Licking their chops right now

There is nothing quite as bracing as getting a sloppy dog lick first thing in the morning. It certainly opens my eyes. Looking into Watson’s big brown puppy eyes, I know it’s breakfast time, and he’s one hungry chow hound.

His smooth tongue is much more pleasant than my cat Troutie’s was. A lick from Troutie was like sandpaper. When I thought about tongues, I realized I don’t know that much about dogs or cats tongues. So I decided to find out more.

Cat tongues are very unique because they have hard backward facing spines called filiforma papillae. These work like a comb for grooming fur and also scraping meat from bones. Cats groom frequently to minimize their scent and help avoid detection from predators. Cat tongues have fewer taste buds than dogs or humans and cats cannot taste sweetness. Dogs on the other hand can taste things that are bitter, sour, sweet and salty.

Dogs use their tongues for cooling. Dogs don’t have sweat glands so they use their tongue to pant. The process is called thermoregulation. When a dog pants, the air moves quickly over their tongue, mouth, and the lining of their upper respiratory tract allowing moisture to evaporate and cool them down.

Well, despite the differences in tongues, I can assure you that when dinner is served everyone will be licking their chops.

LOOKING FOR A HOME

We have one absolutely darling Catahoula mix puppy. Come out for a little puppy petting. Policy, however, prohibits adopting out puppies or kittens under the age of six months to a home with children under five years of age. This is to protect both the children and the animal. Call 775-423-7500 for details.

IN NEED OF

Items for our Murder Mystery Dinner auction; we need gift cards, new items and gift baskets. Please call 775-423-7500.

Folks to register for the AmazonSmile program details are below. We have received $158 from Amazon because of you.

Aluminum cans; if you have cans to pick up, give us a call (775-423-7500), and we will come get them.

SHOUT OUT TO

Jeff Christensen, owner of Jeff’s Digitix Printing for donating a storage unit to keep all our goodies for the garage sale. Your spirit is the heart and soul of the Fallon community. Fallon is the small town with a big heart, and you are part of that heart beat. All tails are wagging for you!

Pastor Bill Vaughn of Oasis Community Church for allowing CAPS to use the church for our sale. Your kindness is humbling. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and paws.

COME SEE US

CAPS will be at Walmart on Oct. 5 with the Kissin’ Booth and a puckered-up pooch. Come by for a pooch smooch. Be sure to check out our merchandise after you get a pooch smooch!

DON’T FORGET

September Pet Holiday: Puppy Mill Awareness Day, Sept. 21.

We will be holding rehearsals for our Murder Mystery at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

To register in the AmazonSmile program, a website operated by Amazon. Customers enjoy the same selection of products, low prices and shopping features as on Amazon.com. The only difference is that, when you shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organization selected by you.

CONTACT CAPS

CAPS’ mailing address is P.O. Box 5128, Fallon, NV 89407. CAPS’ phone number is 775-423-7500. CAPS’ email address is caps@cccomm.net. Please visit the CAPS website (www.capsnevada.com) and Facebook page (Churchill Animal Protection Society). Be sure to “Like” CAPS on Facebook because we are really likeable. CAPS is open to the public on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kathleen Williams-Miller is a CAPS volunteer. Contact me, jkwmil@outlook.com.