Picking
up from where our recent print newsletter ends ...
SATURDAY MAY 27 2000 - Silver is adopted! Wow! This makes for a wonderful day!
Once again, Dr. John Pippin makes the special trip out to our shelter from Dallas, to help us take some of these wonderful dogs to the Petsmart pet supply store for another doggie adoption day. John ("Big Dog") is a medical doctor, and he has eight big dogs of his own--all eight are very pampered house dogs.
John was a few minutes late, he said, because he'd stopped along the way as he neared our shelter to move a huge turtle off the road, and when he picked the big fellow up, the turtle "peed" all over his pant leg!
We soon had John's doggie van loaded with Blackie (the Husky mix) in one kennel, Silver in another, Tommy riding comfortably in the back seat and Tipper with me in the front passenger seat, and we were on our way for the hour-long drive to Petsmart. Another "Friend of Straydog" volunteer, Charlene would be there to help us as well as Bob and Arlene Clayton who were coming all the way from Fort Worth to help care for the dogs for the afternoon.
This would be a special day for Silver--She's Adopted!
Heidi (the young woman who had been to visit Silver on the last two adoption days and has wanted very much to adopt Silver) and I had set up a tentative appointment for us to take Silver to Heidi's home this morning for a visit to see how all would go. Heidi's mother would be there too. Silver is such a wonderful dog, and all of us at Straydog were hoping this would turn out to be the perfect family for her.
Silver's visit with Heidi and her mom was perfect!
As soon as we arrived at Heidi's home Silver immediately began to investigate all the rooms as Heidi followed her around. When Silver walked down the hallway to the bedrooms, Heidi thought it would be a good idea to introduce Silver to her mom -- who was sound asleep! (Heidi's mom is a nurse who works nights and sleeps during the day. Oh dear, I was thinking, waking up a sleeping mom who has to go to work tonight may not be the best time for an introduction.)
Heidi and Silver went quietly into the mom's bedroom while I waited in the living room. Seconds later I heard the mom's surprised voice as Silver must have jumped up on her bed. Then came soft words of endearment as the mom talked soothingly to Silver. What a beautiful introduction this turned out to be. What a wonderful, loving home Silver will have.
While Heidi and I were talking again in the living room, Heidi's mom, who was now very much awake, came to join us and then she stayed up with Silver while Heidi and I went back to Petsmart. Heidi wanted to "go shopping" for her new furry companion.
Wow! Heidi's shopping cart is overloaded with goodies for Silver.
When Heidi emerged from the pet store an hour later after shopping for Silver, her shopping cart was full to the brim with good food, toys, treats and other goodies for her new companion, Silver. As we said our goodbyes, Heidi said she'd keep in close touch to let us know how all is going.
NO OTHER DOGGIES ADOPTED THIS AFTERNOON and by 5:00 we were on our way home. To have even just one dog adopted by a wonderful family, makes for a successful day.
SUNDAY MAY 28 2000 - Evening rescue of a huge Great Pyrenees
7:47 p.m. I had just gotten out of the shower from a busy afternoon with the dogs and was starting to prepare dinner when we got the call about this huge dog a couple had seen being dumped up the road from their house. The couple said they live off the highway and had been outside working on their yard when they saw a truck go by, slow down a short distance from them and "dump" a huge white dog. Next thing they knew the dog had come up to their house, and porch, and made himself right at home. They went on to say that they did not want the dog there, and if we did not come to get him right away, they would "haul him off" (which in this part of the country this means to "dump" him again). These people live about four miles from us and got our phone number from a friend who was visiting the neighbor of this couple.
I will NEVER understand how anyone can be so cruel as to "dump" any helpless being, but I couldn't talk these folks out of it, so I went immediately to rescue him.
Beautiful Great Pyrenees settles in nicely
This is an amazing dog. He had obviously been very well cared for and is so gentle, loving and affectionate. We put him in our biggest quarantine kennel, fed the fellow and he made himself right at home. Bill named him "Tony the Pony."
The next thing for us to do will be to call every veterinary clinic, humane society, dog pound, and police station in our area to see if anyone has reported this beautiful dog as missing. The owners must be frantic with worry!
TUESDAY MAY 30 2000 - Sammy arrives at our Happy Home for Strays
I picked up this adorable Shepherd mix pup (the one Angry Neighbor brought us last week) early this morning from the clinic, and brought the little fellow to our Happy Home for Strays. I was going to put him in our big quarantine kennel, but since it was now occupied by big boy Tony, Sammy went to our smaller quarantine kennel. He is neutered and vaccinated now and is being treated for the usual worms and should be just fine.
WEDNESDAY MAY 31 2000 - Tony goes for a vet check up
The policy for bringing rescued stray dogs to our Happy Home for Strays is to have all new arrivals checked out by our vet as soon as they arrive. Bill and I had felt sure that by now Tony's owner would have called inquiring about their lost dog, but having received no calls about this sweet fellow we needed to get him to our vet too, for a checkup.
He is one very healthy dog, except for ear mites, said the doctor after examining Tony and checking the blood test for heartworms. He had already been neutered and appeared to our vet to have been very well cared for, but we had Tony vaccinated just to make sure this was taken care of. As Tony and I drove home I felt certain we'd hear from his owners really soon.
SATURDAY JUNE 3 2000 - Another doggie adoption day and an evening phone call from Tony's owner hoping we have their dog!
