Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SUNDAY OCTOBER 13 2002

No dogs adopted yesterday, but ...

     ... But we'd like to thank the woman who stopped by Canine Commissary to visit our group so she could leave a very generous donation for our Happy Home for Strays. How very nice of her!

Freckles and her puppies move from the "Nursery Kennel" to the "Puppy Kennel"

     Freckles' three-week-old puppies are getting too big to stay in the nursery kennel. Now that they are all walking around and tumbling playfully all over each other, they need more room to romp, so it's time to move them to the "custom designed" puppy kennel that Randy made especially for Millie and her five puppies when they came to us last winter. This puppy kennel has a tall, people-size, six-foot-high, wooden shelter in it (which height makes it very easy for us to get into and out of when cleaning the shelter), and it has a heat lamp attached to the ceiling to keep the pups and their mom warm on cold days and nights. This puppy kennel also has a nice, level play yard area with plenty of room for pups to run and play in.

     Saturday morning Randy was busy fixing the little doggie door on the shelter to make it suitable for a blind dog (Mommy Freckles), and Bobby laid a tarp on the wood floor of the shelter before moving in the big dog house. (We learned from Millie's puppies that a "tarped" floor is much easier to keep clean than the wood floor.) The puppy Igloo house was scrubbed all clean and dried, and another one of the many new warm fleece blankets that Sara had donated to our Happy Home for Strays was fluffed up inside the house, and then the house was placed inside the shelter.

When everything was ready, we moved the mom and kids into their nice new home

     How cute the little rolly-poly pups (Lucy, Louie, Leo and Luke) were as they investigated their new surroundings, and Freckles really surprised us by getting along very well too in the new surroundings. She felt her way in and out of the doggie door of the shelter with no problem, found her water containers with no problem, and dug several big scoopy holes in the nice, level lawn! We're all glad that Freckles can have her family in the bigger kennel now, and she has settled in beautifully!

We've found something to take the place of Misty's cumbersome E-Collar

     We're trying a Greyhound type muzzle on Misty now to take the place of the cumbersome E-Collar, and with this type of muzzle (which is worn over her
muzzle and not her whole head like the E-collar) dogs can see clearly and they can drink water with no problem. You'll remember that we had to stop Misty from chewing at her sore paw, which she feels the constant urge to do because of allergies. So far this new muzzle appears to be a perfect solution for her problem while her paw heals. Hopefully in another few weeks she won't itch at all (as her allergy medicines kick in), and the muzzle can come off permanently.

     If she doesn't try to get this new muzzle off, she will be able to go back in the kennel with her companion, Fritz. Until we know for sure, that she won't mess with her sore, we'll keep her in the kennel by our house so I can keep a close watch on her, and she can go to play with her bud during the day without the muzzle on while we are with the two of them.

Winterizing of the dog shelters continues

     After Randy finished preparing the puppy kennel, he and Bobby continued putting more of the front panels (the "dog doors") on the other dog shelters in preparation for the upcoming winter weather. All the houses have hay in them now, and even tho the weather is still very pleasant outside during the day, at night the dogs love the fresh hay and all of them snuggle up in their houses.

     Kennel companions Shepherd mix, Penny, and Black mix, Scooter, love fresh hay too, but they love to play with it, and as fast as Bobby could put the hay in their houses, the two dogs would pull it out and drag big bunches of it all over their yard, and then they'd hurry back to grab more! This is the usual routine for these two dogs during the haying of the houses, but in a day or two the fun of scattering the hay all over their yard will wear off, and they will leave it in their houses. Until then, we keep scooping it up and stuffing it back, or adding more as needed.

Email response to my question to Darla Fort asking her how they found Straydog, our Happy Home for Strays, and Helen

     We had known about Petfinder.org and had been checking this site every now and then to see if anything caught our eye ...(and hearts).  The other day Neal typed in "Great Dane" for the breed and our zip code, and up came a list of dogs.  He clicked on the one with a heart next to it out of curiosity.  Neal read to me about this dog, and I said, "Neal, we should name her Helen for Helen Keller," and Neal said, "Don't laugh but her name IS Helen!"  We knew at that moment that this was meant to be!  I don't even know what made Neal type in Great Dane?  Really Helen will look like a Chihuahua next to Neal.  It just all fell into place perfectly. Take Care, Darla

P.S.  I'm so impressed with all that you do. With how full your hands are, it's amazing.  Just know we are thinking of Helen everyday.  We will talk as it gets closer to us leaving Canada.  My husband already printed off a map from Montreal to Gun Barrel City, Texas, so we are ready to roll.

Thanks a lot for your response, Darla

     And I'm always glad to hear from you and will hope to hear from you regularly after you pick up Helen. The stories will be great!

