EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 [PetPowellPress] The challenge of writing a first paragraph is this: ____
Yes. That’s a blank spot. Maybe I’ll fill it in later. In the meantime, we’ll just move along with today’s report.
FIRST, A WORD REGARDING
A DENTON COUNTY CAT CRISIS
Our longtime pal and animal advocate Della Wallace sent a message Tuesday about trying to find some help with cats and kittens near Little Elm. She wrote, “My friend has stray cats who are breeding on her property. There are kittens who need homes. She lives in Denton County near Little Elm🐾🐾🐾”
If you know of someone or some organization that can help with this challenge, email me at [email protected].
IN AN ATTEMPT TO DRAW
ATTENTION TO A DOG….
OK, so I thought I might find a dog at Dallas Animal Services who was wearing the name of a newly-retired football star, i.e., Sean Lee. I did find a reference to a star when I clicked on the DAS adoptables HERE. This is a female Husky (#A1113136) who wears the name “Tina Burner,” in honor of the revered musical star Tina Turner. This 47-pound, year-old dog differs from a pro football player and a music star in that you can get the dog without having to pay a huge contract! Dogs are free at DAS.Email Dallas Animal Services at [email protected] or call 214-670-6800.
Speaking of injured football players, this dog (A1055009 at DAS) is named “Dak” and is listed as a 2-year-old, 85-pound Rottweiler. [LARRY NOTE: We’re not exactly certain about that breed designation. Based on appearance, there’s as much Rottie in that dog as there is NFL quarterback in my athletic skills.]
One more free dog: I was going through the endless list of DAS dogs Tuesday and the face of Lanie (A1116030) brought me to a sudden halt. She’s bewitching! She weighs 62 pounds and is listed as an “American Pit Bull Terrier” though she looks more like an HCD to me. What? Oh, “Happy Couch Dog.” Not such a rare breed. But
deserving of a great human companion.
Yes, there are cats available at the same price — $00.00. Bailey (A1018765) is a 3 year old — the bio doesn’t mention this cat’s gender, but if you adopt Bailey, you can either take a look for yourself or get one of the staffers to confirm any suspicions. Cute cat. Looks calm and ready for a lap in arecliner..
THE STAR OF MESQUITE
GETS ANOTHER CHANCE
The rotten part of this deal starts long before Mesquite Animal Services got this beauty and long before she was adopted.
We’ve posted her before. Her name is Star (#47560106) and the Mesquite volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm has her story. She writes, “This precious girl Star was recently adopted. She tested heartworm positive at the shelter but unfortunately the adopter was not given the information. Our shelter director called the adopters to let them know of Star's heartworm situation, stressing the need to treat the condition and gave them the option to return her. They opted to bring her back to the shelter. So now she is in need of a rescue to tag so that a rescue can treat the condition and get her ready for a new home.”
Star came in as a stray with two other dogs on April 16. She’s about 2, weighs 47 pounds and hasn’t been spayed. [LARRY ASIDE: And there’s the evidence that the rotten part of Star’s life began when she was not being treated responsibly by the human who’d either dumped her or from whom she’d run away.] She’s friendly, not timid, and, once she’s done with her treatments, may be “an amazing family pet.” Use her ID 47560106 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
THEN WE HAVE THE RETURN OF ARTHUR — not a tale of a king, but a story of a dog. Debra says this 1-1/2-year-old, 35-pound Pittie mix had been at Mesquite since January 29, “was getting a bit ‘kennel crazy" — oh, and his underweight condition was due to parasites — rid of those little buggers now. He was recently adopted.
But, then, he was returned on April 23 — the new human said he didn’t get along with cats and “wasn’t good with big dogs.”
Arthur is #46536322 at the shelter. And he’s a healthy fellow.
MESQUITE IS ALSO trying to find a happy place for a 10-year-old dog. This guy is Oliver -- he’d been surrendered by his family. He’s not neutered and he weighs 57 pounds and the old Lab gentleman is very uncomfortable in the noisy shelter and needs a quiet place to enjoy life as an adored companion. As his initial bio read, “It is unfortunate that this calm and gentle boy has ended up in a city shelter and it is obvious he has not had the best of care.” Oliver is #46926621.
Remember, use the ID numbers when you call the shelter to ask about adopting or rescuing at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
CONTEMPLATIONS
FOOTBALL & POETRY
Bless Dallas Cowboys' retiring linebacker Sean Lee. The team will, no doubt, find another linebacker. But where will the medical community find such a dependable all-pro patient with readily available insurance? He was always fun to watch — when he was able to play. Clearly loved the game. I wish he could have played forever. But none of us can — I quit in the 9th grade. I never dream of playing again. The big guys had begun to hit a lot harder in the 9th grade. I wasn’t that mean. …
April is National Poetry Month — have you read a poem since you got out of high school? Some Ogden Nash, perhaps? Maybe re-read The Odyssey by Homer? The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost? Limericks you can’t read in Sunday School? Rod McKuen?
HOLIDAY INSIGHTS, the online calendar, notes that while April is National Poetry Month, April 28 is “Great Poetry Reading Day.” We are proud to celebrate “Great Poetry Reading Day.”
So, here, feel free to read this aloud. Yes, verily, PERFORM IT for you office (if you still have one). We found this work in the files of our late Cocker Spaniel, Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the State of Texas. (That's him before a recital at an awards ceremony.)
So, from the mind of a short, very hairy dog, we present
“ARE YOU LICENSED FOR THAT?”
by Inky
I am the foundling Inky
a Cocker Spaniel of note
I have a literary heart,
so pomes is what I’ve wrote.
Some may be long
Some may be punchy
Some I write at breakfast
and digest them at lunchy.
I’ve rhymed purr with grrr
and woofyou with mew
I am one poetic Cocker,
nothin’ ol' Inky cain’t do.
I’ve made words rhyme
to make an honest dollar
My poetic license tag
dangles from my collar -- and I don’t mind ending a poem with a run-on sentence that almost resembles iambic pentameter and represents the rebellious poets who bend words and lines for the sake of a grin. Sake of a grin. Amen. Sake of a grin.
[LARRY NOTE:Thank you, spirit of Inky, the Cocker Laureate of the Great State of Texas.]
-- Offer poetic encouragement by clicking on 'comment' below or by emailing [email protected] and put "Blank verses rules!" in the subject line. ---
