SUNDAY AUGUST 18 2002
We left with Tony for Tony's new home early this morning
Yesterday afternoon a couple (Susan and Carl) came to see Tony, and they fell in love with him and wanted to adopt the big fellow, so this morning Guy (since Bill's still in Houston) and I took Tony to the Susan and Carl's home to see how Tony and the couple's other three dogs would get along. We were praying things would go well and that the dogs would like each other.
The dogs got along beautifully!
It took about an hour and a half to get to the couple's home, and they met us at the door while their dogs waited outside in the back yard. As soon as we were in the house, Tony surprised us by jumping up on Carl to give him a kiss, which sent Carl tumbling to a sitting position on the stairway leading to the second floor. Then Tony proceeded to give Carl a bunch of "nippy kisses" on Carl's nose! It was beautiful to see how happy Tony was. He sure loves Carl, and Susan was next to get the kisses.
Carl and Susan have three family dogs already. (They rescued one of the dogs from a shelter just as the dog was being taken to be euthanized.) One female is a beautiful white Great Pyrenees/Retriever mix who looks a lot like Tony, just more petite, and the other dogs are good-sized, handsome fellas too, but Tony was by far the biggest!
When all the dogs were leashed, we took Tony outside to meet the others. All went beautifully! The couple's dogs are big, friendly, lovable dogs who gladly welcomed Tony into their home. A whole lotta sniffing went on among the four of these big fellas, along with a bit of playing. Susan and Carl were delighted that Tony was now a part of their family. So were we! Tony enjoyed checking out the family yard with his new dog friends, took a big drink from their doggie pool and then he lay down, happy and content.
As soon as we knew all was well with the dogs we went inside so Tony could investigate his new home, and while Carl was sitting at the dining room table filling out the adoption papers, Tony came over and stood close to Carl and rested his head beside Carl's hand. (Tony has bonded with Carl already!) Tony's head reached the table easily so I can imagine how much fun the couple will have at meal time with Tony joining them.
Then Tony walked around the house with his new friends and came back to lie on the cool, living room floor a few minutes later. He had made himself right at home.
While Carl filled out the adoption papers, Susan called from the hallway to Tony asking him if he wanted to go upstairs to pick out which of the "people beds" he'd like to sleep on tonight. What a wonderful life Tony will have.
Amber meets Melissa (Tony's previous companion)
Later in the afternoon Randy, Guy and I introduced Melissa to Amber on leashes, in the park. [Photos to come.] Melissa was Tony's house mate this whole past year, and the kennel crew said she began missing Tony right after Guy and I left with him early this morning. We wanted her to have another kennel mate right away, and Amber, who is once again available for adoption (see the Amber update below), needed a friend too.
Melissa is a sweet friendly dog, about two years old now, and she ran up to Amber wanting to play, but Amber was frightened of Melissa and backed up growling. It took a few minutes to calm Amber, and when she saw that Melissa was no threat to her, we were able to unleash the dogs and they took off playing!
Both Amber and Melissa are very playful, and when we took them both back to Amber's kennel, they had a fun time chasing each other around all afternoon. They both love water too, and their pool had to be changed several times today due to all the sand they had tracked into it.
Amber is available for adoption again
Amber was going to be adopted by the wonderful family who adopted Maggie from us several months ago. The family also has another dog. but this sweet fellow has become very ill, and to bring a playful pup into the household right now is not in the best interest of the sick dog. As much as the family wanted to adopt Amber, they decided that this just is not the right time. Because they care so much for Amber, they want what is best for her too, and they let us know that they would like this pup to be adopted by another family.
Sunday night at 6:00:
Mandy & Bear dig out!
"Escapees" are caught!
Never, ever, a dull moment around here, that's for sure! And it was too late to write about this when it happened last night. So this is today's update for now:
This "escape episode" happened yesterday (Sunday) evening at 6:00 p.m. I had just fixed diabetic dog Julie's insulin and meal and was opening the sliding glass kitchen door to go outside to feed her when I saw two doggies trotting LOOSE along the pathway close to our house between Happy and Rover's kennel, and Johnny and April's kennel, as they headed toward the play yard! It was Mandy and Bear, who had Just escaped from their kennel at the southern-most point of our enclosed area.
