Opinion

International Rescue Cat Day is celebrated in early March every year. It is important because rescuing a cat saves their life. Its purpose is to bring awareness about cats in shelters (and elsewhere) needing loving, forever homes. Some of these cats were abandoned by non-caring owners who think they can fend for themselves. They can’t! Rescuing a cat saves it from the shelter. Shelters are overpopulated and helping/adopting the cat will reduce the population issue. Given an opportunity, cats can provide great companionship. We can learn so much from them. Did you know cats are the only mammals that can’t taste sweetness? They are fantastic jumpers and can jump a distance six times their length. Cats have a lot of bones – 230. That’s far more than humans have. They have five toes on each front paw and four toes on each of their back paws. Some are born with more than that, making them “polydactyl”. Ernest Hemingway loved cats and maintained a bevy of polydactyl cats at his home in Key West, Florida. Descendants of his cats still live there today. Cats not only have whiskers on their face, they also have whiskers on the backs of their front legs. They are highly developed creatures, and all their specialized “gifts” – such as whiskers -- have a reason!

Just this morning, I went down to the Star Herald’s office. It had been a bit since I dropped by and I needed to pick up some back papers. It wasn’t exactly a welcoming party I was greeted by, but rather three wild, barking, growling dogs. As I opened the car door, they quickly made their move towards it. The ringleader had most definitely played the part of vicious well. Someone came from inside with a ball bat and a stance that, I kid you not, meant business. Let me say, I was most grateful to see them. Quickly, the barking dogs took off around to the back of the building. No, they hadn’t left; they had circled the depot and came back barking just as wildly as before. Rescued, I was quickly ushered inside to safety. All the while, I was swinging my only weapon (a purse) like crazy, in case the leader of the pack started into lunging mode again! Animal Control was called and had appeared on-site quickly. The apparent owner could not control the three dogs, even though he had apologized profusely. As I was leaving, I realized that a couple of weeks before, a woman had been chasing after the worst of those dogs. Off across the highway, down to the park, and this same guy was chasing after both of them. Red told me when he was on the way home after work, he had seen them chasing dogs again. After having seen those dogs in action, my concern would be little children playing in their yard and those dogs showing up.

I ran my SOLD Yeti through the dishwasher to sterilize it. The S washed off.

Thank goodness for the signs of spring: daffodils, robins, forsythia. It will soon be Easter too. Lots of folks buy lilies (as I do), hyacinth, tulips and other spring bulbs to help celebrate the season. But don’t forget that many bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes and other bulbous and similar plants are highly toxic to our pets. But keep in mind that just about any plant material, even grass, can cause mild stomach upset if eaten and if a pet is sensitive to it.

It’s Feb., and that means Black History Month here at the Eddie Mae Herron Center. We are hosting some very informational and entertaining programs for the community during this coming Feb.

Streets and roads–we all live on one or just off one. So how did they get their names? I’ve done a little research and found the origin of some of those local street names.

So… I had a double mastectomy on January 15th. The beginning of December I started having some issues with my left breast. After several tests and 5 biopsies I was sent to a surgeon for duct removal. When I arrived to his office he told me he wanted to do a double mastectomy. I was floored. He told me it was time now and scheduled the surgery for four days later. It’s been a whirlwind of a week and I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. A couple weeks recovery, then I’ll be good as new.