THE DOG GENA GETS A BREAK; OTHERS ANIMALS, PEOPLE WAITING; THE SIZE OF HAIL

EDITION OF TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22/23, 2022 [PetPowellPress] As I typed that dateline, I hit a wall emotionally — I didn’t hit an emotional wall, I hit a wall emotionally because I typed 2022 and and then shouted something I’d never shout in Sunday School. Suddenly I was staggered that I started typing stories in 1965 and I’m still typing stories in 2022, a year that sounds like science fiction. 
And that advanced year in human history explains all that fancy radar stuff used by Metrosquall weather people to pinpoint cloud formations and hail. When the storm moved past our neighborhood, our rescued kitten, the handsome Hastings, flopped down next my shoes and nodded off as I watched weather reports on TV. Luxurious tail, eh? Free street cat, you know. More in Contemplations. Keywords: penny, dime, nickel, pocket-change. First some animal challenges that can be handled in clear or stormy weather.
RICHARDSON’S EFFORTS
FOR GENA PAYING OFF…

When we got a note from a critter-adoring friend of ours, she mentioned several animals, including Gena at Richardson Animal Shelter. This is the third time we’ve mentioned Gena — that scrawny leaping dog photo is the first one we published. 
In the morning email we got a note from a pal of ours who monitors shelters with her heart. She was moved by Gena’s situation — notes about Gena have been flying through the cyberuniverse (that a word?) ever since the good hearts at Richardson’s shelter decided she was NOT going to become a sad statistic. 
So, on Tuesday morning we checked with Richardson Shelter’s Rescue Coordinator Amber Norman and she told us that 2-year-old, sweet Pittie Gena is going to a rescue group Tuesday afternoon. Gena has been in the shelter for nearly 100 days and stirred very little interest.
What rescue is taking her? To help Gena get out of the shelter, 4-Legged Helpers is taking her and getting her into a boarding facility. We checked with 4-Legged Helper Laura Macias and she said, “We just felt bad for her…” She’ll be on the Helpers’ listings — probably will get a trip to a northern rescue.
But, remember this: Even if you don’t live east of the Mississippi or north of the Mason/Dixon Line, you can still adopt animals from rescue outfits and shelters in Texas. Honest!
Get in touch with Richardson’s shelter by going HERE and you can contact 4-Legged Helpers by emailing [email protected] or call/text 214-949-2726. See more animals the Helpers are working with by clicking on their Facebook page HERE.
[LARRY ASIDE: Years of observation and the out-of-state work of such people as the Helpers and Tawana Couch’s Society for Companion Animals 
have proven that Dallas-area dogs have a loving appeal to adoptors in northern areas of the country. Kind of a miracle when a dog nobody looks twice at in the Metroplex wins a whole new family in The Hamptons or some other highly-regarded dog-loving area of the country.]
LOOKING AT SHELTER LISTS
CATCHES A READERS’ HEART
OH, our pal MB’s heart was captured long ago by shelter animals. She sent us a note Tuesday that referred to a posting from last week and began, “When you mentioned the dog Gena from Richardson Animal Shelter, I clicked on their site.  I noticed a very sad story of a chocolate Lab named Cola and his buddy Nico.  If only someone could have helped the owners with a secure fence.  These two oldies would do great in a senior home for dogs.”
Here’s that RICHARDSON LINK again.
Cola, 11, and Nico, 10, were taken in by Animal Service Officers when Cola was found living “chained up to a tree outside, which is no longer allowed per Texas State Law. Owner did not want to bring the dog inside, so had to relinquish ownership.
”
Relinquished Nico at the same time. Both boys were afraid of their first baths at the shelter. But they’re adapting and the hope is they’ll be adopted into the same home since they are clearly bonded.
Read a lot more about both of them on the Richardson shelter site. The shelter reports, “Both dogs seem very easy, mild-mannered and chill guys. They were very quiet, low-energy and sweet during the intake. Niko is very cuddly and sweet.”
Cola is the “escape artist” — unless a human outsmarts him or just chains him to a tree, contrary to state law.

And MB also tipped us to these dogs on the Dallas Animal Services website. In her note she wrote, “I saw some great dogs.  I will mention the one there longest first.

