Here we go with our PM Edition of Readlarrypowell.com for Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009.
We’ll remind you to read this morning’s edition, and also, if you are in charge of public relations and publicity for your shelter or rescue group, deadline for getting into the winter edition of Urban Animal Magazine is Thursday at noon. Check out the how-to –get-publicity instructions by scrolling down. Thanks. Now, please, read on. Maybe you can help.
DUMPED: This is not an unusual thing around here – maybe anywhere. Someone gets tired of a dog and dumps it. Now and then they’ll dump their family dog in a neighborhood that “looks like it has kids” or “looks like it has responsible people.”
That seems to be the way our pal Gail Whelan of Companion Animal Network wound up with this big ol’ Akita sweetheart.
The dog was “dumped in our neighborhood three weeks ago,” Gail says. “No tags. No microchip. Efforts to find owner failed.”
So, she’s been named “Kai,” which, Gail says, means “Forgiveness.”
That’s a much nicer thought than I have for the dumping creep.
Back to the dog: She’s about a year old and weighs 64 pounds. Gail says, “She was wonderful at the vet’s office and caused them no problems.”
Naturally, being a stray in North Texas, she is heartworm positive, so she has some careful treatment and cage rest in her immediate future.
To help with this dog by volunteering to foster or by adopting or by just donating some cash to the cause, e-mail can_rescue@yahoo.com or call 214-663-4710.
REGARDING LITERATURE: In our first edition today we mentioned some dog stories that we loved (scroll down to see) and we have received some responses that should be shared.
--Rescuer Cathy Burk is about to head off to Best Friends in Utah for a spell of working with the sanctuary and the dogs. (She suggests linking up to these sites HERE and HERE to read about this obvious Earhound named Batgirl.)
She writes, “I just wanted to say thanks for listing some of your favorite animal stories. I leave for Best Friends this Saturday (11/14) and wanted to take some books to read to the 'red collar' dogs. These are the dogs that can't physically interact with volunteers (like the Vicktory Dogs confiscated from Michael Vick). The volunteers have been sitting outside their runs and reading to them - which they apparently love! They said one day someone was reading love poems to Georgia (who has been the spokesdog for the Vicktory dogs) and she fell asleep! I checked out the Beverly Cleary books and plan on picking some up to take with me and leave out there. They sound like the perfect stories to read to dogs.”
--Patricia Nethery, one of our veteran dog adoptors from rural Kerrville, sent a note that reads, “If Snoopy cartoon collections count, then don't leave out the ‘Mutts’ books. Who cannot love Earl, Mooch, Woofie, and all the gang?
“When I was a girl I cried over Beautiful Joe but still didn't want to
stop reading.
“As a younger child I loved the Windy Foot books (they were about a pony
but there must have been a dog in there somewhere). Do you remember
Windy Foot? I can't find anyone else who does.”
So, readers, there’s your challenge. Do you remember Windy Foot?
Thanks to the modern era of computer research, I was able to track down the author as Frances Foster and determine that she wrote several Windy Foot books: Windy Foot at the County Fair ; Fireworks for Windy Foot; Maple Sugar For Windy Foot and Sleighbells For Windy Foot..
Yep, at least one of those is for sale on eBay.
When I suggested that maybe I was too old to have run into the Windy Foot books, Pat said I probably wasn’t because ... well, let’s just say we know about how old we are and I probably could have found them if I’d been looking.
She says, “My grandchildren are all too old for such books, but maybe I should stockpile some for great-grandchildren some day, (along with The Pokey Little Puppy, of course).
“Re: Michael Vick. As much as I like to watch the Cowboys with my husband Ron ( I have to watch Stars hockey alone because he is not interested), I kept to my vow on Sunday when they played the Eagles of not watching any team that signed him to play. I know that doesn't really do anything, but I had to take a stand.”
Oh, it does something for the heart, I suspect.
Regarding the stories: It has to be great for those authors’ souls to know that their work has lived on in the hearts of good people --- that maybe, at some point, a paragraph they wrote touched someone in such a way that they dedicated their lives to watching out for the animals. Tell a story, touch a heart. Bless them all.
Hi,
When I was searching for a book to complete a series I loved as a child, your web site came up. The Windy Foot series was by Frances Frost a writer from St. Albans, VT. Just a few months shy of 50, I know I am not to old to read them each year around this time to remind me of a simplier life. So no, you probably are not too old to read or search for Windy Foot. And if any of your readers out there has a copy of Fireworks for Windy Foot, I would love to buy it, not to make money on it but to simply read it and enjoy it. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.
Posted by: Sheila Butler | November 26, 2009 at 08:38 PM