SOMETIMES IT'S THE FACES THAT CHARM A HEART TO OPEN....AH, THE NEW YEAR....

EDITION OF MONDAY/TUESDAY, JANUARY 2-3, 2023 [PetPowellPress] It’s the second day of the new year. We’re going to look at dogs in need in a second. Maybe find a cat or two, too. You will be charmed by the faces we’ve found.
Already it’s the 2nd day of the New Year heading toward the 3rd. That’s seven days and a lot of football past Christmas and I’m just now finding enough Covid-spell “wake time” to listen to the legendary Lionel Barrymore radio version of A Christmas Carol from 1939. Except I don’t have the concentration right now to listen to it.
I’m so far behind on my traditional holiday viewing that when I woke Monday and discovered ScFy was still showing The Twilight Zone Marathon, I was elated to find that I could watch the entire May 1961 episode Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up. The granddaddy of goosebumps, Rod Serling, wrote this tale of a passenger bus pulling into a diner on a rainy night and the discovery of a previously unknown passenger. Chilling and, as far as I’m concerned, entirely possible. One guy has three arms, another has three …. wait, no spoilers….
OK, let’s get back down to earth. Oh, I snapped that photo of a Martian in our kitchen window near sunrise on New Year’s Day…What? OK, it wasn’t a Martian — it’s a solar-powered, paw-waving cat. In 1961 you may never have imagined the phrase “solar-powered, paw-waving cat.”
MEANWHILE, FORT BEND COUNTY HAS
A ‘DROOL WORTHY’ DOG, EDWARD
Our pal Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com, the non-profit that helps people help their animals, tipped us to Marie Garza’s appeal for a dog named Edward in Fort Bend County. Where’s that? If you’re in the metrosprawl, go south to Houston and turn right.
Marie’s tip (posted on Jan. 1) characterized this as an “urgent, urgent plea for Edward.” And she puts a personal touch on the appeal — a beloved dog she knew…
She wrote, “I just wanted to ask EVERYONE who can do so to PLEASE share Edward!!!  I spoke with the AC and sadly a decision will have to be made if we don't get Edward out of the shelter!!  He has been there a while now and even through a few adoption events.  He didn't get to go home with a foster during the freeze!  I don't understand why!

“He is an absolute sweetheart!  I had a dog almost identical to this dog for 15 years that I adopted out of the Summerville Animal Control in Chatooga County Georgia, that was the BEST most LOYAL dog I have ever known!  Likely Boxer mix but just a great dog and so is EDWARD!!  Just read what the shelter has to say about him!  Please everyone lets find this boy a home before they have to make that very difficult decision to put him down!  If anyone can foster, rescue or adopt Edward please contact the shelter, I will arrange funds, transport and coordinate the rescue 100%.  Please share Edward and let's find him a home!!!!!
THIS IS THE FACEBOOK LINK to Maria's appeal. And this note about Edward’s charming “drool” is the Fort Bend County Pets/Fort Bend County Animal Services FACEBOOK LINK:
"Edward is drool worthy…and he knows it! It’s not uncommon for him to have a little bit of drool. He isn’t immune to his own charms!" The Fort Bend number to call is 281-342-1512. Email animal.services@fortbendcountytx.gov.
[LARRY ASIDE: There are dogs all over Texas who remind someone of a dog they had years ago — be a wonderful thing if all them were rescued and adopted and given places of honor in homes that love them.]
THREE DOGS READY TO GO
IN WOOD COUNTY, TEXAS
We got the tip on this trio of dogs from our longtime tipster Gail Whelan of Companion Animal Network. She was sending along an appeal from Barbara Wax on behalf of these dogs, Faith, Hope and Charity. 
They’re pre-Christmas arrivals on the list of animals needing some lifelong love and kindness from humans.
The note read, “These girls are sitting in an outside pen at the Sheriff's office here in Wood County.  THERE IS NO SHELTER HERE.  The Sheriff has given the girls a week or so to find something for them.

