ReadLarryPowell.com

NO LEAP DAY, BUT PLENTY OF DOGS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP 'EM

EDITION OF MONDAY, FEB. 28, 2022 [PetPowellPress] So, since it’s February 28 we’ll go ahead and wish everyone a Happy Leap Day for Feb. 29.
What? Yeah, this is a little big ahead of time — the next Leap Day is in 2024.
How about that weekend? Wasn’t it something with all those sports events and … oh, wait, wrong weekend. Let’s just move along.
THE SMALL SHELTERS
NEED THE BIG HEARTS…
Yes, there’s a passel of pups in small shelters that get few humans walking by to “shop” for a new best friend. So, as we’ve mentioned before, the non-profit 4-Legged Helpers attempt to be the eyes and the transport for dogs that can’t get a break. Cats, too, when they show up.
On this fine Monday, we cite two shelters: Ferris and Glenn Heights. Maybe they have a dog you need for your house and heart. Maybe you know someone who needs a companion animal that knows what happiness looks like. 

We’ll start with this guy Wiggles, currently in the Ferris plaza and described as a “Pocket Boxer.” Wiggles is  described as “an absolute sweetie pie — he is just adorable and he wiggles his cute little butt constantly. …  Loves everyone!  Came in with another dog so we know he likes other dogs.  He adores being held and petted - a big baby.  Approximately 2-3 years old.   Please, please, won't you help save him???  FYI, we have a darling video we can send for you to view!  JUST LET US KNOW!”

Here’s the contact info for both Wiggles and the dog below, Canelo, in the Glenn Heights Animal Shelter. Both shelters are on the southern side of Dallas. Contact the Helpers’ Laura Macias at [email protected] or call or text 214-949-2726. Before we give you the bio on Canelo, here’s the situation from the Helpers: “ALL DOGS FROM GLENN HEIGHTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED **CODE RED - CODE RED! NEXT IN LINE FOR EUTH…”

And, as you can see, Canelo has a happy look on his face and an absolutely glow, too. 
He’s in the Glenn Heights Shelter — waiting. His bio says he’s a “very, very sweet boy who acts like a big puppy.  Young - only 1-2 yrs old.  Shelter believes he would be best in a home where he is the only dog because he seems to have never been around other dogs.  Adores people - silly and lovable. He was brought to the shelter by someone who could no longer care for him.   Already vaccinated with DHPP by the shelter.”
See more of the animals that 4-Legged Helpers are working with by going to the Helpers Facebook page HERE.
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE,
SCOUT AND JAGGER WAIT….
Happiness is something you can naturally find in a dog. You just have to let the dog be himself. That’s our theory at readlarrypowell.com.
The bio for these two came from our pal Judi Brown, volunteer dog biographer for the Mesquite Animal Services Shelter. She and her volunteer colleague Debra Chisholm keep us up-to-date on animals in need. 

Judi’s bio of the smiling boy Scout (maybe “Carolina dog/Anatolian shepherd, yellow lab?” she says) describes him as “a happy, easy-going, fun-loving dog that loves to play! Scout (#49628754) is a 1 and 1/2-year old, 42-pound mixed breed that arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 2/19 and is not fixed. He’s a handsome boy with a fluffy tail. You can see by looking at these pictures that Scout is a happy boy as he even seems to be smiling in some of the photos! He’s enthusiastic, lively, alert and friendly. He wants to please and will sit and lay down for treats. He’s highly motivated by treats so should be easy to train. However he has so much joy that he sometimes can’t contain his excitement and will jump on you. He also can be a little mouthy. For this reason until he can get some manners training and settles down a little bit he would be a better fit for an active family with older children. He wags his tail constantly. He loves toys!!! He doesn’t seem to get tired of chasing them and frequently entertains himself by shaking them. It’s really fun to watch and his joy is contagious.”
That brings us to this boy Jagger. He’s #49005310 in the shelter. He first came in on November 3. And, Judi writes, the 65-pound youngster, maybe about 2 years old, was adopted last month. “The new adopters kept him for one month and now he’s back at the shelter. The reason given was that he has separation anxiety. Therefore hopefully somebody that works from home or is willing to have a behavioral intervention would consider adopting this sweet boy. It would also be helpful if he could be crated with some chew toys and comforting blankets when his new owners need to be away. He is truly one of my favorites. In spite of his size he’s a very gentle loving boy. If you cannot tag or adopt please network Jagger. I pledge $75 to a 501 C3 that will rescue Jagger. PM Judi Brown.”

Jagger, possibly part Bull Mastiff/part Boxer, has “many sterling qualities,” Judi says. She also writes that “he’s extremely handsome to the point of being stunning! His eyes look like they’re lined with eyeliner. He has a very thick, solid stocky build that’s adorable! That stocky body wiggles all over when he wags his tail and his tail wags constantly! He appears to be a very happy boy. He’s very friendly and affectionate. When I sat down he jumped up on the bench right next to me.” He is, she says, “a total love bug.”
Again, remember to use the ID number when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]. 

A COUPLE OF NOTES FROM
ESTABLISHED NON-PROFITS
We got this note from Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake guiding light Sidney Busch. She reports, “Friends of the Animals now sells once-a-month chewable flea/tick preventative for puppies - BRAVECTO!  Priced at just $17, it is affordable AND effective. For sale every Tuesday from 6am-4:00ish and the SECOND SATURDAY of each month from 10-noon.” Remember, the Friends operate the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City on Tuesdays. Go to www.friendsoftheanimals.org or visit the Friends Facebook page. ….
And we got a note from Paws In The City, the Dallas-based non-profit rescue. The Paws people are looking for a volunteer — like all non-profit animal organizations, they’re always looking for volunteers to help with the mission. This voluneer will have special talents that have nothing to do with hands-on dog and cat contact, unless you just happen to need it in your emotional framework. This time the volunteer need reads: “Are you a pro at creating engaging content? We are looking for an experienced content creator to design Instagram Reels to capture quick, fun, and viral moments that captivate and grow our audience on Instagram. To capitalize on a growing social media trend and spread our mission, work, and impact to new audiences. This volunteer role would be a six month commitment, 1-2 hours a week. If this is something you are interested in, please contact Amy for more information at [email protected] Or apply at Or apply at https://pawsinthecity.org/volunteer/."
CONTEMPLATIONS
MUSING, HOT LIPS & MUSIC
Watching Live With Kelly and Ryan Monday with guest host Ali Wentworth, the “host chat” topic was “co-ed baby showers” and somebody described such events as “new thing.” Ah, but in late 1970 as we awaited the birth of our first child, the darling people in the “Women’s News” section of The Texarkana Gazette hosted an in-office co-ed baby shower for the expectant mom and me (I was an editor at the time and she had worked in the advertising department.) So, yep, pretty sure co-ed showers aren’t a new thing. We got nice gifts for “The Baby” and about a month later had unexpected twins. Yep, Bret and Bart surprised a bunch of people on Jan. 17, 1971. Been the theme of their lives, too, though I must tell you that my funspouse Martha and I enjoy both boys’ company and wit every time we’re around them. Of course, when it’s just the two of us, we’re on-and-off on that enjoying-your-company-today thing. She likes a good book and a cat in her lap; I’ll take moping and depressed sensations as my moments of joy. I'm a Scorpio. In case you wondered.
THANK YOU NOTES — Yeah, periodically I try to remind myself to write thank-you notes to people in show business and the creative arts who have given me some enjoyment through their performances. I keep being too late with the notes
.
But maybe Sally Kellerman, the original Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the 1970 movie M*A*S*H will appreciate this “thank-you” for not only her performances on screen but for her singing career, too. Here’s the actress/singer performing Good Girls Go To Heaven. And here’s the LINK TO HER OBITUARY in The Guardian. Oh, and FYI, I heard a young broadcaster on WBAP 820-AM's morning show say he had no idea that there'd been a movie before the M*A*S*H film -- it's worth a watch. Remember that era -- Vietnam was still going on and the movie was set in Korea. Might have touched hearts and minds in a different way than most movie comedies.
And, we’ll also give a “thank-you” too late to Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, singer and co-writer of a great song from 1967, A Whiter Shade of Pale. Here’s the link to a video of the song
https://youtu.be/CJxpKlTID2Q and here’s a link to his obituary in Variety.
https://variety.com/2022/music/news/gary-brooker-dead-procol-harum-singer-keyboards-1235187334
These are the opening lines of the song. You can almost see the scene.
"We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
The crowd called out for more …."
Yep, the ol’ showbiz line: “Always leave ‘em wantin’ more.”
—- Offer ideas or insults by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “HEY, GOOFY” in the subject line. —-

THE SENATOR AND THE KID -- ACROSS THE GENERATIONS VIA NAPS & ADORATION

This edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap is dedicated to the generations that meet up and enjoy a nap on the family couch.
In this case, we have the elder statesman of American democracy, my personal feline advisor, The Senator. 
I’m using a term from the 1960s to describe that scene with The Senator and young Hastings the Rescued Kitten. Call it the “Generation Gap Nap.” 

