Available dogs and cautionary tales...

Solemn vow: I will not go to a grocery store Wednesday.

I've done that before -- shopped the day before Thanksgiving. It's a beating.

There are so many last-minute, wild-eyed shoppers that an innocent stroller such as myself finds himself with a bad case of nerves and basket bruises. If you don't go with the flow, some of those nice people turn their baskets into a cow-catcher like on the front of a steam locomotive and move you to the side of the tracks and roll past while giving you a freeway road-rage glare. It's scary.

Fair warning. Now, let's dive into today's business.

A SHELTER DOG: Today, as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, we've decided to declare this guy as the official Shelter Critter Symbol. His name is Mickey and he's an adult male and he's currently in the Little Elm animal Shelter, just north of Dallas.

Animal shelters have loads of great dogs and cats that are looking for homes -- and if these are city shelters, the dogs have two possible futures: adoption or euthanasia to make room for the next load of unwanted animals.

Mickey can be adopted for just $10. TEN DOLLARS for a dog like this. The Little Elm shelter is at 1104 W. Eldorado Parkway, Suite 103, in Little Elm. It's open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. To see the Little Elm shelter animals, click HERE.

Remember, you can adopt dogs and cats from city shelters all over North Texas: Dallas, Sachse, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Rockwall, Plano, Denton, Caninevista, Cat Meadows.....made those last two up. Just wanted to see how many of you read the list.

Google your city and animal shelter and you'll probably find a list of animals that'll melt your heart.

THE CLIFTON UPDATE: Julie Martin Lowe sends us this update from the situation in Clifton -- you may recall it started out as 9 dogs and more than two dozen cats left in a home when death claimed one human and the other was placed in an assisted living facility.

Julie and husband Eddie drove in from New Jersey to help her in-laws deal with rescuing the cats and dogs from that neighbor's home. Her latest report:

"Thanks to the incredible outpouring of good wishes and assistance we've received on behalf of these poor animals, placement has been found for ALL of the dogs (even Hillary, who is now taking treats out of my hand sometimes before she runs off to safety!) and at least 12, possibly up to 20, of the cats!
The first 5 animals left the house yesterday [Sunday] (4 cats & Alex, the mop dog) and we have another transport scheduled for Saturday that will be taking another 5 cats and 3 dogs (the little brothers Bobby & Barker, and Foxy the chow cross) up to Dallas to their new rescue home. We have already come farther than I had ever dared to dream, but we
still have work to do and are now rapidly running out of time."

There is some time pressure. Officials are giving this impromtu rescue team until the end of the week "to remove whatever animals we can, but any animals we can not remove by Sunday will be left to the mercy of the county, which has no animal facilities. At this time they will almost certainly be killed.

"Even if everything goes perfectly, we still have at least 12, possibly as many as 20, cats who are in need of a new place to go. If you know anyone, or any place that might be able to take in even one of these innocent cats, please let us know. And if there is anyone or any place that you can think of to forward on this information about our desperate situation, please feel free to do so. I know that everyone is stretched to their limits already, but I wanted to ask one more time in the hopes that someone might have found just a little bit of space.
"We are still looking for someone to help us transport Hillary from Clifton to her new sanctuary home in Wharton, (near Houston) and to get Blondie, Whoopi, Pride, & Joy to their new sanctuary home near Seguin (south of Austin). If you or anyone you know might be able to do some driving this week or weekend we'd sure love to hear from you (or them)! Especially if you have one or more carriers that will fit a 70-80 lb dog.
"Thanks for all your best wishes, good thoughts and prayers. Please
keep them coming! We're so close now and just need one more strong push to get all of these great pets to new homes."

To offer help to Julie and The Clifton Critter Rescue Team (I figured it needed a name), e-mail julieis@gmail.com or call 254-675-2921.

CONTRASTING NOTES: One is about a tanning place; the other is about fur.

            Our reliable tipster Sydney Busch of Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake offers this shopping tip: "Texas Tan now has a line of adorable handbags and other accessories that have dogs on them -- we [the Friends] get a commission on every one sold." And, Texas Tan is putting a Friends flyer in each bag. "Reasonably priced ($50 range)," Sydney adds.  Texas Tan is on Main Street near Welch Lane in Gun Barrel City, home of the successful Friends of the Animals Spay/Neuter Clinic.

            And we hear from Margaret Morin, vegetarian and animal rescuer, that singer/actress Lacey Conner, a Dallas native, will be in Downtown Dallas to commemorate Fur Free Friday. She'll be holding a banner that reads, "You Don't Have To Wear Fur To Be A Fox." The protest against fur is scheduled from 11:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. Friday at the ol' reliable fur place, the landmark Neiman Marcus, 1618 Main St. Information about In Defense of Animal's anti-fur campaign is at www.FurKills.org.

CORSICANA CRITTERS: The big dog is Sam, a 2-year-old who weighs in around 100 pounds. Lynn and Tony Gatlin are fostering Sam -- and they are also fostering the kitty cats -- those guys look so friendly, you can't just call them "kitties" or "cats." Their demeanor qualifies them with the whole phrase "kitty cats."

Sam will need a sturdy yard, they say. The primary reason he was surrendered was "he likes to go and visit the neighbors and their cows."

Obviously, he's friendly and outgoing, he just doesn't need to be going out in such an unsupervised fashion. That's dangerous in a land where people carry firearms and squint like Clint to shoot. The story on Sam is he's "wonderful with children" but may not realize how big he is, and he's good with other dogs.

Now, the cats are brothers, Bevo and Jack. Lynn Gatlin says, "These brothers are the perfect combination of playfulness and affection." And they must be adopted together -- they are very bonded inside-only cats. "They love lounging on top of their towers and sleeping in the window sill watching birds all day.

To ask about Sam or the cats or Sam AND the cats, call 903-874-3722 or e-mail lynngatlin-remax@sbcglobal.net.

SHOPPING LIST: In case you're shopping today for Thanksgiving's feast, here are some suggestions: Paper towels, sandwich bags, antacids and cards of apology, just in case things go sour during the dinner table conversation. If you have a brawl with your turkey, please let us know. We always enjoy a good family story.

Here's one: We knew a guy who, every Thanksgiving for several years, would announce that he was getting married. Different girl each time. This year, when he RSVP'd for the big meal, he added a P.S. "No ring this year." Ah, perhaps another reason to be thankful.