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IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE LAUGH...

We’re getting personal about Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap this weekend. 
Martha and I celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary on Sunday.  I'm giving her a litter of monogrammed feral kittens.
I'm kidding.
You can't get monogrammed feral kittens this late in the shopping season. Relax. It's a joke.
See how tough it is to stay married to me for 28 years?
But, seriously, folks, in our marriage we have enjoyed a great number of cat and canine companions. I'm opening with a photo of our late friend Griffin Oliver Powell. He loved sleeping under the Christmas tree. We had him from his arrival as a wander-up kitten in Summer of 2003 to the summer of 2015 when, inexplicably, his kidneys quit functioning. Heck, yes, we stood over him at the vet's and cried.
Griffin was family. He still is. Now and then, I'll see a shadow in the Christmas tree and think "Griffin!" Might be him -- I don't study feline specters, I just expect them to exist! 
If he's coming back to haunt us, it's because Martha once caught him lounging comfortably on the back of a chair and slipped reindeer antlers on him for an impromptu demonstration of the holiday nature of a big ol' kitty cat. He sure looks happy, doesn't he.
You spend 28 years with an animal nut and you'll meet a lot of dogs and cats and a bunch of them will become family. It's comforting to know that you've married someone who doesn't mind -- who feels obligated! -- slipping a bite of food to a big ol' dog  (Dudley, left, and Earl the Rottie) under the table or sitting under a couple of formerly stray cats and an ex-street dog while watching a movie or a baseball game or Say Yes To The Dress.
Currently we're introducing our latest rescued kitten, Stevie Ray, to the joys of the season. He's interested in the ornaments, the lights and the reaction the humans have when he looks like he might be about to climb the tree.
See that photo of Stevie Ray flat out in the cat bed? He'd worn himself down. How? When I checked my Lotto Texas numbers and realized there's no reason to call 'em "lucky numbers," I wadded up the worthless ticket and bounced it off the ceiling. Stevie Ray spent about 20 minutes slapping it like a hockey puck and chasing it around the rink, er, room. Then, as kittens will do, he fell over and went to sleep. 

He'll join us for the anniversary celebration -- he'll have a place to snooze. Martha plans to nap during the Dallas Cowboys game and Stevie Ray (that's an infant photo on the right) is learning to catnap atop humans.

Stevie Ray also is working on responding when someone calls his name. You know -- just like a good husband learns to do in the early minutes and hours of a 28-year marriage.
So, yeah, happy anniversary to my enduringspouse Martha, the woman I married because I couldn't live without her laugh. She still laughs at me. I think you veteran spouses know what that means.
[DEAR READERS, Please, please, please send us photos of your slumbering critters and the stories of how you got them and why you love them. Email dallrp@aol.com. We'll spotlight the slumbering loved ones -- well, the dogs and cats, birds, maybe reptiles or amphibians, cows, horses, goats, etc. -- in our long-running weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. You'll be helping other people understand the joy of having an animal around the house. And you'll be giving insomniacs hope that they, too, can get some sleep, if they can just learn wad up losing lotto tickets and have faith that the next ticket will be the winner that sets them free. Honest.]
--- Offer opinions or consolations by clicking on 'comment' below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. ---

DOGS, CATS, THE MOON, THE METEORITES -- ALL SEASONAL CHALLENGES

EDITION OF FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019 [PetPowellPress] As I started typing this I was overcome by a swoon of holly jolliness. Then I took two aspirin, a big swig of lukewarm coffee and decided to quickly get into day’s agenda. In Contemplations we’ll revisit space, Santa and the neediest team in the National Football League. But first, these stories before the Geminids begin to peak on Friday the 13th. Cue the spooky space invasion music. Relax — the Geminis refers to the annual meter shower. Speaking of out of this world, read on and you’ll see a reminder about a famous bake sale for big cats … Ah, my diet. …. Oh, that's Simon the Bottle-fed Kitten with a "what thuh heck?" look as he poses with the chicken-wire Christmas tree designed by my yulespouse Martha several years ago. Yeah, we find amusement in the wacky. And, yes, it eventually straightens up like a real tree.
And I want to close the opening with something our Houston tipster Alexandra Kelsey wrote in her appeal for Goldie and Kurt that we posted earlier today. It’s this: “What each of us do in life matters, and at times like this, we have the chance to make huge impacts.” That refers specifically to helping two dogs, but, you know, it can be applied to helping humans, too. People in rescue know that. Sometimes you rescue the dogs, cats and other critters and sometimes you rescue the humans. 

TWO TO GO: LOVELY AND CHIP
LEAVE THE DENTON SHELTER
Amy Poskey, our reliable tipster with Denton’s McNatt Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, boosted the happy meter in the world Friday morning with a report of two adoptions of animals we’d featured in the past few weeks. First, Lovely, described as “the beautiful girl with the sky high, adorable ears,” has been adopted. Amy says, “I hope and pray this is the perfect, forever loving home for her.” is still waiting for love.

Then, you see shelter staffer Roxy cuddling the little guy Chip, somewhere between 5 and 8 years old. The Chihuahua was dealing with “some sort of chronic URI/bronchitis/asthma” when he arrived. He’d been adopted from the shelter on July 30 but was returned on Oct. 25 in the face of medical bills. But, now, there’s a happy development. Amy writes, “I am soooooooooooo happy to report that Chip has been adopted)!!!  Roxy, an employee at the Denton shelter offered to foster him and ended up falling in love so she adopted him!  I love foster failures!!!  Chip has been seen by the vet and is being treated so he is in good hands!”
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Because it takes a village in a small town, there is also this from Amy: “I want to thank Denise Primm with Salvaged Souls Pet Rescue for offering to save Chip, the staff at the Denton shelter for going the extra mile and giving Chip extra time to find love, as well as everyone who helped me network this adorable cutie pie!”
Remember, there are more animals waiting in the Denton Shelter. That dog is Mimi, described as a 2- to 5-year-old Shepherd mix. The story is, according to the shelter, “She is very gentle and loves a good neck rub.” The girl is heartworm positive — an adopting family gets a $100 voucher to help with that treatment.
Also, there are cats — here’s a photo of Tigy and Doby lounging with a human — they are sai to “love their cuddle time with volunteers and staff.” 
The shelter is at 3717 N. Elm St. in Denton — call 940-349-7594.
A REMINDER ABOUT MONDAY
AND HELPING THE BIG CATS
This is a reminder for your Monday activity list! We've mentioned this once (click on the artwork to make it expand), but when you’re helping the big cats, maybe two mentions or more are appropriate. Plus, mentioning this on a Friday will set off a weekend-long craving for “cakes, candies, breads, cookies, brownings and savory goodies, plus treats for your furry friends.” Mmmmm. And, on behalf of the dogs and cats, “Mmmmmmmmm.” Our dogs and cats will happily take a shot at the human food. I’ve seen my editor, The Senator, have a good time with cat-licking a frosted cupcake — not a habit, he says. 
Oh, yeah, there are vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free items on the sales list. You can buy with cash, checks and credit cards.
This is the 12th bake sale for In-Sync Exotics in Wylie, according to our bake sale tipster Corby Bryant. She’s the Director of Accounting and Mineral Management with Venable Royalty, Ltd. and Venable Oil, Ltd., LLP. We mention Venable because Venable Royalty matches the sales dollar for dollar. The goal this year is to push donations past the $250,000 level in contributions. 
[LARRY ASIDE: Yeah, it’s not just the housecats that find themselves in a fix because somebody doesn’t know how to treat a feline. That’s why big cat sanctuaries came to be.]
THE LANCASTER CHALLENGES
CONTINUE TO HAUNT RESCUERS
As regular visitors to readlarrypowell.com know, Laura Macias, Leighann Hayden and others have teamed as the non-profit 4 Legged Helpers to try to save animals in small shelters — the focus in this appeal is the Lancaster Animal Shelter, a small, low-traffic facility just across I-20 from Dallas’ southern city limits. That cat is Jessica, one of many on the clock at Lancaster where, word is, “All kitties should be considered extremely urgent.”
To help with any of these animals or to ask for names and photographs of animals on the clock, call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or EMAIL cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
 FYI, Laura reports that “there is a $200 donation per dog or cat to reputable 501c3 rescues willing to help save any….A person with a true heart of gold has made this offer. You can trust it is genuine. She is a wonderful person who wants to help.”
That beautiful brindlesque Shepherd/Boxer mix is Melissa, a young girl who “looks a lot like a Shepherd when her ears are up. She is very well behaved and very adoring.” She came to the shelter on Oct. 15 and that long stay is why she is listed as “#1 on pending euth list” at Lancaster.
Who are #2 and #3? These two dogs.
Either one could be next for the needle. 

Jasper is that Earhound with the non-stop tail. He came into the shelter on Oct. 19. He’s described as “cute and funny.”

Sharing the #2 or #3 rating with Jasper is the beautiful Rocky, a Boxer/Lab mix who is “gentle and lovable” and came into the shelter on Oct. 19.
[LARRY ASIDE: Not sure why all these animals are in the shelter, but I hope the humans who put them there know what they’ve done. That's kind of mean for a Christmas wish, but, heck, something needs to settle onto the misguide heart.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
AS THE WEEKEND ARRIVES…
Dear Santa: The Dallas Cowboys play the Los Angeles Rams Sunday. Please give them what they deserve…" Wait. That didn’t come out right. OK, let’s try this: "Dear Santa, Help the Cowboys win the Reindeer games. Perhaps the term ‘Christmas miracle’ will come into play.” OK, that oughta do it. Have a good trip, Jolly Ol’ St. Nick. and does Jerry let you park on the roof? … That’s last night’s moon over our neighbor’s house and through our tree. Can’t have too many moon photos. Well, maybe you can. Yeah, i was never a photographer -- had enugh trouble focusing my words. This photo is a reminder that, as The Old Farmer’s Almanac notes that the Geminids, “the most active meteor shower of the year, peaks the night of Friday, December 13.” Hang on. Friday the 13th? Oh, my. Well, if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to see dozens of meteors shooting through the sky tonight — even if the bright moon makes ‘em tough to spot, as The Almanac suggests. Read about The Geminids HERE. … That dog? He’s my yulespouse Martha’s dog. I think she has named him “Sparky” because he lights up. Twinkle lights — he doesn’t smoke. Christmas question: Why do we call ‘em “twinkle lights” when they don’t “twinkle”? There are many mysteries to this holiday beyond “how does he squeeze down that chimney?” and “How in the world will I pay for this?”
—- Offer advice or tax-free enormous gifts of cash by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

HOUSTON: 2 'SAVED' DOGS FACE NOON NEEDLE

EARLY EDITION FOR FRIDAY THE 13TH [PetPowellPress] Here’s the subject line of the email I got from our longtime Houston tipster Alexandra Kelsey: “Bonded Duo, Goldie (A1667655) and Kurt (A1667654) are ready for a rescue or foster to help them heal and wheel!!! (BARC-Houston, Texas) .
Then, about 30 minutes later, her followup note said BARC has a noon deadline for rescuing these two dogs or it’s curtains.

Here’s the story: On Dec. 7, a Houston woman brought two injured dogs she’d found into BARC, the local shelter, and, though they have been treated and clearly “belong to each other,” they are facing the final needle. 
BARC reports that the female was not able to stand on a possibly broken back left leg — the male had an open wound on his front leg.
“He is very attached to the female dog….trying to protect her. He was crying and whimpering to be near her when our vet staff was treating her.”

As our animalfan tipster AK wrote, “The top of Goldie and Kurt’s bucket list is walking out of the shelter alive. But, one way or the other, this is it:   Happy bucket list or the sad bucket at the back door of the shelter. A really good rescue has expressed interest and would place these dogs together.  They would need to have the medical covered and they would need a foster….What if more than one person offered to foster and each person took a short time?  What if a number of people made donations? What each of us do in life matters, and at times like this, we have the chance to make huge impacts. Think about Goldie and Kurt.  Maybe they can fit into your plan in some way.”
Mauricio Zepeda, the Rescue Coordinator for BARC Outreach, has issued appeals for helping these two. Contact? Email mauricio.zepeda@houstontx.gov. Call 832-395-9054. Cell # is 832-523-3871. Email BARC.Aid@houstontx.gov, too.
Goldie is A1667655. Kurt is A1667654. She's about 2, he’s about 4. [LARRY ASIDE:They’re on the clock and shouldn’t be — they oughta be in a loving situation that nurtures them. Some human, somewhere, let them down — it shouldn’t happen again.]
— Make an effort and tell us by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. God bless these two dogs and all the animals in need everywhere — that includes people, too. —-

THE MOON; A SHERMAN CAT'S TORTURE; SANTA PHOTOS AND ASSORTED NOTES ABOUT NOSES, FITNESS AND PAPERBOYS

EDITION OF THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Look, I’m putting off diving right into the horrifying cat incident in Sherman because I’m collecting my thought — not thoughts, I probably just have one thought about that incident.
So, we’ll begin this way: We’ve reached the Thursday edition with a lack of detectible energy. One cup of coffee isn’t enough. But we do have a great Moon photo by Eastern Seaboard Bureau Staff Photographer Annie Fisher and we'll see what else we can come up with. After all, it’s the Christmas shopping season and I haven’t checked my Lotto Texas ticket yet. Hang on. I’m checking. Two Lotto Texas tickets are now wadded into one ball and the Apprentice Office Cat Stevie Ray is slapping it around the room.

No winning numbers means animal rescue groups will need to depend on newly signed professional baseball players to fund the things I would have funded with my Lotto Texas winnings. Right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole, formerly of the Houston Astros, signed a $324 million, 9-year contract with the New York Yankees. He’ll be visiting the new Texas Ranger stadium in Arlington this summer — in case someone wants to hold up some suggestion signs: “Gerrit: Give to animal rescuers and then help buy pitching for the Rangers.”
Moving along….If Cole buys a new home on Indian Lake in Denville, N.J., within commuting distance of Yankee Stadium by limo, this could be what he’d see. This is a photograph of the full moon over Indian Lake last night — It’s a “Foto by Fisher’ —taken by our pal Annie Fisher, wife of Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Andy Fisher. There is some discussion over what to call this month’s gigantic full moon. I believe it is known in Texas as “The Big Ass Moon,” because of the cowboy exclamation, “Well, jangle muh spurs, thayit is a Big Ass Moon.”
A SHERMAN CAT’S CONDITION;
A NEIGHBORHOOD RESCUE
This situation evolved from a horrible event witnessed Friday night.
We got the story from Connie Lazenby who filled us in on the story of this young cat — as you can see, she’s wearing a protective collar and missing her left front leg. This all is the result of poor human behavior last Friday.
The story, from Connie, is some kids in Sherman were “playing” with this injured cat and threw her into a trash bin. They may have injured the cat. A neighbor saved the cat.
You can see a video —it’s disturbing — on Connie’s Facebook page here. [LARRY ASIDE: This is awful. It'll just make you want to send a team of mental health professionals and some peace officers to that house.]
 Connie says that after the video was posted Wednesday night, it “got over 4K views. We included the phone number for Sherman animal services. We received a call back from them this morning and they are investigating. 
“We also received a call from a reporter with Channel 12 news in the Sherman area and they want to interview us today.
“My granddaughter is fostering her. Thanks again for any help you can give us. We received information that this isn’t the first time that animal abuse has occurred at that house.”
[LARRY ASIDE: This is the kind of story that local journalism must do — whether it’s people hurting animals or people hurting people. If the authorities know of these situations, something can be done to improve conditions for humans and animals. Read about the Cycle of Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse HERE.]
SANTA PHOTOS AND CLASP
We got a note about a busy Santa photos weekend for CLASP (Cowtown Loves Animal Shelter Pets). Photos with Santa are being taken all over the Santa-saturated world by so many animal organizations. So, check with your favorite rescue group or shelter to see where you and your critters can be photographed with the “right jolly ‘ol elf.”
CLASP’s schedule includes 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Petco, 2717 W. Park Row in Arlington and, also, same hours, at the Mansfield Petco, 2041, US 287 Frontage Road. On Sunday, CLASP returns to the Mansfield Petco from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
So, probably, most people reading this already have a dog or a cat. Or two or three.
But, just in case you don’t have one, there are a few available for adoption through CLASP. All you have to do is qualify as a good, animal-loving, responsible, concerned human. 
Among the available dogs are this festive Dalmatian mix named Bandit, a 9-year-old fellow whose life has been both interesting and dull.
CLASP says he was adopted in April 2010, then the family started having children and “Bandit was banished to the backyard after their first child was born because if Bandit barked the baby woke up. So there he lived alone in the backyard for 7 years until we got him the 4th week of June 2019.” What’s he been doing lately? He’s been “helping a CLASP foster dog adjust to living with people.” Ask about Bandit by emailing gaylawithclasp@ gmail.com. The family who had him took care of him and provided “14 pages of vet records showing he has had superb routine vet care, including regular dentals.”

Want to adopt a CLASP Cat? This is Rosemary, a calm girl who clearly understands blending in with stripes. She’s got an estimated birthday of April 1, 2016, has never lived with a dog or kids and she’s “fixed.” She may know Santa personally — that’s not included in her bio. To as about Rosemary, call 817-886-7300.

CONTEMPLATIONS
A MASK, A HOLIDAY SONG & NEWSROOM FITNESS
I saw a post on the Texas Humane Legislation Network Facebook page abut an Austin resident, Kirby Homes, who has developed an anti-pollution mask for dogs. Supposed to protect against some allergens, too. My funspouse Martha is particularly sensitive to the North Texas pollens — both in Dallas and Tarrant Counties. I’d get one of these masks for her, but when I try to slip anything over her muzzle she tends to snap at me. Besides, she has one of those cute little noses that isn’t meant to be covered up by a mask. You can see it in this photo of her and her harp! Here’s the mask story LINK to that story. And I do see some irony in the fact that a guy develops a pollution protection mask in the same city that hosts the Texas Legislature every other year. …
I had the pleasure of working with this zany, animalfan, gifted/heart-touching writer Leslie Barker back when she was an intern at a small newspaper chain in suburban Dallas and later for decades — DECADES — at The Big Paper Downtown. Here’s a solid truth: She’s probably the nicest person who ever worked in journalism. Here's her holiday song from one of the newspaper's promotional pieces. She’s also very fit — as you may guess from her Christmas song. … Speaking of fitness in Journalism: When I started in newspapers in 1965, the only people who got any exercise were the afternoon paperboys who biked around town for hours and pedaled and threw papers into the shrubbery and puddles. Well, some of them hit the targets — I’m almost certain no paperboy from Texarkana ever pitched in the big leagues. The most famous Texarkana Gazette & Daily News paperboy was a youngster who grew up to be famed multi-millionaire presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. He and I went to the same elementary, junior high and high schools — he was many years ahead of me and we did not make similar grades in math and business. We both knew the entire alphabet, however, thanks to the great teachers at Highland Park Elementary School in Texarkana, Texas! He and I once spent about an hour outside a federal courtroom talking about our elementary school and the exemplary teachers. As it turns out, I never worked as a paperboy, only as a reporter/editor/columnist — high finance puzzled me.
—- Offer opinions or allegations by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

ANIMALS NEED HELP, SOME HUMANS ANSWER; BUT: AN ECHO OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Threat of snow one morning, fog moves in the next — watch for a red-nosed reindeer on Thursday morning? The signs are there.
But back to the business of helping people who help animals.

