Excerpts from Pat's Daily Dog Log:

MONDAY JULY 3 2000 - Daisy Flores comes to visit Spunky

Daisy brought some nice friends, all of whom enjoyed visiting all the dogs. During next Saturday's Adoption Day, we're going to take Spunky to Daisy's house to see if Daisy's current dog, Hannah, will accept Spunky into their home.

TUESDAY JULY 4 2000 - Fireworks scares several of the dogs

Thank goodness we're located in a remote enough area that we're not plagued with those loud noises of war for too long a period of time. Some of the dogs (Danny Boy especially) practically go crazy.

THURSDAY JULY 6 2000 - Stevie and Pete's new "dad" calls to "check on the boys" (their newly adopted dogs, Stevie and Pete, whom they're not ready to take home yet

This evening Stevie and Pete's new dad, Mike, called to "check on the boys" he said. This adoption is so exciting -- I guess because Stevie (our blind dog) has special needs because he is blind, and we thought that finding him a wonderful family would be very difficult--especially because we want Steve's little buddy, Pete, to be adopted with him.

Mike and Anne are still in the process of moving and want everything to be all ready for "their boys" before bringing them to their new home, so they call and will visit often. (See photo of Stevie on the cover of recent newsletter included below.)

FRIDAY JULY 7 2000 - Molly and Emily go to the vet clinic

This morning was a scheduled trip to the vets for Molly (whose visit we had to postpone over a week ago) and little Emily.

Molly was going for her yearly vaccinations and checkup, and to have the doctor look at what I thought was a small fatty tumor on her side. We also had received a call from a mom who was looking for a big, furry, friendly adult dog (who likes children and other animals, and is affectionate and playful) to be a companion for her six-year-old daughter and their White Lab, and Molly fit the description perfectly! If the checkup went okay, Molly would be going with us this Saturday for the dog adoption afternoon at Petsmart, where the family would meet us so they could see Molly.

Emily was going to the vet this morning too because of the eye infection she came back with after her short three-week stay with her adoptive parents. (They had returned Emily to us last Saturday.)

Molly's eyes lit up when she realized that she was the one to have the leash slipped over her neck and that she was the one to get to ride in the car! She jumped right in the back. All the dogs love to ride in their doggie car. Max, her kennel companion, was quite disappointed that he couldn't go this time.

Emily curled up on the towel in her car crate and off we went.

"Molly is just fine" Dr. Stephen said after thoroughly examining her, and he couldn't feel any fatty lump anywhere. (Either I was imagining it, or it had disappeared on its own!) Molly's health records show that she is now seven years old and that she is fine and healthy and weighs 74 pounds.

Then it was little Emily's turn to have her eyes looked at, and Dr. S gave us some eye drops for the infection in both of her eyes. Emily weighs 32 pounds, a perfect weight for her.

Family changes their mind about Molly

When we arrived back home, I called the family to tell them of Molly's good health report, and the mom filled me in on the latest about adopting Molly. They had now decided to put off adopting another pet for a while. Since the loss of their second companion dog just two weeks ago, the little girl just isn't ready yet for another pet right now, the mom said, so it is best to wait for a while. We understand.

SATURDAY JULY 8 2000 - Another Adoption Day in Dallas

This is going to be Spunky's big day! It's another Saturday Adoption Day and also Spunky's day to make his home visit to see Daisy and her dog, Hannah. (See photo of Spunky with Daisy above.)

Daisy has been interested in adopting Spunky for a long time to be another companion dog for herself, and she would like her five-year-old dog, Hannah, to have a playmate. It's Hannah that could be the problem though, Daisy thinks, so our home visit today is going to be to see how Hannah likes Spunky.

Yesterday evening I brushed (or tried to brush) Spunky's fluffy white fur all pretty in preparation for his upcoming visit with Hannah. This fellow does not like to be brushed and the only way to get a few swipes in is to give Spunks a big doggie-treat, brush really fast while he is chewing, then give another treat, and another fast brushing, etc. (If this sweet fellow would just hold still the way Molly does, there would be no problem.)

After three big treats and some mighty fast brushing on my part, Spunky had had enough and he took off too chew on a toy. I found his favorite toy ball to "pack" with his belongings and health records to take with us. Spunky's ready for the trip.

New dog, Sadie, will be joining us at our adoption day

Sadie is the little Cocker Spaniel mix we mentioned earlier. She is the six-month-old pup who was rescued in Dallas two weeks ago. The young woman who rescued the pup agreed to have her spayed and vaccinated (which she did) and found good, temporary care for Sadie for these last two weeks, until we were able to make a place for the little dog here. Today we are just about ready for Sadie and she will join our Happy Home for Strays at the Petsmart store.

Volunteer Driver, Kathy Willis, and her daughter, Lindsey, arrived in their car just about the same time as John (Big Dog) Pippin, M.D. arrived in his doggie van, and Randy helped put the crates and dogs in the cars for the trip to Dallas.

When we arrived at Petsmart, Volunteer Sitter, Susan, was there setting up, and when we got all the dogs settled for their afternoon adoption day, Susan and I took Spunky to his prospective new home with Daisy and her five year old dog, Hannah.

Hannah, Daisy's original dog, says "NO!" to Spunky

Hannah made it clear from the moment we arrived that she did not want Spunky around--not at all!

Hannah is a very pretty dog, and I could tell from looking at her beautifully groomed fur that this dog likes to be brushed (what a weird thing to think of when introducing the two dogs to each other!) But Hannah is very territorial and very protective of her "mom" (Daisy) and after about an hour's visit (Daisy's friend, Sheryl, was there also) we all agreed that Hannah did not want Spunky to join their family, period!

