A MOCKINGBIRD MEMORY; HELPING LUCAS; QUEEN, RUSTY & STAR; RECALLING HAMMY

EDITION OF THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 [PetPowellPress] For nearly 3 decades, the morning sounds of my Oak Cliff yard were not gunfire or car chases, they were the constant songs of The Mockingbird. 
I don’t know which bird one particular Mocker was mocking in the 2000s, but it must have been “The Bird With No Sense of Harmony.”
Anyway, I was at the old house on Wednesday going through some old papers and I went outside to get something from the car. When I turned around, a Mockingbird (The State Bird of Texas, you know), was sitting in the lawn not 8 feet from me and glaring. He had one of those, “Where ya been, bub?” looks on his face.
I said, “Hello, Mr. Bird” and he did not reply, neither with song nor tweet. He did sort of shake his head before he flew off to roost in the top of a tree I always meant to cut down so he’d move on. Yep, Mockingbird won. He got the yard, the tree and he can sing whatever he wants. 
I do miss him, though. The birds I have now are little outdoor chirpers. Nobody’s state bird. I’m not sure they sweeten the morning coffee with the enthusiasm of the State Bird of Texas.
[LARRY EXPLANATION: That is NOT a photograph of the Legendary Texas Mockingcat. Nope, that’s William Powell, my office cat who prefers to sleep-in once the bed is rid of its humans. He is a rescue from the feral colony in the neighborhood of the Mockingbirds at our old house. And, if you’ve seen cats and Mockingbirds interact, you know there’s a chance that the cat sounds retreat before the bird is done terrorizing him. Or, as William once spat, “Songbird my dented skull!” In retrospect, he may not have said anything about his skull. Three-letter word as I recall. Started with “A.” I love an office cat who asks, “Pardon my French.]
CHECKING IN ON
LUCAS THE PARVO PUP
You may have seen our report Wednesday about 4-Legged Helpers stepping up to try to get Lucas some help in his battle against parvo.
We wondered how he was doing, so we checked with Leighann Hayden, one of the Helpers and she reported Wednesday evening that he’s still being cared for at the Alvarado Vet Clinic. “Ate a tiny bit of food this morning, which is a huge improvement,” she told us.
Still is going to need some help with the bills. The 501c3 4-Legged helpers are helping with the collection of donations from the heart for a dog who looks like he might just be a St. Barnard fellow— a little bit. 
To ask how you can help contact 4-Legged Helpers’ Laura Macias by texting or calling 214-949-2726 or email [email protected]. The PayPal site is [email protected]. Via Facebook, go to the 4-Legged Helpers Inc. page. And if you want to mail something, contact Laura for the mailing address.
QUEEN’S BIG CHALLENGE
AT MESQUITE SHELTER….
Now here’s a dog who arrived in a bit of a pickle at the Mesquite Animal Shelter. Our tipster, volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm, writes that Queen was surrendered “on April 4 after having been adopted from the shelter in September, 2019.”
 She was in bite quarantine. Why? “Queen served her time,” Debra wrote, “after having bit a pre-school child in the face and arm in the family’s home. Not enough details are known about the circumstances, but obviously it would be a reasonable idea for her not to go to a home with a young child.”
The 4-year-old, 40-pound girl is spayed. And, Debra writes, “She is a real live-wire with lots of energy. …She will sit for treats and takes them gently. Queen is a friendly girl with an outgoing and spunky personality.” She’s #42564830 at the shelter. Use that ID when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]. [LARRY ASIDE: I used two photos of Queen so readers can see how she’s a lively dog and also a dog who will sit and listen to her human.]
Debra also has been working with this handsome, 4-year-old, 65-pound intact mixed breed. “I have named this precious boy ‘Rusty,’” she writes. “He’s a mixed-breed who arrived as a stray … on April 15. … He walks very nicely on a leash. When I led him through the bay past the other dogs, he was very fearful and intimidated by those who were barking at him.” 
And there’s this: “Rusty knows the sit command, but doesn’t appear interested in treats — at least the ones we offered! Rusty has a mellow and low-key personality and is nervous and shy in the shelter environment.”
Learn more about Rusty or go ahead and confirm you’ve fallen for him by using his ID #47560051 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityof mesquite.com.
And this “blue-eyed beauty is Star. Deb says she’s a mixed breed who “arrived as a stray with two other dogs” on April 16. She’s about 2 and weighs 47 pounds — yep, not spayed.
“She is energetic, spunky and has an outgoing and confident personality.  Star could never be described as timid or shy!  … She seems to have been well cared for.  There's a lot to like about Star and she has the potential to be an amazing family pet.” She’s #47560106 at the shelter. Use her ID when you call 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
CONTEMPLATION
A NOTE FROM THE PAST
While at the old house in Oak Cliff on Wednesday, I was going through vintage papers and I found (not in a folder, but hidden on a shelf in the patio room), a note from the 20th century. In fact, the records will reflect that this note was written on a blisteringly hot day in 1995 — that’s when I found a 3- or 4-year-old starving brown dog in Kiest Park. Turns out his hair was dying from malnutrition. He became a big ol’ lovable black Great Dane/Lab mix.
Martha would traditionally come home from work, then go out into the back yard with the dogs. We had some: This particular day I’d been walking with Baby Jane Doe, a Shepherd mix I picked up as a puppy at a bus stop in Oak Cliff, and Claire, a wacky kind of giant Schnauzer-looking girl Martha adopted from a rescue group.
The dog I found was so thin he looked like something desperate cooks would throw into a soup to give it a tiny hint of a flavor. Hence, his name.  Hambone Jack. My son Bart contributed the rest of his name, so he was "Hambone Jack, The Canine King of the Blues."
When Martha came home this particular afternoon, she found this note taped to the back door:

“HELLO. 
My name is Hambone. 
I linked up with a dude and two chicks while strolling in Kiest Park shortly after sunrise. They were hot.
 I’m enjoying the backyard. 
I hope you can find a good home for me. I know I’m third behind two mongrel puppies, but I have my finer qualities and a full set of huge canine testicles.
Your Friend,
Hambone.”

Yep, got the incredible Hambone Jack, The Canine King of the Blues, in 1995 and gave him a home and all the human hearts. He went Back to Heaven on Nov. 12, 2010. When he arrived Up There, he was lighter by two huge…well, you know to what I refer. Miss that guy every day.
He took my reading chair.
But I took his picture in the bluebonnet field that used to be on the eastern hill alongside I-30 at Ledbetter — highway progress has obliterated the flowers. Ah, but you can see in that bluebonnet photo a piece of trash flying behind Hammy. The flowers may be gone from that area, but, well, to quote a folk song, “The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”
Spay, neuter and “Don’t Mess With Texas.”
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