GOOD NEWS NOTES FROM PLANO & HOUSTON; CHANCES TO HELP & WEATHER GRIPING

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY JANUARY 20-21, 2022 [PetPowellPress] I love it when we get to post good news: Hello Houston & Texas Humane Legislation Network! And the found little dog, too! Ah, today’s one of those days (keep reading!) but, the reality is, I’m too darned cold. I feel that I am not alone in that un-Texan sensation. Half the year you can't get cold enough in Texas. Moving along:
 Here’s our pre-sunrise Thursday weather report. Cold. Absolute cold. (It’s like our noon report. Back to the morning report.)
In 20 minutes on the treadmill at 3.2 mph in the unheated garage, I was unable to work up a sweat. Most of the time my inability to work up a sweat is due to my lack of ambition. OK, here we go with this edition of readlarrypowell.com, your critter, humanity and oddity source since before the turn of this century. 
That’s my office cat William Powell. He just handed me a note that read, “Either turn up the heat in this flophouse or put me on a plane to Rio.” He is usually wearing a nose that is beautifully pink but, in this weather, Willam’s nose has dimmed and is approaching “gray” status. My nose feels the same way. When does this snap end? I am on the brink of declaring, “I sure miss August.”

CATCHING UP WITH
A DOG THAT WAS MISSING
We got great news from Lisa Brooks of Pooch Savers Rescue earlier in the week. The little dog Yoni, aka Teddy Bear, is a former Pooch Savers pup who vanished just before Christmas in Plano. For a while, there was a theory that he’d been stolen — he’s that adorable! But he has been found and is happily back at home.
He’d been missing since December 28, seen a few times in the West Parker Road/Ohio Drive area of Plano. 
But as many “seen” dogs are when still disoriented, he wasn’t out on the curb trying to thumb a ride back home. He was hidin’ out!

The 11-pound dog, Lisa reports, “was found about 4 days after he went missing. It was literally minutes before the real cold weather hit about two weeks ago.”
Timing — that’s the key to everything, not just Dallas Cowboys football but winter storms.
The little guy “was spotted by several people who stopped what they were doing and kind of surrounded him. He was in a driveway.  We got the call and my husband Scott, who was at an adoption event, went over there and just sat down.

“Yoni started barking at him at first but then recognized Scott and went to
him.  Scott was able to scoop him up and return him to his owner, I've
attached a couple of pics, the woman is a Good Samaritan who had been
helping for DAYS.  She selflessly drove around for hours each day. The
person in the Pooch Savers Rescue shirt is my hubby and the other man
is Yoni's owner.” 

Teamwork — and some loving hearts. That’s what got the happy ending for this little dog. 
So, I wondered who might be available via Pooch Savers and I clicked on the website HERE. Little dogs, big dogs, adorable dogs.
And I got a view quickly of this Bloodhound/German Shepherd mix with the football star name, Joe Montana. His eyes looks as if they’re made up for appearances in Hollywood movies! Joe Montana is one handsome 88-pound dog described not only as “very playful” but as a “big goofball!” [LARRY ASIDE: Once again, I envy a dog who has a resume with a description I’d love to have: “big goofball.” Wait. No! Please. Take us both seriously! But Joe’s house-trained and available and I am not. Well, I’m house-trained, but not available, though on some days my sweetspouse Martha may have different thoughts. About available, not about house-trained.]
A PET STORE ORDINANCE
AND OTHER HOUSTON WINS!
The note from Shelby Bobosky of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, famous for work with the Texas Legislature, cited some triumphs within the municipal government of the City of Houston, Texas. Yep, sort of “grass roots influence” to help animals without waiting on the Lege to re-gather itself! [LARRY ASIDE: And if this stuff can get done in Houston, how about in other cities that need “counseling” on the way they allow animals to be handled?]
Back to the THLN note: 
The opening reads, “One year ago, THLN, together with Houston advocates, approached Houston City Council Member Sally Alcom, Chair of Houston’s Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, to revise Houston’s outdated animal welfare regulations. Together, we worked with the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC), the City and other stakeholders to draft revisions UNANIMOUSLY approved .. by the Houston City Council [Wednesday].
Those revisions include requiring pet stores to “sell only dogs and cats sourced from a humane organization or muncipal/county animal shelter.” No more puppy mill problems, perhaps. And there are changes affecting “dangerous dogs” and “loose animals” and the hold time for strays. 
Plus Houston has given $1 million to BARC to expand spay and neuter services. Here's the LINK TO THE NEWS RELEASE.
[LARRY ASIDE: Houston. Houston, Texas. As, was the expression in my teenage years, “Hot dang, Houston! Way to go”]
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE, KYLO
NEEDS HELP, RADAR DOES, TOO,
AND A GIRL NAMED FREDDIE!
This guy Kylo — rescue only because of medical conditions ignored by his human —has the kind of a story that shows up when humans let down the dog they once promised to love forever. We got Kylo’s story from the volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm at Mesquite Animal Services. She reports that the German Shepherd mix was brought to the shelter on January 4 because of a bite incident. The story reads, “Kylo squeezed through the fence in his yard and walked into a neighbor's house.  When the neighbor tried to push him out, he bit the neighbor on the leg and hand.  When the 10-day shelter quarantine was completed the owner opted to surrender.” 
[LARRY TIME-OUT: Please take 10 seconds to move past the “he what?” sensations that have taken over your thought processes. Now’s the time to get Kylo into a home that will be a home. Know what I mean, jelly bean?]

