Chances to save the day after May the Fourth

Fits humble beginnings in a newspaper ad marking the day of Margaret Thatcher’s election as Britain’s first female prime minister — “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations” — May 4, aka Star Wars Day, has become a Lucasfilm-backed celebration of all things from that galaxy far, far away.

Not surprisingly, quite a few other pop-culture “holidays” have sprung up in its wake.

So, once you’ve finished your “Star Wars” Day festivities and polished off the last of the Bb-8-layer dip, Obi-wantons and chewy Chewie Wookiee cookies, break out your calendars and start getting ready for these other observances:

Judgment Day (Aug. 29)

Thanks to sequels, spinoffs, books and graphic novels, the date that the missile defense system known as Skynet grows self-aware and launches a series a nuclear strikes has become harder to pin down than Easter. But the first date mentioned, in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” is Aug. 29, 1997.

Hogwarts Day (Sept. 1)

In J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, The Hogwarts Express leaves London each year at 11 a.m. on this day, the first of the school year, which ends with the sorting ceremony.

Hobbit Day (Sept. 22) and Tolkien Reading Day (March 25)

Considering hobbits are prominently featured in two of the most popular books in print — as well as two enorLAWRENCE

Another sure-to-be-popular use: Matching dogs with non-dog owners who don’t, or can’t, have a dog themselves but who’d love to spend regular quality time with somebody else’s.

Share a Dog — available through Apple’s App Store — is free, and caregivers who sign up aren’t paid. Rather, Moss hopes that creating extended families of dog lovers will ensure that the animals will be cared for and reduce the number of dogs who are surrendered to shelters because owners can’t find or afford caregivers.

Rachel Boyle, Ava’s owner, says she learned about Share a Dog from a friend.

She has used it to find one volunteer caregiver for Ava, and plans to use it when she has to travel or plans an evening out but doesn’t want Ava to be alone.

“I like to have someone watch my dog when I travel, and I’ve asked friends I don’t know how many times, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t,” Boyle says. “So this is a perfect fit for me and Ava. I know she’s going to be in a safe place and I don’t have to put her in a kennel. I don’t want her in a kennel all day.”

The app has “just been great,” Boyle says. “You can see there are (interested caregivers) all over the city, so you can look and see who’s logged on from a map and you can start a chat and talk back and forth.”

Potential caregivers and owners can message within the app, compare schedules, and, if all goes well, arrange a meeting. Dog owners can also rate companions.

In fact, it’s not too far fetched to think of Share a Dog as a sort of interspecies dating app. “I guess it’s the same as in your online dating world: You look for someone you can trust and who has a good track record,” Boyle says.

Moss says the app also can be used while traveling or vacationing out of town, because it offers matches based on wherever the phone happens to be.

What distinguishes Share a Dog from other dog-walking, dog-sharing or dog-sitting apps is that that it’s free. “We are not dog sitters. We

do not ask people to be paid. We try try to match up busy dog owners with interested neighbors who’d benefit from spending time with a dog, not a dog-sitter.”

The goal is “to build a relationship,” and ensuring that “the dog has an aunt or an uncle down the street.”

Contact John Przybys at jprzybys@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280. Follow @Jjprzybys on Twitter.