See that artwork about adoption. We’ve been writing about the great Euless Trinity Girls Awareness Program Rescue — shorthanded as GAP Rescue — for years. So, it seems appropriate to post this message from a GAP Facebook entry a few days ago. 
Remember, this organization grew from the Euless Trinity High School Girls Awareness Program’s efforts to save animals and bond with Euless Animal Services to forward the mission. 
When you go to trinitygaprescue.org you can see the animals GAP is helping. You may even want to adopt one or more of them — for longer than the Christmas season, of course.

That boy with the great eyes and face is a Mastiff mix named “Rev.”
Email trinitygapclub@gmail.com for dogs and for cats, such as the beautiful Pixie the Torbie, email latkinson@eulesstx.gov.

[LARRY ASIDE ABOUT TODAY’S CONTEMPLATIONS: GAP Rescue is an honorable non-profit that has saved the lives of hundreds of dogs and cats, yet, not one young volunteer has ever been named Honorary Captain of an NFL Pro Bowl Team — oops, I got a bit snarky with Michael Vick reference, didn’t I? We’ll discuss that Pro Bowl “Honorary Captain/Michael Vick situation in Contemplations. First we’ve got some animals to SAVE.]
A LANCASTER UPDATE
Adoption fees have been waived on the Lancaster dogs we wrote about yesterday, according to 4 Legged Helpers organizer Laura Macias. Scroll down to Tuesday’s edition for the info. That’s Zane, a dog on death row unti the end unless a human helps him.
And, remember, Lancaster has cats, too. This one, Marla, is becoming a bit famous because, sweet though she is, she always looks as if "someone just woke her up from a cat nap." She's described as "looking grumpy." [LARRY ASIDE: Cat lovers immediately want to hold her and hug her and scratch between the ears!]
DIESEL IS WAITING
FOR A RIDE IN DENTON
The Denton McNatt Animal Shelter and Adoption Center currently has this guy Diesel in its population, we learned from the veteran shelter-watching critter fan Amy Poskey.
She writes, “Hey everybody, this BIG boy is as sweet as it gets and he needs our help!”
How’d he wind up in the shelter? It’s a bit of a bittersweet story. 
The bitter part is, Amy says, “Diesel’s family was not financially able to treat his heartworm and arthritis so a friend suggested they put him down.” 
Here’s the sweeter part. Amy writes, “They were thankful the shelter told them we would reach out to rescue groups on their behalf.”

A noble and wonderful act on the part of the shelter. Amy says, “The shelter staff could see what a WONDERFUL boy he is so we are hoping someone can give Diesel a retirement home with lots of love and soft pillows cuz he has beginning stages of arthritis. Bless his heart, he doesn’t understand why his ‘family’ abandoned him. It’s heartbreaking.”
His bio says he’s an 8- to 10-year-old “Dawg/Shepherd Mix who is fully vetted, heartworm positive, weighs 35 pounds, people friendly, dog friendly, loves affection, very well-behaved and is just SOOOOO SWEET. He’s truly a gentle giant with a heart as big as Texas.”
 You can see him at the McNatt shelter at 377 N. Elm St. in Denton. Email gayla.nelsen@cityofdenton.com, Randi.Weinberg@cityofdenton.com, and/or julien.peralta@cityofdenton.com. Call the shelter at 940-349-7594. Here’s the LINK to his PetFinder info.
COMING UP OUT AT THE LAKE
From 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday the 14th, the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake will host a special “shots/testing/chipping” clinic at the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City is operated by the Friends. We get the notice from the voice of the Friends Sydney Busch.
 Available at the clinic on Saturday: “affordable vaccinations, heartworm testing, microchipping, feline leukemia testing and other non-surgical services.” 
Visit the Friends online at friendsoftheanimals.org. The clinic is at 122 Old Gun Barrel Lane in Gun Barrel City.
CONTEMPLATION
THE MICHAEL VICK SITUATION…
When I first started reading about the petition protesting the NFL naming Michael Vick to be an honorary captain at the 2020 Pro Bowl next month, the story said that about 220,000 people had signed a petition opposing that “honorary” position for Vick. The count is now beyond the half-million mark and the site is aiming for more than a million signatures — here’s the LINK.
Nobody has longer or firmer memories than animal people — thank Heaven. We remember the faces of animals we’ve saved and the faces of those that didn’t make it, i.e., Mercy the Dog, for example, victim of a jerk setting her ablaze in Carrollton because she wouldn’t mate with another dog.
Vick killed dogs because they wouldn’t fight hard enough.
The 2020 Pro Bowl is scheduled on January 26 in Orlando — the 2019 Pro Bowl drew a TV audience of 8.2 million. Here’s A LINK TO THE STATS.
[LARRY ASIDE: Readlarrypowell.com reminds people that then-Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway gave the key to the City of Dallas to Michael Vick in February, 2011, after he'd served his federal sentence and as AT&T Stadium (in Arlington, not Dallas) was hosting the Pittsburgh/Green Bay Super Bowl XLV. 
I’d have asked Mr. Caraway about this Honorary Captain issue but the former Dallas City Council member is not accessible — he’s doing 4 1/2 federal prison years for taking bribes ($450,000) in the Dallas County School’s bus stop-arm cameras scandal. He shouldn’t be an honorary captain of any bowl game, either.
]
You want some Vick background? ESPN’s Feb. 7, 2011, story HERE read, “In 2007, Vick was convicted of a felony related to a dogfighting ring and served 19 months in prison.” That’s a lightweight description of the things Vick actually did, according to courtroom testimony.
You can get the disgusting flavor of that in this ESPN story.
And if you want to read even more about the operations at Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia, here’s an Animal Legal Defense Fund report ONLINE.
I’m not sure any form of the word “honor” should ever be in the same sentence with “Michael Vick.” There is much sadness in this case and its aftermath — for crying out loud, Vick has four kids: How does he explain this to children? Tortured dogs that didn’t reach the Vick’s Bad Newz fighting standards were killed by humans’ bare hands — some by hanging, some by electrocution, at least one by body-slamming. Those are just the incidents in testimony. Who knows what wasn’t mentioned in court? It’s all too much to handle, isn’t it?

And, I guess I will never understand how a heart makes the jump from loving a dog to making it fight and then deciding to kill it. It’s a decision, not an accident. The human makes a decision to kill. Honorary captain. Yeah.
I’m probably not going to watch the Pro Bowl or buy anything that advertises during the show. 
I already don’t watch the Fox NFL analysis shows because I don’t want my TV beaming that guy’s voice into the room with my dogs and cats.

—- Offer opinions or opposition by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

FROM CANINES AND CATS TO STATE FAIR SINGING COWBOYS & A GIANT BABY BOOMER

EDITION OF TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2019 [PetPowellPress] For this edition, we’re going to wander, ramble, stumble around and see what pops up on a cold and wintry day though we have yet to reach the end of Autumn and the official start of Winter, 10:19 p.m. North Texas time on Saturday, December 21. Sweater weather. Oh, we’ll also reach back in time to Texas’ tallest, possibly most well-known Baby Boomer. As they smarmily say, "OK, Baby Boomers", of which I am one. That's Apprentice Office Cat Stevie Ray on the top shelf of my desk and staring at me while I work. That was yesterday. Today's photo is later in today's edition.
FROM FORT WORTH
A BIG EVENT'S ADOPTIONS!
This was the announcement on the Fort Worth Animal Care and Control Page. That’s a lot of adoptions.
Makes you wonder what those adoptors have been doing all year. Sitting around waiting for the right moment to rush through a building crowded with hundreds of dogs and nab one? 
I’m baffled by the mindset, never having adopted a dog from a shelter (we always found ours in the yard, on the road, in a park or on the porch). I pray that the canine-human partnership proves beneficial for all concerned. And I am grateful these adoptors stepped forward to get animals off municipal death rows. The Mega Adoption Event is a great idea -- a good conversation starter for people proud of their new critter! "Out of hundreds of animals, this baby is the one that spoke to me."
MEANWHILE LANCASTER CONTINUES
TO NEED ANIMALS MOVED TO SAFETY
The Lancaster Animal Shelter, on the southern brink of Big D, still has this girl Marla ready for adoption. She’s the cat who was described as “such a sweetie, but clearly, the shelter has a grumpy cat.” That came from the folks with 4 Legged Helpers, the people who focus on small shelters with no human “shopping for a dog or cat” traffic. Plenty of paw traffic, no foot traffic.

The Tuesday note from Helper Laura Macias says things are desperate at the shelter and the "first dogs to be euthanized will be Zane, Mike and Jasper since they have been there longer.
"All available to rescue and all adoption fees waved on these 3 also.
"
Lop-eared Earhound Zane is described as affectionate and wants to “have someone love him,” she says. 

Mike is “the sweetest, sweet, most loveable gentle sweetheart of a cuddly dog you can imagine. [LARRY ASIDE: That is a great dogface! Hard not to take his face in both hands and kiss that big ol’ nose, isn’t it? I’m speaking as a devoted fan of big ol’ dawgs.]

And “Jasper is just all cuteness. He is funny and loveable and sweet.” He’s got a great set of ears, obviously an Earhound and he’s a non-stop tailwagger.
Call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com. Transport is available for 501c3 rescuers. AnD, she wrote, “Now $200 donation for any approved 501c3 rescue to pul; dogs or cats!”
MEANWHILE, THE SPECIAL
THAT’S RUNNING IN DALLAS
Oh, my, Dallas Animal Services is running a special. There’s the artwork. 
“All pets $10” is the key.
I spotted this on the DAS Facebook page, then scrolled down and found the taxpayer-financed municipal animal shelter celebrating the November “live release” statistic. 
Having witnessed many years when “live release” was a foreign phrase to City of Dallas Animal Services, I do celebrate this as long as the animals are being live-released to good places that will care for them.

[LARRY ASIDE: For the record, we are happy about live releases, but we also despair when we consider that people will buy a ten dollar dog or cat and give it to someone who doesn’t want it as a “Christmas surprise.” We also fret over the possibility that they’ll hand over a terrified animal to someone who has never dealt with an animal before. There are just so many things that can go wrong if the human isn’t sensitive to the animals needs. And, of course, we recognize that a home is generally better than the needle. Still, every now and then, we’ll run across a story of a DAS adoptee who winds up dumped and on death row at a suburban shelter. Sometimes it’s the other way around.
Bless the rescue groups who jump in to save the animals no matter what their shelter of origin. And we have to remember this awful, shameful truth: There’s a failed human experience at the heart of the story of every shelter dog or cat. Humans — oh, we’ve got some real 'corkers' on our giant roster of free-roaming don’t care/so what knuckleheads.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
LIVING ON CAT TIME, PLUS FILMS, COWBOYS AND TEXAS' TALLEST BABY BOOMER
In my office, I have a Bose radio/cd player and it sits on a shelf — the controls are all on top of the device. So, at 3:48 a.m. Tuesday, my office cat Stevie Ray tap-danced across the control panel and set off the alarm. Some people and some dogs can sleep through anything — not Mr. Insomnia. Nossir, I’m up staggering into the office to hit the off button. That is Stevie Ray sleeping this morning in front of his window as I blearily type. ... I did have something good happen: I quietly turned the TV on in time to catch the last half-hour or so of the 1936 black and white comedy Libeled Lady starring William Powell and Myrna Loy and, as the “other couple,” Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. Oddly, the next film on Turner Classic Movies was the 1946 Technicolor film Easy To Wed, a remake of Libeled Lady with Van Johnson and Esther Williams in the Powell/Loy roles and Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball as the “other couple.”… FYI, speaking of 1936 movies, Texas was celebrating its 100th anniversary of independence in 1936. Where? Well, all over, but especially at the State Fair of Texas in Fair Park. And if you need something to put on your 2020 calendar besides political notices, the 2020 State Fair of Texas runs Friday, Sept. 25, through Sunday, Oct. 18. And, as you may suspect, there’s more going on at Fair Park than the nation’s biggest fair — the great State Fair of Texas. A good place to start is the Friends of Fair Park site and calendar HERE. And if you’d like to see what fantastic Fair Park looked like at the Texas Centennial, here’s a compilation clip with songs from The Big Show, the film made at The Texas Centennial at the State Fair. These include performances by “The Singing Cowboy,” Tioga, Texas-born movie and TV star Gene Autry. And if you look closely at the clips of The Sons of the Pioneers at the Fair, you’ll see a young guitar picker who became known as “The King of the Cowboys” on TV and the big screen, Cincinnati, Ohio-born Roy Rogers. This is probably true: No other state fair can claim having been the site of a movie with both of the movie’s greatest singing cowboys. And if you have time, here’s youtube’s link to The Big Show — all of it. … Don’t look for Big Tex in the 1936 film — he’s a Baby Boomer. This has nothing to with the holiday season, though we will (as has been pointed out a zillion times) note that the greatest Fair Park cowboy Big Tex started his exhibition career as Santa Claus in Kerens in 1949. That’s a silhouetted art shot from 2014 with Big Tex and Santa — wait, sorry. That’s Big Tex and a Baby Boomer working a cell phone camera which, as you know, is something that younger generations think cannot be accomplished by Baby Boomers. Heck, we used to make telephones out of twine and tin cans. Then use coffee cans and film to take pictures. What is film? Oh, kids, ask your grandpas and grandmas if you can find ‘em on the golf course or at the gym or doing yardwork or still at their offices making money and paying taxes.
—- To offer a rebuttal or an embrace, click on ‘comment’ below or email dallrp@aol.com with the salutation, “Dear Antiquated Ol’ Typer,” —-

WHEN YOU'RE SMITTEN BY THE SPANIEL, PIT & CATS, WRITE A PM EDITION....

PM EDITION OF MONDAY, DEC. 9, 2019 [PetPowellPress] The resolute reality of the life of readlarrypowell.com is this: The founder of the website is a sucker for Cocker Spaniels. That’s why we’re featuring Baby Doll in this Extra Edition.

[LARRY AIDE: Years ago, as regular readers know, the Heart of the Writer was claimed by a naked-from-mange, purebred Cocker puppy dumped and found in Dallas Kiest Park. His name was Inky -- that's him lickin' his chops --  and he ruled the world for about 15 years. Any time we look into a Cocker’s eyes, we see Inky. He's still a force on the planet.]
Perhaps, if the right person loves this girl, that "force on the planet" reputation will also come true for Baby Doll, one of the Mesquite Animal Services dogs we learned about  from the shelter’s volunteer biographer Judi Brown. 
You see Baby Doll’s card, as plucked from the Mesquite Animal Services site HERE. 
Baby Doll is 11 1/2 years old, Judi says. A 20-pound Cocker “mix,” but, that sure looks like a whole lotta Cocker in that DNA. Why was she surrendered? Judi writes, “She has a skin problem, and she is missing hair on her underside and is itching. She has a yeast like odor. She also has two tumors between her legs.…She is absolutely adorable with a matching adorable personality! She had just received a bath and I’m told that she was very cooperative. That doesn’t surprise me as she’s a real sweetheart! She’s friendly and wants to be close to her human friends. She loves to snuggle. She’s extremely affectionate. She’s also very calm and easy going. … She’s hoping that she will get to spend the rest of her life snuggling up on warm blankets on a couch or a bed next to her owners.”
Judi, who meets the Mesquite dogs she writes about and gets to know them, says the dog’s surrendering humans said Baby Doll “does better with adults and that she’s not particularly fond of being around other dogs ....although she has been. That could just be her age in that she might want to have peace and quiet in her later years.”
To ask about Baby Doll — adopting or tagging — call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com. Use here ID #43375033.
See more Mesquite shelter animals by going to the website HERE.
And if somebody beats you to Baby Doll, turn your hopes and dreams to this cutie pie — that’s #43350399, the year-old, 50-pound, Brindle Pittie Marty. He arrived as a stray on December 3. Judi says, “His coloring and stand up ears make him stand out in a crowd. He’s very friendly and affectionate. He loves to give bear hugs. He does jump on you to do this; however, he knows the no command and will get down when you tell him to. …He went nose to nose with several dogs in the bay wagging his tail. I did not see any aggression.” 
[LARRY ASIDE: Yes, we adore Cocker Spaniels, but we also adore Pitties — and Marty is one cute little guy. You’d be compelled to carry a pocketful of treats and an armful of hugs when he was your sidekick — yeah, I know these dogs.]
Oh, and remember, there are cats in Mesquite. We’ve mentioned Raymond Noodle (#42543537), 3-plus, before —holy moly, he’s been waiting in the shelter since August 22. And, today, for this extra, we’re introducing a black cat, age unknown, named Van Gogh (#43012882), — he has a notched ear, the sign that he’s benefited from a spay/neuter clinic at some point. Well, that’s not exactly parallel with artist Vincent Van Gogh’s life, but you get the drift. He’s been in the shelter since October 17. Before Halloween.
— Offer dog and cat advice and praise by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com with “hairball” in the subject line (I’m kidding.) —-

DUMPED IN THE BAYOU TO DROWN? (PLUS MOVIES & CHANCES TO HELP ANIMALS)

EDITION OF MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2019 [PetPowellPress] You think this dog looks weak and bad in this photo? You need to read the early part of the story. We’ll note that at one point she was
named “Lassy” and has since been renamed “Bayou.” You’ll see why.

This is a December 4 note from Houston’s BARC, the animal control people: “One of our officers answered the following call: DOG IS STUCK IN THE BAYOU, SUBMERGED IN WATER, PLS ASSIST.  When there, the officer was able to get the dog to safety and bring her into the shelter.  Lassy does have a microchip so we had hope that we would be able to contact the owner so they could get the dog only to find out the owner knew the dog was injured and thought that by calling animal control the dog would be able to get the help she needed.”

 Readlarrypowell.com got a copy of a note from Houston attorney Steven H. Halpert of the non-profit Friends of BARC, Inc. It read, “This is a really pathetic story, not sure why this owner is not being charged with Animal Cruelty (Abandonment). At least this sweetheart is away from her negligent excuse for a parent, the perfect opportunity for someone with a brain and a heart to scoop her up.”

A “brain and heart” scooped her up. As Steven wrote, “Thankfully this sweet girl was rescued by Red Collar Rescue, one of the most reputable groups in Houston…Donations can be made to RCR’s site.” 

We have written about Red Collar Rescue several times before, thanks to our reliable Houston contact Alexandra Kelsey. She provided this report from Charlotte Liberda of Red Collar who says the organization picked the pup up from BARC on that very Wednesday and took her to VERGI (Veterinary Emergency Referral Group Inc.) 
The injuries included “a shattered left femur, fractured pelvis, dislocated right hip, large hematoma of the abdominal wall and an abnormally distended bladder.”
 There’s more.
“She was put on IV fluids, urinary catheter, pain meds, and more.”

