Today we came across this tree located at the corner of 42nd and Spruce. It needs to be pushed upright, otherwise it may fall over into the street soon when another storm blows through. See that car in danger? There was another tree that required re-positioning (at 43rd and Spruce), but maybe because it’s younger (and smaller) it has already been taken care of.

This week’s featured dog is Jillian. Jillian is a young, super friendly pit bull terrier mix. She is a petite girl – she weighs about 26 pounds when she came to the shelter. She’s only 6-12 months old.

Jillian came to the shelter on August 18, 2011 and has a sad story. Her owner left her with a friend when they were moving and they never came back to get her!

She is very excited at the shelter and just wants to get out of her cage. She’s locked up in a small space for long periods of time and, being a puppy, she really needs lots of exercise and stimulation and someone to teach her how to behave. When she does get out, she is happy to run around and play. She craves interaction and companionship and needs some structure and stability.

Jillian absolutely adores people and can barely contain her excitement when they show her attention and kindness. The shelter staff introduced her to some cats there and she wasn’t very interested in them. The shelter also tested her with some of her dog shelter mates and she did just fine. She was way more interested in attention from her human friends.

Because she can get a little riled up (although she will most likely settle down in a home once she gets a little older), Jillian probably should go to a home with bigger kids (over 5 years) that can handle her playing with them.

The shelter where Jillian lives right now has a very high intake rate and only so much room for puppies. Unfortunately, the shelter has to accept every animal that is dropped at its door! This puts Jillian and her furry friends there at risk every day that they stay there. Even though she’s a young, healthy, super friendly, affectionate girl, her life is at risk! So if you can find room in your home and your heart, please foster or adopt her!

Jillian is up to date on all of her shots, microchipped and will be neutered when you take her home.

Jillian currently resides at the PSPCA’s Animal Care & Control Team (ACCT), 111 W. Hunting Park Avenue. For more information call: 267-385-3800. ACCT is open 365 days a year. If you cannot adopt her permanently but would like to help anyways, you can always consider fostering Jillian until she finds her happy ending.

Update (Sept. 7): We learned that Hickory was reunited with his family two days ago.

This information comes from the missing cat’s owners who live near 46th and Pine:

We are searching for our cat, Hickory. He has been missing for over a week now – he is a wanderer so we weren’t too worried at first but he sometimes strays far and I’m wondering if he got lost or someone took him in mistakenly.

He is black and grey striped with white on chest and paws (I think he is brown as well, but my son thinks just grey), with green eyes.

He usually wears a collar with his name and phone # but I wonder if it came off. He is very friendly and will usually approach people. He is micro-chipped.

If you have seen him or think you have seen him, please let us know. You can call 215-510-7067 and speak to Al. Thanks, he is very much missed.

Here’s something else to do tomorrow after the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll. The West Philly Tool Library is throwing an open house party at 7:30 p.m. for folks in the neighborhood. If you haven’t seen their new location yet this is a good chance to do it and also to enjoy the company of your West Philly neighbors.

Food and drinks will be served and West Philly’s own Sour Mash will perform starting at 8 p.m.

If you have some tools lying around your house that you are not planning to use bring them with you and receive a prize (and a receipt for your tax-deductible donation).

And just a reminder: the new warehouse is located at 1314 S. 47^th Street.

Reader Kristen wrote us with this information:

This little cat broke into my house and has decided this is where she lives but I think that she might belong to someone else in West Philly.

Found near 49th and Springfield.

I’m treating her for fleas and making sure she is neutered so she might be a stray but before I adopt her out I wanted to put out the call.

Owners can call me at 917-280-4287 and describe the collar (no tags) she was wearing.

How do we know that the summer’s almost over? The final 2011 Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll will take place this Thursday, Sept. 1. Yes, the fourth and the final one this year. So, don’t miss the chance to enjoy $1 deals again and say goodbye to this event until the next summer.

We hear that nearly 20 businesses, vendors and food trucks will participate in the final Dollar Stroll, so look out for new participants.

The stroll will start as usual at 5:30 p.m. (it’s not a bad idea to come early) and will go on until 8:30 p.m. Apart from the vendors, there will be live music and street performances as well. And, as always, there will be copies of the free West Philly Mix Tape download card available for pick-up. If you haven’t got one, stop by the University City District table in front of Calvary Church (48^th and Baltimore).

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