The Senator is happy to be sharing a nap on the couch and its faux-sasquatch fur cover with the youngest cat in our house, the foundling Hastings, born probably in September 2021 and rescued on Oct. 4 from the middle of Duncanville’s Hastings Street.
When was The Senator born? No tellin’. We’ve had him since 2008 when he showed up on our front porch — apparently campaigning for a relatively quiet place to work on his memoirs. 
He already was an older fellow. So, we figure he’s 17 or 18 years old (maybe more), based on his slow and certain movements, patience with others and the ability to sleep constantly until mealtime when his internal alarm wakes him.
The Senator, (left) concentrating on honing something I've written, is an excellent editor. He knows how to guide a writer of potentially money-making fiction away from unlikely tales and wretched discussions of the art of romance. 
He’ll do that by stomping across the keyboard and sometimes tap-dancing on the delete button while wearing a wry smile. Writers and readers both thank him for his devotion to well-written prose and poetry.
Hastings is learning how to be part of a Cat Clowder. He was rescued alone. And he was blind at the time so he didn’t really understand how to “play well with others” until he regained vision in those beautiful eyes. (Click on that photo of Hastings in my office to make it grow and you can see the blue in his eyes.)
Back to the photo of Hastings on the couch: He is flopped there learning to nap from his mentor-in-manners, The Senator.

The Senator hasn’t been feeling well lately, but, thanks to his personal veterinarian, he’s back to eating robustly and sleeping properly and being a determined-to-be-respectfully-adored old cat.

He is my dear, dear friend — and, yes, trusted advisor. And it is such an emotional lift for me when I sit on the couch to watch TV or read and he rises from his spot on the back of the couch and steps onto my shoulder, then crawls down my chest to my lap and turns around to step back up and stick his beautiful ol’ cat face right into my beard so he can nuzzle my chin and purr. What a tribute! I have loved him from the moment I met him.
Same thing with Hastings, who’ll be lucky if he learns a smidgen of what The Senator knows about life, behavior and influencing human thought.
 Hastings was so tough to be out exploring in his situation — blind from gunk on his eyes, starving, uncertain of a kitten’s next move. And, now, he’s learning to be a Cat from the greatest Cat Advisor ever produced by the American system of political representation and feline admiration.
In that final photos you see how The Senator and the dog Porche are of one mind when it comes to relaxing on the living room couch and the faux-sasquatch cover. Sometimes they swap places on the couch without a spat! 
“If only humans could get along like we do,” the Senator has frequently suggested while he and Porche join me in watching the news on TV. He sometimes just sits and shakes his wonderful kitty cat noggin over the behavior of people here and abroad. I know how he feels. 
Yep, that's some fluffy tail on that cat Hastings! If he grows into it we'll have to widen the hallways in the house so he can twitch it without wrecking the walls.
[DEAR READERS, please send sleeper/napper photos of your household critters to [email protected] and we’ll post them in our weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. We love showing off animals who know they are loved. We believe what you do helps other people decide to open their homes to animals. And we also think these features help insomniacs believe they too can get some sleep if they can just order one of those expensive sasquatch-style couch covers from the Area 51 Sasquatch & Saucermen Souvenir Shop in Nevada.]
— Offer cat lore or canine tales by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected]. —-

THE CHALLENGES OF A SUNNY DAY RE: ANIMALS AND HUMANKIND

EDITION OF FRIDAY, FEB. 25, 2022 [PetPowellPress] The sun was beautiful Friday morning. It’s beautiful every day, it turns out. Somedays you can’t see it for the clouds, which also can be beautiful in Texas.
Remember, there are animals in shelters and rescue groups and — oh, my! — roaming in streets and parks all over the greater metrosprawl. Save ‘em all, right?
WE LOVE CHUCK, ADORE
CUDDLES; CRUELLA CHARMS
On this sunny Friday morning, we read a note regarding Chuck the Lab’s health. Earlier, people had been worried about the way he was walking, but a vet check seems to discount anything except maybe a minor skin issue and a bit of hip pain rimadyl will take care of — that’s according to a vet report.
[LARRY ASIDE: Chuck, also, might be a little bit heavy for his hips — yes, I can absolutely relate to that.] 

His bio, courtesy of Mesquite Animal Shelter volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm, says Chuck [#49555873] was surrendered to the shelter on Feb. 8. “Owner works too much and doesn’t have time for Chuck,” the bio reads. Also, it says he’s a year-and-a-half old, weighs 87 pounds and is neutered. House-trained, indoor/outdoor life and is a “friendly tail-wagging boy” who is “well-mannered, calm and gentle.” 
The routine is, as you probably know, if you’re interested in an animal in Mesquite, give the animals ID number when you call the shelter at
972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
That brings us to #49609469, the year-and-a-half-old, 56-pound copper and black-striped Pittie who came in as a stray on the 16th.
Her volunteer biographer Judi Brown writes, “Cuddles is appropriately named!”
And, Judi is enamored of Cuddles’ appearance, too. She writes, “Her coloring and her hazel eyes make her a stand out! When I took her back through the bay, another volunteer commented about how pretty she was. When I went into her kennel I was greeted with hugs, kisses and tail wags. Then when she got out into the yard she spent some time exploring indicating that she’s very alert. She kept checking out the gate but I didn’t get the impression she was trying to get out. It just seemed like she was curious and wanted to know what was going on around her. After she had thoroughly checked out the yard, she came back to spend time with me. When I sat down she tried to crawl on my lap indicating she is a lapdog wannabe. … At the end of our time together she got a little excited and jumped up but other than that she did not jump on me. It’s obvious she’s recently had a litter. … Cuddles is a good name for her because she is very affectionate and wants to go home with you to cuddle. I can see her curled up next to you on the couch or in her doggy bed. She weighs 56 pounds.”
And you can see more Mesquite dogs and cats at the shelter’s website HERE. 
[LARRY ASIDE: We’re all full up with cats at readlarrypowell.com's spacious, fully-staffed Mansion For Expenditures, but if we weren’t, there’s a chance we’d drive all the way to Mesquite and sign up to adopt this elegantly coated catgirl Cruella (#49614957). She's 2, small and came into the shelter on Feb. 17. Look for her in the catroom or online at the Mesquite site.]
4-LEGGED HELPERS ‘BEGGING’
FOR HELP IN SMALL SHELTERS
Nothing new in that headline, but that’s because humans “set animals free” or ignore them when they leave or just flat don’t care whatever happened to that dog we used to have. In some areas of Dallas and Denton counties, humans have bad habits when it comes to animals.

This girl is Sasha. “A friendly Boxer mix” who is in the Ferris Animal Shelter. She’s young. Healthy. And ready to be in an actual home again. 

This boy is Wilson, a 5 or 6-year-old, 70-pound “bulldog mix” who is in the care of a “private animal control” in Denton County. He’s playful, house-trained, and healthy — probably best as an “only dog” who is loved by his humans, the Helpers’ note suggested. 
For these and any other animals being monitored by 4-Legged Helpers, email Laura Macias at [email protected] or call or text 214-949-2726.
Also, you can see more animals in the 4-Legged Helpers’ “sphere of influence and care” by going to their Facebook page HERE.

[LARRY ASIDE: Remember, the Helpers are helping animals in shelters that don’t have big staffs and public relations campaigns to draw attention to their availability as a beloved member of the family. In fact, some cities have shelters but they’re regarded as places you warehouse unwanted animals until it’s time to kill ‘em and make room for the next ones.]
BE ON THE LOOKOUT
IN DALLAS’ OAK LAWN AREA….
You see photos of a Heeler who was frightened and elusive on Feb. 18. He’s still elusive. 
We got a note from Sara Wojtylak who explains, “I was fostering a dog who has lived his life outside. He's very skittish and broke out of his harness on Friday night (Feb. 18) when strangers (drunkenly) approached him, disregarding my  request not to. 
“I'm trying to spread the word to find him. My heart is breaking since it's so cold out and I'm at a loss for ideas. Can you keep your eye out for him and provide any suggestions on what I can do to locate him? He isn't chipped and doesn't have any identification on him.
“DAS originally found him in the Seagoville area at the intersection of 635 and 75 in the 75253 ZIP Code. I lost him in Oak Lawn, 75219. “
He was last seen near Hood and Fairmount, the note said.
You can see the contact point on that poster (click it to may it grow!). And, as you probably know, this guy won’t answer to Arlo — hasn’t been his name that long and he’s probably not interested in coming to you, anyway. Make sure you call the number, not the dog.
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED NOTES ON LIFE
Before I move on, this guy “Arlo” reminds me of our late Heeler mix Annie (right). We lived with her nearly her entire life -- got her when she was about a month old. That’s her mom, Calamity, in the nameplate at the top of readlarrypowell.com. She was a very elusive neighborhood stray — I tried to catch her for about two years. Eventually, my rescuespouse Martha and I got her when she had a litter of puppies (including Annie) under a neighbor’s storage shed. My brother, Garry, took Calamity and they were made for each other. The folks at East Lake Pet Orphanage took the other 5 puppies and we kept Annie. She was adorable and rascally and testy and then adorable again. Heelers are special. Too smart for their own good sometimes — like many dogs. Bless that boy “Arlo” and keep him safe until he can get into that wonderful, understanding, adoring home.
Speaking of loving dogs. ...
We’ve long admired the rescue work of Cheri Fults, founder of Recycled Pomeranians and Schipperkes. She posted this as that business in Ukraine was heating up and we fell right in line with her thinking: “To all of the ‘I can’t take my dog because I’m moving’ people … Ukrainians are sheltered in subways WITH their pets! Let’s hope and pray they are all safe.” I think you get the point if you’ve ever seen someone surrendering a puzzled animal at a kill shelter. …
Once again, the bottom line is this: Save ‘em all.
— Offer solutions or suggestions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected]. —

AH, WINTER, WHEN COLD AIR AFFECTS MAMMALS AND WE TRY TO HELP ANIMALS...