John, Ginnie, Arlene, Bob, Kathy and her daughter, Lindsay, and I spent another day at Petsmart hoping to find wonderful homes for several of our dogs, but we didn't find their perfect families this time. We'll try again next week.
Tony's owner calls!!
What a surprise call this was--hearing the woman ask if we had found a Great Pyrenees:
The husband and wife who called us had "lost" their Great Pyrenees a week ago, the woman said. Tony (whose real name turned out to be "Bear") had wandered away from their property, which he does occasionally, they added, but he always comes home within a day or two. The couple (who are both police officers) live in a very remote area off the main highway about eight miles away from us. They hadn't thought to check with the vets or humane societies, etc., but finally began the search for him going from house to house in their area searching for him. When they came to the house of the people who had found Tony and inquired about their dog, that woman told Tony's owner the story of how they had seen him dumped and then called us to come and get him. They gave Tony's owner our phone number, and now the owners were hoping we still had their dog.
They described him perfectly and we agreed that I would take Tony "home" this coming Monday, when they would both be there.
MONDAY JUNE 5 2000 - Tony goes home
It was easy to see that Tony (Bear) was happy to be reunited with his owners and companion dog, Max. The owners said they would be constructing a large kennel for this wandering fellow to be sure that he would not wander off again. They are very nice people who care a lot about animals and had actually rescued Tony from death row at a humane society just one month earlier. They gladly reimbursed us for Tony's vet bill and gave a nice donation to our shelter. They were very happy to have Tony home again.
TUESDAY JUNE 6 2000 - A wounded stray dog desperately needs a home
Today we received a phone call from a wonderful young woman, Susan, who has rescued, cared for and found homes for many stray animals. This time tho, she said she had nowhere else to turn for the wounded dog she had just rescued, and that we were the only hope left to save this dog, and she was praying that we would be able to take him in. The dog was about a year old and the deep wound on his back was terribly infected.
Even tho our shelter is full we couldn't turn our backs on this helpless stray, and I suggested that she try to get the dog to a vet for immediate medical attention for the deep wound. The vaccinations and neutering could come after the wound was cared for, and yes, we would take him in.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 7 2000 - Wounded stray dog is safe now at clinic in Dallas
I spoke with Susan today and she said that she'd managed to take the hurt stray dog to a clinic last night and that the doctor had treated the wound on his back. They would be giving the dog a thorough check up including the blood test for heartworms, and would call her later with the results. We like to give the dogs their special name as soon as possible, and Susan thought this fellow looked like a "Jake." Jake will be boarded at the clinic for a few days, during which time he will be neutered.
SATURDAY JUNE 10 2000 - Little Emily is adopted at our Petco adoption day!
What a great day for little Emily. She was adopted by a wonderful couple! We had been at the Petco pet supply store for only two hours when the couple walked in looking for a companion for them and their dog, and they immediately spotted Emily and fell in love with her right away. Joan and Maurice (soon to be Emily's new mom and dad) were delighted with little Emily and wanted to adopt her. They took her for a walk around the pet supply store while they shopped for her, buying her some special toys and things, and our volunteer, Pam, helped them pick out the type of food Emily is used to eating.
The home visit went just great! Pam and I went with Emily, to see how she would get along with her new doggie companion. Emily hesitated slightly as we walked into their house (she had probably never been inside a house before) and after a few minutes of her sniffing around the big living room she was introduced to their big dog, Opie, a beautiful white Boxer (who is a large, gentle baby). He was very excited to have a new little friend to play with and greeted her enthusiastically! Then we took Emily out to see her new, big, securely fenced yard and she enjoyed sniffing around. Joan and her husband, Maurice, told us cute stories about how Opie sits in their chairs during the day and how Opie nudges them out of the chairs when Opie wants to sit in them! We could just picture Opie and Emily each sitting in the chairs watching television while Joan and Maurice sat on the floor beside them! Emily has certainly found her perfect family.
SUNDAY, JUNE 11, 2000 - Joan (Emily's new mommy) just called giving me an update on Emmy
It's 2:15 p.m. and Joan just called to tell me all about Emily's first night and day in her new home. The first thing Joan said was that little Emily put their dog, Opie, in his place--right away! Opie is their beautiful, big 85 pound boxer. Emily is a small, 34 pound little mix-cutie, and "she is letting this big fellow know right off the bat who the boss is now, and Opie pays attention!" Opie loves to play and when he gets too rambunctious with Emmy, she lets him know when to "back off!" and he does. Joan said that it's really funny to watch them running all around their house and she thinks that Emily is the perfect companion for them, and for Opie, even with her being just one third his size.
Joan is a little concerned that Emily won't eat her meals yet, but she does eat her treats and she seems very interested in their "people" food even tho that is not part of her daily diet there. We tell all new "parents" that it often takes time for many dogs to adjust to their new homes, and the dog's appetite may not be what it normally is for several days.
Emily has been on several walks and finally "did her business" and has had no accidents in the house. She walks willingly on her leash-walks, and Emily and Opie have the beautiful, big, securely fenced yard to play in too.
We just can't thank Joan and Maurice enough for opening their hearts and their home to little Emily. She will be a much loved, pampered little house pet now.
As always, complete financial records are available upon request.
Dog food, veterinary expenses and kennel crew wages have been running over $2,000 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 all our bills and living expenses 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 47 rescued dogs!
Please take a look at some of our newsletters (click on links below) 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 Straydog Inc. 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.
