Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SUNDAY OCTOBER 27 2002

Danny's medicine is at least making him feel a little better

     Danny seems to be feeling a little better today (as he was yesterday too), probably because of the medication he is taking, and he is eating a little more of his regular dog food. At least we can tell he is happy again from his happy barking and the happy wagging of his tail.

     We thank all of you who have emailed and called to let us know you are thinking about and praying for Danny Boy. We thank you very, very much. We should find out the results from the lab at the beginning of this week, and we will certainly keep you updated. And please continue to pray for his recovery.

More and more dogs needing homes!

     We wish we had the money, employees and kennel space to help many more dogs and puppies. The following is a list of the dogs needing homes we got emails and phone calls about just yesterday:

Female Lab pup, approximately six months old;

Two 10-week-old pups;

Two medium-size male dogs, a Shepherd and a Lab,   approximately two years old;

A Shepherd mix male dog;

Another female Lab.

     When our shelter is full, as it is now, all we can do is suggest that people call other no-kill shelters and that anyone who finds a purebred dog call the rescue organization for that breed.

     We were told by the people who found the above dogs that no other no-shelter was able to take in these dogs.

Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 10/28/02 at 9:21 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

MONDAY OCTOBER 28 2002

MORNING UPDATE

New Collie fellow may be joining Amber

     We received two phone calls from some people in this area who had found a male Collie mix, and they were desperately trying hard to find the Collie mix a home. The people had called all the local vet clinics asking if they knew of a no-kill shelter, and they were given our number.

     What I know about the dog is that he is a young male Collie mix about a year old and that he is very timid and doesn't like other male dogs.

Amber and Collie will meet

     Because the Collie is so timid, I thought it might be a good idea to have the dogs meet each other for the very first time, some place other than here at Straydog. The pair needed a much quieter place so the new dog could meet Amber without 60+ dogs barking at him in order that we could get a true feeling of how the dogs might react to each other. The rescuers and I decided to meet at their vet clinic and introduce the dogs there.

     If all works out between the dogs at a neutral meeting ground, then
the new fellow can come here to Straydog, and we'll see how they get along in Amber's kennel together, before we make the decision as to whether will be able to take him in.

Update on Danny Boy

     Danny seems to be feeling good this morning. He has a bad case of diarrhea, but that could be a side effect of his medication, and his bowel movements should improve within the next few days. He ate a good breakfast and seems happy this morning.

Only one more doggie door to go and all shelters are ready for winter!

     Randy and the "temp" helpers have gotten most all of the heavy protective dog doors on the fronts of all the 30+ shelters now, with one more shelter to go! Fresh hay has been added to 66 dog houses and the two puppy shelters.

Heat lamps are now installed for some of the dogs

     The heat lamps have been installed in the two puppy shelters, which will keep the temperature in those shelters well above freezing on the coldest of days, and old Sassy Katie has her heat lamp too, along with a heating-pad for her bed, which helps to warm her arthritic hips on cold, damp days and nights while she is snoozing. Katie Loves the cold weather even tho it makes her body ache.

Freckles is doing much better on her walks in the play yard

     Blind Mommy Dog Freckles now looks forward to her turns to take a stroll around the big play yard, and yesterday this precious sightless dog was barking at her fence in anticipation of her imminent "play time" in the park. (See the first two Photo Pages from last week: *Freckles' first trip to the big play yard.

     She walks around much better now with the criss-cross makeshift harness we slip on her to help guide her. Once her pups are weaned, we'll probably keep a regular harness on her most all the time.

     Maybe today we'll let Freckles kids follow her to the park for their first outing. That will really be something, especially trying to catch the little rascals again when it's time to take them back.

     Also, new arrivals Jimmy and Joey will be going to the play yard for their first visit, and then sometime soon we'll have Freckle's kids, Little Lucy, Louie, Leo and Luke, meet Puppies Joey and Jimmy. (This is important for their socialization.)

EVENING UPDATE

New pups Dakota and Perry will be arriving soon

     After their quarantine period at the clinic these pups will be joining Joey and Jimmy in their kennel. This will happen sometime next week. Today I took a bag of our puppy food to the vet clinic where little Dakota and Perry are being boarded. We wanted the pups to be eating the same food at the clinic that they will be eating here when they arrive.