Dora A0794663 - a 10 year old chi.  Little one.  Only 10 pounds.
Rosie A1141044 - A gorgeous german shepherd. Negro A1142992 - a beautiful black lab. Alana A1142615 - An albino Pyr. Belgian Malinois A1141520 - a beautiful dog -- the dog who now replaces German Shepherds.”
Here’s the LINK FOR DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. When you go to it, put the animal’s ID numbers in the search and that pup’ll pop right up.
MB also also writes, “My heart really goes out to little Dora.  I would adopt her if I could.  But I cannot get there.  I am also trying to down-size my animal population.  I still miss my little dog that passed away two years ago.”

And, outside in her own neighborhood, MB tells us about a feline challenge: “The beautiful red cat is still around.  He is a sweetie.  But new neighbors have chickens.  The hunter instinct in ‘The Little Boy,’ as I call him, is very strong.  Try as I might, he does not want to be a fully inside cat.  And in this neighborhood, if you feed them, you own them.  I'm surprised this little guy has avoided nasty neighbors, cat traps, coyotes, cars and people shooting off guns for almost two years now.”
ANIMALS IN 'THE PATH'
OUT IN JACK COUNTY…
One of the first things we heard in Monday’s weather reports on radio and TV was that Jack County, home of Jacksboro, was catching some unpleasant storms with vicious winds.
Immediately we thought about the Animal Angels Sanctuary in a rural area of the county — you may remember it was founded by the great Carole Sanders in 1993. She’d had a 40-year career as an American Airlines Flight Attendant and maintained a life-long love for animals that inspired so many others.
The Angels Facebook page HERE offered good news. The note read, “Hello all of our army of Angels. We are all OK and accounted for. The tornado went rite past us, thank God. Asking for prayers and donations to help in the community. Thank you all so much.”
As the Angels’ website says, the sanctuary “is home for more than 200 dogs and more than a dozen equine, with all-volunteer board and staff. Your generous donations benefit our animals 100%.”
That’s Carole, captured helping a youngster understand the joys of being adored by a human. The Animals and the Animal Community lost Carole at 78 in 2018 — but her spirit continues to inspire those “Angels” to keep the sanctuary’s animals safe and healthy and always the point of caring. See how to help the mission by clicking on THIS LINK.
CONTEMPLATIONS

A DOG, SOME PHRASES, A SONG
Dear rescuers and animal advocates, how often have you heard a story that starts like this one from a neighborhood bulletin board: “Hey, gang. We found a medium terrior mix.” [LARRY NOTE: Yep, spelling error — and not reflective of the dog’s personality.] Continuing with this scary part: “She is a female; possibly just had puppies. She had her retractable leash on her and she got caught behind [a church]. … She has a black collar on. No tags. She is a very sweet girl.” OK: Female, running free, has recently had puppies, very sweet. Those clues add up to “Mom has done her job. Dump her and sell the puppies.” It’s a rampantly stupid attitude in Dallas/Fort Worth. …
WEATHER REPORT: While watching several TV channels during Monday’s storm, I caught the weatherguy on Fox4’s afternoon report saying that people northeast of Fort Worth should watch out for “hail that is dime size, penny size or quarter-size.” I always figured pennies and dimes were just about the same size and the different wouldn’t make a hill of beans in a thunderstorm. The late afternoon weatherwoman on Fox4 told people northeast of Dallas to be on the lookout for “pocket-change-sized hail.”
You see here an illustration of the difference in sizes of American coins — and, of course, three pieces of hail that fell in our front yard Monday. I’m kidding. Those are ice cubes from our refrigerator. You don’t have to watch out for them. If they fall to the kitchen floor, we have a dog or two that’ll pick ‘em right up! Also, don’t put them in your pants pocket — much more unpleasant than a pocket full of assorted hail-sized coins.
… Today we turn to the aforementioned MB for a musical sign-off. “You always mention old records,” she wrote. “I have the old record Eve of Destruction.  I played it with the words on Youtube.  It really rings true today.” Here’s the LINK to Barry McGuire’s 1965 “protest song.” And, as a guy whose sick of humans killing and maiming each other, I’m proud to call it a “protest song.” Just wish it didn’t fit 2022’s situations.
—Peacefully offer ideas benefiting the planet by clicking on ‘COMMENT’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put ‘GET A HAIRCUT’ in the subject line. For old time’s sake. —