Excerpts from Pat's Daily Dog Log . . .
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18 2000 Buddy and Betsy go for a recheck check-up at our vets
[Buddy and Betsy, the two Rottweiler puppies who had been adopted three months ago, have gotten out of their yard and lost on two different occasions. We have had to see to their rescue these two times. Per clauses six and 11 of our adoption contract Straydog has the right to reclaim these dogs. Straydog will talk to the owner when he returns.]
I could hardly wait to get these two big Rottie pups to the doctor for their checkup this morning. Buddy has a limp in his right back leg, Betsy seems a bit too quiet, and we all just wanted to know that both of these wonderful Rottweiler pups were okay.
These two eight-month-old puppies are Big! We figured that Buddy must weigh close to 80 pounds and his little sister, Betsy, must weigh nearly 60 pounds. I decided to let them be loose in the van since they seemed a little frightened of the traveling crates. I really expected that they would just jump right in after our short walk to the van, but as soon as we reached the side door, they sat down firmly on the ground, looked up at me and would not move. I could tell that there was just no way these fellas were going to jump into the van "like good little doggies."
"Okay guys, I'll just lift you both in," I said to them. But let me tell you, these dogs weigh a ton! And when I put my arms around Buddy to pick him up, he slowly melted down to the ground, lying there on his back, looking up at me with his pretty brown eyes as if to say "go ahead--try to lift me now." I couldn't even budge him, or Betsy, who had immediately flopped down beside her big brother.
Randy to the rescue!
Time to call Randy to help. He came over to do the lifting, and he got the fellas in the van. Then there was another 10-minute hassle--me trying to get these big bozos out of the front seats! These guys now seem to weigh 100 pounds each. Finally we were on our way to the clinic.
Clinic exam shows a few health problems for the pups
Buddy's limp is due to a partial cruciate ligament tear of his right back knee, the Doctor said after examining Buddy's legs with his hands. He said it could be caused because Buddy was growing so fast and the problem could heal on its own. We will keep a close watch on Buddy over this next month.
Betsy has Erhlichia, a disease caused from ticks, (even tho we saw no ticks on her) and the doctor put her on antibiotics for this problem.
Not knowing if Buddy and Betsy had been kept on their monthly heartworm preventive, Sentinel, we had another heartworm test done, and thankfully the tests both turned out negative.
Their weight was another thing I was really curious about. Buddy weighs 85 pounds now, and Betsy weighs 63 pounds. It seems like those scales must be wrong. These pups feel as tho they weigh double that amount!
Doctor Collinsworth walked Buddy and Betsy outside with me so he could lift them into the van. (Hopefully they will learn to jump in by themselves, real soon.) These big fellas are in for lots of tender, loving care.
Buster and Dixie pups are (were) adopted by Juan!
I must have forgotten to mention that last Friday Juan, one of our employees, adopted Buster and Dixie. These are two of the three big, people-fearful puppies. We have all showered these pups with lots of love and attention, and they have made much progress in becoming friendlier pups, at least with all of us here. They are still fearful of new people.
So when Juan and Lisa said they would like to adopt Buster and Dixie, we thought that was great. Juan and Lisa understand the pups' needs, and Buster and Dixie knew them well already. And their three-year-old little boy would be a wonderful playmate for the pups too.
Pixie, the third big pup, is Jake's kennel companion, and the two of them are best buddies. Pixie has also become a much friendlier pup now, and continues to make progress.
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 19 2000 Sara comes to our Happy Home
Now that Sara has had her vaccinations and has been spayed, this was her day to join the others at our Happy Home.
Sara settles in nicely.
This time I made the trip to town and back again with no complications occurring along the way (such as finding stray dogs). Sara and I arrived home about 10:00 this morning, and we got her settled in her quarantine kennel and fed her a good meal. She is a very sweet little dog and had fun playing with her new toys.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 20 2000 Tommy Tootles meets Cindy Lab
Cindy is our recent arrival Black Lab and is now able to have a dog companion. We try to pair up the "single" dogs as soon as we can, so they will have a playmate while they are at our Happy Home, until they are adopted by a wonderful family.
We thought that quiet little three year-old Cindy would be a good match for four-year-old, quiet, mellow-fellow Tommy Tootles, but this meeting certainly did not go as I had expected.
