texas opens on September 27 and runs through October 20 in Dallas' Fair Park. ... 
Ah, the joys of summer -- in Texas, they include daydreaming about Autumn. Don't rush things along, though. Time to enjoy summer and the joys of air-conditioning! When I was a kid, there were only two places I could enjoy air-conditioning: The second-run 25-cents-a-ticket Strand movie theater on the edge of downtown Texarkana and, on the north side of town, Highland Park Baptist Church. Prayers answered, you know?
--- Offer anything helpful in any situation by clicking on 'comment' below or by emailing [email protected] ---