Licking a Doggone Barrier to Thirsty Pets

Julia Hoffman of Rowland Heights is wondering whether anyone makes a dog dish that provides ice-cold water. She believes that tap water in the summer is not cold enough for dogs. Can you help by not pouring cold water on this doggone situation, or is Hoffman just skating on thin ice in her quest?

At the opposite end of the temperature scale, William Miller of Coronado is looking for an extra-length twin electric blanket, single control. All his regular-length blankets, he says, shrink after being washed. Can you help Miller with this electrifying problem, or will conditions in his bedroom continue being out of control?

John Glass of Studio City is unable to find Windmill cookies , his favorite (they are shaped like windmills and contain almond slivers), on the West Coast. He claims that he can always buy them in the Midwest, but not out here. Can you give Glass something to chew on during his search, or will he go around and around until he realizes that these cookies may be gone with the wind?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Jack at (818) 796-0711 is looking for an old-fashioned, two-piece Gillette razor. The one he had been using gave up on him after 55 years, and the new ones have a different feel. Please perform a face-saving gesture and help Jack come clean. . . . On another heady subject, Mrs. Smith at (213) 294-3441 needs two-inch white wire hairpins for her 91-year-old aunt, who still wears her long hair in a bun. Please pinpoint a source, so that we can get the aunt out of Smith’s hair.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items and for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

Doris Bower of Arcadia, who was looking for pillow kits used in candlewicking stitchery, should be in stitches over our number of sources. Only a stitch in time away from her is the K mart on Las Tunas and Rosemead, where Nola Richards buys her candlewicking stitchery. Catherine Harvey of Sherman Oaks gets her stitchery at the North Hollywood K mart. Other sources in the San Fernando Valley are the Needlework Patch, 18900 1/2 Ventura Blvd. (owner Debra Goldman says she carries some candlewicking kits), Rug Crafters in Northridge Fashion Center and Hook N in Granada Hills (both from Luana Welker, who also recommends Leah’s Fabrics in the Glendale Galleria). Marla Pelz, partner in L.A. Stitchers, 10941 1/2 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles, says her store is able to special order candlewicking kits. And Clare Hemke of Santa Barbara says the Lee Wards store in San Diego has many candlewicking kits.

For Nora, the elderly reader who likes to wear her hair up and was looking for a wig with few curls, we have good news. Nola Richards sent us a catalogue published by Paula Young, Box 483, Brockton, Mass. 02403, which features many types of wigs. Also, two readers said they have the type of wig Nora is looking for. If she--or anyone else--is interested, a stamped, self-addressed envelope will settle this hair-raising matter.

For William S. Murphy of Hollywood, who was looking for a hat-blocking service, we have two, one only a few blocks from him. Jacqueline Spurlin says that San-Fair Cleaners, 7877 Santa Monica Blvd., (213) 654-3852, has a minimum charge of $15 for cleaning and blocking hats. But if Murphy wants to travel a few hundred blocks, he can go to Hauser Hat Works, 522 E. La Habra Blvd., La Habra, (213) 694-6391; that firm, according to F.C. of San Gabriel, tops them all.

Notice to Jan St. Amant and the other readers who have had problems with faulty atomizers or atomizer-bulb replacement: Contact Charles Dubkin at (213) 662-1964 for more refreshing puffs.

Herb Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who have--or need--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help!, You section, the Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.