Excerpts from Pat's Daily Dog Log . . .

MONDAY OCTOBER 16 2000 All is going Great at Stevie and Pete's new home!

We know everyone is waiting to hear how everything is going with Stevie and Pete and the report is fantastic news.

(Stevie is a gentle, two-year-old Golden Retriever, who is totally blind, and Little Pete is an adorable, two-year-old Basset/Corgi mix fellow and is Stevie's best buddy and kennel companion.)

These precious dogs were adopted, together, and we took them to their new home yesterday. (See last week's edition.)

We've talked by phone with Mike, Stevie and Pete's new dad, several times since leaving them at their new home yesterday, and Stevie and Pete are adjusting very well! . (Mike and Ann had come here to visit "the boys" several times over the past few months, and we had taken Steve and Pete to their new home twice (see the 9/24/00 and 10/1/00 editions of this web page) to help make the final move easier on Stevie, since he takes a lot of time to get used to new surroundings and new situations.)

Mike told us that Little Pete made himself at home right away, and that within 24 hours Stevie had made his way around to every room in the house and now walks all around the big, roomy house all by himself, never bumping into anything except for just one or two times, and those have been little bumps because Steve moves around very slowly when he's in an unfamiliar location.

This evening we received another nice phone call from Mike saying that "the boys" slept in Mike and Ann's bedroom with them last night curled up on the soft carpet next to their bed. (It makes us so happy to hear this!) Mike has gotten big soft doggie beds for the boys too, which he has placed in several rooms of the house, but he is letting the fellows decide for themselves where they want to sleep. Then this morning Mike opened their bedroom door (which opens onto the patio), and Steve made his way outside to take care of business, along with his best buddy Little Pete trotting along beside him.

The dogs' appetites are good, and so far there have been no potty accidents in the house. Mike said that it is very interesting that Stevie has "marked" each new room he goes into, just one time and then never "goes" in that room again. Mike doesn't consider this a "potty accident" but something that Stevie feels he has to do and has done on purpose to "mark" the room--then that's it. Mike and Ann don't consider this a problem because it doesn't recur. It's just a one-time "Stevie thing" and easy to clean up, and they view the "marking" as something that for Stevie is important to do. As Mike put it, "Yes, Steve has marked the kitchen, and the bedroom and some of the other rooms, and has just a few more rooms to go."

Stevie did get frightened at several things on Sunday (after we left him and Pete there) and then again on Monday, Mike said, which is a real learning experience for them, as he and Ann are learning how to handle these situations as they come up.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 17 2000 Stevie and Pete make the daily headline ... again

Mike called us this afternoon to "report in" on how the boys are doing. "Making more progress all the time," Mike said cheerfully. There were a few minor upsets for Steve when he became startled at a few new sounds today when Steve and Pete were outside on their patio, and Mike learned that the only way to calm Stevie down when he becomes really frightened is to go to him and put the leash on his collar and hold him close. Steve feels secure with the leash on being held by Mike.

Stevie's fits of panic are something Mike and Ann had never experienced with a dog before, Mike said, and they sometimes don't even know exactly what sets him off. Bill and I understand completely what they are going through.

Great news at 6:45 p.m.

Mike called this evening saying "everything is going well, and we had another new experience today. The boys were playfully tussling and roughing around in the hallway right by my office," he said laughing. "They were really making quite a noise!" This is so good to hear, because for Stevie to play means he feels at home. And, Mike added, that he had to tell them to calm down a few times because they were getting pretty rough. The boys would stop playing, Mike would go back to work, and the boys would start up again! I can just picture the two fellows chasing each other up and down the hallway while Mike was trying to work in his office. That was the best news of the day. They have such a wonderful dad!

Lisa-Lisa has her final heartworm check: she is now free of heartworms!

This was the second best news of the day. Lisa-Lisa is fine. Lisa-Lisa is the little five-year-old mix/mix mommy dog who had been found on a country road with her four puppies six months ago. (See our January-May newsletter.)

When Lisa-Lisa and her pups came to our Happy Home for Strays, the whole family was in quarantine for the usual two weeks, which was a good thing because all of them had ringworm, which we discovered just two days after their arrival here. Lisa and pups were treated for this (baths every other day and medication given daily for two weeks) and were fine.