Bayou has since become a “joint project with Sav-A-Pet,” Charlotte’s note read, then adds, “However, due to her severe injuries, Dr. Michael Huddleston thinks it best she go to Texas A&M or an orthopedic surgeon here.  We are looking at options now.  Bayou has a long, long road to recovery.  Any donations are greatly appreciated and can be made at www.redcollar.org.  Specify for ‘Bayou’.”
FYI: The shelter’s note told of the owner-contact: “Contacted owner and informed her that her pet is currently here at the shelter and it's severely injured. She explained to me that the dog got hurt back around Thanksgiving and her son tried to carry the dog but was unable to. Then someone called animal control to come and get the pet. Her understanding was that animal control would seek medical help for the pet. She said she cannot redeem due to not having enough money to take animal to private vet.”
And there’s this explanation from Red Collar Rescue: “Bayou is unable to walk due to her severe injuries. The vets have confirmed there is no way that Bayou could have walked into the bayou/water by herself. Appears she was injured somewhere else, and then possibly dumped into the bayou to drown her.”
[LARRY ASIDE: You see now why someone might think a cruelty investigation would be appropriate. A dog hurt in that many places and struggling in a bayou isn’t a victim of any self-inflicted mishap.]


WHY WAS
JINGLES WHIMPERING?
Oh, goodness, doesn’t that thought urge your heart to wonder how to help? The story of this Mesquite stray, Jingles, a 1- or 2-year-old Brindle Pittie stray, starts when she arrived at the Mesquite Animal Services shelter on December 1. Our tipster, the shelter’s volunteer biographer, Judi Brown, wrote, “There was a possible owner but they did not come for her. Her coloring makes her a real standout. She’s actually handsome! She’s also very happy, fun loving and carefree. She’s friendly. Her tail wags her whole body. Although she did her business as soon as she got into the yard and explored the surroundings, she spent most the time close to me. She obviously wanted attention. There was one point where she was looking over the fence and started to whimper. It made me think she was probably looking for her owners.”

The 54-pound dog’s ID is 43337462 — use that number when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
You can see more animals at the shelter by visiting it online at this SITE.

Among the cats are some with just numbers and then there are four named by someone who surely must have studied American history of the 1930s-1940s — Franklin, Eleanor, Delano and Roosevelt.
GREYHOUND ADOPTION LEAGUE
REACHES BEYOND THE BIG D ZIP CODES
That black and white dog is a young Greyhound mix named Emma. She’d been “picked up” with two Border Collie mixes “outside of Caprock Canyon State Park. When she was on the brink of euthanasia, the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas got help from Pilots N Paws “to fly Emma from Amarillo to the Dallas area.” That was on Nov. 12 and she was GALT'S “first arrival via Pilots N Paws,” according to the non-profit Greyhound rescue’s newsletter. You can read Emma’s story on the newsletter site HERE and you can also read the “Welcome, Arana!” story — “She was found stray in Argentina in July” and is now the U.S. and, after medical care is done, will be available for adoption. There are more GALT miracle stories at that LINK.
CONTEMPLATIONS
THE CALL OF THE MOVIE; REMAKES, DAYS AND 5 & DIMES
We’re dedicating this edition to every dog or cat who’s found a home since the Yukon Gold rush in the 1890s. Why? Because that’s the setting of Jack London’s novel, The Call of the Wild. Over the weekend, we saw a movie trailer for a remake of The Call of the Wild, due in theaters on Feb. 21. Buck the Dog is very, very CGI. Harrison Ford is the human star and I’m almost certain he is not CGI, but I can’t be sure — I mean, I did see Kylo Ren kill him in The Force Awakens. Wait, I’m getting my heroic Harrison Ford movies mixed up. But, seriously, does the world need another remake of The Call of the Wild? Does anyone read that book these days? How about another remake of Little Women (2019 version due out on Christmas Day. Meryl Streep plays Aunt March, but she’s so good she could have played Buck with an authentic accent in The Call of the Wild— probably was busy filming Little Women.)… The online calendar Holiday Insights reports that December 9 is both National Christmas Card Day AND National Pastry Day — two things I endorse! The first designation honors, HI says, “Sir Henry Cole (1818 - 1874) of England. Cole created the first commercial Christmas Card in 1843.” Pastry Day honors every size of pants and belt that I hang in my closet because I have chosen to celebrate pastries on more than one day a year! … Quick, name your favorite 5 & Dime store chain for Christmas shopping and if you could name one, I’ll bet you’re older than 45. Me? I miss Kress, Newberry’s, Woolworth’s, G.C. Murphy, Ben Franklin —- and I miss Christmas shopping in those stores at those prices, especially. Things change, especially the prices. The Senator bought this Holiday Watch Crown at a Washington, D.C.,Woolworth’s for $3.95 plus tax one Christmas — he went in for a bag of Christmas Catnip but was enchanted by the crown.
—- Offer advice or observations by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

WHEN THE PAPARAZZI CLICKS THE CAMERA

Yes, this is a 1-2-3 sequence of my little dog Porche Noel, found on the front porch at Christmas years ago.
Porche has long been accustomed to celebrity-chasing photographers, I’m told by some of her confidants. 
She’s the spotlight of this week’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. I caught her snoozing in my napspouse Martha’s recliner, took a photo, she opened her eyes, I snapped again and she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. (That strip of photos just above is the “straight off the camera in order” alignment so you’ll know I didn’t make up that closed-open-closed look of my darlin’ Porchie-pie.)
I am studying her ability to sleep in hopes of conquering the insomnia that generally has a grip on me from Thanksgiving through Christmas morning because I have the inability to dream of sugarplums. Baptist Boy, you know, so I’m always awake listening for either a Chorus of Angels delivering stray lambs to our pasture or a fat man in a red suit stomping on our roof.
That’s a photo of Porche and her pal Simon the Bottle-fed Kitten. Porche’s snoozing and Simon is practicing being on the alert for odd sounds on the roof. This is what they call their “Hoof On the Roof Drill.”
[LARRY REMINDER: Send photos of your holiday slumbering dogs and cats — can be costumed! — to dallrp@aol.com and we’ll spotlight them in our long-running weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. Remember, your comfortably slumbering animals are evidence that love builds trust. And, you’re demonstrating that insomniacs can sleep, too, if they just find the right cat to stand guard.]
—- Offer opinions and tips by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

RECYCLING LEAVES, POMS AND OTHER CRITTERS WHILE A BUTTER STORY MAKES 'NEWS'

EDITION OF FRIDAY, DEC. 6, 2019 [PetPowellPress] We’ll start with a neighborhood report. The office cat William Powell demonstrates for his apprentice, Stevie Ray, how to properly watch the recycling guys pick up three bags of autumn leaves from the curb in front of our home. “It’s a science,” William confided to intent-on-learning Stevie Ray. “As an indoor cat, you must sit motionless until you know what’s going on. Then, as you realize they’re not coming through the window — I cite the barking dogs going mindlessly ape down the hall — you’ll know whether to purr, feign alarm or point to the recyclable material the office clown has left in his desk-side wastebasket for three weeks.” Stevie nodded knowingly, then walked away in search of one more bite of brain-powering breakfast.
THE LATEST UPDATE
ON THE ELECTRIC TAPE DOG
For as long as i can remember, I have been a fascinated admirer of people who give their hearts to helping animals overcome the challenges of life. Some of you just read that sentence and know I am talking about you.
Here’s the case that inspired that expression of admiration this morning: Charm the Dog. 
We first told you about her when things were up in the air. Now, decisions have been made. 
She’d arrived at Dallas Animal Services with “electrical tape” binding her badly broken right foreleg — it was a “cast” apparently meant to help her heal. She had a chip, but the people didn’t want her back. So, mercifully, Recycled Pomeranians & Schipperkes stepped up to claim her and get things started on making her healthy again. She was already a lively dog, appreciative of human contact. She just needed medical help.
 Our Recycled Poms contact Cheri Fults said the decision was made by the vet to take a careful look at Charm’s leg and decide whether to amputate or try to repair.
At first the decision was to amputate.
Cheri told readlarrypowell.com, “I was very upset because it makes the second dog we’ve gotten in that needed an amputation when the leg could have been saved had it been treated sooner. Our vet called me back and said he could do two pins at a time but it would mean multiple surgeries. It will take about a year to get her through them all. Since she is just one year old, I consented. However, there is no guarantee it will work.”

But, the dog has a chance. And that’s more than she had when she was limping around with electrical tape tightly binding her broken leg. Yes, there will be expenses. But that is the nature of animal rescue — people give their hearts and their money to make up for people who, to borrow from Dr. Seuss, may have “hearts two sizes too small.” 
You can donate to the Recycled Poms’ cause at www.recycledpoms.org.
 And, as you know, all rescue groups need foster homes. It’s a great way to help an animal while installing a memory in your heart — a memory that reminds you of something good you’ve done in your life while helping a dog or cat or lots of other kinds of animals survive a challenge. Here’s the Recycled Poms’ LINK TO APPLY TO BE A FOSTER.
'WE HAVE AN ABSOLUTE EMERGENCY.'
That dog is Mike and that headline is the way today’s appeal on behalf of Lancaster Animal Services inhabitants begins. We got it from 4 Legged Helpers, the non-profit small-shelter advocate organization powered by Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden. 
Last week, you may recall, Lancaster euthanized Champ and Lily to make room for more animals. Here are some of the “more” animals. And you can see the entire email from 4 Legged Helpers by going to this link.  Among the animals you will see are that opening dog, Mike a neutered and microchipped Bulldog mix who somehow wound in the small shelter.
You’ll also see Star, described as a “spayed Bully/Easter Bunny Mix.” Yeah, she’s an Earhound of the Lop-Eared, Big Tongued variety.
And there are cats: This girl is Marla. Today’s note about her (there are MORE cats waiting for the needle) reads, “Yes, Marla looks like this all the time. In every picture. In person all the time. She is a sweetie but clearly the shelter has a grumpy cat! Adorable. She is very sweet despite ‘The Look.’ She looks as if someone disturbed her catnap.”
To offer to help these or any of the many dogs and cats waiting for rescue or adoption at the Lancaster shelter, call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
“Time is imperative,” the 4 Legged Helpers appeal reads. “There may not be a second chance… This shelter is WAY BEYOND FULL.”
And remember, if you’re a non-profit, arrangements can be made for transportation of the dogs and cats.
TWO DOGS, TOO MUCH CRUELTY,
TWO CHANCES TO HELP
Our longtime rescue pal Gail Whelan of Companion Animal Network stepped between two dogs and the needle today. And now the dogs need some help for the rest of their lives! 
Gail says the Sheriff of Wood County in East Texas seized these two dogs in an animal cruelty case. “They were tied to trees with no shelter and were not being fed. The hearing was today and the judge had them surrendered to C.A.N. or they would have been euthanized today. We are in desperate need of fosters or adopters for these two. 

“The Sheriff has graciously agreed to let them stay there for a couple of weeks to allow me time to find something for them. ... They cannot stay at the Sheriff's facility for long.”

Duke is that young — maybe 7 months old — purebred Great Dane who “was starved and has skin infections that are being treated. He needs TLC and a lot of love. He is an angel. Just wants to kiss you and lean on you.”
The theory is Finn is a Collie mix, about a year-old boy. “He was not at this home long enough to be starved,” Gail says. “Both boys have sweet, sweet temperaments. “
To ask about helping either or both of these, email Gail at can.adoptions@ yahoo.com or call her at 903-967-3226.
Gail says that the custody hearing revealed that there might be two more dogs on the property, including one that was “hit by a car but [the alleged abuser] never sought medical help and it is tied up, too. And I think a puppy is there.” The sheriff’s office is looking into that situation and, Gail says, will “hopefully seize those two also.”
 Links to C.A.N. are can.adoptions@yahoo.com and www.ca-n.petfinder.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS
CRIME, SHOPPING AND BUTTER
We saw the story in Dallas about Mayor Eric Johnson’s initiative to get the police chief to focus on reducing crime in the city. We support this measure. In fact, we supported it before it was made by removing some potential crime victim statistics from Dallas: We moved to Fort Worth. But I remain devoted to Dallas — it’s a zany town and I lived there for decades and have written about it for nearly a half-a-century. I know the town secrets. Look for some of them in an upcoming book. And two of you ex-mayors know what I’m talking about. Relax, I’m not that mean. … In a historic mood this AM, we looked at onthisday.com and discovered that Thomas Edison recorded “Mary Had a Little Lamb” just in time for Christmas distribution. Oh, wait. That was in 1877. I think he was the only guy with a player at the time — had an 8-track deck installed in his buckboard. Here’s THAT RECORDING.…. You wouldn’t think that a butter appearance would have legs, as they say. Anybody else watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast and see the big stick of walking butter bumping into NBC’s Al Roker and having a goofy butter-based exchange? Turns out the butter performer was, according to this Daily Voice news story, Rev. Donny Willis, a pastor at the Westchester Church in Valhalla, N.Y. (There’s a Texas connection: Rev. Willis met his wife at Texas Bible College.) In the meantime, Mr. Roker is reportedly in a twitter fight with the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.  ...  I report these things because I’m not assigned to cover anything involving Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East or the Dallas Cowboys front office. Yeah, I watch the “Macy’s Day Parade,” as the locals call it. Never thought “Butterman” would be a Macy’s character. Could a giant Butterman balloon be next — floating next to an Al Roker NBC Today Balloon? Dangit, now I’m missing Thanksgiving — it’s a holiday with staying power in my heart. Yours, too, I hope.
— Offer opinions or objections by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com and telling us how you didn’t gain a pound in past week. —-

DOGS, CATS, BASEBALL & SPACE

EDITION OF THURDAY, DEC. 5, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Good morning, ladies and gents, all others and all the animals who are reading this. Impeachment strife is underway, the Dallas Cowboys are in a fix and it’s the holiday season. Stressapalooza!
Before we get to the dogs and cats and their helpers, let’s take a moment to analyze the hope for summer success with a team that traditionally honors rescued dogs during the season. Surely they'll do in the new stadium, too.

The Texas Rangers have given us big challenges by introducing new uniforms and logos for the team as it begins play in the “new ballpark,” the one with the roof. Does that logo look as if the Texas Rangers are going to be sponsored by the United States Postal Service? TX. Anyone else believe on the grave of ex-U.S. Congressman from Tennessee and Alamo hero David Crockett that Texas should always be spelled out? 
Or do you live in fear that you will accidentally type “Taxes” and set off a movement for more of ‘em in the Texas Legislature?
 The Rangers showed off the new uniforms Wednesday and they were all worn by either fielders or skipper Chris Woodward. What does that mean? It means that no matter what design or what color the uniform— bright red to powder blue — there’s no pitching. 
That’s what that means. No pitching and a USPS Zip Code logo.

WHY DO DOGS ARRIVE
WITHOUT ANY PROTECTION?
If you can answer that question without using the term “human failure,” you’re a better man than I, Gunga Din. (Literary reference. See Contemplations.) Here’s the deal: See these dogs? They’re running loose at Cleburne. We got the story from Heather Harrison, veteran advocate and rescuer and spotighter. The story is there are 5 4-month-old puppies “in DIRE need of rescue.  These li’l ones were born to a feral momma in the country.  A family has been feeding and trying to look after them but they are now mobile.   The pups are getting near the highway so their safety is a huge concern now.  The family is begging for a rescue to save these li'l ones before its too late.” 
Heather tells us Momma Dog is a 20-pound mix and Dad is “unknown.” To volunteer to help save these free-roaming lives, email Heather at NICKALE7@YAHOO.COM.
TWO FABULOUS FACES
ON THE MESQUITE CLOCK
You know that old line about a picture being worth a thousand words — here are 4,000 words worth of eyes and faces pictures of two dogs sent to us by the Mesquite volunteer shelter biographer Judi Brown. As you know, she meets the dogs she writes about — she gets to know them and she knows, in general their history. These things INCREASE the adoptability of these dogs. [LARRY ASIDE: We don’t have room at our house for two more dogs, but if we did, these two would be on the couch tonight to watch sitcoms or the Cowboys game or to play cards. Lord, please help me use Judi’s words to write them into someone’s heart. Oh, my, I’ve gotten spiritual on behalf of two dogs I’ve never met. But I’m that way with all dogs. Here are their stories, thanks to Judi.]
That bright-eyed Catahoula mix is 2-year-old Theo, surrendered on Wednesday “due to financial reasons,” Judi reports.
 She describes him as “an absolutely stunningly gorgeous, majestic dog with pale blue eyes and beautiful markings. I took pictures of him on the day he was surrendered so he was a little bewildered and still needing time to decompress. He was timid but with patience he gradually warmed up to me.  He explored the yard with his nose but when I called him he came back to have his ears scratched. He was cautiously friendly and sometimes flinched when I reached for him. He will still need TLC to build trust. There’s no doubt he does want to make friends. Not only does he have captivating eyes but he will capture your heart with his sweet personality. The owners stated that he was an inside dog only and is housebroken. They also said that he was raised with other dogs and cats and that he got along with them. They stated that he was not raised with children but did like them. One of his favorite things is to go on car rides.”
 Already-fixed Theo weighs 60 pounds. His ID is 43357990. Use it when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityof- mesquite.com.

That brings us to Coco (A#43348064), a fawn-coated, 6-month-old Pittie/Retriever mix surrendered to Mesquite on Tuesday “due to financial problems,” Judi reports. The owners didn’t fill out a surrender form, so info about 30-pound Coco “has the enthusiasm, zest and zeal of a young puppy along with puppy breath! She will need obedience or manners training to teach her not to jump on you. Because she is so happy and overjoyed to be around people she has a hard time controlling her enthusiasm. For this reason I do not recommend that she go with the family with young children as she could knock them down. With training and age she has so much potential. Her tail never stopped wagging. When I walked her through the bay she went nose to nose wagging her tail with smaller dogs but was more interested in getting my attention.” Again, use here ID 43348064 when you call the shelter at 972–216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.

