LIVING A GOOD LIFE IN 2022; WORKING FOR ANMALS; HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

EDITION OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022 [PetPowellPress] It’s a chilly Thursday in our part of Texas — no news to anybody who has had to step outside today. Warm socks — what a blessing to the toes.

Get this: Our dog Wendy just walked up to me and nuzzled my blue-jeans as I was typing. She said politely, “Sir, I wonder if you might be able to persuade adorable Martha to turn the heat up? I’d do it, sir, but, as you know, I cannot reach the thermostat. It’s to high on the wall and my jumping can be inaccurate at times!”
She’s such a polite dog. But, why is she licking the leg of my jeans in this photo? Because, later in the thermostat conversation, she and I shared six Cheetos Puffs and that’s where I wiped the yellow off my hands. It was our breakfast snack. I had coffee and we shared each Cheetos Puff — a bite for me the rest for happy Wendy. If I’d had an omelet for breakfast, we’d have shared that, too. It’s our system. The irony? Wendy’s ribs show and mine don’t. Of course, she runs more than I do. I’m largely sedentary. Wendy explains, “I never bothered to learn ‘Sit’.” never bothered to learn “Sit.”
SOMETIMES THEY WAIT AND WAIT
EVEN IF IT’S A ‘PRINCESS’ WAITING
Holy smokin’ kibble bits! How is it that in this area of so many good people Princess can’t get a home. The crisis? “She is becoming depressed,” reports our tipster, the Mesquite Animal Shelter volunteer dog biographer Judi Brown.
She writes, “Sweet precious Princess has been at the [shelter] since 12/9. She’s trying so hard to be upbeat and optimistic. It was reported the other day in the rounds that she is becoming depressed. The volunteers are stepping up and giving her extra attention. She is so loving, so sweet and so deserving. Besides being sweet she’s really cute.” (There’s even a $75 pledge to the 501c3 that rescues her.)
Why is she in the shelter? Surrendered because owners were moving. She’d been an “outside dog … evidenced by the calluses on he rear,” Judi wrote. “She also has old, but healed, puncture wounds on her face… In spite of the fact that she’s had to live outside away from her owners, she is extremely sweet, loving and friendly.”
And there’s this advice from Judi: Princess “will need a secure fence as she did try to climb the shelter wall. She was probably looking for her owners! As gentle and loving as she is, she should fit in nicely with a loving family with children. I can see her snuggled up at your feet in a pile of blankets or a nice warm doggy bed. She deserves that!”

Use her ID #49224611 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com. 

Same contact points for this guy Teddy — we learned about him from Judi’s colleague in writing dog biographies, Debra Chisholm. Teddy is #49455931. He has been in the shelter since he was picked up as a stray on Jan. 21. Debra says the “Dog Scanner app” says he’s Aussie Kelpie, Lab/Retriever, Terrier.” He’s about a year old and weighs 39 pounds.
If you think the look on his face says “spunky,” you’re right. He’s a “high-spirited, exuberant fellow,” Debra writes. And “He is playful, loves toys (especially squeaky ones) and has mastered the skill of fetching.  During the photo shoot Teddy ran and played in the shelter yard.  He will sit for treats and takes them gently. Teddy loves attention and is friendly and has a sweet nature. He seems such a happy boy.  He knows the sit and paw commands.  He walked nicely on a leash.  Teddy pottied in the yard.  He appears to have been well cared for.  There is so much to like about this pup…”

