Space, Space Travel, Earthling Animals, Earthling Homes Sought -- Someone Punch 'LAUNCH'?...

EDITION OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021 [PetPowellPress] Wacky world, ain’t? One morning I’m judging cookies at the State Fair of Texas and the next i’m watching the guy who played the first Captain Kirk literally blast off toward space. 
Still not sure if he actually went into “space” or just scraped it in what could be compared to a really expensive carnival ride -- matter of time until someone sets up the Big Tex Suborbital Flight at Fair Park -- cost at least 1.2 million coupons a ride! Someone with a sense of math and science will probably work that out. [LARRY ASIDE: That is my cat, Stevie Ray, who may have been into space. We don’t have his travel records — they’ve been sealed — but I have my suspicions. Don’t earthling cats cast just one shadow? Cue the spooky music!]
ANOTHER GSD IN A SHELTER;
A HUSKY WHO ‘TALKS’

I’ve mentioned the recent epidemic of dumped, surrendered or strayed German Shepherds. Here’s one who was surrendered to the Bridgeport Shelter with some hope.
We learned about this AKC Registered, spayed, 2-year-old, 50-pound German Shepherd Dog named Duchess from the 4 -Legged Helpers, the non-profit that monitors needs in smaller and low-traffic shelters. 
The story is Duchess was surrendered by “someone [who] could no longer care for her due to a personal situation in the family and no longer has time to spend with her (firefighter who is not at home).  She was brought to the shelter in hopes of finding her a wonderful rescue/home.  Note: A cat-free home is best.  Just as pretty, sweet, and smart as can be.”
Also waiting in Bridgeport is this young Husky girl, Sasha, 1 or 2 years old and 42 pounds. The Helpers’ bio reads that Sasha “loves to talk to you (so cute) and enjoys riding in the car or truck and meeting new people. She is extremely friendly and VERY SWEET.  LOVES OTHER DOGS TOO SO WOULD BE GREAT IN A HOME WITH ANOTHER DOG.  Walks great on a leash … cat free home is best.  She would need to be checked by a vet to see if spayed or not.  She is a really cute, and super sweet dog who adores people and wants to be by your side (and her attempts at conversation are the cutest thing ever.”
IT SOUNDS LIKE A POEM’S TITLE,
BUT IT’S A LIST OF ‘THE WAITING’
Here’s the poetic part: “Jack, Tuty, Wheatley and Ivy…”
Jack, Tuty, Wheatley and Ivy
four dogs with a similar plight,
waiting for homes with cable
 so
so they can live it up each night.
Yeah, dogs and cats are so human sometimes. But there are the real stories about these four dogs from Mesquite Animal Services. FYI: Jack and Tuty have lived together before.
That’s Jack the Siberian Husky (left) — he came in on 10/2 with his sister, Tuty. They were strays, reports Mesquite’s volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm. Jack (#48248804) is about a year old, neutered and weighs 42 pounds. Debra says, “He is frisky with lots of tail-wagging puppy energy.” 
He and Tuty are kenneled together and “seem bonded,” she reports. And she writes, “It would be nice if they could be rescued or adopted together but doubtless they would adjust if not together since they are so young.  Jack and Tuty had a blast in the shelter yard during the photo session running together, playing and stretching their legs.  He does well on a leash.  He likes treats and takes them gently but does not know to sit for them.  This is one friendly and sweet-natured boy. … He placed his front paws several times on the stone wall in the yard, looking as though he would love to scale the fence above the wall.  He will obviously need a high and secure fence to keep him home!"

You see here a photo of Tuty [#4824880] stretched out at a good clip on her romp with Jack in the shelter yard. She is spayed, weighs around 30 pounds and is about a year old. Her bio reads, “She is one high-spirited girl who enjoyed running and playing with her brother in the shelter yard during the photo shoot.  She does walk well on a leash.  She likes toys and will chase (but not return) tennis balls. [BIO NOTE: Takes after her brother on the chase/no-return philosophy.] She takes treats gently but does not sit for them.  She is a friendly youngster with an outgoing and confident personality. …Tuty needs a tall and secure fence as (members of) her breed are typically escape artists.” Use the ID#s for Jack and Tuty when you contact the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.