You want another dog or a Mesquite cat? Go to the shelter listing HERE. Among the available cats is 7-year-old Pepper (43251170). Why’d I pick Pepper to spotlight? Because 60 years ago my little brothers and I had a cat that looked a lot like this one and her name was Pepper. Our Pop found her warming herself under the hood of his car when he about to leave his job at the railroad station for the ride home. He bundled her up and brought her to his boys. We got her about a few months before we got the great Border Collie Queenie. They became great friends and companions. Maybe your household needs a little Pepper.
A CASE OF A DOG
IN LITTLE ELM, TEXAS
You know how a dog’s story might catch your eye and your heart simultaneously? Here’s one of those. We learned about Freya, a 5-year-old, 60-pound girl, from Amy Poskey, the veteran animal helper.
The story is the girl was “brought to the shelter by her family to be euthanized. She was limping and the vet told her family that she may need surgery for a torn ACL or perhaps joint issues. They couldn't afford any type of surgery for her, so they turned her over. 
“The shelter saw how special this girl is and couldn't euthanize her. They have been giving her Rimadyl, and she's been walking well and putting weight on her leg. At this point, she's showing little sign of anything beyond some arthritis, but she'll need to be seen/diagnosed by the rescue's vet. The shelter is small and doesn't have the funds to get her any additional diagnosis or treatment. She's getting a little depressed in the shelter, but she is available for rescue only to ensure her leg is checked out and treated accordingly prior to being adopted into a loving family.” 
To ask about rescuing or adopting or helping, call the Little Elm Animal Shelter at 972-377-1898 or email thoofnagle@littleelm.org.
CONTEMPLATIONS:
BASEBALL, POETRY AND WRITING SPACE
Texas Rangers spring training? Catchers and pitchers report in mid-February, if there are any pitchers and if enough of the new uniforms are ready. May just be “Catchers and Catchers” reporting. Sorry for being pessimistic — longtime Texas Rangers fan, you know. … In today’s second item we mentioned Gunga Din. Assuming that teaching Rudyard Kipling has vanished from the post-1960s public education landscape, we’ll present this LINK to the Poetry Foundation. Or, you could go to a used book store and buy an old high school literature textbook and find some Kipling. Suggestions? The Jungle Book and The Man Who Would Be King. There’s this Kipling quote from Plain Tales From the Hills: “A woman’s guess is much more accurate than a man’s certainty.” [LARRY ASIDE: I include that quote in honor of our granddaughters, Hannah Rose and Emily Grace! And, of course, my certainspouse Martha who is NEVER wrong.] … We’re closing with a tribute to another writer, the great D.C. Fontana — Dorothy Fontana, famous for her work on the original Star Trek TV series (and many other projects), has died at the age of 80. Here’s the Variety obit. One of the things she’s credited with writing is the introduction to Star Trek: The Next Generation.  “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.” The slight change from the original Star Trek intro was altering “where no man has gone before” to “where no one has gone before.” Women were writing about space adventures and leading space adventures. No man became no one. So, in honor of D.C. Fontana’s work and mission, we offer a video of the great Diana Krall singing at the memorial for the first person on the moon, Neil Armstrong.
—- To offer opinions or suggestions, click on ‘comment’ below or email dallrp@aol.com. —-

A LITTLE DOG'S GOOD BREAK; BIG CAT BAKE SALE; LITTLE CATS AVAIL; DOG UNDER CHAIR!

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Let’s make sure we know what day it is before we proceed with the story of Charm. 
What day is it? Ah, hello, Holiday Insights online, the website that describes itself as a daily calendar of “Bizarre, Unique and Special Holidays.” [LARRY FYI: This photo explains why we call this a “doggie gate” — it doesn’t deter the well-balanced cat, as one our former front porch feral kittens Monet demonstrated over the weekend. We’re going to talk about BIGGER CATS in just a minute.] 
Back to the calendar: December 4 is, according to Holiday Insights, “Wear Brown Shoes Day.” No history of this day known and no Washington camera has focused on the footwear at today’s hearings. We suspect the Brown Shoes day did NOT originate in Texas — Brown Boots On The Ranch Day did, I’m guessing. Our cat is not wearing brown shoes. And December 4 is also Santa’s List Day — the day the naughty/nice lists are made, Holiday Insights says. We’re going to address a naughty listing in today’s opening item. I’m trying to be nice about it.
THE STORY OF CHARM:
ENCOUNTERING A RESCUE
Now we get to the merciful acquisition of a little girl by Cheri Fults and the gang at Recycled Pomeranians and Schipperkes Rescue.
 Cheri says they’re calling her “Charm.” She was formerly #A1089900 at Dallas Animal Services and the need for a rescue’s help was issued by Samantha Sharrock under “Dallas Animal Services Animals In Need of Transfer.”
Charm, a year old, 4.1-pound “little cutie was bought into us…with hair loss and a bandage wrapped around her right front leg.” That “bandage” was electrical tape — and DAS removed it. X-rays showed the young girl had a fracture of both the radius and ulna of that leg.
 Cheri reported, “She had a microchip and when the Shelter called the owner, they surrendered her to the shelter.” The shelter sent out the alarm and now, Charm is being tended to in advance of surgery.
 Cheri told us Wednesday morning that the clinic is “Holding off on surgery until tomorrow. She’s a little malnourished and needs some strength (IV fluids, etc.) before proceeding. Her leg is wrapped for now and she’s on pain meds. The staff bathed her and they said she acted like she had never had a bath before. How does a one-year-old dog get into that bad a shape? She looks like she is 15 years old. I can’t wait to see her when her hair grows out.”

There are two ways to help Recycled Poms. One is to go to recycledpoms.org and donate toward the expense they’re encountering because they saved this girl’s life.
The other is to volunteer to help Recycled Pomeranians & Schipperkes Rescue with its work supporting the 2019 Lone Star State Classic — The Dallas Dog Show Thursday through Saturday at Dallas Market Center. To ask about volunteering with dog show duties, text Recycled Poms’ Robbin Van Huss at 817-715-1205. The shifts for volunteers are all of Thursday and the late shifts (2 p.m.-6 p.m.) Friday and Saturday. (Here’s the SHOW SCHEDULE.)
 As Cheri reminds us, “This is not an adoption event.” Nope, it’s a dog show and, Cheri says, “the three kennel clubs graciously provide us with a very generous donation to do this twice a year.” The clubs involved in the Lone State State Classic are the Greater Collin Kennel Club, Texas Kennel Club, and Trinity Valley Kennel Club.

[LARRY ASIDE: Dog shows are great spectator/volunteer events. You see judging, animals at ease, animals showing off!. Our pal, the veteran legendary foster mom Patty Sprong has volunteered at the dog show and reports, “It is so much fun to work and see all the gorgeous dogs!”]
[LARRY SECOND ASIDE: I probably don’t need to say this, but if you know anybody who thinks they can repair a broken leg without the services of a skilled veterinarian or physician, have them “seen to” immediately. There’s no telling how they’d try to help you if you sprained an ankle at their house. The Old West theory of “gonna have to shoot ‘em” bubbles to the surface in that lukewarm brainpan. Fixing an animal’s broken leg with a roll of electric tape is as idiotic as pouring motor oil on a mangy dog an expecting it to look like Lassie in a week. Prosecuting people for being stupid is something that only happens in afternoon TV courtroom shows.]
BAKING FOR THE BIG CATS!
IT’S BAKE SALE TIME!

 

 

 

 

 

That artwork of Bengal Tiger Kylo Ren gets the point across for your calendar notation on Monday, December 16. And, yes, “100% of the sale proceeds will go to In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue.” Our annual note from Corby Bryan reads, “It’s that time again…Bake Sale for the Big Kitties Time! If you have the time and space, we would appreciate your help in spreading the word. Our next sale is Monday, December 16th here in my office building lobby at 5910 North Central Expressway, Dallas 75206. I’ve attached our flyer.” (Click on the small artwork to make it grow to “flyer” proportions! It has info for contacting the bakers.)
 Yep, Corby knows exactly what we need — she's the Director of Accounting and Mineral Management for Venable Royalty, Ltd., and Venable Oil, Ltd., LLP. And she proudly notes that Venable Royalty does more than “host” this event.
“This will be our 12th event for In-Sync, and we should go over the $250,000 mark in contributions! As always, my company Venable Royalty matches all of our sales dollar for dollar.”

As Corby signs off in her note, this bake sale is “For the wild ones.” Like Kylo Ren, the Star Wars-themed big cat in the photograph.
Kylo Ren is among “the 70+ lions, tigers, lynxes, servals, leopards, bobcats, lemurs, cougars and ocelot who all In-Sync their furever home.” The sanctuary is in Wylie and has been operating since 2000. See the animals your bake sale purchases will help by going insyncexotics.org, You can read the rescue story of Kylo Ren (that’s one of his teenage photos) — a tiger cub who was hand-raised at In-Sync after his parents were rescued. [LARRY ASIDE: Next time your bottle-feeding an abandoned, hand-size kitten, consider the challenges of saving a tiger cub whose mother won’t nurse him! Oh, my!]

One more thing: Not only are these sanctuary cats legendary, so are the baked goods at the annual sale! Eating baked goods for big cats — how’s that for a tasty mission!
CONTEMPLATIONS
BIG CATS, SMALL CATS, AN ALERT DOG
While doing research on Corby’s Bake Sale proceeds recipient, In-Sync Exotics, I took a look at the inventory and spotted this Lion named Sabu — that’s a boy’s name but that Lion doesn’t have a boy’s mane. Why is that? The explanation is on the In-Sync site HERE. And, of course, this give me the opportunity to pulled out my 2019 Model of the Two-by-Four of Enlightenment and direct a message to people who think Lions are good pets: Dear Idiot, Lions are not pets. Lions are meant to be “born free” and to "live free." Look ‘em up. Look up “lions,” don’t buy them and don’t shoot them. Hang on: I should have started that salutation with the plural for “idiot.” We have more than one village idiot free-roaming the planet. … We’ve focused on big cats, but here’s a small one named Scout whose photo can be found on the Fort Worth Animal Care & Control cat adoption site HERE. This is #42827335 who, though orange as a tiger, is so small that “it” is in the FWACC Foster program. That’s a photo from September. I don’t know if Scout is a boy or girl. I do know that small cats can grow big. If you’re in Dallas, it’ll be handy for you to get in touch with Dallas Animal Services and ask about Otto (A1081639), in the DAS foster program after arriving at the shelter on Nov. 16. Tiny. Not tiger-sized. (See dogs and cats at dallasanimalservices.org) Like Scout, Otto is easier to care for in an apartment than a Bengal Tiger, though through the years we have seen stories of idiots who try to keep big cats in studio apartments without being noticed. … You see here a photograph of my Office Dog Porche Noel, my constant companion. Why is she so worn out? Because my Yulespouse Martha put a Christmas wreath on our front door and this was its first morning. The sun rises and casts its warmth and light toward the door and its attractive windows. The combination of the light, the wreath and the windows presents a silhouette that looks like something not-of-this-earth waiting at the door. Porche spotted it and began barking at the intruder. I finally opened the door and showed her the wreath. She lost interest and, worn out, went into the office and flopped down next to my chair and began to dream of sugarplums or something festive that did not require the AIM — Attack Intruder Mode. She is interested, however, in attending the In-Sync/Venable Royalty Bake Sale. Yes, she has no fear of calories.
—- Offer advice on cats, dogs, tigers or senate hearings by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —

SOME MIGHT BE GOBSMACKED BY THE REALITY OF SMALL SHELTERS; SOME NOD WITH EXPERIENCE...

EDITION OF TUESDAY, DEC. 03, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Perhaps you remember seeing these photographs. We’ll look into the fates of these two dogs today. But, first, there are more animals to attempt to help.
And remember this: Spaying and neutering dogs and cats, then taking responsible care of them will help them live long and happy lives — the key ingredient isn’t miracle drugs, cheap surgeries or expensive food, it’s a loving human. A loving human. What happens if there isn’t a loving human?
Moving along en route to a heartfelt, year-round message of love.
NOT EVEN A YEAR OLD
AND ODIN’S IN A TOUGH SPOT
People adore German Shepherd Dogs. Loyal and comforting. Just two reasons they find homes. But, then, again, there’s the case of Odin, just 10 months old and surrendered to the Mesquite Animal Services shelter on Monday.
Why? The shelter’s volunteer biographer Judi Brown reports, “On the owner surrender form, they just said they could no longer take care of him. However one of the staff told me that it had something to do with the neighbor’s dog that was trying to get through the common fence and they were afraid for his safety. He is stunningly gorgeous and majestic! Because of his beauty he was very photogenic.”
Odin warmed up after a “slow introduction,” Judi says. “Then he spent time exploring the yard with his nose. However, when he was done exploring, he came back to me. He looked at me as though he wanted to know what I wanted him do. … He has a strong pull on the leash. He did his business as soon as he got out into the yard. He has been an outside dog only. Please see that he gets a home with a family that will want to spend time with him inside.” The 70-pound dog is #43340170. Use that ID number when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com to as about Odin. Judi writes, “ Don’t walk, but RUN to tag this beauty.”
This 30-pound, year-old Lab/Terrier mix is Ocean (43305980) and he’s been in the Mesquite shelter since Nov. 25. His surrendering family said Ocean “was too hyper for their small children,” Judi says. “He did jump on me, however, he also stayed close, looking up at me as though asking for direction…. His color is particularly striking! He is a friendly, sweet boy who just wants some extra attention.”
See more Mesquite animals online at the shelter site HERE. Those animals still waiting include Tigress (42321809), that 2-year-old striped Tabby beauty, in the shelter since August 29. And, of course, still waiting is the fabulously named Raymond Noodle (42543537), a 3-year-old fellow who has been in the shelter since August 22. You’d think someone who loves noodle soups would adopt the handsome fellow.

CHIP GOT AN OFFER; WHAT
HE NEEDS IS A FOSTER OR A HOME
I hope that by the time you read this, the issue has been solved. Reliable volunteer monitor at Denton’s McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center, the great Amy Poskey, has an update on the case of the timidly handsome fellow Chip.
 Amy reports, “Denise Primm with Salvaged Souls Pet Rescue has offered to take Chip but we need a foster to make that happen!  What a wonderful Christmas gift it would be to give sweet little Chip a place to call home!  So, if anyone can offer this adorable love sponge a safe haven for Salvaged Souls, please contact Denise ASAP.” Here are the contact points: info@salvagedsoulspetrescue.org or call 817-988-3649.
You may recall that Chip needs special care because, Amy reported, “he most likely has some sort of chronic URI/bronchitis/asthma.” He was adopted from Denton on July 30, but returned on Oct. 25 because the adoptor couldn’t handle the medical expenses. Amy wrote that the 5- to 8-year-old 9.98-pound fellow has a specific need: “Chip just needs a calm, loving home with limited activity and excitement in order to manage respiratory flare ups and coughing spells..”
BREN, BREE AND BLUE --
THREE READY TO GO IN WILMER
OK, this all-caps message is the way the email from Laura Macias and 4 Legged Helpers started. It has to do with saving THREE dogs from the Wilmer city shelter, a storage facility — “one of those storage-type metal buildings where there are no public adoptions.:

As you know Laura and Leighann Hayden and the 4 Legged Helpers (a fledgling non-profit) focus on the small, low-traffic shelters on the southern side of the Dallas/suburban border.
That opening dog is Blue. The opening ALL CAPS message reads, “OMG THEY HAVE LOST HOPE ESPECIALLY BLUE! A RESCUE CHANGED THEIR MINDS BECAUSE THEIR FOSTER BAILED! SO SO SAD HE HAS LOST ALL HOPE AND YOU CAN SEE HIS HAPPY FACE NOW SAD AND SOMBER!”
How difficult is it for a just plain resident or interested party to look for an adoptable animals at Wilmer? Laura’s note about the shelter read, “It's on property no one can even enter with a huge locked gate.  So dogs here stand ZERO chance.  None.  No one sees them.  There are no public adoptions.”

The actual contact for this shelter mission is Laura. She works as the go-between for rescuers and potential adoptors who want to acquire a city- stored animal. Call or text her at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com. And, she notes, “transport is available for 501c3 rescues. We will deliver to you.”
If you want Blue, what will you get? His bio reads, “Awesome boy - he is just adorable.  Very sweet and such a beautiful dog. Honestly one of the most beautiful bullies in person we have seen.  Beautiful eyes and super sweet.”

The sibling sisters are Bren, sitting with her tall ears, and Bree, her pretty nose pushed through the gate on her “final home” unless someone adopts her or rescues her. 
Bren and Bree are abut 6 months old — they were dumped in the Malloy Bridge area. Shepherd mixes. You probably hear “Malloy Bridge” in the news now and then — a chemical spill on Malloy Bridge Road at I-20 was a traffic obstacle reported Tuesday morning. 
[LARRY ASIDE: There were three pups — before a Good Samaritan could get all three to safety, a car struck one and killed the poor baby. There you go. Probably dumped either to be killed by traffic or by a taxpayer-financed needle. No way for us on Earth to track the human who dumped the dogs into danger, but, in the Hereafter….well, may enlightenment offer an opportunity for an improved permanent record.]
CONTEMPLATION
THE DOGS IN THE OPENING PHOTOS
Readlarrypowell.com has been writing about rescuers and the rescued for decades. The constant in all stories is that good humans save lives. The near-constant is that animals who survived being dumped or abandoned or confiscated feel the cold steel of the death needle. 
 That is what happ- ened to those dogs in the open- ing photos, these two dogs, the incredibly beautiful Champ with the fascinating face and the adorable, body-leaning Lily. I believe it is important for people to know that these dogs are not just stats -- a number erased from the day's roster, but a face of a living being who did nothing except wait. Wait. No human helped.
How did that happen? 
We got the story from Laura Macias of 4 Legged Helpers. She and her small but growing (hopefully) team of small shelter advocates, stepped up to help the animals of Lancaster when the city and longtime shelter supporters Furbabies of Lancaster had a falling out over politics earlier in the year. Animals lost their advocates over a vote on a new city hall.
The loss of these two dogs was a dramatic event in the story of Lancaster and the people trying to help the animals “waiting” in the shelter. 
In a Monday note from Laura the message was this: “TWO WERE ALREADY KILLED MORE TO DIE TODAY OR TOMORROW! CAN ANYONE SAVE EVEN ONE???? FOSTERING OR RESCUING OR ADOPTING EVEN ONE???”
Zane, Snickers and Ace were likely to be next, Laura’s note said.

Zane is the tall, slim, lop-eared Lab mix who is already neutered. He is said to “adore all people.” Probably will wag his tail at the person with the needle.

Snickers is that sad-faced Lab mix — “He is very cute and very sweet,” Laura’s note read. “The look on his face is heartbreaking. Ask yourself if they know where they are when you see pics like this…Answer: Yes, they definitely know.”

Ace is the neutered Pittie mix who is “great with children and loves everyone….The shelter staff all adore him,” the bio reads.
Here’s a heart-breaking aspect: “He was microchipped but apparently the owners could no longer care for him and hoped by releasing him to the shelter he would find a great home..”

[LARRY CONTEMPLATION ASIDE: Yeah, releasing an unwanted animal into a low- to no-human-traffic shelter is a surefire guarantee of getting a forever home. Hah. Prep the needle. You can’t really blame people — they, like the animals, are victims of ignorance. Like the animals, sometimes people only have one contact with a shelter in their entire lives — for the animal, it’s a fatal encounter. For the humans, it’s a walk-away-and-don’t look back.
The shelters loaded with warehoused dogs and cats make us soft-hearted humans with ALREADY-full houses angry and wonder why small shelters don’t get busy with aggressive adoption programs and embrace all the good-hearted help they can get. How difficult is it to set up a network of angels in your town?
 Readlarrypowell.com writes about rescuers and good hearts and tries to remind the governments who run city shelters that they have a responsibility to not just keep animals healthy until they can kill them, but to help the animals find homes. After all, if you want to be known as a city with a heart, you have to demonstrate that heart in every way. And saving animals by making certain you have supportive volunteers and organizations is about the cheapest way you can demonstrate that heart. 

