DARK WHEN THE WRITING BEGAN; AND THEN THINGS GOT BRIGHTER.....

EDITION OF ECLIPSEDAY, MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2024 [PetPowellPress] I have begun writing this edition while it is still dark outside. And the household animals are still asleep -- it got dark, they nodded off. What? No, I'm not writing this during the eclipse. I started it just after 5 a.m. 
My goal was to sleep until about 6:45 a.m., but a couple of our cats felt I'd slept enough.
It's a relationship two of the three of us really enjoy. Moving along....It's a slow day, by the way. Could be because of the eclipse or maybe because of people focusing on whether the Texas Rangers will beat the Houston Astros in tonight's game. Down-to-earth stuff, you know.
OPPORTUNTIES TO HELP
ANIMALS GET A BREAK
This is a regularly scheduled opportunity, thanks to the good folks at Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake, the non-profit that, for years, has operated the world most successful spay/neuter clinic in Gun Barrel City, Texas. 
Sometimes the spay/neuter clinic takes a Saturday to become a clinic where animal fans an get, as the latest notice says, "AFFORDABLE PET VACCINATIONS, MORE!"
Our tipster, the Friends of the Animal Guiding Light Sydney Busch, says both the vaccinations and the "more" will be available from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday the 13th. No appointment necessary, the note says.
And if you have questions about getting your animals pals some care, call 903-451-4701 or 214-808-4701. The clinic is at 122 Old Gun Barrel Lane S. in Gun Barrel City. 
More info is available at www.friendsoftheanimals.org.
[LARRY ASIDE: Just a reminder -- animals can always use human help when it comes to avoiding even the simplest of animal medical challenges. Ringworm, for example. (You'll never see a cat on a cellphone calling Catrides to drive him or her to the vet's. Life would be so much simpler for their humans.)]
THIS GUY GABE?

A STRAY IN WAITING...
Long time in a city shelter, so Gabe must be something special -- OK, they all are something special. We got his story from volunteer Mesquite dog biographer Jamie Dotson,
Gabe is a 2-year-old (already neutered), 57-pound American Staffordshire/Tosa mix. 
Why is he in the Mesquite Animal Services Shelter? Came in as a stray on Feb. 9.
 Jamie's note about Gabe reads, "He is such a handsome boy and definitely knows how to pose for a picture! Gabe has a very gentle soul. He walks well on a leash and enjoys taking his time walking through the shelter yard. He can be shy at first if around many people he does not know. The more time he spends with you, the more confident he becomes. He takes treats gently, enjoys being petted and may be house trained too.
"He enjoyed climbing on the play equipment and stood at the top with his head up enjoying all the smells. He enjoys chasing balls but does not return them. He is so ready to find his own loving home with a secured backyard he can enjoy, but then live indoors where he enjoys the company of his human companions."

Use Gabe's ID #55249467 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]. Same connections for this upcoming cat, too.
 You can see many more adorable adoptables at the Mesquite Shelter by clicking on this LINK. 
Among them are this fabulously coated female with no name -- she's got a number: 55618712. 
We'll just call her "Beauty" until someone gives her a real home and a real name.
She's just over 2 years old, large and colorfully coated. She came into the Mesquite shelter on March 28. And Beauty is one of those rarest of cats -- Domestic Shorthair Mix. 

CONTEMPLATIONS
 
ECLIPSE DAY & MAYBE WOLFBANE
Ah, April 8, 2024. Someone may -- in the distant future -- ask you what you were doing on the day the moon hid the sun over a big swath of Texas. Historic day, they say. Not quite as historic as Nov. 1, 2023. What? Come on. That was the day the Texas Rangers won the World Series? Who can forget it? Oh. People who don't know that that the World Series is baseball. ...
While paying attention to the newsy stuff over the weekend, it occurred to me that, for some people, the biggest concern regarding the eclipse is what'll happen after the event is over? You just can't trust people to behave -- I think that's the theory. And, of course, I'm sort of in agreement with it. I do love the moon and I haven't blamed it for anything since I saw the 1941 black-and-white film The Wolfman with Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot, the guy who becomes a howling werewolf. Here's the poem from that film:
"Even a man who is pure in heart 

And says his prayers by Night 

May become a wolf 

When the wolfbane blooms

And the autumn moon is bright."
Yeah, just in time for Halloween. 
I'm not sure the Texas wolfbane is blooming, but, everybody be safe and kind and thoroughly nice to each other. That's a good idea no matter how sunny the sky is over Texas or anywhere else. 
That photo? Apparently The Wolfman was transfixed by the eclipse.
-- Offer happy advice by clicking on 'comment' below or by emailing [email protected] and put "GET OUTTA THE DARK, LARRY, & THINK! --