The West Memphis Animal Shelter received 22 more dogs Thursday. The shelter is completely overwhelmed. desperately need help with people who are willing to adopt their adult dogs. People overlook these dogs because people typically think they want the adorable puppy.  Trust me, an adult dog is the 100 percent better choice right now than a puppy? Do any of you want to be standing outside several times a night or in this cold weather trying to convince a puppy to go pee?

Look for a plug-n-play adult dog. That's the one that's already house-broken and way past that jumping, nipping, shredding, little ball of speed and mischief that is true of most puppies. 

These are the dogs that will be on the euthanasia list if they don't find homes. A shelter can only keep dogs for so long before overcrowding makes it impossible. These dogs have been there the longest. Go over to the shelter. It's easy to find. Meet one of these dogs and find room for one in your heart or home.

UPDATE: ALIVE Rescue Memphis will pull some of these dogs if it can find fosters homes to keep them. The group would assume financial responsibility and work to find the dog a permanent home. Please fill out our foster application athttp://www.aliverescuememphis.org/adoptionapplication

West Memphis Animal Shelter,
500 S Loop Dr, West Memphis, AR 72301
(870) 732-7599
https://www.facebook.com/West-Memphis-Animal-Shelter-210367649045019/

Pet Fit Animal Rehabilitation and Fitness Center, located at 1000 Reddoch Cove, will cut the ribbon and open the doors for tours of the new facility at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8.

Veterinarian Dr. Roxana Caraballo's East Memphis center provides rehabilitation services, condition training for working, sporting and agility dogs and weight-loss regimes. 

The center offers: 

• Low-level laser therapy
• Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)
• Alpha-stim therapy
• Cryotherapy – hot and cold therapy
• Therapeutic massage
• Joint mobilization
• Pulsed magnetic therapy
• Strengthening exercises
• Balance and coordination training
• Gait training
• Orthotics and prosthetics

To find out more, visit PetFitRehab.com 
Phone:  (901) 405-5385
Email: [email protected]

I cringe when people, commercials or pet stores refer to those of us with animals as "pet parents" or "guardian."

They both sound like they are the work of a higher-planed yogi or shaman. Once, I asked a young hardware store clerk the location of chicken wire.

"You mean poultry netting," he said. He looked at me like an old woman who still called a refrigerator: ice box, a purse: pocketbook, or soft drinks: Coke. I still do that. It's a Southern thing.

One day "chicken wire" may become "poultry netting," but "pet parent" or "guardian" sticks to the back of my throat like how much I weigh.

Granted, the old title, "master," needs to be tossed out on the stoop, but I don't believe I devalue my pets when I say, "I own four dogs," or I call myself the owner.

There are probably those that believe the titles will remind people that our pets are part of our family and should be treated kindly. Or perhaps they hope the title will speak to owners who leave them outside or worse, chained. If it made a difference, maybe I'd say it.

If people don't take care of their pets because of their humanity, or even because it's the law, then I doubt what I call myself will matter.

Oliver is a nearly 9-year-old long-haired Dachshund in Cincinnati, Ohio. He belongs to Richard and Lynn Dixon and their two daughters Shelby and Katie.

He enjoys sitting on the front porch with Richard watching traffic or cuddling in the recliner at night with Lynn. His favorite toy is a rubber bone that he wants to be kicked so he can chase it. If Oliver finds anything good to eat around the house, he hides it in the corners of his bed. 

Among his stash: Lollipops, crackers and York Peppermint Patties.

Oliver once thought a plastic grocery bag was attacking him.  He was walking around his yard on a windy day. Suddenly he came running lickety-split like a pint-sized race horse. The grocery sack was blowing in quick pursuit. 

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.Want to see your pet featured on the blog? Go to the homepage and click on Pet Pic of the Day. 
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A groundhog isn't technically a pet, except to maybe the people of Punxsutawney and those pretenders in other cities, but groundhogs are in the rodent family, and some people keep rodents as pets. So there you go.

Phil said we'll have an early spring. Woohoo! When I was little, my sleepy-headed sister and I would stare at the television waiting for the big news. There wasn't the hoopla there is now, but it was the rare light-heartedness in a newscast that was well, all news.

We'd jump for joy if that rodent didn't see his shadow. Early spring!! That's great. Shadow? Six more weeks of winter. Awww! It didn't mean much in Memphis. We rarely got enough snow to deserve the word. It was usually just called, "a dusting." 

Here's my truth: Beyond being happy or bummed about that message on Feb. 2, I never paid attention to see if his prognostication (Snaps to the Inner Circle for teaching children a big word.) was accurate. I didn't count the weeks, notice the weather. 

Since 1993, the best part of Groundhog Day is the movie. Brilliant idea to have Bill Murray's weatherman repeat Groundhog Day over and over. His redemption at the end of the film when his character learns to be happy in the moment is a much better message than anything Punxsutawney Phil can bark.

Buddy Lee is a 4-year-old chocolate Labrador Retriever, who was adopted by Mike and Barbara Lee from the Southaven Animal Shelter in Mississippi. He was an 8-month-old pup when the couple brought him home.

Buddy and the couple divide their time between their home in Olive Branch, Miss. and their condo in Gulf Shores, Ala. If Mike and Barbara take their boat out, Buddy goes too. If the weather is cool, Buddy goes along to the grocery store or to church where he quietly waits in the car. 

Buddy believes that no stuffed animal should be. A toy's cotton innards and squeaker are scattered on the floor like someone plucked a chicken and took out its cluck. His favorite toy is the fake-fur skin of a formerly stuffed cow.

The lab knows how to count, at least to four because that's how many treats he gets each night after his walk. Not two treats and a third broken in half. Four. Buddy also knows when the couple goes out to eat; he will be dining on leftover french fries when they return.