I know Daisy felt very bad that Hannah wouldn't accept Spunks, because Daisy loves Spunky a lot, but she realized this would not work out. As Susan, Spunks and I were leaving, Daisy gave Spunky the new toys she had gotten for him to make him feel welcome, and we said our goodbyes.

Wow! Later Spunky is Adopted by Arlene and Bob Clayton!

Susan, Spunks and I arrived back at the Petsmart store about 1:15 this afternoon. Arlene came over to me with the exciting news, as I walked up with Spunky, that she and Bob wanted to adopt Spunky but were waiting to see if all worked out at Daisy's home first. And they wanted to take "their" dog, home with them today!

This was exciting news, and not really unexpected. Arlene has cared for Spunky at every adoption day afternoon that we've had at the pet store in Dallas, and we all knew of the special bond that had been developing between them.

Arlene and Bob have two female dogs, and she just knew that Spunks would fit right in with their doggie family. I was thrilled!

Sadie comes to our adoption day

Sadie is adorable! (Sorry, no photos.) Joie, the young lady who had rescued this cute, six-month-old little Cocker Spaniel mix, and had cared for her for these last two weeks, brought Sadie to our adoption day afternoon to join our Happy Home for Strays. We all had high hopes that this precious pup might be adopted today, but if not, she would come home with us and join our "family." Randy had her kennel all prepared for her at our Happy Home, so we were ready for Sadie.

Sadie is adopted!

John was sitting with little Sadie on his lap when a young man came over to see Sadie. He fell in love with this cute pup, and Sadie was adopted right away! Sue and I made the home visit, and all turned out beautifully. As we left Sadie in her new home, Sadie was lying in the hallway staring at the family cat, and the cat was sitting a few feet away from Sadie, staring right back at her. It was a really cute scene.

By 4:00 p.m. we were packing up to leave for the day.

Spunky would be going to his new home with Arlene and Bob and their two girl dogs and Sadie was all settled with her new family too.

7:00 p.m. - The sound of fireworks in the distance has Danny Boy tearing at his his kennel to get out

The sounds of fireworks, gun shots and thunder send many of our furry residents scurrying to the "safety" of the dog houses inside their shelters. Danny Boy is more frightened by these sounds than any of the other dogs, and tonight as the pops and booms sounded, probably set off by one of our neighbors, Danny became panicked and began tearing at his fence, trying to get out.

It didn't take Bill and me long to realize that there was nothing we could do to calm him down except to bring the big fellow inside the house! This would work. We'd put Danny into the house kennel that we had used for Bobby at night while he was recovering from leg surgery.

Knowing that there could be mixed reaction from our two house dogs, big Toby and tiny Blackie dog, Bill secured them in the bedroom room, and I went out to get Danny Boy.

I could see the frightened look in Danny's eyes when I slipped the leash around his neck to walk him to the house, and he was so happy to come with me. He didn't hesitate to enter the house for the first time, and he went right inside the kennel, turned around to face us and lay down on the soft mat, making himself at home--just as if he'd been doing this every night. Early tomorrow morning I'll take him back outside to his kennel and companion, little Lisa.

SUNDAY, JULY 9 - What a Busy Morning!

10:00 a.m. - It was now time to get Jake and Binks moved from the small quarantine kennels they have been staying in due to not having enough big kennels available. With Sadie and Spunky having been adopted, we figured out a way to move Jake and Binks into bigger kennels which actually meant we needed to rearrange Jake and Binks, and also Blackie Husky, Tony, Pokey and Emily!

For the last three hours Randy, Ginnie and I have been moving the dogs around to their new kennels (rearranging), and finally all the dogs are happily settled in their new homes.

The moves went smoothly and now Jake and Binks are out of the quarantine kennels and in their nice big kennels! This makes us all happy.

Emily and Pokey were the first to be moved. Emily's companion, Spunky, had gone to his new home yesterday with Arlene and Bob, so now Emily could become a companion to Pokey, the beautiful year-old black Chow mix, who needed a playful friend. We took them to the big play yard to introduce them to each other and they hit it off right away.

Moments after their happy, sniffy greeting, we removed their leashes and they were off running together, chasing each other playfully all around the play yard. It was a beautiful sight. New best friends!

While Pokey and Emmy played in the play yard Randy moved Blackie Husky to Pokey's kennel. It was the perfect size for her. Then with Blackie moved we took Pokey and Emily to Blackie's kennel because it is a good size for two dogs. Emmy and Pokey continued to tussle around playfully in their new home.

Next was Tony's turn to be moved. With Emily now out of her big kennel (which she had shared with Spunks) Randy went to do some rearranging of the shelter in that kennel for big, 110-pound Tony the Pony. The shelter had two medium size dog houses in it, both much too little for Tony to get into, so Randy had to pull those houses out which would give Tony the whole space of the empty shelter. That was a major job! But, Randy soon had Tony's "new," big kennel all ready for him and we took Tony in to check it out!

Tony loves his new kennel. He ran all around for several minutes acting very silly as he whizzed around and around the shelter, and up and down the little "hills" that Spunks and Emmy had created! It was so funny to watch him. Now Tony has Sir Anthony and Susie as neighbors on one side of him and Binks was moved to the kennel on the other side of Tony.

So with Binks now moved and happily settled in the nice big kennel by Tony, the last dog to move was Jake, who took over the kennel that we'd just moved Tony out of.

Finally all the moving and rearranging is finished (for now), and everyone is happy!