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THE CERTAIN SCIENCE OF NAPPING CATS

We present a scientific report for this edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie and Napping Cats Nap.

The experiment has not been authorized by the International Society for the Study of Peculiar American Feline Behavior. We are, nevertheless, anticipating a nod from the Nobel Prize committee when the scientific advancements are analyzed for their benefit to the planet.
Our question that inspired this study is this: If one puts a pillow atop a computer desk’s shelf in the year 2021, will a cat immediately appear from nowhere to use that place in space and time as a platform for observation or somnolencian meditation.
[SCIENTIFIC ASIDE: Our studies have revealed that there is a medical term “Cataplexy” which has nothing to do with cats, but is a sudden loss of “voluntary muscle control” and is a symptom of narcolepsy. Thus “cataplexy” has as much to do with cats as the words catapult, cataract and catapleiite. What? Oh, come on. Just about everybody knows catapleiite is a rare mineral found largely in small amounts in Norway. No cat has ever been named “Catapleiite,” we are almost certain.]
Back to our place and time experiment. We engaged the services of Apprentice Office Cat Stevie Ray Treeboy (found in an Oak Cliff mimosa tree as a lone kitten). 
Though our measurements were not precise, we determined through observation that while taking up a position on the pillow on the shelf over the computer screen, young Stevie Ray neither gained nor lost mass and was inclined to neither move nor be still, thus his total being remained at times as it would have been seen if observed via telescope from the International Space Station passing overhead. 
[NOTE: In Photo #3, it is clear that the scientifically napping cat is using his tail to pinpoint two adoptable dogs in the Lancaster Shelter, the top dog Brent and the lower dog Pebbles.]
Ultimately, after two “placings” of the pillow and the same “Leap and Lay” reaction from the Earthling cat, the answer to our scientific query is, “Yes, a cat will gravitate to an elevated pillow and remain there until the mood strikes him to not be there.” 
As you may observe in Photo #4, a quilted vest does not
produce the same results as the scientific pillow.
We thank the judges for a positive review of our scientific project. We fear a poor reception of our study will call the integrity of the judgment process into question and result in Stevie Ray taking up the practice of caterwauling.
[DEAR READERS, please send photos of your sleeping/napping animals and their bios to dallrp@aol.com and we’ll post them in our internationally read weekend edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie and Napping Cats Nap. Any animal will do. Even an in-law as long as there’s a critter in the photo. You’ll be inspiring people to open their homes to animals. And you’ll be suggesting to insomniacs that they, too, can get some sleep if they have the balance to linger atop the shelf on the computer desk.]

— Offer scientific responses by clicking on ‘comments’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-

WEEKEND ARRIVES WITH FOWL INFO; ADOPTABLES INFO; RESCUE OPPORTUNITIES AND 'FRIENDLY' TUNES

EDITION OF FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 [PetPowellPress] The wind blew over our duck.
Bet that’s a sentence you didn’t expect to read today.
Remember the windy front that blew through? It tipped over our little ceramic duck in its yellow raincoat, right next to our sturdy chicken. Blew the dogs’ playground ball out into the yard, but they haven’t been in the mood to bring it back to the patio.
So, since dogs are rarely known to restore fallen statues to their original positions, I went out and helped Duck get into a sheltering-position with the approval of Chicken. While Chicken didn’t find anything to crow about, Duck was quite happy.

I don’t know what they talk about all day. Probably the weather.
So, as the Sentinel Fowl stand watch, our Friday report:
FIRST UP, A DOG WHO DRAWS MONEY
BUT ISN’T DRAWING A RESCUE
We posted Pongo previously. You may recall that the senior Border Collie mix is in a bit of a fix while waiting for help in the Denton McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center. 
He’s got a threatening infestation of heartworm — has a high reading — and he’s got dental problems, too. Maybe he even has some other problems, but, the folks who are promoting his cause say that after the heartworm and dental treatments, they “think he still has some good years left and we know he has lots of unconditional love to give.”
Our original tipster Amy Poskey reports, "Our sweet boy Pongo has a very generous sponsor to cover his heartworm treatment, an additional $500 to cover his dental, plus $200 in donations, but we still need a rescue who already has a foster available or a foster for Salvaged Souls Pet Rescue.”
Pongo is #90939 in the shelter. Call the shelter at 940-349-7594. If you want to volunteer with Salvaged Souls Pet Rescue to foster Pongo, email Denise Primm at info@salvagedsoulspetrescue.org. The application to be a foster is online HERE.
SUGAR, THE TREAT-SEEKING,
BIG-JUMPING, LOVING DOG
Trust Judi Brown, volunteer dog-biographer at Mesquite Animal Shelter, to find a dog that is multi-talented and adorable, too. That’s Sugar. 

