A NEED FOR FOSTERING; A CLINIC NEEDS SOME SUPPLIES; A COCKER FOUND IN A CITY PARK....

EDITION OF TUESDAY JAN. 23, 2023 [PetPowellPress] This is a maybe two-decades old photograph of my late best friend Inky the Cocker Spaniel taking it easy on the back of his couch in the picture window at our old house in Dallas.
I found Inky in Kiest Park when he was a naked-from-mange puppy. Been dumped there and landed in my heart. And that, Ladies and Gents, is why I admire the work of DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue and any other rescue group that takes in dogs and cats and gives them good lives with good people. [More on Inky in Contemplations. First we offer a word of encouragement to some humans.]
RESCUE GROUP IN NEED
OF DEDICATED FOSTER FOLKS
Fostering animals is primarily a rewarding effort — it rewards the animals with a future and it rewards the humans with the joy of helping an animal triumph against lousy odds.
The explanation on the DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue website reads, “We are Rescue and we don’t give up.” And that note also says that during the past 20 years, DFW Cocker Spaniel Rescue “has rescued and rehomed more than 1l000 dogs across North Texas.”
The latest appeal from the organization reports that DFW CSR “has been asked several times recently why we do not have any dogs available for adoption listed on our website or social media.” The note then explains, “We are in critical need of volunteer fosters. Without volunteers to foster dogs after they have finished vetting, we cannot continue to accept dogs into the program. Time spent in foster care allows us to assess a dog’s personality and needs. This helps  ensure the dog will go to a home that is the right fit for both dog and family.
“Please consider helping a rescue dog find a permanent home by being a foster. All medical expenses are covered by the rescue until the dog is adopted.”
To learn how you can become a DFWCSR foster, email dfwcsr.adoptions.gmail.com.
At the website you can find photos of Cocker Spaniel needing homes. That first fellow is Jack Sparrow, “AKA Praline,” his bio reads. He’s 5-year-old, 40-pound fellow who was rescued from a shelter after he was found as a stray. “Very sweet and affectionate, though active, curious and ready to play.” He’s also known as a happy lap dog.
That other little Cocker is 10-year-old Sky, a “gentle and sweet” girl who is “patiently waiting for her forever home.” Well-mannered, never jumps onto a couch, doesn’t growl “when you take her food” and doesn’t “bark at visitors.”
Those two are listed as available.
[LARRY NOTE: When I went to the DFW CSR website and clicked on “fosters,” I found before and after photos of several Cockers who’d been helped by the organization.
My favorite was this photo combo of Misty. It dramatically shows what the rescue group encountered and the result these “Cocker Spaniel People” should be proud of achieving.]
WHAT DOES THE FRIENDS’ CLINIC NEED
BESIDES VOLUNTEERS & CRITTERS?
We’ve posted such notices previously through the years, but the truth of “operations needs” persists.
By “operations” I’m not just talking about the primary purpose of the Friends of the Animals Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic, the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic in Gun Barrel City, Texas.
We’ve gotten the periodic appeal from our longtime reliable source Sydney Busch, guiding light of the Friends.
Here’s what’s needed: Donations of “Distilled water — gallon bottles”; “Bleach — always and forever!” Isopropyl Alcohol — 70% strength”; “Cases of water AND soft drinks for our thirsty, hard-working volunteers.”
You can drop such donations off at the clinic in GBS from 6 a.m. to 4 ‘p.m.ish’ on Tuesdays or from 9:30 a.m. to noon on the Second Saturday of each month.
To ask how else you can help the Friends and the Clinic, call Sydney at 903-451-4701 or 214-808-4701. The Friends can always use dedicated volunteers.
CONTEMPLATIONS
WHAT YOU CAN SEE IN THE WORLD…
This one popped up on a Fort Worth neighborhood bulletin board Monday. Photo came with it. And the text read, “Report number #2400040042 If you see this man call animal control. Making this dog pull a tire for several blocks thru neighborhood between Meadowbrook and Norma, Morris and Queen. Pulling and jerking if the dog stops. He needs to be stopped.” The first response to the note urged that a Fort Worth cruelty investigator be emailed at “[email protected] with FWPD.” And the the third note read, “What!!! Is he out there now? I’ll drive down there and go off on him.” …
It’s always strange when our part of Texas has several unpleasantly cold or soggy days in a row. But, unpleasant in Texas is still better than any other state, right?
THAT PORTRAIT? That is Inky, the snoozing dog in our opening photo today. This portrait hangs in our dining room — might have been Inky’s favorite room since dining was among his favored activities. My giftedanimalnutspouse Martha painted this portrait of our lad Inky. He was among the many rescued dogs we’d hands-on rescued through the years. When I got him out of Kiest Park, he had virtually no hair — he’d been dumped by someone who didn’t want to be bothered by paying to get him fully re-coated. He was my dear friend and he continues to be an inspiration in our efforts to help animals have wonderful lives with loving humans. Inky taught me how wonderful a free Cocker Spaniel can be. The not-free Cockers are pretty good pups, too. Since Inky came into our lives I've never met a Cocker Spaniel I didn’t immediately love. Kind of like to hug him right now. I’ll just pick up a handy office cat. Porche the Dog is snoring. Her snores are much louder than purrs.
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