On a sleepy Friday... assorted notes and a Christmas Cookie...

Holy rooftop hoofbeats, it’s the 23^rd and the Christmas clock is ticking.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I slept until 5 a.m., then fell back over about 5:15 and inexplicably slept until 11:30 a.m.
That’s why today’s edition of Readlarrypowell.com has a distinct PM edition feel to it. But, as my beloved Cocker Spaniel Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas, said to me when I finally stirred, “I’m famished.”
Of course, he says that at any time of day under any circumstances. As our staff impersonator, he does a great job in this impression of an office-worker spotting the company Christmas lunch buffet complete with a big steaming platter of Mom’s Year-end Savory Profit Meatloaf and a special dessert of No Tax Exposure Pie – it’s full of fruits and nuts and ifs and buts. The owner really likes that pie.
Now, let’s proceed with some seasonal notes. Remember, shelters have animals immediately available for adoption: big shelters in the city are open and the inventory is waiting. Small suburban shelters are open and doing business at the adoption desks.  It’s Christmas – somebody in a fur suit loves you and I don’t mean the clown in the next cubicle who showed up dressed like a reindeer.
OUT ON THE LAWN, THERE AROSE SUCH A RABBIT: Well, of course, you don’t really think “rabbit” at this time of year. But, maybe you don’t live in Dallas’ Lakewood area.
Yesterday we were discussing sleeping dogs and cats (our usual weekend feature) with Ginny Booth and she said she would “settle for Santa bringing me the domestic rabbits that someone dumped in our neighborhood that we’ve been trying to catch for several weeks. They are just too fast for us and too smart for the trap. Poor babies probably won’t last the winter if we can’t get them. Do you know any rabbit catchers?”
Always the critical question, of course. Who do we know who is nimble afoot, quicker than a bunny rabbit and isn’t too old to bend at the waist and scoop up a rabbit? Must be someone. If you know of someone, e-mail ginbooth@gmail.com  and or call 214-596-8045.
Ginny writes that there are “at least two solid black bunnies – no idea of gender. They may have been “on the loose for about 4 months (or there are more of them around Lakewood – always possible with rabbits, I guess!”
[Aside from Larry: I understand Clement Moore opted for using 8 tiny reindeer in “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” because he found the concept of flying rabbits just too unbelievable. Also, bunny rhymes were not quite as dramatic as his intent with the poem. You can see that. The word “bunny” traditionally is rhymed with honey, funny, money, punny and, as the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas, Inky, points out, it inspires the famous poetic message:
“If you don’t spay and neuter, hey,
you’ll be hoppin’ in the bunny way."
ASSORTED NOTES: We’ve gotten a bunch of stories that tend to be on the sad side, i.e. the SPCA of Texas and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office saving half-dozen horses from lousy conditions – too late for some others. (Go to spca.org or Google it.)  And there are crowded shelter stories and tales of animals found wanting and abandoned and...well, it goes on and you all know it and I can’t bear to write it all today. Let’s just have an agreement that if you are reading this you’ll tell someone you know who needs a friend to go to a shelter because there are lifelong friends there. And they need a place to stay that has a warm couch, a working TV and some focused affection with a promise of a season of love that lasts beyond these holidays.
A HOLLY JOLLY MOMENT: All during the month we’ve been including a holly jolly moment at the end of our daily report. With help from our pal Jonnie England, we have this one. Jonnie has seen a lot of Christmas seasons at shelters – from her long, long career as the guiding light at Operation Kindness to her current endeavors as the Metroplex Animal Coalition’s  Director of Animal Advocacy and Communications.
Jonnie happened to be at the Dallas Animal Services shelter yesterday with her perpetually handy camera and snapped this photo.
Here’s the story, according to Jonnie: “All Mark Swindell's 4-year-old daughter, Robyn, wants for Christmas is a ‘black kitten named Cookie.’”
[Larry aside: With a specific request like that, Santa assigns a hustling helper to make sure that request is fulfilled.]
Jonnie says, “Mark came into DAS Thursday, and there was one black kitten.  And the name on the cage card was . . . Cookie!
“It's easy to find a black cat in a shelter; this time of the year it's not as easy to find a black kitten, but it can happen.
“But to find a black kitten who had already been given the name Cookie?
“Coincidence -- or a Christmas miracle?”
So, thanks to Jonnie, there’s your Holly Jolly contemplation, folks.
In the meantime, we’ll assume Cookie is being readied for a sleigh ride with Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick.
We’re grateful to all who helped with our Holly Jolly Moments. We’re grateful to all of you for your readership and your participation and, especially, your love for animals and the hearts you have that guide you to help them.
Yep, like the movie says, “It’s a wonderful life.”
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