AS THE SEASON BEGINS, DOGS AND CATS CONTINUE TO LINE UP FOR A CHANCE; PLUS, POP'S FIRST BIG LEAGUE GAME

EDITION OF FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2023 [PetPowellPress] Last day of March, headed into the April Fool’s Day weekend. No connection to the Saturday holiday — but, show of hands, please: How many of us are already looking forward to the Texas Rangers playing in the 2023 World Series! Heck, yeah.
[LARRY FYI: That was the Rangers' logo in the early '70s. Read on ...]
Now, here’s our Friday report. WAIT! I just saw a Yahoo news story that two different groups have made $6 billion bids for ownership of the Washington Commanders. I’m considering making a rational, defensible, entirely appropriate bid for the Washington NFL team, i.e., my usual top bid for anything from local newspaper companies to a new gasoline-powered car: Five hundred dollars cash. If you want to chip in, let me know.
A DOG AND CAT STIPULATION,
IF YOU WILL, YOUR HONOR
OK, to use a courtroom term, let’s just stipulate that every city around here has an animal shelter with an oversupply of dogs and cats that need to be adopted or rescued. Hundreds, maybe thousands in the general area.
So, if you are looking to adopt, find a city shelter, a county facility or make an effort to get in touch with a rescue group. You’ll be saving lives. Pass it on.
THIS IS A DENTON DOG
BROUGHT IN AS A STRAY….
The tip on this guy came from veteran animal advocate Amy Poskey who wrote, “To make a long story short… I called the shelter about this sweet, stray boy and one of the [Denton] ACOs was able to catch him.  Poor baby was timid.  Nobody came for him so now he needs our help!

“We have rescue but we need a foster to make that happen.”

He’s known as Gold Medal (#103591) at the Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center, 3717 N. Elm St., in Denton.
The contact points are these email’s [email protected]; [email protected]; and  [email protected] or this phone: 940-349-7594. His LINK is HERE.
 Gold Medal is from 2 to 5 years old, the shelter says. He weighs 50 pounds and is heartworm positive. 
His bio says he’s been neutered and microchipped. He’s said to be dog friendly, but it’s unknown how he is around cats.
When this sweet boy arrived at the shelter,” his bio reads, “He was really dirty, had a worn-out collar with a bit of chewed rope hanging on it, and was very shy. The staff said that he was very scared at first and is still timid until you walk him or interact with him.  He seems very submissive and will flop over for a belly rub when he feels comfortable with his visitors.”
MEANWHILE, IN EAST TEXAS,
THIS GUY CHARLIE TANGO
As you may guess, there’s a military element to the story of Charlie Tango. We got the tip on him from Karen Lee of barkleyworld.com and from our Companion Animal Network contact, the rescuer/advocate Gail Whelan.
They heard about Charlie Tango from Georgia McLain in East Texas. The email subject line read, “URGENT!!!!! GORGEOUS DOG NEEDS FOSTER OR ADOPTER ASAP. OWNER BEING DEPLOYED.”
 The contact point to help Charlie Tango is projectcharlietango @gmail.com.
The handsome fellow “is about 18 months of age and will be fully vetted. He is 55 pounds. ... We believe he is an American Bulldog mix.”
AND, THERE’S THIS
BRIGHT-EYED CAT…
You never know what you’ll find when you click onto the Dallas Animal Services adoptable pets listings at https://bedallas90.org/.
What we found by clicking on Thursday afternoon was this spectacular girl. She’s a 4-year-old, 9-pound Domestic Shorthair cat name Sadie. She’s #1160775 in Dallas Animal Services records — and, according to her bio, she’s in a DAS foster home.
Don’t know how long she’s been there, but she’s probably managed to erase that stunned look off her pretty face.

CONTEMPLATIONS
A LOOK BACK AT A BIG LEAGUE DAY
On Thursday — on Opening Day 2023 — I had a memory that stopped me in my tracks. I even got up from the keyboard and walked through the house to refocus. It was one of those moments when you knew the person you suddenly wanted to talk to but you also knew that person wasn’t going to be available by phone — not even by whizbang reach-anywhere instantaneously cellphone.
This memory came rushing in from many years ago. It was the era when the Texas Rangers were still playing in the old revamped, roofless Class AA Texas League baseball facility, Turnpike Stadium.
 The person I wanted to talk to about opening day was my ol’ man, J.C. “Calvin” Powell, known to all the cousins as “Uncle Ca’vin” and to the three brothers as “Daddy” and “Pop.” He’s the guy who taught us all how to play catch, how to throw a baseball, how to hit a baseball and, basically, how to enjoy a baseball game for the glorious sport that it is.
One season after Pop had retired and had time to travel, I talked him and Mom into coming to the Metroplex for a big league baseball game. The main draw was not baseball; it was that their grandkids, the twins Bret and Bart, would be there. [LARRY ASIDE: Keep in mind that Pop had been an infantryman at Normandy when he was a kid. That’s Pop’s U.S. Army photo — at the age when he should have been playing baseball at family reunions or in the minors maybe, he was in a big league war in Europe with a bunch of other kids who teamed up to save the world. That particular trip to Europe was about the last time he’d ever been interested in being away from home. Not even for vacation. It was, basically, only an afternoon with Bret and Bart that would get him out of his recliner. Pretty sure.]
So here was this formerly dirt-poor kid from Texarkana, all grown up, full of life experience and, yet, absolutely adoring every moment he could spend with his twin grandsons. It was Pop’s first big league game; it wasn’t his grandkids’ first — they thought “going to a big league game” was normal.
Early in the first inning, with big leaguers on the field and big leaguers at the plate, I looked at my ol’ man and he leaned over to me and, with a genuine catch in his voice, the poor kid from Texarkana said, “I just never thought I’d ever get to see a big league baseball game in person.” Yeah, I think I might have teared up a little bit, too.
So, Pop, every season they play this game I keep thinking how enjoyable it was to watch your first big league game with you. May other boys and girls enjoy those big league days with their parents. Hand me a tissue. I think the Texas Tenors are about to perform The Star-Spangled Banner on TV from the ballpark. Play ball, Rangers, and play it good for my Pop.
—- Offer pitching or hitting advice by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “Don’t shut-yer-eyes when you swing, slugger!” in the subject line. —-