Not that we’re lecturing any small cities who might treat animals like they’re bags of trash picked up near stop signs where drunks and teenagers dump fast food bags, beer cans and bottles and legal cigarette butts. Living animals aren’t trash to be bagged. They’re beings to be protected. There are laws. Have your city attorney read one to you so you can understand that Texas laws protecting animals are tougher than the laws that punish jerks for illegal dumping of bags when they're conveniently waiting for a light to change.
In the meantime, if anyone has room for one more animal in your rescue, one more litter of kittens, one more small quivering animal dumped in a small town shelter — Lancaster, Wilmer, Hutchins, etc. — contact Laura. Call or text her at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
Write your mayor, your city council represen- tative, your police chief. Cover the bases with kind and supportive letters asking for help for the animals.
This appeal for wising up about caring for animals isn’t a Christmas wish — it’s a year-round mission/request. Protect the planet by honoring its animals. Honor the 4-legged animals and maybe your town will start to honor the two-legged kind, too. Would that be so bad? 

And, Dear Champ and Lily, I am genuinely sorry that I could not write you into someone’s heart. May you be running free and finding the Hands of Angels to remind you that you don't need humans to be loved forever.
—- Offer opinions and support by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —

A MONDAY OF CHALLENGES AND, OF COURSE, ADVICE AND REWARDS...

EDITION OF MONDAY, DEC. 2, 2019 [PetPowellPress] The Cold of November is lingering into December — by “cold” I mean the Common Cold I received as November was beginning to fade.
There are worse challenges — car trouble, betting on the Dallas Cowboys, trying to make friends with a cat determined to be feral. This morning the challenge is AOL Mail shutting down so I can't get the photo that goes with this opening. If you see the lake photo with the upside-down swans, you'll know I was able to defeat the situation.
But never mind those things. Today we have THE AUTHORITATIVE weather report from our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Andrew Fisher.
You probably are aware that the weather in the East is decidedly different than the weather in our beloved North Texas.
Example: Andy and neighbor Gary will praise the effectiveness of Big Red The Snowblower while, in my Texas neighborhood, a rake will scrape the leaves off the still-growing lawn.
Bureau Chief Fisher sent this report Monday morning and included that beautiful photograph of Indian Lake taken from his estate alongside the Denville, N.J., aqua attraction. On the 4th of July, Uncle Sam water-skis around the lake. Not this morning, however.
Andy reports, “Scraped an inch of ice off the driveway this morning, wearing ‘Yaktrax’ over a pair of L. L. Bean winter shoes. The ‘Yaktrax’ are rubber-and-metal springs that provide excellent traction on ice. Not for sprinting. Out by the dock, The Swan Family was enjoying a leisurely breakfast, making us humans look like wimps.”

Yes, those are the Indian Lake Swans upside down in the lake. I don’t know how they do it. 
And, when Andy wrote about the effectiveness of the YakTrax, my natural-born Texan replied that “there is no such thing as excellent traction on ice.” Except, of course, that year the Dallas Stars, formerly the Minnesota North Stars, won the Stanley Cup.
THE MONDAY SENTIMENT
While checking with Dallas Animal Services Facebook page Monday morning, I spotted this sentiment that was posted in the 9 a.m. hour.
Hard to argue this even if you are making millions on Cyber Monday. [LARRY ASIDE: I'm wondering if Cyber Monday affected my email?]

THEN, GET READY FOR
THE BIG FORT WORTH EVENT
Fort Worth Animal Care and Control has this reminer posted on its Facebook page. 
May all animals find the great home for a long and happy life. We’re all full up at readlarrypowell.com so, if you have room at your inn, make an effort to live up to the angelic attitude it takes to give a dog and/or cat a great home. [LARRY ASIDE: Remember, you may need a supporting witness when the “roll is called up yonder.”]
CONTEMPLATIONS
THE MAIL, THE SEASON, THE CAT
I’ll explain this cat’s photograph in a moment. First, the morning challenge: An odd thing occurred as I was about to get the info regarding two dogs waiting in the Mesquite Animal Shelter — 502 BAD GATEWAY. Next time I checked, maybe 5 minutes later, the message read 504 BAD GATEWAY. I’m afraid to look again — maybe it’s multiplying like a flu virus in Dallas County. I know there’s a big stack of mail waiting — lots of Cyber Monday stuff and Giving Tuesday. And, yet, because of techno problems, I am forced to deal with what I can recall. My memory tells me Heather Harrison sent a note about a feral dog who had a litter of puppies — at that point my memory fades, so the message is “Be on the alert” throughout the entirety of North Texas for a momma dog whose litter is big enough to romp in the danger zone near a local highway. … At our house we’re at the key point of decision-making. Do we bring out an old artificial tree or do we spring for a new one-time-only grown-somewhere-else cut down tree. I like to let the trees live. And so does my merryspouse Martha. But, now and then, there’s a wondrous recollection of the woodsy freshness that reminds us both of our childhood trees. Though, of course, my childhood trees would, by now, have many more rings than Martha’s. Many more. … Last year for Christmas, my shutterbugspouse Martha gave me a calendar with our dogs and cats in appropriate poses for each month. The December photo is of the little kitten, probably about 4 months old, Simon, trying to crawl to the top of a Christmas package. When we got him, he was a tiny, tiny kitten — abandoned in the front-yard shrubbery. Mom and 3 other kittens had vanished. I waited and waited. They didn’t come back. The left-behind kitten was so loud that I feared he’d be ticketed for “too much noise in Dallas.” So we brought the hand-sized baby in and named the kitten Ivy Diane after the place he was found and our friend Diane Combs. At the vet’s a couple of days later, the beloved and dear and very missed Dr. Vladi De Jong, turned the kitten over, grinned his great big grin and said, “Congratulations, she’s a boy.” So, that’s Simon climbing on the box. And, I’ve included this photo of the very handsome, quite large, grown up Simon — it’s a hint that if you have a good heart and want to share it, get yourself a kitten or a grown up cat and you’ll have a darling companion who understands you and makes your life more interesting. Same thing for dogs. Cats make a dog’s life more interesting, too. We’ve seen it. Happy December.
—- Offer opinions or Gateway explanations by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com and hoping for the best. Pretty sure Santa prefers the U.S. Mail. —-

Romeo! Romeo! Thou art a Sleeping Dog

I cannot look at this photograph of Romeo without wondering if he is dreaming of the little boy he once wet, er, once met.  You’ll see that story in a brief moment.

Clearly Romeo has earned the spotlight of this edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, the long-running weekend feature of readlarry- powell.com.

As you can see from the Facebook artwork, Romeo owns Stacey McCool. She’s a legendary animal fosterer for Paws In The City. And a golfer, too. [LARRY ASIDE: The mention of her golf game was provided with joy and envy. I think that to be a successful fosterer of animals, you have to have some golfing skills: patience, an understanding of the target, a willingness to go into the rough to retrieve the ball. That sort of thing.]

We celebrate both the sleepy face and the lively of Romeo as the long Thanksgiving weekend of November 2019 transitions into the opening day of a quickly moving December 2019.

Let’s contemplate with envy the face on that dog as he enjoys his chosen spot on the couch. How did Mr. Smilin’ Dog get where he is today?
Stacey tells the story:

“We tagged Romeo at Dallas Animal Services in December of 2014.  He was literally bouncing off the walls.  He was listed as 5-year-old Spaniel mix.  After a quick trip to the vet, he came to my house in January.  We were almost immediately inundated with applications but because of his behavior, he wasn’t a fit for most homes.  The trainer described him as ‘unruly’ and ‘one of the smartest dogs he has ever met.’

“First play date:  We drove to Fort Worth to meet a sweet family with 2 kids.  They had a nice backyard but Romeo found a gap between the house and a fence post and immediately escaped.  Fortunately we were able to trap him between two houses and we came home.

“2nd play date:  We drove to Frisco to a nice home on a golf course. Romeo had a nice little girl who he liked to watch do crafts and he could watch people golf.  I picked him up the next day because family dog got jealous and tried to attack him. The little girl was in tears.
“3rd play date:  Took him to a mansion in Bluffview.  I told him he was ‘moving on up.’ After visiting a while, Romeo blasted through their electric fence in order to romp in their bamboo.
“4th play date:  I drove him to Little Elm where a family with 5 kids wanted a dog who was good with kids.  Unfortunately, they had a family of bunnies living under a shed in their backyard and Romeo went after them.
“5th play date:  Romeo met the family at Starbucks.  They had a little boy.  He turned his back to Romeo and Romeo hiked his leg and peed on him.

“6th play date: By now Romeo was good buddies with his foster brother Radar.  They went on a play date to Allen.  After I left, Romeo started harassing Eudora the cat, then he escaped not once but twice by digging under the fence.
“There were other play dates and meet and greets but Romeo sabotaged then by peeing on shopping bags, barking, jumping, throwing up, foaming at the mouth and just generally acting a fool.  I think he had 9 play dates and 6 meet and greets. 

“On December 25th, 2015, I adopted him and he became the concierge at the 'McCool Health and Wellness Center.'  He has since assisted in the fostering and rehabilitation of 50 plus dogs.  He is my go-to guy, the house yard monitor, camp counselor, concierge, K9 instructor, security detail and of course, my best friend.”

Yeah, Dear Readers, it’s ok to get a little teary-eyed when you celebrate the triumph of the former DAS unruly, unwanted dog.

[LARRY ASIDE: PLEASE SEND PHOTOS OF YOUR SLEEPING DOGS AND NAPPING CATS or any other slumbering critter (including holiday visitors) to dallrp@aol.com and we’ll post them in our weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. Remember, as Romeo demonstrates, you’ll be helping people understand they can give happiness to another being. You’ll also be helping insomniacs realize that they need not go sleepless as long as they can find the right couch, the right position and the right attitude.]
—- Offer advice or opinions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —

FOR THANKSGIVING, SOME PERSONAL NOTES AND ONE GREAT QUOTE....

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY NOV. 27-28, 2019 [PetPowellThankfulPress] How many different elements are there to this 2019 Thanksgiving? Food, fun, football, family… lots of alliteration and we’re ignoring follytics, er, politics. How great is the American Holiday!

I’ll bet the holiday atmosphere today is just about like that of the alleged first Thanksgiving gathering back in the 1600s in Virginia.

In 1621, New World colonists and New World inhabitants met to celebrate a bountiful harvest.
Then, fed and happy, they sent a young guy shinnying up a tall tree with a long piece of wiring looped at one end. And then, bets properly placed, the thankful diners watched the Dallas Cowboys play the Buffalo Bills. 
Wait. Wrong century. 
The participants in that first New England Thanksgiving must have relied on food, conversation and “friendship-under-pressure” to make the event memorable.
And then there’s the Thanksgiving Rivalry — claims of the “first Thanksgiving” are also set forth by Florida and, yes, Texas (Two! Under Coronado in Palo Duro Canyon and another one in El Paso. Read about ‘em in The Texas Almanac and, also, The Federalist has a story HERE. )
 But, you can study all that later -- no homework over the Thanksgiving break.  Just go ahead and embrace the reality that Thanksgiving is a holiday of gratitude that reaches across the nation and is inspired annually by things we encounter during a year and during our lifetimes.
[LARRY ASIDE: That first photo is my personal cat Deputy Chief Kittie Leigh Johnson and I in a whisker comparison picture. She’s artsy with her lifelong whiskers; I’ve had mine only since 1971 -- but it was a daring thing to grow a beard and keep a job in the political climate of the early '70s.]

The red oak is one of our neighborhood trees. How fantastic is that autumn foliage!
 I am giving thanks for that cat and for those great and vibrant trees! 

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving story? Yeah, Miracle on 34th St. starts on Thanksgiving Day. After that, I’m about out of Thanksgiving stories — well except for 1987’s Planes, Trains & Automobiles with John Candy and Steve Martin and the 1995 film directed by Jodi Foster and starring Holly Hunter, Robert Downey, etc., Home for the Holidays.
I’m thankful for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Broadcast, whether the big balloons are flying or whether they’re anchored in safety somewhere. I’ve been enchanted by the broadcast since I was a kid watching it on black and white TV. Another thing to be thankful for: Our big screen color TV.  And microwave popcorn. And … well, save the food thanks for Thursday.
 We have so many different things to be thankful for that the list goes on and on. At readlarrypowell.com, in keeping with our theme of saving and celebrating animals, we’re thankful for all the animals and all the people who work to save them. We’re also thankful that the President — ANY president —signed that federal anti-animal cruelty bill into law. Next year, perhaps, we’ll be thankful that people are enjoying prison turkey and dressing because they were convicted of violating the federal anti-cruelty law. Or, maybe, even better, we can be thankful that humans quit mistreating animals. That would be a wonderful longshot. 

That dog is our wander-up Border Collie mix Dudley the Angel, a fellow who loves a good session of petting and head scratching. And he also was photographed demonstrating what many of us ol’ dogs will look like around about half-time of the Cowboy’s game Thursday. 
Now, that photo of the cats? Those are the Office Cat William Powell, the big gray tabby, and the Office Cat-Apprentice Stevie Ray Treeboy (found in Oak Cliff in a tree). It’s snipped from a video that you simply must watch to be thankful for the existence of Thanksgiving compan- ionship. It’s a demonstration of patience and understanding. Click HERE.
I’m thankful for another Thanksgiving with my holidaycookingfunspouse Martha and our family members (humans and animals) and, of course, for the memories we’ve all made. Readlarrypowell.com has readers from coast to coast and even some from across the oceans. We’re thankful for all of them.

We should all make a list of books we’re thankful we’ve read — you know, before literacy vanishes like green bean casserole on the last Thursday of November.
I’m thankful for friends I’ve had since before elementary school — longtime school friends. Neighborhood kids I used to know when our hometown had school-centered neighborhoods. I’m thankful if kids today have the same ability to friends in the ol’ neighborhood. I’m thankful for friends I met in newsrooms. Friends I love because we’ve linked up over adorable animals and adorable people. 
Friends I’ve gained since the arrival of the New Millineium — I’m thankful for a computer that can spell “Millenium” correctly for me. Oh, yeah, it’s 
“millennium.”

These are photo- graphs I snapped as Thanks- giving approa- ched. I’m thankful I have a tele- phone that takes pictures. And that is a sentence nobody would have written when I started my career in newspaper journalism in the summer of 1965. Phones were just for talkin’ and you couldn’t walk more than about 10 feet with ‘em. Phones never rang in cars. FYI: I was thankful for that first newsroom job — not only did The Texarkana Gazette pay me, it had an air-conditioned building! I was raised without a/c. It’s chilly right now, but in July and August I was extremely thankful for air-conditioning in Texas! 

Back to Martha, I’m so thankful she has a sense of humor — and, of course, a bit ashamed that she really needs to use it to be able to live with me. 
So, I came home from an errand a few days ago and walked into the kitchen to find a quote from Sir Peter Ustinov, the actor. It is held on the refrigerator door by a Barney Fife magnet photo/quote “Stay calm, people!” and a bulldog magnet photo/quote, “I wake up this fabulous.” 
Sir Peter Ustinov’s quote “to a pair of lovers,” reads, “I can see from your utter misery, your eagerness to misunderstand each other, and from your thoroughly bad temper, that this is the real thing.”
Now, there’s a splendid, heart-felt reason I am giving thanks in 2019 — I am thankful for “the real thing.”
—- Offer some Thankful notes by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. Sincerely thankful for you all, Larry Powell, fan of dogs, cats, other critters and a great many humans, too. —-

SAVING DOGS, SAVING CATS, CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING AND ARLO GUTHRIE

EDITION OF TUESDAY, NOV. 26, 2019 [PetPowellPress] We're going to get to some threatened dogs very quickly this morning. It’s that time of year when the good will of holidays has trouble overcoming the reality of overloaded shelters. [That beautiful long-eared face belongs to a Mesquite coonhound named Sadie. We’ll get to her in a minute. Back to the overloaded shelters.]
Oh, and Sassy, the Bull Terrier who was waiting in Richardson? Claimed by Bull Terrier Rescue, we’re told. Merciful heavens, what a great move for a dog who needed help.
Now, back to the dogs waiting on that special break!

“Why don’t rescue groups save the dogs and cats?” the people unfamiliar with animal reality may ask. The answer is the rescue people have been saving animals on a daily basis all year whether there’s a federal holiday or not. If you don’t have room for a dog or cat at your house, find a rescue to support. Offer to foster. Do something that doesn’t sound like the “tsk tsk” you express when you see that the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie has been charred because the cook was on the cellphone instead of watching the clock. Let’s go to the dog issue in Lancaster.
THERE ARE DOGS
SCHEDULED TO DIE
Yes, indeed that the report from the 4 Legged Helpers, the small shelter advocates who got the information for the Lancaster Animal Shelter.
The note from Laura Macias of the non-profit 4 Legged helpers arrived Tuesday morning and reads, “We were told by the shelter yesterday that they must start EUTHING and it can happen any time — even today — shelter is full.

“First dogs to be euthed will be Champ, Lily, Zane, Ace, Snickers due to amount of time they have been there. Could be any one of them first, followed by the others. Please, please help.”
To stand between the needle of death and any of these dogs, call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
We’ve attempted to offer photos of the “next” dogs listed: Champ, Lily, Zane, Ace and Snickers. And we’re listing what little bio info we have for them.

 Champ, a neutered Boxer mix with a great face, has had “not a single inquiry —not one. It’s just the saddest thing,” Laura’s note read. She added, “He adores people. SO deserving of a good home.”

Lily (left) is a spayed Bulldog mix who has “goofy ears and a lovable face” and is “not the most beautiful dog, but might just be the sweetest.”

Zane’s a "lop-eared" Earhound and human-friendly Lab mix of some kind — could be Boxer, could be American Bulldog. “Beautiful face, beautiful eyes — so desperately wants to be loved.”

Snickers is the Lab/Shepherd mix with the sad face — like he knows what’s coming if there’s not a human with space in the home or heart.
Ace is the Pittie mix who is sitting and waiting. Laura’s note says the shelter staff adores him. “Very well socialized and such a good boy. He was microchipped but apparently the owners could no longer care for him and hoped by releasing him to the shelter he would find a great home.” 
If all went well with the readlarrypowell.com Dance of Technology, when you click on THIS LINK and download the list.
[LARRY ASIDE: Yeah, fat friggin’ chance  for these days— I exclaim with great and accurate disgust. The thing about “euthanizing” healthy animals is it’s not euthanasia. It’s population control. Euthanasia means to end suffering. It doesn’t mean to kill to make room for the next animal your going to kill. Yeah, Dear Readers, I’m aware of the constant pressure at city-operated shelters — it comes from the Don’t Care/So What people who like to believe that every dog or cat in a shelter gets a great home at Happy Animal Acres. Taxpayer-supported animal shelters buy euthanasia juice in bulk for a reason. They know they’re going to kill some animals. The big puzzle of life? How do you educate people who don’t want to bother with being reminded to give a damn? OK, sorry. Got carried away. Help some animals. Prevent human stupidity and remind people to save lives. How’s that for a simple assignment. Outsmart idiot humans. Help me off the soapbox before a slat snaps and you see how smart I really am!]