EDITION OF THURSDAY, FEB. 24, 2022 [PetPowellPress] We had to overcome a first-time technical obstacle to produce this edition. The truck delivering consonants and punctuation marks to the North Texas Complete Sentence Assistance Center was held up by ice on roads coming south from Ellipses, Okla. (So-named because the city fathers claimed the town was always being left off maps and out of official lists of cities in Oklahoma.)
I might have made up that part about a town named Ellipses. Maybe that other stuff, too. Slick streets make me goofy.
True fact: Second time this winter that weather has affected our place — yep, anxiety over regular trash pickup. More on letters and things in (ontemplations. For that “capital C, i.e. the "(", I used the left half of the parentheses pair — call it a “Stretch C“ to spell (ontemplations. In winter, a fellow has to be resourseful - I hope somebody laughed at that “s” joke in “resourseful.” Yeah, that’s my office cat William Powell — we were having a story conference. He asked me to let you know this punctuation and spelling yarn was not his idea. We’ll now segue to cats who’d have a job in our office if we had room.
THE CATS FROM SMU
STILL NEEDING ADOPTION
OK, I was wrong. I thought Braveheart (left) and one-white-whisker Cleo would have been adopted by now. 
You may recall their story — taken in from a feral situation on the SMU “East Campus” and placed in foster. But time is running out in foster because the foster people are leaving town on March 4.
As Kim Pierce, my pal from The Feral Cat Group at SMU writes, “We are running out of time, and meanwhile, they get more and more comfortable with the notion of indoor life – and more interested in humans! … Just look at that eye contact!”

The foster reports that Braveheart (left) and Cleo, year-old sisters, are “affectionate and loves pets and scratches. Braveheart is shy but curious and will sit in your lap if you have treats to share. Both sisters are vocal, purr regularly, and will sit near you. They play well together, love looking out the window, enjoy cat videos, and are great ‘hunters’ with ‘prey toys.’ They will need some time to adjust to their forever home but will make great indoor companions for many years to come.” To ask about adopting Cleo and Braveheart, email [email protected] or call 801-403-6911. There’s no fee. A good, loyal home is the requirement.
BIG MAN NEEDS A LOVING,
EXPERIENCED HOME!
You may remember seeing a photo of Big Man from the Mesquite Animal Shelter last week (Feb. 18). I’ve included two photos of the lad today.
His story hit a bump in the road after he was adopted. 
Mesquite volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm wrote a note Wednesday: “It was with great disappointment to us that Big Man was returned to the Mesquite Shelter on 2/22 from his adopter of 3 days.

“Owner reported that Big Man experienced separation anxiety when he left the house and managed to bolt out the door one of the times so that the adopter had to spend considerable time tracking him down.  Big Man was stressed out when he was placed in a wire crate and managed to escape from it.  

“Adopter reported that Big Man likes to go for walks and is a sweet and friendly boy but that he just could not contain him and wasn't inclined to help him work through the anxiety, fear and uneasiness that Big Man was experiencing."

It has been a tough time for Big Man. You may recall that he was surrendered to the shelter on Jan. 6 and the reason was his human’s time was being taken over by caring for a sick loved one. He had been with that human since he was a puppy. He’s 2, weighs 54 pounds and is neutered. He’s just a dog looking for a home that will accept him, work with him and won’t expect more of him than a puzzled and uneasy dog has to give.
His Mesquite ID is #49352968. Use that when you call the shelter at 972-216-62893 or email [email protected].
See more adoptable adorables — dogs and cats — at the Mesquite Animal Services Shelter by clicking HERE.
Among the cats is this guy Shere Khan (#49629959). He’s 2years old, a large, red boy and he’s been in the feral room at the shelter since intake on Feb. 19. [LARRY ASIDE: “Feral” doesn’t  always mean “always feral” — but it can mean “human investment in loving a cat who isn’t all that keen on loving a human. I’ve know humans and I’ve known cats — easier to change a cat’s mind than that of some humans. Shere Khan is handsome, isn’t he!]

A DOG NAMED ANCHORAGE,
MIGHT FIT THE WEATHER HERE
In the latest report from 4-Legged Helpers about small shelters, this guy Anchorage comes up. He’s in the care of a private animal control in Denton.
And, according to his bio, he’s a 65-pound Alaskan Malamute who “is extremely happy and friendly and loves cuddling and giving hugs.”

And there’s more. He’s said to be an “awesome boy who is already housetrained, walks great on a leash, and can sit on a command.  Very laid back guy but seems to love more submissive dogs if there is to be a doggie friend in the home.  He would do best in a home without kitties … WONDERFUL WITH KIDS - adores all people.” 
Go to the 4-Legged Helpers Facebook page here and you can see animals waiting in small shelters in Ferris, Glenn Heights, etc. 
To ask about adopting Anchorage, call or text Laura Macias at 214-9492726 or email [email protected].
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED C-NOTES & FILMS
Call this an “apology”? When I dreamed up the concept (see first paragraph) of not being able to get consonant and punctuation deliveries from Ellipses, Okla., because of weather, I figured it might be fun to consider how the State of Texas would handle the shortage of consonants in households across the state. In my world, letters and punctuation are just about as important as a constant flow of electricity! Or access to chocolate! 
I also figured you needed to know that — any time you’d see a consonant or a semicolon in this edition — you could rest assured that we were using second-hand letters and punctuation because of the shortage. I’d explain that we had to take some second-hand semicolons, turn them over, cut them in half and use them as periods and commas. 
Then I’d tell you that the state’s supply of key communication ingredients is overseen by the TCPLS (pronounced “TickPlus, i.e., the Texas Commission on Punctuation and Letter Supply). There are 8 members, all appointed by members of the Texas Appointments Administration. And six of the TickPlus people live in states that have dropped the “t” from proper names such as “Mah-aah-en.” This is called “T-glottalization” — I studied La’un and didnunt encoun’er T-glot in that lingo. But experts say you can hear it in Grey Bri’un where they speak the Queen’s English. Bless her heart.
Yeah, every now and then, in weather that keeps you locked in like it was a raging virus, a fellow can go nuts at the keyboard.
SPEAKING OF WEATHER, and the unpleasantness of driving on ice and snow, I heard a great line from a caller to the WBAP Morning News show (820-AM) with Hal Jay and the team. A caller said he’d parked his truck for the day explained, “You can drive in 4-wheel, but you can’t stop in 4-wheel.”
WANT SOME CHILLS? It turns out that one of the PM movies on cable Wednesday as we were enveloped by cold air and the threat of dangerous ice and freezing rain, was one of my favorite “scary” films: The original (1956) Invasion of The Body Snatchers with Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. It was written from the book/Colliers Magazine Serial -- anybody buy a Colliers lately? -- by Jack Finney. (That's a "lobby card" for the film.) I didn’t see it -- the movie or the card -- in a theater — but I did see it on late night TV (about 9 p.m. in those days) when I was a kid and I don’t mind formally blaming it, in part, for my lifelong insomnia. I also blame the original Not of This Earth, a Roger Corman film from 1957. If I can’t sleep, I have only myself to blame — and the movie characters who haunt me as if they were based on reality. Cue the spooky music HERE.

— Offer slumber tips or movie tips by clicking on ‘comment’ or by emailing [email protected] and put DON’T WORRY ABOUT MARS in the subject line. —-

'SEEMED LIKE A LIFELESS MASS,' BUT SAVED; HARD CASES; A FULL SHELTER; CAT QUOTES

EDITION OF MONDAY PM/TUESDAY FEB 22-23, 2022 [PetPowellPress] In our front yard, the brown grass is giving off a green hint. There are flowers beginning to poke up through the dirt in my cultivatingspouse Martha’s flower beds. And the weather forecast is for winter.

