HOW DO YOU GET AN ANIMAL TO CAPTURE YOUR HEART? JUST LOOK AROUND....

EDITION OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019 [PetPowellPress] You know what these two cats are doing — they’re marveling. They are indoor cats — that’s William Powell on the left and Stevie Ray the Kitten on the right and I snapped the photo as they contemplated a big branch blown out of a tree in our front yard Monday afternoon.
What is Stevie Ray saying? He’s leaning in to say, “Mr. William, I was completely unaware that those things could fall! Good thing we’re housecats, right?”
Yep, Stevie Ray, good thing.
A REBOUNDING EARHOUND
NEEDS FINAL LOVING HOME
Well, this is one for the books — the books they keep at the McNatt Animal Shelter & Adoption Center in Denton. We got her story from the noted shelter monitor Amy Poskey.
Here’s the dog’s bio: “Lovely was originally surrendered because she is high energy and not recommended with children.  She has been adopted and returned several times because she is mouthy, energetic, and needs training.” 
[LARRY ASIDE: “Mouthy, energetic and needs training” — Ladies and Gentlemen, as a father I can promise you that those 5 words are the very definition of a human child. This dog may have learned how to behave from kids.]
 She’s not house-trained, doesn’t like other dogs, but volunteers have been working with her to get her to behave like an honorable, calm, well-trained dog. 
Amy’s report says Lovely is maybe 2 years old, a German Shepherd mix who is “fully vetted, heartworm negative and willing to love.” 
To ask about Lovely (#85027) call the shelter at 940-349-7594. Email these people: gayla.nelsen@cityofdenton.com, Randi.Weinberg@cityofdenton.com, and/or julien.peralta@cityofdenton.com. Here is Lovely’s PetFinder LINK.

NOTE TO THE LITTLE WHITE DOG
AT OAKLAND AND ROSEDALE IN FW
I don’t have a photo of this dog. I was too busy driving.
But here’s my note to him: I am sorry I was unable to capture you in our 30-minute roadchase Monday around noon. I was in the black car that kept tailing you as you trotted desperately down several streets, sometimes head-on toward the traffic. It took me a panicked minute to find my flashers — I’ve never used them on purpose before.
 People stopped to help, but you didn’t stop — you kept moving, reversing direction, stopping to see if you recognized the neighborhood. I could feel your panic, it was so vivid.
 I lost track of you when you switched lanes on Rosedale and dodged traffic to enter a neighborhood of residences. I hope you vanished into the yard you were searching for — I saw you were wearing tags, but never got close enough to grab you. Neither did the guy on the bike who tried to head you onto a safe parking lot and you wouldn’t go. Nor two guys in two different pickups who couldn’t get you to sit still after they hopped out. So, I’m really sorry I let you own. You have the spunk of a dog who needs a human companion.

