A CAT IN A BOWTIE? ANIMALS THAT NEED HELP. A CREEP WHO BOXED UP CATS. TV DETECTIVES AND A SONG

EDITION OF FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Thursday morning, while weather warnings filled the air, I was typing something and suddenly Wendy walked up, put her big ol’ pretty mug between me and my computer and asked, “Is it OK if we change the channel?”
Hang on! Whew. I though I heard disruptive winds coming down the street and throwing heavy objects around. Turned out to be the neighborhood trash truck performing a routine pick up. Not that springtime makes a Texan cautious in springtime! 
Gimme a minute, I’m going to go wake Wendy — she nods off on the couch while watching TV — and hug her. … OK, we’re back. We’ll get to Wendy and the TV in Contemplations. As the seasoned pro journalists with a responsible sense of grammar used to say when every household got a newspaper, “Let’s go to press!”
CAT WITH A BOWTIE, DOG IN A CONE,
LITTLE GUY WITH GIANT EARS
Could this feline be, perhaps, the most elegant non-tuxedo cat seen on a shelter roster in the 21st century? Not sure anybody put bowties on cats in the 20th century. This guy is Oscar, just about a year-and-a-half-old, a domestic shorthair mix who tips the scales at an adorable six cat pounds. He’s currently in foster care and his adoption fee is $75. [HINT: The SPCA has a constant need for fosters and on the website spca.org you can see how to become a foster. You’ll be helping animals find homes and avoid unpleasant ends.]
So I asked, “What’ll go well with a dressy gray cat with a bowtie?" 
I clicked onto the SPCA dogs and discovered two ideal selections (if they get along, of course.) A bow tie always goes well with a “Cone.” And, even in a cone Blaine (#50050850) looks pretty swell. He’s a year-old, 68-pound Anatolian Shepherd Mix who, the SPCA reports, needs “a big yard to play in.”

Of course, if you’re talking comparable sizes, there’s 9-pound Andy, a year and 8 months old and clearly an Earhound. Without those ears, he may weigh about the same as 6-pound Oscar. Andy is #49384397. Andy’s bio says his “past was a little scary” and the indication is he’s a bit fearful and “doesn’t understand leash-walking.” Needs grown up humans to help him cope with his new, safer world. See more SPCA animals by clicking on spca.org or you can go to the find-a-pet LINK HERE.
HOW THESE TWO BECAME WARDS
OF THE FERRIS ANIMAL SHELTER….
[LARRY ASIDE: I began today’s edition with uplifting notes. Why? Because I could not bear beginning with this story. It has a chance for a happy ending. But here’s the problem: The jerk who did this evil act is still running loose inside the State of Texas and I’d rather see him or her locked up. For a while. A nice long while. Read on, please.]
We got the note from the 4-Legged Helpers because they hustle to help animals that wind up in small shelters that don’t draw a lot of human adoptive traffic.
These two are Chance and Chase, a couple of baby Tiger Tabbies. They’re in the Ferris Animal Shelter only because there were enough encounters with fate, paths that cross and worn-out guardian angels that work the beat in North Texas. 
The 4-Legged Helpers note reads, “These two little baby sweetie pies were found in a box by the side of the road in Ferris by a Good Samaritan!!!! Someone literally threw them out on the side of the road IN A BOX.  How could anyone do such a thing? And they are the sweetest little babies ever.  Look at those little faces.  Maybe 6-7 weeks old.”

And, the Helpers’ note finishes, “Please, won’t you help save them? Please? The person that found them cannot keep them very long — they need a rescue group right away — please help!”
To reach the Helpers, email Laura Macias at [email protected] or call or text 214-949-2726. And you can follow the challenges and triumphs on the Helpers Facebook page HERE.
[LARRY BITTER ASIDE: No idea who the lug is who boxed up these kittens, but if you know, tell a peace officer. The despicable act — this sort of stupid, mean and disrespectful behavior — is a violation of Texas cruelty laws. You might not be able to get a conviction, but a visit from an inquisitive badge-holding oath-taker with a hint of “I’m gonna be watching you” in his or her authoritative voice might be enough to change the way this jerk behaves. We don’t need people with such disrespect for life in charge of the fate of kittens, puppies, grown animals or strangers they run into on the street.]

