Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
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.
A Note from Bill (8/18/02) ...
The Friday, August 16, 2002 Cover story of the "Life" section of USA Today entitled "Come. Sit. Stay." by Laura Bly (readable at www.USAtoday.com) is about Best Friends (the largest animal sanctuary in the United States), and several of the items in the article made me feel a whole lot better and a lot more sure about what Pat and I are trying to do and the way we're trying to do it. Here are a few quotes:
(1) "... the sanctuary's high-profile proselytizing for spay/neuter and adoption programs has helped slash the number of cats and dogs destroyed in U.S. shelters and pounds from an estimated 17 million in 1987 to less than 5 million last year [2001]."
(2) "Best Friends adoptions go through a stringent review that tends to put a damper on spur-of-the-moment alliances [as between volunteers and the animals they get to know and might want to adopt].
(3) "Best Friends now boasts about 1,500 furred and feathered residents (including 1,200 cats and dogs) and an annual budget of $14 million--sustained largely through donations from the non-profit's 250,000 members."
I include the third quote above because we are indeed grateful to our 1,600 loyal contributors, many of whom have been supporting us since the March 1997 article about us was published in The Dallas Morning News. It is you all, our loyal contributors, who sustain us.
Main Menu:
*Pat's Daily Dog Log - LAST WEEK - August 11 - 17, 2002
*Photo Pages - LAST WEEK - August 11 - 17, 2002 - 3 Pages Posted!
*Pat's Daily Dog Log - WEEK BEFORE LAST - August 4 - 10, 2002
*Photo Pages - WEEK BEFORE LAST - August 4 - 10, 2002
*Pat's Daily Dog Log - 3 WEEKS AGO - July 28 - August 3, 2002
*Photo Pages - 3 WEEKS AGO - July 28 - August 3, 2002
*Saturday Adoption Day August 24th at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville in Dallas
*Dogs for Adoption - Shannon's page
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A Note
from Bill (8/11/02) ...
Pat and I have known from the start of our Straydog mission that no matter how many dogs we rescue and find decent homes for (or indefinitely provide decent homes for when nobody wants them), our total efforts will in the end amount to a fraction of a fraction of a percent in the reduction of total killings (by euthanasia), which is humanity's current solution to the overpopulation problem of dogs (and cats), unless our example (and that of other no-kill shelters) can wake people up.
We at Straydog are trying to show what has to be done to provide a decent home, a home which includes at least minimal necessities for a once-homeless dog (which is what we believe we provide at Straydog).
We are showing how expensive it is just to provide minimal care to homeless dogs. Pat and I are doing this for no pay. We keep our readers up to date as to what's happening at Straydog (as much as possible under our time constraints), and we keep stressing that the only way out of this overpopulation tragedy is SPAY and NEUTER.
That's what we're about. So, please support us. We will continue to row this lifeboat (Straydog) to shore, dropping off rescued dogs into the arms of good adopters, and we will continue to fill the space left vacant by each adopted dog with another desperate homeless case for as long as we can hold on. Our example (and the example of all other no-kill shelters) has to be publicized in order to and wake people up and make them aware of the necessity to SPAY and NEUTER their pets.
I don't know how long it will take our human race to become truly humane and solve this horrible problem--50 years? A hundred years? I thought it could be done before the next mating season if we could just get everyone to listen up, but they don't seem to want to listen.
It seems to me that the only way to maybe make some headway is to publicize what no-kill shelters are doing--what we're all having to sacrifice at no-kill shelters to try to make people realize that they've got to SPAY and NEUTER their pets!
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