Naturally, it’s a good day to look at good deeds by good animal rescue people with warm hearts.
SHE’S ‘SERENITY’ NOW BUT
MAY HAVE BEEN A ‘BAIT DOG’
This heart-grinding but heading-toward-upbeat story I discovered by accident while scrolling the stuff that shows up in my daily Facebook feed. Look at that girl Serenity — she was just about without a bit of hope until some humans happened to find her.
 [LARRY ASIDE: I’ve been a journalist for a long time — way before Facebook. I’m prepared to declare without reservation that social media has helped more animals than all the classified ads sold by newspapers since the turn of the 21st century.]
Serenity is a dog who was on the brink of disaster and not because of anything she did but because of humans and cavalier attitudes toward the lives of animals. [LARRY ASIDE: That's her wrapped for transport and barely alive. On the left, she's getting hand-fed though in a struggle to eat after her near-death experience.]
The folks with Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue report that “she was dumped outside the south campus of the Fort Worth Animal Care & Control Shelter on Martin Street after hours on Sunday.”
Summarizing and quoting from the LSBCR’s report, the people who had this dog “pulled into the shelter’s parking lot after hours, when they knew everyone had already left on Sunday. They dumped what seemed like a lifeless mass on the parking lot and vanished. The next morning, when employees arrived for work, they found her—barely alive.
“We named her Serenity because it is something she’s probably never known. She has cuts, gashes and punctures all over her body. She looks like she was viciously attacked by a pack of large dogs. The injuries appear to be a few days old and already smell of infected flesh. ….”

The rescue group says the shelter staff “immediately started working on her — the whole thing with IVs and antibiotics and they stabilized her and once she was stable, the shelter got in touch with the rescue group. The report reads, “Our volunteer Ronnie said he’d never seen a dog alive who was so badly injured. She seemed on the brink of death. She couldn’t move or even lift her head.” 
En route to the vet’s Ronnie reported “he checked his rear view mirror every few minutes to be sure she was still breathing and prayed the whole way.”

The Rescue Group reported that the staff at Bright Star Veterinary (in Sulphur Springs), “anxiously awaiting her revival,” found that Serenity had “a very large open gash in one armpit. She has another deep gash in her neck. Because she is so weak from the blood loss and in shock, they did not do much beyond immediate care and getting her stabilized.
In a day or two, they will start addressing all the different wounds. There will also be some radiographs to check for broken bones and any internal damage.”

On Sunday afternoon, Serenity “started having some mild head tremors.” They were thought to be “most likely due to the stress.”
 The Rescue’s post read, “We can’t imagine her pain. We can’t imagine how sore she will be for weeks. We can’t imagine the people who let her endure this. But before Ronnie left, she looked up at him with her big brown eyes just long enough as if to say, ‘Thanks’.”

Serenity, “around 3…weighs about 40 pounds.” 
And the Rescue says, “The mental wounds may take much longer to heal than the physical ones.”
But for now, Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue posted a new video with a message that begins “More great news to share….” See it HERE. That link also connects you to ways to donate and support such rescue efforts as the one that has given Serenity a better future than she had when she seemed “like a lifeless mass” on that after-hours parking lot.


AND THEN THERE’S THIS CASE:
CARRIE WAS IN A REAL FIX…
This is from the folks with Apollo Support & Rescue for Abandoned Dogs based in Justin, north of Fort Worth.
This girl is Carrie.
The Apollo posting read, “Y'all we can't catch a break! Another emergency this morning. Carrie was pulled from Fort Worth Animal Care & Control on Saturday by the finder that originally took her there and offered to foster. Carrie has a broken leg. Easy fix right? Well this morning the foster sent us this video…” [LARRY NOTE: Before you watch it, let me warn you that you’ll see something you may not have seen before. But it sure drives the point home that this dog needs some help. Click HERE.]
As of Monday, Apollo reports “Carrie is on her way back to the vet to see what’s going on.” Then, the message addressed Apollo supporters, “Rescue is hard! We don’t take the easy dogs. We take the dogs in need. We can’t do this without you!” The Facebook link to Apollo Support & Rescue for Abandoned Dogs and the rescue’s many projects is HERE.  Apollo links include these: Venmo @asrpets; Zelle 817-658-2059; PayPal to [email protected].
SEVEN DOGS, SIX KENNELS;
GLENN HEIGHTS IS FULL
That’s the word from 4-Legged Helpers, the non-profit that focuses on small shelters with low-human traffic and no “marketing” for the slim adoption programs. 
The Glenn Heights Animal Shelter is the topic this time. And the helpers note says “All dogs from Glenn Heights should be considered ‘Code Red’…next in line for euthanization.”
We’re focusing on two of the seven. But you can see them all by going to the 4-Legged Helpers Facebook page HERE.
First is the puppyish Doberman-mix Cherish. She’s only about 8 months old. No idea how she came to be in the shelter, but there she is. And the Helpers report that she is an “adorable little sweetie pie. She is just as sweet as sweet can be…Already vaccinated with DHPP by the shelter. Great with other dogs and children. just a big pup and silly and cute.”

And the Earhound is Precious, a female “Bulldog mix” also “very, very sweet,” her bio reads.
It also says, “She so badly needs someone to rescue her. 
"She is very bashful here and was brought into the shelter by someone who could no longer care for her.   Very sweet girl that desperately needs someone.”

CONTEMPLATIONS
QUOTES, MARS AND COLETTE
Here’s a great quote from Albert Einstein that doesn’t really challenge anybody’s math skills — it pretty much adds up on its own. Einstein said, “The idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest.
… I think I will use that quote as a morale booster whenever I decide to “rest.” Lately my “rest” has been limited to enjoying episodes of the SyFy Channel’s Resident Alien starring Plano Senior High School standout Alan Tudyk. [LARRY MOVIE ASIDE: My favorite role of his was as Simon, the accidentally hopped-up naked rooftop guy in the British version of Death at a Funeral.] Moving back to Resident Alien: The performances are wildly enjoyable — people fitting right into character, plots appropriately wild and funny. Clever writing. I may be the only person in my demographic watching this show. And by my demographic I mean “Mature Insomniacs Who Only Dreams of Seeing A Few Previous Employers On an Experimental Spaceship To Mars.” Slim demographic; might be a fun flight, though. … 
Now, about cats. My dear pal and fellow Animal Nut (term of endearment in our lives) Bonnie Lovell sent me a note that included a famous quote from Colette, the French writer: “Time spent with a cat is never wasted.” And that inspired me to look at quotes from Colette and I found, “There are no ordinary cats.” “Amen,” replied my longtime feline companion, The Senator. (That’s The Senator and I enjoying some editing time at the keyboard.) The Senator favors, I think, this quote from Colette: “What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” That’s a quote worth thinkin’ about, typed the moody writer optimistically.

—- Offer ideas or happiness by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “MONEY WARMS THE HEART” in the subject line. —-

ON PRESIDENTS DAY, A LIMPING CAT, DOGS IN SHELTERS, CONTEMPLATIONS & ETIQUETTE

EDITION OF MONDAY, Feb. 2, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Happy Presidents Day. 
As I am not president of anything, on Sunday (Presidents Day Eve -- oh, my the parties!) I was able to put down my reading, water my greenthumbspouse Martha’s emerging tulips, contemplate the future and read some emails and notes from the world of animals. 
There was no football game to watch. No spring training baseball game. The Olympics are beyond my brain this year. Now on to some animals and we’ll close with Contemplations, And, of course, you recognize my personal confidant The Senator -- this shot was taken a few years ago when he was portraying "Alexander's Cat" in the musical Hamilton. Perhaps you've seen his performance. Like a good Senator, he never missed a step.
A LIMPING CAT
WITH SOME NEEDS
This was one of those opportunities to help an animal that I encountered completely by accident Sunday while I was looking for something else.
Viviana Corzo had posted this on her Facebook page and it also was on the DFW Cat Rescue Network page.
That’s the cat. No name. But if you go to the DFW Cat Rescue Network site HERE or Viviana’s page HERE
 You’ll see the video of this clearly injured cat. As Vivana explained, “I’m looking to find a rescue or just help in general. I’ve seen him hanging around here for about a year now and I feed him as much as I can. He has a swollen face and I'm assuming a broken leg. He hangs around the Spanish Plaza Apartments in Garland N Jupiter Rd.” 
So, that’s all we’ve got regarding contact points. Many people have responded, but Sunday evening, there was no resolution posted on the two Facebook pages.
[LARRY ASIDE: Anybody knows about this cat, email us at [email protected]. We prefer to write happy endings.]
SO THE QUESTION WAS:
‘WHY IS HE NOT ADOPTED?”
Not kidding — that was the subject line in several emails that arrived on behalf of this guy Griffin.
He is in the care of Gail Whelan and the Companion Animal Network. But her goal is to get him into a home that’ll love him from now on! 
The story she sent read: “Meet Griffin.  He was picked up as a stray and was about 12 hours from his ’30 day deadline’ when we were able to pull him.  Griffin is about 3 years old and 90 pounds.  
“Absolutely the smartest, sweetest, most affectionate boy you'll meet.  He 'hugs' you with his paws and LOVES tummy rubs and will close his eyes in joy. 
"Griffin is a mix of two AMAZING breeds. 
"He is cautious around strangers but when he sees you are okay with the person, so is he.  Pyrenees are GREAT protectors and very low key.  Goldens are just plain old sweet and good natured.”
Gail also reports, “Griffin is fully vetted and microchipped.  On Bravecto and heartworm preventative.  He IS a low positive for heartworms but he will be treated at our expense.  YES he sheds a lot.  But he is more than worth extra vacuuming and with daily brushing it is minimized.”
To ask about Griffin, call 903-967-3225 or email [email protected]. CAN’s website is www.ca-n.petfinder.com.
GREAT NAMES FOR SOME DOGS
THAT ARE WAITING IN A SHELTER….
I’m probably not the only person who wonders how animals wind up in city shelters throughout the good ol’ USA. But we’re starting with a genuine big-hearted Valentine’s Day “dumping of a dog” by some human. 

