EARL'S COMFORT; STRAYDOG'S LOSS; WYATT'S EYES; OTHER TAILS AND TALES...

EDITION OF FRIDAY, DECEMBER, 18, 2020 [PetPowellPress] Welcome to our Friday edition in the season of shopping fury -- online and off.
On Thursday, after a shopping trip, I stopped by my industriousspouse Martha’s home office and she told me the dogs were outside.
So when I let them in, we were short one dog. One big dog. I went out to find Texas Earl the Cheeseman. He was flopped down on the grass and leaning up against the neighbors’ fence smack in a dog-sized spot of sunshine. I’ve rarely seen a happier dog without a full plate in front of his face. 

I told Martha, “You know, we can really learn a lot from Earl about relaxation. Let’s go get a spot next to the fence.” She might have replied, “You go first. I’ll come get you when the sun goes down. Take a sweater.”
As I was considering my decision, Earl came back to the porch and was patiently waiting to be let in. We’d lost our moment in the sun but we were still gratefully in Earl’s World. 
This is where he wound up — flat out on my office floor at a spot where he can monitor the hall and watch for invitations to visit the kitchen. 
Sometimes you can find the big lug taking up his place on his couch in the living room. He is that beast who both a comfort and comfortable. Ought seek public office and put the nation's minds at ease.
Having a dog around makes a person feel good.
A SAD NOTE FROM
THE FOLKS AT STRAYDOG
Straydog Inc, the no-kill shelter and sanctuary in East Texas, has lost “our sweet boy, Trouper.” Here’s the LINK to the tribute. And you can go to straydog.org to read about the legendary Straydog. 
As Trouper’s tribute notes, he was in “the prime of his life” when he was stricken with a “rare and mostly fatal disease” called Pythiosis. The staff worked hard to save him, as you’ll see in the tribute. 
Such losses — whether in a shelter or a home — leave a mark on a heart and, perhaps, encourage the heart to remain vigilant when it comes to saving other animals it meets along the way.
I went to the Straydog site to see the dogs that are available, dogs that donations to Straydog support. And the first one I spotted was this girl Barbie. She’s around 6 years old.
Barbie looks as if she might be a Lab mix and, also, as if she has a contract to appear in a toothpaste commercial. Those are some bright biters in that girl's mouth! She needs to be in a human’s home so she can sit on the couch, watch TV and chuckle with a toothy grin. Kind of an opportunity to adopt a dog in honor of Trouper who, also, needed a good home and has an extra special home now...Bless his heart.
HOW DOES A DOG THIS PRETTY
WIND UP WITHOUT A HOME
Yeah, I judge by looks — I’m an American in the 21st Century. But, heck, look at this beautiful dog Wyatt. We learned about him from 4-Legged Helpers, the small-shelter supporters. 
Wyatt is in the Lancaster Animal Shelter. His bio calls him a “precious sweet boy” and says Wyatt was “an owner release from someone that had not had him long and said he is bashful but incredibly loving and adores giving kisses. apparently he previously lived with another dog. Seems to just want to be loved and adores everyone.”
To ask about Wyatt, contact Laura Macias at 4-Legged helpers via call or text at 214-949-2726 or by emailing cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
Same contact points for two cats and a dog we mentioned earlier in the week.
The Lancaster cats are siblings: Dasher, the gray and white baby boy Tabby, and Blitzen, the white and cream boy. The person who brought them to the Lancaster shelter said “they found them.” As you can see in the photos, they don’t mind being cradled by a human.
And we’ve been writing about this fantastically-faced dog Lexie for several weeks. She’s described as a Mastiff mix in the care of a Good Samaritan who rescued the girl as she was just wandering around in a rural part of Dallas County. The time is almost up in the care of this individual, so Lexie needs a home or a rescue so she won’t wind up on the clock in a shelter. She’s all vetted up and has a reputation as being so sweet that her name could, according to 4-Legged Helpers, easily be “Honey or Sugar or Precious because she truly is all of those things.”
[LARRY ASIDE: I work hard at living up to “Honey or Sugar or Precious” but I don’t have as great a face as Lexie and I sure don’t have the ability to look into the soul of a stranger — look at those eyes. Somebody save Lexie for Christmas. Reminder, call or text Laura at 24-949-2726 or email cat_girl_72@yahoo.com. And to the person who dumped this dog or didn’t care if he ever saw her again, I hope your stocking is so full of coal that you can’t lift it off your foot when it snaps the nail on your chimney mantle. Wait, if it’s a sin to think something like that, I take it back. I know it’s a sin to fail to love your dog. I believe that, anyway!]
CONTEMPLATIONS
BUDGETING HOLIDAY TIME, NEUTERNG REINDEER? AND CHRISTMASSY MENUS…
Thought struck me Thursday evening as I perused a TV guide and saw a horror film listed: I didn’t get to spend enough time in a Halloween frame of mind this year. Too much election; too much virus. Same for Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for that I’ve not really gotten around to listing and praising. We’re working hard to make Christmas as glorious this year as we did last year. Martha admits that, like me, she’s actually feeling Christmassy. …
Speaking of holidays, our pals at Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creak Lake, operators of the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, are taking the 22nd off — usually they’re operating on Tuesdays, but not the one just before Christmas. The volunteers will be occupied by the annual Christmas Reindeer neutering, I’m theorizing.
 Anyway, they’ll be back on the job on December 29, reports our pal Sydney Busch, the voice of the Friends and the clinic. Ah, but some special help is needed on the 29th for 2 shifts: 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. What’s the job? It’s an adventure brought on by a virus. Sydney says these volunteers will be “taking temps of clients wanting to enter the building and controlling how many people come in at one time. Not a hard job, just requires some firmness sometimes.” [LARRY ASIDE: I believe this is a hint that the animals are less unruly than humans, sometimes.] And, if you’re any good at it, you can volunteer to work that 10 a.m.-2 p.m. shift on January 5, 12 and 19. …
Back to Christmas. Is there a favorite song you’d like to hear me sing? Cue the orchestra. I’m kidding. That thought even frightened me. Anyway, I mentioned that Martha is feeling Christmassy. And since I cook like I sing, I’m hoping Martha soon starts cooking Christmassy — pies (mincemeat!!!!), cakes, cookies and other diet items. What do I really want for Christmas? All dogs, cats and animals depending on humans to be safe and happy. And, of course, a set of six winning Lotto Texas numbers. I’d like to get more involved in charity and politics. Possibly I’m in the running for Chancellor of the Exchequer. What? Only in England? I don’t have a passport. You think I can do transatlantic Zooming for the meetings with Parliament? No, huh. In that case, what nation needs needs a Minister of Unclear Cogitations?
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