CATS, DOGS, CURIOSITIES -- IT'S A WORLD WITH CHALLENGES

EDITION OF TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017 (PetPowellPress) -- There are big crises and there are little crises in the world. Who knows how to sort them out every day? 
Seriously, one of you Dear Readers surely has way to solve the simple problems of life? Lawnmower repair, for example. A drip from the sink faucet.
Why is this cat's photo here? Because when I was looking for cats to highlight in this edition I went to spca.org to see what those folks have been up to and found, as you can see, a cat named -- not kidding -- John Cougar Mellencat. How funny is that? Beats the heck out of lawnmower repair or plumbing left in the hands of an ungifted repairman who types for a living!
LARRY TIME OUT. FYI: We may interrupt the chain of stories for a comment or lament or daydream. So, LET’S TALK ANIMALS FOR A MINUTE....

HELPING WITH THE SURGERY
We got a note from Sydney Busch, the longtime spokesperson for Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake. It reads, “Thanks to all the hard work at the big gala fundraiser last spring AND to Rob Rae at Rita's Club Foundation, the clinic has resources for help with surgery costs for cats and for dogs over 25 lbs.”
 The “clinic” is that facility run by the Friends -- it is, as you all know, the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas. 
Example? That photo is from a year ago of some of the patients being cared for at the clinic after surgery -- they were referred to in the caption as little “burritos.” And doesn’t that fit!
At the clinic, after the surgery is paid for by the fundraiser money, the pet’s human “will be responsible for all the non-surgery, non-optional costs (flea pill, rabies shot, etc.). 
You can get vouchers for this at Family Resource Center in Gun Barrel City in person 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday; at Christian Life Center Food Pantry in Gun Barrel City 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday or Thursday; Athens Food Pantry, 715 E. Corsicana in Athens, 9 a.m-noon Monday-Friday; and Community Food Pantry at CCL Methodist Church in Tool, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Keep up with the Friends of the Animals and donate, offer help, volunteer, etc., at www.friendsoftheanimals.org.
LARRY TIME OUT: As someone who has encountered the Dallas Deluge of feral kittens in springtime and autumn, we’d just like to say to everyone who leaves their roaming cats unfixed, I’d like to whip your stupid.....AND NOW WE QUICKLY RETURN to our Tuesday report...
THREE COWTOWN DOGS NEED HOMES 

As the final full week of October arrived, we got a note from the great animal advocate Karen Lee of Barkleyworld.com. She got the appeal from Gayla Geist, “Foster Mom and Volunteer, Shelter2Rescue.”
 As you can see, two of these dogs are well-behaved pumpkin fans, but that third one appears to be the dog most likely to TP a neighbor’s yard. 
They’re 4 months old and are Dachshund mixes. Gayla’s note reads, “The mom is a black & Tan Doxie mix, father unknown. There are 2 girls (Peaches & Berry) and 1 boy (Dale). The smallest is Peaches is 5 lbs, the largest puppy is the boy, Dale who is 8 lbs. They have been dewormed.They are super social and live with a family with 2 small children. They are getting the mother spayed via TCAP.” The contact point is [email protected].
LARRY TIME OUT: Something in progress? We got a note from Terry Lynn Fisher in Burns Flat, Okla., that she’s making a 100-mile roundtrip Monday evening to pick up a young dog who had a broken leg, the people got one cast put on the puppy, then ignored him and now the dog’s leg has outgrown the cast and is rancid and they dumped him into a stranger’s yard. More later on this story. In the meantime, offer to help at [email protected]. Photos to come. I’d like to take a board to the SO...AND NOW WE RETURN TO OUR DAILY REPORT BEFORE I ERUPT INTO UNPLEASANT ‘FRENCH.’

DENTON’S DAZZLING DOZEN
Rudolph is an Earhound in the Denton McNatt Animal Shelter, one of a dozen on the clock. (Bless his heart, that slightly askew "mask" makes him look like the Lone Ranger after a bad night at the town saloon.) Amy Poskey, the volunteer shelter monitor, sent a note with photos of a dozen dogs and asked, “Remember these love sponges?,” then explained, “Well, they are STILL alive, STILL waiting for love, and some are STILL considered URGENT but have been given a reprieve cuz the shelter has had lots of adoptions recently.  HOWEVER, I have no idea how much longer these babies have ... If anyone can save any of these love sponges, please contact me ([email protected]) or [email protected], paul.o’[email protected], [email protected], and/or [email protected].” The shelter number is 940-349-7594.
See Amy’s complete note with all the photos and all the biographies by clicking HERE.

We picked Mrs. Doubtfire to feature, too, and we have a really good reason. She’s a rebounder. She under 8 and, Amy says, a “Pittie mix who was adopted a while back, found as a stray AGAIN, but wasn’t reclaimed this time. Through the years, the shelter staff have become acquainted with Mrs. Doubtfire cuz she has been at the shelter several times and she is now looking a little older and more gray!”
LARRY TIME OUT: OK, I fell for it. I bought a pack of the Mystery Oreos to try to decide what flavor the cookie company is trying out. My best guess? The taste of that canned kitten milk you give to ferals after their mom dumps them. Any other guesses?  Any other guesses? I tested about 20 of them before I decided I couldn't guess the flavor. Never met an Oreo flavor I didn't like.
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE
Two dogs from a “hoarding situation” have been waiting at the Mesquite Animal Shelter (along with many others) for nearly a month. They’ve all been highlighted in emails from Judi Brown, our tipster on the canine waiting list at Mesquite. 
Among the dogs were two who had been together a while. On the right, 
Dakota (36654291) is that 2-year-old, 34-pound mixed breed who, Judi wrote, “was surrendered because the owner had too many dogs. They were outside dogs. Judging from the facial scarring, Dakota and Rabbit were frequently on the losing end of their fighting. Dakota has also recently had puppies. On top of that her ribs are showing! She’s timid but will certainly open up in a loving situation where she feels comfortable. You can tell by looking at her sweet face and soft eyes that she’s a good girl!”

Rabbit (36654570) is a year old and timid, as you can tell from that photo. Also, she’s a little bit beat up from the experience!
To tag these dogs or maybe even adopt them (what are the chances!), here are the contact points: 972–216-6283 or email [email protected]. Mention the ID numbers.
CONTEMPLATIONS: Halloween is coming. So let’s have a candy question: What hooked you on chocolate? Hershey Bar, Hershey Kisses or some other product that may have been advertised on TV but was not available in Texas at Halloween in the 1950s, ‘60s or ‘70s? Got to be someone from the West Coast in our readership who can name something we semi-rural Texas viewers never heard of this side of the Rockies. Remember TV when all you got was three channels and news from the East Coast? ... You’re an old goblin if the earliest cool Halloween costume you remember is Zorro -- back when you could carry a sword to the school Halloween Carnival and everybody trusted you to not whip it out and slice open a pumpkin or another kid! We were less nuts in those days. And Zorro wasn’t just a Disney TV show, he was a comic book, too! ... Here’s what is unfair in life: Archaeologists recently found human teeth they claim are 9.7 million years old and in perfect condition. I am not 9.7 million years old and, yet, my teeth are a profit center for an entire team of dentists. Sometimes I get the feeling that even though I didn’t put my kids through college, I may be helping someone else’s kids get degrees. In honor of those ancient teeth, we’ll call on Barry Manilow to remind us of what the incisors said to the canines HERE.

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