TRYING TO THINK WARM IN AN ERA OF CHILLING OCCURANCES, CONSEQUENCES & WEATHER

EDITION OF PM THURSDAY FEB 11 & FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 [PetPowellPress] When the area is so cold, I think the situation demands that we write about something warm. Naturally, at our household we have a number of warm souls and, with thick socks, warm soles, too. It's a case of SOT -- Save Our Toes.
Before we get to the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas, we’re going to give a heart-warming update on the black cat Marnie, the little girl we mentioned weeks ago. She was in the
Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter after being abandoned at one of the local hotels in the North East Texas city. She was wearing a pink collar with a flower on it — yet no chip, thus no home.
Our tipster, rescuer/advocate Cheryl Morse-Stephenson sent a note early Thursday and these new photos of the Cat in The Bag. Now, perhaps we can say, “The Cat is out of the bag and in the home."
Cheryl wrote, “Marnie was ADOPTED yesterday! Woo Hoo!” 
[LARRY ASIDE: We believe “Woo Hoo!” is a celebratory expression understood throughout the cat and dog world.]

 Cheryl also tells us that while there is “breathing room now, I think” in the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, there are three cats that “have been there the longest…Beautiful cats.” They are 7-month-old Betty Lou (lounging), and year-old Cindy Lou (curled tail) and year-old Wanda, facing the camera. See MP animals HERE. Ask about the cats by emailing [email protected].
A CALENDAR OF WARMTH
FROM GALT’S INVENTORY
Let’s talk “warmth in the time of the Pandemic Freeze.”

We have a treasure of a calendar. It’s the 2021 calendar from the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas. (LARRY NOTE: Not too late to get one, by the way. Click HERE. Remember, with the closing of dog tracks, GALT has been taking in more unwanted Greyhounds than usual. So, funds raised=dogs helped!)
Now, back to warmth in the time of the Pandemic Freeze. We got in touch with the great Susie McQuade, GALt’s Co-Founder, Treasurer, Board Member and Director of Canine Management, to tell her how much we love the 2021 calendar. You see the cover page — it has a note “In memory of Blazer by Chip & Cher Imrie, founders of GALT’s program Blazer’s Guardian Angels.”
[LARRY ASIDE: See, this thing called GALT is beyond a “rescue group,” it’s a “movement!” -- people who are devoted to protecting the “racing breed” that has been shabbily treated by people who toss ‘em when they’re done with ‘em. Hang on. Help me off this soapbox before I snap a slat and wind up telling the doctor I slipped on the ice.]
So, in going through the calendar, I stopped to look at the April pages because the revealed that April is Adopt-A-Greyhound Month. Of course, you don’t have to wait until April. (Go to galtx.org to see how to adopt one before spring arrives!)
 There is a warm story about that girl Sugar Pie (left). She represents a wonderful memory for her humans now. Susie told me, “Sadly, Sugar Pie is gone from this world now. But her family just adopted Sweetie Pie — Yes! They have a thing about ‘SP’ dogs!” And that is a photo of Sweetie Pie that I copied from the adoptables list on galtx.org.

 These photos are of 5 that are on the April 2021 page. As you can tell, they tend to be “home-bodies.”

Esau may be doing an impression of a dog howling at the moon.
Isabel clearly is involved in Couch Ballet.
Lulu & Connie understand the value of a slumber partnership.
And Penny? Well, she’s a lovely girl who has a darling face that deserved to be loved and treasured.
So, there’s a collection of warmth in the form of a bunch of cool dogs who have an entire non-profit helping them in their post-athletic lives. Of course, they aren’t all former racers. Some of them wind up in the care of GALT because they were seized in cruelty cases.
Yeah, it is the warmth of the good-hearted people triumphing over the heartless. And that is a warm feeling.
MEANWHILE IN HOUSTON,
THIS DOG IS A RESCUE HOPE
We learned about this Shar Pei/Lab mix from our reliable Houston tipster Alexandra Kelsey. A rescuer, Fern De Santos, has been trying to get this dog to safety since early in January.
As our tipster AK writes, “This boy is stunning. He is magazine-cover material.  But someone dumped him with a family who doesn’t want him and that family’s dog would like to kill him, it sounds like.

