Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SUNDAY OCTOBER 20 2002

     Guy and I are making a home visit with Melissa and Candy first thing this morning. I'll report on the results when we get back.

     In the meantime Bill will be processing lots of recent photos (that he hasn't had time to get to) and uploading them onto this website along with preparing the Weekly Sunday Update, which will appear sometime this coming evening.

     Randy and the rest of the crew will carry on with the normal routine of daily dog walking, kennel cleaning, feeding and other caregiving.

     It's very foggy this morning and about 60 degrees outside.

SUNDAY EVENING UPDATE

The adoption of Melissa and Candy did not work out

     The events leading up to this possible adoption began yesterday when a woman came in to Canine Commissary where we were holding our adoption, and she was interested in adopting Melissa. She also wanted another female dog to be Melissa's companion while the woman was at work, and who could be better for her than Melissa's current kennel mate here, little Retriever-mix, Candy. We all had great hopes that everything would be perfect for the two young dogs, and going to a home where they would be together would be ideal for them.

     We arrived at 10:30 this morning (after getting just a little bit lost) and the woman greeted us at the door. We took Melissa and Candy outside to the pretty back yard, which had a secure wood fence, and as the dogs sniffed around, the woman asked questions about both dogs. She let us know right away that now that she had seen Candy, she was not interested in adopting her. She didn't like Candy's timid demeanor, and I explained that Candy needs time, perhaps a week, to warm up to people and then Candy becomes very affectionate and lovable. She needs someone to just give her a chance to show them what a sweet, gentle, lovable little dog she really is.

     And the woman was also concerned because Candy doesn't have perfect little hips, and because of not being sure what the "mix" part of her breed is also had a lot to do with Candy not passing "the second dog in the family" test.

     When we took the dogs inside Melissa made herself right at home, investigating the different rooms, walking across the couch, checking out what was on top of the kitchen counters, and Candy followed Melissa's lead (except Candy did no furniture walking). This was Candy's first time inside a home, and she behaved beautifully. She felt comfortable because her best friend, Melissa, was there to show her around. Candy looked so happy as she trotted behind Melissa from room to room, it really looked as if Candy thought this would be her new forever home (silly thought as it turns out) but this is how she looked. and I felt very sad that the woman didn't want her. Candy would have made a wonderful second-pet, in my opinion, and it's not her fault that she is shy and it's not her fault that her hips are not perfect.

     But the woman had made up her mind that it would just be Melissa, unless we had another female dog about the same size as Melissa, who would make a compatible companion for Melissa, but as we talked to the woman, we found out that she is gone from the home 14 hours a day, sometimes longer, and then she mentioned that she was thinking of crating her new pet while she was gone (for 14 hours), and she asked my opinion, and my opinion is that 14 hours is much too long to crate a dog, or a puppy.

     The woman was very nice, and her home and fenced yard were very suitable for a house pet, but the fact that she works such long hours away from her home every day made it not a good situation for Melissa, or even Melissa and any other dog who might become her companion, and I think the woman finally realized this too. So Guy and I put the "girls" back in the dog van, and home we came.

A big ruckus erupts with Amber and the new pups

     After we arrived home and got Melissa and Candy settled back in their kennel and fed them the meal they'd missed due to being on a home visit, Randy and I were outside talking about the plans for tomorrow's schedule, and we heard a terrible squabble coming from Amber's kennel, which she shares with the new little pups, Joey and Jimmy, and one of the pups was squealing with fright. We hurried to their kennel and saw Amber being aggressively rough with Joey and Jimmy, and when Randy yelled a firm NO! to Amber, the pups managed to get away from Amber's grip, and they ran for cover beneath their shelter.

We take the pups out of Amber's kennel

     As those of you know who have been following Amber's story, Amber is known to be aggressive with other female dogs, but she is not aggressive with adult male dogs, and we never thought she would be aggressively rough toward these little male puppies whom she's been mothering and playing with and appeared to love so much these last two days. But this afternoon she was trying to hurt them. We scooped the frightened pups up and took them immediately out of Amber's kennel.

