A month ago we received a phone call from a very nice woman who had seen the "Doggies for Adoption" page on our website. She saw a photo of little Emily and she was interested in adopting Emily and wanted to hear all about this adorable little dog.

We brought Emily to our Happy Home for Strays on July 9, 1997, after receiving a call from a woman who had seen this little stray wandering about in front of the woman's house. Emily had a chewed off rope dangling from her collar, and the collar was so tight around little Emily's neck it had left a deep mark in her skin. It appeared to us that she must have been "chained" by this rope probably most all of her life, and as this little dog grew bigger no one thought to loosen her collar. It also appeared that this frightened little dog had chewed herself loose from a deplorable life. The woman who found Emily could not keep her so we brought the little stray to our Happy Home for Strays and named her Emily.

Since Emily was a "new arrival" to our Happy Home, we took her right to our clinic for a check up and a much needed bath. She was covered with fleas. The vet said she was about a year old, and he gave Emily all the necessary vaccinations. They were going to feed her a good afternoon meal and she would be spayed the next morning. Her health was ok, the doctor said, but she was certainly in need of good, nourishing food. There's no telling what she had even found to eat as she wandered the streets, and undoubtably she had not been well fed by her previous "owner."

Emily was a very fearful young dog when we brought her to our Happy Home for Strays, and for the first few weeks she would cower and slink away from us everytime we went into her kennel, but with lots of loving attention and good care and good food, she very slowly began to realize she had nothing to be afraid of here, and she gradually became a very happy, playful, doggie. It took many more months for the rope mark around her neck to disappear and soon there were no longer any reminders of her previous, unhappy life.

To this day, though, we continue to walk Emily with a soft cloth collar/leash when we take her for her walks to the big play yard for some romping fun with her buddy, Spunky. The choke collar type leash has always frightened her--and we all understand the reason why.

And now this sweet little red/brown doggie is going to be adopted by a wonderful loving family with a"mom" and a "dad" and two big teenage people ("brothers") to play with. How wonderful! Emily will be a very pampered housedog.

Shelley Woodburn, founder and president of "Friends of Straydog" has made a home visit, and everything checked out beautifully. In the future when we think of Emmy, we can picture in our minds her new home, play yard and her wonderful new family. We are so happy for Emily!

As always, complete financial records are available upon request.

Dog food, veterinary expenses and kennel crew wages have been running over $1,800 per week, and we are quite often literally paying this week's expenses with this week's donations. We, Pat and Bill Arnold, receive no remuneration whatsoever for any work we do for our no-kill shelter, which includes managing it. (Bill pays our bills from his salary from his regular job in Dallas.)

We continue to thank those who continue to write us such encouraging letters and e-mail messages letting us know that you believe in what we are doing at Straydog (our Happy Home for Strays) as we continue to provide a decent life (as long as may be necessary) for each of our now 49 rescued dogs!

Please take a look at some of our newsletters (click on links at end of page) and see the original article in The Dallas Morning News --on the Internet at "dallasnews.com/archives" (search for Pat Arnold on March 13, 1997).

We rely on donations to keep our shelter going. If you believe in us and in what we are doing, please help us with a contribution to THE ARNOLD STRAY DOG FUND at the following address:

Straydog Inc.
P.O. Box 1465, Gun Barrel City, TX 75147

STRAYDOG - THE ARNOLD FAMILY'S HAPPY HOME FOR STRAYS

We are a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Non-Profit Corporation, which means your contributions are tax deductible.