SADIE'S BEAUTIFUL FACE &
JACK'S IN A TOUGH SPOT, TOO
She has a beautiful face, this 4-year-old girl, but her story is ugly. We got it from the great Judi Brown, the hands-on biographer of dogs at the Mesquite Animal Shelter. Sadie is #43259425. The 62-pound, already spayed dog arrived on Nov. 19 as a stray. The bio reads, “When she first arrived she was depressed and overwhelmed by the shelter commotion. A few of our shelter volunteers have made her their project. As a result she is coming out of her shell and becoming more sociable. She still is timid and easily intimidated by people and dogs. However each day she improves! She is very sweet. She’s gentle and calm. She’s got a low-key, laid-back personality. And once she becomes your friend, she is friendly and affectionate towards you. Like most hounds she spends a lot of time with her nose to the ground exploring her environment. She is just now learning to walk on a leash. To get to know her is to love her!”
To offer a lifeline to Sadie, call 972–216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmes- quite.com.
Two-year-old Jack (43264432), clearly a lively boy, is listed as a “Rottie/Pittie” mix, but Judi says, “My pet scanner app said he’s an Australian Kelpie. Whatever he is, his tri-coloring and stand-up ears make him quite attractive.”
The 42-pound, already fixed Jack arrived as a stray on the 19th. “He was very receptive to making friends with me when I went into his kennel,” Judi says. “He was somewhat timid but warmed up quickly. He’s very alert and inquisitive. He spent a lot of time exploring the perimeter of the yard. I’m not so sure whether it was that he wanted to escape or whether he was looking for his previous owner as he did whimper from time to time. At any rate it would be advisable to have a secure fence.  He’s sweet. When I sat down he came to me for extra attention.”
To help these dogs or any animal in Mesquite’s shelter, call 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.

THE LITTLE FACES
IN THE BIG HANDS
When I went to the DallasAnimalServices.org site Tuesday and clicked on cats, I found several that are older than babies. But I also found this photograph of a very little kitten who is being held in such fashion that clearly shows how tiny kittens can be. You can forget the smallness of a kitten if you’re not around them. Like a human baby, maybe.

This baby (ID#A1078540) has been in the care of DAS since Nov. 15. She’s in a foster home and available for adoption. Email DASadopt@dallascityhall.com. 

As you can see, the DAS stats at dallasanimalservices.org show hundreds of animals waiting for homes. The six “other” include three rabbits, two snakes and a chicken.
Dallas — where some animals are loved and some animals are warehoused until the needle is ready or a rescue or adoptor shows up. Big D, my, oh, yes, it’s the people of the “Dont’ Care/So What” mindset that cause the problems. Spay and neuter. What? Yes, I mean the animals, of course. Most of the time. When I'm in a good mood.
CONTEMPLATIONS
HOLIDAY RULES AND MORE
One of the steadfast holiday rules in our decades-old marriage is this: Larry doesn’t go to the grocery store on the day before a holiday. Anyone who’s ever been trapped 10th in line behind a coupon-shopper arguing prices on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving knows exactly what I’m talking about. Being there is a reason not to be thankful. … I’ve been watching weather reports about travel for Thanksgiving. We should be OK. We’re going about 2 miles and I don’t anticipate take-off or landing problems. You’d be surprised how much a UCD (Urban Cargo Drone) can lift and wing across 2 miles of city streets. I’m kidding. I’m kidding. …. As I type this during Thanksgiving week 2019, I’m listening to a recording about a Thanksgiving adventure — some of you remember it from its debut in 1967 when Arlo Guthrie recorded his best-selling album, Alice’s Restaurant. My funspouse Martha agrees with me that I spend too much time in my past, but I think Alice’s Restaurant is good for any generation. It’s about rules and attitudes and freedom. Things for which we ought to be downright thankful. HERE’S THE LINK
and I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving ride in your “red VW Microbus.” We’re thankful for Arlo.
—- Offer opinions or happiness by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

A COMMON COLD IS TOUGH, BUT NOTHING LIKE WAITING IN A SHELTER....

EDITION OF MONDAY, NOV. 25, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Common cold, my nasal passages. Common Texas cold. I’ve been around 3 people with a common cold and it finally got me. That’s why I’m late posting the Monday edition. More in Congestions — I mean our Contemplations section at the bottom of this report. We’ve got to help some animals first.

 

 

THE GREAT

PHOTO OF

A DOG

WHO HAS

LOST EVERYTHING…
Readlarrypowell.com does not know who took this touching photograph of 11-year-old Sassy, but the picture captures the story so well. So well, that I’m teary-eyed looking at it. Someone save Sassy.
Our tip on this came from the great Karen Lee of barleyworld.com who, if our detective work is solid, got it from animal advocate Donna Bradshaw who got it from animal advocate Jennifer Sellers. So, yeah, Sassy is being networked. Here’s why she’s in the Richardson Animal Shelter.
The original note says it’s “due to the owner’s medical condition. Sassy is 11 years old, appears to have a bad eye, not sure if she can see out of it.  She is heartworm negative, up to date on shots, spayed and friendly. Please consider rescuing her so she doesn't end up in the wrong hands!”

That last sentence sent me over the teardrop waterfall. Son of a gun, I can’t stand the thought of this 11-year-old, loved sweetie winding up as a bait dog or a “let’s see if she can fight” dog. [LARRY NOTE: The dog is the wrong mammal doing time in lock-up. The fighting creeps ought to be enjoying a lifetime sentence in a low-budget, high security Texas jailhouse.]
If you are a right kind of person or the right rescue group, Sassy is at Richardson Animal Shelter, 1330 Columbia Drive, Richardson. Call 972-744-4480.
 Read about Sassy on PetFinder HERE.
And Richardson also has cats, i.e., this astoundingly fluffy girl, Kitty, a 3-year-old. She’s listed as a “Brown Tabby” but I would not be surprised to find a Maine Coon balancing on a limb in her family tree.
[LARRY THANKSGIVING NOTE: This is a genuine note of thanks to all of you rescuers and rescue groups and shelter workers who are in the trenches helping dogs and cats and other animals get the spotlight so that they can find safe homes. I don’t know what keeps you going after some of the things we see, but I know your hearts are magnificent engines of a beneficent nature. Here’s what has to happen daily: Spread the word of animals in need, spread the work of people helping the animals. It’s a cause for good all over the world.]
MITZY’S WAITING IN MESQUITE;
SHE’S A ‘VELCRO GIRL’
Judi Brown, the volunteer biographer for the Mesquite Animal Shelter, personally gets to know the animals she writes about. Mitzy is one of those.
She’s a year old Pittie mix who came in as a stray on November 18, Judi writes, “She has symmetrical markings along with a glossy brown coat with white accents. She has a sweet face, because she really is sweet! Although she explores and is very alert she chooses to stay close like Velcro. She wants to please. She’s highly motivated by treats and will sit for them. She gives hugs and kisses. She’s active but not overly so. She’s gentle and although she does jump on you she doesn’t knock you over. She’s just wanting a hug.”
She’s nearly a lap dog-sized. Just weigh 28 pounds.
Mitzy is #43253796. Use that number when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or when you email rescues@cityofmesquite.com
See more Mesquite available adorables at this SITE.
Among the cats, you’ll see? Monkey (42908033), a 6-year-old neutered cat who has been in the shelter since October 5. He’s probably ready for a home.
CONTEMPLATIONS
A COMMON COLD, CONGESTION, 3 CHORDS & A SNEEZE
For three days I’ve been out of energy. Not out of mucus. Thank you Common Cold. … A guy down the street — a more devoted yardman than I — has a leafblower that has an engine that operates on a frequency that bores a hole right into my cold-impacted head and aggravates my tinitis like somebody was shoving cherry bombs into my ear canal. He just turned it off and all I can hear is my original ringing, set off in 1964 or may '65. Some buddies and I snuck onto the not-yet-paved Interstate 30 on the then-northern edge of Texarkana and shot off a bunch of fireworks. When one of my firecrackers, balanced on a guardrail, didn’t explode, I blew on the lit end of my “punk” to illuminate the scene, leaned in to make sure I touched the stubby fuse and discovered a truth of life: Don’t lean down to look at an unexploded Black Cat firecracker. Ever since that night I’ve had a ringing. Can someone get that phone? My Mom saw the burnt specks on the front of my shirt and lectured me about the evils of smoking — which I never did — and I couldn’t hear her over the ringing anyway. … Today, I’m barely able to speak, and I have a headache, and my insomnia has been aggravated by over-the-counter meds and annoying thoughts of uncompleted tasks as Thanksgiving approaches.
This year I got a flu shot and a pneumonia shot — it is the Common Cold that has beaten me down. I went to WebMD to confirm my diagnosis of “Cold, you idiot.” I’ve already been to doctors this fall — that’s why I have had both the current flu shot an a pneumonia shot.
Last night I had a fever. WebMD says a fever is not that common in adults with a cold, but no impossible — children are “more likely to have a fever with a cold.” And, as regular readers know, I am somewhat child-like most of the the time. That WebMD link is HERE  and this is my favorite spot-on passage: “With cold symptoms, the nose teems with water nasal secretions for the first few days.”
Yes, my nose teems! 
I’ve needed a bucket strapped to the end of my honker for two days. If I could sleep, I’d need to be wearing a life-vest. As it turns out, I’m approaching the Johnny Cash-on-a-phlegm-day stage. Feel free to SING ALONG. And if you want more Johnny Cash, here’s a song with watery indications.
[LARRY NOTE: If you’ve read this far, please take a tissue and spray your screen and keyboard with a fast-drying antiseptic so you won’t catch this cold. I have no idea how powerful it is — but it fought its way through a flu shot and a pneumonia shot an my legendary determination to say healthy -- I avoid crowds, pox-bearing chickens, ticks and armadillos. Is there some place that doesn’t have the common cold? FYI: I love country music. Is there a country song about the common cold? Easier to write about heartbreak and beer than it is to write about mucus and sneezes.]
— Please offer opinions or cures by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

FOR THE WEEKEND, WARM UP YOUR THANKSGIVING GRATITUDE

For our pre-Thanksgiving 2019 weekend edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cat Nap, we will attempt to solve a mystery of life. 
In a house full of racket from TVs, radios, lumbering humans, kitchens tools, an impatiently barking dog and phones that play dramatic musical ring tones, how can sound-sensitive cats ignore it all and nap?
Answer: They live in a "mystic feline field of existence” — it is a plane of being that is above the clamor created by humanity. Might be on the back of a couch, on a table, under a bed, on a sleeping human — cats know where to find it. 
O! To have the napping power of a housecat. 

I was going to describe the cat's life as a "mystic plane of felinial existence" but I'm pretty sure "felinial" is not a real word. I like it, though, and may try to persuade the Oxford English Dictionary to consider making it the "New Word of the Year" for 2020. Probably will be nicer than the other words we'll encounter on the 2020 campaign trails. But, skip politics for now and get back to napping cats.

Our living room may be like yours. It has photos of kids, loved ones, friends, dogs, cats and a Chihuahua picture we bought at a roadside thrift shop in dusty West Texas on our honeymoon 28 years ago. 
You don't have a thrift shop Chihuahua photo? Those things are rare. 
Haven't seen one since we got this one. No idea who this dog is or where the picture was taken. The photo has a calming effect -- our cat Deputy Chief Kittie Leigh Johnson sometimes snoozes under it.
Now, let's move to the napping cat photos. You see that Kittie Leigh, the cat we’ve had longest, is napping atop the table behind our couch — if I’m on that couch, she is on me. We’re melded.

On the lower shelf you can see Simon. He's the former palm-of-the-hand-sized kitten we bottle-fed after he was abandoned. He learned to nap from cats AND dogs -- you never know what he'll be doing — he’d bark when the mail arrives if he could reach those octaves.
A few minutes after the duo photo, it was time for a Napping Shift change. And you see that Kittie Leigh moved — keep reading. Simon, also, moved and his spot was quickly filed by readlarrypowell.com's administrative director and financial management specialist, The Senator. 
Where did Kittie Leigh go? She moved to one of her favorite places -- she saw my slumberspouse Martha snoozing in her recliner, so Kittie Leigh joined her. (Not sure where Martha learned to catnap, but she is adept.)
We have no idea where Simon went. Sometimes he pops open a cabinet door under the TV and steps inside to curl up. He’s Adventure Cat.
We all have lots of reasons to be thankful this year -- for example I have the benefit of looking at my funspouse Martha as she grimaces at one of my ill-advised punch lines about politics. 
For this pre-Thanksgiving weekend, we're focusing on reasons to celebrate the American Holiday. Join in. Make a list of things. Or, if it makes you happy, don't make a list -- freedom to not make a list is another reason we celebrate the American Thanksgiving.
That photo of the dear little Chihuahua and the handsome cat? It's probably 20 years old -- that’s my first Chihuahua, a rescue who came to us named “Star.” We wanted to honor the rescuer, but we wanted a different name, so her full name became “Belle Starr Carmelita del Vera Cruz.” What a wonderful little girl Vera was. 
She’s about to snooze on the bed with her pal, our wander-up kitten Griffin Oliver Powell. The orange and white kitten grew from spindly handful-size to be around 25 mammoth pounds.
He and Vera were with us for many, many years. 
I am so thankful that I have them living in my heart. This Thanksgiving, when I bite into a dinner roll with extra butter, I'll be thinking of Vera. When I try to fasten the button on my jeans on Friday morning, I'll think about how much Griffin the Kitten seemed to grow overnight! Yeah, maybe I should take more Felinial Catnaps and lay off the Rolls of Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Watch a parade, watch a ballgame, laugh with the kin, laugh with the neighbors, call an old friend and remind them of your childhood Thanksgiving playing football or helping in the kitchen or … well, we have our own Thanksgivings. 
Celebrate them with love and gratitude. Then walk 5 miles and swear you’ll never butter-up another roll. Vera loved Thanksgiving an rolls. She’d have tried to take down a parade balloon if she’d been a little bit taller.
[REMEMBER, SEND US YOUR PHOTOS of your sleeping dogs and napping cats and we'll tell their stories in a weekend edition of readlarrypowell.com. Email larry powell at dallrp@aol.com. You'll be helping people understand how much dogs and cats add to happy lives. And you'll be helping insomniacs realize they can get some sleep if they can just figure out how to lay on a narrow table without rolling off onto the floor in mid-snore.]
— Offer advice or reasons to be thankful by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing me at dallrp@aol.com. We are THANKFUL for our readers and all the rescuers. And for the right six numbers on Wednesday’s drawing of Lotto Texas. —-

REMEMBERING HISTORY; HELPING TO MAKE A FUTURE FOR ANIMALS AND PEOPLE

EDITION OF FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Oh, my. The astounding thing today for many of us is that something that happened 56 years ago can feel as if it just happened. Yes, a reference to the assassination of John F Kennedy in downtown Dallas. [That's one of the first post-assassination postcards available long before there was a Sixth Floor Museum.
I was in the 10th grade 200 miles away in Texarkana. I listened to the stunning reports on a car radio during the lunch break in front of the high school — with several Catholic kids. JFK (born 1917) was Catholic and that meant a lot to them. He was the youthful president known for vigor and that meant a lot to the rest of us, too.
There were other things that happened on that day. In Great Britain on Nov. 22, 1963, The Beatles (formed 1960), who would give inspiration to a great many of the surviving youth of America, released their second album, With The Beatles.
Deaths that were noticed only by loved ones at the time? C.S. Lewis (born 1898), author of the celebrated young readers series The Chronicles of Narnia, died the same day. That’s the first volume (some readers say — read up on the controversy), The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. 
And Aldous Huxley (born 1894), author of the futuristic (then) novel Brave New World, died — not sure anyone reads Brave New World these days — it was published in 1932 and I recall it being popular in the mid- and late-60s. That’s the young Huxley, as you may have guessed.
Here is a quote from one of Huxley’s essays that is out of context with the assassination but can be used to both support and reject the many JFK assassination theories: “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” I’m assuming it can be used to accent other situations, too — divorce court, lawsuits involving automobile recalls, arguments over vegetarian hamburgers…Its all-purpose.
MAKING DIAMOND’S
STORY SHINE
Oh, boy here’s a tale for you. The story comes from CLASP — Cowtown Loves Animal Shelter Pets. The organization is trying to help Diamond. CLASP says her owner “abandoned her at a boarding facility in August. During her stay she had been a good doggy citizen until last week when her best buddy was placed in a forever home. She was likely feeling confused and abandoned once again. Shortly after her buddy left she had a non-life-threatening incident with another dog. Because of this, she was no longer considered adoptable and a date for euthanization was set.

“CLASP could not let that happen! We've taken her case and we need your help to get Diamond off to a great new life through training support and boarding until we can find a foster home..}” 

The appeal for Diamond included this little hint: “WHAT CAN I DO? 1. Donate. 2 Share. 3. Drink a beer. 4. All of the above.” Items 1 and 2 are clear, but you need a hint on 3. Turns out a reliable CLASP supporter is Division Brewing of Arlington — they’re going to support Diamond by taking up donations at the owner’s birthday celebration on Saturday (the 23rd) — the brewery is at 506 Main St.
You can see Diamond going through some training with Tiffany Baker of Boss Babe Training by clicking on this LINK. For more info email juliawithclasp@gmail.com.
A REMINDER: SMALL SHELTERS
HAVE ANIMALS WAITING
Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden, working so hard to make 4 Legged Helpers a viable facilitator for saving lives, have been pinpointing the available adorables in Wilmer, Hutchins, Ferris and Lancaster all week. As the weekend arrives, nothing has changed. 
There is still low human traffic and higher than needed paw traffic.
We’re focusing on Blue, a handsome “Bully mix” with wonderful eyes. The 4 Legged Helpers brief bio reads, “Awesome boy — he is just adorable. Very sweet and such a beautiful dog. Honestly one of the most beautiful Bullies in person we have seen. Beautiful eyes and super sweet.”
To ask about helping handsome Blue call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl@yahoo.com.
ART & ANIMALS: A FUNKY
HOLIDAY COMBINATION
We first heard about the 10th Annual Funky Finds Holiday Market from the Fort Worth artist Diana Dupre — that’s one of her works (See more at notjustcanvas.com.) She’s scheduled to have works on display at the Funky Finds at Will Rogers Coliseum on Saturday (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.). The market is well known for the variety of interesting artistic work and other items -- it's a basic seasonal treat.
Also, there’ll be an adoption event for the Humane Society of North Texas. Your'e familiar with that non-profit's work — see the numbers and adoptables by going to hsnt.org.
 May not have any small white Poodles happily posing for an ornament adornment, but they’ll have plenty of other animals available to brighten lives.
FYI, this is the HSNT’s latest promotion. Free cats. Yep, how many times have you seen that sign in Northeast Texas! But this time, it’s free fully vetted and adorable cats waiting for new homes, not just wondering what’s going to happen next?

