ON THANKSGIVING, REASONS TO BE GRATEFUL FOR THE LIVES WE HAVE SHARED...

EDITION OF THANKSGIVING, NOVEMBER 22, 2018 [PetPowellPress] For this edition we offer our thanks for our readers and their animals. Yes for our readers and their hearts. For all you tough and tender people who keep working to save more and more animals.
I don’t know if you’ve done much reading about Thanksgiving, but did you know there were dogs and cats on the Mayflower when it arrived late in 1620? (Here’s some reading.The story is by Linda Cole for Canidae Pet Food.)
Two of the dogs were a Mastiff and a Spaniel -- names unknown. Also there was a Calico cat whose presence on the voyage was recorded in a family Bible. And, get this, the cat gave birth soon after it arrive in America. These facts are reported in many stories through the years.
 [LARRY ASIDE: It is important to note, we think, that dogs and cats were already on the continent. The Norsemen may have brought cats on their journeys. Cats were great rat exterminators on ships. And Native Americans had dogs before the Pilgrims arrived.]

A lot of people think the First Thanksgiving was the Pilgrims’ big feast at the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. 
But there was that 1598 event in Texas. You may have read about it. This is from the 1990/91 Texas Almanac -- a Thanksgiving history written by my late colleague at The Dallas Morning News, the Texas Almanac Editor Mike Kingston: “A new Thanksgiving tradition has taken root in Texas. El Paso residents now claim the first Thanksgiving in North America. The modern event, first observed in April 1989, commemorates a day of thanksgiving celebrated by Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate and his expedition on April 30, 1598.” Read that assessment HERE.
We’re thankful for history at readlarrypowell.com. We’re also thankful for these animals who live with us. They are the featured animals in this Thanksgiving column which we’re stretching through Sunday as our “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap” presentation.
 As you know, Thanksgiving is a genuinely American family holiday. Our family has always involved humans, a lot of dogs and cats. Many through the years -- and many are gone, having fallen victim to old age. We never don’t miss them and we are, like so many of you, so very thankful that they became a part of our lives.
The animals featured here are from our past -- unless otherwise noted and, of course, they are still with us. I don’t mind telling you that when I opened that photo of our ol’ girl Claire looking out the window from the back of a long-ago couch, I teared up like the day we lost her -- a long, long time ago. Same thing for that photo of Vera -- Belle Starr Carmelita del Vera Cruz, my first Chihuahua, a rescue. We called her Vera and I taught her to growl when anyone said “Richard Nixon.” That’s also Vera with the late Baby Jane Doe, a dog I picked up as a puppy as she sat stubbornly at about 8 puppy pounds, in the northbound lane of Marsalis at Colorado out in front of a bus stop. Cars drove around her. Not me, man, I know a friend when I see one.
The dog with the Batman pose is my second Chihuahua, Rosie, rescued from Kiest Park with a spectacularly horrible case of mange. I’d run out of names for rescued dogs in those days two decades ago. So her vet, Dr. Catherine Marr, said, “Let’s call her Rosie, because she doesn’t smell like one.” She was the sweetest little girl. 

“That dog Cosmo, in the holiday collar, was such a blessing -- he inspired the story “Christmas on Mo Corner” and that (left) is his photo on the cover. We found him sitting on the corner of Ledbetter near Polk after a summer rainstorm. Such an eternal gentleman.
That fluffy black and white dog, Nicki, is playing with Puppy Annie, now 15 years old, a heeler mix. Nicki was our first dog together. Martha adopted her at a Merchant’s Fair nearly 27 years ago. Martha was there to promote her PetPowell Pet Sitting Service and adopted Nicki. I stopped by to check on Martha on a hot August day and she sent me over to a rescue booth to pick up our new dog. Nicki was beyond dear, more than sweet and a wonderful lady.
You see two sleeping/napping photos with a big orange and white cat -- he was a giant of a fellow, Griffin Oliver Powell. A rescued kitten -- one of our early, early front porch ferals. He was feral for about two seconds and after about 12 weeks, you needed two hands to lift his mammoth girth. 
As you see, he became a pillow for Vera and a pillow for our late cat Spike, the toughest cat in town. Our former vet, Dr. Marr, was tending to him -- some kids had pelted this tiny, tiny kitten with rocks and broken his leg. She put him in a chest and leg cast -- when he walked it sounded like pad pad pad THUNK and stunned the other animals. Spike quickly became the alpha animal in our home. That was nearly 27 years ago. Each Christmas for years, Spike would curl up in our replica of Bedford Falls from It’s a Wonderful Life, a traditional Thanksgiving Day film years ago when the movie was in the public domain and shown repeatedly on the holiday. Spike, by the way, always made sure he was touching Martini’s, the village bar. I think he might have been dreaming of his life with the Pilgrims who must have loosened up a bit after they landed on Plymouth Rock and needed to celebrate.
There are so many more we have loved. Many we kept for years; many we handed over to other people to keep for years.

Just so you know what we expect to see on Thanksgiving and for days after the big meal, that’s our girl Porche Noel on the back of the couch just before she nods off. And the lower photo is Porche Noel sharing a nap backside-to-backside with my personal editor, The Senator. You see him in editing position at my keyboard -- sometimes, when he doesn’t like what he’s reading, he’ll nip me. Honest. That’s the only reason I can figure out. And, of course, he knows how to tell me “It’s time to publish.” You see him there with his watch crown in the “pay attention/I’m serious” mode.
So, these are some of the animals from our past; some from our present. There are some dear, dear family members not mentioned here. Maybe I’ll put the book together. I’ll have to check with The Senator regarding my schedule.

I mention all these animals for this Thanksgiving edition so anybody who has ever had a dog or cat they love will now that it’s OK to declare out loud how much you miss your friends who’ve gone on and how much you love the friends you have now. You might even extend that affection beyond the animals and declare that you also have Thanksgiving in your heart for some people, too. Yes, celebrate Thanksgiving. Give some safe treats to animals and humans and then find a place to take a nap. Follow the lead of your dog or cat -- they know how to take a holiday nap.
[SEND SLUMBER PHOTOS AND BIOS of the dogs and cats and other animals in your life -- we love to post them in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, our long-running feature at Readlarrypowell.com. Email the info and photos to [email protected]. Remember, your love for your slumbering critter affects the hearts of others and may lead them to save the life of a shelter dog or a foundling or a free-roaming dog or cat. It's magic. Plus, it inspires insomniacs to believe that they, too, can sleep if they can just find the right big ol' tomcat to turn into a pillow.]

--- To offer an opinion or a story, grip your ThankfulMouse and click on “comment” below or email [email protected]. ---