WE BEGIN WITH FLOWERS, MOVE ALONG TO DOGS AND SETTLE IN WITH A CAT IN A HAT....

EDITION OF FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022 [PetPowellPress] A headline in the ol’ hometown newspaper, The Texarkana Gazette, announced “Jonquil Festival to bloom again this weekend at Historic Washington State Park.”
This brings to mind the eternal question: Jonquils or Daffodils— what’s the difference? Might depend on where you were raised. More on Washington, Ark., in Contemplations. First, some animal-related notes.

THE GENA STORY CONTINUES
IN RICHARDSON’S CARE….
A week ago we posted this photo and the story of the romping dog Gena in the Richardson Animal Shelter. 
On Thursday, we got several additional Gena notices from other people. Could this great dog still need a home?
We checked with the shelter — yep, she’s still not adopted, but she’s in foster car and apparently charms everyone she meets. We even got some new photos of her — including one of our favorite poses: Dog helping driver with directions and traffic tips. 

Gena, a 2-year-old, has many positive points, but prefers to be an only dog in a household.

 Amber Norman, the Resource Coordinator at the shelter, reports that the Pittie mix has “been with us since 12/12/21 and has not had much interest for 93 days. …”
That’s starting to change apparently — based on the number of follow-up notes.
We’ll end this new appeal with our original summary from last week: “So, if you’re a rescue group with room or an individual or family with heart-enough to offer a good home to a dog, get in touch with Richardson Animal Services at 972-744-4480.” (See more Richardson animals HERE.)
And try not to smile when you see that dog Gena doing some back-seat driving. 


MEANWHILE, JAXON,
NOT IN A SHELTER,
NEEDS A NEW HOME
Our pal Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com knows how to spot those tough cases of “find the right home” for a dog. She forwarded the story and photos to us.
 This is one of those situations that arises when circumstances of life change.
You can see from that photo that Jaxon is a famiy dog — adored, photographed at Christmas. Just a swell dog. But there’s a bit of a problem. So he needs a new home.

His humans live on the top floor of an apartment complex. Jaxon is a strong, strong puller on a leash. His human “mom” is expecting. And she’s trying to eliminate risk factors in her life, i.e, being pulled down flights of stairs while pregnant. Understandable. 

The story is that Jaxon was a 4-month-old stray when she rescued him off metro streets. He’s now 6 and needs a loving home. His human says he is “a big cuddler,” who loves to “be under the blankets and loves to run and explore.”
He weighs 45 pounds and is believed to be a Vizla mix, his human says. She also says, “He likes to do his own thing a lot of the time, however, he will follow you around the house and want to be in whatever room you are in. He is not good with cats. He is good with some dogs … depends on the other dog’s temperament … He also goes to doggy day care at a big ranch near my parents’ house and he gets along just fine with the other dogs during playtime.” 
He has many other positive points and his human wrote, "We really want to find Jaxon the best home for him. He has been such a good dog to me the past 6 years, and it breaks my heart to have to rehome him. I know though that this is ultimately what is best for him, and that he will be in a better environment suited for his personality.” 
To ask more about Jaxon’s personality and affection, email [email protected].
THE WELL-DRESSED CAT
IS NAMED BRANSON
Yeah, readlarrypowell.com has never adopted a cat from a shelter — our cats have just shown up in the yard, on the porch, in a tree or on the streets where we were passing by. 
None of our adopted cats or dogs wore a hat. But there is this guy in Operation Kindness, the no-kill shelter in Carrollton. Branson is the name. He may be the first cat-in-a-hat published by readlarrypowell.com in its decades of citing animals.

Branson, age 2 and 10.14 pounds, came into the shelter on Feb. 26 “as a transfer from one of our shelter partners,” OK says in his bio. He’s fixed, chipped and up-to-date on shots. Go to operastionkindness.org to see how to adopt him. Here’s a happy note about Branson: “Enjoys snoozing in a sunny window.” Sounds perfect for a human.
CONTEMPLATIONS
ASSORTED ODD NOTES
While half-watching the Baylor Bears beat Norfolk State 85-49 in the NCAA basketball tournament game played at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, I heard an odd moment. One of the announcers said the Bears were in Fort Worth after making “a short little drive from Waco.” Yeah, it’s only about 91 miles, but it’s all on I-35 and that thing hasn’t had a day without a “construction ahead” sign since it was drawn on a highway department map. It’s a careful 91 miles, right? ….
On a popular national morning chat show Thursday, a young actor described the stage show Rent as “the first rock musical.” He can be forgiven. He was born in 1983 — nearly two decades after the dawn of Hair — The Tribal Rock Musical.” Rent came along in the '90s. …
  About Washington, Ark., home of the Jonquil Festival. Where is it? About 35 miles northeast of Texarkana on the highway that runs through Dallas, U.S. 67. Not only is Washington know for its peaceful flowers, but it also has the shop where blacksmith James Black, in 1830, created a special knife for Texas hero Jim Bowie, i.e., “The Bowie Knife.” What else is Washington known for? It was, from 1863 to ’65, the Confederate Capital of Arkansas. But, frankly, I’d rather just talk about the flowers.
—- Offer flower tips and travel advice by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put ‘HE BROUGHT A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT?’ in the subject line. —-