Use those same contact points to ask about this big boy Wheatley (#48824661), a 4-year-old, 94-pound Anatolian Shepherd mix — came in as a stray on Oct. 7. Debra writes, “He walks great on a leash.  He knows the sit command.  He takes treats and does so gently.  He is a friendly fellow who seeks and gives affection and attention.  He has a low-key personality, has a calm and gentle nature and is well-mannered.  He has been given a Nexgard as he came in with fleas.  He does not jump on you.  Wheatley has dreamy and soulful eyes that will melt your heart!  There's a lot to like about this big fella and he would seem very well suited to a person or family with a quiet and well-ordered lifestyle.

Ivy, #48808054, is “mixed-breed girl”  (one breed must be Earhound!) who, Debra writes, “arrived originally on 10/5, was adopted and returned to the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 10/11.  Reason stated for the return was that she was experiencing separation anxiety as the adopter works long hours and the apartment manager would not allow the dog to remain.  Ivy weighs 49 pounds and is about a year old.  She is a high-energy and exuberant pup.  In her excitement she does jump on you.  She is playful, friendly and very sweet.  She does not seem to know any commands.  She walks nicely on the leash.  She is a very curious girl.  Ivy needs a home with a person or family who will spend time exercising and playing with her and giving her the attention she needs to get acclimated to a new environment.”
Again, use her ID 48808054 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email at rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
Jack, Tuty, Wheatley & Ivy — poetry in emotion, right? Lots of canine love in those four dogs. Tell a human who can appreciate the dogs.
THREE GIRLS FROM
LANCASTER’S SHELTER
There are boy dogs in the Lancaster Animal Shelter, too, but we’re going to feature these girls in this edition. 
That Lab/Bulldog mix is Katie, whose bio reads she “loves everyone and everything including all other dogs. Katie is only 10 months old but extremely well-behaved. Sweetest temperament, too. Affectionate, loving, cuddly, CUTE!! And check out those baby blue eyes — absolutely stunning. Weighs 50 pounds.” 

ROWAN is a 2-or-3-year-old Border Collie mix described as a “super cute little girl that is very sweet.  Look at those cute little ears and smiling face! Really great girl that is very deserving of a home. …Weighs 37 pounds - very nice medium size.”

And we’ve featured this girl Sophie before. She’s around a year old and has been spayed. Her bio reads, “Beautiful dog with big sweet loving eyes whose pics do not do her justice - she is so very cute in person. Shelter says ready to be rescued or adopted! She is an absolute sweetheart.”

To ask about these girls, call or text 4-Legged Helpers at 214-949-2726 or Facebook MSG Laura Macias or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS
SPACE AND HISTORY AND HAM
I watched the Wednesday morning space shot on my laptop while sitting in a parked car after a 25-mile rush hour trip on I-30 from Fort Worth through Arlington, Grand Prairie, downtown Dallas and into Mesquite. A veteran traveler on the mystery that is I-30, I think that trip push us closer to peril than William Shatner may have faced on his flight to space. To borrow from the promotional theme for the first Alien movie, “In Space No One Can Hear You Honk.” If we could make auto travel safer than space travel, wouldn’t that be something! …
All the millionaire spaceguys have at-the-least played to a tie with the First American in Space, Ham the Astrochimp. Went up, came down, survived. That’s him just before his suborbital Project Mercury-Redstone 2 Mission on Jan. 31, 1961. [LARRY ASIDE: Ham lived to 25 and died on Jan. 19, 1983, in a darned zoo in North Carolina.]
 FYI: Ham is buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico. I’ve been there and I’ve been emotionally moved at that facility that celebrates the first space travel pioneers and their work. 
Read about the shameful treatment of this noble creature. Here’s a paragraph from that story that ripped my heart nearly out of my earthling chest: After his flight, “Ham was transferred to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. in 1963 and spent 17 years in solitude. He then spent three years at the North Carolina Zoo in the company of other chimps before dying on Jan. 19, 1983 at age 25, young for a chimpanzee. The Smithsonian Institution hoped to put his body on display before public outrage forced them to reconsider.” Still, that is not as sad as the Soviet Union’s first mammal in space: Laika The Dog was strapped into close quarters in Sputnik 2 for a low-orbit flight on Nov. 3, 1957. When did she die? Nov. 3, 1957. Why? Wikipedia describes it this way: “No capacity for her recovery and survival was planned and she died of overheating or asphyxiation shortly before she was to be poisoned.” Former stray from Moscow. Details of her death were hidden and obscured by the Russian government until 2002. 
Yep, fly with millionaires and your space destiny may be better than that of a sacrificed dog and a solitary chimp. LARRY QUESTION: Until we are better people on earth, do we really deserve to take our attitudes and judgements on the exploration of space?
—- Offer space advice or earth solutions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com. —-