SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29 2002
All of Freckles' puppies have their eyes open now!
As most of you probably know, we've been really concerned about the eyesight of Freckles' puppies because Freckles has no eyes. She was found in the early morning hours of September 1st frantically walking around and around in circles in the middle of a country road, most likely dumped because she was pregnant, and it us obvious immediately upon meeting her that she cannot see. When our vet examined this soon-to-be-mom, he said that she had no eyes which could be hereditary, in which case there would be a good chance that some of her babies might also be born without eyes. (We hate to think that the loss of Freckles' eyes was due to any type of abuse, but that is a strong possibility.)
We've all been waiting patiently during these past two weeks (they were born on September 13th and 14th), hoping that when it was time for the pups to open their eyes (it takes up to two weeks) they all would be able to see.
What a happy day to see those tiny, sparkly, blue, baby puppy eyes!
At 8:30 Saturday morning I went to change the bedding for Freckles and her two-week-old puppies, and I picked up Little Lucy first, and her little eyes were wide open! She has beautiful sparkly blue eyes just like her big brother Louie, who'd opened his eyes two days earlier.
By noon Saturday all the pups' eyes were open, and their eyes all appear to be fine. What a tremendous relief.
The puppies are growing fast, and Freckles now spends more of her time outside basking in the sun during the breezy afternoons, while the kids are snoozing on the soft blankets in the "nursery" dog house in their shelter.
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 30 2002
Beautiful weather today
It's been a beautiful day beginning with a cool morning and a warm breezy afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary happened today, which is a bit unusual, but nice, for a change.
Freckles' babies are growing into little tiny puppies, and they are beginning to try and walk, which is more of a tummy "scooch along" crawl at this young age of two and a half weeks.
Blind Mommy Freckles is fine too. She is a wonderful mom to her little pups even tho she cannot see, and she is so careful when she is in her dog-house nursery tending to her babies that she only occasionally will step on a puppy foot or puppy tail as she moves around while taking care of her litter.
"Winterizing" of the dog shelters will begin soon
We know it's a bit early to prepare the dogs' houses and shelters for the coming winter weather, which preparation includes putting hay in the dog houses and attaching the big protective doors on the fronts of the dogs' shelters, but we have so many dogs now (which makes for more dog houses and more shelters) that we've had to begin this winterizing project earlier each year.
I remember a time, several years ago, when an ice storm hit unexpectedly (in the middle of nice cool days), and Bill and I were out in the sleeting rain putting the heavy shelter doors on because we miscalculated the severity of the coming bad weather. So we learned the hard way to get the shelters and dog houses ready before the bad weather hits!
This project will begin soon.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 1 2002
Every spare moment was spent today tab-sealing and affixing stamps and address labels to the balance of our outgoing newsletters. One thousand six hundred have all been mailed, and donations are starting to come in, thank goodness!
*New Photos posted 6:41 p.m. 10/1/02
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2 2002
Rottweiler Buddy goes to see the doctor
Buddy is almost three years old, and this beautiful Rottweiler/mix has been limping on his right front leg for five days. He shares a kennel with his sister, Betsy, and they do tussle around a lot, so it's possible his sister could have bumped him a bit too hard, but five days of limping meant he had to see the doctor. Both Buddy and Betsy have hip dysplasia, we know, and I'm wondering if this limping on his right front leg means trouble in this area too.
Misty was due for her scheduled allergy injection, so we put the two of them in the dog van and off we went to the clinic.
Results of Buddy's examination and x-rays are not good
The x-rays that our vet took of Buddy revealed a lot of arthritic change in Buddy's right shoulder which is the reason for the pain and limp (and probably because he got bumped too hard by his sister as they played, his shoulder became even more painful) and the x-rays of Buddy' hips also showed severe hip dysplasia in his right hip. Now the doctor wants to send these x-rays to the specialists at the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, in Dallas, to get their opinion on what should be done. We will keep you updated.