We have one triple-secured kennel, which has a top on it, concrete blocks line the bottom of the fence line, and a two foot-high wood boarder lines the sides of the fenced kennel. This very secure kennel had originally been made just for Mandy when she first joined our Happy Home, because she was frightened and tried to get out of her kennel (and did get out of her kennel several times until we secured it). As soon as her companion Bear became her kennel mate, she made no more attempts to escape and was very happy and content.
So, when fence-jumping Tony, and his companion, Melissa, were returned to our Happy Home for Strays last week, they needed this secure kennel because of Tony's past experience of jumping fences, so we moved Mandy and Bear to the large "quarantine kennel," which is near our house, so that Tony and Melissa could move into the secure kennel, and all was going well--until yesterday evening at 6:00 p.m.
Two "escapees" are quickly "caught"!
When I saw these two "escapees" (who must have Dug their way out of the back kennel) heading toward the play yard to play, I grabbed two leashes and hurried outside calling the dogs to come to me. They had just gotten to the play yard, but the gates were closed, and when they heard me call them, they came trotting right to me. Mandy came right over, and I slipped the leash over her head. Bear suddenly realized what was going on and decided that he wasn't ready to be returned to any kennel, so he took a quick left turn and began walking along the back side of Katie's kennel, between Katie's kennel and the house. I went the other way and met him and slipped the leash over his head.
As soon as these Big rascals were "caught," I took Mandy and Bear the "shortcut" way, which is through the play yard to the opposite side of the shelter grounds (the north side) and returned them to the triple-secured, original Mandy Kennel, so relieved that it was available again. We hadn't moved these two back any earlier, because we wanted to make sure that the new friendship between Melissa and Amber would work. Once they were back in their original, escape-proof kennel, I went back to the house to take care of Julie, who was wondering where the heck her dinner was! [Editor: Pat, Was there a great deal of barking from the other dogs, or did you make it seem like just a little break in the routine, keeping them fairly quiet? ... No response. Pat has no time right now, but we'll fill this in some day. ... Bill]
MONDAY AUGUST 19 2002
Where is the rabbit family?
At 6:00 p.m. I was out feeding Julie her meal and giving her her insulin and I expected to hear the dogs start barking any second at the rabbit family as they came out from their hiding spot (the tarp-covered woodpile shelter) for their six p.m. nibbling-feast on the tender blades of tall grass all around the woodpile. As I reported a few days ago, many members of this rabbit family had made themselves at home beneath this tarped woodpile at the north side of the kennels and they were driving all the dogs nuts every night when they would come out to eat. But tonight not a "woof" could be heard from any of the dogs. It was totally silent.
The bunnies have moved!
By 6:15 Julie had been to the park to go potty, and after I took her back to her kennel, I went to check on the rabbit family. Not a bunny to be seen. As much as these little fellas annoyed me with their hopping around in front of the kennels every evening, which made all 60 some dogs bark at them, tonight I was concerned because I could not find the little cotton-tailed fellas.
We have another woodpile outside the (north) front gate (the woodpile where we intended to move the family to if we ever got time), and I quietly opened the wood gate and peeked out. There they were! Hopping around out front close beside that woodpile where the dogs could not see them. Thank you for moving on your own, Rabbit Family!
[BUNNY PHOTOS TO COME, HOPEFULLY - Sorry, they've moved again and are nowhere to be seen now.]
They may have decided to move since Randy had been sorting through the used wood of their home this morning as he needed to find pieces of two-by-fours to do repair work on Happy's kennel. How nice and peacefully quiet it is now.
TUESDAY AUGUST 20 2002
We will give foster care to starving dog
This afternoon I received a call from somewhere near Dallas from a young woman who was frantically trying to find a foster home for a dog she'd rescued. She had tried every other shelter she could find, but no other group could help her. She was given our name by another animal shelter who thought we would surely take the dog in.
