EXCERPTS FROM PAT ARNOLD'S DAILY DOG LOG - First published on www.straydog.org 05/27/2001
MONDAY MAY 21 2001 Thank all of you who continue to give your moral and financial support to our Happy Home for Strays. Your support enables us to continue to care for many abandoned, homeless dogs and puppies. Without your help this just wouldn't be possible, and we are forever grateful.
TUESDAY MAY 22 2001 Sassy Katie dog takes a trip to the vets--for a nail trim
This sweet, old, sassy dog, Katie, is one of four dogs (out of the 60 dogs and pups now living here) who will not let us touch her feet for anything as "serious and deadly" as a toe nail trim. So this morning Katie and I went for her scheduled appointment to the vets just to have her nails trimmed. I probably should have taken the other "Don't you dare touch my feet!" dogs too--Sunny, Scotty and Big Ol' Pup.
Now Katie is back home, looking mighty pretty, also having had a small patch of matted fur trimmed off her back end--another of her "Don't even try it!" places.
Katie playing with Randy
Katie grabs Randy's hat!
WEDNESDAY MAY 24 2001 Silver goes for her yearly checkup and vaccination boosters--all is okay
THURSDAY MAY 24 2001 A newly hired employee walks off the job right after lunch! Now we have no Saturday driver for our Adoption Day in Dallas . . .
I get up at 3:15 a.m. every morning now to try and get a head start on all the office work, and as I sip on a freshly brewed cup of coffee in the wee hours of the dark, quiet morning, the first thought that comes to mind is "What will this day bring?"
I feel so lucky to not hear the phone ring at 3:30 a.m., which is the usual time that a "sick" employee will call to tell me that he or she cannot make it in for the day.
Today by 4:30 this morning all scheduled early morning feeders were here, and all went well until close to noon when our newest employee simply walked off the job. No word as to why; no clue that the person was sick; no explaination whatsoever, and suddenly we were left with no person to work for the afternoon. And what made matters even worse was that this person had also been scheduled to be the driver of the dog van for our Adoption Day in Dallas this Saturday.
Solving the problem of taking care of the dogs for the afternoon was not so difficult. I left the office work and went out to cover for this suddenly absent employee, as I have had to do many times before. It was the lack of a driver for this Saturday that concerned me most.
Bill had to work at his regular job in Dallas, so he couldn't be the driver, and I do not drive in Dallas traffic, so this was out. (I get terribly lost too, so if driving the van to Dallas were ever left up to me, we'd most likely be circling Texas for days!)
FRIDAY MAY 25 2001 Billy Lawson to the Rescue!
Billy Lawson is a wonderful man! He and a friend of his, Robert Sledge, live in Mesquite, and they have been feeding many stray dogs and cats near their homes for years, trying to win the trust of as many of these homeless (and sometimes sick) animals as they can in order to give the animals the medical attention they need and to try and find them good homes. (These wonderful men are the ones who had been feeding Big Boy and who rescued him from the harsh life of living homeless.)
After Billy read our website update last Sunday about not being able to go to Petsmart because we had no driver for last week's adoption day, he called to offer his services as a driver.
I returned his call this evening, and he was glad to be able to help! Thank You, Billy!!
Employee for early morning feeding calls in sick
This morning I got that early "can't make it in" call from Ginnie, for the second time this week. When anyone calls in sick, the rest of us have to cover for that person, usually for the whole day, which really puts us in a terrible bind, and this morning I would be the one to help Randy feed and do the first of the many "poop pick up" rounds that are done throughout the day.
I really appreciate all of our "feeders" because they do an excellent job--especially when they are here!
SATURDAY MAY 26 2001 SILVER IS ADOPTED! She's finally found her forever family!
Billy Lawson arrived shortly after 8:00 this morning, after he had made his early morning run of feeding and giving fresh water to "his strays." Billy said the strays wait in their hiding places watching for his truck to arrive every morning and evening. Then they eagerly eat the food and drink the fresh water that he leaves for them.
He said his wife wanted to come with him but because she wasn't sure if there'd be enough room in the van on this trip, she'd like to come some other time. It will be really nice to meet her too.
I took Billy on a tour of our entire shelter, and then he helped Randy and Joel as they got Silver, Scooter, Duke, Dusty and Tootsie into the van for the long drive to Dallas.
Billy Lawson, who volunteered to drive the dog van this week for our Saturday Adopotion Day
Silver is Adopted!!
It's hard to describe the wonderful feeling that comes over us when one of "our" dogs is adopted, and Silver, who needed a loving family more than any of the other dogs here, found her wonderful new mom today.
The mom, Deborah, had read about Silver needing a home in our webpage update last week, and she had made the careful decision to adopt a special companion, so she came to Petsmart (accompanied by her grown daughter, Lisa, and a friend) to visit Silver. I think it was love at first sight for all of them! After spending time with Silver and shopping for Silver's food and toys and treats, we made the home visit.
I wish I had had the camera with me
After arriving at Silver's new home the mom took Silver to their very nice, shady, fenced back yard. Silver walked around slowly enjoying the newness of seeing all the trees, and sniffing around the yard, but after a few minutes of this sniffing fun she wanted to go in the house, and she walked right up to the door.
As soon as Deborah opened the door, Silver began wagging her bushy tail happily, and in she pranced to check out her new home. It was such a beautiful sight to see how happy Silver was to be a house pet again.
Silver walked all around the house, investigating every room over and over again. When she came to the living room (for about the fifth time) just before Susan Devers (our special Home Visit Driver) and I left to return to Petsmart, Silver put her front paws up on one of the large overstuffed chairs. She then hesitated and turned to look at her new mom with a "smile" on her face as if to say, "Is this okay? Am I allowed on the furniture?" Deborah laughed at how cute Silver was acting and said, "It's okay, Silver. You can get on the chair."
Susan and I left with the comforting feeling that Silver had finally found her forever family. This really made our day a happy one.
No other dogs were adopted today, but maybe next Saturday will be the special day for another one of our furry little friends to find his or her forever family.
SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL DOGGIE-SITTERS! Your help makes it possible to keep trying to find wonderful homes for our many, many doggies. Thank You!