MONDAY APRIL 16 2001 I go to the doctor because of a rash, an allergic reaction to my medicine

So many nice folks have written or called to see how I'm feeling, and they've asked me to please keep them updated on my health, so here's the latest ...

Because of my allergic reaction to the antibiotic, my doctor prescribed yet another antibiotic and told me to stay as quiet as possible.

From the doctor's office I went to our vet clinic to pick up Big Boy.

Big Boy, a very frightened dog, comes to our Happy Home for Strays

It was after 10:00 a.m. by the time I arrived back at our shelter with Big Boy, who was an extremely frightened fellow. Randy walked him to his kennel, and because he was so fearful, we felt it best to not introduce him to his new kennel companion, Cookie, until Big Boy calmed down and became used to his new surroundings. This meant I had to take Cookie to the vet clinic to board her since we were out of kennel space. So after getting Big Boy settled I had to immediately take Cookie to the clinic.

Once home, again, I spent a lot of time with Big Boy throughout the afternoon, and by dusk he had calmed down a lot. During my last visit with him in the evening there was lots of tail wagging going on, and suddenly I was getting slurpy doggie kisses. Wow! did I feel honored! This precious big dog was finally feeling a little more comfortable here.

At my last check on the dogs this evening Big Boy was very restless. He was doing a lot of pacing around his kennel and pawing at the fence--signs that he wanted out, which was not good.

TUESDAY APRIL 17 2001 Big Boy Meets Cookie, and Jake and Pixie come back!

After worrying about Big Boy all night, I checked on the fellow first thing this morning, and he was still in his kennel and seemed okay. He'd calmed down and appeared to accept his surroundings and the dogs in the kennels beside him. It was time to introduce him to Cookie, who also needed a pal since her buddy, George, had gone to his new home (with our employee Shannon) this past Sunday.

Big Boy and Cookie get along Great!

Shannon brought Cookie to Straydog from the clinic for this BIG introduction, and we were all praying that the dogs would get along okay. Soon our concerns were put to rest. The introduction of these two fellas in our big play yard ("the park") went beautifully. Both dogs got along with each other right away, and after their 20 minute sniffy, playful introduction, we walked them back to Big Boy's kennel together. Now that Big Boy has a kennel companion, I'm sure he won't want to dig out of his kennel anymore. Cookie is very happy with her new pal too!

Jake and Pixie come Back!

Jake and Pixie had been adopted last fall by a person who I thought would love and care for the dogs for forever. Now, because the owner was going to be moving out of state, he decided he could no longer keep the dogs, and he asked if he could return them to us. Of course! We just needed to make room for them.

This person had also adopted two of our other dogs, Dixie and Buster (Pixie's brother and sister) at a later date, to also love and take care of forever, but has now assured me that a relative in Dallas would be caring for Dixie and Buster. I told the owner that as soon as we had the space, we could take Dixie and Buster too if the relative in Dallas couldn't take them for some reason.

I must add here, that I had made the home visit for these dogs, and at that time all seemed absolutely perfect and I gave my permission for him to adopt the dogs. I truly believed that this person would have given the dogs the best home they could possibly ever have. This goes to show that we just never know, and it angers me so much that some people can simply discard their family pets as easily as they would discard old shoes. How can anyone just suddenly not care any longer about the dogs they once loved, which obviously must never have been the case.

We had to work hard at figuring out how we could rearrange some of the other dogs in order to make room for Jake and Pixie. These two dogs were inseparable when they were here at our shelter before, so we wanted them to share a kennel together. As always, we managed to solve the problem and the kennel was ready for these precious fellas by the time they arrived.

Jake and Pixie remember us and this Happy Home

We were so relieved when Jake and Pixie arrived, brought to us by someone other than the owner. Both dogs remembered us instantly, and they seemed very happy to be back at their Happy Home for Strays.

It was heartbreaking to see Pixie. She was much too thin, and because they both had fleas, I doubted that the owner had kept them on the monthly heartworm/flea preventive, Sentinel (which protects against heartworms and fleas). I made an appointment with our vet for both dogs to have thorough checkups including heartworm blood tests first thing tomorrow morning. I am so glad they are back safe with us now.

