SUNDAY OCTOBER 6 2002
After Arthur's adoption Amber is left without a companion
Shepherd Arthur was adopted yesterday, so now his little kennel mate, Amber, is without a companion, and she needs a friend.
All the dogs are paired up here at our Happy Home for Strays, except for the few "singles" who prefer, for one reason or another, to have a kennel to themselves, so this made it a bit difficult to find a friend for Amber since everyone was already paired up.
Happy and Rover are the likely "couple" to change companions
Nine-year-old Happy and six-year-old Rover have been kennel mates for a long time, and as we mentioned before, they tolerate each other, they are friends, but they don't play together, mainly because nine-year-old Happy is not a playful dog. Rover has played with Amber before, so we thought we'd try Rover and Amber together again, and have Rover become Amber's kennel companion if all went well between the two of them.
Then, the plan was, that if Rover moves in with Amber, Happy could meet house fellow, Danny Boy, and if all goes well with these two, Happy could move inside with Danny and share his quarters as an inside/outside dog. This would be especially good for Happy since she has arthritis, and being in a warm house in the cold winter weather would be the ideal situation for her, as it also would be for all the many other dogs here with arthritis and hip dysplasia. (This is why we need either a kennel building, or we need to find some way to heat the individual shelters--especially for all the older dogs with hip, knee and arthritic problems. Please email us your ideas on how to heat very small buildings (our shelters, which are big wooden boxes containing two dog houses each).
All goes well with Amber and Rover
The second-time around introduction with Amber and Rover went just fine. The two took off running all around the play yard chasing each other, and they were happy, so we put Rover in Amber's kennel with her.
Happy meets Danny Boy in the park and all goes fairly well
Next was the very first introduction between eight-year-old Retriever/Chow mix, Danny Boy, and nine-year-old hound/mix, Happy. They took a little while for their sniffy-greeting, and then their tails began to wag a little, and all appeared to be okay. After they spent a short period sniffing around the park together off leash, we took them into Danny's yard, and Happy immediately went to Danny's scoopy hole (which raised the fellow's eyebrows a bit), which scoopy-hole is located under the shade of the ramp leading up to Danny's doggy door into the house, and Danny became a bit more leery about his new friend when we brought her in the house thru Danny's doggy door, which leads to the back-half of our trailer, which consists of two office/bedrooms with two people-size beds in each, and the guest bathroom where Danny often sleeps. As long as Happy doesn't lie on Danny's vent in the bathroom on the tiled floor where Danny stretches out over the floor vent to feel the cool air when the air conditioner is running, Happy won't be getting into any trouble.
We're still in the testing stages with Danny Boy and Happy, tho, probably for several more days, but if all continues to go well with both newly matched pairs, we will probably continue with this new arrangement.
LATER UPDATE
Happy and Rover go back to their original kennel
Although they spent the day with their respective new kennel mates, Happy and Danny just don't know each other well enough yet for us to leave them alone unsupervised. Bill spent the day in the front office (one of Danny's two bedroom/offices) working on this update, and he said there were just too many occasions when Happy and Danny couldn't get by each other as they tried to move around (such as at the doggy door or between Bill's desk and the corner of the bed). They didn't growl or glare at each other but each (when blocked in) would simply wait till the other moved, and when Danny was doing the waiting, he would kind of look frustrated, as if he were wondering, "How the heck did she get in my house, anyway?!"
We noticed Rover several times throughout the day looking in our direction thru his and Amber's fence. He seemed to be wondering when we were going to come and get him and take home back to his and Happy's kennel. To put our minds at ease, Bill and I decided to return Happy and Rover to their original kennel. Shortly after this Amber's pathetic howling cries caused by her losing yet another companion were so painful to hear I put Rover back in with Amber again, which made her very happy.
We may try putting both sets together for short periods of time every day over the coming days.
UPDATE ON RECENTLY ADOPTED DOGS:
Arthur, adopted yesterday, is fine and is enjoying his new home!
We got a beautiful email message from Arthur's new mom telling us all about how well Arthur has adjusted to his new home, and how much Kathie, the mom, loves her new pet. Arthur has three new house cat friends to get used to and he can't understand why they won't play with him.
Little Max is doing fine in his new home too
We hear from his mom often about all the cute things Little Max does.
Tony the Pony wrote an email
Tony the Pony wrote too (all by himself on his dad's computer, Tony said), and Tony Loves his new home and his new family and his new doggie brother and sisters. Molly (Tony's new dog sister, who looks just like Tony) showed Tony how he can get ice cubes from the refrigerator ice maker, all by himself, and Tony loves ice cubes!