     It is clear to us now that Amber can be a companion only to big male dogs such as 80-pound Arthur, whom Amber got along well with before Arthur was adopted two weeks ago yesterday.

Pups check out okay; Randy and crew fix small puppy kennel for them

     The pups are okay, the vet said after she examined them thoroughly, and she put some ointment on the small tooth mark on Joey's cheek, and Jimmy's scratched forehead. I paid the emergency week-end after-hours vet bill and brought the little fellows back to our shelter.

     The little puppy kennel was all ready for them when we arrived back at Straydog, and tomorrow we will solve this problem. The pups will not be going back with Amber, and she will remain alone for now. It appears Amber can only be with adult male dogs, preferably larger than Amber.

MONDAY OCTOBER 21 2002

Misty is doing fine so far with her E-Collar off

     This was a trial day for Misty to have the cumbersome E-Collar off, to see how she behaves without it. She has had to wear the E-Collar for the last month to keep her from licking the sore spot on her paw. The insatiable itch is caused by allergies, and it had flared up again recently. Now the sore has healed, and we're ready to try taking the collar off to see if Misty will leave the healed area alone.

     This morning we took the collar off and put Misty back with her kennel companion, Fritz, to see if she'd leave her paw alone, and so far she hasn't touched the healed area. We're hoping this is the end of the lick granuloma problem.

Dobie's sore on his face has healed, and he can come home from clinic tomorrow

     We had to take Dobie to our vet clinic several days ago because had a sore on his cheek that irritated him so much that he kept rubbing his face along the inside of his kennel's chain-link fence, which kept the sore from healing. After all our efforts failed to keep him from rubbing his cheek, we had to have this fellow boarded, with an E-Collar on, at our clinic. We couldn't keep Dobie here with his companion, Millie, because she would have thought the big white cone-shaped thing around his head was a play toy and would have "helped" Dobie remove the E-collar in minutes if the two had remained together.

     Today the doctor said that the sore has healed, and Dobie is ready to come home tomorrow. His kennel mate, Millie, will be very glad to see him! We can tell she misses Dobie.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 22 2002

Dobie's home from the clinic

     Dobie came home from the vet clinic this morning, and he is doing fine without the E-Collar, so far. He was sure happy to see Millie.

Danny Boy still is not feeling well

     We wish we could get him in to see the diagnostic specialist sooner than Danny's appointment, which is scheduled for this Thursday, but I keep calling and there have been no cancellations, which would have enabled us to get in earlier.

     Danny has no appetite, and to get him to eat anything I have to cook every kind of food imaginable just to get him to eat maybe one half cup of it and his appetite for different foods changes every day. Yesterday, for the day, he ate what would total one cup of chicken cooked with potatoes, and today he wouldn't touch that food (or any of the other cooked "successful" meals I had prepared previously) so I cooked him a veggie burger (which I eat) and he ate that. The day before he ate three salmon franks (also my food) after turning his nose up at everything else I offered to him throughout the day. When the fellow is better, he will probably be so used to people food that he may never want to eat dog food again!

Update on Amber's ex-foster kids, Jimmy and Joey

     The new little pups, Joey and Jimmy, are fine, recovered from their "incident" with Amber (see Sunday entry below), who is now only getting to visit with Rover for a period every day.

     Jimmy and Joey are in Freckles' former "Nursery Kennel," happy and adorable. These little fellows are so cute and fluffy that they will probably be adopted very soon. Hopefully Bill will have time to get their pictures on soon.

Freckles and kids are doing fine

     Freckles' kids are fat little pups now, and Little Lucy is just about as big as her brothers now. There is no more worry over this little tyke. She holds her own when play tussling with Leo, Louie and Luke. (It's hard to believe that probably most all the other weakest pups in litters all over the world don't make it.)

Blind Mommy Dog Freckles goes to the Park!

