ReadLarryPowell.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."
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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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DOG FACES, CAT WHISKERS, ATLANTIC ERROR, CITY GOATS, CITY PAPERS & COUNTRY MUSIC

EDITION OF FRIDAY, NOV. 15, 2019 [PetPowellPress] As we arrive at our Friday edition, in the aftermath of another school shooting, we could ask questions about the frail nature of humanity. But we'd have no answers. 
So, we're going to focus, once again, on the strong humans we know: Those who work on behalf of others, the "others" being both people and other species!
If the rest of humanity could focus with the intensity and love of animal people, maybe we'd have a kinder world. By the way, in the experienced judgment of readlarrypowell.com, the term "animal nut" is a badge of honor. 

FYI SOME INTERESTING READING: The Dallas Morning News' Columnist Sharon Grigsby, a known animal lover, has an interesting and thorough take on the Petland/Frisco issue. Read it HERE. [LARRY COMMENT: And be damned glad you live in a circulation area where the newspaper allows a passionate columnist to focus on the plight of animals. Send The Big Paper Downtown a thank-you for caring note.]
Oh, that cat? That is Bette Davis, according to the Dallas Animal Services listing for #A1074550, a female black and white, 4-month-old kitten. She's been in DAS' care since October 20 -- living in a foster home right now. Home of a woman named Joan Crawford. I'm kidding -- you film fans will see the humor in that joke.
You might want to save Bette Davis' picture to show your grandkids. That cat is on a floor covered with newspaper. Might not be around that much longer. 

Goats must be difficult to photograph -- at least more difficult than dogs and cats. And, apparently, they're "outside the box" in that logo.
Oh, yeah, in current sports lingo "GOAT" means Greatest of All Time. So, Dallas Animal Services, among its hundreds of dogs and cats and four rabbits, has two GOATS listed. Don't tell the goats about GOAT or they're liable to butt heads over who's the GOAT. 
The first is #A1088329 and he's thought to be a year old The second GOAT (A1088330) is thought to be a year old and he's been at the shelter since Nov. 13. Both are on adoptive hold at the shelter while DAS looks for the right owner of GOATS. Could be your if you get your adoption pre-app filled out in time for the adoption moment. [LARRY IMPLORES: For crying out loud, don't get either goat just to have cabrito or to sacrifice at a religious festival. Yes, it happens in sweet little ol' Dallas. Of course, at the holidays there are plenty of people who'll sacrifice turkeys and chickens, pigs and cows. But I see my vegetarian side has taken over. So I'll just mention that carefully seared seasoned tofu and vegetables can be downright satisfying, spirited and tasty -- and I'll move on, my cravings for vegetarian Mapo Tofu dancing like sugarplums.]
FORT WORTH HAS KITTENS
AND A REALLY HANDSOME DOG

AND MORE KITTENS & DOGS
Ginger Leach, our longtime contact at Fort Worth Animal Care and Control, posted a note about these two fellows, Tom and Jerry. They were in foster, but the foster hd to leave town. Ginger writes, "We would love to get them into a rescue." Tom (43144131) and Jerry (43144127) are 4 1/2 weeks old and getting along without a momma. That happens in the kitten world. They are eating dry food mixed with wet food. And they understand the concept of a handful grip that leads to a human nose-nuzzle and a pair of purrs. To ask about them email fwacctag@fortworthtexas.gov. [FW's Chuck Silcox Adoption Center is at 4900 Martin St., on the east side of the city.]

And when we went to the FW Animal Care and Control dog listings, we encountered this handsome fellow. Mack (384268010), a Pittie mix who came into the shelter according to the onside info, on June 23, 2018. He's in the FWACC Foster Program, so, holy smoke, that's a genuine extended effort to save the life of a 4 1/2-year-old dog from the needle. Even if it's 2019 instead of '18, it's still a magnificent life-saving effort. 
See the dogs and how to adopt them at
http://fortworthtexas.gov/animals/dogs/
[LARRY ASIDE: If anyone would like to testify about the wonderfulness of dogs such as Mack, email mail dallrp@aol.com and we'll help you tell the world what loving big ol' love sweethearts these dogs can be. And, tell me what you'd like to do to the person who cropped Mack's ears. But be nice about it unless the mood strikes you otherwise.]
THE LANCASTER CHALLENGE:
DOGS AND CATS ON THE CLOCK
Laura Macias, our contact with the non-profit 4 Legged Helpers, is desperately promoting the adoption and rescue of animals in the low-traffic Lancaster Animal Shelter. The latest email had a long list of dogs and cats -- too long to post here. Could be posted on a website or a Facebook page if 4 Legged helpers had one -- but the organization needs someone to help set all that up. To ask about helping the animals or about helping the organization, call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com. 
We're featuring just two of many, one of each species. Brent is that German Shepherd fellow. His bio reads, "Very cute boy.  Likes to get on his bed and arrange his legs like the picture shows - it's the cutest thing.  Maybe he was raised with a kitty.  Definitely has his legs the same way kitties curl up on a bed.  Adorable.  He is very lovable."
Also nearing the needle is Chase, a "long-hair Ginger Tabby." His bio reads, "Wow.  This guy is stunningly beautiful with the biggest bushy tail and long beautiful whiskers.  He is very sweet and loving.  He will need to be brushed with this beautiful long fur.  Please, won't you help save him?" That's the plea.
[LARRY ASIDE: No idea how old he is, but I hope he gets a lot older.]
DAISY IN MESQUITE

Readlarrypowell.com grimaces and wants to puke when we see older dogs and cats in any city or county shelter that has a budget for euthanasia juice. 

This beauty is Daisy. She's 7. Listed as a "Shepherd/ Retriever" mix but I see some Rottie in that coloring. Especially on the muzzle -- that's a dog with a face that needs a human to make the gray muzzle smile again.
Our Mesquite Animal Services tipster Judi Brown says 71-pound, spayed Daisy (43142163) was surrendered to the shelter on December 12. "The reason given was financial hardship," Judi writes, then adds, "I was not able to find any surrender papers so I have no further information. However, it’s very obvious that Daisy is sad and depressed! Who could blame her? Here she is seven years old and she’s at the shelter. Hopefully someone will see her sad eyes and sweet face and will be willing to offer her a comfortable home with lots of blankets. She is extremely sweet and gentle. She stays close and looks up at you with her imploring eyes. She wants to please. She sits and offers her paw. She loves to have her ears scratched.."
 Call the shelter at 972–216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com to tag Daisy. Use her ID 43142163 when you ask about her.
[LARRY ASIDE: How can someone live with a dog for 7 years (assuming that's the case) and walk away from her? That is a part of the human element I cannot understand. I hope I'm NEVER able to understand it or accept it. Save Daisy and you've got a halo waiting for you -- that's my theory, but I've only played a priest on stage. I'm not even a deacon.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
TRANSATLANTIC LABOR; THE SATURDAY PAPER; REAL COUNTRY MUSIC
Our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Andy Fisher, monitoring local TV broadcasts, reports that in the evening news Thursday "the local ABC station is reporting on the basement of a local church being dug up in a search for the bones of Chinese immigrants who built the 'transatlantic railroad.' " That's the point at which I snorked Coke Zero and gasped for oxygen. Andy deadpanned, "I think he mean 'transcontinental' but you never know." .... As long as we're discussing media: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is going to stop producing a Saturday morning print edition -- when I heard that I immediately thought "Revive The Fort Worth Press!" Then I remembered that the beloved afternoon tabloid (RIP May 31, 1975) didn't publish a Saturday edition -- we were ahead of the trend (and ahead of computers, too -- still worked with carbon paper and editing pencils). The Startlegram and The Star-Scramblegram, as we used to refer to the opposition paper, will still be publishing online on Saturdays -- got those sports scores to post and those headlines screenshots for football and basketball players to put in their scholarship-seeking scrapbooks. ... WATCHED THE CMA show Wednesday night. Wasn't real sure some of that was actually country music. Perhaps us real country fans are inclined to offer up this number from the Texas heroes, The Geezenslaw Brothers. Click HERE  for
"You Call It Country, I Call It Bad Rock 'n' Roll."
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WINTER SENTIMENTS IN THE FALL; WILMER'S HIDDEN DOGS; ROSY'S TERROR; WHAT'S IN A DOG'S NAME? & CRUELTY IN DC?

EDITION OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2019 [PetPowellPress] —Had enough of Winter? Yeah, me, too. Ah, but in case you wondered, the season doesn’t arrive until 10:19 p.m. CST on Saturday, December 21. 
Now, since the temps are warming up around North Texas and since we’ve all found our winter clothes a month early and some of us made a note to buy some, I'll keep typing. 
(LARRY NOTE: I'm "going to press" early, as we ink-stained wretches used to say. Why? Too cold to type. I think I'll read the winter scenes in Dr. Zhivago ...)
Speaking of winter, thanks to a posting by Furbabies of Lancaster, I spotted this posting from Lone Star Doberman Rescue and it is funny and it also fits my feelings about people who think the family dog and cat really love to be outside in either 100-degree weather or an 18-degree windchill. Idiots, and I say that with great love in hopes of enhancing the understanding of the difference between right and wrong. Idiots. Darn. That time it just slipped out. 
Oh, and there’s this: CONTEMPLATIONS has a cruelty note today —two of ‘em if you have a theory about Congress.

LEAVING FOR RESCUE: IT’S TOUGH
FOR A CATAHOULA NAMED ROSY

In the category of “You Never Know,” we cite the case of Rosy. We learned about her from Amy Poskey, our tipster on the moving of animals from I Am Dog Rescue, currently reshaping after the death of one of the organization’s guiding lights. 
Rosy was supposed to be among around two dozen dogs making a road trip to a rescue. 

Didn’t happen. Why? Amy says, “Rosy, the Catahoula mix, was too terrified to make a road trip to the rescue who offered to take her. There for we are asking for DFW-area rescues only for sweet Rosy. She is not aggressive —she is just terrified and will simply need a little time, patience and love.”

She’s among 26 dogs (Labs, Pitties, Pointers, Goldens, Doxies, etc.) needing a rescue group’s help. To offer to help with Rosy or any dog, email info@iamdogrescue.org or call 940-202-0951.
AH, THE DOG WILL NEED
A PERMANENT NAME
So, on Dallas Animal Services Facebook page, I spotted this photo of a handsome, lively DAS dog named “Skarface” and featured as a Tuesday adoption special.

Here’s the text: “Every dog has his day... Skarface (A1067719) is hoping this #TongueOutTuesday will be his! Come meet this goofy grin and adopt him today. He'll be waiting in Kennel #VIP07. #AdoptDAS #BeDallas90."
 So, then, while looking through the dallasanimalservices.org dog photos for a better view of “Skarface” I found this DAS posting for “Joker.”
Yep, same dog. The shelter ID numbers match. Doesn’t matter to me what he’s called right now — I just want him to find a home that’ll give him a good name, a good life and a reason to come when he’s called by that name!
[LARRY ASIDE: How these good dogs wind up in a shelter instead of on the living room couch must surely be because of the failing of a human heart.]

THE WILMER CHALLENGE:
SAVE THE HIDDEN DOGS
Our latest email from Laura Macias of 4 Legged Helpers, the new non-profit that focuses on smaller shelters, pinpoints a problem in towns that just don’t pitch in enough tax money to make a shelter a shelter rather than a warehouse for the doomed.
In fact, Laura included this paragraph in her email with photos of three dogs currently in the Wilmer Animal Shelter. “Doomed to die in this hell hole!,” she wrote. “Doomed to be just another who cares castoff of Dallas County. Just Bullies — who cares about them! After trying to help and save them for so long maybe it is easier just to let this place kill them all again.”

Their time is almost up, she says. And she also writes, “Wilmer Shelter is one of those storage-type metal buildings 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.”

Who are these dogs? Kimmie is the Shepherd/Boxer mix we posted in Wednesday’s edition. She’s a “very, very sweet” dog, according to Laura’s note. The dog with the blue/green eyes is Blue, described as “honestly one of the most beautiful bullies in person we have seen. The third dog is Autumn who has a collar but nobody has come to look for her. She’s described as a “silly, lovable, precious little girl.”
Save their lives by calling or texting Laura at 214-949-2726 or EMAIL cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS
D.C. CRUELTY & THE LAW; BETTING ON A PHRASE; WHAT ABOUT THAT UFO?
On Wednesday I ran across a story on The Hill’s website about therapy dogs visiting Capitol Hill. That’ll challenge the dogs’ training. Also, I’m wondering if bringing dogs to Capitol Hill right now is some kind of animal cruelty — it’s cruel enough for humans. But, coincidentally, there’s a bill approved by both Houses of Congress currently awaiting the President’s signature that would make animal cruelty a violation of federal law. We’ve mentioned it before and you’re probably aware of it. [LARRY FYI: The Senator, my friend to the right who swears he hasn't had plugs, long ago endorsed this bill. He also endorses cat adoptions as a way to make America a more pleasant nation.] Read about it the pending law HERE  and, maybe, you could even Tweet the president and remind him to sign the bill real soon. He can't sign it TOO SOON! … Do you think someone in Washington has set up a pool betting on how many times “quid pro quo” will be said by a public official this month? … As long as we’re talking about Washington, this is a good time for a UFO story from the venerable magazine Popular Mechanics. Click HERE  and keep watching the skies. Cue the spooky music HERE. Sorry about the advert -- profiteers from Mars.
—- Offer advice, opinions or objections by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com and put “Attention: Planet Earth” in the subject line. —-

DENZEL, CARY GRANT, DOGS, CATS & L'IL ABNER...IT'S ALL PART OF A MIDWEEK EDITION

EDITION OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Holy smoke — we’re beyond a third of the way through November and we still have Halloween candy in the pantry — that is a new record for longevity for chocolate. 
Why am I able to fight off cravings right now? Because every day I get to look at this sweet face — free dog, you know. Wandered up in the yard at Christmastime and stayed. He’s named Dudley the Angel after Cary Grant’s character in The Bishop’s Wife —we’d just watched it (again) on TV when he arrived. See how this is connected to Macbeth when you get to CONTEMPLATIONS and don’t forget to send photos of your sleeping dogs and cats to dallrp@aol.com for the weekend’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
FOSTERING SAVES LIVES
We got an email appeal that set off a reminder to do a reminder note. Here's the reminder: Fostering animals is a great way to save lives and learn how big your heart is by loving a dog or cat you’re going to hand over to someone else to love.
The appeal came from Paws In The City with the note that “Our volunteers are working hard, but what we really need is for kind people to open their homes! If you have ever considered fostering, now is the time. Apply at pawsinthecity.org to help us save more lives!”