The Toots says "No" to pretty Cindy
We introduced the dogs on leashes in the big play yard. Cindy behaved just perfectly, lying at Tommy's feet and showing him her tummy to let Tom know she is not a threat to him, but Tommy's reaction to Cindy was quite negative! There was too much snarling and growling on his part while meeting Cindy, so we took him back to his kennel. We'll try again tomorrow to see if Tom is in a better mood. If not, then we'll try Cindy with Duke when he arrives here next Tuesday. [Photos to come]
Duke is another recent arrival black Lab mix, who has been at the clinic for these last two weeks being treated first for mange. Then a few days ago he began treatment for heartworms and is doing just fine. He was found the same day Cindy was found. [Photos to come]
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21 2000 Tommy meets Sara, but he's not sure if she's his type
It appears to us that Tommy has grown to like being a "single" fellow since being separated from his long-time companion, Tipper (due to Tip's urge to nip Tommy whenever something excites her such as the lawn man coming to mow their kennels, or the UPS truck barreling up our hill).
Tommy's visit with Sara didn't go as well as we had hoped either:
Tommy was very grumpy and a little snarly with Sara during today's introduction in the big play yard with her, but he did warm up just a little near the end of their visit. We'll try them together again this afternoon and tomorrow.
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22 2000 Whole lotsa work going on at our shelter
Now that Buddy and Betsy (the Rottweiler "pups") are back with us, (and we've had no word from the owner since he has been out of town) the kennel they are in needs to be made much bigger. The extra fence sections have been delivered, so now Randy will spend the morning enlarging their kennel and "winterizing" the shelter in their kennel too to prepare for the upcoming cool, rainy weather. Right now the shelter is secure with just lattice at the sides to allow for the mid-September breezes to flow through. Randy is going to be sooooo busy, just like every day.
Lots to do next week; I'd better make a list!
7:00 p.m. - There are so many things running through my mind--all the upcoming extra things to do this next week--in addition to my regular 14-hour work day here at the shelter. I figured I'd better start writing these extra things down before I forget:
Sat: Adoption Day at Petsmart in Dallas.
Sun: Take Stevie and Pete to their new home for a visit.
Mon: Bring Duke home from clinic. Volunteer dog trainer coming.
Tues: Take Cindy to clinic to be spayed.
Wed: Go get Cindy from the clinic.
Thurs: Get in touch with new volunteer who wants to come out.
Fri: I already forgot . . .
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23 2000 Doggie Adoption Day
We had two new doggie sitter volunteers join us today, and it was so nice to meet them. Thank you Ludmila and Betty! And, of course, we give a special thank you to Susan Devers who organizes these adoption days for us, and we always appreciate the help of Susan Southerland and Consuelo . John "Big Dog" Pippin, M.D. had the day "off."
No dogs were adopted, but several people are "thinking" about Tommy and Emily as becoming their house pets.
Puppy Pixie misses Jake terribly while Jake is at adoption day
After we arrived home from the adoption day and got the dogs settled in their kennels, Randy told us about Pixie. She is Jake's playful big-puppy companion and very best buddy, and without Jake here today (because he went on the adoption trip) she was absolutely miserable Randy said. [Photos to come]
Randy and Lisa (who were here taking care of the dogs in our absence) said that Pixie cried most of the day because she missed Jake so much. Lisa went to be with Pixie often to try and comfort her throughout the day, but this big black and white puppy-dog would just sit in her little "scoopy" hole, beneath the shade of the porch top and throw back her head and howl for long periods of time. It was really sad to see how much she missed Jake, both Randy and Lisa added. Geesh, looks as tho we'd better take Pixie along with Jake to the next adoption day and have them hopefully be placed together if adopted.
Buster and Dixie are doing Great at Juan and Lisa's
Juan and Lisa say that Buster and Dixie are becoming sweet little, playful puppy-dog house pets! Buster is still the more timid of the two, but Juan, Lisa and their little boy, Chris, are spending lots of time with the pups, which is just what they need. Buster shows no fear at all of little Chris. [Photos to come.]
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 24 2000 The big day for Stevie, who is blind, and Pete! They go for their first home visit with their new mom and pop
This is going to be an exciting day for Stevie and his little buddy, Pete. Bill and I will be taking the fellows to Dallas early this morning to the home of their new mom and dad, Mike and Ann,. Mike has been here four times already to visit Steve and Pete since it always takes time for Steve to get to know new people, and now that Steve is beginning to bond with Mike and Ann, Steve is ready for his first visit to his new home.