This is Juniper — maybe the only dog I can recall seeing named Juniper. Our tipster, the volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm, writes, “This live-wire youngster is … a mixed breed girl (with Aussie Cattle Dog in the mix) who was abandoned in the Mesquite Shelter parking lot on 2/14.”

Juniper, at a year-and-half, weighs 43 pounds. Debra writes, “She is uneasy in the shelter environment and nervous of the dogs when walked through the bay and several were barking at her.  She does fine on a leash.  Juniper is a bit timid and shy but seems to want to warm up. She just needs to develop some trust and confidence in people after having been thoughtlessly and carelessly abandoned.  She is calm and gentle and alert and is quite curious.  She showed an interest in toys and balls.  Juniper warmed up to me and it was heartening to see her begin to blossom.  She just needs some patience and TLC and she will doubtless make a wonderful companion.” Juniper’s ID is #49595795. Use it when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues @cityofmesquite.com.

And this is Winona, a “very attractive mixed-breed girl” who was picked up as a stray on Valentine’s Day. She’s about 5 and weighs 45 pounds. Debra writes, “Wow, there is so much to like about this girl.  She walks so nicely on a leash and when I took her through the bay she did not react to the barking dogs with any aggression. … Winona knows the sit command and will do so for treats, which she LOVES and takes gently.  She is friendly, has an amiable nature and enjoys attention.  She tried to climb into my lap a few times.  She is calm, gentle and well-mannered.  Winona is a tail-wagging playful girl with a mellow personality.” Her ID # is 49595462 and it should be used with you call the shelter (972-216-6283) or email [email protected].

Same contact points for Patsy (#49557143). Her bio says she's "a lovely mixed breed girl who arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 2/8 as a stray.  She weighs 68 pounds, is approx 4 years old and is not spayed.  The volunteer who is working with her reports that she is such a sweet girl but is quite nervous and uncomfortable in the noisy shelter environment.  She has been in the back since her arrival, but was moved up … to one of the general population bays where it will be easier to work with her, helping her to relax, learn to trust and build confidence.  Our volunteer states that Patsy has obviously been trained as she knows the sit and paw commands.  At this time she is not interested in treats.  She is nervous and scared of loud noises and new things.  She will walk on a leash.  Patsy will need a steady diet of patience and TLC but there is every reason to believe she will come around.”
And that brings us to #48025555 known as Zeta, a young girl who was “surrendered…on 2/17 along with another family dog named Smoke [#49616583] because the owners are moving and are not taking the dogs with them.  Zeta was adopted in September at 4 months of age and 5 months later is back at the shelter.  This adorable pup weighs 31 pounds, is 10 months old and is spayed.  Zeta is a mixed breed with Terrier and Plott Hound …  She walks quite nicely on a leash.  When I took her through the bay past other dogs she did not react in a negative way.  She does not seem to have been taught any commands.  During the photo shoot she ran and played in the shelter yard, thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to stretch her legs.  She is "all puppy" with her high energy level, exuberance and jumping on you.  She is an "on the go" kind of girl …” 
And Smoke is just over a year old, a Staffie mix and will stand on a bench for a photograph. 
You can read about these animals and many more — dogs and cats — by going to the Mesquite site HERE.
CONTEMPLATIONS
BUDS, TYPOS AND DINING OUT...
A lot of emails arrive at [email protected] each day. I read the subject lines quickly. For example on Sunday I read a subject line that promised “YOUR GUIDE TO A FLOWERFUL FUNERAL” And I thought, “What have they heard?” and reread it. Turns out it was a gardening email and the subject line actually read, “YOUR GUIDE TO A FLOWERING FUTURE!” Coincidentally on Sunday my job was to water Martha’s flowerbeds with the beginning-to-appear tulip plants! She’ll have a flowering future. …
Since we have no football scores to talk about this Monday morning, I’ll mention an old football story from my career as an editor at The Big Paper Downtown. At lot of people think a newspaper copy editor looks at punctuation and grammar and nothing else, but I once caught a pretty wonderful error in a column written by someone who paid no attention to football. She confidently wrote something about the Texas Tech Red Waiters. Didn’t make it into the paper. Coulda been worse: Texas Tech Wet Waiters or Texas Tech Red Waders.
Ever go to a business that has an “OPEN” sign on the door but doesn’t appear to be taking the sign seriously? Went through that Sunday afternoon and into the evening in a once-vibrant restaurant. Could be a management/ownership problem — the staffers seemed to be hustling. Maybe it’s a leftover (food term) from the pandemic. What is the etiquette? How long do you wait at a non-fastfood table before you politely surrender to the situation and roll on to the next stop? FYI: This place used to be hoppin’ —- it was beloved. And then came the restaurant-wrecking pandemic. Darn that virus. Feel free to complain about dining failures at [email protected]. We have taste and respect time, too.
—- Offer menu advice or pepper us with gripes by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put ‘CAN’T GET ENOUGH PARM’ ON THE PASTA” in the subject line.—-

WHILE YOU'RE AT YOUR JOB, JUST WHAT DOES YOUR DOG DO? NAP? STAY ON ALERT?

Welcome to this episode of What Does My Dog Do When I'm At Work?
No furniture or bed-clothing has been damaged in the making of this episode.
Coincidentally, the episode fits in well with our long-running weekend feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
Because I have yet to activate my very expensive online camera network that peers into each of your homes, Dear Readers, I am forced to depend on first-hand observations in the house owned by my sweetspouse Martha. 
 Her maiden name? Muse. Martha Muse -- always thought she ought to write mysteries with a byline like that!
She may be the best writer in the house. Smartest human. Smarter than two of the dogs and a few of the cats. I’m rock bottom in the ratings. 
Moving along.
One morning last week Martha was summoned for the first time in a while for a whole day at her downtown Dallas office. 
That meant that the house would be left to me, our cats and dogs. Everybody has different TVs and goals so we all split up.
I was listening to mine while I typed at my computer in my office. The cats wandered off to Martha's office to dream of winning Lotto Texas and buying a cat house........let me rephrase that. Buying a house designed for cats and not humans. 

The dogs? Well, there's the point of What Does My Dog Do When I’m At Work. Whenever Martha leaves the house, the same things happen in the lives of the dogs. 
Wendy, who Martha personally rescued years ago, goes to the couch in front of the big-screen TV and nods off watching either the news or Live with Kelly & Ryan. She will watch the SyFy Channel’s Resident Alien with El Paso native and and Plano Senior High notable Alan Tudyk in the title role. But she only watches it when I can watch it with her — something to do with trusting people who might be aliens from space.

Porche, who wandered into our lives, usually hangs out with me -- she long ago recognized me as the guy who knows how to open cans and snacks and plastic packages with tasty treats.
Ah, but Dudley the Angel, dumped in our front yard years ago, is devoted to Martha. He goes to the door where he last saw her, where he barked “Be safe and come home soon” to her, and flops down in a big pile of snoozing dog. 
There he waits for Martha with loyally second only to fictional collie in some highly regarded Highlands novel of the 1800s. He is, after all, a Border Collie/Chocolate Lab mix, as per his original vet. 
See that long photo — the one that looks like it was shot from the pins on a bowling lane and caught the bar in the back of the alley? I’d walked out of my office and spotted him at the end of the long hall. He’s good-natured but keen on following his mission. So he was napping near our front door, Martha's exit.
For the first couple of years we had him, I described him as a black and white dog and Martha would argue, “He’s brown.” One day I had him in front of a crowd of singers with the chorale group Martha sang with (Resounding Harmony) and she asked, “What color is that dog?” and without fail I got a tuneful chorus of “That’s a Brown dog.” And, sure enough, that was when I discovered my color blind tendency in the black and brown range of dog hair!
One time, for some inexplicable reason, the dogs Porche and Dudley thought Martha was in her bathroom just off the long hall. Each morning, as she prepares for the day, those two dogs will sit outside her door and wait for her to open it so she can pet them and tell them how wonderful they are. She’s sweet that way. Toward the dogs and cats — I frequently am given a chore rather than a pet on my furry head.