And one more Mesquite dog — this 70-pound Husky Shepherd mix is Mitch,
 who, Judi reports, came in as a stray on the 21st. “He’s a beautiful boy with striking markings and eyes that look like they’re lined with eyeliner! He is also unique in that he has two bottom canines that stick out at odd angles. These do not appear to bother him but rather make him even more unique! He’s a very playful boy that finds toys on his own and entertains himself with them. He will chase toys but doesn’t retrieve them. He’s a happy, friendly boy that seeks affection. He’s a big love bug and sometimes will attempt to jump on you just to get a hug. He doesn’t realize that he’s so big and could knock you over. For this reason until he learns not to do this he would do best with older children. He does want to please, sits for treats, and takes them gently. He went to the gate several times looking out and whimpering. I feel like he was missing his owners. … He wanted to get out into the yard so ignored the dogs in the bay but did visit some of the little dogs in kennels in the hallway. He seemed to be friendly with them. He is not fixed. … When I walked by his kennel later, I noticed he was howling!” He’s #49454476 — use that ID when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com
And, when you got to the Mesquite Shelter’s website HERE you can see the first sign that the next expensive holiday is on the way. The cat #49468029 is named “Valentine” and you can make his day by adopting him. He’s a “year and 3 days” old, the shelter says. Medium size. White cat. Came into the shelter on Jan. 24. Clearly he loves to have his “chin tickled by a loving human.”
TWO PUPS IN FERRIS
STILL ON ‘WAITING LIST’
Holy smokin’ crummy situation. These two dogs have been waiting a while in the Ferris Animal shelter. We know because for weeks we’ve been getting (and sometimes publishing) appeals from the 4-Legged Helpers folks who work with small shelters that have low human traffic.
“We are begging for help for the sweet dogs at Ferris Shelter. They stand ZERO CHANCE without a rescue group,” reads the latest appeal. To offer to help these dogs, contact Laura Macias at 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com.
Landon is the fantastically-faced Catahoula/Boxer mix fellow who, his bio says, is “great with other dogs. Heartworm tested—healthy! …” Additionally, it reads, “LANDON IS SO VERY SWEET. Beautiful dog in person - so much more beautiful than the pics even show.  Big pretty blue eyes. Very gentle and sweet guy that actually posed for the photos.  Cutest thing ever.”
This guy Logan is a young Bulldog mix who also is healthy and “great with other dogs. He’s about 2 and “such a sweetie pie,” his bio reads. 
It also says, “He was brought to the shelter by someone who could no longer care for him.  He is all love and is a great young dog.  Silly, cute, lovable, sweet, playful.  Adores everyone.  Heartworm tested healthy and everything already done!  Fixed, all vaccs, and even microchipped. Please, won’t you help save him??? He’s a darling dog..incredibly sweet and lovable and friendly.”
THLN’S DALLAS CHAPTER
HOSTS SATURDAY BREAKFAST
We’ve got the “official” summary of the 10 a.m. Saturday breakfast meeting of the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Humane Legislation Network — you’ve heard of THLN! It’s the pro-animal non-profit that wrestles the Texas Legislature and the Governor of Texas into submission every now and the on behalf of dogs and cats and any other animal that needs more respect. 
The official summary of the Saturday meeting reads, “The Humane Society of the United States Texas State Director, Lauren Loney, and THLN Executive Director, Shelby Bobosky, will deep dive into what 2022 has in store for animal welfare in Texas and provide guidance on how YOU can get involved at the local and state level. Free Vegan Breakfast included for those who RSVP.” That RSVP point is https://texashumanenetwork.org/january-29-2022-dallas-chapter-meeting/.
[LARRY FYI: The Legislative Reference Library of Texas website notes that the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature opens Jan. 10, 2023, just under a year away. While the Lege may take a year off, THLN never rests! Animals don’t take a year off, either. Somebody’s always being a jerk to Texas animals.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day. We got the reminder from our longtime pal and the son of Holocaust survivors, Nico Van Thyn. We met Nico in 1968 when we both worked in the sports department of The Shreveport Times — he had a great career in sportswriting and editing. I moved to the news side of journalism.
Nico wrote a book about his parents: Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust Stories From Amsterdam To Auschwitz.
Thursday morning Nico sent a note: “Here is why Holocaust Remembrance Day is important. we need to remain vigilant against anti-Semitism.” And here is the LINK TO THE STORY.
Nico and I — we’re Baby Boomers about the same age — grew up in different religious cultures. He’s Jewish. I’m a lapsed Southern Baptist. 
But Nico’s parents had first-hand, very personal and terrifying experiences in a concentration camp. They were at Auschwitz.

My dad, a poor kid -- just a kid! -- from semi-rural Texarkana, was at Normandy with the U.S. Army — an infantryman who fought across Europe and was among soldiers who opened up a concentration camp.
While Nico’s parents were haunted by Auschwitz, my dad was haunted by the camp he helped set free. It was a life time haunting. On his death bed, when morphine was trying to knock out his cancerous pain, this former young soldier would shout descriptions and responses to what he was still seeing, thing’s he’d first seen all those decades ago. Walking skeletons crying out for “Brown bread! Brown Bread” — “Probably the only English words they could say,” my dad once told me in a very rare private moment about his war.
Death had ruled that camp until those U.S. soldiers arrived with their weapons and their hearts.

These are the reasons I honor Holocaust Remembrance Day: For the six million, for those who had and have nightmares of war, for those who were called upon to stop the inhumane treatment and disrespect of the lives of others. Yeah, I type this with some tears — bless my Daddy — because as long as one person hates another one because of a belief in an agonizingly wicked philosophy, it’s not over. God help us all.
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