And the newly-formed 501c3 Four Legged Helpers is also looking for fosters to help with animals in Lancaster, Wilmer, Hutchins, Ferris and any other local small shelter that doesn’t enjoy a lot of human walk-through traffic. Get in touch with Laura Macias by calling or texting 214-949-226 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
FYI Laura sent a note Tuesday cites the Lancaster Animal Shelter and says, “Now 17 dogs in this shelter!” Saving ‘em is a matter of hours, not days, she says. So this could be your chance to save a life by fostering. That dog is Kimmie, a Shepherd/Boxer mix patiently waiting in Wilmer and needing some medical help, according to Laura's latest note about the numbers overwhelming small shelters.
Sometimes shelters have organized foster programs — check with your nearest shelter. I’ve never run into a rescue group that didn’t have a foster program.
Know what both the shelter programs and the rescue programs have in common? They ALWAYS NEED FOSTERS.
EAST LAKE PET ORPHANAGE
SCHEDULES A BIG SATURDAY!
Yep, it’s time for ELPO’s Pet Fair 2019 — noon to 4 p.m. at East Lake Pet Orphanage, 10101 E. Northwest Highway in Dallas. Some of the highlights, according to a promotional release are: “Free Admission; Adoptable Pets, Fun-Games-Food-Entertainment, Silent Auction…”
Silent auction. Yes. And there’s bidding online HERE and you can bid at the event. Event info is HERE.
Lots of animal art at the auction include a print of Texas artist April Murphy’s painting “Eyeballin’ It”. Yes, that is a tennis ball “his eyes are laser-focused on” the description reads. And there’s a painting of a cat on a board — the artist isn’t listed, but how many cat-in-a-bowler paintings do you already have?
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the adorable adoptables at East Lake Pet Orphanage. You can see the online listing HERE. 
But we’re going to go ahead and cite Cola, a female Chihuahua/Dachshund mix who was born Aug. 21, 2014. Her bio describes here as “a refreshing little pupper” and says the sweet and loving dog “was in foster care while she nursed her puppies and then she helped them find homes. She is now waiting for a home of her own. Cola likes to wiggle when she is excited!”
Then we have three cats demonstrating an ability to focus at the lens or, as we used to say in the pioneering days of cameras, “Look at the birdie!”
The stretched-out cat is Orchid. Get this bio entry: She “and her kittens were abandoned in a cardboard box and left in triple-degree weather during a Texas summer day.” Mom and the kittens suffered from “severe dehydration.” Where were they abandoned? In the ELPO parking lot where nobody spotted them until all began crying out for help.
Inside the East Lake, the veterinary staff and volunteers all worked a miracle to save Orchid and her kittens. That was seven months ago, so Orchid is ready for her loving home.

Those other cats are Zara (left) and Squeak demonstrating their ability to stare.
MEANWHILE, NICK IS IN MESQUITE

Is that not an interesting face? Nick, a year-old Anatolian Shepherd, looks as if he has makeup borrowed from a circus clown. But he’s no clown — he’s a former stray, arriving at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on Nov. 4, reports his shelter biographer Judi Brown.
She says, “When he is standing still he is very statuesque.  He is long-legged making him very tall. He has a sprinkle of freckles across his nose, dark rings around his eyes, and a fluffy curly tail. It all makes for a very striking appearance. When I met him in the kennel he was all wiggles and kisses. It was obvious he was very happy to have some human interaction. When he got out into the yard he ran back-and-forth with abandon. At that point he was entertaining himself and was obviously very joyful to have freedom and space. My Dog Scanner app identified him as an Anatolian Shepherd! After reading the characteristics, it all came together because they explained that the Anatolian shepherd not only is tall with long curly tail but also is very agile and runs at a high rate of speed. That explained Nick!!!”
 He’s tall, but a thin, underweight 53 pounds. His shelter number is 43147876.
Use it when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmes- quite.com.
You can see more Mesquite shelter animals HERE, For example, that cat is Schmittin, the Anatolean Tabby ... Oh, OK, I made up that Anatolean part. But he could have traveled to Anatolia — he’s more than 3 years ol and a large fellow (#42990010). What? Anatolia? Rugged region of Central Turkey. Look I made up that Anatolean Tabby title to give him a little interest in print. In person, he appears to be quite the big cuddler. And that is why he needs a dependable human — as you now, nobody cuddles like a human. So I’ve heard…
CONTEMPLATIONS
NAMES, STARS AND THE ‘SHMOO’

Let’s get back to this great dog Dudley the Angel. We’d have named him after Denzel Washington’s character in The Preacher’s Wife (the 1996 remake of 1947's The Bishop's Wife), but I’m thinking we needed to save Denzel for a dog or cat we rescue on the night of The Oscars. Denzel Washington is my favorite actor — he’s beyond a “star.” Malcolm X — fantastic. The Devil in a Blue Dress. Inside Man. The Taking of Pelham 123. 2 Guns (with Mark Wahlberg!) and now, you may have seen the announcement, he’s in pre-production for Macbeth with Frances McDormand! Holy double, double toil and trouble! … Speaking of Macbeth, when I was in high school we had a guest actor perform for us one afternoon. This was an older guy (older to a high school kid — what does that mean?) who performed a one-man production of Macbeth. Every character. In the three-witch scene, he played the middle witch and the others were fake heads with witch makeup and wigs mounted on the ends of a broomstick that ran from one side of his shoulders to the other. Each head wore a dress so that, with slight movement, the guy could make the 2nd and 3rd witches appear to be alive. I was fascinated that “theatre” contained so much “show business.” The big cauldron, by the way, looked real. This was in the early ‘60s — lightweight plastic was only a dream and if you know Macbeth, dreams matter.  I wish I coul remember his name -- but somewhere he's hearing the applause. …. For November 13, we turn to Holiday Insights and find ourselves on a journey through the past. November 13 is Sadie Hawkins Day. What? First celebrated in Al Capp’s “Li’l Abner” satirical comic in the 1930s. [That’s the comic book cover from 1947. For sale on e-Bay.] In Dogpatch, USA, the girls could chase the boys one day a year, Sadie Hawkins Day. Holiday Insights reports, "Sadie Hawkins Day races and events grew in popularity during the course of Al Capp’s long-running carton. This cartoon-made holiday largely died out after 40 years when the cartoon was discontinued. It can occasionally be seen celebrated on college campuses.” [LARRY ASIDE: Not without protest these days, I’ll bet. Al Capp also created a satire of the famed comics detective Dick Tracy — Fearless Fosdick. And he introduced the political/social term “shmoo” in 1948 — look ‘em up. Capp did a lot of stuff that lasted for as long as anyone was reading Li’l Abner and then when it ended, things began to fade. As is the case with many creative elements of culture.] I’m guessing there may not be10 people reading this who ever read an episode of Li’l Abner in the daily paper. Probably you’ve never seen the Broadway show or the movie, either. And, yet, like Nehru Jackets and Hot Dr Pepper, there are memories left by "pop culture." Sometimes.]
— Offer opinions, objections or Nehru Jackets by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

HOW DO YOU GET AN ANIMAL TO CAPTURE YOUR HEART? JUST LOOK AROUND....

EDITION OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019 [PetPowellPress] You know what these two cats are doing — they’re marveling. They are indoor cats — that’s William Powell on the left and Stevie Ray the Kitten on the right and I snapped the photo as they contemplated a big branch blown out of a tree in our front yard Monday afternoon.
What is Stevie Ray saying? He’s leaning in to say, “Mr. William, I was completely unaware that those things could fall! Good thing we’re housecats, right?”
Yep, Stevie Ray, good thing.
A REBOUNDING EARHOUND
NEEDS FINAL LOVING HOME
Well, this is one for the books — the books they keep at the McNatt Animal Shelter & Adoption Center in Denton. We got her story from the noted shelter monitor Amy Poskey.
Here’s the dog’s bio: “Lovely was originally surrendered because she is high energy and not recommended with children.  She has been adopted and returned several times because she is mouthy, energetic, and needs training.” 
[LARRY ASIDE: “Mouthy, energetic and needs training” — Ladies and Gentlemen, as a father I can promise you that those 5 words are the very definition of a human child. This dog may have learned how to behave from kids.]
 She’s not house-trained, doesn’t like other dogs, but volunteers have been working with her to get her to behave like an honorable, calm, well-trained dog. 
Amy’s report says Lovely is maybe 2 years old, a German Shepherd mix who is “fully vetted, heartworm negative and willing to love.” 
To ask about Lovely (#85027) call the shelter at 940-349-7594. Email these people: gayla.nelsen@cityofdenton.com, Randi.Weinberg@cityofdenton.com, and/or julien.peralta@cityofdenton.com. Here is Lovely’s PetFinder LINK.

NOTE TO THE LITTLE WHITE DOG
AT OAKLAND AND ROSEDALE IN FW
I don’t have a photo of this dog. I was too busy driving.
But here’s my note to him: I am sorry I was unable to capture you in our 30-minute roadchase Monday around noon. I was in the black car that kept tailing you as you trotted desperately down several streets, sometimes head-on toward the traffic. It took me a panicked minute to find my flashers — I’ve never used them on purpose before.
 People stopped to help, but you didn’t stop — you kept moving, reversing direction, stopping to see if you recognized the neighborhood. I could feel your panic, it was so vivid.
 I lost track of you when you switched lanes on Rosedale and dodged traffic to enter a neighborhood of residences. I hope you vanished into the yard you were searching for — I saw you were wearing tags, but never got close enough to grab you. Neither did the guy on the bike who tried to head you onto a safe parking lot and you wouldn’t go. Nor two guys in two different pickups who couldn’t get you to sit still after they hopped out. So, I’m really sorry I let you own. You have the spunk of a dog who needs a human companion.

***
[Dear Readers, if you know of a small Poodle type dog — pointy-nose, mostly white coat with a brown saddle pattern over his hips and the base of his tail — let us know he is safe. He covers a lot of ground quickly for a dog whose legs are less than 6 inches long! 
I’m sure the gusty winds blew open a gate or blew down a fence or, maybe, someone left him outside and said, “Good luck with the cold front.” I may not have had a photo of this runaway dog, but I do have a copy of this artwork I spotted on Facebook earlier in the week. The editorial comment at the end is not mine but, yes, readlarrypowell.com endorses the spirit of the message...]
A SUGARPLUM ROLE &
A CHANCELLOR WAITS!
This is the “sign” that was on the EARS Facebook page — that's Education & Animal Rescue Society.
Pretty spot-on, right-to-the-point explanation. And my longtime friend, the animal advocate Melissa Boesch, posted a note: Larry Powell, would you be interested in doing this?” Of course I would but I’m already obligated elsewhere and won’t be in a red suit. I’ve portrayed The Great Red One (quoting the cinema classic Ernest Saves Christmas) several times ranging from Candlelight at then-Old City Park (now Dallas Heritage Village) to posing with animals on behalf of Urban Animal Magazine. This time, my calendar is full. But, for any of you wannabe actors or wannabe right jolly old elves, I can swear that you’ll get some wonderful emotions worth remembering when you put on the uniform and bring Christmas to this little corner of the world. Get in touch with EARS.
(Regarding Melissa: We worked together at The Big Paper Downtown decades ago. Melissa is a great friend to animals, particularly rescued Beagles.)
As long as were talking about EARS, let’s mention one of the adoptable adorables with EARS. That’s this fellow Chancellor. Describe as “a little ball of fluffy” who is “so cute and cuddly. He loves belly rubs and playing with his foster siblings…..He’s conquered ‘look’ and ‘sit’ like a champ.” Go to earstexas.org to fill out the adoption application. Maybe you can have him ready to pose with Santa on the 7th.
MEANWHILE, A NOVEMBER COAT
ON A YEAR-ROUND DOG
This is Maggie Sue, 3, a Pittie mix who arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter as a stray on November 1. Our usual Mesquite tipster, the volunteer biographer Judi Brown hit the nail on the head when she wrote, “Her coloring makes her a real stand out.”

Yes, she looks “November.” Not too much bright sun, not too much winter, just enough gray of mid-autumn in North Texas.
Plus, Judi say, she’s a “friendly dog who loves to be around people and wants attention. She loves to play with one of our kennel techs and when she saw him I had a hard time keeping her attention.  She became vocal about wanting him to come back and play with her. She definitely has a mind of her own! She is exuberant and her excitement is contagious. She’s very alert and curious. She does want to please though and she does sit for treats. … Maggie Sue would do well with an active family with a large yard.” Her shelter ID number is 43127611 — use it when you call the shelter at 972–216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com .
You can see more Mesquite shelter animals HERE. We’re not sure, but this cat Bond, James Bond, has vanished from the listings for the shelter — could mean he’s been adopted. Might not mean that. But readlarrypowell.com is so very hopeful that a black and white cat named James Bond has been adopted by someone who appreciates the wacky, entertaining nature of cats.
CONTEMPLATIONS
A THANKS; CELEBRATING; A SENTIMENT
Thanks to all you people who, on Facebook, posted photos of your loved ones who, in MANY wars, served America and Americans! I caught myself wanting to read more about each person cited — young, old, man, woman. Do you think that this year there may have been a particular reason so many of us were moved to pay tribute to the veterans we’ve known? We Americans are fortunate to have been loved so much by so many people who were ready to sacrifice so much for the sake of our American liberty. … Checking with the Holiday Insights online calendar, we find that November 12 has two “days.” One is "Chicken Soup for the Soul Day," in honor of the series of publications based on that theme. The other “day” is “Young Readers Day” — Holiday Insights says it was “co-founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.” Pizza and reading -- sounds like the way I spent my first five years as a newspaper editor. ... Speaking of reading: Reading the obituaries is a habit I picked up during my decades in newsrooms. Why? Always looking for a feature story or an unusual element or, in this case, a confirming element. I was reading The Dallas Morning News' obituary of Dennis Koustoubardis, 68, who died Sunday. He was born in 1950 “to immigrant parents, Prometheus (Jack) and Anastasia Koustoubardis” and, the obit reads, he “spent most of his childhood” at his dad’s Burger House in Snider Plaza near SMU, and spent years after that as a successful insurance man. I didn’t know him or any member of his family, but the final sentence of the obituary told us a lot about the family. As decent folks and as animal fans, you’ll appreciate the expression in this passage: “In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Diabetes Association or to your favorite animal rescue, in honor of sweet rescue pup, Bailey.” I don’t know Bailey, either, but it is such a touching thing to see that the love for Bailey was such a big part of a life. To the Koustoubardis family, thank you for that one sentence reminder of the rescue animals we have loved. I’m not the only person who started flipping through the mental photo album of sweet rescued animals that have blessed our lives.
—- Offer your view by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

IN HONOR OF VETERANS -- A THANK YOU

EDITION OF VETERANS DAY, MONDAY, NOV. 11, 2019 [PetPowellPress] 
You can read the official story of Veterans Day at a lot of places online and they’ll note that it began as Armistice Day 102 years ago on this date, Nov. 11, 1918, and it honored the military veterans who fought in The War To End All Wars. That became World War I. Of course, there was a World War II around two decades later when humanity had so many sordid people trying to conquer the world that the non-sordid and not-as-sordid people had to team up to defeat the really sordid people.
From the point of view of Larry Powell, dedicated civilian who appreciates the American military, I’m hoping we’re not aiming for #III.
My ol’ man (that’s him in the uniform photo/art) and my civilianspouse Martha’s daddy (that’s him with the sweet face and civilian attire shortly after the war, were U.S. Army veterans of The Big One.
Johnny “Red” Muse was a medic and, bless his tough heart, he was with Gen. George Patton’s army. My dad, John Calvin Powell, barely old enough to drive in the State of Texas, was an infantryman with Gen. Omar Bradley. 
Pop went ashore at Normandy on D-Day Plus 1 or 2 (I can’t remember) but he always explained, “They were still shooting at us.” They shot at him and strafed at him all the way across Europe into the Concentration Camps he helped liberate. 
These two Veterans — and my Vietnam veteran newspaper pals Howard Swindle (Navy) and Allen Pusey (Army) — are among the people I think of on Veteran’s Day. So is our dear friend Andy Fisher, our “Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief” on peaceful Indian Lake at Denville, N.J. Before his life in print and broadcast journalism, Andy was a U.S. Army soldier assigned to Stuttgart in West Germany during particularly hot moments of the Cold War. Think "Soviet Union ambitions." Scary.
There are many others. My Uncle Merl Thatcher served in Korea before anybody had drawn any lines of demarcation to stop the madness of war…Two guys I went to high school with — and still see now and then — Jerry Morris and Ray Hughes — went to Vietnam with the U.S. Army. They weren’t enjoying a class trip to Six Flags or hippie parties on campus, you know? 