The dog was starving, and every bone in her body could be seen. The person took the dog right to her vet clinic, and the doctor immediately put the dog on IV fluids to try and save her life. Other medical attention is being given at this time too.
The problem this person has is that she wants to keep the dog she rescued, but she will not have a place for the dog to live for several months, and she'll need a foster home for the dog as soon as the dog recovers and is released from the clinic. She was absolutely desperate and had nowhere else to turn.
I told her that we will find a way to take care of her dog, and I asked her to keep in touch about the dog's progress. Having the dog at the clinic while she recovers will give us time to work things out here for this special little dog.
We have to raise more money so that we can continue to take in these special dogs who have nowhere else to go. We have to raise money so we can continue to take care of the special-needs dogs already at Straydog, who are all waiting to be adopted!
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21 2002
See mention of Straydog in Larry Powell's column in The Dallas Morning News Thursday morning 8/22/02!
Dallas Morning News columnist Larry Powell is going to mention Straydog (our "Happy Home for Strays"). Because we are in such desperate need of financial aid, I called Mr. Powell yesterday, to see if there might be something he could do to help us. I was so surprised when Mr. Powel himself answered the phone at his office, and we talked for quite a while. During our conversation I found out that Mr. Powell (whom I soon found myself calling Larry) is a man who cares deeply about the care and welfare of animals, and we found ourselves comparing dog stories. He is such a wonderful person, and so kind to try and help us out. Larry called me this afternoon and said we would be mentioned in his column tomorrow. We will never be able to thank him enough!
THURSDAY AUGUST 22 2002
We're taking in two more dogs, and we're running out of money!
Please help us help an abused Boxer named Kalli and a Great Dane blind and deaf pup named Helen.
Here
we are, our Straydog operations fund (which is our only fund)
is low, the number of rescued dogs in our shelter is near our
all time high, along with our never-ending vet bill which is currently
nearly $2,000, and yet we are making
room for two dogs who need our help:
Kalli
is the Boxer who was rescued a few days ago. She was found half
starved and was taken immediately to a vet by the young lady who
had rescued her. The doctor put Kalli on IV feeding right away.
Today the news was not so good: Kalli is responding to the IV
feedings alright, and she is improving, but she was tested for
heartworm disease and the results came back positive for heartworms.
I received a very tearful phone call from her rescuer telling
me the sad news. The woman was very
shook up as she went on to say that she just couldn't afford the
treatment and she didn't know what she was going to do now.
[Our plan had been for Kalli to be boarded at the woman's vet clinic until Kalli had regained her health and once she had recovered, the plan was to have her spayed and then bring her to us and we would take care of her, giving her foster care for several months until the woman had relocated. Once the young lady was settled, she would come for Kalli.]
The rescuer of Kalli was extremely upset, but I told her not to worry, that everything will be okay
We will still take Kalli, I told her, and we will have our veterinarian treat her for heartworms and when Kalli is healthy again, we will have her spayed. Everything will be okay. [We are the ones who will worry about paying our vet, and making the room to take in this terribly neglected/abused dog. But this woman will take care of this dog for life as soon as she is relocated.]
Kalli is coming tomorrow
The rescuer of Kalli was very relieved that we would still take the pathetic little Boxer, and she will be bringing Kalli to our Happy Home tomorrow, and we'll take Kalli right to our vet clinic. There she will receive the best of care and when she is better, she'll undergo treatment for heartworm disease, and when she is able, she will be spayed.
Helen, the seven-month-old Great Dane, pup, who is blind and deaf, is coming Saturday afternoon for a trial visit
This precious big pup was found by a wonderful couple, who have also rescued several other dogs. They haven't been able to find homes for any of the dogs, and they are desperately trying to place them all in homes or no-kill shelters as soon as possible. When the woman heard about us she emailed me, giving descriptions of the dogs, hoping we could help by taking one or more of them in.
