EDITION OF MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017 (PetPowellPress) -- Over the weekend, as I worked on assorted projects, I spent a lot of time with our dogs. It occurs to me there are five easy ways to make your dog happy.
(Yes, that's a cat. Keep reading.]
1. Come through the door.
2. Offer an unexpected treat -- something you’re having. Or, especially, something you wouldn’t eat on a bet.
3. Pet your dog. Simple, but effective.
4. Sit in the same chair or couch with your dog. They’ll make room or get out, then jump back in on top of you. I’m assuming you have more than one dog. Generally, you don’t have to lift -- a dog will find a way. The cat? Ours maintain lap domain and will enjoy being joined by a happy, cautious dog. Or the cat will change humans by moving to the next chair.
5. When you go outside to mow the lawn and pull hundreds of yards of stubborn ivy out of the soon-to-be front-yard pumpkin patch, leave your dog inside. No dog who lives in air-conditioning in Dallas wants to go outside when the “comfort index” is beyond 100.
Let them watch you through the window. They love a sweaty human. They show it when -- we’re back to #1 -- you come through the door.
[These photos? A cat, The Senator, waiting for a lap. Then, a dog who took the couch spot when the cat found a lap. Same dog, Wendy (Wednesday Louise Wagstaff Arden, myMusespouse Martha named her) in the lap she found -- belongs to a graybeard (visible in upper area) who sees the arrival of a dog or cat as a tribute to friendship.]
TUESDAY: PAWS IN THE PLAZA
Animals in the frequently maligned southern sector of Dallas ay benefit from the Paws In The Plaza event (3:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m.) Tuesday at American Airlines Center. According to the news release from the SPCA of Texas, “The goal is to collect 35,000 leashes and collars for the SPCA of Texas' Community Pet Program which provides another layer of support to the people and their pets of Southern Dallas, helping keep pets in homes, off the streets and out of shelters. Chewy.com has kicked off this donation drive by generously contributing 400 leashes and collars.”
There’ll be $25 dog and cat adoptions.
[LARRY ALSO: SPCA says you’ll get to meet Dustin Kross from the radio station currently marketed as “The new Hot 93.3.” It’s licensed to Haltom City but broadcasts from Victory Park via a transmitter in West Dallas. And trying to track the family tree of an FM radio station in North Texas is like trying to track the DNA of an alley cat. It’ll take a while.]
PONCHO NEEDS A HOME
The note about this noble animal comes from longtime critter advocate Debra Myers. She writes:
“This is beautiful Poncho! His family is moving to an apartment, so Poncho needs a new home. Poncho is about 3 years old and does well with people and other dogs. I cannot tell you how beautiful Poncho is...he has a solid black, wavy coat and white paws with a splash of white on his chest...so very handsome. His family is extremely poor. I don't even believe they are buying dog food. They are feeding him human food scraps. I've got to find a better place for him soon. Poor Poncho has never been to the vet, but I will sponsor his vetting if someone is able to help him.”
Get in touch with Debra at [email protected].
TWO CATS, BAD LUCK AND FATE
Our reliable tipster Karen Lee, the advocate who embraces critters and the Trinity GAP Rescue, is trying to help these two cats, Sam and Garfield (we’ve written about them before) find a place that’ll save them from what seems like certain misery.
Karen write about their human: “Mary’s run of bad luck just keeps going She has finally gotten a part time job at Walmart but is barely getting by. Her husband is disabled and is doing poorly. Last night her refrigerator went out, spoiling all the food she had gotten from the food bank. Her TV is about to go out She has several senior dogs that are on insulin.....well it just goes on and on. She is trying to sell some of her personal items like clothes and a camera but no luck so far. I have been helping her out with what I can, but am wondering if anyone might have a small box refrigerator they could donate to her--and maybe an old TV. Her dogs are on prescription dog food that she purchases from PetsMart so a gift card would be very much appreciated. I have offered any vet services her pets might need thru my Barkleyworld Rescue but so far they are doing OK---if you can help with anything, please let me know ([email protected] ) or contact Mary directly at [email protected].”
We’d be remiss if we did not point out that Trinity GAP Rescue and its partner in rescue Euless Animal services are enduring “full-to-overflowing” status in dogs and cats. (Go to trinitygaprescue.org to see some available animals. You can also volunteer to foster -- email [email protected] to ask how to help.)
Among the available darlings are Kamri (#17355), that dog with the great face -- like it was created by a particularly soulful circus clown. The profile reads that she has “a face that belongs in the movies. She definitely will steal you heart. She loves her new stuffed blue toy, and we think this baby may never have had a toy before! Kamri appears to be a year old Anatolian Shepherd/cattle dog mix. How she
ended up as a stray in the Euless shelter is a mystery, but someone has lost a great girl.”
That kitten is Nora -- one of the GAP foster cats who may have been reading my old Latin II textbook in which we learned from the Romans that the high ground is the best vantage point for plotting your approach, whether your winning a battle or winning a heart. See them all at trinitygaprescue.org.
A BURNS FLAT KITTEN REPORT
We’re using this photo because it gives only a hint of the hideous damage to this tiny kitten’s eye. Terry Lynn Fisher in Burns Flat, out in Western Oklahoma, took this kitten in and found a vet in Altus, about an hour south of her, who would care for the baby. She reported Sunday that “last night, a Tech took him home (it is a little boy) to feed and care for him..The vet would like him to gain a little strength before surgery [to remove the eye]... He is on antibiotics and pain meds to help keep him comfortable. He is being fed every couple hours. This morning he is doing well. He is slowly gaining his strength back and we are hoping to have his eye removed early next week. I am so pleased with the care he is giving.This little boy deserved a chance and because of wonderful caring people, he is getting it.”
Get in touch with Terry Lynn at [email protected] or get in touch with the vet to donate directly at Western Prairie veterinary Hospital, 311 E. Tamarack, Altus, OK, 73521. Call the vet at 580-482-1738.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Perhaps the Dallas Zoo’s latest baby Giraffe, Tsavo, will grow up to be celebrated and cherished. She’s named for Tsavo National Park in Kenya. That’s where you find Masai Giraffes, the tallest species, research suggests. Whenever there’s a celebration for this Zoo-born Giraffe, we have some suggestions for people who should not be invited: The "big game" hunters who aim at Giraffes, including those American children being taught to kill the wonders of nature. ... Understand big game hunting? No. Pick up a camera and not a gun. ... Groceries? Oh, my, a change in American society? Jeff Crilley, the founder and president of Real News PR, tipped us to this story in The New York Times. It begins, “Shares of Walmart, Target, Kroger and Costco, the largest grocery retailers, all tumbled on Friday. And no wonder. Grocery stores have spent the last several years fighting against online and overseas entrants. But now, with its $13.4 billion purchase of Whole Foods, Amazon has effectively started a supermarket war.” Holy smoke, maybe Amazon will figure out a way to save newspapers -- oh, wait, too late. Everything in print has to be mobile friendly, not front-porch or puppy training friendly. It is the 21st Century and anyone who read Robert Heinlein or comic books in the 1950s should have seen this coming.
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