The pups were adopted by wonderful people when they were a little older, after being spayed and neutered and vaccinated.

Lisa-Lisa was spayed and treated for heartworms. Now this cute little, "nutty" dog, who is Bishop's lively companion, is fine.

How did little Lisa-Lisa get her name? Well, this little dog is so full of energy and is such an excitable, spunky little dog that every time we go into their kennel, she gets so excited running all around that we have to call her name several times to get her to calm down. "Lisa, Lisa come here" and the "Lisa, Lisa" soon became an automatic "Lisa-Lisa" every time I called her name.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 18 2000 Stevie and Pete making more progress all the time

Only one "upset" today with Stevie, Mike said, and that was when Ann came home from work. Both of the dogs were asleep at Mike's feet as he worked in his office at home. When Ann came home and walked into Mike's office, this startled little Pete who woke up and began barking, which frightened Stevie so much it threw him into a barking frenzy. No calm voices can quiet Stevie when this happens, so Mike just went to him and held him. A few minutes later Steve had calmed down and was okay. He slowly made his way to the kitchen, where his mom was, and he nuzzled up to her. All was fine. They love their new mom!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 19 2000 Buddy and his little sister, Betsy, the Rottie pups, go to clinic for hip x-rays

At 8:15 this morning Randy lifted these huge Rottie puppies into the van, and off we went to the clinic to have x-rays of their hips taken. Buddy and his little sister, Betsy, both are showing signs of pretty bad hip and leg problems, and I needed to know exactly what the problems are, so that we can begin the proper treatment before the problems get worse.

The big pups "clumbered" around in the van for the half-hour drive to the clinic and jumped out happily when we arrived (on leash, of course).

Shortly after Dr. Collinsworth took the x-rays, he brought them into the examining room to show me the results. He dimmed the room lights and put Betsy's film on the screen.

Betsy's left hip shows Grade 3 hip dysplasia. "It's not very good," the doctor added, but Betsy's right hip looks okay, for now. This explains the definite limp she has been experiencing lately with her left leg.

Buddy's x-rays were next. His hips are better than Betsy's with Grade 1 hip dysplasia in his left hip. We were very concerned about Buddy and Betsy's hips because hip dysplasia is a disease very common in Rottweilers (as well as other breeds of dogs), and I needed to find out how his hips were.

Buddy's limp, which was diagnosed during his examination last month (and is something that does not show up on x-rays), is from an anterior cruciate ligament tear of his right knee, which the doctor said a month ago would most likely eventually need surgery to repair.

Okay, so now I knew exactly what the problems were. Now I know exactly what we need to do.

Dr. Collinsworth lifted Betsy in the van for me. She had gained a good four pounds since her visit last month, and as usual she will not hop into the van like a good little doggie, and this extra four pounds did not make it any easier for the doctor to lift her, except that he is an expert at lifting these big guys!

Buddy had to stay at the clinic for a few more hours. He was peacefully snoozing after having to be anesthetized in order for them to be able to take the pictures of his hips. (He did not go for the idea as readily as his sister, Betsy, had.)

Ginnie would go to pick up Buddy and bring him home this afternoon at 2:00.

Jake is adopted--by Juan!

What possibly better home could Jake ever have than a loving home with his best friends, Juan and Lisa, who have been taking great care of him at our shelter, every day, along with his very best puppy-dog companion, Pixie?!

The first discussion of Juan adopting Jake came about last Tuesday: Lisa and Juan had brought their big puppy-dog, Pixie, back here to be with Jake as his kennel companion for the week since Jake was so lonely. Jake perked up the second he saw his very best buddy, and they have been having a grand time all week. Now, knowing that Jake would soon be going for another adoption day, and "fearing" that he could be adopted, Juan had come to me last Tuesday asking if they could adopt Jake.

We know how much Juan and Lisa love Jake, know what a good home he would have with them and how happy Jake would be to have his little best puppy-dog friend, Pixie, as his companion, for life, so the decision to let Juan and Lisa adopt Jake was not a difficult one to make.

Today Juan took both Jake and Pixie home. How happy Jake is going to be!