“Houston temperatures are dropping drastically, and this Shar Pei/Lab mix, who has an injured paw and is already struggling to survive, is not used to that kind of weather. …Fern has been begging for a month to have the Houston shelter help.  But, here we are…Snow is coming and no help is forthcoming. Houston rescuers have collected $570.00 in pledges.” [LARRY ASIDE: Could be even more by the time you read this. Money covering boarding has been pledged.]
To offer to help this limping, unwanted dog who is dodging help in an area near the University of Houston, text Fern at 832-803-6905. Email [email protected].
And you can get updates on Facebook at THIS LINK.
The dog has also become wary of humans. Yep, another complication in a rescue. Our tipster AK reported around noon Thursday that “Fern is in touch with some trappers. They are trying to determine the dog’s pattern and are actively working on a plan for trapping”. 
[LARRY ASIDE: What in the heck is wrong with people? It is an emotionless heart? Or is it some kind of Pandemic Dump-the-Animals syndrome? Bless the rescuers and keep them healthy. And may enlightenment settle on the people who need to comprehend the difference between good and evil.]
WHEN THE HUMAN CONDITION
AFFECTS THE LIFE OF A DOG
We got the tip on Willo’s plight from our pal Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com.
She says this is a “sad situation and this lady really needs help rehoming.”

Willo is the girl. The situation is her human is in hospice and can't take care of her. 
Willo is a 5-year-old Brindle Pittie who is spayed and “up-to-date on vaccinations.”
The appeal, from Christie Hansen who is helping a member of her family, says she’s got Willo for now, but can’t keep her. Willo needs an only-dog home and right now she’s in a sharing situation with 3 others.
Christie’s note reads, “She’s a sweet girl and loves to chew on her bones. She doesn’t mind baths, in fact, she just jumped right into the tub on her own! She loves walks and needs someone that can spend time with her and socialize her. She also has a very large wire kennel.”

While she’s good with kids and grownups, Willo has some challenges. Christie writes, “She comes from a home where she wasn’t taught manners. She’s been around my dogs but tries to round them up.” She’s learning to walk on a leash, isn’t good with cats, but is house- and crate-trained. To audition to give Willo a good home, email [email protected]. 


CONTEMPLATIONS
DRIVING, WEATHER, FAMILIAR NAME …
Will I go driving about in this lousy weather? Heck, no. On I-30 in Grand Prairie on the 18th of December, in dry weather well above the freezing mark, I was, under the speed limit, driving toward Dallas when a nitwit in a small black car decided to change lanes without looking and whammed me and my car into an exit ramp. Nobody was hurt. But that was only because I couldn’t catch the hit-and-run knucklehead. He or she might have reacted poorly to my polite request for insurance information. …
We got a note from Sydney Busch, guiding light of the Friends of the Animals Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic, the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas. Weather has canceled the planned vaccination clinic for Saturday. This reminds me to ask this question: Which would you rather have: (1) A week of under-freezing temperatures in the middle of winter or (2) two months of 90-plus degree days in July and August? I pick Selection 2 because you can still drive to a golf course and hit the ball in the summer. It’s too cold to putt right now. Eventually someone in Texas is going to say, “If we can dome a football field, we can dome a golf course. Everybody hit low drives.” …
You may have heard, seen or read the stories about actress Gina Carano of The Mandalorian being fired from the Star Wars offspring by Lucasfilm over social media comments she made about being how tough it is to be “a Republican today.” Born in Dallas, you know. That’s her when she was a Mixed Martial Arts fighters. If that name Carano rang a bell it’s because her dad is the former Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Glenn Carano (1977-83). Who played ahead of him? Roger Staubach and Danny White. This song has nothing to do with either the Cowboys or the actress, but it has a message — a non-political message. CLICK HERE and excuse the adverts... Opened The Big Chill, as I recall.
—- Offer recollections or objections by clicking on ‘comments’ below or by emailing [email protected]. —-