ON FRIDAY THE 13TH, FIND LUCKY DOGS 'N' CATS

EDITION OF --HOLY SMOKE WATCHOUT! -- FRIDAY THE 13TH, OCTOBER 2017 (PetPowellPress) -- Here’s a reality: Any day you find a dog or a cat, even on Friday the 13th, it’s a lucky day. Check your local shelters and rescue groups and, when you walk through city parks or drive around, keep your eyes open. Your best friend may be wandering around looking for you.

Our late soulmate, Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas, was a free-roaming dog in Oak Cliff’s Kiest Park. Came running out of the shrubbery to greet me. Became possibly the world’s best Cockerpoet. In the files, we found his tribute to Friday the 13th companionship:

DINING OUT ON FRIDAY THE 13TH

By Inky
Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas

Yo, I cry out, our
Day is quite lucky!
We found one another;
Now feed me -- nothing yucky.
I’m far too sophisticated
To be slopped like a hog,
Remind the maitre d' I’m

Your Digestive Service Dog.

CHESTER’S IN A FIX
We got a tip that’s been circulating for nearly a week that this now homeless cat needs a home. Not his fault. The orange cat Chester, in Richardson, is “homeless due to the death of his owner. He’s very calm, appears to be good with other cats, dogs and kids.”
The 3- or 4-year-old fellow is healthy and available. To ask about giving him a good home, email Nida Colao at [email protected].
[LARRY ASIDE: Orange cats have a certain household majesty. They’re somewhat regal and, it has been our experience, that they are prone to affection.]
CELEBRATING, FOSTERING
& CELEBRATING FOSTERING
That's punctuational word play. Don't blame our source. We got a note from Paws In The City that caught both our eyes. One focused on the fact that it’s still National Pit Bull Awareness Month. The other focused on an appeal for fosters. It read, “Harvey's aftermath will last a long time - and at Paws in the City, we are still seeking foster homes for dogs we rescued from the south Texas coast after the hurricane that left so many people and pets homeless. By opening your home to one of these dogs, you can join the thousands of hurricane heroes!”
That handsome dog is Gage, one of the Pitties rescued from the Harvey zone and currently in the care of Paws In The City. 
Go to pawsinthecity.org to see how you can foster -- or ADOPT!!!, too. But also remember that EVERY rescue group needs fosters. The more fosters they have the more animals they can rescue from natural disasters and municipal shelters afflicted by the worst national disaster of all: idiot, don’t-care humans.
MESQUITE HAS MANY; THESE
ARE TWO AVAILABLE ADORABLES
Judi Brown, the volunteer shelter promoter for Mesquite, is an energetic person who sends notes about many, many dogs every day.
We’ve picked two, but there are more. Mesquite is easy to get to, in case you want to adopt -- every road to Mesquite is paved and ice-free, so hit the road jack and adopt a dog before they warm up the needle.

Judi sent highlights on King, the year-old Pittie mix with green/hazel eyes. During an introductory session, she writes, “Most of the time he stayed close and looked up as if asking what he could do to win you over. He’s real sweet! He’s also relatively calm and very gentle. I would suspect that this change in environment has him somewhat depressed. He isn’t motivated by treats. He sits on command. He walks well on a leash. He went nose to nose with the other dogs in the bay without a problem. He appears to be house trained. He weighs 49 pounds. I’m sure he would blossom outside of the shelter." You’ll need to remember his ID: 36745361
The other dog with the giant nostrils is Hawk, a 2-year-old retriever mix. Judy writes, “He’s not the prettiest or cutest dog, but he is a SHELTER FAV because of his sterling personality. He gives bear hugs, kisses, and tail wags. He sits, so probably in anticipation of a treat. He chases toys and sometimes retrieves them. He walks well on a leash. He appears to be house-trained. He went nose to nose with the other dogs in the baby without a problem. He weighs 47 pounds. He’s an all-around great dog that sadly is being passed over. Take a second to look into his eyes and you will see what I saw. Oh ...BONUS: he’s already FIXED!” He’s ID 36613237. 
Use those ID numbers to properly refer to the dogs when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]. 
[LARRY ASIDE: Hawk and the King. Sounds like the title of a novel about superheroes who run an animal shelter. Should I copyright that? Once upon a time in a mystical city with cowboys and ambitions, there lived two great being, Hawk and the King. Neither wasted time worrying about Lotto Texas....oops, sorry. Got too personal with that last sentence.]


A SATURDAY REMINDER

& SOME CLINIC NEEDS
This is the photo used on the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake Facebook page to remind people that the low-cost vaccinations, microchip & other non-surgical services clinic is from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the famed Friends clinic in Gun Barrel City, Texas. As you may recall, it is the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic in Gun Barrel City, Texas. 
In the meantime, the clinic’s legendary spokesperson, Sydney Busch, has issued an appeal for supplies. She writes, “Hey, gang. Next time you’re at any store, throw a couple of items in your basket for us.”
Here’s the list: isopropyl alcohol (70% is best); hydrogen peroxide; toilet paper; bleach; reams of copy paper.
Sydney says, “These are the things we use the most and we are so appreciative of these (and ALL) donations. They can be dropped off at the clinic any Tuesday between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on the Second Saturday each month between 10 a.m. and noon OR left at Flair Printing across from Dairy Queen in GBC any day of the week 9-5.”

Here’s the Facebook LINK.
CONTEMPLATIONS: You may recall that earlier this week we mentioned the successes at Dallas Animal Services and the fact that in the past year the big shelter still killed more than 8,000 animals. Here’s the artwork (click on it to make it larger) that DAS posted on its Facebook page. And while the advances are admirable, it’s difficult to label killing just 8,000 animals as a success. Of course, that’s not the shelter’s fault -- it’s the fault of the don’t care people and the people who don’t try hard enough to save their own animals and the people who leave gates open and don’t go looking for their dogs or leave unfixed cats outside to roam the neighborhoods, i.e., go forth and multiply. It’s easy to spin the shelter as being a successful operation, but, honestly, when the official stance at Dallas City Hall sticks to the ol’ Texas theory of animal management (“Got an animal problem? Let’s kill it.), euthanizing by the thousands puts a bit of shame on all our heads. Got to figure out a way to stop that madness, don’t you think? This whole region needs a constant, pervasive, unignorable (that a word?)  public relations cammpaign designed to shame, guide, insist and prosecute our free-roaming idiots into being kind ot animals. I'm an optimist -- I still think top signs and speed limits work on the local dimwitted scofflaws. (FYI: The Big Paper Downtown took the more “uplifting” angle on the stats HERE .) ... How about that Russian President Vladimir Putin -- he’s a dogfan! The leader of Turkmenistan has given him a “Turkmen-bred variety” of Central Asian Shepherd. The bred is known as the “Alabai.” Seems like that pronunciation would be a natural for a presidential tweet this side of the world. Putin has named the dog Verny, which translates into English as “Faithful.” Well, you like to think that when a guy loves a dog, there’s hope for the world. Kind of a simpleton’s approach, I’ve just used, but, yeah, I’m a verny guy. ... My spam folder caught an email that had this subject line: “Secret Brain Enhancer the elite use to get rich.” I’m only so gullible. I know that the best way to get rich is to marry an heir to a fortune. That’s why Martha and I are so darned happy -- no unexpected taxable windfall profits. Wait, here’s a way to get rich this weekend: Bet against the Dallas Cowboys -- they’ve got a bye and as they demonstrated against Green Bay, they can lose in ways you just never expect.
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