THE CHIWEENIE BROTHERS
WAITING IN MESQUITE’S SHELTER
The volunteer biographer at Mesquite Animal Services, Judi Brown, has managed to find a pair of brothers who need a break. Echo (ID 43216079) is the 17-pounder and Mirage (43216086) is the 10-pounder. Boys from the same litter, never been separated. Unhappy in the loud shelter environment.
Judi says the owner “surrendered them due to landlord issues.” 
Echo is the more outgoing; he’s also the alpha dog. And he’ll walk on a leash, but Mirage is too frightened. To ask about adopting them, call the shelter at 972-216-6283; email rescues@cityofmequite.com.
[LARRY ASIDE There are many, many animals waiting in the Mesquite shelter. Click HERE
to see their photos. Just a reminder, there are plenty of cats there, too, including this one we’ve previously mentioned: Raymond Noodle. Have to laugh when you see that name. Right, all you Ramen Noodlers? He’s 42543537, a 3-year-old gray and white, medium-sized cat in the shelter since August 22.]

What about these dogs? All waiting in the over-crowded Mesquite shelter.
Who are they?

Top left is Cashew (42484652), 3, a Pittie mix; top right is Rocky (31111221), a youngish Pittie mix.
In the middle is Nutmeg, 6, a stray Mix whose history includes “some scarring and the fact that it appears she’s been over-bred.”
Bottom left is Simba (42949232), 7 months old and a “Terrier/Hound mix” who “has been passed around at least three times in his short life. He was initially adopted from the Dallas Animal Shelter and then, after several months, passed to another family.” Yes, the 21-pound, already fixed, lop-Earhound Simba is “an absolutely fun-loving guy,” Judi says.
The last dog on the right is 3-year-old “smoky gray terrier Pit mix” Tori, a former stray. “I hadn’t been with her for five minutes when I fell in love with her,” Judi writes. 
For any of these, call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
DOG & KITTY CITY
LEADS US TO A BARBER SHOP
It was time to do a note about the annual Dog & Kitty City Winter Raffle. Here’s the link: 
https://dognkittycity.org/2/raffle.html. Tickets are $5 each. Proceeds go to supporting the animals in the shelter run by the Humane Society of Dallas County. 

There are all sorts of prizes —Southwest Airlines tickets, fine dining, gift certificates, handbags, etc., but the one that charmed readlarrypowell.com was the chance to win a free haircut at The Bearded Bastard Barbershop on Greenville Avenue. Drawing is in February. [LARRY ASIDE: First time we’d heard of the barbershop. But, of course, I grew my beard in 1971 and haven’t shaved since then and I’ve been through a divorce and been a newspaper reporter so the term “bearded bastard” is not unheard of in my existence over the past 48 years. My twin lads don’t remember seeing me without a beard — but they’re only 48.]
Enough about tonsorial artistry, let’s focus on a couple of available animals at dognkittycity.org. That Chihuahua girl is Weezy — born on October 27 this very year. She was transferred to no-kill Dog & Kitty City from “anther shelter.” 

The cat is Batman — a male tuxedo cat with a soul patch, it appears. Batman, born July 21, 2015, was surrendered because his owner was moving. I’m pretty sure that sophisticated soul patch does not qualify Batman as a “Bearded Bastard.” Maybe a “Soul Patch Puddy Tat.”

CONTEMPLATION
THE AFTERMATH OF 1963
Think of how many people have been born since 1963! For them — maybe for some of you reading this passage — the JFK horror has been something in history books (or online sites). Like Pearl Harbor was for Baby Boomers and how 9/11 is getting to be for whatever generation is here now.
In 1963, we were still coping with the “Cold War” and trying to understand massive technological advancement: color TV and stereo records. If you came after 1963 you missed such things as Caroline Kennedy’s White House pony Macaroni and the comedian Vaughn Meader’s wonderfully funny satire of the Kennedy’s, a 33 1/3 RPM album called The First Family. In those days the chief executive was known for charm and a sense of humor. Things were different -- back then -- citizens had a sense of humor, too.
But there were things a decent person couldn't laugh at.
In my home town, there were separate entrances for black and white at movie theaters and white only and black only water fountains in stores. Same white-only and black-only thing for public classrooms in my hometown.
And, yet, after JFK, from the fog of shock and despair, the nation got better — except maybe for the Vietnam War. (God bless you veterans of that war -- may it never weigh on your hearts.) 
We found good and decent people to lead things at lower levels of politics and business, maybe.
We were Americans; we kept being Americans. We moved seamlessly from I Love Lucy through Star Trek and Gunsmoke and on into the post-Shindig and post-Hullabaloo “modern music” shows on TV. 
And, every now and then, since 1963, there’s been a new shocking horror that staggers us. The human element is one tricky ingredient in our recipe for safe happiness. JFK, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, John Lennon — for a Baby Boomer, those murders changed the expectations of life. The leading question became “Why?”
We’ll close with quotes from each of these famous assassination victims.
Dead they may be, but their words survive to inspire.

 JFK (11/22/63): “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”
MLK (4/4/68), writing in 1947 at Morehouse College: “If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, 'brethren!' Be careful, teachers!”  
RFK (6/6/68): “Every generation inherits a world it never made; and, as it does so, it automatically becomes the trustee of that world for those who come after. In due course, each generation makes its own accounting to its children.”

JOHN LENNON (12/8/80): “The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.”
Perhaps there are still possibilities we can see here on 11/22/2019.
— Offer opinions or objections by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

FRACTIONS, DOGS, CATS, PEOPLE, STARS, MONEY AND A WONDER...

EDITION OF THURSDAY, NOV. 21, 2019 [PetPowellPress] I spent time on Wednesday very earnestly writing my opening paragraphs for the November 22 edition because I stupidly jumped a day ahead on the calendar, completely deleting November 21. I blame the November 3 time change — I haven’t been right since then. I also haven’t been right since encountering the math concept of fractions in the 5th Grade, but that’s a tragedy for another time as sure as 1 plus 1 equals 2 1/2. This illustration from ducksters.com, the educational site, makes fractions look easy — except when I was in the 5th grade, the circle had not been invented.

So, my reasons for not acquiring a full academic ride at a major university aside, let’s proceed as sure as M=mc2.589 and “pi” is 3.14159265359. The curious among you will look that up to see if I got it right. I have no idea.
That's Kittie Leigh reacting to the fact that I was boggled by fractions. She's clearly disappointed in me -- join the crowd, I say.
I’m more at home with dogs and cats — they don’t know how to add, but they can multiply. 
Spay and neuter — two procedures that add up by subtracting. Yeah, I didn’t get into medical school either, but I am adept at using at least 24 of the 26 letters of the alphabet.
MERRY CHRISTMAS IN MESQUITE;
‘CONDITIONS…ARE OVER CAPACITY’
We’re starting with Merry Christmas (43180705), a 3-year-old Pittie mix who arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on Nov. 7 and is in quarantine as this is being written, according to the shelter website. There are also several puppies who look like her — they may be her puppies. The shelter’s info doesn’t say that, but she’s named Merry Christmas and their names are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer,  Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen —all are 28 days old as are two other look-alike pups, Max and Grinch. Look ‘em all up HERE. [LARRY NOTE TO PURISTS: Yes, we know the spellings of Donner and Blitzen vary from the original versions, but these are shelter names, not IDs in legal documents.]
The note we got from our trusty Mesquite volunteer biographer Judi Brown focused on other animals, but also included a warning that reads: “Conditions at the shelter are over capacity in the kennels and currently drastic measures are having to be taken to clear out kennel space.  Prince (42789952) is on the CRITICAL list and needs a rescue tag or adoption ASAP.  He has been at the shelter so long that he has understandably become hyperactive.  Getting into a quiet, stable home situation would doubtless be beneficial in calming Prince down.”
He came in as an owner-surrender on September 9. He was adopted, but his high energy made him not a fit for that home. So he’s back. He just needs someone who can help him learn to be not so “exuberant” so he can be really loved.
See many, many more Mesquite animals by going HERE.
Call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@ cityofmes- quite.com.

Check out the toes on this Mesquite movie star beauty! 
She’s 6-year-old Salsa (43234522), a Chiweenie who, Judi reports, arrived as a stray on the 15th. She says, “You would never know her age unless you looked at her teeth because she’s a lively, energetic, fun loving little gal that loves life and everyone in it. The best way to describe her is she’s PERKY! Her light colored coat with her dark eyes and dark snout make her a stand out! Unfortunately, she is blind in her left eye. It appears to be ulcerated. It is obviously irritating to her as she is rubbing it. The shelter is going to begin giving her eyedrops. Even though she is very energetic and a wiggle worm she likes laps. She gives kisses galore. She did her business as soon as she got out into the yard. She walks OK on a leash. She shares her kennel with another small dog and went nose to nose with many small dogs when walking through the bay. She appeared to be intimidated by the bigger dogs. This little sweetheart that wants to go home with you only weighs 8 pounds.”  Remember, call 972–216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com to tag Salsa.
A HOLIDAY TRADITION
OF THE SPCA AND NORTHPARK
Ah, the SPCA of Texas and NorthPark Center — that is a Dallas combination if there ever was one. Two great traditions.
Here’s the headline on the SPCA of Texas news release:
Annual Bark + Build Competition Kicks Off at NorthPark Center
as SPCA of Texas Celebrates 29th Annual Home for the Holidays Event.
Here are three key passages in the release:
"This signature event brings shoppers and pet lovers together to raise awareness for homeless pets, and to help these wonderful animals find their forever, loving families.
"The annual festivities kick off Thursday, November 21, with the annual Bark + Build Luxury Dog House and Cat Condo Design/Build Competition and display portion of Home for the Holidays. Twenty-four custom-made dog houses and cat condos will go on display at NorthPark Center on Level One between Dillard's and Macy's this Thursday, November 21. These one-of-a-kind pet houses were designed and built by members of the American Institute of Architects Dallas Chapter(AIA Dallas) and TEXO, The Construction Association.
"All of the entries will be auctioned off online at spcaholidays.com. You can bid online and also vote for your favorite house or condo until 8 p.m. on December 8, 2019! All money raised will go towards the SPCA of Texas' important mission to provide every animal exceptional care and a loving home."
Here’s a LINK to the whole release.
And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention dogs and cats — the adorable adoptables at spca.org. That first photo is of the Earhound Neptune (43193064). Oh, wait, that’s Neptune the 2-year-old neutere Californian rabbit — that’s a great face, isn’t it!
And that 4-month-old Arabian/Paint cross is Faye, a filly who was rescued by the SPCA and is being trained and “slowly learning to trust people more and more!” her bio reads.

That dog — that fantastic Earhound with the big ol’ slobber tongue and the great nearly golden eyes — is Chancy, a German Shepherd mix whose special skill is he nows how to sit.
That large girl cat is Molly, currently living in an SPCA foster home. She is said to love cuddling, chin and head scratches and “looking out the window.” The SPCA reports, “Molly enjoys sleeping on laps so much so that it’s often hard to get her off. She is very cute and chunky! When you talk to her — she talks back. However, she does not like being picked up!” Ah, a genuine cat personality.
AN ANGEL TREE
FOR SENIOR PETS
We got the tip on this holiday fundraiser from Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com. And, of course, we’ve heard of Pound Pals Rescue for 18 years now — founded in 2001, you know. 
The goal is “saving shelter pets from shelter euthanasia” according to the website at poundpals.- com.

The basic info, according to Pound Pals, is that in the Christmas Angel Program each senior animal is assigned a Christmas Angel at random — when you sign up, dear human, “You agree to send a $100 Amazon or Wal-Mart gift card for your assigned senior on or before Dec. 5.” 
Each senior is assigned one angel — but Pound Pals allows what the organizers call “Co-Angeling.” There’s a volunteer form that allow you to donate a $50 card that’ll be tamed with another $50 donor. To offer to help fill out the “volunteer form” at poundpals.com. Angel Paws is the 13th item on the list of volunteer opportunities.
In one sentence, here is what Pound Pals is: “We are a foster-based senior, hospice and special needs canine only rescue.” Email at pound_pals@yahoo.com to ask questions, to offer to help or to simply say “Thank you for loving these dogs.”

CONTEMPLATIONS
WONDER BUS; WHAT KIDS GET; A BAFFLING CASTING IDEA
I spotted this DART bus in West Dallas Wednesday afternoon and was, of course, fascinated by the big placard advertising the University of Arizona. It says “WONDER” on one line and then “MAKES US SOLVE.” OK, then I guess the University of Arizona Business School bus reads “WONDER MAKES US SOLVENT.” … I saw a story on Channel 8 about guys giving their daughters “lavish quinceaneras” and I’ve been to some fabulous bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs in my time. You know what Northeast Texas Southern Baptist boys got when they reached a certain age? A stern lecture. (Rimshot — just one. More than one and it’s too close to music and we might break out into a dance. That’s a Southern-Baptists-don’t-dance joke.) … The funniest story I heard Wednesday — not counting a couple I heard at lunch with my sons Bret and Bart (they have copyright on those tales!) — was the unbelievable yarn that some Hollywood executive suggested 26 years ago that Julia Roberts should start as the slave freedom leader Harriet Tubman, one of the greatest and most daring heroes in the history of America. Two things: Ms. Roberts is a convincing actress but oh come on. And, what? Was Meryl Streep already busy playing Muhammed Ali or Jackie Robinson? Look, I’ve played a priest on stage, but he was Anglican — not much of a stretch for a white boy from Northeast Texas. We’d probably be astounded at some of the ideas that are floated in Tinseltown. Heck, some of those stars go to Washington — not sure any studio executive has ever held public office. Actors, yes. Executives?
—- To offer opinions or agreements, click on ‘comment’ below or email dallrp@aol.com where we know our limits as an actor. To be, or not to be. —-

ON UNIVERSAL CHILDREN'S DAY, DOGS, CATS, VOLUNTEERS, BASEBALL AND ABSURDITY SHARE THE SPOTLIGHT

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, NOV. 20, 2019 [PetPowellPress] We’re big on celebrating “days” here at readlarrypowell.com. These special days remind us of what to appreciate in our daily existences — in addition to, of course, dogs, cats and, of course, chocolates. Well, no chocolates. Dieting again.
We lean on Holiday Insights, the online calendar organizer, for citations an information. So, what we see on the calendar is that, since 1954, Nov. 20 has been celebrated as Universal Children's Day -- the United Nations General Assembly urged all countries to honor the children.

Based on reports of mayhem around the region, the state, the nation and the world, we ought to redouble efforts to honor children with our hearts and educational efforts while they're vibrant and laughing instead of mourning them so painfully after the crimes and wars.
Yeah, readlarrypowell.com buys into "Bless the beasts and children," having had our heart benefit from both. And I hope you notice there's a cat in one of those "Day" notices and a dog in the other.
A POSITIVE REPORT
FROM DENTON'S SHELTER
It's always a pleasure to learn that a dog or cat who was in a tough spot has managed to beat the system because of a human heart. We got the good news from Amy Poskey, the volunteer monitor of Denton's McNatt Animal Shelter's tough situation stories.
On Tuesday she wrote, "I’m happy to report that Copper was adopted yesterday afternoon at an offsite adoption event!  I just hope it’s the perfect furever home for this sweet, sweet boy!!!  This angel was really pulling my heartstrings.  I mean, LOOK AT THAT FACE!!!"
The story was 8- to 10-year-old Copper, a male Mastiff mix was in a fix because of his age and his size (Mastiff!) and his diagnosis as heartworm positive. 
He also was an "owner surrender." On the plus side, he is dog-friendly, cat-friendly and people-friendly and now he has a whole new human with whom he can celebrate the goodness of life.

He wasn't the last dog at the shelter. And there are cats waiting for homes, too. This cat is 2- to 5-year-old --first time I've seen this name -- Cati-Corner. Ask about #854141 when you call the shelter at 940-349-7594 to ask about adopting a large gray and white cat.
AN EARHOUND GETS THE DAS
'CUTEST UNDERBITE EVER AWARD'
We're always on the lookout for championship adorable Earhounds and Keller fits that description. On Facebook, Dallas Animal Services posted this great photo and declared "Cutest Underbite Ever Award goes to Keller." Keller's still need a happy home to go with his happy honors. Ask about #A1088079 at DAS -- he's at the big Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center at I-30 and Westmoreland in West Dallas.
That cat? That is the noble visage of Charles (1074688). He's been in the Big Dallas Shelter since October 15. About 3, he's neutered and clearly sophisticated. You can see more dogs (more than 400) and cats (290-plus) by going to dallasanimalservices.org or by going to the shelter -- it's open to the public, in case, somehow, that fact had eluded anybody.
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?
THREE WAITING IN WILMER
Take a look at the three dogs. 
The first is Beau. the middle is Bren and the third is Bree. They were dumped in the Malloy Bridge area, reports the folks with 4 Legged Helpers. 
[LARRY ASIDE: Before we go further with this approach, let's ask a question of the great rescuer Deborah Verner: Through the years, Deb, how many Malloy Bridge area rescues have you done? Yep, here are three more! I've written many stories about Deb rescuing dogs from this dumping area. For years. Kind of a sad comment that people are still dumping dogs in the area!]

The note from Laura Macias of 4 Legged Helpers reads, "There are 3 pups, all siblings, about 5-6 months old ... They are all Shepherd Mix.  The two girls honestly look identical.  They are very sweet and very deserving. A good Samaritan saved them (sadly one had been run over) and they are staying in a kennel arrangement that another friend helped with -- they now need your help."
 Call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.

AND ON SATURDAY,
THERE'S THIS OPPORTUNITY
Tawana Couch and the organization she founded, Society For Companion Animals,
continue to fly unwanted animals to safe places outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It's a mission that doesn't get accomplished without volunteers. We got a note about the next volunteer effort on Saturday.
Want to volunteer? Want to help save lives? Want to help work on dog crates? Bet you haven't been asked that in print before. You can volunteer by emailing tawanacouch@me.com.


CONTEMPLATIONS

A PITTIE BENEFIT, RANGERS THOUGHTS & AN ABSURD DAY
Now and then we run across an opportunity of which we cannot take advantage. I went a long way to keep from ending that sentence with a preposition -- you know what I'm speaking of. Darn. Anyway, I saw this great deal on the Humane Society of North Texas website and when I clicked on the link HERE  I discovered that there's a possibility of losing your Pittie's "parts" and winning a 72-inch TV set. Whoa! And here I am caught without an intact Pit Bull in the house. That's OK, though. I'm hoping someone wins that TV and then gets to spend a lot of quality time sitting on a couch with a beloved Pittie and watching quality TV or movies on demand. I think Pitties may be prone to enjoying soap operas. ...
Speaking of quality television, while listening to some sportscasters try to outline the likely outcomes of NFL games, I was stricken by how much I miss the certainty of Major League Baseball — if there’s no off-season pitching improvement it's a certainty we can expect disaster for all 162 regular season Texas Rangers games -- new roof open or closed. In winning baseball, its not the roof, it's the pitching. Oh, and getting men on base so you can hit behind them and drive in runs -- remember a breathtaking home run in D/FW rarely counts more than one run. How can I already be bitter about the 2020 Rangers? Experience -- it's the best teacher. ... OK, now here's a funny one from Holiday Insights. The online calendar site says November 20 is always "Absurdity Day." Then the researches admits, "We did not find any information about the origin of this special day, when it began or who originated it." Our theory? Happened during a presidential election campaign. The suspects? Too many to mention. No logo for Absurdity Day -- too many mugshots nominated for the "Face of Absurdity."
--- Offer explanations or innovations by clicking on 'comment' below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. ---

THE PRESSURE OF MORE DOGS DUMPED IN SMALL SHELTER AREAS...

