WEEKEND NEARS, ANIMALS AWAIT NEW HOMES, NEW LIVES -- FOUR. STATES FAIR?

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY APRIL 4-5, 2024 [PetPowellPress] Ah, we are within’ shouting distance of the weekend. I can’t remember what we’re supposed to shout. Let’s just move along. Don’t worry about Monday’s Solar Eclipse or whether it’ll affect cable TV. Or the Texas power grid. And is this a fact? “Most years the sun is not as hot as a Texas summer. We cite the summer of ’23.” Thank you for smiling. Now, our report and Contemplations across state lines.
SPEAKING OF CATS,
HERE ARE A COUPLE
Whenever I look at the Available Adorables on the East Lake Pet Orphanage site, I am happily astonished at the great faces you can see waiting in availability for a new home.
In this case, we were first drawn to Poppy on the left and her bio led us to Viva. Yep, a pair.
As you may know, the stated purpose of East Lake Pet Orphanage is “Connecting People & Pets for the Mutual Enrichment of Life.” That’s been the theme since the great Dr. Karen Fling launched the mission in 2001. [LARRY ASIDE: Seems like only yesterday, right?]
The Poppy and Viva combined description reads, “Poppy and Viva are the best girls! Friendly and purry, they are a great pair. Poppy is tabby & white and Viva is a dilute tortie. They are about 3 years old. We’d love for them to be able to stay together forever. Come say hi at the Cat Care Center.”
The East Lake Cat & Kitten Adoption Center is open 7 days a week at 10040 Shoreview Road in Dallas. (Call 214-342-CATS (i.e., 2287). The East Lake Pet Orphanage is at 10101 E. Northwest Highway in Dallas (Call 214-342-3100.) More info about both facilities is at www.eastlakepetorphanage.com.
VIOLET’S STAND-UP EARS &
DUCKY THE SENIOR DOG
Yep, a couple of Mesquite Animal Shelter dogs — still just $20 adoptions for dogs — needing homes.
We got the story on Violet (#55618611) from our pal, the veteran dog-writer Judi Brown. Violet is described as a 1 or 2 year old terrier (mostly Rat Terrier)” in her bio. Judi writes, “Violet is a real stand out with stand-up ears, soft brown eyes, and rust spots. If she looks sweet to you, that’s because she really is.”
The 28-pound dog came in on March 28 as a stray. Judi writes, “When I first met her, and when she first got out into the yard, she was very timid and kept her tail tucked. As she wandered around, exploring and checking the perimeter, she began to relax. She did wander and kept looking over the wall. She didn’t try to escape. She was possibly looking for her owners. I would suggest that the people that adopt her have a yard for her to stretch her legs in and a secure fence. After she would explore, she would come back to me. At one point she even jumped on my lap. At the end of the photo shoot, she even got up and snuggled in my neck. She’s extremely sweet, tender, and loving. She’s also very curious and alert. I tried to get her to sit but she didn’t know what I was asking of her and I think it frightened her. … Violet would do very well with a family with young well-behaved children since she is so gentle. Since she likes to snuggle, she would love to lay next to you on the couch or at your feet in her own bed.”
Cite Violet’s ID #55618611 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
We also got this alert from dog bio-writer Jame Dotson who headlined it “SENIOR ALERT - SHELTER IS OVERFLOWING!! PLEASE HELP SAVE DUCKY!!”

And this is Ducky, a 9-year-old, 65-pound Boxer mix who came into Mesquite’s shelter as a stray on March 18. He is #55544994 in the shelter.
The bio reads, “Due to his age and weight restrictions it is difficult for the shelter to provide a neuter that would be required for an adoption, so for that reason he is being made Rescue Only. 
“He is a very happy boy that loves chew toys, squeaky toys and likes to chase them too. He is a bit underweight so we are
helping him get back to a healthy weight. He enjoys being petted and takes treats gently. It appears he has lived outside,
and he has a few fatty tumors on his sides. Though he hasn't had the best life, he has a smile on his face and a zest for life. He hopes he can find his final loving family that can provide him a secured backyard, but most importantly live inside on his own dog bed, and enjoy spending time with his loved ones.”