Judi says year-old, 51-pound Pittie mix Sugar (#46406720) is a stray who came in on the 11th, “She’s not the prettiest dog at the shelter but she sure is sweet! She will meet you at the kennel window wagging her tail. She’s a happy, energetic, fun-loving dog that’s looking to have a good time. She’s also looking for someone to love her as she has a lot of love to give! She’s very friendly and outgoing and her tail wags constantly.” [LARRY ASIDE: In that 2nd photo, you can catch a little blur of her tail — it was moving too swiftly for the camera to catch it!]
 Judi also says, “She’s also very alert and curious. She explored every corner of the laundry room when I was doing the photo shoot. She sits for treats and will do just about anything to get one. She is a jumper and even jumped on the table in the laundry room in order to get a treat. Since she is so motivated by treats, she should be easy to train. Besides she wants to please. Sugar went nose to nose wagging her tail with a few dogs in the bay, but mostly was not interested. She did not show any aggression. … If you’re looking for a loving dog that will absolutely adore you — please come meet Sugar.”
Call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email at rescues@cityofmesquite.com. Use her ID 46406720 tag to help the process glide with nary a bump.
WAITING FOR A RESCUE, A HOME
AS THE WEEKEND APPROACHES

[LARRY ASIDE: We’ve posted these dogs before but it staggers us to think that no household or heart has room for them in Texas’ second-most populous county, Dallas County, around 2.4 million people. Somebody open up a bedroom and give it to a dog!]
We’re taking this opportunity to remind you, Dear Readers, of three dogs cited by the non-profit 4-Legged Helpers. If you know someone who just hasn’t noticed them but has a spot, get in touch with Laura Macias at 4-Legged Helpers by calling or texting 214-949-2726 or by emailing cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
Kenzie is the smallish Bulldog mix who has a problem with one of her back legs that probably is going to need sincere veterinary care — the Helpers say she’s got $650 in donations for the rescue group that can save her.”
And, once again we highlight the “sweetest teddy bear of a dog” who was apparently dumped in a rural area of southern Dallas County — the Good Samaritan who happened to live near the dog-dump site took Brent in and has worked with 4-Legged Helpers to try to get this Boxer/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix a place to live a life of beloved adoration.
That brings us to the beautiful picture of nobility, Pebbles, a “Blue & White Bully” who was an owner release “from someone unable to care for her.” That person “said she adored their children,” the Helpers’ note reads. She is really stunning in person — beautiful face and eyes. Would make someone a wonderful companion.”
Pebbles is probably wondering what she did to lose the children she loved and the children who loved her. Rotten thing to have happen to a noble, loving dog.
[LARRY ASIDE: So, that’s our summary on these dogs for the whole weekend. Pass this around. Surely there is someone with a working heart still left after the election and aftermath and after that local tragedy, the Dallas Cowboys 2020 season.]
A RESCUE APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF CHASE
Gayla Geist tipped us to this appeal from Betty Jones about a dog named Chase who is in Terrell, Texas, just east of Dallas.
The story reads, “This boy needs rescue. The owner got evicted and needs help. Rescue only. Very friendly. Likes kids. Not sure on dog or cat-friendly.
"Been on a chain his whole life — please help. They have by the weekend to find help or will go to shelter.”
The contact points for helping Chase are call or text Betty at 214-229-4807 or email bettyjones6894050@gmail.com. 

CONTEMPLATIONS
TIME, TIME TRAVEL, TIMELY MUSIC
How can we already be in the middle of January 2021? How bad is my insomnia? Have I lost touch with the space/time continuum? Did I take a room at the Rip Van Winkle Inn and oversleep? Geezalou. As our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief and resolute St. Louis Browns fan Andrew Fisher points out, the Texas Rangers pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training on February 17. … Anybody else miss spending a couple of quiet, thoughtful hours in a motion picture theater? I miss seeing French police thrillers at the Inwood in Dallas and the Granada Movie Theater on Greenville Avenue — only way for me to see a foreign film at the Granada in 2021 is to rent a time machine from Spring Back/Fall Forward Time Trips. That company may not exist yet. FYI, not to frighten anybody who is just now getting adjusted to the to the time change, but it’s 8 weeks until we spring forward. … How about some music to get us into a very calm, tranquil, agreeable weekend? [LARRY PAUSE: Engage yourself in the feline world and you’ll discover an interesting existence. That dominating photograph is new, a portrait you might say, of my confidante and trusted advisor The Senator groovin’ meditatively to some early 1970s songs that touched his heart — he’d just finished what he calls “My catch-up reading” of best-sellers from 1971: Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Erich Segal’s Love Story and, in contrast to those stories, William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist. Back to the music.] Allow me a moment to thumb through my albums. Here’s one from Carole King’s Tapestry album of 1971. This one is live by the wonderful songwriter HERE (excuse the adverts). And this one is from the album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, also 1971, by James Taylor. Wore grooves on that Tapestry vinyl. Carole King wrote it, both recorded it. Yeah, the concept of “Friendship” — it’s a Texas thing, thanks to, research reveals, the Caddo tribe’s word for friends: “teyshas.” Enjoy the weekend, all you teyshas. Remind people to be kind to animals.
—- Offer info or fiction by clicking on ‘comments’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. --