     We made a soft cloth leash harness for Freckles and walked her to the park for the very first time yesterday. She was frightened during the short walk to the park, but did quite well once she was inside the big play yard, and she seemed to enjoy her first time in the big play yard as Tina walked her around on the harness leash, and she did even better today, the second day. We'll be taking her every day now, and she will soon love going to the park and will be waiting at her gate for her turn, just as all the other dogs do.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 23 2002

Danny will be going to the diagnostic specialist tomorrow morning

     We will be leaving Straydog at 6:15 a.m. with Danny to arrive at the clinic in Dallas in time to make our 8:15 appointment. The doctor at this clinic has received all of the reports from our vet, so he knows a lot about Danny's health problem already. After the examination we'll leave Danny for surgery, if needed, and then we will pick Danny up at 5:00 tomorrow evening, and when we pick Danny up, the doctor should be able to tell us exactly what is wrong with him, which will enable the doctors to know exactly what treatment Danny may need to make him well again.

     Danny had his last food (before his vet appointment) at 5:45 this evening--just a little snack, half of which he wouldn't eat. For over a week now it's been very difficult to get the sick fellow to eat anything.

     Please pray with us for Danny's recovery. We are all very, very worried about him.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 24 2002

Danny's prognosis does not look good

     It's really hard for me to write this update, because Danny's prognosis doesn't look good, the specialist in Dallas said, and the examination on Danny and the tests that the doctor did today show there is a 90% chance that he has a tumor of the prostatic urethra, a carcinoma. (The x-rays show a big mass in his urethra.)

     Danny may have between two and nine months to live. The doctor added that we won't know for sure if this is in fact the problem until the results from the lab come back, but he wanted me to prepare myself for what the results of the tests most likely will be, which is cancer, and the doctor added that there is nothing they can do for this type of cancer. They can't cut it out, they can just ease the pain with medication. It is very common in dogs, and it's sad there is no way to cure this cancer.

     The doctor added that there is a tiny chance that this could be something else, something noncancerous, but we won't know anything until next week when the test results come back from the lab.

     Dr. Bronstad gave me a prescription for medication for Danny, and this will also make him feel much better so he will regain his appetite, and when he feels better, he will have a better quality of life than he has had recently. The medicine will also be helpful for his health problem. (I cannot remember his exact words as my head was spinning from everything he was telling me.)

     Also, on another sad note, the symptoms showing on Danny's face and tongue are probably symptoms of pemphigus, which is what our regular vet suspected Danny had two years ago. Today the doctor did a biopsy from the side of Danny's tongue, which was also sent off to a lab.

     Now we must wait until sometime next week for the results of these tests.

We will not give up hope

     We will not give up hope, just as we didn't give up hope on little old Snowflake when our regular vet sent her home "to die a certain death" due to chronic renal failure, giving her two to three weeks to live last Christmas. When we were given this news that Snowflake's health was terminal, we immediately sought out the help of another vet, a doctor of veterinary medicine who also practices Alternative Medicine, and she saved Snowflake's life. Snow is alive and well 10 months later.

     We'll do the same for Danny Boy. We just don't give up when the news is bad.

     More tomorrow. Snowflake needs to go outside.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 25 2002

EARLY MORNING UPDATE

Update on Danny

     Danny seems fairly okay this morning, but he must not be feeling very good because of yesterday's hospital stay, including the anesthetic and all the tests, but he did eat a little food this morning.

     Last night I left Danny's doggie door open for him all night, and he probably slept outside all night long. It was pleasantly cool, and I'm sure this felt good to him, sleeping in his cool scoopy hole.

     This morning it's cool and misty outside, and when I went to Danny's doggie door and called for him to come in (so I could check on the fellow), his fur was damp and very cool. He loves this kind of weather.

     Danny did eat half of a big dog biscuit, and one and a half little packets of Little Caesar dog food (which would equal five ounces of meaty dog food). He wouldn't touch the regular dry dog food or the hunks of chicken in broth that I'd first offered him. But at least he ate something.

     Guy has the prescription with him so he can stop at the drugstore and get Danny's medicine and bring it with him when he arrives here this morning. After Danny takes his medication, he will feel much better the doctor said.

     I'm going to call Snowflake's doctor in New York (Dr. Aiken) this morning and tell her what Danny's prognosis is so far to see what she suggests we do to help him, and, of course, she will be able to do much more for him next week when she knows the results of all the tests that have been sent to the lab.