This 4-year-old GSD mix weighs just 50 pounds now and he is “rescue only” because of medical issues confirmed after he was “opted” out of his home. The owner told the shelter that Kylo had lost a lot of weight, but he didn’t take im to a vet. A shelter staffer took Kylo to a vet and the exam revealed that “Kylo has several medical issues his owners never attempted to seek care for.  Vet stated he has a body condition score of 2 out of 9 and determined the loss of weight was due to exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.  This difficulty in digestion leads to poor absorption of nutrients.  It was also determined he has hip dysplasia and a degenerative joint disease.  He has been suffering from these health issues with no vet care from his owner.  Staff reports that they have not noted aggression.  He is very energetic and quite ‘mouthy.’ He will need training to break him of that habit as his owner obviously did not do.  He chases balls but does not return them.  He walks ok on a leash.  He has lived outdoors and doesn't seem to have had much, if any, training and possibly hasn't been socialized much either.  Shelter has medical report from the vet and will forward it to any rescue interested in helping Kylo.”
Kylo is #49355127 — use his ID when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email at rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
That moves us along to volunteer dog biographer Judi Brown’s report on this guy Radar. Judi writes, “What’s not to like about this face? Actually what’s not to like about this cute stocky boy with a loving personality? Radar is a 3 to 4-year-old, 62-pound mostly black Pittie mix that arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 1/13 as a stray.  He’s got a cute face and captivating hazel eyes. Radar has a lot going for him. He’s gentle and relatively calm. He stays close seeking human affection. He’s lovable and friendly with a tail that wags constantly. He gives kisses generously. 

“When you sit down he puts his head on your lap. He sits for treats and takes them gently. He chases balls but does not retrieve them.  He appears to be housebroken as he did his business as soon as he got out into the yard.”

And there’s this aspect that demonstrates he’s a pretty smart dog. During the photo sessions, he would make sure he was standing by the shelter door. Judi wrote, “I suspect he’s been an inside dog and would like to be inside with his new family. I can just picture him in a cozy bed at the feet of his new family.” Radar’s ID is #49411109 — use it when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
About Freddie the Cat: At the shelter’s online site HERE you can see all sorts of adorable adoptables who are in the care of the Mesquite Animal Shelter. They include this cat with the electric eyebrows! She’s named Freddie! A medium-sized, year-and-a-half-old Domestic Shorthair, she’s currently in quarantine — came in on January 4. Ask about #49354532 when you call the shelter or write to it.
CONTEMPLATIONS
SLEEPERS, ERCOT, COACH OR CEO?
QUICK! Somebody send me photos of your slumbering animals for the upcoming weekend edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie and Napping Cats Nap. Any animal will do. We just try to demonstrate that a loving home is a good place to nod off. Email photos and inphos, er, info, to dallrp@aol.com. Remember this doesn’t pay you a thing, so you won’t have to add it to your IRS paperwork. Another financial blessing from readlarrypowell.com. …
IN THE SAME RADIO NEWSCAST THURSDAY I heard one reporter pronounce the keep-the-lights-on agency ERCOT as “aircot” and another refer to it as “urrcot” — as in to urr is human but to be warm is divine. Last year, not on the radio, I heard ERCOT called other things. …

SPEAKING OF HEADLINES, who is more important in your life, the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys or the CEO of ERCOT? Which one makes more headlines? Know their names? Made you look (er, made you look 'em up, maybe.)
—- Leave solid warming advice by clicking on ‘comment’ or email dallrp@aol.com and put DON’T PAWN WINTER COAT AGAIN in the subject line. —-