At readlarrypowell.com, we keep up with 4-Legged Helpers’ work via emails and the non-profit's Facebook page. One of dogs the Helpers have been trying to help is this dog Delilah. Yeah, I like the name — Delilah the Dog. She wasn’t dumped in a box on the side of the road. She ran into tough spot because of misfortune with the person who loves her.
Also, she is a Heeler mix — Red Heeler, the Friend says.
[LARRY ASIDE: For years we lived with an entertaining Heeler mix named Annie — daughter of Calamity, the dog at the top of this website. We became accustomed to the ways of Heelers and adored this girl every day of her life. All dogs aren’t alike, but in honor of Annie, and because the way Delilah is entertainingly sitting and waiting for “orders” from her human, I thought I’d mention Delilah again and try to help the Helpers find her a home.]
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE,
LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY MOLLY
We try to keep up with Mesquite, too. Those folks take in a lot of beautiful dogs and cats and also a lot of dogs and cats who may not win beauty contests but will win hearts if they get the chance. This one is in the "beauty" category.
Our tipster for this dog with the fabulous whiskers is volunteer dog biographer Debra Chisholm and she writes, “I have named this precious girl Molly.  She [#4998147] arrived as a stray at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 4/15.” 
The mix-breed weighs 52 pounds and — not spayed, of course —- is about a year-and-a-half old. Debra writes, “She captured my heart right away. I was sitting on the bench when she was brought to me in the yard and the first thing she did was to climb into my lap.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Doesn’t that bring some tears to your eyes, all you tough rescuers? A dog knows right away someone is on her side!]

Debra says that Molly is “affectionate, loving and likes attention.  Her fur is so soft and silky.  She walked well on a leash and did not seem unfriendly toward the other dogs.  She knows the sit command and will do so for treats which she takes gently.  Molly is a well-behaved girl, confident and trusting in a quiet sort of way and with a sweet personality. … She likes squeaky toys. 
“From her appearance I get the idea she may have lived outside.  Doubtless she would love for her new home to be one in which her people will allow her to live inside with her ‘peeps’.”

To ask about giving Molly that loving home, use her ID #49981476 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]

CONTEMPLATIONS
WENDY, TV AND DETECTIVES
Back to our opening reference to the great dog Wendy watching television. I think she and the quadrupedal mammalian viewers in the living room finished off the morning watching Dick Van Dyke star in Diagnosis Murder — Wendy’s a big fan of Mr. Van Dyke's performance in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Back to the murder show: It had an impressive TV guest star list for the episode Murder Blues (broadcast Sept. 18, 1997). The guest stars were from previous big TV cop hits: Angie Dickinson of Police Woman, James Darren of T.J. Hooker, Kent McCord and Martin Milner of Adam-12 and Fred Dryer of Hunter. I forget the plot of the episode. Got busy with something else while the dogs napped through key points in the solving of the crime. …

As long as we’re discussing detective shows, I’ll cite one of my faves from the 1960s — Burke’s Law. Gene Barry played the millionaire chief of detectives for LA PD and he took a chauffeured Rolls Royce where ever he went. Also, not that the financial success of Bond — James Bond — had an effect on 1960s video and film, but Burke the cop became Burke the secret agent. That was in 1965 and by then I was working nights and trying to graduate from high school and didn’t have time for TV. But, when Amos Burke was a cop, it was a good show. …
And, as long as we’re riding in the SPPTM (Solar Panel Powered Time Machine), we’ll go back to that legendary 20th century and suggest that some TV nights 1964-67 you might have wanted to watch the Patrick McGoohan series Secret Agent. Called Danger Man outside of the U.S. Of course, he left Secret Agent and his character John Drake to become the mysterious Number 6 in his legendary (1967-68) and wickedly witty futuristic series The Prisoner. For a while some thought Drake was Number 6, but, alas, no proof…

A musical note: Johnny Rivers, the rocker known in mid-60s radio intros as “The Darlin’ of the Discotheque,” performed Secret Agent Man. Put on your dancin' shoes and CLICK HERE.
— Offer spy tips or confessions by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put ‘60s TV BAKED BRAINS’ in your subject line. —-