The other dogs welcome home Pixie and Jake

Because it was dog-walking time when Pixie and Jake arrived, they also had their turn in the big play yard. What fun they had running all around the huge fenced area, occasionally stopping to send a "bark-greeting" to their old buddies and the many new fellas, whose kennels are closest to the play yard. We let Jake and Pixie play in the park for an extra long time.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 18 2001 Jake and Pixie go for check up: All okay!

The checkup for Jake and Pixie turned out to be okay, other than Pixie being way underweight, and the results of the heartworm tests were negative, thank goodness. When we arrived home I had just enough time to give Pixie her much needed bath. Jake will get his later.

THURSDAY APRIL 19 2001 I go to my doctor again because of a reaction to my new medicine: high fever and joint pain

My doctor took x-rays of my lungs, which show pneumonia, and he puts me on yet another antibiotic and tells me to STAY AS QUIET AS POSSIBLE! I'll try.

Gina is having a ball at her foster home!

Our dog-sitter volunteer, John Pippin, M.D. (aka "Big Dog"), had taken Gina home with him at the end of our adoption day last Saturday to give her foster care. (See last week's update.) Dr. Pippin emailed us today saying that Gina loves playing with his big dogs and all is just fine there!

FRIDAY APRIL 20 2001 Dixie and Buster are rescued by us!

We got a call early this morning advising that the owner of Dixie and Buster (also the former owner of Jake and Pixie, who have already been returned to us) had moved out of his rental house and had simply left Dixie and Buster behind. The relative who was supposed to take Dixie and Buster had decided, for whatever reason, that he could not take care of the dogs after all. So, unbeknownst to us, Dixie and Buster had just been left in their outside kennel, unattended to for God knows how long. I hate to even think how long they had been left alone. I was just thankful we had been told about this sad situation.

When we heard that the new occupants of the home were going to call their local animal control this morning if the dogs were not picked up, we flew into action! I immediately made a call to the new renters of the place to advise them that we were on our way to pick up Dixie and Buster and to please keep them there until we arrived.

Shannon and I got in the van and off we went to rescue Dixie and Buster

When we arrived and saw Dixie and Buster, I, once again, cannot describe the extreme anger that both Shannon and I felt toward the person who had adopted these dogs. They were both so thin. Their once shiny fur coats were now dull and filthy, and the happy sparkle in their eyes had been replaced with fear.

The new occupant of the house came to meet us as we drove up, and he said that no one had been by to see the dogs, not even to feed them, for three days--or possibly longer. The man had taken pity on the dogs and had thrown some food over the fence to them. I was furious that these two dogs had been abandoned, but the most important thing I realized, was that we were reclaiming the dogs, and I was thankful to the person who had called us telling us of this deplorable situation, and so thankful that we had the dogs in our care now. We just needed to get the dogs out of this kennel and home!

It was obvious that the gate to the kennel had not been opened in a long time because the sandy soil was built up over the bottom of the gate. There was a big bucket in their kennel that held several inches of black, thick, muddy water. The new tenant helped us hoe the dirt away from the gate so we could open it.

Buster and Dixie were extremely frightened when we managed to get inside their kennel. We spoke very quietly to them as they eagerly took the dog treats from our hands, and we could tell the dogs wanted us to help them. Finally they huddled together in a corner to allow us to slip the leashes over their heads to walk them to the van and into their traveling crates.

Shannon was in tears seeing the condition the dogs had been left in, and I was seething with anger.

Dixie and Buster go straight to our clinic

Concerned about their overall health I rushed the dogs right to our clinic after dropping Shannon back at our shelter.