So many of us Baby Boomers and those who came after us have benefited so bountifully from the veterans who gave up their lives and years of their youth to make sure America remained free in spite of horrendous outside terror and pressure of war and threats of war. These sacrifices are still being made by American forces who are veterans in different conflicts and different peace-keeping missions. All is different except that they are still at peril on behalf of their nation.
Johnny Muse was one of the sweetest guys who ever walked the planet. When I first met him, he was out in the front yard of his home with three grandkids dangling off of him, all of them laughing and giggling — little kids romping with a grandpa who’d served with Patton. Don’t you know hanging out with those three grandkids beat the dickens out of any memory of war! Mr. Muse was one tough soldier and then “after the war” one loving daddy and grandpa and a beloved uncle, too. At Mr. Muse’s funeral, his nephew, the renowned Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle movingly spoke of his uncle as “a role model for me.”
That daddy (two daughters: Donna and Martha), that grandpa, that uncle, that brother was a veteran who got to come home and live a life he’d dreamed of while he was dodging mayhem and patching up people bleeding for their country.
My daddy? Happy to be a civilian again. A wife, 3 sons. The guy who carried and used a rifle for years on the other side of the world came back to be a family man. He taught us baseball, how to throw a football, many other things. He brought us dogs through the decades — Spot the mutt, Frisky the Collie (a gift from an army buddy in Tyler) and a Border Collie named Queenie. He also brought home a kitten he’d rescued from the rail yards where he worked — Pepper the Cat. He was a Daddy, formerly a man of war. He went on wintertime campouts with our Boy Scout Troop 22 even though his feet still hurt from the winters he’d fought in Europe. I didn’t know this until he was gone and Mom told me about his postwar pain. 

Like Johnny Muse, Pop didn’t talk with me about the war. Except one time in a private father/son moment at my grandmother’s funeral — his mother-in-law. Pop was not as old then — 1982 — as I am now but that day I was a kind of young journalist still celebrating/revering the freedom of the press all those people had preserved for me and the profession.
Pop and I, two guys in our black suits, were sitting at a table in a quiet corner of the house, talking about “Grandma” and he said how much she’d meant to him when he met her in 1946 after he got home from Europe. And from that memory he segued into the challenges of being an infantryman in a genuine “shooting war.” It was awful. It wasn’t a paintball game. This stuff was real life and death situations.
I couldn’t imagine my daddy doing some of the things he and other soldiers were required to do in order to defeat a madman. 
Then Pop began to tell me about going into a concentration camp — he was among the the first four or five GIs to enter the camp. They rode into it in a jeep and, he said, “walking skeletons” surrounded their vehicle. 
“These people were reaching up their hands and moving their fingers like beggars and saying, ‘Brown bread. Brown bread.’ Probably the only English words they knew.”
He paused at that point and decided not to go on with describing what he’d seen. “Well, we were just there trying to help them and we didn’t have anything with us except hope.”
That conversation was in 1982. By mid-November, 2008, he was on his deathbed. I was visiting him with Mom and my brother Garry. He was clearly delusional, on his back, flailing now and then and unable to communicate. His eyes were closed — like the eyes of someone trying to avoid what he was looking at.
Suddenly, Pop was reaching up with his hands like a beggar — those big, strong hands that had carried a rifle across Europe 64 years earlier were reaching for something. And immediately I knew the scene he was re-enacting. From the fog of medicines and painkillers and disease and age, my sweet ol’ daddy began very clearly crying out, “Brown bread. Brown bread.” 
And he was grimacing — either from the pain of his disease or the pain of his memories.

The rest of us don’t know what baggage you veterans carry. We can’t tell at a glance how tough your service was. 
What we can do is look you in the face and, with our hearts, say “Thank you. Thank you for all you have done for us. May your life always be peaceful. May you always be loved. ”
Generation after generation, Dear Veterans, like the GIs on that jeep inside the Concentration Camp, you always traveled with hope. Thank you for being there.
— Offer responses by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

AND THEN ONE DAY HE WAS SEEN...

That photograph of the seeping dog in the blankets may be the most beautiful picture you’ll see. It’s not just the artful quality, the lighting or the framing, it’s the wonderful subject and the wonderful story.
When playwright/- Washington figure Claire Booth Luce gave the world this great quote, “No good deed goes unpunished,” that dog had not been born. 
Dobby is the exceptional good deed. 

That brings us to this weekend’s edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap — this dog was not sleeping when he was found. 
No, he may have been in a lonely panic.
We learned of this miracle story from our friend, the animal advocate and rescuer Diane Combs. Diane, who named her public relations-prone Dachshund Larry after someone who types for a living, knows a lot of people and knowing people is how she got onto this great story. 

The first note we saw was directed to Diane, mentioned friends of Diane, and began, “This is Helen, Molly and Sharon’s BFF! Sharon thought you might like to hear about my new little friend, Dobby!”
 Connections — networking — friendship. All goes together to the benefit of animals, right?

Yes, that hairless boy and that matted boy are the same dog Dobby. 
The heroes in the story are Helen Barker and her boyfriend Nick Metherd. Helen says that yes, her last name is “Barker, very fitting for a dog lover!”

This story reached its “save-the-dog” point on Tuesday the 5th. Helen writes,
“On Tuesday, my boyfriend (Nick) saw a white scruffy poodle mix running in the rain in a field in Lewisville so he chased him down and brought him in out of the cold.

“His fur was completely outgrown and matted all the way down to his skin; he had no collar, and it seemed like he had been out running for about a month.

“Nick brought him home to me that night and the little pup immediately curled right up and fell asleep. 

“The next day Nick took him to Midway Hollow Pet Clinic and they told us he’s about 8-10 years old, no chip, was severely underweight, not neutered, and had bad teeth decay.

“He got all his shots updated and then got shaved to get rid of all that matted hair. Once he was shaved we decided to name him Dobby — like the house elf in Harry Potter because he looks just like him now that he’s bald and pink! 

“We have decided to keep him and get him back to the healthy little Poodle mix he should be. He is the absolute sweetest dog, loves to cuddle, he’s a little blind so he runs into things often but he’s getting used to my house quickly. “Once he has gained back some weight we will have him neutered and a good teeth cleaning, but in the meantime we’ve been working on cleaning out his wax-filled ears and encouraging him to eat and drink often! Here are some pics of our new guy, hope you enjoy!”

So, as demonstrated, the good deed by Nick and Helen is rewarded with photos, cuddles, a story to tell of saving the life of a little dog. We don't know a thing about Dobby's life until he was rescue. But what we know is this: Bless the heroes and their dog Dobby.]
[LARRY ASIDE: As you veteran animal rescuers know, it takes a lot of determination to save dogs in such a fix. You want to catch them; they’re frightened and don’t want to be caught. Out-determining a dog is a display of love. You love the dog because a dog ought to be loved. Yes, dogs ought to be loved.]
[A REQUEST, DEAR READERS: Tell us the stories of your dogs and cats and send photos of them sleeping or napping to dallrp@aol.com. We’ll proudly publish the biographies and the photos of the dogs and cats you love. You’ll be setting an example for people who are wondering if they should have a dog or cat snoozing around the house. And you’ll be helping insomniacs believe that they, too, can get some restful sleep — if they can just find the right quilt to roll up in after they’ve had their entire bodies shaved. I’m kidding about that full-body shave. Kidding, but it might have happened….maybe. We insomniacs are dangersously creative creatures. f you have a dog or cat you love or dog AND cat you love, that’s a head start on getting some sleep.]
—- Offer sleep, stock market or lotto advice by clicking on comment below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —

WEATHER CHANGES, ANIMALS WAITING & THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL TRIUMPHS!

EDITION OF NOVEMBER 7-8, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Here we go with some idle thoughts — no idol thoughts; I was raised a Baptist — and a national triumph for a local non-profit dear to my heart. 
As this is being typed — I’m reluctant to use the word “written” — our usual cats-only office status (the dogs usually would rather be on the couch or bed) has been changed by canine presence. It’s a chilly, rainy morning that almost makes me miss August, but not quite. The difference between 101 degrees and 45 degrees (noon Thursday) is more than heat — it’s attitude and gratitude! I don’t really need to have gratitude weather lower than 45 degrees with chilly drizzle. That’s enough winter for me until North Texas figures out a way to build a year-round ski resort. The photo? Stevie Ray was using his pal Porche’s backside for a pillow when Dudley the Angel came over to make sure he was comfy enough on Porche’s fluffiness. I spent decades writing for newspapers —- if I could have had a Journalism Service Dog or Cat, I’d have won a Pulitzer. Maybe two or three. 





And then there's this from Dallas Animal Services: "Remember, November is #AdoptASeniorPetMonth and as a part of our “Thank You For Being A Friend” Adoption Special, all pets 6 years or older will be just $10!"
Among the dogs who qualify is this boy Havoc, who we mentioned months ago — he’s about 8 years old and has been in the shelter’s care (he’s in a foster home right now) since August 22. Of course, he’s neutered and, as you can see, he’s a tan and black German Shepherd. Email dasadopt@dallascity- hall.com and mention Havoc by shelter designation ID#00666474.
We’ve mentioned Mr. French before, too. He’s also neutered, a brown and white Tabby and he’s been in the shelter care since Oct. 28 — he’s believed to be about 10, so he qualifies for the special adoption. You can see him at the DAS’ PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center, 16821 N. Coit Road, in Dallas. And remember, this is PetSmart Charities’ National Adoption Weekend.
See more DAS animals by going to dallasanimalservices.org or by going to the DAS Facebook page where you can also read an appeal for donations of bedding. DAS says it is “currently very low on blankets and towels and would love any donations of these items you can bring to the shelter. Help our pups feel cozy and comfortable during their stay here.”
[LARRY ASIDE: The shelter is at I-30 and Westmoreland and very visible to the human eye and probably from outer space, too. I don’t know that space thing for a fact, but I’m willing to say it is absolutely true based on the interstellar glow given off by cats attempting to contact their home planet. Relax. I’m just kidding cats and cat people, of which I am one. Our dogs, having had experiences with cats, agree with me.]
THE BURLESON SOLUTION!
Remember these babies and their mom from Thursday’s edition — found and protected by some heroic people as Mom sheltered them in Burleson. Our pal Patty Sprong, the ardent foster mom, reports that the good people at Humane Tomorrow will be picking up the family. Read more about Humane Tomorrow by clicking HERE — there’s an adoption event and also Putts for Paws golf tournament (weather permitting!) and an appearance by the great professional golfer Kathy Whitworth, winningest golfer on either the LPGA or the Men’s tours — Monahans native, Golf Hall of Fame, etc. Tournament is at Bridlewood in Flower Mound. The adoption event is at the PetCo in Highland Village. 
REMEMBER THIS FACE?
That is Noah, one of many dogs we’ve featured from the Wilmer Animal Shelter thanks to the hard work publicizing small shelters by the non-profit 4-Legged Helpers. Our Helpers contact Laura Macias reports that “Noah has been rescued by a Colorado rescue — they couldn’t stand seeing his face there any longer!” 
And that’s the ‘face” of Noah which, of course, is on the brink of being cheered up by human hearts.
 The other dog is Kimmie, a Shepherd/Boxer mix, described as “very, very sweet” and, Laura’s note reads, her pictures “do not do her justice.” Ask about helping the dog, helping 4-Legged Friends or getting on the group’s mailing list by calling or texting Laura at 214-949-2726 or by emailing cat_girl_71@yahoocom.
MEANWHILE, THE MESQUITE
SITUATIONS NEEDING HUMANS
These reports are from Judi Brown, the volunteer biographer for Mesquite Animal Services.
First up is 4-year-old Pittie mix Biscuit who came in on Oct. 23 as a stray -- she'd been adopted in 2017 from the the shelter. Judi writes, "At that time I had written a glowing evaluation telling about all her wonderful qualities. Obviously someone was smitten with her charms and adopted her. Unfortunately her previous owners have not chosen to reclaim her. She’s a friendly, enthusiastic, fun loving dog with lots of wiggles. ... She’s a delightful girl that is very easy to love. Come meet her and you’ll see what I mean." (48 pounds, her number is 30720284.)