     And Bill's been trying to figure out how to get tomorrow's game between Montreal and Edmonton on TV so we can see Neal play! [Next day I (Bill) did stop by a Satellite store and sat watching the entire second quarter of the Montreal/Edmonton game on "Fox Sports World" (while the sales woman tried to sell me satellite service), but I couldn't make out who was who, so I don't know if I saw Neal or not.]

MONDAY OCTOBER 14 2002

Danny Boy is not well; he spent the whole day at the vet clinic having tests

     Danny Boy, the six-year-old, beautiful, big Chow/Retriever mix, has not been feeling well for a while, and today the fellow spent the whole day at the vet clinic so that Dr. Morton could take blood and urine tests at fairly frequent intervals throughout the day.

     The doctor thinks he is close to finding out the problem and wants to confer with some diagnostic specialists in Dallas about the results of the tests he had taken on Danny today before going any further with treatment.

Danny Boy is glad to be back home!

     I picked Danny Boy up from the clinic at 5:00 tonight, and Danny was sure glad to get back home. He ate a little bit of the special cooked chicken and broth dinner that I had made for him, because he won't eat anything else, and then he jumped up on the big, people-size bed in the back office and is now beginning to doze off as he listens to the quiet ticking sounds as Bill types on his computer.

     We should know more tomorrow.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 15 2002

No word yet from the diagnostic center in Dallas about Danny Boy's test results

     Our doctor here seems to think that Danny Boy has the symptoms of Diabetes Insipidus, which is not related to diabetes at all, and our vet faxed all of his test results to a doctor at the diagnostic center in Dallas yesterday. We're still waiting to see what they say.

     Diabetes Insipidus, as I understand it, is a rare metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of the pituitary hormone, which is usually the result of damage to the pituitary gland.

     We'll also be getting in touch with Dr. Aiken, Snowflake's doctor, for her opinion.

     Danny still has no appetite, and his stools are not so good, but he did a lot of happy barking and tail wagging today when it was his turn to go to the big play yard to play.

     I've prepared dozens of all different types of delicious meals for him that all the other dogs would have gobbled up in a second, but Danny has lost his appetite, except for maybe a tiny nibble at the chicken and broth, leaving most all of it in the bowl. He does drink a tremendous amount of water (a symptom of diabetes insipidus), so he won't become dehydrated the doctor said.

The puppies have a grand time playing in their bigger puppy kennel, and Blind Mommy Freckles gets around well

     The puppies were having such a fun time this afternoon tussling and tumbling over each other in their kennel, I was able to take lots of pictures. Even tho Freckles cannot see, she manages to always find her kids so she can get in on the playful action. I think she'd like them to hurry and grow bigger so she'll have someone more her own size to play with.

Optimum dog weather is upon us

     The weather was absolutely beautiful today, and the dogs all loved it! We've used 13 bales of hay so far to fill the dog houses for the upcoming cool weather, so we ordered another 12 bales today to have on hand when the cold weather really hits hard. It was delivered this afternoon and is now stored in the barn, ready to use when needed.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16 2002

Danny's appetite in increasing--a touch

     At 2:30 a.m. (when the day begins around here) I fed the house dogs (all former strays), and then I prepared two meals for Danny: brothy chicken in broth ("brothy chicken") and noodles with chicken in broth, giving him the choice of two dishes, hoping that he would eat at least one of the meals. Danny ate the noodles with chicken, except for one little bite, and he left the other dish. To see him eat anything is a relief to me, and I was glad that I had made the special shopping trip to get the various types of meat for Danny. He won't touch any kind of packaged dog food or the home-cooked grains and vegetables that some of the special needs dogs get.

Danny seems to be a bit perkier this morning

     A little later in the morning I cooked Danny some turkey and potatoes, and he ate a big bowl of that. I made a lot of this food so I have a bunch more for him for later, which I'll offer to him throughout the day. I'm glad I found something he likes! And he must be feeling a little bit better today, because he barked happily when it was his turn to go to the big play yard ("the park") to play, and his tail is wagging a lot today, which shows he is feeling at least a little bit better.

Dobie and Misty go to see the doctor; later Danny Boy goes too!

     By 9:00 a.m. I had Dobie and Misty at the clinic to see the doctor--Dobie for a sore on the side of his face that he keeps scratching, and Misty for her scheduled allergy injection. I should have taken Danny too, because Dr. Morton said he wanted to examine Danny again to do another check on his prostate, which was slightly enlarged the last time Danny was there (Monday) for his all day tests.

     So, after Dobie and Misty saw the doctor, I brought them back to the shelter and then drove back to the clinic with Danny.

More news on Danny's health: the problem may be with his prostate

     Dr. Morton said he had gotten in touch with the vet specialist at the diagnostic clinic in Dallas about all the test results taken Monday, and the doctor there wanted our doctor to check Danny's prostate again to see if it was more enlarged than it was on Monday.

