A FRIDAY POTPOURRI: ASSORTED CHALLENGES & A DOG-SENSITIVE OLYMPIC CONTEMPLATION

EDITION OF FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2018 (PetPowellPress) We’re at the end of the traditional work week -- amazingly. And today we’ll feature animals and people. It’s that kind of world. We’re reminded by news reports that the words “peril” and “fragility of life” apply not just to animals. We’ll even have an odd Olympics contemplation. Read on.

A CAT WITH A MONIKER AND A HALF
The email we got from Richardson-based Take Me Home Pet Rescue declared that this guy is the Cat of the Week. And here’s that name: King Tucker Stuppenheim III.
The TMHPR people describe this short-coated, neutered fellow to be “one cool cat” and because of that the volunteers came up with the name. (Go HERE to see about adopting him.) According to his bio, “King Tucker was rescued from a rural shelter where he was an Animal Care Officer favorite.  His fabulous personality truly gave him the extra time needed for TMHPR to find a foster and bring him into rescue.” Get the adoption application at tmhpr.com/adopt for this 10-pound cat who was born January 24, 2017.
Oh, yeah, he photographs nicely -- so you can snap your new cat, King Tucker Stuppenheim III, with your cell phone and use the photos to ignite conversations about the joy of being owned by a royal cat.

TRYING TO HELP A DOG

From Paris, Texas, northeast of Dallas, comes an appeal from Heidi Vorron on behalf of a dog she loves. FYI: We got this tip from Laura Macias who is still spending her rescue time trying to help get animals out of the Red Oak and Wilmer animal shelters. (Hint, hint: cat_girl_71@yahoo.com, call or text 214-949-2726.)

Back to this Border Collie mix in Paris, a dog rescued from a shelter. Heidi writes that the 5-year-old is spayed and “such a snuggler and lover, but she’s very jealous of others getting attention from her people when she’s near and this includes our 2 year old son who she has snapped at multiple times. He is OK with dogs and is best friends with our Boxer mix, so it’s not an issue of teaching him to be good with dogs. We can’t keep her in our home as the aggression towards him escalates. I have made attempts to re-home her to a home with no small kids (fine with my 12, 14, and 16 year olds) but people keep opting for puppies. I live in Paris Tx and I’m willing to travel a bit to make sure she’s not euthanized.”
Email heidi.vorron@hotmail.com.

MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE

Judi Brown continually comes up with photos and descriptions of amazingly adorable and adoptable animals in the Mesquite Animal Shelter .
Consider this pair -- Biscuit and Stubby. 
They’re pals. Biscuit, a 3-year-old tricolor Border Collie was surrendered with her pal Stubby. The two are bonded. and, Judi writes, “Stubby appears to comfort Biscuit.”
 Biscuit “loves to have her ears scratched” -- pretty sure that means by a human, though Stubby may have the gift.
For these two and any other Mesquite dogs, call 971-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
Other Mesquite dogs? A bunch are available. 
Try this guy Benny, a 4-year-old mixed breed “surrendered on February 5 because his owners were moving.”
Judi says Benny is “very timid. The shelter environment and his change in lifestyle is overwhelming to him. ...His previous owners said that he really likes cuddling.” Well, of course, if nobody adopts him or rescues him, Benny, now #37773288) will die in need of cuddling that he once accepted in exchange for being the loyal dog in the household.
Ain’t that a swell legacy for humans.

COULD THERE BE?
A new tethering law coming to a Dallas suburb? Stay tuned. Dallas’ new tethering law went into effect on February 1. And that’s a sign that there’s a potential wave of good sense sweeping Texas. Could it be that this new attitude will influence a change in philosophies in other cities. 
Is it needed? 
Clearly. About two weeks ago, a dog was found dead, apparently choked by its tether, in a backyard in Abilene. Here’s THAT STORY. Yeah, that’s not Dallas, but we don’t know how many of those Dowdy Ferry Road dumped dogs were choked by their tether, either.
There are instances of dogs staked out in Dallas’ lousy weather -- until February 1, there wasn’t a way to get these animals some protection and their humans some time in the Graybar Hotel -- oh, wait, there’s no jail time, just a fine up to $500. Well, too bad.
 And, you know. tethering a big ol’ dawg is not just a matter of convenience in Big D. Years and years ago I learned the practicality of tethering from the great Angie Manriquez, the Fairy Dogmother of Dallas who inspired the founding of Angie’s Friends. Angie had been using her determination and spirit to save dogs in West Dallas for years -- and a lot of those dogs were big ol’ dogs tethered to trees and stakes and used as living alarms. Why? Because they barked madly whenever anyone approached the drug house they were “tethered” to by the dealers. 
Not everybody who tethers a dog in Dallas is in the drug trade; sometimes they’re just stupid. Here’s a link to the new TETHERING LAW IN DALLAS.

CONTEMPLATION,


OR WHY I MAY NOT WATCH THE OLYMPICS:

I don’t know if I can live up to my vow not to watch the Winter Games. I’m all for the American team -- I hope they all do well. But the South Korean attitude toward dogs ... well, it’s wrong. [LARRY EXPLANA- TORY ASIDE: It was at this point as I was typing that attitude sentence, that my wonderful companion, Porche Noel, woke from a nap to look askance at me and to ask what I was doing about this horrible situation.  I said, “Not watching the Olympics.” “Yeah, that oughta do the trick,” Porche replied. “One nearly destitute Texas dog and cat writer switching off the Olympics to watch reruns of Matlock and Diagnosis Murder. Why don’t you start a movement? Or are you too from the ‘60s to remember when national opinions could make a difference?” She is so wise. Free dog in Dallas, you know.]
FYI: Humane Society International has been working to change nations’ treatment of dogs in these matters. [LARRY NOTE: You should Google it -- the stories are too distressing to take you right to them with a link.]
If you love horses, there’s some irony in this dog report coming from Agence France-Press, the nation of chevaline on a platter. As a vegetarian and a bit of a peacenik, I’m against consuming dogs, horses, cows, deer, chickens, fish, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigs, snakes, alligators and whatever other living animals show up on a dinner table or a menu. I’m also against hunting and won’t spend money at a fast-food restaurant whose top dog is a big game hunter. That all sounds silly to mainstream Americans who slam down charred dead flesh with each meal. 
I, too, was once a carnivore. But, then, I realized lives are not ours to take. And that changed everything in my heart. Bless the beasts.
Here’s the French dog story referenced above -- one of many online about this despicable situation: Click HERE.
I grew up as a Southern Baptist Child in Northeast Texas. We ate a lot of fried chicken. A lot. When I told my son Bart that I’d become a vegetarian (about a quarter-century ago), he mentioned my legacy and said, “Don’t worry, Dad, there are plenty of East Texas chicken farms that will remember you.”
 I hope they remember first that I don't eat chicken. I find more peace in peas, spinach, salads, fruits and vegetables. And, as I’ve mentioned before, my favorite vegetable dish is a hot biscuit. 

So, in the national Olympics spirit, “USA. USA. USA.” Be safe and score well at the Olympics.
 And peace now -- put bad people in jail and keep ‘em there. Persuade nations to treasure the planet and its inhabitants. Don’t go nuts, go smart. Eat more vegetables. Chew with peace for all we are saying is give peas a chance. Apologies to John Lennon and "Save the Dogs in South Korea!" For crying out loud.
--- To comment, grip your VeggieMouse and click peacefully below. ---