Zorro a 3-year-old Pittie with a happy face, came in as a stray on Oct. 30. "He’s a handsome boy with very distinctive black and white markings. He’s also a happy, fun loving dog that seems to be smiling most of the time. He’s playful and has a zest for life. He loved the freedom of exploring the yard but would come back frequently to have his ears scratched. His tail wagged constantly." The 75-pound dog's # is 43113347.
To ask about these dogs, call the shelter at 972-216-6283.  To see more Mesquite animals, click HERE. 
See more Mesquite animals at THIS LINK.
Any fans of Ramen Noodles reading this? This cat is named Raymond Noodle. He’s #42543537, just over 3 years old and ready for adoption. He has been waiting at the shelter since August 22 — clearly a patient boy, but that’s at least 60 days that some cat-lover has been cheated out of because they didn’t yet know they were a cat-lover. [LARRY ASIDE: It’s easy to know if you’re a cat-lover. You declare you don’t like cats, then sit down in a roomful of cats and see how many come immediately to sit in your lap. Yeah, cat-lover/cat-magnet. Same thing, it turns out.]
CONTEMPLATION:

A NATIONAL TRIUMPH
IN THE GLOBAL ARENA
This is a story of success. North Texas has an intellectual/culture championship. On Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth was honored as the Council of the Year by the World Affairs Councils of America. There are more than 90 councils in 40 states.
WACA was established  in 1918 as the League of Free Nations Association. The World Affairs Council of D/FW was founded in 1951 by Dresser Industries leader Neil Mallon as a “non-profit, nonpartisan organization that would engage residents in global issues and position North Texas as a player on the world stage.” That mission has continued and at dfwworld.org you can see the list of upcoming programs it presents plus the Global I.Q. Minute podcasts in which Council President Jim Falk interviews the leaders and opinion-makers who speak at council events. Now and then those Global I.Q. Minutes make some news.
[PERSONAL NOTE: I worked in marketing at the Council for about 4 years and I can tell you how hard the staffers — all with impressive credentials and dedication — work to keep the Council members and the general public ahead of the pace on global issues and events. My globallysmartspouse Martha is the Director of Administration and Executive Assistant to the President — oh, of the Council. Years ago her boss hired me without telling her and her comment was, “Is there nowhere that I can get away from him?” Yeah, bright and funny!]
As a former writer for the Council and as a guy who believes knowledge is important in international affairs, heartfelt congratulations to Mr. President and CEO Jim Falk and his team of dedicated members of the Council, hard workers on its board and the always hustling Council staff. [That's Jim moderating a discussion of NAFTA at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas.]The council’s strong international mission is complemented by its Global Young Leaders education element. It involves students all over the region in the study of international issues and global relationships. The Council aids in international protocol for the City of Dallas. There’s travel (Havana in the past and the Arctic Circle next year -- Paris, etc.). Lots of things — every now and then a comedian: Maz Jobrani has been a guest several times.
And, in case you wondered whether there’s something else that might interest you at the council, go to dfwworld.org and see the “variety pack” on the calendar. There’s history (Nov. 12) “The Korean War’s Greatest Battle”; current affairs (Nov. 16) “Council Conversations: Arms Sales 101” and culture (Nov. 20) “Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil War” ( with Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times best-selling author S.C. Gwynne.) There’s more in November, too. And among the early December events is an appearance by ex-CIA undercover officer Amaryllis Fox discussing her memoir Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA. When her writing mentor, the journalist Daniel Pearl was murdered, she joined the military and took a career path into fighting terrorism with the CIA. Why’d she get out of the clandestine services? Had a baby — that “inpired her to work for peace.” See her brief video HERE.The Council is an open-to-the-publi
c non-profit that works to inform people of the changes, the nuances, the interesting moments of life on this planet of challenges.
—- Offer WACongratulations and global advice by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com —-

ELECTRICITY WAS NOT IN THE AIR....AND OTHER FACTS AND STUFF

EDITION OF THURSDAY, NOV. 7, 2019 [PetPowellPress] You know what you can't light in an electric failure? Our gas stove. Inexplicable household power failure in the middle of the night and, now, all day Wednesday. I'm typing while waiting on a technician. This will be long for Thursday's edition because I may not have power for Friday. Life is funny -- now and then. Not that funny.
I'm working on a laptop and using the "hotspot" on my phone to be the go-between for me and the outside world. By some quirk, power works in one room and the back bathroom.
Yes, I checked all the boxes. It's an odd problem. Thank you for listening to my whining. Now, let's move on. [Wendy curled up and went to sleep. She may have sled dog in her family tree.]
We're all looking forward to the arrival of the cold front. Blanket time. We've still got it better than these Burleson pups below have had it.

Before we move on, Lauren Babis has posted a note on the Save Cookie petition site that says the dog's owners and the City of Dallas are reaching an agreement that will save the dog's life.
Here's the link. More to come, Lauren says. Cookie was going to be euthanized, i.e, killed dead, because she'd been a "loose dog." 

THE BURLESON BIRTHS
AND THE HEROIC RESCUERS
Leanne Hayden, the noted animal advocate, sent this photo with an email labeled "Stray pup and 9 babies and wrote, "Look like little Lab mixes.  Adorable.  Very sweet mommy.  Substantial donation to a 501c3 rescue that can help save them. Contact eewhitbeck@gmail.com." Burleson is about 15 minutes south of Fort Worth on I-35W -- if there's no traffic interruption. So, it's not like you'd have to drive to Presidio to help these dogs.
Now, Dear Readers, when you read the following note, you're going to say, "These are good people!" They're doing the work of angels with these puppies.
The note that came with the photographs reads, "One of my friends sent me these photos. She and her husband  went out to some property they own in the country and found a mama dog under the old porch, along with 9 puppies.
"They put out a comforter under an old picnic table and brought food and water. They want to take all of the pups to a no-kill shelter. Vet bills will be paid for but they want to make sure the pups will not be put down. They live in Burleson and would like to know of some good no-kill rescue groups in the area that would take them in. A substantial donation would also be made to the rescue group.  Suggestions?"

[LARRY ASIDE: There's the challenge. But, please, there's got to be some group or no-kill shelter with enough room for these puppies -- they'd probably only be there a little while. I hope. The sap in me wants to believe that puppies always find homes and are adored and treasured forever. That's how it works in my happiest dreamworld.]
DOG AND DIAMOND DAZE?
It's coming on the 9th at Haltom's Jewelers Ridglea in Fort Worth. 
How do we know? One of us stopped in at the Haltom Jewelers on Camp Bowie to get a watch battery and photo- graphed this big poster stationed among the wonderful jewelry and watches.


The adoption event benefits The Saving Hope Foundation -- read about it HERE -- you'll be moved by the story of Hope and what she faced.
Here's the Facebook link to the event -- it's from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Haltom's Jewelers Ridglea, 6102 Camp Bowie.
Dogs and diamonds -- that's a lot of sparkle in one spot!
VOTING RESULTS,
WHAT DO THEY SHOW?
I got these illustrations from The Texas Tribune, the online news source for people interested in the politics and government of the Lone Star State. Click on 'em to make 'em big enough to appreciate.

 

I'm not board-certified as anything -- especially a political scientist -- but I like to think these figures show that more voters are interested in helping animals than they are in having their income taxed by the state. Can I get an "Amen"?
Relax, I don't expect to be hired to interpret the 2020 Presidential Election for any of the major networks.
CALL THIS THE FACE OF LANCASTER

(THERE ARE MANY MORE)
Here's a new development in the 4-Legged Helpers' relationship with residents of the Lancaster Animal Shelter. Laura Macias says, "There is a $100 donation for each approved 501c3 that takes a dog. If you can, please just let us know."
 You do that by calling or texting Laura at 214-949-2726 or by emailing cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
There are a number of dogs and a recently arrived kitten, too, at the Lancaster shelter, one of the small southern Dallas County shelters that is traditionally unnoticed except by people trying to save lives.
This first dog is Tyler, a Shepherd mix boy who, the 4-Legged Helpers' appeal says, "is a fabulous dog -- truly. He is awesome. So well behaved and loving and so sweet.."
The second dog is Rusty, a Flatcoated Retriever Mix who is "cute and super sweet" and has been in Lancaster's care for a while.
[LARRY ASIDE: If someone would volunteer to operated a Facebook page for 4-Legged Helpers, we'd be able to cite a link where you could see all the dogs and cats at the same time. For now, you'll just have to email Laura at cat_girl_71@yahoo.com and ask to be put on her mailing list. Be nice if someone could be the 4-Legged Helpers Facebook guru so the animals in Lancaster, Wilmer, Hutchins, Ferris and any other largely ignored (result of budget and policy) shelter would get some attention.]
MEANWHILE, OUT AT THE LAKE...
We got the note on this dog from Sydney Busch of Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake. She wrote, "This very handsome boy was rescued by a caring animal lover - he is NEUTERED! - she's working on house-training (he's getting there!) ..heartworm negative! - about 50 pounds... VERY GENTLE WITH and loves cats and other dogs. He would be a great addition to any home" 
To ask about this pup, text 972-984-8254 or 903-984-8254. Also, contact Sydney at friendsspayneuter@gmail.com.
AND, OF COURSE, THERE ARE
ANIMALS WAITING IN MESQUITE
You look at that boy and you think, "That's a happy dog!" And, yes, he may well be. But he's got a story that comes from our Mesquite volunteer biographer Judi Brown who personally gets to know the dogs. Nino is 3, a Pittie/Staffie, was surrendered to Mesquite "with another family dog, Scooby...on 11/4 because their owners are moving and not taking the dogs with them." The bio reads that he "walks OK on a leash, but is a strong puller. As soon as Nino arrived in the shelter yard for his photo session, he began in a joyful and exuberant manner to race around the yard.  It was fun to watch his dart around, even though it was raining!  Nino looks to have been well-cared for and he knows the sit, lay down and shake commands.  He is house trained.  He is quite energetic and lively.  Former owner reports that he likes to fetch and run, loves laps and is a social butterfly.  He has lived as an inside dog with children and is friendly with them. 
If you go online HERE you can see many other Mesquite animals -- big, little, cat, dog -- including that beautiful little guy Scooby (#42368606), the 9-month-old Lab Mix who grew up thinking he and Nino were going to be pals forever. Scooby's bio describes him as "delightful."
Nino's number is 43152531. Use the numbers assigned to Scooby and Nino when you email Mesquite's shelter at rescues@cityofmeswquite.com.


Cats, you want cats? Mesquite still has Bond, James Bond, that black and white cat. And there's Lady (43118846), a 2-year-old "large female who came in on Oct. 26. James Bond (42099196), also 2, has been in the shelter since July. Seems like a cat names James Bond would have a fan club.

CONTEMPLATIONS
CELEBRATING, TUNA AND BANGLES

We did a quick check Wednesday to see what "days" are celebrated on Nov. 7 and Holiday insights listed November at "Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day: and "Men Make Dinner Day," i.e., the first Thursday of the month and so I guess some of you will be enjoying a dessert of Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds. I don't know if that goes with soup and a sandwich. I took a glimpse at November 8 for those of you looking ahead. Holiday Insights says November 8 is "Cook Something Bold Day" and -- as some of our fellow Americans already know -- it is also "Dunce Day." Celebrate, you madcaps. ... ... It's the holiday season, isn't it? Holy smoke. Funniest Christmas production ever? A Tuna Christmas. Is it too early to wish Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard a Merry Christmas? What? You never heard of Tuna, Texas? "Third smallest town in Texas." The originals no longer tour with any of the Tuna shows, but maybe you'll catch one being done by another cast.
Last week i drove about 25 miles in the rain, parked my car in a garage, returned an hour later, turned it on and saw a bright yellow light on the dashboard that I'd never seen before. It looked like it could have been a car or maybe a car engine. Definitely a warning light. What it didn't have was "words." We are living in The New Hieroglyphic Age. Remember The Bangles' big hit, Walk Like an Egyptian? Update? Read Like an Egyptian? There's a LINK and it may start with advertising for something you don't need or never heard of or it may remind you that this weekend is PetSmart Charities National Adoption Weekend -- that's what I got first time I clicked.
--- Offer opinions or protestations by clicking on 'comment' below or emailing dallrp@aol.com.---

DEMOCRACY, DOGS, CATS AND HOLIDAY CALORIES -- GOD BLESS THE USA

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Looking forward to the next year of political campaigning, are you? It is part of the beauty of democracy. We all get to vote for — or against — a candidate or an issue. God bless the USA and its people and the productive zaniness, too. And put Houston back in the National League, give the Texas Rangers power to judge arms and finance good pitching and help me, in this Thanksgiving season, avoid yearnings for desserts (more on those in Contemplations). That’s my sticker for voting! … Another reality? I saw that plaque at the enduring shop Fête-ish in Bishop Arts — didn’t see evidence of any cats in the store: the shelves were orderly and nothing was on the floor! At our house, we’ve learned to recognize what has “fallen” by the sound it makes. That’s me and The Senator editing his latest mystery novel, The Crash In The Kitchen and the Counter-Surfing Dog. Yeah, some of you know elements of that "Don't blame the cat!" plot!
THE MISSION CONTINUES
WITH DENTON MOMS….
Amy Poskey, our belove Denton McNatt Animal Shelter monitor, provides upbeat reports on a regular basis — people respond to her appeals and the shelter is continually working to help animals. It works for the animals.
In this case, the appeal was issued for “sweet little Macy, a 2- to 5-year-old Terrier mix who — ain’t this a lucky note! — is expecting. "Any day!" Amy’s appeal read. She’s a 19-pound pregnant pup. On Election Day, Amy sent a note reading, “I’m happy to report that Lisa Collins with Homeless Hounds Animal Rescue  will be pulling sweet Macy so she can have her puppies in a loving foster home.” [LARRY NOTE: When you get ready to adopt a puppy with Macy’s looks — maybe — get in touch with Homeless Hounds and give a pup a home.]
In the meantime, there’s a need for Cena and her 8 pups — nearly newborns. Amy writes, “Cena an her babies are still waiting. …Help them land on a soft bed in a home where they can be showered with love.”
 [LARRY ASIDE: The photo is a little dark but you can make out a puppy in the lower left next to mom’s tummy. Here’s the deal: Someone foster Cena and her puppies in a brightly lit home and send a “more marketable” photo to us at dallrp@aol.com. The truth is, shelters are not set up for photo sessions — especially the maternity wards, er, cold, cement and brick kennels. Staffers work hard to help Cena and kids stay warm and comfy, but everybody would love to see her in a happy home.]
To offer to help with Cena and the pups, call the shelter at 940-349-7594. Email these people: gayla.nelsen@cityofdenton.com, Randi.Weinberg@cityofdenton.com, and/or julien.peralta@cityofdenton.com.
THE REPORT FROM FERRIS:
DOGS ARE ON THE CLOCK
This appeal comes from Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden of the 4-Legged Helpers, the small organ- ization that focuses on helping small shelters find places for their animals. Laura’s latest note reads, “Everyone, please won't you help?  Ferris Shelter is desperately needing some help.  They no longer have an ACO.  We are truly begging for some help to save the lives of these sweet little faces you see ...
“Dogs coming into this shelter are truly deserving, just like the dogs that are in Dallas County, Wilmer, Hutchins, Lancaster, etc. There are zero walk-in's to this shelter.  Please .... please ... help these poor sweet babies ... you will truly save a life.”
 The dogs are Stormy, the boy Husky; Trio the female Aussie/Border Collie mix; Trevor the sweetheart terrier; Lindy the tail-wagging American Bulldog and the guy she came in with, Teddy, the “wonderfully chunky” staffie who "just wants to be cuddled.”

