A CAT TALE; AN AVAILABLE DOG, CONTEMPLATIONS INCLUDING A SOCCER CONFESSION

EDITION OF WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Don’t event try to think about what you failed to accomplish in November. Like finishing your shopping before Santa Claus arrived in the finale of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Oh, and helping all shelters and rescue groups find home for the animals on their lists of adorable adoptables.
 So, take a deep breath. Contemplate your December plans, i.e., exercise, eat healthy, promote animal adoption and spay/neuter and buy cheap gasoline. Together, all of that will boost your spirits. That’s my funspouse Martha’s personally-rescued dog Wendy (Wednesday Louise Wagstaff Arden) modeling for a poster that’ll have the message “Lend an ear: Save ‘em all.” Just needs an agent. The right ear is usually down.
AND HERE’S A CAT TALE
THAT’S ALL TOO COMMON
Yeah, this is a common situation for cats all over the metrosprawl. In this case, on Tuesday I spotted this day- old note on a neighborhood bulletin board. It was written by a woman named Susan who lives in Eastern Fort Worth.
Susan (clearly a neighborhood animal hero) wrote, “This cat has been coming around and eating the food I put out for a couple of ferals. He let me pet him today, and even wanted to come in the house. This tells me he was somebody's pet. If no one claims him, I'm going to grab him and get him to the vet and find him a home.”
 Follow up notes revealed that is exactly what is happening. And, you have to wonder if this cat is one of those “beloved family pets” who is put out at night and has always show back up in the morning — until now. Lucky a coyote or a hawk didn't take him in.
NOW, WE TAKE A MUSICAL LOOK
AT A DOG NAMED BARBAS
This bio of a quite-handsome dog came to us via a trusted tipster who monitors a certain Northeast Texas shelter.
Barbas is waiting for a home while in the care of the Daingerfield Animal Shelter. [LARRY ASIDE: We’ve mentioned it before because reader Tami Kukla has adopted it as a personal project for getting dogs and cats adopted or rescued from the crowded small town shelter.]
When you looked at that photo of Barbas, did you think “That dog loves music!”?
Well, here’s the musical bio: 
“Barbas says he just hasn't met you yet but is ready to. This distinguished young gentleman is just a treat to be around. He is a fan of a range of music from Garth Brooks to Michael Buble to the Beach Boys. Are you a connoisseur of snack food? Well, he would like to join you in enjoying a treat. He would love to learn to play Frisbee and to paddle-board. Easy on a leash. And if your adventures include daily runs he is game.”
 The final bio graph about Barbas reads, “Active. Goofy. Sweet. And stunning. And in case you needed more reasons to adopt him, all of that is a little something to think about.”

Contact the shelter at 903-645-2120 or email [email protected]. You can also go to this Facebook site and direct-message a note about Barbas.
CONTEMPLATIONS
OLD BONES, SOCCER AND THE KING...
I saw a story earlier in the week that declared, “The dinosaur bone market is booming” and, as a genuine Baby Boomer, I began to feel paranoia creeping through my aged skeletal system. Yeah, I might ahve been called a dinosaur a time or two...
LARRY FYI CONFESSION: Congratulates to the USA team at the World Cup. Beat Iran 1-0. I coached the first complete soccer game I ever saw. OK, I assistant-coached that match. A special hello to you aging Grand Prairie Youth Soccer Mavericks who suited up back in the mid-70s when you were in pre-school, first and second grade. Dr. Cary Askins, the head coach, had played the game. He also knew enough about kid soccer to know that he needed a dad or mom or two (sometimes more) to be in charge of “crowd control,” i.e., keep the players’ attention on the game at practice and at the matches. We played on a field in Grand Prairie beneath the flight path of choppers from the then-busy Navy Dallas Airfield near Mountain Creek Lake. If a helicopter was overhead, the ball would roll (seen only by coaches, parents and refs) off the field into the street. Just about every player would be looking up! My little boys, Bret and Bart, played for the Mavericks. Fans of the Maverick TV show will smile at that coincidence. We won the league that first year. If memory serves. It is, looking back, exactly what it’s called: “The Beautiful Game.” …
In honor of autumn, here’s the great voice and musical presence of a wonderful performer, Nat King Cole.
—- Offer autumn advice by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put GRAB THE RAKE, LAZY in the subject line. —-