AN ISLAND PARADISE; A DOG 'STAR'; THE MAGNIFICENT 11; 'JUMP-IN' CAT & NOTES

EDITION OF MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Welcome to Monday in a transitional week — we’ve moving out of August into September and the promise of traditions:
State Fair of Texas (Sept. 30-Oct. 23) the NFL regular season begins, the tense part of the Major League Baseball season (for some teams) arrives, the campaign trail heats up, TV seasons begin, new cars show up, students get the year’s first report cards — they still grade students, don’t they? ...
And, you see that dog? That is my dog Dudley. Sometimes his ears are perky. They were Monday morning — perky with excitement — for a while. He was all set up to watch the space shot — even put on his sweatshirt that has his school logo on it — it shrunk in the wash and the picture is warped — Dudley has a diploma from the University of Andromeda, played fullback for the Andromeda Strains. I might have made some of that up. Dudley the Angel, however, is our dog. Rescued after being dumped in our old neighborhood. Not sure where he came from but, well, “Angel” may be the hint we need.
One more opening note: To your left you see the new cover on the latest edition of Bob St. John’s book House No. 5: Paradise on Paros — it now contains photos of the island Paros and its people by Bob’s artist wife Sandy St. John. I’ll explain more in Contemplations. And bless Sandy for protecting this wonderful volume of writer Bob St. John’s legacy. 

ABOUT ALL THOSE PUPPIES
SAVED FROM A BAD FATE…
We have photos of the 11 dogs rescued by Georgia McLean from a dire situation in East Texas.
Trust me, when I say “Thank you” to Georgia, it’s from the heart. She helped me overcome a computer/cell phone malcom- munication — that a word? — Monday morning. It wasn’t that the phone and the computer were undergoing a sincere challenge. It was that I was way behind in my understanding of the communication abilities I needed to conquer to make sure I could fly this machine and land it safely. Oh, my! But look at these photos.  Click on them to make them grown so you can see the kids' name. Aren’t these little adorable puppies worth the extra effort in the 21st Century, the strange land in which I have landed?
Georgia’s report is that there may be two signed up for adoption, “but the other nine have got to have a home someplace!” 
Georgia says they’re currently under the care of Safe Haven Animal Rescue—East Texas. And you can ask about them by calling or texting 903-805-1095 or by emailing mclainga@ yahoo.com.

You may recall that last week we got the original tip on these puppies — Georgia calls ‘em “The Magnificent Eleven” from our longtime tipster and pal Gail Whelan of Companion Animal Network. She told us the story of Georgia talking a guy out of the pups — 5 from one mom, 6 from another — after he threatened to hand them over to some dog-fighting clown in Missouri.
[LARRY ASIDE: The challenges of living in a state with people who think like that is made easier only by the fact that I believe that at some point a duly sworn peace officer will slap a set of bracelets on that SOB and walk him off to a check-in counter at the Graybar Hotel. As the police taught me when I was a young reporter in far northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas (pick an appropriate accent): “Yew kin beat thu crime, but yew cain’t beat the ride.”
 Well, enough philosophy: Somebody help Georgia get those dogs adopted into loving and respectful homes.]
THERE WAS THIS CAT WAITING
IN A PARK FOR A RIDE….
This note from Jennifer Sellers grabbed our ol’ experienced “pick up those critters in the park” heart. We’ve grabbed many wonderful dogs out of Kiest Park in Oak Cliff.
 This was a different kind of dog, er, cat out of a different park. 
Jennifer says this cat with the stripes and big whiskers is “not in danger” but she is “in boarding” and Jennifer and a friend are covering that bill.
The goal is to get the cat a home. Here’s the story from Jennifer: 
“She was found in a park, jumped in the car, and is precious.” [LARRY ASIDE: I have rescued many cats and while I’ve had ‘em waltz through our front door, I have NEVER been lucky enough to get one to just jump into open car door and enjoy the ride home! So, what I’m saying is, this must be one exceptional kittycat!]

Jennifer continues, “Neither of us can bring a cat into our home so we have been searching for a rescue or home for two weeks.  She isn't spayed yet but is vaccinated, FEL/LEUK Negative.  Loving as can be.  Tiny cat, 8 months old, beautiful coat.  We call her Chloe.”

Chloe is a wonderful name for that little cat. As you can see from the photos, she’s photogenic and also enjoys tummy rubs. To ask about adopting Chloe, call 214-769-7677 or email [email protected].
ONE MORE NOTE
ABOUT BLUE THE DOG
Look, we’re all full up at Readlarrypowell.com when it comes to dogs and cats. And we’ve mentioned this dog Blue before.
But for some reason the young pup’s story sticks with my heart and I’m giving him an extra ride on the Bandwagon of Appeals today. He’s about a year-and-a-half old and he’s in the Wilmer Animal Shelter because his human became too ill to take care of him.
The human’s family wrote a note that said the human had become too frail. But Blue is still strong in his ability to love that human and any other human who’ll step in to fill that void in the dog’s life. 
Our tipster, Laura Macias of 4-Legged helpers, says Blue is “house-trained, crate-trained and loves everyone.” He’s good with several commands and loves to play with kids, adults and other dogs. 
We’ve posted both of these photos before — they show two entirely different emotions of this dog Blue. When he’s sitting, waiting, he’s ready for whatever word his human will give him. And when he has that human, as you can see, he is one happy dog!
 To ask about helping Blue find a place in rescue or a home, call or text 214-949-2726 or email [email protected]. Follow non-profit 4-Legged Helpers Inc. on Facebook to keep up with Blue and other animals that find themselves in need of a good home.

CONTEMPLATIONS
BOB’S BOOK; DESTINATION; A SONG
In the opening I mentioned Bob St. John’s book House No. 5: Paradise on Paros. Bob was a columnist at The Dallas Morning News for decades and I got to edit his work sometimes during those years. Then I became a columnist and we had side-by-side cubicles and could be seen chatting over the partition like a couple of 1950s housewives gossiping over the back fence.. After Bob left us, I had the privilege of helping with the editing of House No. 5, this wonderful book of time spent in love on a Greek Island. Looking through the new edition made me miss people and places in a paradise I’ve never visited — a place I’ve literally — maybe literarily — only read about. The late Bob loved the place and loved writing about it. His wife, Sandy, a respected artist and inspirational character in the book, made sure that, in this new edition, Bob’s prose has been wonderfully enhanced by “scenes from paradise.” Here’s the LINK to the Amazon site where you can get Bob’s House No. 5: Paradise on Paros. Just FYI: I’m getting some pure joy out of knowing people will be reading Bob St. John’s work again. A lot of people knew him as a sportswriter at The News, but he also was a careful writer of human lives off the sports scene. He was a pretty swell guy who admitted to being clumsy now and then, socially inept (a snake bit him on Paros) and an explorer of the past (there’s a rescue story in this book — it tells of heroes doing what they needed to do). Yeah, I miss him. But this book has his voice. …

A week ago we awakened to one big honkin’ rainstorm. This morning, with a locked-in-the-60s brain happily set on following a NASA space launch, we are, instead, beaten down by constant reports on violence and awful crime. What in the world is wrong with people? Wait. We don’t have time to give all the answers to that question. Quick answer? Let’s go to Mars.
I’m kidding. Peace on Earth has a great sound to it. …
Just for the sake of easy listening, here’s a GREAT ONE PERFORMED BY THE GREAT DIANA KRALL.  We’ll dedicate this one the folks at NASA. As they wait. On hold.
—- Offer anything ya got by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put SAVE ‘EM ALL AND WIN LOTTO, TOO in the subject line. —-