To ask about helping Ducky, cite his ID #55544994 when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected].
See more Mesquite shelter adorable adoptables by going to this shelter online address.
 Cats? Plenty of ‘em in Mesquite. All ages. Trap/Neuter/Returns, too. But this guy, we’ve mentioned before. That is the handsome Domestic Shorthair Mix Otis (#47919634), a 3-and-a-half-year-old “red and white coated” fellow.
Otis came into the shelter on February 12 — so he’s been there a while. He’s available.
Ask to see him in the Mesquite Animal Services Conference Room. He clearly exudes an attitude of achievement and feline respect. Ask for Otis — in the Conference Room.
AND THAT BRINGS US
TO MISTER HANDSOME
Nobody knows his real name yet. We got the tip on him from Sydney Busch, guiding light at Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake and, of course, the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas.
Sydney wrote, “This adorable little guy is about 6-7 months old, about 30 lbs...Rescued by a caring person who wants him to go to a great family who will make him part of the household…
“He is not neutered yet but that will be done before he goes to his forever family...He is high energy (he's a puppy - duh!) and VERY loving/cuddly...Gets along great with other dogs…
“They are working on house-training  - right now he sleeps in a kennel very easily…”
And the contact to ask about helping this pup find a home is Sydney — Call 903-451-4701 or 214-808-4701 or email [email protected].
CONTEMPLATIONS
WORK, AUTUMN 'N' SPRING, A LINE
Martha’s working at home today in her office at the other end of the house and you’d think I could hear every word of her conversation but there’s a barricade — that ol’ dawg Porche Noel is asleep on one of her beds in my office and she is snoring like your uncle who falls asleep in his rocker at Thanksgiving after the big feed and during the Dallas Cowboys football game. Rattle-the-windows type of snoring. I am an uncle, but I’ve never nodded off in a recliner at Thanksgiving. And there’s your autumnal vision of the day.
SPEAKING OF AUTUMN: When I was a kid, every autumn, my hometown of Texarkana, Texas, hosted the Four States Fair and Rodeo. It was an “autumnal tradition.” I recall hoping that the weather would be cool enough to enjoy a walk on the midway and a ride in the ferris wheel. So, this week I clicked onto the Texarkana Gazette site I saw an ad for the opening for the 79th Annual Four States Fair & Rodeo. The fair that was once held each autumn on the Texas side of town at Spring Lake Park has moved to a site on the Arkansas side of the twin Cities and is now each spring rather than fall. And the year it was supposed to move, it was knocked out by The Pandemic and things were delayed and, well, there’s this: As Heraclitus, who to my knowledge never visited Texarkana, declared in the 500 BC era, “The only constant in life is change.” That's the current logo -- time for a change?
Let’s talk romance? In the minds of some of us, when we think of the Four States Fair & Rodeo, it will always be autumn with romantics walking the midway hand-in-hand in TEXAS. Confession: I haven’t been to the Four States Fair & Rodeo since the late 1960s. I left town. It’s my mind that wanders back now and then. And I still think it belongs in Texas, though “I ain’t got no dog in that hunt!” (Not sure that phasing fits this situation, but I first heard it in Texarkana when I was a kid, so, “Heck, thar hit e-uz.” —slipped into my native Bowie County accent.)
It’s amusing that a city that sits with one side in Texas and the other in Arkansas is the biggest town in the Four States Area and has been declared “Twice As Nice.” Texarkana is also called the “Twin Cities” and the hospital on the Texas side of town is where my sons were born — appropriately, they are twins. My father also was twin. No new twin in the family. Yet.
So, Dear Texarkana, Best of luck with the Four States Fair and Rodeo —- the former autumnal tradition opens Friday and runs through the 14th.
Wait! Is the State Line is still in the same place, efficiently dividing the Texarkana’s right down the middle of State Line Avenue? Anybody know? Pranksters haven’t repainted the highway, have they?
— Offer hope and happiness by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “‘SAVE ‘EM ALL” in the subject line. —-