WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2000 - Bobby behaves himself--ALL DAY!

And that's the best news of the day! Bobby spent much of the sunny day in his outside kennel beside his mom and sister, Briar. And once he got used to climing the ramp into the house, the fella seems to enjoy coming in to his house kennel in the evening.

Update on Pokey, Rex (now Tyson), Abby and Jack

POKEY

Pokey, our newest arrival, rescued after the warning call from our Angry Neighbor, is coming out of his frightened shell. He is warming up to everyone and is such a sweet dog. He loves his little stuffy play toy, and his new ball. Pokey will make a wonderful pet! (See photos in last weeks edition.)

Pokey would like to be adopted by a loving family:

He is a beautiful, year-old, black chow mix, very friendly and gentle. He weighs 56 pounds, is neutered and vaccinated and in good health.

REX (TYSON)

Venita (Rex's mommy) called to say that Rex (now named Tyson) is doing just beautifully. They love him very, very much!

ABBY

Abby's family e-mailed that her yearly vet appointment went just great and that she's fine and happy. We love to hear from them.

JACK

We hear from Jack's family often, which is so nice. Jack (the big black Lab) is very protective of his family's little three-year-old boy, and the whole family (grandparents included) think he is the most wonderful dog in the world! (See our September 5, 1999 webpages for the story of Jack's adoption.)

Fence men hard at work

The fence men are here again today finishing the setting of the posts. Seeing those tall wood fence posts cemented securely in the ground now is such a beautiful sight. This first section of wood fence will block the Angry Neighbor's view of our shelter and will hopefully buffer enough of the sound from the occasional chorus of barkers to appease our neighbor.

Super Barker Breakers

We also purchased (on a trial basis) a couple of "Super Barker Breakers," which are little boxes that run on batteries and are placed near the kennels. When the dogs bark loudly, the Barker Breakers are automatically set off and emit a loud, high-pitched screaming whistle, which the dogs don't like, so they stop barking. When the dogs stop barking, the Barker Breakers automatically shut off.

We wanted to try these to see if they would work, and so far they've been effective on the dogs closest to them. If the Barker Breakers continue to do the job they are intended to do, we'll get several more of them and place them strategically around the entire kennel area. (The price of each Barker Breaker is a little more than $40.)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2000 - Big storm--not a fun morning!

3:00 a.m. - The storm hit hard! One loud crack of thunder and the electricity suddenly went off. No lights! The non-stop lightening and much loud booming thunder had Toby, our Aussie house dog (and former stray), hovering next to me as I fumbled around in the dark house trying to find the candles. Great way to start the morning, and a bit earlier than usual, too. I checked on Bobby who was wide awake now sitting up on his soft mat in his small house kennel, which is in the kitchen. Blackie, our small house dog (also a former stray) was still sound asleep snuggled beneath the bed covers. Almost nothing gets Backie up before six o'clock.

4:30 a.m. - Ginnie arrived in the downpour and several minutes later I saw the "candle light" go on in the office. At least the phones worked and I called Ginnie to check on how she was doing, and all was ok.

5:30 a.m. - With the rain still pouring down in the early morning darkness I didn't want to take Bobby outside to take care of business for fear of getting his bandaged leg wet. Even with the plastic baggie-wrap we put on to walk him in damp weather, it was raining too hard to chance it. The fellow would just have to wait out the storm.

Feeding the dogs in a storm is no fun!

We got the dogs' food all prepared, "suited up" in ponchos and then waited for the rain to slow down a bit. The dogs always let us know when the rain has slowed enough to feed them, because as soon as they come out of their dog houses and shelters and stand out in the wet weather, we know they're ready to eat, and feeding time begins. (I wish we had a big kennel building!)

The dog walk routine is the same every day

The dogs expect their playtime fun in the big play yard every day--even when it rains. So, even at dog-walking time in rainy weather we "suit up" in our rain gear and walk the dogs, waiting out the downpours as they occur, and then we continue the walks when the rain slows up a bit. The dogs don't seem to care about getting wet, and we all end up pretty soggy !

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2000 - A nice family came to visit this afternoon to look at Nickie dog , and they adopted her

This was a great afternoon. A very nice couple with their adorable three-year-old twin daughters came at two o'clock this afternoon to visit Nickie with hopes that Nickie would like the whole family and would be a candidate for adoption into their family.

The visit went just perfectly. We brought Nickie to the big play yard to spend some time with the mom, dad and kids, and it didn't take this beautiful doggie long to warm up to the whole family! She was soon giving the little girls, Julia and Megan, doggie kisses (which thrilled the twins), and soon they were taking turns giving Nickie mini doggie walks in the play yard. (See photos above.) It was as if Nickie was meant to be with this wonderful family. It seems to be a beautiful, perfect match for them all. The family all fell in love with Nickie, and after the hour-long visit Nickie had bonded with them all and fit right in as part of their family. When they were ready to leave, Nickie jumped into their car without any hesitation whatsoever, and the enhanced family drove off toward Dallas. [UPDATE TO COME]