A nice, mellow grey cat is looking for a home. He is at the home of a woman who has taken pity on him, but cannot keep him. Call Larry or Jane at 647-5539 for further information. Jane will want to know where you live and if you have a veterinarian before you can have Mr. Cute Guy.

* * * Did you notice how happy the Obamas were with their new puppy? They ran with him, touched him, and I bet it gave the President and Mrs. Obama some relief from their tremendous pressure. It is also something the family shares. It just so happens that the week before, I was watching CBS Sunday Morning show and was thrilled by Ben Stein's comments on dogs. I will quote some of what he said.

He began by telling of a friend who had just died and whose last words were, "Where is my dog?"

Stein said that if you want to get through the recession, "Get a dog. Dogs enable people to survive divorce, aging, loss of a job and loneliness."

He is so right. My dogs helped me survive the divorce of my parents when I was very young and have given me the incentive to keep on when feeling depressed or to try again when something tough happens. They can always make us laugh.

"If you lose your job," Stein said. "It will just give you more time to walk your dog and spend time playing with him. Dogs don't care if you lost money in the crash. They just want to be loved and give love. All of life goes better with a dog. The shelters are full of dogs, so go get one."

I want to stress that dogs are not only good medicine for bad times, if you're lonely, or elderly. Dogs are great for the best of times, too. They teach children responsibility and kindness as well as about death. They are always a great sounding board when families are off doing their things or when we are just driving around doing errands.

You do need to find the right dog for your lifestyle and it is a 15 year commitment. Ernie and I talk of taking long trips when we no longer have pets and we are restricted, because we cannot bear to leave them for more than a few days. Now that Jimbo is so old, we have to take turns so he is not left alone for more than, say, five hours. A woman I know thinks this is crazy and always says, "Life is short. Think what you're missing."

Well, guess what? We probably are not missing that much. When I think about it, is a trip to this or that site really what the best part of life is? I don't think so. I did enjoy travel as a young woman, but it was always best to be home. After all these years, I cannot really think of too much that is worth more than my time spent with dogs.

* * * Amy Marie has just turned 10! I think she is a corgi and dachshund mix, because she has traits of both. She has very short, strong legs and a loooong back. She loves to dig in the earth, be covered by a blanky at night and yet likes to herd cats and chase crows. She is all black on the top with a little white napkin on her chest and some beige peeking through on her sides and back legs. I could have her DNA done, but it costs too much. And anyway, who cares? She is one of a kind and my sweet baby girl. Well, usually sweet. We did go on the internet site "Bad Dog Chronicles" and made some friends. It is so much fun. The dogs write in and tell what bad things they have done and how their people handled it. The website is: www.baddogs.com.

Jimbo is 12 and a half, Jeffrey the cat is 17 and Liz the cat is 14. My parakeet, Michael the Archangel, turned two this year, so we have one youngster around.

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