TIME'S PACE; SAILOR'S COOL; SHELTER REMINDERS, WASHINGTON IRVING AND 'MY, WHAT A GRAND PRAIRIE!'

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY NOV. 25, 2020 [PetPowellPress] Here’s a midweek reminder for a weekend edition before we get to dogs and cats and the origin of local names.

Please send us photos of your sleeping dogs and napping cats and any other snoozing critters — opportunity to snap a shot of a brother-in-law out like a light in your recliner during the Thanksgiving Dallas Cowboys game. 
Email photos and bios of the slumbering critters/in-laws to dallrp@aol.com and we’ll post ‘em in the weekend’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. [I hope you saw last weekend’s edition with Muriel Parker and her pal Shiloh. One of my favorite Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap photos of all time: Shiloh captaining the Rollator powered by our pal Muriel! The look on the cat’s face cracks me up. Shiloh is the captain of his ship!]
OK, let’s move on with today’s report.
AN UPDATE ON SAILOR,
THE CAT WHO CHARMED SO MANY
We knew from an earlier update that things were moving in the right direction for Sailor, the handsome cat who’d lost his human.
His primary advocate, Mary T. Sullivan, the critterfan, sent this email with a Thanksgiving tone. She wrote,“Just thought I’d pass along some good news...Sailor has been adopted by a lovely family in the DFW area that has two other kitties.  One has taken a real shine to Sailor, so he finally has a buddy after years of being an ‘only’!  He’s also getting all kinds of TLC and recent photos suggest that he’s adapting very well to his new life. 
“As we approach Thanksgiving, please know that I’m immensely grateful to all those who passed Sailor’s info along to their friends and neighbors, or who said a little prayer for him, or who offered other kinds of assistance.  The outpouring of support for this sweet older boy who lost his human companion so suddenly has been truly humbling.  Y'all are amazing.”
That first Sailor photo is from his pre-adoption days; this second photo, more recent, shows the lad enjoying a nice bit of tranquility in his new loving home.
[LARRY ASIDE: Just think, Dear Readers, we’d never have known of this wonderful cat if it hadn’t been for Mary Sullivan and her connections in the pass-it-on animal world. So, yes, Mary, on Thanksgiving and every other cat and dog day, you’re a reason for the rest of us to be thankful.]
A BOUNCE-BACK IN MESQUITE;
A SWEET-SPIRITED DOG; AND
A SEASONAL KITTY CAT
Bless those volunteers at the Mesquite Animal Shelter. Without them, i.e., Judi Brown and Debra Chisholm in our case, we’d never know the actual stories of the dogs and cats and their tendencies and charms.
Debra has provided us with these two dogs — Samson and Trevor.

