SO MANY ANIMALS AND SO MANY PEOPLE, AND SO WHAT? WELL LET'S CONSIDER THAT......

EDITION OF FRIDAY, APRIL19, 2024 [PetPowellPress] It’s been more than a week since we had a solar eclipse around here. But, if you want to pretend, you can get a pair of sunglasses and watch a Puffycloud Eclipse. Same rules. Don’t stare directly into the Sun when its “going behind a cloud,”We 20th century kids thought it was the sun that was "going behind a cloud" until we got a 20th century science textbook. Now, let’s move on.
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE
SOME EARS AND FACES…
The first volunteer dog-writer we encountered at Mesquite years ago, Judi Brown, has provided years of tips on animals deserving good homes. For this edition, we’re citing a dog that quite properly can be regarded as a “Glorious Earhound.”
Judi sent a bunch of photos of Vena and then explained that "I got carried away with photos of Vena” and “She is VERY photogenic.”

And Judi confess, “She captured my heart, and I wanted to show her off!
“She is an approximately 4-year-old, 48-pound Australian Cattle Dog/Australian Kelpie mix that was brought in by one of our officers as a stray on 4/11.
“For the life of me,” Judi writes, “I can’t imagine why her owners haven’t come looking for her. She’s a nice-looking gal with a sleek black coat and pointed ears. It looks like she’s been well taken care of. I’m told when she first came into the shelter she was extremely shy. She’s coming out of her shell but she still is laid-back and a little on the cautious side. There’s no doubt she’s looking for love and has a lot of love to give her new family.
“At first, she explored the yard and even at one point frolicked, but she mostly stayed close to me. When I stood by the wall, she stood up right next to me leaning on me. When I sat down, she immediately came to me and put her head on my lap. She sits for treats and takes them gently. … She’s very attentive, somewhat playful, very well mannered, sweet, friendly, and very affectionate! … She deserves the best because she is the best!”
You know the Mesquite system by now: Cite Vena’s ID #55704093 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected] to tag Vena..
Same system for Bo Bo, another of Judi’s biopups. Judi wrote that “Bo Bo (#55709177) has all the delightful characteristics of a young puppy… sloppy, wet kisses included! Bo Bo is a 4-month-old, 21-pound Carolina dog that arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 4/12 as a stray. He’s spunky, lively, playful, curious, friendly, outgoing, and very loving! He already knows the sit command at such a young age! Is he smart or what? He obviously wants to please. He will need some guidance teaching him to take treats more gently. He loves stuffed toys. He went into the toy box and picked out a toy. He enjoyed chewing on it. He occasionally jumps on you wanting extra loving and affection. When I sat down he came to me. He even tried to get on my lap. … He does not have a strong pull on the leash but sometimes gets tangled. Bo Bo would be the perfect dog for a young family. He would like playtime and cuddle time. The cuddle time would be in the house with his new loving family.”
While Judi’s first two biographed dogs have magnificent ears, the third dog, Buddy, has a face that says, “Hey. Glad to see ya. My name’s Buddy.”
Judi writes, “How could you not fall in love with this gorgeous, gentle giant? Then when you meet him and realize he’s got a sweet personality, you’d be hooked. This is Buddy named because he would be a loyal companion (a buddy!) that would be there by your side. He is a 2-year-old, 83-pound cream-colored Golden Retriever/Pyrenees mix that arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 4/11 as a stray. It’s hard to understand why his owners haven’t come for him.”
“Ain’t it the truth,” as we used to declare in my Bowie County childhood.
Judi reports, “At first, when he got out into the yard, he paced nervously and continued to look over the wall. This made me think he was looking for his owners. He will need a tall secure fence, although it didn’t appear that he was trying to escape. After he was done pacing he came up to me and just stopped. … He chased balls but did not retrieve them. When I sat down, he came to me and put his head on my lap. He’s extremely soft and and cuddly. He would be a lot more comfortable, and even more magnificent if he were bathed and groomed.  He did his business when he got into the yard. He walked extremely well on a leash. Actually, he walked right beside me. .. Buddy is an exceptional dog. He should do real well with children because he’s so gentle, friendly and sweet. Although he would like a big yard to romp in, but since he’s such a big cuddle bug he would love to spend time with you during family time!”
Remember, to see a glorious number of cats and kittens along with others, you can click on THIS MESQUITE LINK
MOVING INTO DALLAS’
CROWDED ANIMAL SHELTER….
On Friday I clicked on the Dallas Animal Services link https://bedallas90.org/ and navigated to the available dogs and cats. I decided to just focus on a dozen of each species. If you want to see more than 12 adorably adoptable dogs and cats, just click on that bedallas90.org site and see what pops up. First I copied a dozen dog photos — a dozen out of ‘eleventy thousand’ as kids used to say. And also I picked a sheet of adoptable felines — another ‘eleventy thousand’ can be seen at https://bedallas90.org/.

Yes, Dallas is a big city and, yes, you’d expect a big shelter population of dogs and cats, but the part that burns my whatever is how the people who live in Dallas manage to keep the inventory of unwanted animals so danged robust.
Do they just adopt dogs and cats to dump ‘em? Is there a psychological problem at work? The phrase I’m thinking of — and I’ve cleaned this up — is, “Crazier than an outhouse rat” to adopt and dump or to breed and dump or to “get fed up with and dump.” Is anybody studying the nature of humans who consistently stop by and drop off unwanted dogs and cats?
Oh, and here are some Dallas cats that are available.
Click on the artwork to make it grow like an elecric bill!
CONTEMPLATIONS
The Arrival of the Weekend.
These thoughts have nothing to do with the weekend, but I needed a line of type to stick between the big title and the first sentence. …
Idle thoughts about writing fiction. Here’s a paragraph:
“Surrounded by hungry, carnivorous, determined cats, he began to type madly in hopes that what he wrote would make them drowsy and he could escape and flee to a store to buy a load of cat treats and cat canned goods….” Then the Great American Cat Novel ran out of gas and he wondered if a canine character as sheriff would be appropriate. To be discontinued. …
I’m going to stop wearing sox for the entire spring, summer and fall unless there’s some kind of special occasion — a wedding, a book-signing party, an appearance at a favorite venue by either Tom Waits, or by Carly Simon doing You’re So Vain or — and this is a long shot — a stadium show starring Jerry Lee Lewis and, if he shows up, I’m probably not going to be the only person who bought a ticket just to see how he pulled off this appearance.
I’d be hoping he’d play Middle Age Crazy though, frankly, I aged out of the category long ago. Enjoy a weekend that is nicer than you deserve.
—- Offer any kind of musical advice by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “CHANGE MEDS, LARRY!” In the subject line. —-