***
[Dear Readers, if you know of a small Poodle type dog — pointy-nose, mostly white coat with a brown saddle pattern over his hips and the base of his tail — let us know he is safe. He covers a lot of ground quickly for a dog whose legs are less than 6 inches long! 
I’m sure the gusty winds blew open a gate or blew down a fence or, maybe, someone left him outside and said, “Good luck with the cold front.” I may not have had a photo of this runaway dog, but I do have a copy of this artwork I spotted on Facebook earlier in the week. The editorial comment at the end is not mine but, yes, readlarrypowell.com endorses the spirit of the message...]
A SUGARPLUM ROLE &
A CHANCELLOR WAITS!
This is the “sign” that was on the EARS Facebook page — that's Education & Animal Rescue Society.
Pretty spot-on, right-to-the-point explanation. And my longtime friend, the animal advocate Melissa Boesch, posted a note: Larry Powell, would you be interested in doing this?” Of course I would but I’m already obligated elsewhere and won’t be in a red suit. I’ve portrayed The Great Red One (quoting the cinema classic Ernest Saves Christmas) several times ranging from Candlelight at then-Old City Park (now Dallas Heritage Village) to posing with animals on behalf of Urban Animal Magazine. This time, my calendar is full. But, for any of you wannabe actors or wannabe right jolly old elves, I can swear that you’ll get some wonderful emotions worth remembering when you put on the uniform and bring Christmas to this little corner of the world. Get in touch with EARS.
(Regarding Melissa: We worked together at The Big Paper Downtown decades ago. Melissa is a great friend to animals, particularly rescued Beagles.)
As long as were talking about EARS, let’s mention one of the adoptable adorables with EARS. That’s this fellow Chancellor. Describe as “a little ball of fluffy” who is “so cute and cuddly. He loves belly rubs and playing with his foster siblings…..He’s conquered ‘look’ and ‘sit’ like a champ.” Go to earstexas.org to fill out the adoption application. Maybe you can have him ready to pose with Santa on the 7th.
MEANWHILE, A NOVEMBER COAT
ON A YEAR-ROUND DOG
This is Maggie Sue, 3, a Pittie mix who arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter as a stray on November 1. Our usual Mesquite tipster, the volunteer biographer Judi Brown hit the nail on the head when she wrote, “Her coloring makes her a real stand out.”

Yes, she looks “November.” Not too much bright sun, not too much winter, just enough gray of mid-autumn in North Texas.
Plus, Judi say, she’s a “friendly dog who loves to be around people and wants attention. She loves to play with one of our kennel techs and when she saw him I had a hard time keeping her attention.  She became vocal about wanting him to come back and play with her. She definitely has a mind of her own! She is exuberant and her excitement is contagious. She’s very alert and curious. She does want to please though and she does sit for treats. … Maggie Sue would do well with an active family with a large yard.” Her shelter ID number is 43127611 — use it when you call the shelter at 972–216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com .
You can see more Mesquite shelter animals HERE. We’re not sure, but this cat Bond, James Bond, has vanished from the listings for the shelter — could mean he’s been adopted. Might not mean that. But readlarrypowell.com is so very hopeful that a black and white cat named James Bond has been adopted by someone who appreciates the wacky, entertaining nature of cats.
CONTEMPLATIONS
A THANKS; CELEBRATING; A SENTIMENT
Thanks to all you people who, on Facebook, posted photos of your loved ones who, in MANY wars, served America and Americans! I caught myself wanting to read more about each person cited — young, old, man, woman. Do you think that this year there may have been a particular reason so many of us were moved to pay tribute to the veterans we’ve known? We Americans are fortunate to have been loved so much by so many people who were ready to sacrifice so much for the sake of our American liberty. … Checking with the Holiday Insights online calendar, we find that November 12 has two “days.” One is "Chicken Soup for the Soul Day," in honor of the series of publications based on that theme. The other “day” is “Young Readers Day” — Holiday Insights says it was “co-founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.” Pizza and reading -- sounds like the way I spent my first five years as a newspaper editor. ... Speaking of reading: Reading the obituaries is a habit I picked up during my decades in newsrooms. Why? Always looking for a feature story or an unusual element or, in this case, a confirming element. I was reading The Dallas Morning News' obituary of Dennis Koustoubardis, 68, who died Sunday. He was born in 1950 “to immigrant parents, Prometheus (Jack) and Anastasia Koustoubardis” and, the obit reads, he “spent most of his childhood” at his dad’s Burger House in Snider Plaza near SMU, and spent years after that as a successful insurance man. I didn’t know him or any member of his family, but the final sentence of the obituary told us a lot about the family. As decent folks and as animal fans, you’ll appreciate the expression in this passage: “In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Diabetes Association or to your favorite animal rescue, in honor of sweet rescue pup, Bailey.” I don’t know Bailey, either, but it is such a touching thing to see that the love for Bailey was such a big part of a life. To the Koustoubardis family, thank you for that one sentence reminder of the rescue animals we have loved. I’m not the only person who started flipping through the mental photo album of sweet rescued animals that have blessed our lives.
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