About Samson, Debra wrote that he “has been returned to the shelter after an adopter kept him for 3 days.  She reported that Samson had displayed aggression toward her dog.  This boy is high-strung and really needs obedience training and training to walk better on a leash in order to fit into a family, especially one with other animals.  He is a bit mouthy and will turn his head side-to-side to chew on the leash.  He reacts to other dogs walking past his kennel.  If interested in Samson please ask the staff for a dog test.”
In her original evaluation, Debra wrote that this Plott Hound mix had arrived at the shelter as a stray on November 7. The 3-year-old, un-neutered Samson weighed in at 75 pounds. She said, “He walks OK on a leash, but is a strong puller.” And he reacted to the other dogs who barked at him when he was “led through the bay.” He has a charming side; likes treats, takes them gently. And, she wrote, “He is playful and loves to chase balls in the yard but does not return them. He finds it much more amusing to run around the yard with the ball in his mouth.”
He’s #46055614. And, as you can see, he’s not just a Plott Hound mix, he’s an Earhound. Check out that photo where one of the masterpieces of creative earness appears to be asking, “Beg pardon? Did you call for Samson? I’ll keep an ear out for you.”
That brings us to Trevor. He’s described as a Border Collie mix.
The 3-year-old, 60-pound, “intact” stray arrived on November 18. 
Debra wrote, “Trevor is a lively and high-spirited fellow with a confident and exuberant personality.  He will jump on you in his excitement, so obedience classes would be a great idea.  He knows the sit command.  He was totally taken with scouting out the yard and spent much of the photo shoot investigating the smells.  However, he is friendly and has a sweet nature.  He walked fairly well on a leash.  … He would seem best suited for a person or family who is active and would take him for walks, jogging or just play with and exercise him.  Trevor seems to have been well-cared for and it is mystery to me as to why his owners have not come looking for him.”  Trevor is #46120008. Please help Trevor by networking or tagging at rescues@cityofmesquite.com, typing in the subject line TAG, ID 46120008.  If additional information is needed, please call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email at rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
For either of those dogs, call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com. [LARRY ASIDE: Trevor may already have been adopted— he wasn’t on the website display Tuesday afternoon. If he’s already got a home, then there are other dogs who need to bunk at your place for the rest of their lives.]
ONE MORE THING: Mesquite not only has a lot of dogs, but a lot of cats in the shelter — click HERE — and those cats range from tiny kittens to grown-ups. This is Holly, one of the grown-ups with a seasonal name — just in time for the holidays? Yeah, she came in before Halloween — back on Oct. 26. She’s #45970712, a little over a year old and smallish. She’s waiting in the Cat Room for that right person to pick her up and cuddle her and make sure she has treats and some conversation. Cats need conversation, you know. Helps ‘em put up with humans.
A LANCASTER REMINDER SERVING
AS A REMINDER FOR ALL SHELTERS
Remember, there are shelters and rescue groups brimming with cats and dogs all over the State of Texas and the Great Southwest. Millions of people with opportunities to save the lives of lots of dogs and cats after they’ve been put at peril by our state’s vibrant population of knuckleheads and numbskulls. But all that name-calling aside, we’re using these two animals to remind everybody of the small-shelter low foot-traffic situations. Lots of paw traffic; little foot-traffic. That’s whey 4-Legged Helpers, the non-profit exists. Serves as a go-between for rescue groups and potential adoptors and the shelters with limited personnel and budgets.
That “adorable chunky bulldog mix” Dena is waiting at Lancaster. Available now. Her bio from the Helpers reads, “Adores all people, especially children! She is so cute — she actually talks — it is the cutest thing. Even great with kitty cats.”
And, as an example of a kitty cat to be great with, we cite (once again) the young cat Kahlua — she’s the one who was found outside the shelter by someone arriving to help with transportation with an animal already inside the shelter. That saved Kahlua from danger outside, but now it’s time to save her from danger inside! There’s a clock ticking at all small shelters. 
To offer to help 4-Legged Helpers save the lives of animals in Lancaster and other small shelters, call or text Laura Macias at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS

TIME MOVES ON, NAMES OF TOWNS, THE WAY THINGS WERE….
Nobody tells you this when you’re a kid, but pass it on. Seriously. Be prepared. The passage of time is a startling event; the realization that time is speeding one can be a breathtakingly shocking event. Example: I just found out a teenage copy clerk I worked with at The Former Really Big Paper in Downtown Dallas is 62 years old. How is that possible? Last time I saw her feels like it was just a few editions ago. Nope. Just over four decades ago — and I am still in my early-40s. I swear. …
I’m starting to understand Washington Irving’s cautionary tale, Rip Van Winkle. Do students still get to read Washington Irving’s writings? Don’t let the passage of time and the evolution of education cheat you out of classic reading. Finding classic writing online is why God made Google. Remember, Irving also wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 
He has a local connection.
This collection of conversation points reminds me of a legend I once heard about the City of Grand Prairie. It was told to me when I was the newly-appointed editor of The Grand Prairie Daily News. It was alleged that the wife of a railroad president was riding the train through the unnamed area. When the train stopped, she looked out the window and declared, “My! What a grand prairie!” and that’s the origin of the town’s name. I got that “My what a Grand Prairie” story from a reporter. He also said, “Same thing happened just north of here. An executive's wife got off the train at a depot, looked around and said, “My! What a grand Irving.” I suppose that could have happened. Let me check. FYI: The Handbook of Texas says that the “My, what a Grand Prairie” story is pretty much true! [That’s a photo of the once-immortal Texas Stadium in Irving being demolished. “Once-immortal,” my phrasing to note that the strong wake of the passage of times is relentless in re-shaping the present.]…. FYI: The Handbook says Irving was named “possibly after Washington Irving,” the “favorite author” of the wife of an influential resident.
None of this history will mean anything unless students are reminded that towns didn’t just spring up right after the darling babies were born. History is important. That photo? A lingering sign from the past in front of the cafe that was once named Prairie Dog Drive-In. It’s on eastern Main Street in Grand Prairie, whose high school team at North Grand Prairie is NOT the Prairie Dogs. It's the Gophers. The lesson is Main Street can change over time, but every Main Street has memories. Some of them are still standing. The Beatles knew it. Click HERE.
— Offer coping advice and pie recipes by clicking on ‘comments’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-