This particular day, I’d walked from my office, down to the end of the hall to the kitchen to prep a cup of fully caffeinated coffee on the Magic Machine of Happy Mornings. When I started back toward my office, I spotted Porche and Dudley sitting outside Martha’s bathroom door as if she were still in there putting on her makeup and jewelry. 
She’d left an hour or so earlier. But, as you can see from that one photo, the dogs suddenly thought she was in there because a clatter of some kind had occurred. 
Turns out, one of the cats, Simon (The Yawner), had been locked in the bathroom and was rearranging towels in Martha’s linen closet — one of his favorite napping sites.
We all laughed and Porche and I went back to my office, Simon (a large fellow now) went back to sleep and Dudley the Angel returned to his hallway where he resumed “nodding off a waiting-for-my-Martha. Wendy hadn't fallen for the folly and was still on the couch.

One of the great emotional kicks of living with dogs and cats is being part of the crowd that rushes to the door when we hear Martha pull her car into the driveway! We’re just one big pack of admiring happy critters — I’m the only one tall enough to kiss her hello. But the cats enjoy being picked up and when she sits in a chair the dogs visit her as if she were royalty handing out titles in the Commonwealth. With her, they’ll happily accepts pets and hugs. With me, they insist on treats.
Oh, that green ball in the hallway? Sometimes the cats and I will play “Hallway Soccer” with it. I can kick the ball down the “field” but nobody plays goalie with the efficiency of a kitty cat!
[PLEASE SEND photos of your sleeping dogs, napping cats, slumbering lizards, resting wheel-running hamsters, to [email protected] and we’ll feature them in the weekend tales “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.” In the meantime, here are some titles the mystery author Martha Muse (left with unknown well-wisher) could be working on: “The Tail of the Millionaire Cat.” Or “The Texas Ranger Rottie: Dog Slobber on the Saddle.” Possibly, “The U.S. Hawk Steals The Big Red Drone: A Tale of Corporate Espionage From Big D to Cowtown.” Well, heck, you can’t judge a book by its cover, right? I’m working on The Werewolf’s Moon Mood: Romance On Mars. That’s a “tired of a two-moon lifestyle” story.]

— Offer reading or writing tips by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by e-mailing [email protected] and put a SAVE MARS FROM EARTHLINGS in the subject line. —

IN THIS EDITION WE CELEBRATE AN EVENT; WE ALSO SEEK SOME HELP FOR ANIMALS

EDITION OF FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2022 [PetPowellPress] You know how happy news can be so sweet? We’ve got some sweetness for this edition. Hint? Easter Seaboard Bureau. A winter event to put on a calendar. 

We’ll explain that photograph in a moment. First we’re going to make sure people have opportunities to create happiness for the rescuers and the rescued.
THERE’S THIS DOG COCO
WHO LANDED BADLY IN BURNS FLAT
We’ve written before about resolute rescuer Terry Lynn Fisher’s habit of running into unexpected challenges with animals in and around Burns Flat, Okla. See Coco, lounging in bed? There’s a reason.
Terry Lynn explains that Coco’s human “reached out to me yesterday [Wednesday] and I waited until I could speak to the vet today. Coco is a 5-month-old Black Lab.

“Two nights ago Coco jumped out of the [not moving] truck’s window and, sadly, broke his femur.”

The dog’s vet called Terry Lynn Thursday morning and said Coco will need surgery that inserts a rod into the broken leg.
 Terry Lynn reports “his owner cannot afford  that surgery so he reached out to me.”

Coco lives in a town about 90 minutes away from Burns Flat and the vet [Meadow Brook Animal Hospital in Lawton] is someone “I’ve never dealt with but comes highly recommended. They require payment upfront. The owner wanted to do a Go-Fund-Me but, as everybody that’s ever done one knows, that could take a while to raise that money.
“The vet quoted me just under $2000. They will not do the surgery until the biggest part of that payment is made to them.”

Coco has been sent home to wait and Terry Lynn notes, “With it being a broken bone, time is very important to get started on this.  I am asking if anybody can help with this surgery please let me know ASAP. The vet said there should be a full recovery for this is a young healthy dog.”

Email Terry Lynn at [email protected]. Her PayPal is [email protected]. And you can arrange to donate with Meadow Wood Animal Hospital by calling 580-353-0344 and tell the vet the donation is “For Coco’s Leg Surgery.” Terry Lynn asks that donors contact her so she can keep up with the money collected vs. the money needed.
[LARRY ASIDE: As a veteran dweller with dogs, I’ve spent a lifetime being surprised by what dogs will do and try to do. Surprised! And, this ASIDE is dedicated to all dogs who will surprise their humans by doing something they’ve never done before. Jump out of a truck; jump into a truck; run out a door; run through a door. Etc. Humans, pay attention and prepare for the unexpected.]
HERE’S A CODE RED RETRIEVER
AND ANOTHER DOG STILL WAITING
These dogs are in two different places. We’ll start with Larry, the Code Red Lab in the Glenn Heights Animal Shelter. We learned about him and Wilson in Denton County from Laura Macias, our tipster from 4-Legged Helpers.
Larry’s 11 months old and was brought to the shelter “by someone who could no longer care for him.” We’ve featured him before — months ago. His loss of a home wasn’t his fault, you may recall. The surrendering person said, according to the bio, “their living situation had changed. He is a gentle, sweet soul and so desperately needs someone. He loves other dogs and is very good with them, according to the shelter … Very much loves people, too….”
Meanwhile, on the northern/opposite side of Dallas from south-side Glenn Heights, there is a Denton County “private animal control” that is currently hosting Wilson, described as “the sweetest 70-pound Bulldog mix ever.” He’s 5 or 6 years old, “completely adores people including all children.” And he likes to explore new surroundings, enjoys toys and likes to “hang out by your side,” his bio says. It also says he probably should be the only dog in the home. As you can see, he knows how to stand and pose and how to sit and pose. 

To help either of these dogs, both of these dogs or any dog in the spotlight of 4-Legged Helpers, call or text Laura at 214-949-2726 or email [email protected].

MEANWHILE, A HANDSOME DOG
& SOME BEAUTS IN MESQUITE
How about the matinee idol looks on this “very handsome mixed-breed boy, Cade (#49577663). Mesquite volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm says the Dog Scanner app “suggests Jindo and Siberian husky in the mix.” He’s about a year old and weighs 53 pounds. She writes, “He has such an amiable nature and a tail that wags nearly constantly.  He has the most beautiful blue/gray eyes.  He walks nicely on a leash and when walked through the bay he did not react to any of the dogs.  It's a good idea to ask the shelter staff for a dog test though.  He knows the sit command and will sit for treats, taking them gently.  He isn't interested in balls or toys.  He is friendly and stays close.  He has a moderate energy level and does not jump on you.  Cade is just an all-around great guy who would doubtless make a wonderful companion.  Huskies need an 8 ft secured fence, to live indoors in a home (NO apartments), and with a yard they can run and play in.  They also need ‘enrichment’.” 

To ask about Cade, use his shelter ID # 49577663 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email at [email protected].
Those are also the contact points for these two dogs.
 Jake (#49512238) is a 5-year-old, 56-pound mix picked up as a stray on Feb. 9. He’s “lively and energetic…with an outgoing and confident personality.” He may jump on his human (excited dog!) but he’ll also sit and take treats gently. Walks fine on a leash, Debra reports, adding “Jake is friendly and has a sweet nature.”
Big Man (#49362968) is a mixed breed who was surrendered to the shelter on January 6 because his human was coping with an illness in the family. Two-year-old Big Man, 54 pounds, had been with the family since he was a puppy. And, Debra writes, “Doubtless, Big Man does not understand why he has been left at a city shelter.” Low-key personality, well-mannered, calm and gentle, his bio reads. Walks “beautifully on a leash” and there’s this assessment from Debra: “He was quite nervous and uneasy at the shelter at first, but has gotten acclimated and has adjusted. He is one of my all-time favorites and I feel he would make a wonderful companion.”
Read more about these animals and see more dogs and a clowder of cats by clicking on the Mesquite Shelter link HERE.
Among the cats is this small 5-year-old fellow (#49523468) with a cat name previously unseen by anyone here at readlarrypowell. com. Mr. Mistoffelees. He came into the shelter on Ground Hog Day — don’t know if there’s a connection to shadows or the sun that day. Oh, wait, research shows me (thank you, Wikipedia!) that this cat's name is known! The character appears in both T.S. Elliot’s 1939 book of feline poetry, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical Cats. Never read the book. Have not seen the stage musical. Have seen the first 2 or 3 minutes of the movie Cats. Interpret that last sentence as you wish. Have many friends who are cats -- expert cats with genuine cat movements.
CONTEMPLATION
A NOTE ABOUT GOOD NEWS
The folks in our Eastern Seaboard Bureau have been smiling for a week. Why? That photo is a big hint! 
This Contemplation is one of celebration. Specifically, we’re celebrating the arrival of, potentially, the future Eastern Seaboard Bureau intern for the pro-animal website readlarry- powell.com.
That’s her in the Valentine’s Day shirt on the 14th! That little girl is Waylon Love Achille. Her grandfather, Andy Fisher, our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief, described her as “7 pounds, 7.5 ounces of miracle.”
Andy’s a pretty sharp fellow — veteran print and broadcast journalist — and he noted this about Waylon’s arrival (a week ago this very Friday at 8:09 a.m.). Andy explained that not only did wonderful Waylon arrive on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, but she “emerged into this world” on “2/11/22 — multiply the day by the month and you get the year!”
This baby is the first grandchild of Annie and Andy. 
Of course we’re going to mention the parents of the beautiful baby Waylon Love Achille!

