ONE STRANGE THURSDAY & SOME YULETIDE NOTES WHILE DALLAS WAS AHEAD...

EDITION OF FRIDAY, LAST DAY OF NOVEMBER 2018 [PetPowellPress] What a wonderful summer day we enjoyed Thursday and not only that, we bought gasoline for under $2 for the first time in…well, I can’t remember the last time I paid less than two bucks for a gallon of gas. Hang on. … Oh, Porche Noel is about 9 and she says she’s never seen the gas price this low. Of course, she gave up her driver’s license when she acquired a chauffeur with a credit card. Now, let’s move on and try to save some other animals just as zany street dog Porche Noel was saved at Christmas all those years ago. When I see the dog sweetly napping in the glow of Christmas lights, it makes me feel like this really is the Season of Miracles. So, the miracle I’d like to see is the opening of the hearts in Texas and shelters and rescue groups finding grateful adoptors who will set the nationwide trend for goodness. Cue the Hallelujah Chorus.
NEEDING MIRACLES
IN LITTLE WILMER
It’s not a big town, maybe around 4,300 these days, but Wilmer has a big opportunity to save some animals. Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden and a few supporters have been trying to hustle animals to safety from the Wilmer Shelter’s isolation for a while now. The big enemy is low human traffic.
As the latest note, directed to rescue groups, reads, “It is not a shelter where people come in to adopt, there are no walk-in's.  Everything that comes in dies, unless someone can help that is with a rescue group.
This is a very safe shelter to pull from - dogs have very low exposure to other dogs due to it being so small, and the dogs and puppies just don't have some of the diseases you see coming out of the larger shelters. It's a great shelter to help save a VERY DESERVING puppy or dog.”

That big boy in the first picture is Boomerang. The puppies in the background are designed for rescue- only, the note reads. The big dog was originally called Daddy but “since he would leave but always come back”, the person who found him changed his name to Boomerang.
The deal is, he’s got some kind of ugly growth on his neck and he needs a vet to take a look at it.
Of course, we’ve mentioned this guy Barkley before. He’s a Lab/Pointer mix, they say. And, “He adores people, other dogs, absolutely everyone.  He has received first set of vaccs and was heartworm tested (healthy! YAY)  … He is such a sweet lovable boy and he would be such a great addition to any family.”
The third pup is Autumn, a female Pharaoh Hound Mix. The bio reads, “Really beautiful dog.  This sweet precious girl was picked up by the Dallas County officers just off the freeway close to where the the Dallas Dept of Health and Human Services office is ... She is just the sweetest thing - does great with other dogs including a German Shepherd that is at the shelter.  She is such a sweet girl.”
To help with any of these or any other animal in the Wilmer shelter, get in touch with Laura by call or texting 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
THE CHALLENGES
OF BURNS FLAT, OKLA.
Most people reading this are in a big metropolitan sprawl. There are options. Options. 
In Burns Flat, Okla., Terry Lynn Fisher IS the option. Lately the responsibility of living up to her mission of protecting the animals is a wearying experience. But she keeps going. Here’s what she wrote earlier this week: “It never ends.... They just keep getting thrown out like the trash... Sweet, innocent lives, that someone just felt didn't deserve to live... But we don't feel that way.... we feel they ALL deserve a chance…. So, here I am... Posting for help... they need fosters... rescues... a safe and loving place to go…”
These are the dogs she’s working with now. Terry Lynn wrote:
“1. CANUTE … This boy showed up at a country home Thanksgiving day... We have searched for the owner, but are pretty sure it was dumped there. He is very friendly and loves children. The people are elderly and just cannot take it on....
“2. ELK BOY... dumped at the Elk City Lake, this poor boy was skin and bones...  This is a place so many are thrown out at... it is where my precious old Chi was found.... This one was picked up and the guy took home to feed. He is gone to work a lot so he said he ca not keep him. I now have him in boarding for awhile as I search for rescue....
“3. FOSS, FEMALE...This cutie was also dumped… She ended up at a small business that is located in the middle of nowhere... At first, she would not come to them. She is now coming and eating from their hands and lets them love her... She stays out there, which worries me, for there are many coyotes. She is only about 25 pounds…
4. LITTLE CHI… This girl is a sweet one. The people found her while driving home out in the country. They brought her home, trying to find owners, but had no luck. They would like to find her a good home or rescue... she is good with dogs, cats and kids.”

To help with any of these or any of the many other animals Terry Lynn is protecting email her at remembering_oddball@yahoo.com.

A DOG SAVED JUST BEFORE
THE NEEDLE WAS READIED
Sydney Busch, who usually serves as the “voice” of Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake, also has a knack for encountering the stories of animals that need some help. This is Grant.
 The story is Grant “was saved from being euthanized about 6 weeks ago. He is about a year old, neutered, all shots current, heart worm negative. He knows sit, stay, down and will walk on a leash. Christy can’t keep him, she already has 6 dogs.  Her phone number is 713-446-3053. She would be willing to do a trial visit, she just wants a good home for him.”
  And to see how to help the Friends with their mission of operating the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas, go to the website HERE or go to the facebook page HERE.
CONTEMPLATIONS
THE COWBOYS, GASOLINE, AND
A MARY DUNKLIN CHRISTMAS NOTE
This is being written as the Cowboys are leading the New Orleans Saints 13-0. I bought gasoline earlier in the day for under $2 a gallon — apparently anything is possible summer-like Thursday in theJerryworldtroplex. … On Thursday afternoon I was in Duncanville picking up life-enhancing meds from my pals at the Ben Franklin Apothecary and I realized that the office at the north end of that block of Main Street is missing (again this year) a formerly ol’ reliable Santa figure that used to endure the yuletide by waiting next to a box labeled “Letter to Santa.” This was the most un-traditional Santa figure ever displayed in American culture — I’m pretty sure. I mean, geez, look at that photo! Basically, it was kind of Santa Claus in a bee suit. If I’d known it was up for sale, I’d have bought this Santa and proudly displayed him each year. Our neighbors would have been as surprised as they are when I mow the lawn. It’s been years since we had an outdoor decoration. My former PetsittingSpouse Martha wrapped her Range Rover in twinkle lights and parked it in the front yard! That’s some pricey holly jolly. … All this brings me to, perhaps, the greatest one-paragraph description of the season ever written. Our author is the great Mary Dunklin, whose work has been featured here a few times before. This time she wrote an amusing one-paragraph Christmas story. It’s full of a picture of the season. Mary wrote: I never feel more alive than I do the one time a year I go in the attic, pulling out Christmas decorations, fearing for my life, worrying about falling through the ceiling or having a random woodland creature jump out of the boxes at me. Good times.” The woodland creature had me howling. (FYI We wrote about Mary’s animal rescue side a year ago. Read it HERE. And, relax, no woodland creature will jump out at you!)
—- Offer admiration, advice or holiday greetings by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-