Frank, Tiger and groundbreaking news -- and contemplations in antlers

Midweek, first full day of winter, temps plunging from the mid-80s on Tuesday into the positively holly jolly 60s today. Shopping areas are jammed – I was at Town East Mall in Mesquite yesterday (that’s a story) --  call that traffic “Town Beast.”
People are festive all over the place in spite of the average price of a gallon of gasoline. Since Labor Day, the price chart has looked like the skyrocketing heart rate of a fat man being chased by a pit viper in a maze. Maybe I should have used a seasonal allusion – ok, like the heart rate of a fat man reaching for the last slice of mincemeat pie on the buffet table on Christmas Eve.
Well, enough of that. We’ve got things to write about today. (Yes, that is a photo of our staff impersonator, Inky, the Cocker Laureate of Texas, giving us his impression of the fat man in his life walking into a family Christmas gathering and spotting a big ol’ steaming platter of Mom’s Maids-a-Milkin’ Meatloaf with Swans-a-swimmin’ gravy and Lords-a-leapin’ Mashed Potatoes. Dessert? Mincemeatless pie.)
Like the diet elves say when Santa lingers over the milk and cookies, “Let’s move on, chubster”:
REMEMBER FRANK? Last week or maybe a month ago – it’s that time of year when everything runs together – Russell Posch, noted shelter walker and photographer for the animals at the Irving Animal Shelter, sent us a story about this dog Frank. (OK, I looked it up. We published it on Dec. 8.)
Frank, broken leg and all, wound up in the Irving Animal Shelter. Today we have this update from Russell who happily reports, “Some kind people using Facebook took up a collection to have Frank's leg surgically repaired (prior to any commitment from rescue or an adopter).  The surgery was successfully performed and Frank returned to the shelter.  Yesterday Frank was finally adopted!  He has gone to his new home.  It couldn't happen to a more deserving dog.”
This is a good story from the SPCA of Texas.  But when I saw that subject line my mind was mired in pessimism  I thought two things: (1) Oh, my, Some drug dealer has had to surrender a big cat to the cops or (2) a new tiger has been dumped at  the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary at Boyd, north of Fort Worth (You can “adopt” tigers there, you know).
While I have no doubt that there are criminal clowns who have tigers as “pets,” and while I also know that the sanctuary can always use some financial help, this is a more upbeat and genuinely joyous  reference to a tiger of a different stripe. You probably guessed that already from the photo of Nina Koskiewicz and her new pal Tiger.
We got the photo from the SPCA of Texas – Tiger was adopted via the SPCA’ Adoption Pavilion at NorthPark shopping center. 
You know what they say, if you need a match made in Heaven, shop at NorthPark. Well, they don’t say that, but I’ll be happy to sell that line to NorthPark for a modest amount of gasoline money.
Still, every year from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve the SPCA of Texas sets up an adoption booth at the busy shopping center. This year, the Koskiewicz family – they’ve had SPCA dogs for 11 years – stopped by to get a pup for Nina who’d told them that she wanted one for Christmas.
Nina and Tiger are not the only adoption success story from the NorthPark site this season.
The SPCA’s Lacy Ball did some checking for us and reports that as of the start of adoptions on Monday morning, there’d been 219 animals – dogs and cats – adopted at the NorthPark center, which is, until after Christmas, handling adoptions for both the SPCA Dallas and McKinney offices.
You can read more about the SPCA’s efforts at www.spca.org and (after you finish reading today’s report on Readlarrypowell.com, you can spend some time reading about NorthPark adoptions by clicking HERE. They call these “love stories.”)
FOR YOUR CALENDAR: Oh, and if you don’t have a calendar to write this on, you can get one from the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake.
What you may want to put on your calendar is the 1 p.m. January 8 groundbreaking for the new shelter for the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake. It’s going to be at 10200 Country Road 2403 in Tool.
According to a note from Krista Mc Anally, the shelter manager, this “Raising the Woof” groundbreaking is the first step for Phase 1 of the three-part shelter plan. She writes that “this is the first step in fulfilling a brighter, healthier environment for the homeless pets in our care.”
You can offer to help the shelter and its animals by calling 903-432-3422 or e-mailing [email protected]. You can also donate at www.hsccl.org.
CONTEMPLATIONS:  We finally have a photograph that adequately demonstrates the concept of “contemplations.” Now these are some dogs who were waiting for Santa at a recent photo fundraiser on behalf of Straydog Inc. at the East Plano PetsMart. These dogs are, from left, Nick, Jack, Della and Chessie and their human told me to just focus on the dogs and not the people in this way: “Just show the lookers in this family.” Well, these lookers do seem to be contemplating a number of things including whether the oft-repeated phrase “good dog” is enough to get on Santa’s “nice” list. One or two of them may be contemplating “Antlers? Antlers? Where are my papers? I don’t remember a reindeer grandpa...”  ...  True or false: Nothing wrecks a day at a desk like a computer problem? Or, nothing wrecks a day at a desk like knocking over a cup of hot coffee onto critical paperwork? Yes, things are still "iffy" when I hit a button on this machine. ...  Are people holly jolly this season? Have you noticed that some places that once decorated magnificently aren’t this season (How about that little village on the road from Lewisville to Flower Mound?) Last night I was in a big bookstore (not Barnes & Noble) and if the clientele hadn’t been wearing Christmas gear, you’d have never known there was season for greetings. Some stores I’ve been in have bothered to sling up a little plastic greenery, but that’s about it. I’m growing concerned: Is the world less Christmassy this season? I can’t end this on a “down note.” When I was at Town Beast Mall yesterday I managed to score the intended gift for a grandchild. I was sweating it for a while. I can’t tell you what it is, of course, (under the theory that the kid will click onto this website). But if all works out, perhaps we’ll have a photograph. In the meantime, we’re going to do one more report this week and then take a couple of days off. Wrapping. That’s the next big challenge. Inky helps me hold things in place, but when he tries to work the tape dispenser, well, I have had to cut a cocker spaniel out of a ball of tape before. He says he wants thumbs for Christmas.
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