Call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
[LARRY ASIDE: These people, the non-profit 4-Legged Helpers, need a social media-savvy individual to help them set up a Facebook page that focuses on the animals in the small shelters. You’d be helping save lives. Get in touch with Laura at her contacts in that penultimate paragraph. And somebody tell us why such great dogs wind up waiting for the needle in city shelter systems that are designed to warehouse animals until they can be killed?]
CONTEMPLATIONS
VOTING, DOG EMOTIONS, CALORIES
The bulk of this edition was written before all the votes were counted on Election Day. You know why? The time change. I can’t stay awake past the 7 p.m. closing of the polls. Discovered that Monday night. Had the kids over and was absolutely on the brink of collapse at kickoff — you know, like Dallas was in the first half before the cat episode…REGARDING THE CAT? Did you see video of the black cat on the field in New Jersey where the New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys? [There are lots of videos: HERE’s ONE.] One commenter said this was “the only thing the Giants fans have had to cheer about in years.” A radio report said the cat was pregnant; all the sports writer/TV reports reported as if the cat were a boy. We're still trying to get the truth in this feline episode. LATE NITE UPDATE: Our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Andy Fisher reports that Sports Illustrated has the story on "Sally Whiskers." Here's the LINK. Based on the readlarrypowell.com experience in covering the animal community, I believe if that cat event hd happened at a Dallas-area stadium, someone would have gotten the field judge to OK adoptIng the cat before he or she got to the end zone! Animal Control officers are spread too thin to work the big crowds. When the Cowboys huddled up, the cat would have joined them, called a long pass and served as a decoy until she could run into the waiting arms of a pet rescuer who'd won the end zone ticket at a charity auction benefiting spay/neuter campaigns. … Returning to thoughts of Thanksgiving yearnings: In addition to enjoying watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I also enjoy all the positives of the day: Positively pie (mincemeat!!!!), cake, cookies, cheesecake, ice cream, puddings and second or third helpings. Experience has taught me this: Holiday calories DO count, maybe double. That is Porche Noel demonstrating the best way to sleep off Thanksgiving at noon so you can be ready to go for Thanksgiving at dinner. Like running a marathon, you have to plan ahead and be fit for the challenge. I’ll have some more lettuce and lemon juice, please.
—- Offer holiday diet advice, stadium cat rescue tips or lotto numbers by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

NOCTURNALLY MALADJUSTED, WE PRESS ON IN SEARCH OF SLEEP WHILE HELPING ANIMALS....

EDITION OF TUESDAY, NOV. 5, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Yeah, I’m still dealing with the time change — that’s Dudley the Angel making fun of my my puffy, miserable time adustment face. He's handsome. I'm a fright -- no photos of that available. Might be a law.
Look, when you wake and think its 5:30 a.m. but it’s only 1:30 a.m. and you’ve only been in bed for an hour, that’s just plain mean. I’m comforted in knowing that none of the animals are prone to waking and fretting. Using a cellphone ccamera, I caught him in a reddish tint on his chocolate undercoat on morning as he snoozed with hishead on the back of the couch. His first vet, the much-missed late Dr. Vladi DeJong, thought Dudley is probably a Border Collie/Chocolate Lab. He’s Dudley the Angel in honor of the Cary Grant character in The Bishop’s Wife. If awakened by a time-disturbed human, Dudley the Angel will give himself a vigorous rib scratching, maybe some tail chewing, then go back to sleep. I envy him -- he can feel his ribs -- and I adore him. That’s not the lack of sleep talkin’. 

SOMEONE HAS THIS DOG;
SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS WHO...
In case you haven’t seen this story, here’s the LINK  to the NBC5 story about the military veteran whose Mastiff service dog was stolen in an apartment robbery.
 Rozelyn weighs 70 pounds — know anybody who suddenly has a beautiful Mastiff? NBC’s story says the veteran, Emmanuel Bernardin, got her in 2018 to help him cope with his military experiences.
If you know the whereabouts of the dog, contact Arlington Police Det. Kate Phillips at 817-459-6482, the NBC story advices. There’s a reward.
[LARRY ASIDE: The thief probably needs some help -- might be stealing to feed a drug habit, might be stealing because nothing else is available, might be stealing because that's his profession. Get a lawyer and surrender the dog -- that'll look good to the jury.]
MEANWHILE, IN LANCASTER
AND WILMER, ANIMALS WAIT
The small shelter group, 4-Legged Helpers, continues to press for public awareness of the crush of animals in the little shelters on the southern side of Dallas, i.e., barely financed facilities in Lancaster, Wilmer and Hutchins.
This girl Monie (is that a great face or what!), a spayed Terrier mix, has won the hearts of the shelter supporters. She’s in Lancaster. The bio reads, “Precious girl, we truly mean this - just as sweet as can be. Not very big.  Sadly, she was an owner release from someone unable to care for her. She is very cute and loving and is already spayed.”

We’ve mentioned this guy Noah the Bulldog (mix?) before. He’s a Wilmer fellow who has a sad face in the shelter but, as you can see, outside he has a different look, though it is still that of a puzzled bully, i.e, “What is going on? Where is my human? Why am I here?”
He’s said to be “an adorable boy who loves everyone and evertyhing and is great with other dogs.” He’s a non-stop tail-wagger.
 To ask about animals in the small shelters or specifically these two, call or text Laura Macias at 214-949-2726 or email cat-girl_71@yahoo.com.

MEANWHILE, WAY OUT WEST
We got this note from Terry Lynn Fisher, the resilient rescuer based in Burns Flat, Okla., but an angel of encouragement for surrounding animal situations.
You see the photos here. She writes, “These four are in the small town pound 13 miles south of us. It is not a good place. It is totally outdoors and even the location is bad. I started helping here three years ago when I was asked to help some puppies that came in.

“These are all babies. They are so cold and scared.

“The white one came in after owner was placed in jail. He is between 3 to 4 months old and the sweetest baby ever.

 “The two littles are just adorable. They are friendly and playful and just want out of jail... both little boys.

“Then we have Foster. He came in MONTHS ago as a tiny baby with a heavy chain padlocked around his neck. He is just growing older in jail. He is about 6 to 7 months now.
“Winter is here.. this pound is awful... we do the best we can but this town does not care. If you can take any of these babies, please let me know.” 
Email Terry Lynn at remembering_oddball@yahoo.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS
FACES, VENUES, NUMBERS
This may be the most distinct face I’ve ever seen on a cat. This is Hazel (41487541) at the SPCA of Tesas. She’s spayed, diabetic and pushing 10 years old. But, she’s in a foster home and is “quite the Queen Bee; she lays around like royalty.” The bio has a spot that lists “special skills” but gives the answer in question form: “Does being an adorable chubby kitty count as a skill?”  Is that face not a piece of art? Goodness, and white paws, too. … Paws in the City has an adoption opportunity from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Galleria Pottery Barn. Can you imagine the converstion at a party: “Hey, where’d you get that beautiful dog?” “Pottery Barn.” Struck me as funny when I heard Paws Prez Mark Verma say it. “I got my dog at the Pottery Barn.” Where’d you get your cat? Fish City Grill -- well,I made that up but, oh, yeah, Tuesday (this very one, the 5th) Fish City Grill at Dallas Parkway at Frankford is giving 15% of sales between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. to Paws In The City. HERE'S A CONTEMPLATIVE QUESTION: What is the most amusing place for an adoption event? You know, weirdly amusing. Perhaps whimsical? …
CONTEMPLATING THE NUMBERS — Dallas Animal Services, on its Facebook page Monday, posted this: “We're sending everyone in DFW a huge THANK YOU for stepping up this weekend. Since our initial plea for help on October 31st, 301 animals, like Tramp here, have been adopted or pre-adopted. We also had 41 animals go out to foster, 65 out to our rescue partners, and 135 were returned to their owners. That means that 542 animals are no longer in the care of DAS and we couldn't be happier for them to live out their happy endings. We still have 353 dogs in the building so if you haven't adopted this weekend, there's still plenty of time! Today through November 29th, we're highlighting our senior pets with our ‘Thank You For Being A Friend’ promotion. All animals 6 years or older will be just $10 and all pets under 6 years old will be just $20. Adopt your Golden Girl or Guy today!” [LARRY NOTE: This is all a good thought but the primary question is: Where are these animals coming from? Can spay/neuter not keep pace with the birthrate and the lack of human responsibility? Rhetorical question.]
— Offer suggestions or solutions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

DAS OVERFLOWING SO ADOPTING FREE; PLUS HOW CAN WE COPE WITH THE TIME CHANGE?

EDITION OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 [PetPowellPress] This is being written in the deep darkness of what may be 6:58 p.m. Central Standard Time Sunday and I am just guessing that is the right time. I'm not sure which of my timekeeping devices -- the computers, the phone, the oven, the clock above the TV, the TV or The Senator's watch has the correct time.
 (Relax, that's an old photo. They know how to party in the Senate. I wouldn't wake The Honorable Gentleman for a gag shot.)
I swear, the first presidential candidate who pledges to pick a time and stick to it will get my vote. I like more daylight in the evening. Am I alone?
The great Maggie Dahl, noted animal advocate, allowed a miffed canine, Bob, to summarize the situation eloquently when she posted this on Facebook as darkness fell on our North Texas Sunday afternoon, er, I mean Sunday evening. Please feel to applaud Bob the Dog's commentary. The comments on her Facebook posting seemed to reveal that many of us have the same experience: impatient dogs and cats tapping their toes on the floor and threatening to call their attorneys. 
For the sake of the nation, either spring forward or fall back but stop the twice-a-year torture of us and our carefully regulated animals.

DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES
RUNNNG NOT 1 BUT 2 SPECIALS


That's the big one -- everybody is free. Then the second one is for the oldsters in the Dallas Animal Shelter and Adoption Center. 

DAS posted the explanatory note for the "everybody" offer Sunday morning. It reads, "Yesterday, we had 86 animals find their forever homes (73 of those animals being dogs). Thank you to all those who adopted (or came out and chose an animal to foster) yesterday at a time when we are so critically low on space.

"That being said, 112 new animals came in through either field or shelter intake yesterday alone and there are still HUNDREDS of dogs and cats at DAS who need to find homes. We will still have free adoptions for all pets today. If you have been thinking about getting a new best friend, now is the time to #AdoptDAS and #BeDallas90!"
I thought that since the DAS folks mentioned the hundreds of dogs and cats at the shelter, I'd check with the two sources for the numbers. The DAS site dallasanimalserv- ices.org is the black and white listing and the color listing is the the DAS site on PetHarbor. On it's own site, DAS was displaying only two "other" -- a hamster named Nugget and a rabbit named Roo. But PetHarbor's list showed Nugget the Hamster, Roo the Rabbit and a blank spot for an "unnamed brown chicken." [LARRY ASIDE: Don't know if it'll be around long enough to name, but I'd like to suggest "Daylight the Sanity Chicken."]
Among the dogs waiting at DAS: That Earhound is a largish 3-year-old named Twinkie, a "neutered male, brown and red Labrador Retriever and Greyhound." He's been waiting at DAS since September 21.
When you call the shelter at 214-670-6800 use his ID: A0989333.
And if you want a seasonal cat, this is Punkin, about 11 weeks old and in a shelter foster home but available. Email dasadopt@dallascity hall or call 214-670-6800 and ask about A1082786. And remember, Punkin is the last kitten available at DAS - hang on, let me check that fact. Yes, I am incorrect -- Dallas has NEVER run out of kittens and won't this week, either, unless there's a sudden influx of kitten-loving relocating families. A loving family is always a good place for a cat to live.
THE WINNER OF THE QUILT!
Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com posted this note over the weekend: "AND THE WINNER OF THE QUILT RAFFLE IS.....SUZANNE HURST!!  Suzanne has chosen the beautiful Fall quilt.   Congratulations!! Thanks to ALL who bought tix to support Barkleyworld ----You're all winners in my book for your generosity and compassion!!   Thank you Elaine for making AND donating the quilts and selling tix and helping me conduct the raffle!!  A total of $910 was raised for Barkleyworld!!!  WooHoo!!! " 

The winner of the raffle picked the autumn leaves quilt. The Christmas Elaine made, will be raffled to benefit another animal non-profit.

CONTEMPLATIONS
LOOK, UP IN THE SKY....
You'd have to go way back to look up in the sky and see this: Thanks to our pal Jeff Crilley at Real News PR we're reminded of the anniversary Sunday of the Nov. 3, 1957, Soviet Union launch of Sputnik 2, a satellite which carried a terrified dog named Laika into orbit. There was, apparently, no intention of ever returning her safely to earth. One more example of how humans are impossibly cruel to animals for the "sake of science." Here's the link to the story from the Encyclopedia Britannica.  ... One more upbeat note here at midnight -- hang on,. Sorry, it's only 8:15 p.m. (if the clocks are to be believed) and barely into the 2nd quarter of the New England/Baltimore Sunday night football game. The upbeat note is Smokey the Bear's balloon is returning to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year and, according to northjersey.com HERE.  We have some irony considering the Laika anniversary: Snoopy from Peanuts will be a new balloon -- the inflated dog will be "in an astronaut suit." The official paragraph reads, "Four balloons will make their first appearance this year: Snoopy in an astronaut suit; two characters from the Netflix adaptation of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham;"SpongeBob SquarePants and his pet sea snail, Gary; and a creation designed by artist Yayoi Kusama. Smokey Bear is also returning in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the character’s creation." ... What's that? When is Thanksgiving? Why, it's on Thursday, November 28. The Cowboys play the Buffalo Bills. Holiday Insights online notes that November 28 is "French Toast Day." Oh, before we move on we should tell you that Holiday Insights also says November 4 is both King Tut Day and Check Your Blood Pressure Day. I've never celebrated King Tut Day (his tomb was found this date in 1922), but at readlarrypowell.com, EVERY DAY is Check Your Blood Pressure Day -- several times. I am afraid to see how the time change affected it Sunday.
--- Offer blood pressure advice or French Toast coupons (that's got to be fiction) by clicking on 'comment' below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. ---

THE ENCOUNTER AT THE LAPTOP

Once upon a time there was a household that was designed for this purpose:
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.

That is the formerly unwanted dog Wendy (Wednes- day Louise Wagstaff Arden), possibly a Boxer/Bird dog mix. She is the “Demonstration Dog” for “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.” A natural sleeper, she is.
 With that we segue to our complete weekend feature’s title, “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap” and, from that point, we will explore the challenge cats can face in becoming “Napping Cats napping.”
[LARRY ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Neither Wendy nor the cats have been bribed to nap, nor have they been drugged to induce slumber. No animal was paid to perform. In fact, nobody was paid. Nobody. Darnit.]
Of the household animals, not one comes from a home that believed in having a dog or cat indoors. There are ways to tell — fear of doors, for example.
You have to force (or lure) the new dog to go through a door.
Cats? You have to give the formerly unwanted cat his or her own key — well, you have to that anyway, no matter the cat’s origin. It’s in the Adopt, Feed & Respect Contract for Cats.

