EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016 (PetPowellPress) -- Here’s the thing about my native state (born in Bowie County, God bless Texas), some of the prevailing attitudes include these: You can’t have enough guns, but you can have too many cats.
And one is too many for some people. But there may be twist in this case of Browser White.
The irony is the latest flap over one cat too many has to do with a library cat -- I go to libraries. I can’t recall the last time I saw a city council member in a public library unless it was hosting a political event with free votes or a social affair with free cake.
Never been to the White Settlement library on the western edge of Fort Worth, the town that encourages cows to form herds and parade through tourist areas.
But, this cat story has nothing to do with tourism. This has to do with the White Settlement City Council and the town library cat, Browser White. That’s Browser’s pro-literacy Facebook photo. [LARRY ASIDE: In Dallas, Mayor Mike Rawlings sponsors a summer reading program. I think the program has been around since Ron Kirk was mayor. It's a program I can support in Dallas -- if you can't fill the potholes in the streets, fill the potholes in the brains.]
Maybe White Settlement is afraid that gangs of roving cats are going to trap people, drag ‘em to the library and force them to read. The horror. The horror.
That brings us to a note we got from a veteran reader of our site, Outside-of-the-Settlement Observer & Catfan Sarah Hays who wrote, “So, White Settlement’s Council is too lazy to show up in full for a vote to render homeless the library cat, Browser? Shame on these humans.”
It may exquisitely shameful. The great United Press International, the news-gathering organization, reported it this way:
“WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas, June 27 (UPI) -- A Texas city council voted to evict the local library's resident cat after six years in a move the mayor described as retribution for a dog-loving city worker.”
Yes, the UPI story HERE reports that unpleased Mayor Ron White says the case will be re-discussed by the council on July 12. So, maybe, Browser won’t have to leave the home he’s had for six years.
[LARRY ASIDE: Almost certain this Ron White is not the comic Ron "Tater Salad" White. Dallas has a main library downtown and many branch libraries, and none of them have official library cats. Dallas has a zoo, but it does not have an exhibit of the rare Felis Literarius Catus. The city does have an inadvertent Felis Catus breeding program, however -- it's part of Dallas' vigoriously celebrated annual Puppy & Kitten Season.]
LOVE YOUR ANIMALS? A REMINDER
July 4 is coming up and there are things to remember: The weather is going to be to hot for animals in or out of cars and the noise is going to be frightening for dogs and cats. So, protect your animals by keeping them nice and cool inside away from pickleheads who think tossing firecrackers at dogs and cats is fun. The organized fireworks shows are no place to take animals, either. So, don’t bring a dog to a fireworks show. The penalty is eternal damnation, I’ve heard.
MOMMA AND THE PUPS
Well, holy smokin’ heart-free zone of Texas, nobody wants these animals? Look at this. Mom and her pups, still no help in Denton.
The hustling Amy Poskey, always trying to get Denton shelter animals to safety, writes, “I have to try again for this little family and I have attached a couple of extra pics of precious momma. Just look at those pleading eyes begging for love! She is such a sweet girl and has been such a good momma! Again, we have $200 in donations to the reputable rescue who takes this sweet little family! Can anyone make room?”
The story Amy sent reads, “Fruity Tootie ... is extremely thin and doesn’t seem to be gaining any weight. Poor baby came to the shelter as a stray so she wasn’t getting the nutrition she so desperately needed for herself and her pups while on the street. She is completely drained of what little nutrients she had while feeding her babies and now she is wanting to eat the food being given to her pups.
The shelter’s crowded and, thus, the staff is short-handed and, Amy’s note reads, “Momma is only being fed once a day and she should be receiving additional meals to help her gain weight and get her strength back. The puppies are covered in pee and poop so the volunteers are doing their best to bathe them when they can but they aren’t there every day.”
These pups are in the McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center, 3717 N. Elm St, in Denton. Call 940-349-7594. Email [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and/or [email protected].
HELLO, HOPKINS COUNTY
There it is, Hopkins County, Texas, on either side of I-30 northeast of Dallas about an hour and 20 minutes or so if you don’t get pulled over for speeding in neighboring Hunt County. [LARRY ASIDE: Voice of experience.]
The SPCA of Texas has been developing a dynamic relationship lately with Northeast Texas law enforcement authorities -- animal cruelty is the reason.
This time, on Tuesday, the SPCA and the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office seized 8 dogs, 5 puppies, a quarter horse and a pony at Como, Texas, after getting a tip/complaint from neighbors.
The property was abandoned and the animals left behind.
They’re all in lousy shape and the SPCA is about to spend a bunch of money in getting these animals into adoptable shape. You can see photos other than these by going to a Dropbox site HERE.
Here’s an important paragraph from the SPCA’s news release: “Criminal charges may be pending under the authority of the Hopkins County Sheriff's Office. A court date is set for July 7, 2016 ,at 11 a.m.”
As usual, the SPCA will attempt to rehab and make social all these animals so they can become available for adoption. This isn’t cheap and the SPCA and always use money to replenish the medical fund. Go to spca.org to see how to donate and adopt.
[LARRY ASIDE: Take a look at that chain on that dog. What kind of jerk puts a chain like that on a dog? Good grief. And, of course, we want to encourage the Hopkins County prosecutor who draws this case to use all legal skills to get justice for the animals. Publicize the case. Let it be known throughout Texas that Hopkins County is serious about animal issues.]
CONTEMPLATIONS: Let’s just contemplate library cats.
Here’s a link to another Library Cat named Browser B. Katz. This Browser is in Pine River, Minn.
There’s a famous Spencer, Iowa, library cat named Dewey known as “The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.” Inspired a book -- read about Dewey HERE. (Yep, after the Dewey Decimal System.)
And then, of course, there is the famous Tri County Library Cat in Mabank, Whisper. That's Whisper's photo. And if you go HERE you can see the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake photo of the day the library presented young Halle Buttram with a copy of the Dewey book, the prize for naming the Tri County Library Cat.
And, you can google “Library Cats” and discover how many organizations and library cats there are around the world.
FYI, this black cat is in the hands of the West Side Animal League on the White Settlement side of Fort Worth. His story is posted on the WSAL Facebook page HERE and it says he’s a former WSAL adoptee-- three years later he winds up as a stray in the Denton animal shelter and is unclaimed. WSAL has been unable to contact the adopters, so the cat is back on the “adorable adoptables” list. He’s “friendly, loves dogs and likes to relax with you.” To foster or adopt, email [email protected].
Contemplate all of these cats. Contemplate all the city councils you’ve known. Ask: Who would you rather spend time with at a public library? I’m just kidding some council members that I have known and covered as a reporter. Just kidding some of them. The others? Well, probably not going to catch ‘em purring in the “Government: State, County, Municipal” aisle.
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