Danny may have Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

     After the examination of Danny our vet said that Danny's prostate was now enlarged more than it had been a few days ago, and since the doctor in Dallas wanted to see Danny if the prostate was enlarged, it was suggested that I call the doctor in Dallas to make an appointment for that doctor at the diagnostic clinic to see Danny, which I did as soon as I got home. We have an appointment scheduled for this next Thursday (the 24th) early in the morning.

     While Dr. Morton was explaining the illness that Danny may have, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, the word "benign" at least sounded a little bit positive, and I said to the doctor that at least having this growth be "benign" was at least a good thing, isn't it? And his response was that we are hoping that the growth is benign.

     So, Danny goes to see Dr. Bronstad, at the Diagnostic Center in Dallas in a week, which is the earliest they could schedule him in. If they have a cancellation for an earlier appointment, they will call us. We certainly want Danny to be seen as soon as possible.

     Right now we still don't know if the prostate problem is causing the diabetes insipidus-type symptoms or if these are actually two different health problems that he has.

Dobie goes back to the vet this evening because he wouldn't stop scratching the sore on the side of his face!

     The wound, which the doctor had treated this morning, was scratched bloody raw when I checked on Dobie this evening. He won't stop rubbing it on the fence. The clinic said to bring Dobie back in and they would board him for a couple of days with an E-Collar on, keeping a close watch on him.

     Kennel Team Member, Bobby, lives in the direction of our clinic, so on his way home he took Dobie and dropped him off at the clinic.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 17 2002

Two more puppies join our Happy Home for Strays

     Someone had taken these two 10-week-old black pups to our vet clinic, hoping the clinic could find them a home. They'd been there for nine days, and they had to be placed soon or they would be taken to one of the local kill shelters. I've been told by two people who have worked at kill shelters in our area that black pups and black dogs are put down immediately because "no one wants to adopt black dogs or puppies." If this practice at kill shelters is true, it is absolutely ridiculous.

     I had three reasons for bringing these not-quite-yet-desperate puppies to our shelter: The first two reasons were because two of our pups here--sad little Puppy-Dog Amber (whose kennel mate, Arthur, was adopted on October 5--Saturday before last) and Puppy Sweetie (whose kennel mate, Helen, has also been officially adopted and will soon be going to her new home. The third reason was that we had the kennel space (with compatible companions) to save these poppies' lives. (While Helen is still with us, both pups will stay with Amber.)

Amber needed a puppy friend

     Amber has been by herself in her big kennel since her best buddy, big, beautiful Shepherd Arthur was adopted Saturday before last, and Amber has been miserable without her friend and very sad not having a playful kennel mate. We've tried to keep Amber somewhat happy by putting six-year-old, Red Heeler mix, Rover, in Amber's kennel with her to spend half the day. Rover puts up with Amber and is nice to her, but he keeps to himself (except for that first, playful introduction the day after Arthur went to his new home), and when we take Rover back to be with his companion, Happy (to keep Happy, happy), Amber cries because she misses having a doggie friend with her, even if he doesn't play.

Sweetie will soon need a puppy friend too

     Sweetie, who is Helen's playful friend and kennel companion, will also soon need a new playful companion, because Helen has been officially adopted and will be going to her new home in just a few weeks, where she will become a pampered house pet and companion to another playful dog friend named Winston. Helen will become part of a wonderful family with two nice children to play with (in addition to Winston), so Helen will for sure be very happy and not lonely at all.

     Sweetie and Helen are best buddies, so when Helen leaves, Sweetie will be very lonely, and we had no dog or pup to put with her. (Amber and Sweetie do not get along and Freckles' puppies are way too young and tiny for either Amber or Sweetie.)

They will, of course, all be going to Adoption Day

     And at any time any one of them could (and hopefully will) be adopted, and when that happens we will deal with the same mixing and matching, companionship problem again. As you look back thru my Dog Log, you'll see that keeping the dogs happy during their stay here by pairing them up with companions they really like (no matter how long or short their stay might be) takes a lot of our time. But it's worth it. The dogs here are truly enjoying their lives.

Puppies "Joey" and "Jimmy" join our Happy Home!

     So, this morning I went to the clinic and brought home these two fat little pups. They are about 10 weeks old, have had their first puppy vaccinations and have already gone through their quarantine period at the vet clinic (thank goodness). For now we are putting both puppies in with Amber, and I just can't describe how HAPPY she was to meet her two new, little playful friends! She mothers them and plays with them, and the pups loved all the room to run and play, and chase Amber around and around in their big kennel.