One cat, my adult companion The Senator, may have come from a background of dignity and respectful behavior before he wandered up an moved in. Baby Simon came from a “birthing area” under front-yard shrubbery and had to be bottle-fed to survive abandonment. He survived well and is now a bit of a large cat.
We open with a photo sequence that establishes Simon’s feeling of ownership of the readlarrypowell.com laptop.
   Please begin humming Also Sprach Zarathustra as you examine photo one, then two, then the full-on revelation of Simon. Yes, he has claimed the laptop.
 You really notice it when cat that big adusts his position and begins to close the screen.
Time passed and Simon showed up to reclaim his spot. You see him glaring as he discovers The Senator has nodded off behind the laptop. Then, in the second photo of that sequence, you see him cocking his head and looking in disbelief at The Senator calmly sleeping and reaching around to nudge The Senator, hoping to move him along. Then he looks over the top and decides The Senator isn’t budging.
Keep in mind that The Senator is about 15 years old and Simon is barely 2 years — mostly a kitten, still. They get along.
Then, you see that Simon has moved away from the site and is looking back in disgust. .
And you can see that Simon came to grips with the situation, taking a dive off the table while The Senator continued sleeping on the keyboard.
But the young guy worked things out. He yielded to the situation, honoring his elder's decision to claim the back of the Laptop.
And, in case you wondered what that looks l ike from above, you see The Laptop Bundling Board — you kids known what a Bundling Board is, right — between the ol’ boy The Senator and the kid, Simon. You wouldn’t think a laptop would offer that much comfort to two cats. But that is where the napping cats chose to nap. Yeah, I hugged ‘em both. And they went back to sleep.
[LARRY REQUEST: Send photos of your sleepers and nappers to me at dallrp@aol.com and we’ll post their life stories and sleeping photos. You’ll be inspiring other people to open their homes to a dog or cat that needs a regular place to bunk. Also, you’ll be inspiring insomniacs to get some sleep even if they have to buy a laptop and use it as a pillow. Insomniacs understand desperation.]
— Offer opinions or observations by clicking on comment” below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

HAPPINESS IN ANIMAL STORIES; A CHANCE TO VOTE FOR DOGS; CONTEMPLATIONS

EDITION OF FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Halloween is over except for the candy. So here we are. In November. It is my favorite month. May have some winter, may have some autumn, may have some summer. Pretty sure it won’t have any spring though there could be thunderstorms. It’s got remnants of Halloween, the American Holiday Thanksgiving with parades and the arrival of Christmas decorations. (We’ll get to the November quote from Three Days of the Condor later.)
On November 1 here is a truth: I should never be left alone with a bag of Halloween candy. Oh, my, the sugar rush! Oh, my. Speaking of a sugar rush. Look at that cat! You’d think that would be enough sweetness for one day.
That is my longtime little girl Deputy Chief Kittie Leigh Johnson who, as I was typing this, jumped into my lap, crawled into my arms and waited to be adored. She didn’t wait long. 
It’s a privilege to be loved by a cat; an honor to love a cat. Raised her from a little grey, cross-eyed front porch feral kitten. I recommend adopting a kitten and taking a time out from your busy day to engage the cat in conversation. Pick a topic, then launch into the intellectual exercise. Kittie Leigh’s current favorite topic is “How will falling back at 2 a.m. Sunday affect the feeding schedule for cats in American homes?”
SOMETIMES YOU NEED
AN UPBEAT STORY
There’s a headline loaded with truth. You wouldn’t think this photo would introduce an “upbeat’ situation. But, if you keep up with Stephen Foster and the DFW Furgotten Friends you are going to run into an upbeat story. Here’s the Facebook LINK.
That is a photo of a dog then known as “Baby Blue’ and now known as Dwight. On the last day of September, Stephen posted a note about picking up a “special pup” from the Lancaster Animal Shelter. He wasn’t feeling too sporty when he wrote, “No matter how sick I am I have to suck it up to save another puppy that couldn't speak for themselves. From my house in Dallas to this puppy in Lancaster and back to my vet might be long but I'll bet this boy will never forget our trip and love me for life. They do understand when you save them. By the way. Does anyone want to foster?”

Well, someone did. Magdalena Bonnelly of the noted JP Bonnelly rescue family.
The second photo is a picture of Magdalena transferring the little guy.

As October was drawing to a close, Stephen posted new photos and a story. He wrote, “This is what one month of good food, medication, supplements and a lot of love can do. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting this baby boy. Especially Magdalena Bonnelly who lets him sleep across her neck or on top of her head every night.”

JP and Magdalena had picked up “our foster boy to nurse him back to health,” she wrote. And she said, “During the ride to Allen, I could feel the stages of his emotions - from fear and anxiety, to finally relaxing and at the end giving me little kisses and trying to wrestle the seat belt. … In no time, he will grow his hair back but to me he already is beautiful.”
And, on the left, you see his fabulous post-treatment face. Hallapuppyluyah!

[LARRY ASIDE: Someone is going to get to adopt a dog who understands what it is to be loved and cared for — he has seen what it’s like when nobody cares. And that makes me feel good today. A dog has beaten the odds in the battle against the “Don’t Care/So What” faction of heartless people.]
ONE MORE
HALLOWEEN NOTE….
Oh, this one makes me feel good, too. The great Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com sent a note with the subject line “Happy Howl-O-Ween from Barkley- world!!” And the featured model in this Halloween note was this girl Zuri. The photo cried out for an explanation so I asked Karen, “What’s the story on this dog?”
 Here’s the answer and it involves good hearts we periodicallyw rite about, Trinity GAP Rescue and Euless Animal Control.
Karen wrote, “We adopted Zuri thru Trinity GAP Rescue on Valentine’s Day in 2018.  She was picked up by Euless Animal Control from a home with too many dogs---the other dogs were Shih Tzus and were rescued by a Shih Tzu rescue but she was left behind because she is a Pug/Chi mix.  She was so scared in the shelter and cowered and barked all the time.  GAP took her and placed her in boarding and Steffenie Vela [GAP’s guiding light] convinced me that she was the dog for me! And she was right!  She is about 7 years old and is adorable!”
BOND, JAMES BOND….
Hard to believe, but Bond, James Bond, has been in the Mesquite Animal Shelter since July and hasn’t had a nibble. He’s #42099196. He’s nearly 3 years old. And he’s a black and white cat which, based on our experience at readlarrypowell.com, means he is entertainingly zany. I’m pretty sure he didn’t scribble on the walls in this photo. See Mesquite’s adorable adoptable by clicking HERE and you can also see how to adopt them.
CONTEMPLATIONS
VOTING TO HELP TEXAS DOGS; NYC GEESE WIN; CHIMPS SAFE; NOVEMBER & CONDOR
A story from the Texas Tribune explains how police dogs and others will be protected, I.e., not sold or euthanized, by a victory at the polls by Proposition 10 in the Nov. 5 election. We’re thinking this is an unusually kind effort by the State of Texas and it’s about time. Read HERE.… Speaking of kind, New York City is banning foie-gras, among the cruelest dishes a human can order off a menu. Thanks to New York City Council member Carlina Rivera, “force-feeding geese” to fatten their livers is about to be illegal as is selling the product. Here’s the CNN STORY.
[LARRY ASIDE: Never had foie-gras; never wanted it. Proud to be a vegetarian.] ….
Anybody see that CultureMap Dallas story about the chimpanzee sanctuary, Chimp Haven? Here’s the LINK...
A FINAL CONTEMPLATION for November 1 involves dialogue from the 1975 thriller, Three Days of the Condor. CIA “reader” Joe Turner [Robert Redford] is on the run and takes refuge with a woman named Kathy [Faye Dunaway]. He’s looking at her photographic work on the apartment walls and here’s the scene’s dialogue.
“Turner to Kathy: You're funny. You take pictures of empty streets and trees with no leaves on them.
Kathy: It's winter.
Turner: Not quite winter. They look like November. Not autumn, not winter. In-between. I like them.”
---
A favorite movie, favorite month — November. It’s a month for Thanksgiving and pie. Oh, no. I’m backsliding from my vow to eat healthy! Is there a “healthy pie” for a post-middle-aged man who hates exercise and loves pastry?
—- Offer pie recipes or diet tips by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

WHEN HALLOWEENS WEREN'T COLD...

Halloween is supposed to be chilling, not freezing, right?
The holiday always makes me miss my childhood — my brothers and my pals and my school and its Halloween Carnival. I suspect I’m not alone in these emotions. Feel free to have some of those memories racing through your memory chips as your sort your Halloween candy.
I don’t remember a Halloween as cold as this one — I do remember a lot of sweaty Halloweens in Texarkana in the ol’ Hazel Street neighborhood.
It was more like the Hazel Street Corridor — a long street of homes and undeveloped lots and even a pasture or two for horses. Hazel is two blocks inside the state line. From our backyard baseball-football field/garden, you could see into Arkansas! Kids from streets on both sides of Hazel came into the neighborhood to play baseball, football, hide-and-seek, go to Cub Scouts and Brownies, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. At Halloween, we’d all go up and down each other’s streets trick-or-treating -- and we'd go to the school Halloween Carnival.
Our stories mostly started in 1947 and ’48 when my contemporaries were born and went all the way to Autumn of ’59. That was our 6th grade year at Highland Park Elementary School and in October the focus was the annual Halloween Carnival. [LARRY NOTE: In those days Highland Park Elementary School had a great reputation because of its dedicated teachers. People thought it was a well-to-do school, but here’s a hint: Our championship flag football team was the Highland Park Hobos.]
I don’t know what you’re wearing today, but as I type this I have on a costume inspired by Walt Disney’s Zorro. I’m kidding. That was part of my era — 1957-1959 and, on our TV, Zorro was in black and white even though it may have been broadcast in color. I was in the 5th grade (maybe) and a kid named Billy had a spot-on Zorro costume that he wore to the Halloween carnival.
That was also the year that the guy who was supposed to play The Wild Man of Borneo bowed out early in the evening and I was asked to stand in for him — well, crouch in for him in the wooden “cage” in the “spook house” created in the basement of our school. I got to scare both my brothers, though middle brother Barry swore he knew it was me all along. 
A room mother dressed as a “gypsy fortune teller” in a dimly lit corner of the basement convinced kids to put their hands in a bowl and feel “eyeballs floating in water.” Grapes. It worked for the little kids.
For the Powell boys, our costumes were always homemade. Mom had a certain flair with the sewing machine and we went along with her. One year my baby brother, Garry, went to the carnival costume as a cat — he had big whiskers, fake pointed ears and a ringed tail — he was in the first grade. I was a hobo, wearing a big ol’ floppy hat that Mom had made for a Zorro costume that never quite developed. I think there is a photo somewhere in one of the boxes I moved out of Mom’s house this year. 
Middle brother Barry, who’d grow up to be a lawyer, costumed himself as a matronly woman that year — it was Mom’s gleeful idea. Yep, he had padding, gray spray in his hair, a hat with netting…he was something. He walked into the Halloween Carnival expecting not to be recognized, but a girl in his class screamed with laughter and shouted, “WHY, BARRY POWELL!” and he turned around left the building, walked 8 blocks home without telling a single adult, changed into a shirt and jeans and returned to the carnival as himself. 

One of the attractions at the carnival was the cake walk. You paid a quarter to walk in a circle — costumed kids and adults walking in a circle to Pop Goes the Weasel — and you’d hope the music stopped while you were standing on the winning number. We never won a cake. That’s OK. The school got the money. I think. It didn’t use the proceeds to put in air-conditioning, as I recall bitterly.

I’m dedicating this Halloween edition to the kids I knew. And their siblings. And their parents. And grandparents. People knew people, you know?
One year a bunch of us — all of us were first-year Boy Scouts by this time — decided to leave the Halloween Carnival together and walk through the neighborhood in the dark, dark night. We spotted the carnival’s “Hayride” — a big ol’ flatbed truck with wooden rails on the sides and bails of hay spread in the bed. The truck, filled with grownups and kid trick-or-treaters was puttering along near the school. One of our guys said, “Let’s egg the hayride” and he ran home and got a dozen eggs. We waited, he came back, handed out eggs and we took positions in somebody’s shrubbery and waited for the ride to come back.
[LARRY ASIDE: In retrospect, this was a mean thing to do. But we didn’t see ourselves as “mean.” We were thoughlessly having what appeared at first to be fun!]
Suddenly the flatbed truck rolled around a corner and someone stage-whispered, “There it is! Wait on it. Wait on it” and as the truck, loaded with grownups and goblins and princesses, rolled even with us, we unloaded the eggs toward a target about 15 dark yards away. It was a case of “throw and run” and we lit out. Behind we could hear people yelling at the villains who were terrified and running.
The post-egging conversation went something like, “I think I might have hit the truck” and “I’m not sure — mine looked like it went over the hood.”
Our ringleader said, “Let’s go to my house and get some water balloons.” We were up for it so four of us walked to his house and he opened the front door, turned and said, “Come on in” and we walked into the little frame home and suddenly realized his dad and his mom, who we all knew and loved, were trying to calm his little sister. “What happened?” our pal asked, suddenly very concerned.
And his dad said, “Somebody egged the hayride and hit your baby sister right in the head. Got egg all in her hair.” 
It was one of those “a hush fell over the crowd” moments. Big brother and the villains were quiet. I can’t remember how we extracted ourselves from this, but we were polite and unrevealing. For years.

The next Halloween, roughly the same bunch of boys made another appearance at the Carnival and left to walk through the neighborhood. We had paper grocery sacks to collect candy and apples and other Halloween treats — popcorn balls! How could i forget those? What a messy treat.
We were happy and having a fun time when we saw a guy, illuminated by a porch light, sitting in a rocker and watching the passing world and handing out candy to little kids. 
The guy who’d egged his sister knew the porch man and greeted him by name. The man sternly looked at us big ol’ sixth graders and said, “You boys are too old to be out doing this.” Stunned into silence, we walked away without any treats.
I guess he was right. The next year we didn’t go trick-or-treating in a “gang.”
I don’t know what we did. A couple of the guys may have had girlfriends by then, I probably stayed home reading or watching TV. Neither of my little brothers dressed as a matronly woman of the ‘50s.
The Halloween Carnival became the “Fall Festival,” TVs got color screens, schools became air-conditioned and the world changed. But not one of us ever egged another hayride. I’m almost certain.
—- Happy Halloween. Send calorie-free candy to dallrp@aol.com or click on “comment” below and tell your stories of Halloween. —-

QUILTS, CRITTERS AND CONGRESS (MAKING ANIMAL CRUELTY A FEDERAL CRIME?)

PM EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30, 2019 [PetPowellPress] I feel the need to apologize. At some point Wednesday morning I thought, “Good grief, I miss August.” So, my apologies to anyone who isn’t missing the searing heat of a Texas summer. I also thought, “Wouldn’t a good quilt be nice….”