“THEY HAVE HAD TWO SETS OF SHOTS, RABIES, AND ON HW PREVENTATIVE.  ALSO MICROCHIPPED.  THEY HAVE PLEDGES FOR THEIR SPAY SURGERY.”
The contact to ask about saving the lives of these three dogs is Barbara Wax at bjandk15@gmail.com.
[LARRY ASIDE: 
The Wood County Sheriff’s office is in Quitman, east of Lake Fork, south of Winnsboro and north of Mineola. It’s on all the maps and the roads are paved in my beloved East Texas. Most of ‘em.]
NOW WE VISIT THE FACES
AT DOG ’N’ KITTY CITY 
We were checking in on a cat named Indie — first met her when she was “Frida” — and discovered a note at dognkittycity.org about the enduring Humane Society of Dallas County that created and operates Dog ’n’ Kitty City, the no-kill shelter in Big D. At dognkittycity.org we found the big headline declaring “The HSDC Winter Raffle is back!" Tickets are $5. The drawing event is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 2 at Chuy’s, 4544 McKinney Ave., in Dallas. Click on RAFFLE PAGE 
to see the items you can win.
In the meantime, at dognkittycity.org you can see fantastic cat and dog faces — these are among the many animals waiting for a home. 
Indie, you may recall, was Frida when he was among nearly a half-dozen cats who were left behind on the property at their Dallas home. It had been sold and the family moved with a “Good luck, kittycats” notice. Indie is the “sweet but a little shy tabby guy (born 4/5/20) …looking for a good home.” Still looking.

 While perusing the felines I also found this photo of Ford, born September 7, 2019. And he’s got quite a tale — he does, in this photo, look like the “cat that ate the canary,” so to speak. There are other photos of him on the website. His bio reads, “Ford is the name! I am a handsome big white fellow who was living around a wildlife sanctuary. I was brought to the shelter by the owners because the birds were just too tempting for me. I am a real friendly guy who needs a good home and am FIV positive and have heartworms. If you would like to meet me, email adoptions@dognkittycity.org or contact the shelter.” [LARRY ASIDE: Ford is a youngish cat and his two conditions don’t really mean he’s about to die. Hopefully, they mean he’s about to be adopted by someone who know how to properly care for a loving cat.]
Check out the faces on these two Dog ’n’ Kitty City pups!
I picked Hallie (born 6/18/22) because she’s kind of the happy dogface version of Ford the Cat. She’s a Husky mix, her bio says, and, it reads, “Not only is she beautiful and extremely soft, she is soooo loving! She is cautious upon first meeting people, but once she trusts you, there's nothing else for her to do. She is hopelessly devoted to you! Hallie is doing really well with her walks and her socializing with new people.”
And that brings us to this wonderful dog Faith, born 11/15/16, and a Bulldog mix. This Brindle-coated girl has the face of an Oscar-winning Hollywood character actor. Her bio reads: “You scratch. I SNIFF. You had a bad day? I FIX IT. You had a good day? I MAKE IT BETTER. My name is FAITH and I am a 6 year old, female Bulldog Mix. I have the cutest face and the cutest rump you will ever see! I have an adorable underbite in the front and a curly tail in the back!”
Faith was “very skinny” when she came to the shelter. But she’s rebounded. And her bio also says, “Faith is such a sweetheart. She loves attention! We think she would be very happy to just be a 'loved on' couch potato or sofa surfer.”
 See how to adopt or how to volunteer and help at dognkittycity.org. 

CONTEMPLATIONS
A MONDAY COLLECTION
This is late getting posted because the focus knob in my brain has been twisted to a breaking point by the annoying symptoms of Covid — I continue to test positive. Unlike my high school Latin tests — those suckers were too tough to continue to test positive! “Sic friat crustulum,” as I recall from my days in Latin II. Unlike the “Filii et filiae populi Romani” I had to make a living writing and speaking English. My loss. … 

So, in the opening I mentioned missing the Lionel Barrymore broadcast of A Christmas Carol this year. So, I’ve decided that one of my 2023 resolutions will be to follow Scrooge’s lead. According the quote author Charles Dickens gave the reformed grouch: “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Of course, that quote was published in December 1843— not during an election year. …
By the way, that led me to do some research: Was 1843 an English election year — nope. Was it an American election year — nope, but get this. You know how we gripe these days about not getting the results of the presidential election right after the polls close? I found this note in a report on presidential elections: “The 1844 United States presidential election was the 15th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 1 to Wednesday, December 4, 1844.” If you’d rather not talk politics, here’s a LINK to the 1939 broadcast of A Christmas Carol, presented by the grat Orsone Welles and starring Lionel Barrymore in an American radio tradition. (Some of you will know him only as Mr. Potter of Bedford Falls. Didn’t see that one this year, either.) Happy Tuesday the 3rd.
—- Offer tips and ideas by clicking on ‘Comment’ below or email dallrp@aol.com and put “TIME FOR NEW YEAR DIET” in the subject line. —-