     I just can't believe that Danny's problem is cancer, but whatever it is, we will fix it. I do believe that he does have pemphigus, tho, and I believe that we will be able get this under control too.

EVENING UPDATE

We thank all of you who have inquired about Danny Boy today via email and phone

     As I said this morning, I can't believe that the prognosis for Danny is terminal, and we certainly will not give up hope. When the results of the tests that the diagnostic specialist performed yesterday during Danny's stay at the animal hospital come back, we will know exactly what the problem is, and we will aggressively look for every way possible to treat Danny (as we have always done for every dog we have ever had in our care).

     It seems to me that something about Danny is getting better: He is not drinking water excessively anymore, and his stools look better, not perfect by any means, but better! And he even barked happily when it was his turn to go to the big play yard ("the park") this morning. What a joy it was to hear his happy barking again!

Danny's appetite seems to be improving at least a little bit

     Danny ate enough food today at noon so that I was able to give him the new medication the doctor prescribed for him, which needs to be taken with a full meal.

To answer your questions about the costs of Danny's treatment so far:

     Yes, Danny's vet bills are rising rapidly. The costs of all the tests done yesterday at the diagnostic center in Dallas came to a total of $721.00, and Danny's many tests done at our local clinic have been expensive too, even tho we do get a big discount. Testing on Danny is not over with yet, and the vet expenses to help Danny will continue to go up.

     Your help with Danny's vet expenses would be very much appreciated. If you would like to help, please send your "Donations for Danny" to:

Straydog Inc.
P.O. Box 1465
Gun Barrel City, Tx. 75147

     Please write "Donation for Danny" on the memo line.

     Danny is a wonderful dog and we all love him very much.

Freckle's little kids go for their first puppy visits and vaccinations

     This was a fun trip for these four fat little tykes. They are six weeks old today and are adorable, fat little puppies. Leo, the light brown fellow with dark freckles on his wrinkly nose, weighed the most at 6.9 pounds. Leo's brothers Louie (a white pup) and Luke (a dark brown pup) weighed 6 pounds, as did their sister, Little Lucy, the baby I had to tube feed for a while after she was born.

     All are healthy puppies the doctor said after giving each pup their examination and first puppy vaccination.

     We will be taking them to an adoption day after their second puppy vaccinations next month when they will be 10 weeks old.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 26 2002

Helen's signed adoption papers arrive from Canada

     Today we received the signed adoption papers showing that Neal and Darla Fort have officially adopted the beautiful, deaf and nearly blind Great Dane named Helen. The whole family says they are very excited about coming to pick up Helen around the end of November (after the close of Neal's football season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League), and their little girl can hardly wait to see her new doggie friend, Helen!

No dogs adopted today

     No dogs were adopted today at our weekly Saturday Adoption Day in Dallas, and Guy and his wife, Kim, got back to the shelter at about five o'clock with Amber, Jed, Melissa and Dallas. Maybe next Saturday one or more of our current dogs will find their forever family.

     Why are adoptions so slow? The answer (as we've reiterated a million times) is that there are just too many unwanted pets because there are just too many ignorant people who don't Spay and Neuter their pets. The word from all the animal rescue people we know is that right now there are unwanted puppies (and kittens) everywhere! What a tragedy! What a sad, sad tragedy!

Two more puppies will soon join our Happy Home for Strays

     We just took in two more puppies who desperately needed a safe haven. The long story of their rescue is pretty much the same as all the others. We just wish we could take them all--the tens of thousands more who are out there homeless!

     These two fellas are at our vet clinic now being boarded for their quarantine period. (Our quarantine kennel is currently being used as a puppy kennel.)

     When these newest pups are ready to come to our shelter, we'll put them in with Jimmy and Joey--who last weekend were moved into the briefly vacant "nursery kennel," formerly occupied by Freckles and her pups. (You'll remember that we had to separate Jimmy and Joey from their "foster mom," Amber, when Amber became too rough with them.)

Danny Boy is feeling better today

     Danny's new pain medicine seems to be helping him quite a bit. He's been eating pretty well today and has enjoyed all his outings in the big play yard.