And don’t miss Contemplations — making animal cruelty a federal crime will need the voices of the voters.
AN APPROPIATE
QUILT FUNDRAISER
We’ve frequently quoted Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com about efforts to help animals. It’s her mission.
And, as it turns out, a barkleyworld.com supporter known as “Elaine” has made these quilts to help raise money for 501C3 Barkleworld’s mission. (It is this: “Helping families in need of catastrophic vet care for their pet is the heart and soul of Barkleyworld.  We know many pets are surrendered to shelters or euthanized due to lack of finances for vet services.  We are all about keeping families and pets 2-gether.”)
Elaine has once again organized a “Quilt Raffle” to benefit Barkleyworld. The drawing is on November 2, so you can buy tickets from the moment you read this through the last minute of Nov. 1 at midnight.
 According to the raffle rules, the winner gets to pick from either the Fall Theme (Autumn Leaves) or the Christmas Quilt (red and green). They’re shown on a queen-size bed. The Christmas quilt is 78-by-89 inches and the fall quilt is 75-by88 inches.
Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 — go to www.barkleyworld.com and click on the Donate tab or buy via PayPal at karen@barkleyworld.com (type “quilt raffle” in the comments and be sure to include your name and phone number so you can be notified.
Take some time to visit Barkleyworld’s facebook page HERE so you can see the good work being done for animals.
ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE
IN THE SMALL SHELTERS…
At midweek, the folks with 4-Legged Helpers continued to work on the behalf of animals who are almost never visited by potential adoptors.
The latest note from Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden says Lancaster’s city shelter is at the “full” state. There are many animals there. We’re using these photos of Rusty, listed as a “Flat-coated retriever.” No idea why he’s in the shelter, but he is and that means first you get him out then you give him a home, then you contemplate how you were fortunate enough to adopt him. Call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
Then, in the Wilmer/Hutchins shelters east of Lancaster along I-20 and I-45, Laura reports, there are more animals without a bit of help except the 4-Legged Helpers trying to draw attention to their adoptability.
The dog’s we’re spotlighting are Kiely, a new-to-arrive Chocolate Lab, who is “sweet as can be.”
Still waiting are Noah, the Bulldog Mix, who looks so sad but “loves everyone including other dogs.” And Blue is the third dog. There are more. Call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email her at cat_girl_71@yahoo.com to ask how you can help get them out of a “jail” that nobody visits.
CONTEMPLATIONS
ANIMAL CRUELTY — A FEDERAL CRIME?
We opened an email from Shelby Bobosky of the Texas Humane Legislation Network and found an appeal for help with making animal cruelty a federal crime — it is, after all, a national issue. 
The opening passage read, “The U.S. House has passed an important bill to protect animals and now it’s the Senate’s turn! Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz need to hear from you.”
Yep, “impeachment” and “the Fed cutting rates” aren’t the only national topics in Washington, D.C. 

[LARRY ASIDE: Go to thln.org to see how to become a member and increase the power of your voice on behalf of animals.]

The note with Shelby’s appeal reads, “The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT) Act, S. 479, will make it a federal crime to commit malicious cruelty to an animal on federal property or in interstate commerce.  THLN applauds the U.S. House’s passage of the companion bill, H.R. 724 last week. If this bill passes in the Senate and becomes law, it will serve as an important tool for law enforcement to target abusers who crush, burn, drown, suffocate, impale animals and commit other bodily injury toward any non-humans.
“Texas’ animal cruelty statue was strengthened in the 2017 legislative session. The PACT Act will complement Texas’ tough animal cruelty law when crimes are committed on federal property or across state lines.  Passage of this Act is an important step in keeping our communities safe on a national level.
“Animal cruelty is a community issue. Data shows that if you improve animal welfare, you improve public safety for everyone.”

There you have it. Click on the artwork to make it grow. This campaign for animals is something to contemplate and the THLN has provided the numbers of the two guys you need to call when you’re done contemplatin’. Be nice. Ask for their support. Get in touch with THLN for "talking points."  [LARRY FYI: My cat, The Senator, endorses the PACT Act. He's fed up with animal cruelty and the people who commit it. If you don't have a cat or dog, you can still be against animal cruelty. It's a stand for decent behavior on Planet Earth.]
— Offer support or opinions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

THE AUTUMN, THE ANIMALS AND YOU -- THE FUTURE AND THE PAST

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Oh, my! Autumn has arrived and turned the metrosprawl into a place where colorful leaves may become the local norm. Maybe. Amidst the beauty, of course, animals left outside are always at peril around here. For example, some weather forecasters have us all on a “freeze watch” for Thursday — that’s Halloween.
Our dogs and cats have inside quarters -- ours. I’m sure most people reading this have indoor dogs and cats, too. (We’ll get to the SPCA’s Halloween advice in a second. In the meantime, I was smitten by this pose of my formerly feral cat, William Powell, as he sits at the window and looks at an autumn drizzle and, I hope, thanks his lucky stars that I lured him into our old garage with promises of regular meals and honest conversation about literature, film, baseball and dieting (he doesn’t contribute much).

So, what do we do to remind hard-headed people to protect their animals from bad weather? “Ah, strip ‘em humans nekkid and tie ‘em to an aluminum pole with frozen water out of reach and food only if it stops raining.” Wait, sorry. I got that out of the unpublished “Payback Handbook,” another novel written by my sweet girl Porche Noel, a once limping, rasping (no bark), unwanted dog of the streets. Well, at least we can use this paragraph to remind people that there are laws that protect tethered dogs and there are suggestions for turning “outdoor cats” into “indoor cats” so they won’t fall victim to weather or the two biggest predators in North Texas: The so what/don’t care humans and the coyotes who have been displaced by “progress” in the suburbs.
HALLOWEEN ADVICE
FROM THE SPCA OF TEXAS
If it’s Halloween, we’ll hear some safety tips from the SPCA of Texas — and these are based on decades of experience in dealing with the convergence of dogs and cats with odd little visitors who don’t look all that human in the porchlight.
I opened the news release sent by the SPCA’s Victoria Albrecht and one of the opening sentences read “With all of the gremlins, goblins and ghosts out on the prowl, the SPCA of Texas wants to remind pet owners to keep their pet’s safety in mind this Halloween.” You can see the entire list by going HERE .
The idea is to keep the animals safe from humans and humans safe from animals. It’s the right and kind thing to do.

The SPCA release's last paragraph has a great sentence that shout get a “Right on” reaction from longtime rescuers and shelter workers in the greater autumnalplex.
After noting the scariness of the holiday, it reads, “And of course, if the thought of more homeless, unwanted dogs and cats scares you like it does the SPCA of Texas, always remember the importance of spaying and neutering your pets.”
You can go to spca.org and see a great listing for free spaying/neutering for “community cats” on Halloween.
 A long as we’re at the SPCA’s website, we’ll list some adoptables. That cat with the great face and the championship whiskers is Jinx (41495272), a 6-year-old small neutered boy cat. Great marking on that nose — looks kind of like a handbell.
And that dog who appears to be naturally costumed as a sad circus clown is Casper (414354630), a 2 1/2-year-old Mastiff Mix who is a “big marshmallow” who is rattled by a shelter environment. SPCA says he needs a “calm and quiet environment.” (You can foster him to help him get ready for adoption. Email foster@spca.org to check into that.)
ANOTHER DOG FACES PERIL
AFTER A DALLAS DECISION
We heard about this petition from the veteran animal advocate Elaine Munch. It focuses on saving the life of a dog named Cookie who has had a run-in with legal matters and, as a result, may be facing the needle.
But there may be a way to save Cookie from euthanasia for being an unattended dog. The opening of the petition to save her reads, “Cookie was deemed dangerous because she was loose and a neighbor felt threatened. Her label was not appealed and nothing can be done about her being legally labeled ‘dangerous’ despite lack of bite history.” There’s more. Here’s THE LINK.
[LARRY ASIDE: Would it be impossible for the City of Dallas, which spends so much money on an animal shelter, staffing and operating Dallas Animal Services while trying to increase adoptions and rescues, to establish a Municipal Animal Court? That way animal issues would get swift and thoughtful individual attention instead of being lumped in with the oppressive wave of human criminal cases that daily swamps the city. Just a thought. Offer opposition or solutions to keeping animals from being handled as “just a dog” or “just a cat” by emailing dallrp@aol.com. Such a court might put the focus on the bad guy humans and not on the victim animals.]
 Just an FYI: Dallas Animal Services has a load of dogs and cats, two hamsters and two rabbits waiting for homes.
We decided to highlight this boy ScoobyDoo (A0869050), a 6-year-old Lab mix (brown and white and blessed with such expressions in his eyes. ScoobyDoo is on the first page of the 30-plus pages of dog listings at dallasanimalservices.org listing. He came into the shelter in early October. [LARRY FYI: The listings on the DAS site and on the PetHarbor site differ somewhat as to population — that’s PetHarbor in the color listing.]
  But you have to go all the way back to the 30th page of the cat listings — there are even more pages — to find Mr. French (A1086811), a neutered Tabby who is thought to be “about 10 years old.” He came into the shelter on Monday. 
To ask about either of these or both of them, call the shelter at 214-670-6800 or stop by t I-30 and Westmoreland.
A GREYHOUND REMINDER
Lots of fundraising social stuff coming up for the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas. Here’s a LINK to the current GALT newsletter — always informative. And we decided to post this GALT “Photo of the Week” which is described this way “Dug, FKA ‘Davis” and his kitty friend both look ust a bit put out by having to share the couch. ‘Mom! He’s touching me!”
The thing is this: Both cats and Greyhounds are known as legendary “Couch Potatoes.” Here's photographic proof from GALT.

CONTEMPLATIONS
THE WAY THINGS GO
How about that big birthday celebration in Dallas. I’m getting as many of these things in my inbox as I am calls from student loan advisors, house flippers and people trying to sell me a new health insurance policy. It’s nice that The Formerly Big Paper Downtown is celebrating this anniversary. Ah, kids, I was there when the company that ownedThe Really Big Paper Downtown/AcrossThe State, Nation and Around The World celebrated its sesquicentennial. That’s a word that means 150th anniversary — in case you didn’t know. That event wasn’t celebrated with a two-fer sale, but it was a big gathering on the plaza of company headquarters at the Belo Building at 400 Record across Young Street from The Rock of Truth home of The DMN. … You know who showed up to unveil the historical marker? Texas Gov. Ann Richards — that’s her in a DMN picture. She’s gone now. So is the name "Belo Building "— once a towering office complex for a sprawling media company, it’s now a multipurpose building owned by somebody else and renamed 400 Record. Things change. In the April 11, 1992, edition of The Really Big Paper Downtown, Et Al, the great writer/reporter Barbara Kessler (one of our top reporters who knew how to be careful with company stories), wrote, “A.H. Belo Corp., one of the nation’s largest media companies, on Friday became the first business in the state to mark its sesquicentennial.” (Texas had celebrated its 150th in 1986.) Anyway, back then the powerful, historic company  owned not just the paper but also WFAA, Channel 8, and many other companies. Again, things change. The company’s stock (AHC) closed at $3.62 a share Tuesday. The stock had a higher price when you could buy an edition for four-bits, as the old guys used to say. That’s 50 cents — translating for 21st century people who never use cash and never read a colorful book. … Funniest memo I can remember from my days at The DMN — well, the funniest memo that I didn’t write, I mean. Our night news editor Frank Reece grew weary of a copy editor arriving late and slipping out early on a consistent basis. So he wrote this to deadline editors: “Please do not be offended if you are asked to work a complete shift.” Worked, for a while. I really oughta write a book. I never signed any “I’ll keep my mouth shut” agreement. I’m kidding — besides, all papers I worked for have funny stories. Some stock prices are more amusing than others.

—— To offer advice, therapy or contradictions, click on ‘comment’ below or email dallrp@aol.com. —-

WE LOOK AT A CAT'S RESPONSE, SOME ANIMAL ISSUES AND OTHER THINGS....

EDITION OF TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2019 [PetPowellPress] Writing on a Monday requires a certain amount of extra motivation. A person has spent the weekend focusing on other things, i.e., other writing and household chores, maybe being congenial and he awakens to face the blank sheet. 
The night before he had an idea of what he’d write about, but somehow that carefully organized plan vanished among the blank spaces in the nocturnal mind.
I was beginning to explain all that to young Stevie Ray, currently an office cat, when, after listening carefully for about 10 seconds, Stevie Ray gave my whining a full human reaction. He yawned. And I returned to writing, having made a vow to cut back on his treats and increase his lessons on “How To Be An Appropriate Cat.” (I may be writing that book…we’ll see…Once upon a time a human was bewildered. His cat was not. His cat had won Lotto Texas … The story sort of stalls right there. Cat’s have no plans for spending lotto millions.)

OK, back to the mission of readlarrypowell.com: Raising the awareness of humans and promoting their abilities to help animals. And, of course, picking just six lousy winning lotto numbers.
THE FURBABIES SAVE A KITTEN;
TECHNOLOGY PLAYS A ROLE...
Yeah, remember when there was no Facebook, no websites, no email and all you could do with a telephone was talk on it or slam it back into the cradle? 
Here’s a cat that was saved by communication on the Next Door neighborhood social media site. 
You know of the Furbabies of Lancaster, the organization that used to work with that little Texas city’s animal shelter until things got crossways with the city government over an election.
Furbabies continue to save animals. On Monday morning, Furbabies, operating under the relatively new name (see it, Paws-atively Takes a Village Rescue, on the logo or on the Furbabies Facebook page), posted a “Purrs and Biscuits Alert!” — that’s what they call it. 
And it begins with this: “A Furbabies team member saw a frantic post on Next Door about a poor kitten in Red Oak who was found with a broken leg. The person who located it was not able to manage his care. The team member rushed over to get it, wrapped him in a towel, and drove him right over to the vet in DeSoto.  The little baby was about 6 weeks old, wormy, starved, scared and yes - had a broken leg. Eventually the decision was made to amputate as his poor little leg was just too broken to heal right.“

 And there you go, simple, eh? Not quite. There needed to be some money and, yes, there was “thanks to a very generous donation from the community.” A “team member” fostered the kitten and, this is the sweet part: “Because of his fighting spirit (and some aquarium rocks the poor starving thing had eaten scrounging for trash) he was named Rocky and he quickly became quite the little character.”
Furbabies says that “now Rocky is living in his forever home with a large family and collection of fur siblings who report he is just the funniest, sweetest boy. His missing leg evidently doesn't bother him a bit and he races around the house like a rocket.”
MEANWHILE, THE WAIT CONTINUES…
ONE
 RETURNS BECAUSE SHE’S PREGNANT
Months and months ago, Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden and supporters who focus on small shelters with a lack of foot traffic or adoption programs, stepped in to help at Lancaster when the city and the aforementioned Furbabies had a parting of the ways.
These “new” people have become the non-profit group 4-Legged Helpers and they are trying to get more people to visit Lancaster and more people to respond the emails 4-Legged Helpers issues nearly daily. The latest has new dogs waiting in Lancaster including (above) the pretty little Aussie Shepherd mix Bonita. She’s PREGNANT. The 4-Legged Helpers note reads, “This beautiful girl was recently adopted but returned due to being pregnant. She is between 1 and 2 years old. She needs a 501c3 rescue right away. The shelter is no place for puppies to be born. She is very sweet and so cute and lovable.”

That other dog is Thomas, a “Springer Spaniel or mix” who is “just precious,” the note reads and adds, “So sad to see him here.”

To help with any animal in the Lancaster shelter, call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com. And, remember, transportation is available for dogs claimed by a 501c3.