Helen is the only dog of the group that has special needs. The others are healthy and happy and sounded adorable. Helen sounds just as precious but her handicap of being blind and deaf makes her much less adoptable, we certainly know this from experience, and she is the dog who most likely will be the hardest to find a good home for. These are the kinds of dogs we always try to help, so we offered to take Helen.
Saturday afternoon this Great Dane pup will be brought to our shelter, and we will see how she reacts to things here.
FRIDAY AUGUST 23 2002
Kalli arrived mid-afternoon
Kalli's mom says goodbye to the beautiful Boxer. Shannon will pick Kalli dog up after Shannon relocates to her new home.
SATURDAY AUGUST 24 2002
What a day! I don't know where to begin ...
To the Adoption Day with four of our dogs, and home with FIVE . . . !
Many nice people came to our adoption day today to see us because of Larry Powell, columnist for Dallas Morning News, who mentioned several important things about our shelter, Straydog, in his Thursday column. Many nice folks came to see the dogs at Canine Commissary, and many left generous donations. Thank you all!
Daniel is tentatively adopted!
This is exciting news. The new owner of Daniel wants us to hold the fellow for him for two weeks, after which time Daniel will go to his new home. Daniel is here with us for now - more on this adoption as it unfolds.
While the adoption day was going on at Canine Commissary, I stayed at our shelter to welcome the seven-month-old, albino Great Dane pup, Helen, who is blind and deaf
We spent most of the day preparing the kennel for Helen. Because she is albino, she needs lots of shade, and Randy (with Tray's help) put a shade cloth covering on the top of the kennel, which makes most all of her kennel shaded from the hot sun now. It took hours to get the fence top on the kennel and then to spread the shade cloth and secure it, but the men got done in time for Helen's arrival, and all was ready for her.
Helen arrives, and all goes well
Helen and her rescuer, Heide, arrived about two-thirty, and we walked Helen around our big play yard for a little while and then went to her kennel. This precious dog, who cannot see or hear, gets around amazingly well. I don't think she bumped into a thing! Heidi was pleased that Helen's kennel was so Big! (The large size of all the kennels surprises everyone.)
Heidi had rescued this Great Dane pup from a dumpster, and it was very easy to see how attached she had become to the big pup - but they just could not keep Helen, she said.
After spending a while with Helen in Helen's new "home" (her home until she is adopted), Heidi left feeling relieved that Helen would be just fine here.
What I know about Helen now is that she is a big, beautiful, lovable, affectionate pup! We all spent lots of time with this afternoon, and she appears to have settled in just fine.
A call came in this morning (before Helen arrived), asking if would please take a stray "Collie"
This woman said she had found the stray a month ago, and that she had spent all four weeks trying to find the little dog a home and couldn't. She had called everyone she knew and all the shelters she called turned her down because they were full. Geesh! We are full too!
The woman added that she could not keep the dog any longer, and we were the only hope for the little furry fellow. Thinking that we would surely find a good home for at least one of our dogs today at Canine Commissary (which would make a space for this fellow) I told the woman to meet our group at Canine Commissary and we would bring him home with the others.
So, we go to adoption day with four dogs, and come home with FIVE!
The woman and her little Collie, which is more of a cute little Sheltie, arrived at the store about 3:00 just as Guy was getting ready to leave. Since none of our dogs had been adopted (Daniel won't be going to his new home for another two weeks), Guy and the woman walked her dog with Amber and Melissa to see if the three of them got along, and they did, so when Guy and dogs arrived home, the new fellow joined Melissa and Amber in their kennel. We had already moved in the third dog house, and all was ready for the new arrival.
Sweetie puppy joins Helen in her kennel and they get along great!
Since Helen needs a companion, and even though she's as big as she is (about 100 pounds and only seven months old), we decided to put four-month-old Puppy Sweetie in with Helen, and after a little apprehension at first on Sweetie's part these two got along just fine! Sweetie thought this big white pooch was just a Big new friend. Little pups are like little kids: they are very accepting of everything and everyone.