What? Her names? Andy explained that “Waylon” is linked to an old Irish expression meaning “Land by the road” and “Love” is in honor of “Love Park” in her home town of Philadelphia.” And Achille, Andy notes, is pronounced “a-sheel”—a French pronunciation of an Italian name.”

Mom is Celina Meehan and dad is Annie’s older son Tim Achille. (Tim’s younger brother is Ian, the young pharmacist who lives with mom Annie and Andy at Indian Lake in Denville — he has the honor of being Waylon’s Uncle Ian.) That’s Waylon enjoying listening to Daddy’s heartbeat — she’s all bundled up and, clearly, is already “Daddy’s Girl.” Already “Mommy’s Girl,” too.

“Life looks like an adventure for the little girl,” first-time Grandpa Andy writes. “Both of her parents are competition-grade skateboarders; her dad an artist of a carpenter and her mom an arborist who rides bucket trucks into the trees. Her grandma (who wants to be called Mamo, the Irish-language equivalent of Grandma, and I'll be Daideo) is an accomplished Pickleball player. Next stop, the Olympics?”
And we know that animals run in the Andy/Annie family. When Waylon went home this week, she was greeted by three cats and a “Chihua-wiener” named “Dinklelman.”
Back to grandparental names: Andy writes, “There's an accent mark over the "o" in “Mamo’," so the last syllable gets stressed -- mam-OH And "daideo" is DAD-joh. The Irish purists … say there's no connection to ‘Daddy-o,’ but I'm not convinced.”
And there’s our Contemplation regarding the arrival and adoration of Waylon Love Achille, a little girl whose pending arrival was celebrated months ago at this “gender reveal” event! 

Readlarrypowell.com holds firm to the opinion that birth of a baby always makes the planet a little bit nicer. They’re so small, so dear, so in awe of the world. Kind of like innocent little role models for all of us grownups.
— Offer grandparent tips and budgeting ideas by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “HOORAY FOR BABIES” in the subject line. —-

A LAW HAS A POWERFUL AFTERMATH; SAVING SOME BEAUTIFUL DOGS; BURNS FLAT CHALLENGES; MOON AND TULIPS

EDITION OF THURSDAY, FEB. 17, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Our initial topic today is “the law” and how a good one is proving to be more powerful than expected. Those of you who spoke up for Texas SB 5 last year? YOU made the difference then and it looks like you’re making a difference now!

 [LARRY DARLING DOG AASIDE: Before we get involved in politics, I’d like to cite this photograph of Wendy (Wednesday Louise Wagstaff Arden) who my dogfanspouse Martha rescued off a busy Dallas street years ago. To our knowledge this great dog has NEVER been tethered. She has, however, enjoyed being couched nearly daily. And that is an option every dog and cat -- maybe a husband -- should always have. Now, we move into the arena of Texas politics where, now and then, the good side wins the match.]

BACK TO THE AFTERMATH OF SB 5. We got a note from Shelby Bobosky, Executive Director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, the organization that tries to persuade the Texas Legislature to be kind to animals and appropriately harsh to the animal law villains.

In Shelby’s note, we discovered how much more power the Texas Safe Outdoor Dogs Act had than we’d expected.
Some laws are specific in their guidance; this law is inspirational beyond its guidelines. 
You may recall the battle to get Senate Bill 5 into law. The Legislature OK’d it, but Gov. Greg Abbott wasn’t happy with that version, so it was tweaked and sent back and he signed the new version. It went into life-saving effect on January 18.
Shelby, in her note to supporters, pointed out that Winter Storm Uri — that misery from last February — inspired people and communities to come together to help each other survive the “winterfreeze.” She wrote “The memory of those dogs that perished in Winter Storm Uri gave the safe Outdoor Dogs Act the push it needed to arrive on the Governor’s desk not once but twice.”
Here comes the “powerful law” part of this story. 
 (This dog, in a photo provided by THLN, was rescued from being tethered outside in the Uri storm in Houston last year.)
Shelby writes, “Today, because of SB 5, we see communities come together again. But this time, it’s to educate and help their neighbors come into compliance with the new law. 
 “Whether it’s local churches raising funds for their shelters to purchase tie-out cables and trolleys or high school students building dog houses in Shop Class for those under-served communities, we have come a long way. 

“Enforcing SB 5 has also started a discussion in communities about whether tethering should be allowed at all! This week (Tuesday), the Lufkin City Council unanimously voted to end tethering by ordinance after March. Lufkin’s leaders decided ‘it was in everyone’s best interest to eliminate tethering’.”
She sums the situation this way: “Monumental change does not happen overnight. But the paradigm shift is happening and while we look at cities such as Houston Lufkin and others, it’s evident that SB 5 has effectuated positive change for thousands of restrained dogs.”
You can read about the Houston City Council changes HERE. They were activated Jan. 19 — the day after the Texas Safe Outdoor Dogs Law became went into effect. [LARRY ASIDE: You can go to thln.org and see how to gt involved with helping fight idiocy in Texas -- I mean, "fight for treating animals lovingly in Texas." Can't use a general term such as "idiocy" -- insults too many people in Austin. I kid the Lege! Old habit.]
[LARRY ASIDE: We looked online, but we don’t yet know if anyone has been fitted with lock-on bracelets for violating the law. Maybe that’s a good thing — maybe the people who used to stake out their dogs decided to follow the law instead of test it. You hate to think they just haven’t been caught yet. Just as it was up to people to push the law through the Legislature, it’s also up to people to notify authorities if they suspect a violation. It’s part of the “Save ‘em all” theory of animal rescue and adoration.]
TWO FROM FERRIS; AND BANDIT
STILL WAITING IN THE ‘HEIGHTS’
Small shelters — they just keep getting the dogs that are in a fix when it comes to people.
Take, for example, these two Boxer mix girls, Sasha on the left and Skylar on the right. 
The 4-Legged Helpers report reads, “This adorable pair appears to be siblings. Both so sweet - just very precious and lovable.  Friendly.  Love everyone and everything.  They are both young and have beautiful and very young white teeth.  Everyone that has met them adores them.  Shelter gives incoming DHPP vaccs, bordetella, and even heartworm tested and they are both negative, i.e. healthy!”

We’ve mentioned this guy before, but Bandit is still on the HELP THE DOG RADAR of 4-Legged Helpers. He’s in the Glenn Heights Shelter. His bio reads: “Bandit was found out and about as a stray and he is such a beautiful dog.  A little bit of Blue Heeler in there with his markings apparently mixed with Teddy Bear - check out those ears!  LOL. He loves other dogs and is so very relaxed and loving.  Very chill boy that has no issue with dogs barking and just enjoys sitting and watching them.  Adores people too according to shelter info!”

To ask about helping these animals or any on the “list” organized by 4-Legged Helpers, call or text Heather at 972-897-4926 or email Heather [email protected] or you can also reach out to Laura at [email protected] (Call or text 214-949-2726). 

THE CHALLENGES FACED
IN BURNS FLAT, OKLA.
We got this note from our longtime Oklahoma connection, Terry Lynn Fisher in Burns Flat, way out in the western part of the state. She gets our rotten Texas weather before we get it. And she has a city pound that is, basically, an outdoor pound. 
You will be glad she did not send photographs of some of these cases.
Here’s what she wrote: “So much has been going on…  y’all, I’m tired   I’m still weak from having covid and we have been SLAMMED 
“We had a major winter storm last week so I did place the seven dogs at the pound in boarding   The plan was to get them back out today (Tuesday), but while the weather is nice today, we have another huge storm moving through so I’m trying to raise enough to keep them in this last week.  The strain is our pound is totally outdoors… and all my extra side places are full.

