THE GUY DROPPED THE BEER....PLUS, GOOD STORIES & APPEALS FOR HELP FOR ANIMALS

EDITION OF THURSDAY, DEC. 23, 2021 [PetPowellPress] Bleary-eyed one morning this week, I staggered into the kitchen to prep breakfast for the livestock and my not-quite-awake eyes caught a glow outside the kitchen window. I pulled open curtain over the sink and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but this lit-up dog face. I’d forgotten about the Christmas scene Martha had created in the front flowerbed — a big white dog pushing a big envelope into a mailbox. Kind of put me in a Christmas mood — yes, that is a pig with wings on the window sill. I think he’d been talking to the dog. 
Now, on Wednesday morning, I was in the middle of an attempted theft at a drug store. Merry Christmas indeed. More in Contemplations. First, some animals in need, including a delivery that would make Santa (a) envious and (b) reaching for a lump of coal over the dump-the-puppies philosophy.
WE PRESENT THIS MOM,
HER PUPPIES & A RESULT!
Gail Whelan, founder and spirit of the Companion Animal Network, sent out a note that I read early Wednesday. The message began, “Someone dumped this mom and puppies at a man's house and he is begging for help.” Gail was prepared to help with transports and a donation.
So, along about mid-day I checked with her and she happily wrote back, “WELL..... HERE IS A GREAT UPDATE.   The SPCA of East Texas is taking the whole family in January.  I will have them here (in her East Texas home) until then (If I live through it).  The SPCA of East Texas is always full but I gave it a try and got a call back ASAP saying they would take the family.  I could not be happier.”
To help Gail continue her life-saving work, contact her at 903-957-3226 or email can.adoptions@yahoo.com. You can reach the SPCA of East Texas by clicking HERE.
One more report from Gail. In mid-November we wrote about a girl named Poppy who was in a tough spot. Gail wrote us this note: “BY THE WAY..........  Poppy, the perfect black lab girl -- has a fabulous home in Prestonwood now.  THEY ADORE HER!!!!”
We wrote about this girl Poppy in mid-November after getting a note from Gail about the 6-year-old, 88-pound Lab girl. She was, Gail reported, “losing her home through no fault of her own.” And, now, with some help from determined Gail at the Companion Animal Network. this girl has a home. [LARRY ASIDE: Kind of feels good to know that Poppy will have a home for Christmas.]
A DOG NAMED BROWNIE
NEEDS A GOOD HOME NOW….

CHATA HAS BEEN BETRAYED…
We learned of Brownie the Dog from Judi Brown, veteran dog biographer for Mesquite Animal Services. And in these two photos Brownie looks as if he’s auditioning for a role in a movie. “I can play very serious; I can play playful.” 
Judi says Brownie is “a fun-loving happy energetic dog looking for an active family that wants to play with him. He thinks the world is his oyster. With his easy-going joyful attitude he’s delightful to be around! Besides that he’s really cute! Brownie is a five-year-old brown and white terrier pit that arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter as a stray on 12/17. He weighs 49 pounds and is not fixed.”
Motivated by treats, wants to please and is “a lap dog wannabe,” Judi writes. He’s #49272714 — use that number when you call the shelter at 972-215-5283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.

Judi also met and worked with Chata, this 6- or 7-year-old bulldog who weighs in at 74 pounds — arrived at Mesquite as a stray on December 15. 
“The animal control officer,” Judi writes, “said it was obvious that she broke out of her fence and then did not know how to get back in. Her owners were called but have not chosen to reclaim her. She also came in with a Boxer that she had lived with. The boxer has been rescued. Chata has been being passed over possibly because she’s overweight.
“But she told me she would be willing to go for a walks with her new owners,” Judi wrote, then added, “It would also benefit her to be put on a diet. She does walk well on a leash although she wobbles as she walks along beside you. … She’s timid and spent her time in her kennel in the back of the kennel where she’s not very visible to the public. When I took her out into the yard she wanted to retreat into the corner for security. However I got down on the ground with her and spend time petting her. She was very receptive to loving and liked being petted. She wagged her tail. She has been overbred, has some moles on her neck, and a tumor on her right paw. The best adjective to describe her is SWEET! When she went back into her kennel she did not retreat. She was standing up as though she was more confident. This loving, gentle girl is already spayed! She has so much love to give you!” Chata’s ID is #43462201. Call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
CONTEMPLATIONS
THE ATTEMPTED HEIST
Now and then you’ll get a surprise for Christmas. Along about the middle of Wednesday morning I walked into a neighborhood drug store that was playing upbeat Christmas music for all of us customers. It was, indeed, Christmas at the drug store. Cheerful greetings from employees. Lots of signs of Christmas! 
I needed a few things including lightbulbs — our living room lights are dimming. Probably wore themselves out trying to out-glow our Christmas tree.

Anyway, all the items I bought fit into one small plastic bag.

As I was paying, a tall blonde walked past me and into the “airlock” between the inner sliding doors and the outer sliding doors. 
It took mere seconds to sign and pay and as I picked up the bag and turned to my right to go, a guy carrying three boxes of bottled beer — the kind innocent people buy — ran, yes RAN, around me and was just two quick steps from the open sliding door. 
But, fate was not on his side.
Having to move around me had invalidated his escape route.

Just as he dodged me, I heard an employee shout “BANDIT! BANDIT!” and the sprinting thief whammed into the gently closing door, dropped all three boxes and fell to the floor. Four or five other employees arrived at the scene of the...well, attempted crime.
One young male employee, also yelling “BANDIT! BANDIT!” arrived and missed grabbing him as he scrambled, clattered and spider-crawled his way out to freedom.

Yes, the employee missed the speedy would-be bandit, but did manage to save the beer. I said, "Must be really good beer" and the employee replied, "I wouldn't know. Never tried it." Too soon for a wisecrack, I guess.
Another employee said something like, “I think that woman in purple was his helper.”

The Lady in Purple and the guy who ran, stumbled and fumbled like he’d once had a running back contract with the Dallas Cowboys need to rethink their career choices.
 I hope whatever is keeping him and his sidekick from being good and decent people is soon under control. They’re too young to spend life as crooks.
And, snatching beer from a drug store — is that any way to spend time at Christmas? Yep, surefire way to get on the naughty list. Well, in some jurisdictions, anyway.
—- Offer law-abiding advice or other tips by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com and put ‘HANDS UP! DON'T DROP THE BEER’ in your subject line. —-