Features

Marshall County Humane Society News

Addressing needs and problems with older pets

Getting a new puppy or kitten is exciting and most people already know what they are getting into. Housetraining, chewed up slippers and lots of energy are just part of the package.

However, a lot of pet owners are not so aware of the special needs and problems at the other end of their pet’s life. Pets age so much quicker than we do that their old age symptoms often sneak up and surprise us.

Since they can’t come out and say what’s wrong with them (“I have a toothache.” “I can’t hear you.”), it’s up to you to notice behavior changes that help you figure out what the problem is. Pay attention to clues like increase or decrease in appetite, increased vocalization and increased water intake.

Food often becomes a problem as animals get older. What they eagerly gobbled as youngsters may not be as digestible in later years and, with a slower metabolism and less activity, calories build up instead of being burned up. Fortunately there’s an easy solution since there are so many pet foods now made just for seniors.

Overweight pets tend to die sooner and have a lower quality of life than their leaner contemporaries. According to “Growing Old Gracefully” in the fall issue of Healthy Pet, “...extra weight on a pet creates added stress on joints, bones, and muscles. Obesity in pets can also lead to cardiovascular problems, kidney problems, and diabetes.... Ideal weight is individual and will vary from pet to pet. In general, if you run your hand along your pet’s side, you should easily feel his ribs. Your pet should also have a small ‘tuck up’ at the belly from behind the ribs to the legs.”

Even if Rover looks so contented snoozing all the time, you both need to get up off the couch and get some exercise, and for the same reasons. It helps control weight, keeps those older joints from getting stiff and increases blood flow which promotes mental alertness. Grooming has a lot of benefits as your pet gets older. Not only does it help them keep clean but it also gives you the chance to examine them for lumps or tender spots and observe details like a discharge from the eyes or a sore spot on a paw, to say nothing of the good, quality TLC time.

The Marshall County Humane Society’s regular monthly meeting will be Tuesday, November 15, at 5:30 p.m. at the VFW in Holly Springs. If we’re lucky and the weather stays pretty we’ll get to enjoy it on the patio again. Come join us. Between working on the Adoption Center and preparing for the holidays we need all the help we can get.

Are all your pets spayed or neutered? If not, call 662-252-6196 for your appointment at the Humane Society’s low-cost Spay/Neuter Clinic. We are open every Tuesday but you do need an appointment.

For information on adoptions, fostering or our Humane Society in general, call 662-564-2900. Correspondence and donations should be mailed to the Marshall County Humane Society, P.O. Box 625, Holly Springs, MS 38635.

Remembering Our Veterans

In Flanders Fields
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD
(1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

As everyone knows, November 11 is Veterans Day. Members of the Ladies Auxiliary of Collins Hurdle Post No. 5697 will be visiting businesses and walking around the Square with red poppies that were made by disabled veterans to honor all the fallen soldiers in foreign wars.

Please get a poppy and wear it in their honor. Donations will be accepted, all of which will benefit the living veterans of foreign wars.