MONDAY OCTOBER 7 2002
HARD RAIN! - Another soggy doggie day!
It's been pouring down rain all morning (since about two a.m.), and the thunderstorm was so bad the dogs' first meal of the day was delayed for two hours, but the dogs didn't seem to mind, they were cozied up in their dog houses, which are inside their shelters waiting for the lightning and booming thunder to stop!
Finally, the rain let up enough for the dogs to have their breakfast, and then the dog walks began. We called in all the help we could to build up the sand that had been washed away from the kennel fence lines, and at one time, during another wave of the storm, we had six of the kennel crew all in one kennel working as fast as possible to build up the sand that was washing away just about as fast as the kennel team members could build it up! If we could only afford to put concrete out a couple of feet from at the base of each fence.
But by noon the sun was beginning to shine again, and things were almost back to normal (whatever normal is around here), and the afternoon schedule with the dogs began as usual.
It's been another busy day.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 8 2002
Helen may be adopted soon!
Story developing.
Four shelters are "winterized" now, and we only have about 28 more shelters to go!
Until the rain hit hard yesterday, the kennel crew had been moving at a pretty good pace as they had begun preparing the kennels for winter weather a couple days before. Each large kennel has two dogs residing in it along with a wooden shelter containing a dog house for each dog. The preparation of the kennels for winter consists of pulling the dog houses out of the shelters, scrubbing the houses all clean and shiny, letting them dry, filling them with fresh hay and then putting the houses back in the shelters. And the finishing touch to the winterization of the kennels is to put heavy wood panels across the open fronts of the shelters (with a doggie door cut in the panel).
Randy and Guy with the help of others managed to finish four kennels so far, but the rainstorm yesterday sure put a damper on things, and instead of working on getting shelters ready for winter, everyone worked on keeping the sand from washing away from beneath the fence lines during the bad storm. (We start the winterizing early because of all the interruptions we know we'll have between now and when the weather turns cold.)
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9 2002
Contributor donates $5,000 toward our ever-escalating vet bill!
Wow! When I talked with the receptionist at our vet clinic today to double-check the balance on our account (I knew it was a little over the $2,000 mark), I was Shocked to hear that we have a $3,000+ credit!
Then I remembered a phone call a few days ago from a contributor named Carolyn, who has been donating to Straydog for over a year. Carolyn had told me during that phone call that said she wanted to help with our vet bill and that she would be be making a donation to our vet clinic, and she did! We are so grateful for her help.
Several other "friends of our Happy Home for Strays" have also helped with the vet bill recently.
With many of the older dogs needing special care now and with blind mother dog Freckles being spayed soon, and then beginning the expensive heartworm treatment, plus her four puppies all needing their series of puppy vaccinations and then being spayed and neutered, our vet bill will continue to sore! Thank you, Carolyn! And thank you, Nina, for taking care of all the vet expenses for the Boxer, Kalli. She has been spayed and now is undergoing treatment for heartworms. The vet bill for Kalli alone was tremendous.
And thank you Charles and Anna, for your generous donation to the Straydog account at our vet clinic in memory of your beloved daughter.
Thank you Beverly and Sue and Shanna and many other kindhearted people who have sent donations and nice notes wanting to help with Helen and Freckles and Freckles' babies. Straydog thanks you all very, very much.
More to come tomorrow about Helen's upcoming adoption!
THURSDAY OCTOBER 10 2002
About Helen's forthcoming adoption
Last Monday we received an email message from a wonderful couple, Darla and Neal Fort, who were interested in adopting Helen. The message came from Montreal, Canada! It turns out that Neal Fort plays professional football for the Montreal, Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and the family will be there through the end of Neal's season, which will depend on how far his team goes in the playoffs. Then they will be returning to their permanent home in the Woodlands, Texas.
Darla's message went on to say that they have two terrific children and a four-year-old dog, and Darla is a stay-at-home mom. The couple feels that their whole family has a lot of love to give to a special pup such as Helen, and they are well aware of the dedication and commitment involved in caring for Helen. They've had "special needs" dogs before and know the amount of extra attention these fellas require, and they'd love nothing more that to have Helen become a part of their family, where she will always receive plenty of attention and love and will become a pampered house pet. Darla added that her husband is 6'8" tall and 350 pounds, so Helen will fit right in!