Because Stevie is blind, Mike had spent lots of time getting things ready for his "special boy" Steve and his little buddy, Pete. I knew Mike and Ann were as excited as Bill and I about the visit today.
Our extra concern is because we know Steve (and his personality) so well. He is such a loving, affectionate and wonderful dog, yet people need to realize that he is different from a sighted dog, and there are many things we all need to be constantly aware of with Steve.
Because Steve is blind, he frightens very easily. Any sudden noise will startle him. People coming up to Steve without speaking to him as they approach will alarm him, and he will react in an aggressive manner, barking and possibly biting at what he fears is "possibly coming at him." He must hear calm voices--always.
Without a visual picture of his immediate environment, Stevie can also become very easily frightened by the slightest unusual noise. The hardest thing for new friends of Stevie to learn is to constantly be talking to him in a calm voice at a moderate level. When he's with (or within earshot of) a human, Stevie's "picture" is of a calm, gentle human coming closer to him if that human continues to talk to Stevie in a calm manner at a moderate level.
We know that Stevie is extremely happy and very comfortable here at this Happy Home. He knows and loves everyone here (and our love for him and Pete is just as strong). His life is on a schedule, and he knows what to expect throughout each and every day. Yet Stevie deserves being a well pampered house pet (with his little buddy, Pete) just as much as all the other dogs do, and we are hoping Steve will be able to adjust to his wonderful new home. Mike and Ann are the perfect "parents" for these fellows. [See photos at top of page.]
Steve and Pete's visit with their new "parents" goes Great!!
By 8:40 this morning Bill and I had Pete and Stevie in the car for their first trip to visit Mike and Ann in Dallas. Stevie was sitting in the back seat with me, and little Pete was in the flat back part of the station wagon, which always is covered with a tarp and towels for his ride, anywhere. This little fellow still gets car sick--but much less often than when he was a pup.
By 10:10 we had arrived. Mike and Ann came to great their boys as we walked the dogs on their leashes up to meet them. "There are my boys," Mike said happily as he knelt down to pet Stevie and Pete, and Steve went right up to Mike and then Ann and was not frightened one bit. Instant relief, for all of us, I think, especially Mike. He wanted so much for this to work out for them.
Stevie and Pete enjoyed their visit
Bill and I stayed with the dogs for over an hour while Mike and Ann visited with them, showing them all around what will be the dogs' outside areas. We all decided to take this first visit slowly so as not to overwhelm Stevie with too many new things to get used to. So Mike and Ann walked Stevie and Pete around the nice big patio area, and then from the patio around to the side of the house, past the swimming pool, to the big, long, grassy dog-run area--all, of course, totally fenced in.
Now that Mike and Ann know the dogs both like their new house a lot, Mike will go ahead and add the fence to separate the patio from the pool. He wants Steve to get used to the pool too, but that can come at a later time and the fence will be up to make sure Steve doesn't fall into the pool. Pete, on the other hand, will most likely be swimming around with Ann and Mike right away. This fellow loves water!
And, Mike and Ann added, they will gradually introduce Steve and Pete to the different rooms of the house and will have doggie beds right beside their bed where the boys will be sleeping at night.
Finally it was time for us to leave, to bring Stevie and Pete back home. Steve and Pete had a wonderful time, and we all want to make this transition for Steve in his new home as smooth as possible, so we will make it very gradual. We'll be taking Stevie and Pete for another longer visit next Sunday. We said our good-bys and got the dogs back in the car for the ride home.
LOTS MORE STUFF HAPPENED LATER ON IN THE EVENING, ALL OF WHICH WE WILL COVER NEXT SUNDAY. ...
If any of you would like to volunteer your dog-caring services to help us out during our Saturday Petsmart Adoption Days, we'd love to hear from you. Please call me at (903) 479-3497 (or email me at straydog@straydog.org) if you are able to help. Thank you, Pat.
We continue to thank all of you for your financial and moral support, which has made it possible for us to save the lives of these wonderful dogs, give them the care they need and adopt many of them into good, loving homes.
A note from Bill ...