Recipes from Martha Ruth Leonard
Woods Hole Cooks Something Up” Recipes from a Cape Cod Village
Aunt Fanny’s Squash
3 lbs. yellow squash 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 eggs 1/2 cup butter, melted, plus, 1/4 cup 1 tbsp. sugar	1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper 1/2 cup cracker meal, bread crumbs or prepared cornmeal stuffing
Peel and cut squash into chunks and boil until soft. Drain well. In a food processor mix squash, onion, eggs, 1/4 cup butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour into baking dish. Top with crumbs and remaining butter. Bake in preheated 370 degree oven for one hour. Serves 8.
Hot Crab Souffle’
8 slices bread 2 cups crab meat 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 small onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped	4 eggs 3 cups milk 10-3/4 oz. can mushroom soup 2 cups grated sharp cheese paprika
Cube 4 slices of bread and place in a 3-qt. baking dish. Mix crab, mayonnaise, onion, pepper and celery. Spread over bread. Cube the remaining bread and place over mixture. Beat eggs in milk until fluffy. Pour over remaining crab mixture and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, spoon undiluted soup over casserole. Top with grated cheese and paprika. Bake 1 hour. This may be frozen before or after baking. If frozen after baking, warm before serving. Serves 10-14.
Spinach Lasagna
9-10 lasagna noodles 2 10-oz. pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed 2 tbsps. olive oil pinch nutmeg 1/2 tsp. pepper	2 cups ricotta cheese 2-1/2 tbsps. milk 4-5 cups spaghetti sauce 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese 2 tbsps. grated Parmesan cheese 2 tbsps. chopped onion
Cook lasagna according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Squeeze excess water from spinach. Heat olive oil and cook onion until translucent. Add spinach and cook until liquid evaporates. Add nutmeg and pepper. Remove from heat. Combine ricotta cheese and milk. Spread a little spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Form layers with 1/3 noodles, 1/3 sauce, 1/2 ricotta cheese, 1/2 spinach and 1/2 mozzarella. Repeat with 1/3 noodles and remaining ricotta, mozzarella and spinach. Top with remaining noodles, spaghetti sauce and grated Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil and bake 50-60 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Remove foil for last 10 minutes. Serves 6.
Molasses Coconut Chews
1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup shortening 2 eggs, beaten 2 tsps. vanilla	1/4 cup molasses 4 cups flour 1 tsp. salt 1-1/2 tsps. baking soda 1 cup flaked coconut
Cream together the white and brown sugars and the shortening. Add eggs, vanilla and molasses. Beat well. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add to molasses mixture. Stir in coconut. Shape into small balls and place on greased cookie sheet 3 inches apart. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

Pages from the Past

10 Years Ago - November 9, 1995

Dickerson is sheriff-elect: Tuesday’s election brought a landslide victory for veteran lawman Kenny Dickerson, who has overcome
seven challengers since he started his bid to become the next sheriff of Marshall County. Dickerson
received 78.8 percent of the vote Tuesday.
Kirkwood named fifth best course in Golf Digest rating: Kirkwood National Golf CLub has been ranked fifth in Golf Digest’s “Best New Public Course” listing
for 1995. Kirkwood was selected as one of the top five among 200 new public courses in the country.
Melvin Ford will be honored Veterans Day: Melvin Ford of Waterford will be honored by American Legion Post No. 250 with a special recognition
award as the oldest member of the Post. Mr. Ford, who will be 100 years old on Nov. 14, 1995, served in
the U.S. Army, American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War II as a Quartermaster. He has
never missed voting in an election and voted Tuesday in the gubernatorial election. He is also a member
of the VFW

25 Years Ago - November 6, 1980

County goes Carter: While the rest of the nation was forging a landslide victory for Ronald Reagan, Marshall County voters
cast their ballots for President Jimmy Carter to give him a resounding victory in the county. Reagan, who
was accepting concession telegrams from Carter and John Anderson before 10 p.m., won only three
polling places in Marshall County.
Fund raising for “old whale”: School children throughout Mississippi are contributing ‘nickels and dimes’ to help raise funds for the
restoration of a 55,000 year old whale from Yazoo County. The project is designed to raise approximately
$30,000 to create the first totally reconstructed fossil skeleton in the state. The fossil was found by members
of the MS Gem and Mineral Society in 1971 and has been donated to the state for school children to
see. The archaeocete or “old whale” is the most complete one of its kind in the world and will be on permanent
display in the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson.

50 Years Ago - November 10, 1955

It’s official now, officers duly elected: Voting was light in Marshall County Tuesday when the general election was held. The official tabulation
of votes had not been made as this paper went to press.
Holly Springs renews 20-year TVA contract: The City of Holly Springs has renewed its contract with TVA for a term of 20 years. Mayor Jim
Buchanan signed the document last Friday night after its approval by the City Board.
County Board sets up free county library: The Marshall County Board of Supervisors Tuesday established and created a free county public
library to conform with the state law concerning public libraries. Also in accord with state law, a board of
trustees was appointed: Olga Reed Pruitt of Holly Springs, Mrs. T.R. Brewer of Slayden, Mrs. W.H. French
of Byhalia, Mrs. Chas. D. O’Dell of Chulahoma, Mrs. Ernest Edwards of Waterford.
William M. Frazier, president of M.I., dies in Tunica: William McKinley Frazier, president for the past 22 years of Mississippi Industrial College, died Friday
at Tunica, of a stroke. He was attending the North Mississippi Conference of the CME Church.

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