Since that first message we've corresponded a lot more, and I feel as if I know the whole family from everything Darla has told me. Even though the family won't be able to meet Helen "in person" until November when they return to Texas, they want to adopt her so much that we're going ahead with the adoption process and we're sending the couple the adoption papers to fill out (Darla has already answered all the questions we always ask).
This sounds like a truly wonderful forever home for Helen.
Here's an email received from Darla Fort
Pat- I just wanted to Thank you for all your entries about Helen and her life since you have had her in your care! Neal and I really feel like we know her!! We also are deeply touched by your love and dedication to helping these unwanted dogs! We were thrilled to hear about your $5,000 donation. ... How wonderful! Neal and my brother always go to a local bagel and coffee shop in the Woodlands on Saturday mornings. People will often times bring their dogs and sit outside.... It's sort of the "cool" place to be, if you know what I mean? Neal said he is committed to bringing Helen and Winston with flyers about Straydog, and when people inquire about the dogs, he will give them the information! As I stated before, my husband is a giant himself and attracts a lot of attention but seeing him and Helen together ... not a sight you see everyday! I have to say that my husband, although intimidating, has the kindest heart of any man I have ever known. His love and passion for animals is as deep and genuine as mine. He even took a picture of Helen with him to the stadium today to show his fellow teammates! Because of our situation with football it puts us in a unique position and is an opportunity to be an influence on others by example. Neal is often asked to speak to youth and to volunteer for different charity organizations. I think he and Helen could really open peoples' eyes. I hope that by adopting and loving Helen we can set the "trend" for adopting dogs that are not wanted by others. We can hardly wait for the season to come to an end--it's going to be torture waiting to see Helen! Please kiss Helen for us and tell her to be a good girl! I look forward to spreading the word about Straydog. We will try to help as much as possible for many years to come. Love, Darla
NEAL
EVENING UPDATE
We'll be at the Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville this Saturday, and one-year-old Black Lab mix Amber will be going, along with Shepherd mix Melissa and we aren't sure yet which other dogs will make this Saturday's trip.
Rottweiler Buddy's x-rays show arthritic change in his elbow
Buddy, the two-year-old big Rottweiler mix, had been limping on his right front leg, so we took him to see our vet last week, and our doctor took x-rays, and after looking at them he wanted to send them to the specialists at the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center in Dallas to get their opinion. Dr. Morton is concerned about the arthritic change in Buddy's right elbow.
Right now do nothing, said the specialist at the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, and our vet, Dr. Morton agrees.
Buddy also has hip dysplasia in his right hip, and both doctors agree that nothing should be done right now. Buddy has an occasional "bad" day when we know his bones are achy (just like people with arthritis), and on these days both doctors agree we are to give medication. Since most all of Buddy's days are good days, these experts suggest that the treatment should be medication given when needed. If Buddy's condition worsens, surgery can be preformed.
Freckles' puppies try puppy food and they love it!
It's time to introduce Freckles' little kids--Lucy, Luke, Louie and Leo--to puppy food, and I took a big bowl of warmed soggy kibbles out to the pups this afternoon. While Freckles was eating her meal, I introduced her little ones to the new food. All it took was to touch a drop of the warm mush to their mouths, and this new taste and smell caught their attention fast, and all four began to lap it up. Yummy! These little tykes have very good appetites!
Little Lucy thought she could do better with the new food if she got right in the middle of the mush. How cute that was, but by the time I got the camera, Mommy Freckles had joined her kids and had finished what was left of their meal for them, so I'll try the picture taking tomorrow.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 2002
Another very busy day
There is just no time to write tonight. The day started out super busy and continued to be extremely busy all day long.
First there was the payroll to take care of, in between caring for Snow and Freckles and her babies, and the house dogs, then the quick trip to town for dog supplies. I had to be home by 11:00 to feed Freckles, Snow and house dogs while care givers were tending to all the others during Friday Mowing Day. Then Julie and I were off to the vet clinic for her insulin test scheduled at noon. I had just arrived home again to a phone call that visitors were coming to see our shelter and would arrive within the hour.
Now it's almost 6:00 p.m. and Julie needs her insulin, Snow needs to go outside to go potty, and Misty (who is residing in the kennel close to Katie's right beside our house because she has to wear the E-Collar) is waiting for her last trip to the play yard too.
Just another very busy day.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 12 2002
MORNING UPDATE
Our adoption group will be at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville in Dallas from 11 till three today. Amber, Dallas, Big Jed and Melissa are making the trip.
More to come this evening.
EVENING UPDATE
No adoptions today; big update tomorrow
Our Sunday update will include all the Saturday goings-on.