FRIDAY OCTOBER 20 2000 A soggy-doggie day makes for a "fun game" for Stevie and Pete at their new home

"Well, we learned a new game today," was the report from Mike this evening when he called to give us the nightly update on how the boys were adjusting. It had been raining all day in Dallas and the boys had been outside in the wet weather quite a few times, to take care of business, and enjoyed coming right back in the house Mike said. As soon as the fellows walked through the doorway Mike tried to towel dry their feet. (We often do this too, if the fellows are extremely goopy or muddy when coming in from after being out in the rain.)

Well, Mike said, Stevie and Pete thought this towel drying was a new fun game! Grab the towel when Mike and Ann try to dry their feet with it! "Just another fun experience with the boys." Stevie especially seemed to like this Towel Tussle game.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 21 2000 Doggie Adoption Day and we didn't go

The combination of a shortage of dog-sitters, threatening rainy weather, and having so much doggie related stuff, stuff and more stuff to get caught up on here at the office, made for the decision to cancel today's adoption day trip.

Susan S. happily accepts my apology for not having told her we had canceled

I must again apologize to Susan S. who faithfully showed up at Petsmart to help out with her expertise at doggie sitting for us. Just a bit of confusion here: we didn't know she was going to offer her services for the day, and she didn't know we had canceled. Anyway, Susan and I had a nice chat on the phone, after we figured it out, and her new dog Georgia, is doing just fine.

Stevie & Pete's Saturday evening update ...

One new problem came up with little Pete, Mike said. He and Ann were just a little concerned about Pete because he didn't eat last night's dinner or either of his two meals today. For the previous five days he had done just fine and Mike was wondering if it was normal for Pete to miss a few meals occasionally. For some of the dogs, yes, but not for Pete. He is one dog who always eats every kibble of food. And since Pete had been eating just fine up until last night, and is acting so healthy and happy and playful otherwise, Mike was wondering what the problem could be. The only thing I could tell him was to keep an eye on Pete and see how he is on Monday.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 22 2000 UPDATE: Stevie and Pete continue doing great!

All this week, since little Pete and Stevie have been at their new mom and dad's, I've been looking forward to about 6:00 p.m. every evening, which is when Mike calls us to give us the daily update on "the boys."

"Everything is great," Mike said tonight when he called , and he thought he had just figured out little Pete's recent eating problem.

We had suggested to Mike that he feed Steve and Pete separated from each other so there would be no argument over the food, which is how they were always fed here. Pete used to eat in our small house yard, which is separated from Steve and Pete's kennel by a fence, while Steve ate inside their kennel. The fence separated the dogs, yet Pete could always see Steve during meal time. (We never realized this even made a difference till now.)

Well, Mike had just figured out that Pete's eating problem seemed to be caused because Mike had changed the place for feeding Pete, putting Pete in one room to eat and closing the door, while feeding Stevie in another room. Pete could not see Steve during meal time, and this is the reason Pete wouldn't eat. Today at feeding time Mike rearranged the separation so that Pete could see Steve during their meal, and Pete ate all of his food. ... Mike had just figured out a side of little Pete that we'd never known.

We really appreciate the evening phone calls from Mike. We're learning right along with him and Ann what it's like for Steve, the blind fellow, to become a house pet, and also how the new home life is affecting little Pete as well. The bond between Stevie and Pete is very strong.

MONDAY OCTOBER 23 2000 UPDATE: Super Hot NEWS! Stevie and Pete continue doing great!

Oh, Boy! Mike called just now to report again on the boys, and all is just wonderful! He said that Steve and Pete seem like they've been there forever! Although Steve occasionally becomes startled at little things, these occasions are occurring less and less.

At bed time Mike and Ann say to the boys, okay, let's go to bed (I forgot the exact words Mike said they use), and the fellows follow Ann and Mike to the bedroom to go to sleep, and Pete and Stevie immediately curl up and sleep soundly all night long.

Mike said that it's been raining there so much that "the boys" have preferred to use the patio for their bathroom area (instead of getting rained on going to their grassy potty area just a few feet away), "but this is okay; it washes off real easy."

Pete is okay now, after his short spell of not eating, and both dogs gobble up their meals at mealtime.

Mike was thrilled to say that when he and Ann arrive home now after being out, Stevie and Pete don't bark at them anymore. They are now used to Mike and Ann's routine of coming and going.

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.