THE ROSCOE MISSION
CONTINUES IN FORT WORTH
Good grief, is there no help for an adorable dog?
Tami Kukla has been trying for a while to find a home for this Fort Worth Animal Care & Control dog Roscoe. He’s been in FWACC’s care longer than any other critter — more than 8 months so far, according to Tami’s info. And he was at the Rogers Roundhouse Yappy Hour over the weekend, but nobody fell for him. Tami’s post says that this photo represents Roscoe saying, “Roscoe here. Go Cowboys. Go Astros. Please come adopt me so I can watch some great sports with you on a couch with burgers.”
And an earlier post included this key info. “Some of my superpowers include being in whatever room you are in and being very relaxed on car rides. My adoption fee is sponsored. To meet me as I have been waiting for 8 months visit me at PetSmart Alliance or email one of my sponsors at tamikuklatx@gmail.com."
[LARRY ASIDE: In honor of good dogs and cats everywhere: Save ‘em all. Don’t let the don’t care/so what people drag the rest of us down with them.]
OH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD,
SOME OKLAHOMA THREATS
You may recall the item we posted last wee about the resilient Burns Flat, Okla. rescuer Terry Lynn Fisher working hard to save two dogs and a dozens of cats on a property near her Western Oklahoma town. 
[LARRY ASIDE: Terry Lynn sent a graphic photo to emphasize the horrible conditions: a picture of a dead cat. Might have been shot. Who knows? I’ve chosen to re-run this photo of the two live dogs because, frankly, even I -- ex-police reporter, former ambulance driver and animal rescuer -- can’t stand the ugly nature of things sometimes.]
 Terry Lynn needs help with this situation. Email her at remembering_oddball@yahoo.com. Maybe you know someone who can help her. Maybe you have time and money to help her and the animals. Remember, this isn’t about egos, it’s about cats and dogs and saving their lives.
Read on and you’ll see how dangerous things are.
 Terry Lynn reports, “ I’m still working on all the cats.  The owner moved and left over 30 cats and two dogs. I went out today (Sunday) to feed and did not see near as many days.  We did find several dead ones but they looked to have been dead awhile. …

“I don’t trust the landowners.  When the Oklahoma City news station wanted to do a story they forbid it.   I explained it would help us get them safe but they said if I did it they would stop me from getting the animals and ‘handle it themselves.’ Pretty sure that means shooting them.   I’m terrified some have already been killed 

“A neighbor said they saw a dead dog in the yard a couple weeks ago.  I can’t imagine the horror these innocent babies have been through
.
“I’ve caught 11 babies and have them in boarding right now. I saw three more today but couldn’t catch them.  I need help.  I need places for them.  We need funds for vetting. One beautiful calico has an eye missing. My heart is breaking.  I feel so helpless here. Please. I’m begging.  I am on way over my head and need help.”
And, she adds, “I have no business taking all this on but nobody else would so what do I do?” 
Again, email remembering_oddball@yahoo.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS
ENID'S WOLVES, THE BIG 'D', & MUSIC TO WALK BY

Funny thing happened Monday morning. I opened a note from Enid Breakstone, formerly of Dallas and the founder of The Queenie Foundation. She Facebooked a video of 50 wolves howling in the forest. It was magnificent. Starts with one wolf and grows to 50...I was momentarily distracted after I started it and about 3 wolves were into the group howl when I left the office. I thought I hit the “pause” button. Then, I got distracted and when I returned to the office, my office companions at the time, William Powell the Veteran Tabby and Stevie Ray the young black and white cat, were sitting in the office chair and intently staring at a video of howling wolves. I don't know how much psychological damage I've done to two city cats who, to my knowledge, have never heard wolves. Here’s the VIDEO LINK. And a special thanks to our ol’ pal Enid. … I watch the news. I hear the news. Now and then I even read the news online. I’m starting to think the “D” in “Big D” stands for “dangerous.” I hate that. Dallas deserves better. Of course, it has to work on getting less dangerous. Everybody has to work on it. … Feel like getting into your time machine and going back to 1977 for some brisk walking? Click HERE.
— Offer malaise advice or calorie-free chocolate recipes by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

THE MISSION OF ANIMALS & A PERSONAL CONTEMPLATION OF 10/27/04

EDITION OF SUNDAY 10-27/MONDAY, OCT. 28, 2019 [PetPowellPress] The Dallas Cowboys had Sunday off, the State Fair of Texas has been closed for a week, the weather was beautiful and we decided to focus on other things.
Most people reading this already know of the ongoing mission to save animals not just from the streets, but from the city/county shelters that house so many unwanted dogs and cats.
At our house, we’ve never gotten a dog or cat from a shelter. They just show up in our path of the day. I found Texas Earl the Cheeseman, a Rottweiler, in a city park waiting for his ride to come back. [That's Wendy on the couch, Earl sleeping and Dudley gnawing his tail -- he has needs.]
I walked out the front door one day and found a black and white kitten named Stevie Ray clinging to thin limb in a mimosa tree.
The range of “recovery” at our house is pretty much between those two situations: From someone’s unwanted dog encountered in a public place to dog or kitten showing up without a note or an explanation. Seriously, why would one smaller-than-your-hand-sized kitten show up in a yard that had no known feral cats?
Just another one of your urban miracles. That’s my funspouse Martha cuddling Stevie Ray, the Oak Cliff tree kitten. Left, he's growing up.
All of you veterans of animal rescue have enjoyed your own adventures in getting new dog and cat friends for somebody else. Bless your hearts, your patience and your pocketbooks. Yeah, I didn’t win Lotto Texas this weekend, either.

A QUILT FOR A CLINIC?

FIVE BUCKS A TICKET!
Quilts are works of art, don’t you think? They look great and you can sleep under ‘em, too. With a cat or dog. Or both. They know quilts are made for sleepin'. And some are made for displayin'.
We’ve mentioned this fundraising campaign before, but it’s such a great quilt, you probably would be miffed if we didn’t remind you that tickets in the December 1 raffle are only $5 each. [LARRY ASIDE: You can’t park at a Dallas Cowboys game for five bucks, but you might be able to curl up under a blanket with a canine or a cat during a football game. Three happy individuals gently sleeping like newborns in a hospital display window.]

We got the reminder of the lottery from Sydney Busch, the reliable tipster and enduring mainstay of Friends fo the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake, the non-profit that operates the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City.

Coincidentally, Sydney notes, “this fabulous quilt” was “lovingly handmade and donated by the Gun Barrel Quilter Guild to Friends of the Animals.”
You can get the tickets at the clinic in Gun Barrel City each Tuesday (spay/neuter day) or at the clinic’s Second Saturday special events (10 a.m. to noon.) And, you may also call 903-451-4701 to ask about buying chances to win that Gun Barrel Quilter Guild artwork.
Speaking of artwork, you can read about the Gun Barrel Quilters Guild online HERE
and that is where you’ll also see this artwork with the goal of “straight stiches.” Well, the picture had me in stitches! I think it might have been the boots — I’m a native Texan, you know.
HERE’S THE LATEST PROMO
FROM DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES


Yep, another good deal at Dallas Animal Services.
And while looking at the DAS Facebook page, we ran across a video of this available dog and an explanation from DAS with (for you who don't read comics, a Peanuts reference): “His name is Max but we're wondering if we should change it to Linus? 🤔 Max (#A1070702) was cold yesterday and decided to let our staff know that he wasn't letting go of his blanket anytime soon. He's available for adoption at our PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center on Coit Rd." See the video HERE. And you know to go to dallasanimalservices.org to see the dogs and cats waiting for a home or a needle.
***
[LARRY ASIDE: We put the animals ahead of our personal contemplation. Animals are our mission -- animal and the people who help them. What follows is a bit of a look into a heart.]
***


ONCE UPON A TIME
IN A WORLD NOW GONE
THERE WERE LOYAL STAFFERS…

A PERSONAL CONTEMPLATION FOR 10-27-2019 — Ah, how I miss The Dallas Morning News -- the one that I knew.
I know I’m not alone. The date 10/27 is an anniversary. There were a bunch of us excused from further participation on 10/27/2004. Fifteen years ago. The shape of things to come in newspapers, it turned out to be. I'd only been there since 1975, writing a column for more than two decades of that time. (That’s me at age 15 at a high school journalism conference --I did not know that a newspaper would break my heart 4 decades later. The possibility wasn’t  mentionedin the textbooks back then. What? Gray sweater and slacks, yellow button-down oxfordcloth shirt, matching yellow socks, loafers -- no beard until 1971. I'd have been a model, but I'd already learned most of the alphabet.)

Some of the “10/27s” have moved on to other careers. Some keep writing. Some retired. Some, as it is said, “have gone on.”

The paper looks different now — the printed one, I mean. [LARRY ASIDE: I haven’t picked one up since 10-27-2004. I abruptly but politely cut short my exit "gee-we're-really-sorry meeting with the suddenly former bosses to go downstairs and cancel my subscription. Seemed like the thing to do.]  
I know The Big Paper Downtown publishes online. I read it there. I know that it has great writers — some new to the place, some “leftovers” whose career paths changed. Not sure it still has local copy editors. I’m not in the loop on office memos.
 And the newspaper moved from a can’t-miss-it stately and majestic monument from the previous century [I took that photo a year ago, before it was sold.]. 
The paper is now in an office you have to hunt for in downtown Dallas. That’s OK, it’s not the size of the building, it’s the size of the heart in the building. Not sure if — two decades into a “new century” — newspapers have hearts, but I know their journalists do.
To the current staff, I would like to be there with you, gang, but, then again, I’d have missed a lot.
I got to spend a decade writing for the great animal advocate Bob Walton’s beloved Urban Animal Magazine. I’d have missed about 4 years in marketing for the non-profit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth — an enduring organization that strives to make a positive difference by responsibly informing people of the state of the world/nation.

 And, I’d have missed editing some entertaining books, such as House No. 5: A Memoir, the romantic adventure on a Greek island written by my ol’ DMN colleague and friend Bob St. John and illustrated by his wife, Sandy THE Artist! It’s a great book — has travel, heart, adventure and humor. It’ll take your mind off politics. It's an excellent read about heroes and good people on a wonderful island. A story of real people.
Of course, if I’d been allowed to remain at The Big Paper Downtown, I could have afforded home repair and important dental work. 
But, I’d have missed writing about thousands of dogs and cats — loved or in need of love — at www.readlarrypowell.com. I’d have missed posting wisecracks about modern life, modern news reporting and modern predicaments. 

This is a good point to quote the Greek philosopher Heraclitus: “The only contant in life is change.”
But I did get one constant from The Big Paper Downtown. My laughterspouse Martha — she was the boss’s secretary. She quit a decade and a half before the paper tossed us 10-27s. Why? She’d founded PetPowell Pet Sitting Service. One of her newspaper bosses (notorious for being unreasonably tough) asked why she was leaving, and she replied, ‘“I’d rather work with animals than with you.” Everyone laughed. In different ways, but they laughed.

Nowadays, most newspapers appear to be in a state of transition, moving from an ever-thinning packet of printed sheets to an every-increasing collection of “clicks” on line. For now, you can still hold the paper and read it with morning coffee. You can choose to hold actual paper in your hands, or you can choose to hold a plastic screen that connects you to the world and allows you to check out how OTHER papers and media covered a story. 

And you don’t have to wait for morning to get the news (sometimes) — the computer era made almost all print news “instant” — just like radio and TV. With that competitive pressure, reporters and editors (There are still some copy editors, right?) have to be quickly accurate and undertanding of the facts so they can responsibly report a story. It’s not easy.
But doing things right is good for the democracy and its residents. 
[My current editor, The Senator, agrees with that position. He wandered up to our house one day, handed over his resume and got the editing position. We've never had layoffs in our newsroom. Darn, looks like my hair has gone gray since that 1991 wedding to Martha!]
There are fans of newspapers. Now and then, at readlarrypowell.com, we’ll post someone’s appeal for newspapers. Is that an appeal for the “industry”? Of course not. The appeals we publish are from rescue groups, clinics and shelters asking for donations of newspapers to help keep the kennels tidy. I think you know what i mean. Newspapers have always been a multi-purpose product — ask a parakeet or a puppy.
So, and this is directed to my fellow 10/27s, has the passage of time diluted my resentment over being tossed out of a newsroom I loved? Not hardly. Heck, I didn’t think I was done with a long career that went from copy editor, to assistant news editor, to national editor, to metro features editor, to metro columnist and TexasLiving writer. Of course, I wasn’t the one doing the thinkin’ at the company.
So, yeah, I’m still miffed. I still wish our ageism case had survived an appeals review. I’d like to have a newsroom job back just long enough to write the farewell column I was denied after decades of trying to help the paper triumph daily. 
I still have one other thing I’m hoping to see: For the sake of the city, the county, the school district, the state and the nation (thus the world), I’m depending on the current crop of journalists and managers to promise that they’ll keep honest newspapering forever strong, honest and dependable.

And here’s how I know there’s no going back for me: My favorite office chair is in the dump.
That’s it, there. 
This was my chair for more than two decades. People put bumper stickers on the back. I edited and wrote in that chair for so long that on 10/27/04 I got to take it home. It was like me - the company didn’t want it, either. Call it a parting gift. 
I used it and repaired it and, finally, a few months ago, gave it the “final chair rites” and rolled it — 3 wheels still worked — into the big ugly pile at the City of Dallas Sanitation Transfer Station on Westmoreland next to Dallas Executive Airport. Best editing/writing chair I ever had. Comfortable and room to squirm when you needed to tell a reporter, “Take another shot at this.”

My favorite bumper sticker has to do with SMU and the NCAA Death Penalty that shut down the storied football program from 1986 through 1988. When SMU began to play football again — against horrifying odds — someone published bumper stickers reading “SMU FOOTBALL A Quality Program Since 1989.” 
In 2019, the Ponies have made a comeback. It should happen to all 10/27s. There’s no statute of limitations on making a comeback.

Here are some personal facts:

— Now, a few months after the trip to the dump, I still miss that wonderful chair. 

— Fifteen years after 10/27/04, I still miss the newsroom — even dream about it and the people, the great and wonderful newspeople. The brightest in town.

— Management? Don’t really have what you’d call “dreams” about those people and their lawyers. Love ‘em though. Of course, I love mangy dogs that bite me, too.
 [That's my girl, Porche. She'd never lay me off to use my enormous salary to make up for management decisions. She promises.]
And if any of you in that management team are still at the paper, well, heck, you just go ahead and have a nice day. You know, on Friday, the paper’s once-soaring AHC stock closed down at $3.78 a share. At a Dallas convenience store Sunday, the price of the Sunday edition of The Once Big Paper Downtown was $3.99.
I’m not sure what that means. Paper carriers will never throw rolled up stock certificates into your shrubbery. I'm almost certain. But I don't really understand 21st century newspaper management. Sometimes I think the understanding of the mission has been lost.
Here’s the way we used to end stories in the “old days”: We’d type ‘-30-.’ But this isn’t the old days. And, at the end of this contemplation you should know that I still think an honestly edited and written newspaper is the greatest tool for preserving democracy and freedom.
I don’t have enough money to invest in a newspaper, but, heck, I’ve got cats and dogs to feed. They’re all housetrained, so we don’t take the paper.
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