AFTER THE STORM, IN THE LIGHT OF DAY WE SPOTLIGHT ANIMALS; PLUS TOMATOES, RHUBARB AND PRODUCTIVITY

EDITION OF MONDAY, MAY 2, 2022 [PetPowellPress] New month. New lucky lotto numbers being dreamed up. It’s a happy Monday. Just when I thought I might sleep the whole night through, a thunder-clapping, light-the-neighborhood, slam raindrops onto the rooftops storm woke me at 3 a.m. Did you know there are episodes of Monk on in the 3 a.m.-4 a.m. hours on cable TV?
I was apparently the only mammal in our house awakened by the storm — Porche (in this nocturnally lit, action mood shot -- it's titled What Storm? -- kept snoozing in the bed next to me. I think William the Office Cat was still up reading King Lear. Odd cat. Stage ambitions.
Save some animals today and check in on our Lear reference in Contemplations.
MORE OF LADY’S STORY
INVOLVES HER 3 KIDS….
We got an update on some dogs on a dog who showed up on the list of dogs in the spotlight of the 4-Legged Helpers.
Lady is the girl — a German Shepherd mix. She’s in the Glenn Heights Shelter and is “AVAILABLE NOW,” the Helpers report.  That's her being hugged by a kid as she's in the car seat.
But this is the new part and so are those photos with the kids: SHE SURVIVED A HOUSE FIRE AND HER FAMILY COULD NO LONGER CARE FOR HER DUE TO BEING HOMELESS. PLEASE — HELP HER FIND HER FOREVER HOME!”

As you can tell in these photos, Lady has been loved by kids. She, in return, “loves other dogs, all kids, all people. Loves to ride in the car and is such a sweetie pie.” 
The Helper report that Lady is “currently being fostered by someone the shelter found and the foster said she is PERFECT.”
To offer to help this girl Lady (or previously profiled dogs Tasha, Cece, Precious and Bowie), call or text 214-949-2726 or email cat_girl_71@yahoo.com. Follow the 4-Legged Helpers on Facebook HERE.  (You can also see the bios of those 4 dogs by scrolling down on our very own readlarrypowell.com report.
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE:
SASHA IS A FAVORITE;
DAZZLE IS DAZZLING
Our Sasha tipster, the Mesquite Animal Services volunteer dog biographer Judi Brown wrote, “Sasha is one of my favorites! Can you believe this beautiful girl has been at the shelter since the end of January and is still keeping her spirits up? She has come a long way. When she first got to the shelter she was a work in progress and very shy. Now she comes running up to me. She may take a little time to get to meet a new person but she’s got lots of love to give. The original evaluation said she was about two years old ...we’ve changed to five years old. She is so soft, so sweet, so loving, and so deserving. Please please someone come and either adopt, rescue or network this delightful shepherd with one blue eye and one brown eye!”
 She came into the shelter as a stray on Jan. 22 — weighed 48 pounds. The ACO’s report was that this dog had been “running loose for days and they were not able to catch her because of her fear. She eventually hid under a truck and it was quite an ordeal to get her out.”
She’s #49459095 — use that ID number when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.
Same contact points for this girl Dazzle — her ID is #50052153. Judi writes, “Dazzle is a 3-year-old, 50-pound Alaskan Husky mix that came to Mesquite Animal Shelter as a stray on 4/26. I can’t imagine why her owners have not come looking for her as she’s not only very sweet, well mannered, gentle, and loving but she will also dazzle you with her beautiful cream-colored coat and light blue eyes!

“She gave me a warm welcome when I first entered her kennel. When she got out into the yard she did a lot of exploring and looking out the gate. I’m not sure if looking out the gate was a ‘Husky thing’ or if she was looking for her owners. But then she came back to me and wanted to stay close. She’s not motivated by treats but she is well-mannered and sits when given the command. She walks OK on a leash. She was not interested in meeting the other dogs in the bay. I did not notice any aggression. If you’re looking for a loving dog that loves to have her ears scratched and have a secure fence please come and meet Dazzle. After she’d been in the yard for a while she was obviously getting warm and wanted to be inside. Hopefully her new adopters will have a yard for her to run in but consider her a family member and keep her mostly inside.”

See more Mesquite dogs and cats by clicking on this link and navigating to the lists. Among the cats, still waiting since March 18, is #48498400, a handsome tabby fellow known as Milo.
The shelter says he’s nearly 3 years and 9 months old and “large.” Pretty sure he’s changed his facial expression by now. He’s in the shelter’s “Conference Room.” Probably runs the show with a firm hand and understanding of Robert’s Rules of Cat Order.
REMINDER: STILL TIME
TO WIN THIS BLANKET
Our longtime lakeside tipster Sydney Busch of Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake sent a note reminding us that “this beautiful handcrafted blanket -[
“lovingly created by Paula Swope] for a full-size bed is displayed at the Friends Clinic and will be raffled at noon on Tuesday May 3.”

The Friends “operate,” so to speak, the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas. You can still buy tickets there Tuesday for $5 each or 5 for $20.
The clinic is at 122 Old Gun Barrel Lane S in Gun Barrel City.
Questions about buying tickets or the clinic: Call 903-451-4701. Website is friendsoftheanimals.org.
CONTEMPLATIONS
TOMATOES, RHUBARB & THE CURSE
OF ‘COMPULSIVE PRODUCTIVITY’
Tomato Question: Roma Tomatoes or East Texas Vine-Ripened Tomatoes? Fried Green Tomatoes? Sure loved those Fried Green Tomatoes at the Dixie House in Lakewood in Dallas (Closed in 2016). You’ve hard of “Stream of Consciousness” writing? This is “Stream of Tomato” writing. Not sure has the great Fried Green Tomatoes now — maybe Hoffbrau steakhouse in Granbury or Lucille’s on Camp Bowie in Cowtown. …
PIE QUESTION: Anybody know of anyone in the metromenusprawl who markets Rhubarb Pie? My bakespouse Martha has never had a bite of one — I had a slice at a party about 40 years ago and never again thought about it. Takes a lot to knock a coconut cream pie or Martha’s Mom’s Chocolate Pie off my “yearning for a pie” craving list. My knowledge of Rhubarb is what I learned while reading a paperback version (sometime in the 1960s) of writer H. Allen Smith’s 1946 book Rhubarb about a cat that inherited a baseball team, The New York Loons. FYI: Mr. Smith earned initial literary fame in New York but, in 1967, he and his wife moved from Mount Kisko, N.Y, to Alpine, Texas. Yep, Alpine — he got there in time to get involved in chili cookoffs. It’s all on the record…

WORKING CONDITIONS? As I was working on a couple of things at the same time, I saw a BBC story about the terror of “compulsive productivity.” If YOU’RE not to busy, here’s the LINK. Apparently this is a real challenge to “productive” workers’ mental health in England. I heard that in Washington an elected official was overheard praying, “Thank you, Lord, for not making me compulsively productive.” I’m kidding —about actually hearing such a prayer. But, as, Shakespeare wrote in King Lear, “Jesters do oft prove prophets.”
— Offer pie help or helpful pie by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing dallrp@aol.com and put ‘LAY OFF THE PIE, LARDBOY’ in the subject line. —