A MIDWEEK COLLECTION OF TALES FROM THE METROSPRAWL -- CANINES, FELINES AND A LOTTO CONTEMPLATION QUESTION

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021[PetPowellPress] Some animals find homes quickly, some don’t. Fact of life. This is written for October 27 which, Holiday Insights reports, is Black Cat Day, Navy Day (THANK YOU, SAILORS!) and National Tell a Story Day in Scotland and the United Kingdom (It’s April 27 in the United States.) I think that difference has to do with whether Congress is in session… And that concludes my tribute to Tell A Story Day in Scotland the United Kingdom. I’ll repeat it on April 27.)
What I regret is having failed to celebrate National Mincemeat Day on the 26th. Traditional recipes include meat, but I am a great fan of the modern no-meat-products-at-all-just-vibrant-fruit mincemeat pie during the holidays — if pressed, I will eat mincemeat pie year-round. Nobody ever presses me, though. Darn it. That cat? Well, we don’t have a Black Cat right now and we don’t have a Scottish yarn-spinning cat, so I did manage to snap a photo of our little bottle-bed, tiny kitten Simon, all grown up to the size of a duffle bag, but flopped over here on someone’s old kilt. He’s kind of contorted himself to catch a few winks.
THE BELL AND THE BUZZ
AT DOG ’N’ KITTY CITY
We’ve previously told the story of these two rescued dogs, Bell, the female, and Buzz, the boy, but that doesn’t mean they were immediately snapped up quick as a guy with five newfound bucks buys a Lotto Texas ticket on Wednesday. 
Nope, they’ve been in the care of the famed Humane Society of Dallas County shelter Dog ’n’ Kitty City for a while now. We got the reminder on these two from the veteran animal advocate and rescuer Kimberly Jones who has been working to help them find better lives.
Bell is regarded as a “retired cattle dog” at the shelter and is officially listed as a “Cattle Dog/CoonHound mix.” She’s about 4. She came in with Buzz after they were moved around in some unpleasant circumstances and finally rescued and placed at the no-kill shelter. 
Bell doesn’t “sit still for long”, her bio says. And she is “not interested in playing with toys,” her bio reads. It also says, “However, if you have doggie treats in your hand, she will chase those down all day long! Bell is not overly needy for attention and affection. Although she loves to be petted and scratched, she doesn't necessarily seek it out. We believe she would be happy and content with friendly feet to lay beside, a warm bed in the house, and a yard to run in. She just needs consistency and a place where she can feel safe! Although Bell came to us with a friend, in the shelter she has shown aggression towards other dogs. She will need to be placed in a home as the only pet. We would love to see this sweetheart have a brand new start. There is something so adorable about her personality and demeanor.”

That friend is this boy Buzz, a mixed-breed with a brown, white and chocolate coat. We've run that hug photo before -- it catches Buzz's personality. His bio reads, “Love! Love! Love this big, beautiful boy! Although he has an independent spirit, he can be affectionate and endearing . He is 8 years young and had a tough life. Despite the hardships he has endured, he still seems to exude joy! He just makes everyone at the shelter happy! Great news - he seems to be POTTY TRAINED! He is also DOG FRIENDLY, but NO cats please. Although strong, Buzz is great on a leash. The volunteers at the shelter walk him daily and cannot say enough great things about him. He has not shown much interest in playing with toys or playing fetch, but that could change once feeling safe and secure in a new home.”
See how to adopt these two at dognkittycity.org.
You can also find some cats at that site. And we found this girl Akira with a fantastic set of whiskers. She’s a Tuxedo girl, black and white and born May 29, 2017.
Akira is at dog Dog ’n’ Kitty City because her human died. And, the shelter bio reads, she’s “been kind of sad since arriving” but is beginning to come out of her shell. As you may suspect, she needs a loving human to help her adjust to her new life and home.

RUBY THE PREGNANT MIX
AND PABLO THE LONELY DOG
These two are in the Mesquite Animal Shelter and one has presented the facility with a surprise — that would be Ruby. She’s “rescue only” right now.
 Oh, boy, this is a story: You see here a photo of youngish Ruby, a 2-year-old mix who came into the Mesquite Shelter as a stray on September 30, our tipster, Mesquite Dog Biographer Debra Chisholm reports. “Until very recently, no one suspected that she was pregnant.” [LARRY NOTE: That second photo of Ruby is kind of, well, a big hint!]
 Debra writes, “She has been seen by a vet who has verified that she is carrying 9-10 pups. Unfortunately before anyone knew she was pregnant, she contracted an upper respiratory infection and on 10/11-10/21 was given doxycycline to combat the infection.  Vet is unsure how the medication will affect the unborn pups.”