     This afternoon we'll introduce Sweetie to the pups (which is good socialization for Sweetie--to be with other puppies besides Helen). Every day we'll have Sweetie play with the pups in the play yard so when Helen goes to her new home, Sweetie will have already made two more good puppy friends, and the loss of Helen won't be devastating to her. Then, either Jimmy, or Joey will be Sweetie's new kennel mate, and the other pup will remain as Amber's only kennel mate. (At least until one of them is adopted.) For now, Amber is thrilled to have these two furry little fluff balls curled up beside her as the three of them sleep cozied up to one another in the shade of their kennel.

Dobie's doing fine

     Dobie is doing fine at the vet clinic where he is being boarded, with the E-collar on for the next few days until the sore on his face heals.

Danny Boy's doing better

     Danny Boy's appetite continues to improve. Since he didn't eat his morning meal of turkey and potatoes (his speciality yesterday) I went to town and bought him white meat fish. Yummy!! He loved it!

     Tomorrow I talk with Snowflake's doctor about Danny Boy.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 18 2002

I talked with "Snowflake's doctor" about Danny Boy this morning

     Dr. Aiken (Snow's doctor) agrees with all that our doctor is doing for Danny Boy and suggested several supplements that will be helpful for him too. Dr. Aiken will be able to do more for Danny after we see the diagnostic specialist in Dallas this coming Thursday, because after his examination of Danny, we'll have some definite answers as to exactly what his health problem is with his prostate.

Amber loves her two little puppy friends!

     Amber is so cute with her two little 10-week-old puppies (Joey and Jimmy) that it's hard for us not to stand and watch Amber take care of them all day.

     If one pup manages to get out of her sight, she will go looking for him, and she'll give him kisses (or wash his furry little face), and the little pup will then follow her back to where she wants him to be.

     Just now it began raining hard, so Guy went to Amber's kennel to make sure the pups had gotten up the two concrete block steps and into their warm, dry shelter (which is about eight inches above the ground to protect them from flooding).

     Guy radioed me (via walkie-talkie) that the pups weren't in the shelter but they were warm and dry snuggled up with Amber beneath the big shade board that is attached to one end of the shelter. Joey was sleeping on top of Amber, and Jimmy was snuggled up close to her face. All three of them were sound asleep and dry beneath the board, so it's obvious that Amber is taking good care of her foster pups. I won't worry anymore.

Freckles maintains tight reign on her four little kids too

     This sightless young mommy dog continues to be a wonderful mother and takes very good care of her puppies. When it's cold or raining (such as the downpour we are having this afternoon), Freckles herds her four little ones up and leads them directly inside their warm shelter (heated on the cold, wet days by a heat lamp) and the pups stay inside with their mom.

     Puppy Lucy is the one pup who loves to feel the heat directly on her! On many occasions when it's cold outside in the early morning or late evening, I go into their kennel to check on the family, and I often see Little Lucy lying on her back sound asleep in the hay on the floor of their shelter beneath the warm light of the heat lamp, her feet up in the air as if she were getting a tummy tan. Her three big brothers are always in the hay-filled dog house sleeping with their mom. Also Lucy is always the first one to go into their shelter in the evening, and she is always the last one to come outside for her meals. (Lucy needs to be adopted the soonest, because she really needs to be part of a family and live inside a house ASAP.)

Winterizing the kennels continues

     Randy and the kennel crew have about five more shelters that need the big front panels (with doggie doors in them) put on the shelter fronts. Then we'll be all ready (as ready as we can be without a heated kennel building) for any type of bad weather.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 19 2002

Adoption Day in progress

     Our Saturday Adoption Day volunteers are at Canine Commissary with four dogs--Big Jed, Melissa, Dallas and Amber. Report on the results to come this evening.

SATURDAY EVENING UPDATE

No dogs adopted today--but there's a possible together-adoption for kennel mates Melissa and Candy

     During today's adoption day at Canine Commissary in Plano (Texas) a young woman came in the store and Melissa caught her interest. The young woman spent a lot of time with Melissa and seemed very interested in adopting her, but she also wanted to adopt a friend for Melissa, another small female dog that Melissa would get along with. Who would be better suited than Melissa's present kennel mate, Candy?!

     Candy is a shy small Retriever mix, and she is Melissa's best buddy. Candy didn't go to the adoption day today because adoption days frighten her. Guy told the the woman all about Candy, her shyness and what a sweet dog she is, and the prospective "new mom" wanted to meet Candy, very much, so tomorrow morning Guy and I will take Melissa and Candy for the home visit to see how everything goes. For these best friends to be adopted together would be a dream come true for them--and us.

Thanks to Canine Commissary and to all our wonderful doggie-sitting volunteers, for helping to make these adoption days possible. Because of your help today, Melissa (and hopefully Candy too) will have found their forever family. Thank You!

     This is all there is time to write about tonight.

     We'll have pictures of the two new pups, Joey and Jimmy, in tomorrow's update along with other news. (When you're running the entire operation and making sure that everything gets done right every day all day long, it's hard to keep up with our reporting on this website.)