EDITION OF TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2020 [PetPowellPress] Three-day weekends are always a bit disorienting to the working American and when you don’t have the steadying office clock, it’s even worse.
At 4 a.m. I was awakened by dogs furiously barking. In my waking stupor, I immediately I began to plan for watching Bill Geist on NBC and, after that, CBS Sunday Morning.
Only I already did that on Sunday, can’t remember what I did on Monday and didn’t have a clue it was Tuesday until I sat back down after checking on the barking dogs surrounding the bed. [That's Wendy recreating her "I think I hear something, should I bark?" look.]
Yeah, they were my dogs, but they appeared to have awakened from the same dream — can dogs share dreams? They must have been barking at the same intruder, possibly someone from Mars or, perhaps, a politician practicing his neighborhood walking skills.
The dogs went back to sleep. Martha didn’t stir. My feline confidant, The Senator, and I moved to the couch and tried to nod off but wound up watching an unpleasant movie until it was time to get up and feed everyone and get on with the day.
Now, we need to help some Greater Metrosprawlian animals find homes or help or both. And then we’ll get to Contemplations and a sweet farewell in an obituary.
NIALL IN SAGINAW
HAS MEDICAL NEEDS
Readlarrypowell.com has had experience with dogs undergoing heartworm treatment and with big black dogs and, of course, with big black dogs undergoing heartworm treatment. What that collection of descriptions means is we know how you need to be a devoted, patient dog person in order to keep the pup calm while being treated and get him healthy again.
So, that’s the deal with Niall. Handsome guy. No idea why he’s named “Niall.”
We got his story from advocate/rescuer Tami Kukla who wrote, “MEDICAL RESCUE NEEDED. Niall is a sweet dog, friendly dog who is HW positive and has swelling in his abdomen. He needs a medical rescue ASAP. He is incredibly friendly. Please help us help Niall. He is at the City of Saginaw Animal Services.”
She included a video of Niall in a rest
period after a brief romp in the Saginaw exercise area.
You can see that video HERE. Turn up your speakers so you can hear the narration.
Saginaw, fyi, has been doing adoptions by appointment since May 4. You may reach the shelter at 817-230-0460 or by emailing jwheeland@saginawtx.org. The shelter is in Saginaw at at 205 Brenda Lane. [LARRY ASIDE: Anybody else go to school with Brenda Lane? I’m kidding.]
9 KITTENS, 1 CAT & 2 DOGS
NEEDING YOUR HELP’
That’s the headline I lifted off an email from the 4-Legged Helpers folks regarding animals in the Lancaster Shelter and a dog who originated in Hutchins: Marlowe, who we’ve mentioned before. First the felines: The note from the Helpers’ Laura Macias and Leighann Hayden included this inside info about the kittens: “So sorry, our
apologies - the shelter ACOs are not good with identifying male or female kittens so we do not have that information. We also need feedback on the young adult cat Marmalade. We are not sure if this could be a mommy kitty to the blonde kittens or if this could be a boy kitty that
came in separately. VERY sweet kitty. All the kittens are adorable and precious and baby sweet.”
The first two kitten photos are of a couple of tiny babies: the gray is Clover and the orange tabby is Sunny.
Then there’s a litter of “Grey Tiger Tabby” kittens and the bio says, “All have big eyes.”
The 3 orangish/buffish kittens are “Tiger Tabbies.”
And that brings us to Marmalade, the adult. The bio reads, “We have no info at this time, but this kitty looks so much like the [buffish] litter that we are thinking ‘related.’ Could be mommy or even daddy.” [LARRY ASIDE: Cats are tricky with that gender ID sometimes.]
The Staffie is Blue and he’s in the Lancaster shelter. In person, the bio reads, “He is stunningly gorgeous. Very well-cared-for and very sweet and lovable. Only 1-2 years old. Appears to be house-trained.” Blue was an “owner-release."The 4-Legged Helpers note said, “We had someone go evaluate Blue and they thought he was adorable and sweet. He was a love, especially when he realizes you have a treat. He does not jump, which is great. The only thing we noticed is he might need a little work being
taught to take a treat gently. He was so excited to have a treat.” [LARRY ASIDE: I picked photos that showed his personality, including one that demonstrates that Blue is quite ready to “stack” at dog shows if his official papers ever show up — no idea where they might be …]
And we’ll give another shout-out to Marlowe, formerly Mario, the Lab/Boxer boy who was pulled from the Hutchins Shelter as the clock was about to tick down to zero. He’s a “wonderful, sweet dog” all those who have met him say. “Rides great in the car. Loves to give kisses.”
To ask about any of these animals, get in touch with 4-Legged Helpers President Laura Macias by calling or texting 214-949-2726 or emailing cat_girl_71@yahoo.com. [LARRY NOTE: Just a bit of admiration for 4-Legged Helpers and their continuing mission to help animals in small shelters. The smaller shelters frequently have no publicity system for promoting the adoption and rescue of their animals. It’s a tough mission, but the Helpers persevere.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
2003, FRIENDS VOICES, THE SWEET FINAL PARAGRAPH….
I did no work at the keyboard during the 3-day weekend — first time since 2003 that I “took off” without having some sort of staggering medical diagnosis as inspiration. What happened in 2003? I decided to take a vacation and my calendarspouse Martha scheduled our roof replacement that week since I’d be home. You know what happens when four or five guys crawl around on your roof and five or six rescued dogs are inside the house hearing intruders with hammers? Yep, nobody writes The Lesser American Novel and only the roofers can concentrate. …
So over the weekend I Zoomed with some former colleagues at The Dallas Morning News and thought about how much I love those people and how much I loved working at that place right up until 2004 when the new management team threw me and about 100 other people out with the other refuse of the 20th century. To quote Heraclitus, the ancient Greek Philosopher, “The only constant in life is change.” And to quote the great Italian philosopher Vito Andolini Corleone, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” And the Welsh Church of England Priest George Herbert’s quote is “Living well is the best revenge.” I'm out of the revenge business and leaning toward the occupying my time with admiration. ....One of the people mentioned in the Zooming conversation was Karen Blumenthal, the writer/journalist I first met when she was an intern at the DMN back in the 20th Century. Karen died last week at a very young 61 — Her drive and her talent and her civic devotion are legendary. I’m going to link to her obituary in The Dallas Morning News HERE so you can read it and Contemplate how much she meant to so many people. I think you’ll consider it a sweet and gentle legacy for a reporter/writer who, as so many have done since the birth of reporting, worked hard to make sure every story was right. It’s the mission of the profession. That obituary was written by her friends/colleagues at the DMN, Maria Halkias and Cheryl Hall. It tells her story, addresses her wonderful career. The obituary presented on Legacy has the family information — her husband Scott McCartney is a great reporter, too, and such a nice guy.
The last paragraph of this note about Karen belongs to her. The Legacy obituary reads, “To honor her life, contributions can be made to Friends of the Dallas Public Library (supportdpl.org), Temple Emanu-El (tedallas.org) or Duke Student Publishing (dukechronicle.com)."
And in the final line you can see the heart of Karen as viewed by those who knew her. It reads,
“You can also salute Karen by working to repair the world and enjoying a great cookie.”
—- Offer considerations or admirations by clicking on ‘comments’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. Let’s fix what we can and enjoy a great cookie. —-