EDITION OF THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020 [PetPowellPress] Before we look forward today, we’re looking back.
We’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of the first publication of our weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. It’s a labor of love on behalf of love.
Think about the dogs and cats and horses and other adorable animals you’ve had in your lifetime! Family — all were family.
[LARRY HINT: Email photos of your sleeping dogs and napping cats to dallrp@aol.com. We’ll proudly publish these examples of love and trust in the modern household!]
Usually, readlarrypowell.com is focused on animals in a fix — or getting animals fixed. But our weekend edition is focused on love. People love their animals and their animals love them.
That adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is Oliver, the first Sleeping Dog in our long-running feature. He bunked with my brother Barry (right) and my sister-in-law Shelley in the far north, i.e. suburban Chicago near the lake.
The late Barry, always an overachiever with a legendary wit, sent the photo and, with a sly smile, advised, “Make sure you refer to him as a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is particularly sensitive about his breeding -- he's not just some run-of-the-mill Cocker Spaniel. He was bred for royalty.”
Barry knew of my adoration for our Cocker boy Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas. And if Barry were with us today and if Inky were still with us, I’d note that the photo of Inky sleeping on the couch shows exactly what part of Inky that Barry could buss. I think they’re both chortling at that in the Hereafter.
On the left, that is Inky giving us his impression of a hungry Texan standing outside a favorite Tex-Mex place that hasn't been open in forever!
Along the way in this special weekend edition, we’ve featured a lot of cats, too. Some had loving homes; some were looking for one. That sweet girl Adora, with her paws crossed, was caught napping in her Dog ’n’ Kitty City display in October, 2017, at the PetSmart on Inwood just north of Forest Lane. Dog ’n’ Kitty City is the no-kill shelter in Dallas run by the venerable Humane Society of Dallas County, founded in 1975. No idea where Adora is today, but our bet is she’s somebody’s darlin’ cat.
Across the top of our daily page you see a photo of me driving a momma dog we’d rescued. That dog is Calamity, a heeler/Aussie mix — only reason we caught her all those years ago was she had puppies. We rescued her pups, ergo we were able to capture her. In that photo she was en route to Dog Day Afternoon to meet my little brother Garry who, as it turned out, fell for her immediately. Calamity became the household point of adoration for Garry and my sis-in-law Brenita. I cannot recall ever seeing a photo of Calamity asleep. This one will have to do. She and Garry are both gone now. But they've both left an impression on the family. [LARRY ASIDE: I like to think that my brothers and their dogs are enjoying each other's company in the Hereafter and that Mom and Pop stop by to see them. It's a family thing -- loving those dogs and cats!]
We’ve posted photos of Lord knows how many families’ adorable slumbering animals in the past 15 years. Send us more! (dallrp@aol.com)
One of the families is that of our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Andy Fisher and our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief In Charge of Canine and Feline Acquisition and Adorational Education, Annie Fisher. She is an influential veteran of rescues and that is how the Bureau came to have the big dog Maxie and the big cat presence Chloe. You see Andy and Annie with Maxie on the home lawn, but you also see Maxie relaxing on the balcony of the Indian Lake estate at Denville, N.J. That is one of my all-time favorite dog photos — an an insomniac I yearn to replicate Maxie’s ability to snooze.
And, of course, veteran journalist Andy knows how to properly file things — that is Chloe, taking it easy in the drawer marked “Feline, Household Treasure.”
Readlarrypowell.com will continue to joyfully post sleeping dogs and napping cats and any other slumbering critters — the family aspect makes us happy. Oh, heck, catch a politician sleeping. We’ll even post that photo if you can explain how often you have to feed ‘em and walk ‘em.
We’ll close this with a photo sent to us in 2006 by Kristin Riebel, then of the Frisco Humane Society. This, we declared, was the perfect use of the living room couch. It’s a place where fostered dogs can nod off while waiting for their human to show up and adopt them.
Everybody: Foster more, adopt more, rescue more and, for crying out loud, somebody win Lotto Texas and fund more!
MARLIN, A SHELTER PUPPY,
RETURNS 3 YEARS LATER
This guy is Marlin, a dog in need of a human. Laura Macias of 4-Legged Helpers says the Lab boy "was originally adopted from the Lancaster Shelter at 6 weeks of age. Today he is 3 years old. Marlin is needing a new home due to being an extremely intelligent dog with perhaps just not the owner that he needs. This sweet boy likes other dogs and lives with a Shepherd girl. His owner has some beliefs that dogs should be outside in the day and the dogs have their own room in the house. Marlin's name should probably be Merlin or maybe even Houdini because she said he can do amazing
things like opening doors, gates, and even knows how to get out a storm screen window (when window was partially open - knew how to push out the screen). He has learned how to dig out under the chain link fence and the neighbor is threatening to shoot him next time he comes into their yard. Yes, this is a rural Texas city at it's finest, sigh."
Laura and the non-profit are trying to find an adoptor for a dog who "needs a job." The Lancaster ACO reached out to 4-Legged Helpers "asking if we could help the owner find him a great home or rescue group."
He's fixed, has his vaccinations and is on heartworm preventative. Bottom line, Laura says, "This boy needs attention."
See more Lancaster animals by scrolling to yesterday's edition -- look for the big orange cat Sam Walton.
To offer to help Marlin, call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
IN THE BIG SHELTER
IN THE CITY OF BIG D
We keep checking the population count at Dallas Animal Services (you can, too, at dallasanimalservices.org). And what we see is that, like the price of gasoline, the population keeps inching up.
Among the canines waiting in the shelter are these two older dogs -- Stella and Bubbles. [LARRY ASIDE: Older dogs make wonderful companions. They make a human feel needed.]
And, still waiting in DAS’ foster home system is this older cat Craw’Dad (A1099691). He’s getting over his eye surgery. The DAS listing says the shelter staff thinks he’s about 10 years old. He arrived at the shelter on May 9 and has, lately, been in a foster home.
Older cats? They are able to kindly teach a human to be their loyal servants — that’s been the experience here at readlarrypowell.com.
Go to the DAS website and see how to adopt or how to become a foster. You’ll be saving lives.
CONTEMPLATIONS
NO PARTICULAR FOCUS
Among the many phrases I never expected to see in my life is this one from the folks at Scardello’s in Dallas regarding classes the store is presenting this month: “Virtual Cheese Classes.” … When restaurants are fully open again will waitstaffers have new patter and abandon “That sounds like a plan” and “Not a problem.” … Ever slept with someone who is convinced he or she is suffering from a torn rotator cuff? Yep, my farfromathleticspouse Martha. I think her pain is a carpal tunnel situation from the way she sits at a sewing machine making anti-virus masks. But I’m not a doctor, I’ve only played one on stage, earned a Boy Scout First Aid Merit Badge and spent some time in the mid-60s as an ambulance driver/attendant. I’m almost certain nobody heard of “carpal tunnel” or “rotator cuff” back then. Martha, bless her heart, no longer plays pitcher. I tried to teach her to throw a softball before we married, and after our first day of tossing the ball around on a school playground, she had to have surgery to remove a bone chip from her throwing elbow. I’m not making that up. Big league arm injury in someone who’d never toed the rubber in a big league game. She never pitched again — even though there were years the Texas Rangers could have used her wicked curve.
—- List a restaurant you want to open NOW by clicking on ‘comments’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. We’re trying to help save as many as we can —it’s too late to bring Good Eats back to life in Dallas. —-