EDITION OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Before we get to a key personnel addition at Ferris and other notes such as dogs at peril in small shelters, we have this for a day in November:

THE REVENGE OF THE SPANIEL

By A. Spaniel Dogginscute
(Author in glasses, left)

© readlarrypowell.com 2019

   The black-coated English Cocker Spaniel named Inky, chilled by the morning but warmed at the thought of his vengeful mission, slipped into his specially designed autumn camo cloak, crawled out from behind an evergreen bush and began to dog-creep across the sun-lit blanket of orange and yellow leaves that covered the target’s yard.
   His sidekick, black and white sophisticated tuxedo adventure cat Stevie Ray, chose to walk alongside, stepping fiercely as if he needed to make sure each leaf wasn’t going to blow away.

   “I don’t need no camo suit,” he declared with an assertive purr. “Nobody notices a free-roaming cat. We’re invisible to humans who don’t have finely-tuned hearts bent on rescue.”

   “People always see a dog. Well, some dogs,” Inky the Cocker said. “I once knew a Pittie who was chained to a tree and ignored for years — I cut his chain and he lives on the West Coast now — got a movie deal. But that’s neither here nor there. Focus on this mission. Can you at least move about 10 feet away and try to draw attention over there?”
    
   “What’s our mission?” the cat mused. “I forget. I’ve napped and been distracted by the breeze.”

   Inky looked at the little guy. “You’re all about the moment, aren’t you.”

   “It’s The Way of The Cat,” Stevie Ray replied.

   “OK, one more time and pay attention, for cat-sake,” exasperated Inky began, “We’re going to rescue all the Cockers from the puppy mill creep who docked my tail too short for Westminster and dumped me in a Dallas park.
   
“And then — oh, this is going to be good!”, he practically barked with legendary Cocker excitement, “We’re going to do some docking of our own and this guy is going to remember it.”

   “Humans don’t have tails,” Stevie Ray said.

   “I’m not docking tails, my young, innocent feline friend,” Inky responded with the raspy whisper of a bark-prone Cocker.
   
“Now, tell me again, why are we doing this?” Stevie emphasized the question with an inquisitive twitch of his long black tail.
   Inky shook his head and his great and wonderful ears responded like hairy blankets in a windstorm.
   “Here’s why. Again. We’re doing this because adventure and revenge sell. November is National Novel Writing Month, Holiday Insights says. My only other plot at the moment involves a heroic and sophisticated tuxedo tomcat who runs a Martian exploration colony rescue mission after astronauts are taken prisoner by giant Martian mice who have learned to etch ransom notes in the red sand.”

   Stevie Ray considered the plot. And he called his agent  and gave her a heads-up about a potential deal starring in a movie, The Meow on Mars.
[DEAR READERS: Thus ends the first chapter of the “treatment” for The Revenge of The Spaniel, a novel clearly destined for the big screen — or the little screens, whatever people are watching. We’ll get back to you as soon as we wrap up the contract with Netflix. Our colleague, The Senator, knows some people…]
(A) FERRIS HAS A NEW SHELTER ACO;
(B) LANCASTER DOGS IN DANGER
This welcome news about a personnel addition in Ferris came via the 4 Legged Helpers. That’s the new non-profit working to open eyes and doors at small shelters on the southern side of Dallas, Big D, Texas. These low-budget municipal shelters exist in the I-45 corridor, a sugarplum’s toss south of I-20.

Laura Macias, the non-profit Helpers’ spokesperson, sent a note Monday that reads, “Ferris Shelter has a great new ACO we would like to introduce you to.  His name is Casey Steele and we actually know him very well through his great work at another shelter.  He cares very much about the ani- mals and wants to make a difference. He would be very interested in working with rescue groups and building a following again for Ferris, which as you know they desperately need in this small town since they get zero walk-in's like the other small rural shelters in the area.  PLEASE HELP. Call & introduce yourself!”
 Call or text the ACO at 972-877-4180 or email williamsteele@ferristexas.gov.
That contact info is how you’d reach the Ferris Animal Shelter so you can adopt or rescue Misty, the “baby Tiger Tabby.”
Same for Trio, that Aussie Shepherd/Border Collie girl with the excitable eyes. And for Peggy, the brown and white terrier mix with the great face — she was an owner surrender.
And use that contact information to ask about helping Trevor — is that not an adorable dog face!!! He’s been in the shelter for maybe a couple of months.
There are more animals on the brink of bad fate in the shelter at Ferris and Lancaster and Wilmer.… To help any of these animals, get in touch with Laura by calling or texting 214-949-2726 or emailing cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
For example, this was the intro to Laura’s note about Lancaster.
Readlarrypowell.com doesn't know how many dogs and cats will be killed in the big shelters this week, but is there really any reason for just few dogs to be killed in a small shelter to make room for the next unwanted dogs? No. Humans -- those in the animal rescue field understand and those in the animal dumping community need to be seen to in a facility that straightens up thought processes and injects some decency in the hearts. If they have one.
We’ve picked these dogs to highlight from a long string of dogs on the quick clock at Lancaster's small shelter. Bree-Bree is the “wonderful girl” Boxer who is “adored” by people who meet her. Champ is a medium-sized longtime resident of Lancaster. He is said to be “one of the nicest, most calm, well-behaved boys at the shelter.”
AGAIN, get in touch with Laura and save some lives.
***
[LARRY RECOLLECTION: Whenever I read of a pro-animal movement in the City of Ferris, I know that there is beneficial change underway. I suspect I’m not the only pro-animal guy in North Texas who remembers that time in 2008 when Ferris adopted a policy of shooting stray dogs.Here’s a LINK to a Waxahachie Daily Light story about it.]
MEANWHILE, OUT AT THE LAKE,
POLITICS AND A QUILT!
Tuesday is going to be a big day for supporters of the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake. The Gun Barrel City City Council is supposed to vote to award its animal care contract to the Humane Society and its shelter in Tool will be continuing to give care to unwanted animals until they are wanted.
 And, the Society is hoping a big crowd will show up to demonstrate support for the contract and the organization. [LARRY ASIDE: Maybe even a thank-you for the council vote? Good politics, you know. May need another note in the future.]
We got the tip on that vote and the reminder on the quilt raffle from our reliable tipster Sydney Busch of Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake, the non-profit that operates the planet’s most successful spay/neuter clinic on Tuesdays in Gun Barrel City. 
Now, about the quilt raffle: This fascinating quilt with the great artwork was created for Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake by, as Sydney wrote, “the fabulous ladies of the Gun Barrel Quilt Guild.” Tickets are $5 each and available at the spay/neuter clinic on Tuesdays. The drawing is December 1. Get more info by emailing sydney@friendsofthenimals.org. Remember, the money you donate for a ticket goes to help keep the clinic operating, so to speak.
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED NOTES IN THE AUTUMN
This is the time of year that a homeowner faces this challenge: Mulch or rake? We’re mulching at our house in hopes that the bio shredding will lead to a green yard I have to mow when it’s 110 in the shade. Yep, really smart human. …. All of you folks getting ready to hand the Dallas Cowboys a Super Bowl Trophy, let me remind you that it was Detroit they beat, 35-27, and if a damaged team can hang 25 on ‘em, what will happen when they play New England and Tom Brady on Sunday? … I’m closing with an image I snipped off the Furbabies of Lancaster Facebook page. Some of you may find it quite amusing. It does seem to eliminate the need for the as-yet-not-quite-legal readlarrypowell.com Two-by-Four of Enlightenment.
— Offer advice or solutions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

AN EARHOUND WAITS; SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS ANIMALS; REMEMBERING AN EDITOR...

EDITION OF MONDAY, NOV. 18, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Do like Lovely the Dog and get your ears up and ready for this sentiment. Welcome to a Monday in a week full of promise. Thanksgiving is 10 days away and we'll offer up a few things to be thankful for this year beyond demonstrative Earhounds.
First, we have a robust democracy that allows for peaceful but mouthy conflict. Then, I won Lotto Texas Saturday night -- oh, wait. Scratch that one off the list again.
Look, here's a genuine thought of thankfulness: In your free time, take a look at the assorted Facebook pages of rescue groups and marvel at what you see. Ask yourself, "What happened to these animals before social media existed and the only hope they had was a desperate phone call made at the right moment to the right number?"
One shot at safety. But not anymore. Animals get more attention online than they ever did in print. Yeah, be thankful for the forward-thinking animal advocates who created websites and Facebook pages to bolster interest in helping animals. 
We've mentioned Lovely before, thanks to Amy Poskey, the Denton McNatt Animal Shelter volunteer monitor. Sunday she sent this note: "This beautiful girl with the sky high, adorable ears is still waiting for love.  So, please read below, take another look at Lovely, and consider giving her a chance.  She’s young, she’s beautiful, and she just needs someone to believe in her cuz she is willing to learn!"
In these photos the Earhound demonstrates that she can listen intently whether standing or sitting. Lovely is the young German Shepherd mix who is really so human, having been "adopted and returned several times because she is mouthy, energetic, and needs training." [LARRY ASIDE: Geez, that would be like having another kid around the house!] 
Lovely's number is ID 85027. Call the shelter at 940-349-7594. Email gayla.nelsen@cityofdenton.com, Randi.Weinberg@cityofdenton.com, and/or julien.peralta@cityofdenton.com. Here's Lovely's PetFinder LISTING.
And, as long as we're discussing "returned" dogs, Amy also tips us about Chip, who was adopted from the Denton shelter on July 30, but returned on Oct. 25 because his adoptor couldn't afford the medical bills. (Use the Lovely contacts.) Chip is 5-to-8-years old and weighs 9.9 pounds. He's a "little sweetie pie," Amy writes. He's also in need of special care because, her note says, "he most likely has some sort of chronic URI/bronchitis/asthma." She also says, "Chip just needs a calm, loving home with limited activity and excitement in order to manage respiratory flare ups and coughing spells." Bless his little Chihuahuaness.
THIS DOG WAS A STRAY!
HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?
Sorry, I got carried away with my emotional faith in Border Collie-type dogs. I just don't know how humans let their dogs "go stray."
I'm using two photos. One shows the total cuteness of Freckles, a too-thin 36-pound girl Mesquite Animal Services labels as a Border Collie/Lab mix. The second photo shows Freckles doing what Border Collies do: stare at the human and wait for orders. Labs and Border Collies both know what they are supposed to do/what they WANT to do -- make their humans feel good. Labs are content to lounge. Border Collies expect extra jobs -- monitor the visitors, herd the cats, check the perimeter.
Freckles came into the shelter on Nov. 13. Our reliable source, the Mesquite volunteer biographer Judi Brown says, "She’s an attractive young pup with beautiful markings and a  handful of freckles across her nose. She’s got the attributes of a young puppy.  She’s friendly, outgoing, rambunctious, happy, curious, and easy going! She loves life and everybody that she interacts with. She gives kisses and her tail wags constantly." Use her ID 43218498 when you call the shelter at 972–216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
See more Mesquite animals needing homes at THIS WEBSITE.
You can adopt cats with masks -- on the left is Kitty Kitty (42187339) with her pirate eyepatch and on the right is Lucy (42934271) with her Lone Ranger mask.

CONTEMPLATION
A PERSONAL NOTE ABOUT
THE FORT WORTH PRESS
AND JOURNALIST JACK MOSELEY

My longtime newsroom companion Bob Trimble tipped me Sunday morning to the fact that Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy, our former colleague at both The Fort Worth Press and The Dallas Morning News, had written of the death on Friday of Jack Moseley. That photo is of Jack in 1963 -- yes, during the JFK Assassination coverage. By 1975, Jack was the managing editor -- the LAST managing editor -- of The Fort Worth Press. He was in that position when the gritty, entertaining, journalistically sound, 53-year-old Scripps-Howard tabloid went out of business on May 30, 1975. He immediately took a job in northwest Arkansas as the executive editor of the Fort Smith Times-Record and began to build up respect and friendships and he still came back to Fort Worth now and then to check on his ol' pals and the city.
[LARRY ASIDE: When The Press closed, a Star-Telegram executive was said to have declared, "I don't want anything from The Press except Peanuts." We'd had the popular comic strip forever -- not sure The Current Star-Telegram runs the vintage Peanuts strip like so many papers still do. I'm guessing they're not going to print Peanuts on Saturdays, since they're dropping the Saturday print edition. A lot of us ex-Pressers caught on at The Dallas Morning News and forgot all about the Star-Telegram except when the DMN would scoop it -- a not uncommon occurrence. One more thing, when The Star-Telegram was sold in the early '70s, my pal, fellow reporter Terry Kelly, and I scooped the Startlegram on its own sale by the hometown owners to an East Coast media conglomerate. We got the story -- with a curbside interview with Amon Carter Jr., the owner, as police search his building --  in our PM edition while the opposition's PM edition was delayed by a bomb threat from someone unhappy with the sale. Ah, competitive NEWSPAPER journalism, where art thou? That's The Press building at 5th and Jones -- it's still there, but it has been air-conditioned and, no doubt, the plumbing has been repaired -- the city once shut down the newsroom bathrooms until the plumbing was repaired.]

Back to Jack: As you'll read in the official obit in Fort Smith's paper HERE, Jack "is believed to be the last journalist to have direct contact with [President John] Kennedy before his death." JFK had been in Fort Worth before going to Dallas. Elsewhere you may read that Jack served as a "drafted" pallbearer for Lee Harvey Oswald -- journalists stood in because there were no "friends or relatives." Here's a LINK  to Jack's recollection and the last scene will grab you. Jack, the reporter, did much more than that one story in his career. 

Still, I could not help but smile when I saw that the Fort Smith memorial service for Jack would be on a significant date in his career -- 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. And, on a personal note, Jack, as I recall, enjoyed the rivalry between Fort Worth and Dallas and once, when I was discussing the assassination coverage with him, sly Jack smiled and pointed out, "Well, all I can say is he was OK when he left Fort Worth." Newsroom humor -- it's a coping mechanism.

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THIS CAT ISN'T NAPPING BUT SHE DOES NEED A PLACE TO GO -- SHE'S SUGAR MOMMA!

This is about a cat I absolutely love who really needs some help.
She's feral and she's conquered me and my good intentions. I cannot solve a problem named Sugar Momma. She's rejected all humans so far.
So, for this edition of our weekend feature Let Sleeping Dogs lie & Napping Cats Nap, readlarrypowell.com has decided to highlight a cat that we have never seen napping.
Consider this an appeal to wiser cat people for help -- not with feline insomnia but with placing a feral cat named -- lovingly and appropriately -- Sugar Momma.
We first encountered her more than a year ago when she gave birth to four kittens on our Dallas property and we were able to get her and the kittens into our custody. The kittens were all tabbies -- my monikerspouse Martha named them Ivy, Alfie, Dragon and Qwerty (after the top row of letters on a keyboard). The SPCA of Texas graciously took them in and they were all adopted pretty quickly.
I stupidly vowed that I would conquer the wild side of a Dallas feral cat. I might as well have bought the Dallas Cowboys and declared I'd win a Super Bowl.
Martha and I had enjoyed success with ferals, socializing more than a score of kittens through the years. We found homes for them and their mommas.
As long was we'd been helping Sugar Momma with the kittens, she'd been happy to sit in the big "family kennel," dine on free food and provide the traditional momma's milk spigots for the kittens.
Once the kittens were gone, so was her interest in humans. But, we couldn't just turn her loose. Too dangerous for her. 
Then things began to happen. My mom became sick and died and we had assorted obligations arise, so we just kept juggling Sugar Momma's situation with time marching on while we were anchored in abysmal challenges.
Ultimately, Sugar Momma was given the run of our patio room, i.e., our cat room, and could hide for weeks -- the only signs that she was there being that she'd eaten food, lapped up water and visited the litter box. 
This arrangement went on -- we loved her and she was safe and I lived with the hope of charming her. We moved from Dallas to Fort Worth -- Martha and I went back daily to feed Sugar Momma and check on her. I finally caught the extraordinarily elusive little girl last week in the rusty old cat trap. It has a history -- in addition to catching kittens and cats, it also caught possums and raccoons. Once it even accidentally caught a skunk who'd been enjoying the feral cat breakfast buffet on the front porch. I was able to free the skunk without mishap.

So, now we have Sugar Momma in Fort Worth waiting for a place to go. She is the only member of our front porch feral community I've never been able to conquer with my natural cat-friendly charm and sincere promise of belly rubs. 
You see photos of her here. One is of her in captivity in the cat trap in the cat room in Dallas. The rest are of her in her current quarters in Fort Worth. In the second photo you can see her mouth as it has just slammed shut after opening with a big ol' hissing snap of a threat when I shoved my phone camera into her wire cage. She was serious -- I am cautious.  The next photo shows her with a "calmer mouth" but with a threatening glare!
That kitten on the left is Qwerty -- I'd walked into the Cedar Hill PetSmart to buy catfood and decided to go past the SPCA's adoption display and there was Qwerty, one of Sugar Momma's three boys -- Ivy was the only girl. Qwerty, who didn't bother to greet me as an old friend and the guy who gave him his first canned food, was soon adopted. Looks like his mom.
His mom, by the way, is OK if I'm delivering food -- but with a camera I'm an annoying paparazzi to Sugar Momma.
 She is a beautiful cat, healthy and well-fed. But not interested in humans.
What I'm looking for now is a Barn Cat position for Sugar Momma. We don't own a barn -- if we had a barn, there's no telling what critter Martha and I might accidentally rescue. Feral elk, probably.

Anyone know of an opening in a Barn Cat job or a sanctuary for cats that should never have been pregnant and should have always been cuddled? This cat deserves a good life.
She is the last member of feral cat colony we worked to eliminate for nearly two decades. We spayed and neutered and spayed and neutered and, finally, reached the end of the litter parade with Ivy, Alfie, Dragon and Qwerty. Now it's time to help their Sugar Momma

Please email me at dallrp@aol. com. Sugar Momma won't surprise you with kittens.
And what about the dog in this photo below? I needed someone sleeping to match the rules for this edition, so I grabbed a Fort Worth Animal Care & Control announce- ment on Facebook during the week about a dog who was adopted there and is now beloved and comfortable sleeping on her couch. There are lots of dogs and cats interested in showing people that they, like Aggie, know how to take over a couch.
[LARRY REQUEST: Send photos of your sleeping dogs and napping cats to dallrp@aol.com and we'll post their stories in our weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. You'll be helping people understand how important a good human is to a happy animal. And you'll be helping insomniacs try to conquer laying awake wondering how to place a cat that isn't interested in being placed with humans. Takes more than catnip to soothe a feral cat or a feral insomniac. I know, for I am one. Er, one feral insomniac.]
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