SOME GET A BREAK, SOME WAIT FOR RESCUE -- AND SOME ARE JUST PUPPIES....

EDITION OF THURSDAY, JAN. 28, 2021 [PetPowellPress] How close are we to February? I’ll tell ya. We’re one Puppy Palooza away from it. More on that in a moment and, of course, we’ll have Contemplations that includes, among other things, a sports "Calvary," a Cinderella story and a yet-to-come tale. Here we go:
SIXTEEN PUPPIES AWAIT
AT STRAYDOG INC.
We’ve been writing about Straydog Inc. for decades, in fact, since around 1994 when it was founded. This may be the first time I’ve written about a Puppy Palooza at Straydog.
The organization has 16 puppies that’ll be available on February 1 but you can make an application to adopt right now by going to straydog.org.
The way this puppy population developed was that on Nov. 28, a man moved into a new house and, Straydog says, “discovered 4 dogs living under it, including 2 puppies. Taking in 4 new dogs at once is a very daunting task, but we knew we had to help. We were able to make room, and thankfully he was able to catch them quickly and bring them to Morton’s Small Animal Clinic. Upon evaluation, it was discovered that it was a family of four dogs, including mom – Madea, dad – Scout, and their young daughters Loretta & Cara. The vet also soon discovered that Madea was VERY pregnant. Just 4 days later, Madea gave birth to a litter of 10 puppies! Imagine if the man moving into the house had not caught them in time? Or had decided not to take action? This sweet family would have struggled mightily to have enough food to keep mom and 10 puppies alive in the cold of winter, and indeed, most likely not all would have made it. We knew at the outset it would be a challenge to save all 4 dogs, and at the end of the day, we saved 14 lives!”
So, if you go HERE you can read more about Straydog’s adventure with all these puppies. And you can see how to give a wonderful human home to dogs. [LARRY ASIDE: I included that Straydog photo for those of you who have never seen a 10-pupply litter. May it be a rarer site than dentures in a chicken’s mouth. While that much puppiness is majestic — it just shouildn’t happen. Spay and neuter, y’know?]
THE TINA STORY
HAS A DEADLINE
Back in early November we posted a note about this girl Tina. Her bio was written by our pal Judi Brown who'd spent some time with the dog, trying to make sure Tina would be a good adoption. Judi wrote, “If you are looking for a sweet dog to be the only dog in the household, please come meet Tina.”
That brings us to the note we got Wednesday from animal advocate Kelly Haferkamp who forwarded the message from Danni Alcantara, the Animal Shelter & Rescue Supervisor in Mesquite. The noted quoted Judi’s report on 50-pound Tina who came in as a stray on Nov 2, apparently after having had a litter of pups. [LARRY ASIDE: Yeah, that happens. Exploited for Christmas puppies, probably.]
But Tina is running out of chances. Still, there is a chance YOU to save Tina. She’s A46016015. She has been at the shelter for 86 days. Danni’s note reads, “Tina has been fully vetted. She has had trouble making friends with other dogs at the shelter. She needs to go to a rescue that can help her socialize with other animals. If Tina is not rescued or adopted before the close of business on 2/11/2021 she will be humanely euthanized due to her behavior with other animals. Please help us network Tina and find the right placement for her.”
To save Tina’s life by rescuing or adopting her, use her ID A46016015 when you call the shelter at 972-216–6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com. There surely is a place that Tina can happily exist with someone who loves her. Remember, the deadline is February 11.
TWO DENTON DOGS
IN 'MOVIN’ ON' MODE!
We wrote about both of these dogs and desperate attempts to get them into happy homes or into rescues that could find happy homes for them.
Amy Poskey, our reliable tipster about happy things in the Denton McNatt Animal Shelter, delivered a pair of upbeat notes on Wednesday evening.
We begin with this story of Shilo, the dog we cited earlier in the week. Amy says, “WHIPPET RESCUE AND PLACEMENT (WRAP) pulled this handsome boy and he’s already enjoying the good life where he will be loved FUREVER!!!  THANK YOU, WRAP!!!  I also want to thank Greyhound Rescue Austin, Italian Greyhound Rescue Houston, and Salvaged Souls Pet Rescue for offering to take him, too, as well as the numerous offers to help, networking, FB posts, prayers, etc!!!  It DOES take a village!”
 And, Amy says, “If anyone would like to make a donation for Shilo’s care, please click on THIS LINK [whippet-recue.org]." He's a senior, you know. Needs love and money.

THAT BRINGS US TO NALA, the beautiful, big houndish girl who has been in the Denton shelter for a couple of weeks. Amy wrote, “Well, what can I say except that another miracle has taken place…  NALA HAS LEFT THE BUILDING WITH COPILOT ANIMAL RESCUE (CAR) IN SANGER, TEXAS!!!
“That second picture of Nala is her “freedom pic” as she leaves the shelter, riding in style. 
We’ll now quote Amy’s announcement as she wrote it, “YEEEEEE-
EEEEEEEEE-
EEEHHHHHHHH-
HHHHAAAAAA- AAAAAWWWW- WWWWW and WOOOOOOOO- OOOOHHHHHH- HHHOOOOO- OOOOO!!!  THANK YOU SOOOOOO- OOOOOOO MUCH TO COPILOT ANIMAL RESCUE!!!"
[LARRY ASIDE: We love genuine exuberance when it comes to saving animals!]
Amy continues, "THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN HER AND SAVING HER LIFE!!!  And, as always, I want to thank EVERYONE for your prayers, networking, etc!”

And she says, “If anyone would like to make a donation for Nala’s care, please click on copilotanimalrescue.org … No amount is too small and every penny counts!  Thank you!  Amy.”
CONTEMPLATIONS
WORDS, WORDS AND WORDS
Listening to the TV sports report on a local channel, I heard the sportscaster, discussing the Dallas Mavericks, declare that they look like they “are getting the Calvary back.” As a veteran of many Southern Baptist Sunday School classes, I feel it is important to tell the young man that he really meant to refer to the rescue-ridin’ horsesoldiers — not the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. If he hadn’t been so boldly confident about that line, I probably wouldn’t have mentioned it. After all, I live in a glass house when it comes to words, spellings, punctuation and expressions. .
Here’s how you know you’ve been reading emails about animals for decades. This morning a subject line read “Cinderella has a dark side” and I thought, “Oh, no. Somebody adopted a beautiful fluffy cat and discovered she pitches a snarling, scratching fit when you try to move her out of her favorite chair.” Something like that. Turns out it was a pitch for a romantic suspense novel by Helen Hardt, Follow Me Under. 
Never read one of the best-selling author's many books, but I have had a cat who owned a chair. And in this photo (left) you see a cat who owns the end of the living room couch. Let’s see: “Stevie Ray was at home on his end of the couch when the intruder from Mars materialized between him and the latest episode of The Great British Bake Off. He could almost smell the double-thick cream icing the sponge but, quickly, he turned his attention to rising and with super speed — quick as a cat — he assumed his alternate identity, 'ESS RAY, DEFENDER OF EARTH’ and wore the Martian down with heroic mewing!” This is Stevie Ray in his young mortal form on the end of the couch we argue over. And, as you can see from his mug shot, he was born with a superhero mask. That's from his demo reel -- the audition went well. If theaters ever open again, look for Stevie Ray topping the bill in Mars Meets The Cat. It's the first o' 9 tales. …
If I can put it all together, I’ll explain how a utility company got me to drive nearly 500 miles on Tuesday and get nothing done. Stay tuned for our next edition. Now I need some sleep.
—- Offer opinions or absolution by clicking on ‘comments’ or by emailing dallrp@aol.com —-