As soon as Buster and Dixie were in the examining room, the vet technician brought in a large bowl of water for the dogs and they had a good, long drink. The 20-minute wait to see the doctor gave me the needed time to get acquainted with Buster and Dixie again. They were were so scared. I sat on the floor with them and talked to them quietly, and after nearly 10 minutes frightened little Dixie began wagging her tail (which was a most beautiful sight), and then she came to me and leaned against my legs, giving affectionate nudges to my face. Buster, the shyest of the two, also warmed up to me after a few minutes and then came to me for petting and hugs. What a relief to have these dogs back safe again with us now. I could easily see the strong bond that had developed between this brother and sister. They have become inseparable, just like Jake and Pixie.

Buster and Dixie's checkup turns out okay

After their thorough checkups the doctor said that they appeared to be okay, other than being much too thin. The heartworm tests came out negative, which was wonderful news. The precious little brother and sister will be fine with good food and lots of tender loving care, which will be showered on them at our Happy Home for Strays.

SATURDAY MARCH 21 2000 I'm too sick for adoption day, and Bowser comes to our Happy Home and then goes home with Shannon after her long day of work

Bowser's story starts just about a month ago when one of our employees, Shannon, and her husband, John, were donating food at an animal shelter in another town. After dropping off the donated food Shannon said they walked around to look at the many dogs and pups, and that's when they spotted Bowser, a medium-size, six-month-old Heeler/Boxer mix. Shannon said there was just something about this little fellow that drew them to the pup.

He was a very affectionate doggie, but Shannon and John noticed subtle signs of sickness--the pup had a runny nose and was sniffling and sneezing.  Because that shelter was a kill shelter, Shannon and her husband knew the little guy's days were probably numbered.  Their hearts had gone out to the sweet pup, and they knew he needed medical attention, so they adopted him, mainly to save his life, and they immediately took him to their vet (who happens to be our vet too), where their worst fear was confirmed: Bowser had parvovirus, the same sometimes fatal illness that took the life of poor little Blind Puppy Sparky back in February.

The doctor told Shannon and John that since Bowser had parvo, they had two options: They could return Bowser to the kill shelter (where he would not be treated and without a doubt would be immediately euthanized), or the doctor could begin an aggressive treatment right away. Shannon and John's instant answer, of course, was to have the vet treat the little fellow. They knew Bowser would have the best care in the area, but because parvo is such a horrible illness, we were all very concerned.

Luckily Bowser's treatment for parvo was successful!

This cute fellow had a lot going for him: He is an older puppy who, except for the parvo, was in good health.  After a few days, he was off the IVs and was out of danger. Unfortunately, parvo dogs continue to shed the disease in their stool for up to 30 days, and Shannon and John have a young puppy named Speedy, who would be at risk if they took Bowser home to their house. The vet agreed to board Bowser for 30 days, until he was free and clear of parvovirus.

Finally, after Bowser's incredibly long stay at the clinic, he got the "all clear" signal from the vet, and Shannon went to pick up Bowser to bring him to our Happy Home for Strays, where we agreed to keep him since Shannon and John had just adopted George.

It didn't take any of us long to realize that this affectionate pup was in need of a tremendous amount of love and contact with caring people. By the end of the day Shannon wanted to take the sweet fellow home with her to give him foster care in their loving family atmosphere where he would be a pampered house pet, and we all agreed that this was exactly what this pup needed.

So, at the end of Shannon's busy day of dog care here, she scooped Bowser up and carried him to her car, and soon they were on their way to Bowser's nice, temporary, foster home.

SUNDAY MARCH 22 2000 Shannon reports that Bowser is a shy little fellow , and Bill takes a week's vacation to help out with the dogs at our shelter

Bowser obviously has never been in a house before, Shannon thinks, because he is so timid about walking around and prefers to stay put in just one place, but she knows it won't be long before he settles in. Bowser has developed a runny nose, which concerns her, but she's keeping a close watch on the fellow.

Bill has decided that this is a good time to take some vacation time from his regular job in Dallas, so that he can help out with the many doggie duties here that need to be done every day while I try to recover from pneumonia.

Again, thanks to Randy and the rest of the kennel team who have been putting in extra long hours to give the best of care to our many rescued furry friends.

We want to thank all of you who have given (and continue to give) your support to our shelter. We will be forever grateful for your help.