Debra says Ruby “walks nicely on a leash, goes to the potty in the yard, has a mellow personality and yet is lively and spunky.  She does not jump on you.  Ruby knows the sit command and will sit for treats, taking them gently.  She chases tennis balls but does not know to return them.  She is a friendly girl with a sweet nature.  A city shelter is no place to give birth to a litter of pups.  Please help Ruby find a quiet place to have her puppies.  The Mesquite Shelter is overcrowded due to many dogs being surrendered and brought in as strays and there is simply no good place for Ruby to have her pups there.” Ruby is #48769014 — use her ID when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com."
That brings us to the Pablo report from Mesquite Dog Biographer Judi Brown. [LARRY ASIDE: Pablo has nothing to do with Ruby’s situation, we hasten to add.]

Pablo, #48894661, is a 2-year-old, 8-pound boy who is either a Chihuahua or, maybe, a Chiweenie. He’s got “beautiful bronze coloring,” Judi writes. “How could you not fall in love with this sweet boy with a kind face?”
Pablo came into the shelter on Oct. 18 — he was a stray on the loose with a dog who appeared to be his sister. “They were very bonded and she has been adopted,” Judi says. “He was very dependent on her. She gave him a lot of comfort. So now he needs someone that is understanding, patient, and will give him lots of TLC. I spent a lot of time with him and he did warm up to me. He even wagged his tail and jumped on my lap. He’s a lap dog wannabe. But first you need to spend time with him to build up his trust. … He was too intimidated to introduce him to other dogs. … Pablo needs out of the shelter and into a loving, accepting  home ASAP!  Not only is he a cutie pie and very sweet, he is already fixed!” 
[LARRY ASIDE: And, ladies and gents, you see why readlarrypowell.com cleared him of any civil action in the Ruby situation.]
To ask about saving Pablo and giving him hope and a home, use his ID #48894661 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.

TWO DOGS WAITING
IN DIFFERENT FW SITUATIONS
While perusing the scores and scores of animals waiting for adoption or rescue or..well, you know … in Fort Worth Animal Care and Control we found two dogs in two different states of shelter existence. Both are at the North Animal Campus of FWACC.
Here’s the deal with that astounding Earhound with the fantastic facial accents. That dog’s actual name is unknown, so he’s listed as #48942394. And if you adopt him, you can name him. Clearly #48942394 is an Earhound. [LARRY ASIDE: And, of course, we have to ask, why is another German Shepherd type dog in city shelter in the greater North Texas Metroplexian Makes-No-Sense Animal Dumping Grounds?]

Back to this dog. He came in on October 25 and is listed as being in the “New Arrival” stage.
That is completely unlike Anna Miller (#48638405), a just over 2-years-old Pittie mix who came in on October 10 and the reason readlarrypowell.com spotted her is your friendly neighborhood dogfan Larry was looking at the animals on Fort Worth’s “CODE RED” list. And there was beautiful Anna Miller. We have no idea why the name. We have no idea why she’s in isolation at the shelter.
Outside of the personality evident in that photograph, we know nothing of Anna Miller except that she’s on the needle list.
For either of these dogs, email fwacctag@fortworthtexas.gov. No calls, just emails and visits. And you can see more Code Red Cowtown animals by clicking HERE.
[LARRY ASIDE: Some people say you can’t save ‘em all. Maybe not in the next 10 minutes, but you could start today by saving these two.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
THE FUTURE, ICE CREAM AND A SPOONFUL
In Tuesday’s email, I got one with a subject line that read “Larry, land your next job on LinkedIn” and immediately I thought, “No thanks. I’ve got a surefire Lotto Texas ticket for Wednesday. Gonna need it if I intend to keep putting gas in my car the rest of this month.” Anybody know how quickly the Lotto pays off? Gas prices kind of skyrocketed, didn’t they. I may have to get a loan to drive to Austin to get the check. …
The daily news tip sheet The Rundown from The Great Jeff Crilley, the veteran newsman who founded Real News PR, had a very tempting story Tuesday. This features a grocery store in Plattsmouth, Neb. (at the mouth of the Platte —from the French for ‘flat’— River). Workers created a 2,960-pound ice cream sandwich with 32 2-foot by 3-foot cookies and 182 14-pound cylinders of ice cream — looks like vanilla in the video HERE. I’m pretty sure I was born with the natural ability to polish off that ice cream sandwich in one sitting — one sitting of several days, but I’d never tag out! I’d wrestle it into submission. I’d give it a shot — but, even as I typed that “give it a shot” suggestion, alarms were going off in my assorted doctors’ offices. …
I couldn’t find an actual current ice cream song that sounded innocent, so I picked a 1966 song from a group whose name suggests what you might feel when you take that first nibble of ice cream. Click on THE LOVIN’ SPOONFUL. 
 It’s not summer in the city in North Texas, but the temperature could change at any moment.
— Offer ice cream advice or dieting advice by licking, I mean "clicking",  on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com and put ‘LAY OFF THE SWEETS, CHUBSTER’ in the subject line. —