“Saturday I had a call from our police department about a cat that was hanging by its leg   It got caught between the wooden fence panels and totally de-gloved itself. That leg will be have to get removed this afternoon but the cat will survive ... The injury was horrific, We did get money to help with that but I will need to keep it there for at least a week while it heals up some
“Now, we have a dog that was found just south of me that has a broken face bone — I guess it’s snout is broken and was viciously attacked by a pack of dogs. This poor baby is in horrific shape and we are trying to get help raising money for this.
“I know all of this is a lot, and I always seem to be reaching out to everybody. While I have time to help, I do not have the finances to do so. So if anyone can help with any of this, please let me know. I always appreciate any and all help and remember every single dollar helps us. Thank you all, Terry Lynn.”
Here are places to donate: PayPal at [email protected] or the Southwest Clinic at 580-726-3385  for Terry Lynn’s rescues.
And if you want to get in touch with her, email [email protected]. That’s the tribute to her dog Oddball, who inspired her to get into rescue and to work at saving ‘em all.
CONTEMPLATIONS

THE MOON, A CAT & FLOWERS
We have two views of Tuesday night’s version of The Snow Moon, that glorious full moon that rose over the United States — I’m not sure anyone else in the world saw it — something about it being licensed to some American space millionaires…or I could have dreamed that up. 
The beautiful photo of the moon over a “snowy lake” was taken by our Eastern Seaboard Bureau Chief Andy Fisher who shot it through the sliding door on his deck, capturing but not feeling the chilly scene over Indian Lake in Denville, N.J. The second photo? Your veteran Dallas/Fort Worth journalist (with very little photo-shooting experience) Larry “Shaky Shutter” Powell, shot that photo from his front porch looking to the East as the moon rose over eastern Fort Worth. No lake. We’re on a hill. Not really a chill! … 
 That third photo I snapped Wednesday morning after hearing a rustling in the kitchen. I raced down the hall — Oh, OK, I lumbered down the hall — to the kitchen where my Tulipfanspouse Martha is keeping her Valentine’s flowers. What I found was my office cat William Powell gently examining — using nose and paws — Martha’s tulips. William’s a flower fancier. And Martha fancies William. It all evens out under the glow of the Snow Moon.
— Offer insight or tax tips by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “TAXES HELP THE TULIPS BLOOM” in the subject line. —

SNOW MOON; A DALLAS CRUELTY CASE; DOGS NEEDING HOMES; & CONTEMPLATIONS

EDITION OF TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY FEB. 15-16, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Before we move out of “winter mode” and get to cockfights, here’s a sky note.
This tip comes from The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Those skywatchers say the current big moon — woke me up by shining through the bedroom window curtains like a headlight on a jet about 4 a.m. Tuesday — is “The Snow Moon.” That’ll make anybody who went through February 2021 in Texas shudder.
 The OFA says, “The name comes from various sources, including Native American Tribes, early Colonial Americans and even some Europeans. February is typically the snowiest month of the year, so it was easy to refer to this moon as the snow moon.”
The fullest phase of the Snow Moon occurs at 10:59 p.m. CST Wednesday. That’ll be why you ol’ werewolves are feeling restless…. Oh, that’s my office cat, William Powell, demonstrating how to look up at the moon at midnight as you try to get sleepy while trimming your toenails. He’s a practical cat: “No unoccupied time after sundown” — that’s his motto.
WHY DOES DALLAS COUNTY
HAVE SO MANY ‘FIGHTERS’?
In the years — decades — that I’ve been writing about animals, it has become apparent that Dallas County has no problem drawing the villains who organize, stage and witness dogfights and cockfights. Criminals, according to state law. 
It’s bad enough that North Texas and East Texas have an overpopulation of people who let their unfixed animals roam and reproduce — born just to die. But, sheesh — what is up with these people who gamble on which dog or rooster will kill the other one? Are those people lacking The Chamber of Kindnes in their hearts or just the whole danged heart?
This question of morality comes up because over the weekend the Dallas Police were tipped to a big cockfight in the Rylie part of southeastern Dallas, that’s just south of I-20 on a former Southern Pacific Railroad line. The SPCA of Texas news release said Dallas Police got an anonymous phone tip about a “cockfight-in-progress.” Sure enough, the tip was right. (These photos of the chickens are provided by the SPCA — See that tethered rooster? Not protected by the tethered outdoor dog bill the governor signed into law. Not protected yet.) 
The SPCA of Texas — that’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — got custody of more than 100 birds at this site. [Go to spca.org to see how to donate and support anti-cruelty investigations and the animals seized in cruelty cases.]
While we know the SPCA has the seized chickens from this event, we’re not sure who has custody of any of the humans — or if any humans are being questioned about their behavior. No word from DPD.

But, surely the City of Dallas isn’t interested in being known not only as the town that lost the Dallas Cowboys to the suburbs twice, but the town that hosts more dog fights and cockfights than any other big town in Texas (unofficial status). East Texas has the unofficial record for “small town” and “rural” animal fighting raids and arrests. 
Go to this Dallas City Hall/Council LINK to see how to contact the members of the council and the mayor so you can remind them that law-abiding citizens aren’t interested in the city with a "Love Freeway" being known for humans shooting humans and people setting dogs and roosters on each other in fights to the death.
And here’s the link to the Dallas County District Attorney. Why? Because that’s the public office that, while it may not prosecute somebody for stealing $500 worth of chickenfeed from a farm store, is still responsible for prosecuting people accused of organizing and attending illegal cockfights and dogfights.
So that you’ll see what was going on at this latest cockfight raid, the SPCA of Texas posted the photos we’ve used here and a couple of videos at THIS LINK.
And this next link takes you to a video of that rooster on the green tether — CLICK HERE to see him trying to run free.
And ask “Why doesn’t this rooster have the traditional comb?” A villain cut it off so the rooster would be in “fighting shape” — less life-draining bleeding without the comb than there’d be should his opponent peck and rip off a full comb.
Cruelty. That’s the name of this blood sport.
Know what’s probably going to happen to the confiscated chickens? A still bitter but much quicker end than they’d get in a fight. (We have a note in Contemplations.)
A COUPLE OF GUYS
WHO NEED ONE GOOD HOME
We got the story on these guys from the veteran rescuer and animal advocate Mary Sullivan. Her note reads:
 “Dexter (left) and Malfoy, two very special Miniature Schnauzers in the DFW area, must be rehomed because their best friend passed away suddenly.  

“His son, who’s serving our country in the military, loves these boys but can’t keep them. 
“Dex is about 10 years old (slightly older than Mal) and the more outgoing of the two – happy, friendly, cuddly.  Mal is sweet but needs to know someone before getting up close & personal. 

“Both dogs are healthy, have been vetted, & are doggie-door trained.  If you have room in your heart & home for this handsome pair – even as a foster – please contact Mary at SOS Fosters for Pets in Need – [email protected] or 214.783.2060.”
MEANWHILE, THERE’S A DUO
WAITING IN GLENN HEIGHTS
This note comes from the 4-Legged Helpers non-profit that focuses on smaller shelters and their rarely visited animals. 
 The dogs are Willow, a Lab mix, and Zoey, a Bulldog mix. Both have been in the Glenn Heights Animal Shelter long enough to get a “CODE RED NEXT IN LINE FOR EUTH…” designation. 
Here’s the official note: “Willow and Zoey were found together but please note they are available individually as well.  They were found out and about together at an elementary school trying to play with the kids in the schoolyard.  Both are love bunnies - just as sweet and lovable as can be.  They adore other dogs and each other.

 “They are microchipped to the same person but the person failed to come reclaim them.  The shelter believes them to be housetrained.  We are not sure if fixed since it was not on the write-up so a vet may need to check to be sure.  (Since [they are] microchipped, there is a good chance they are already fixed. The shelter does DHPP first vaccs and de-worming.) Please, won't you help save one???  Such great little girls!  Please help!”

The 4-Legged Helpers contact points are: CALL/TEXT Heather at 972-897-4926 or email Heather at [email protected] or you can also reach out to Laura at [email protected]. Or Call/Text 214-949-2726.”
CONTEMPLATIONS
HUMANS AND OTHER THOUGHTS
On a Facebook post about the rescue of those roosters in the Rylie raid, a longtime animal advocate and rescuer posted on the DAS Accountability Page, a note about the expected aftermath of these “trained-to-fight chickens. She wrote, “Sadly, they will be killed. but at least it will be quick. I hate humans more and more every day. May God forgive me and have mercy on my soul.” The reason I re-posted this note is to help a lot of animal advocates know they’re not the only people who have “bad thoughts” because of the behavior of others. … 

When the Super Bowl is over, do you sort of feel like the holiday season that began on Labor Day has finally ended? Your weekends belong to you again?…
Bless Ivan Reitman! The filmmaker, who died at 75 over the weekend, gave us many laughs in theaters. And we’ll cite the original Ghostbusters in 1984 and a magnificently spot-on prediction (if you were working for a newspaper back then). The operative line in this clip from Ghostbusters -- Annie Potts as Janine and Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler -- is “Print is dead.” Here’s the LINK.
—- Offer predictions for newspapers or hope for the future by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and putting “A DAILY PAPER ONCE COST A DIME???” in the subject line. —