Buddy and his sister Betsy were found with their mom (Trixie) as they scavenged along the edge of a highway when the puppies were just five weeks old. Someone had to have dumped them along the roadside.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 3 2002
Busy, long day
Guy and I took Misty to see the dermatologist in Dallas, leaving at 6:45 this morning. Guy is the driver for all of these "out of town" vet visits, because I'd get lost and would be circling for hours if I even attempted a make a trip alone to any big city.
Misty vet visit story
To come in Friday update. (See Friday update.)
Freckles' puppies are getting bigger, and cuter every day!
These four little pups are three and a half weeks old now, and they are beginning to try and play with each other, which for now consists of very clumsy attempts to put a tiny paw on another pup's face, which usually sends the paw-placing pup tumbling over backwards.
The pups have tiny little teeth now, which aren't quite at the "sharp" state ... yet.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 4 2002
Just too darn busy!
Getting back to yesterday's vet visit to the doggie dermatologist in Dallas:
Misty is allergic to "Everything in the book!" the dermatologist told us months ago when we took Misty to see if she indeed did have an allergy problem, causing her to chew one of her paws till a large ulcer appeared, which just kept getting worse and worse until we took Misty to this dermatologist, and she has been on allergy injections ever since, and has been doing beautifully, until recently. Several weeks ago she began licking her paw (again as she had in the past), and the raw area was developing into another lick-granuloma problem, which is the reason for the vet visit to the dermatologist yesterday.
The results of that visit show her to have a strong allergy to ragweed, which is at an all-time high, the doctor said. He recommended an antibiotic for infection and some other medication and also the use of the dreaded E-Collar for the next several weeks too, until we can get what must be a tremendous itch under control.
So, just part of the busy day consisted of making a place for Misty outside in a kennel near our house where I (and everyone else) can keep a close watch on her when she has the E-collar on during the day, and the only place for this was to divide Katie's kennel in half. It has two shelters, one on each side of the kennel, and all we needed to do was to put fence sections in the middle of Katie's big kennel to divide it. This took a while, but finally it was ready for Misty.
Prince and Bailey dig out--again!
These two fellows are the champion digger-outers! We have concrete blocks surrounding the entire fence line of their kennel, but if either of these dogs gets the sent of a ground-hog or mole or any other interesting critter, they will dig a mile to get to it (if necessary). This afternoon as I was outside watering the shady areas of a nearby kennel Prince dug his way out of his and Bailey's kennel and headed straight to the big play yard to play, Bailey was fixing to follow his buddy, when I caught sight of Prince trotting toward the play yard!
It took four more 18"x18" heavy concrete blocks to fill the hole, and then a very Stern reminder from me "No More Digging!" (as if this will ever do any good) as Little Prince and Bailey sat looking at me with solemn little furry faces, as if to say, "Okay, we'll be good."
Getting back to Freckle's puppies:
They are growing fast and are beginning to try to walk, and play with each other. They are adorable.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 5 2002
Morning Update
Our dog van left for the Canine Commissary at 15th and Custer in Plano, Texas at 9:00 this morning with Penny, Scooter, Arthur and Amber plus our driver, Guy, and his wife Kim. Other volunteers will be meeting our group at the pet supply store at 11:00, and they'll be there till 3 p.m. Full report to come this evening.
Evening Update
Arthur is adopted!
Beautiful black German Shepherd mix, Arthur, went to our Adoption Day today, along with his kennel mate, Amber, and two other fellas, Penny and Scooter, and Arthur was adopted!
Susan D. made the home visit with Arthur to his new home, and the report from Susan is that Arthur has a wonderful new mom, and will be a much loved companion/house pet. We are thrilled! (And so is Arthur's new mom!)
Arthur, the day he joined us (photo taken right after his new arrival's bath)--one day before he was scheduled to be euthanized at a pound in a neighboring county
Arthur is another one of many dogs who would have been euthanized if we had not brought him to our Happy Home for Strays that day (Memorial Day 2002), just a few months months ago. His was a very close call. He had just hours left to live, when a woman called us in desperation, hoping we could save his life because his time was up at the shelter where the woman had seen him, and his scheduled execution was set for the following morning. Had we no brought this precious dog to our shelter, he would have been killed. Thank goodness we had kennel space for Arthur.
We thank you very much for helping us give Arthur a second chance in life!