     After I got to the clinic with the dog food, I wanted to visit with the two happy-go-lucky fellows for a while. When the vet tech took me back to the kennels to see the puppies, the two, ten-week-old pups were happily playing together in their new plastic puppy bed as they tussled with their yellow stuffy toy. The other new toys I had taken them a few days ago were scattered all over. The pups were really happy to have me (any human body most likely) visit them so they could practice their "mountain climbing" on people legs (while I sat on the floor with them). They also performed their "tug at the pants" and "pull at the shoestrings" exercises.

     After the puppy visit it was a quick drive to town to get the mail, fill up the dog van with gas and then hurry home to get Amber to take her to meet the needy Collie dog (mentioned first in the morning update) who desperately needed a safe haven and may be coming to our shelter soon. This all depends on how well Amber and the dog get along together.

The introduction between Amber and Billy, the Border Collie (not Collie mix as was reported in the first paragraph above) goes well

     At 10:40 I arrived at the rescuers' vet clinic (ten minutes late), and the people who had found the dog were waiting for me in their car when I pulled into the clinic parking lot. We leashed the dogs and walked them around together for a while in the big yard at the front of the clinic. Amber was the one who needed the reassurance that all was okay because as usual she looked at the new dog as a "threat" to her, which she always does with each "first meeting" with any dog. The new dog, Billy, was the sweet, calm, quiet fellow, and Amber soon saw he wanted to be friends, so all was okay.

     The next step was to bring the two dogs to Straydog to see how they would get along--to see if Amber would accept Billy in her kennel.

     When we arrived at the Straydog, we took the dogs to the big play yard first, and they took a few minutes going through another "sniffy greeting," and then they began running around chasing each other playfully until Billy spotted the huge, soft, Texas-size Tennis Ball. As soon as he saw this ball, he began his own ball game, whapping the ball with his muzzle, which sent the ball flying across the lawn. Then Billy would run after it and whap it again, pounce on it and kick it with his legs. He looked like a professional soccer player the way he knocked the ball around.

     Next we threw him a frisbee and he had a great time chasing it, and Amber had a fun time chasing Billy! The two dogs got along beautifully in Amber's kennel too, so we all agreed that this was an okay match, and Billy would be able to stay with Amber until we found him his own forever family.

     After the people left, I called the clinic to see if I could bring Billy in for his new arrival checkup. The family had taken Billy to their clinic for vaccinations, but that was all, and we always have new arrivals have a thorough exam and a heartworm blood test, and the fellow needed to be scheduled for neuter surgery too.

     By 11:30 I was at our vet clinic with Billy. The doctor thinks Billy is a Border Collie mix, about three years old. He seems in good health but the doctor said that Billy's teeth show that he had been doing a lot of chewing on a fence and added, "This dog really wanted to get out of somewhere by the looks of his gnawed down teeth."

     The doctor said he could perform the neuter surgery this afternoon and that I could pick him up tomorrow. He is a very sweet dog, and we're all glad that sassy Amber likes him, which made it possible for him to come to our Happy Home for Strays.

Another 40 minutes is spent trying to catch a thin Black Lab during my drive back to our shelter

     I had just left our clinic and was on the highway when I spotted a very thin Black Lab crossing the busy road ahead of me. The dog kept looking back and forth as he trotted along as if looking for his home or possibly the uncaring "owner" who had most likely "dumped" him on the roadside. It is really heartbreaking to see these precious animals searching for the owner who abandoned them.

     As soon as I saw this pathetically thin looking dog, the chase was on! I pulled off the highway and turned the van around and went back toward town following the fellow as best I could while he trotted along the edge of the highway. Then he darted into a parking lot, a feed store lot, a lumber yard and then down a side road. I am absolutely terrible with directions, and this fellow had no idea how LOST I was becoming as I drove slowly along side roads, turning corners, going down residential streets, trying to keep up with the dog while at the same time trying really hard to remember which way I had just come so I'd know which way to return to where I began!

     The skinny Black Lab kept getting out of my sight as I drove along and then suddenly he'd reappear. It seemed like I had been following him for miles when I spotted him trotting down a side road, and then he started walking across someone's front yard. I pulled into the driveway and hurried out of the van with leash in hand calling the him to me. This was the closest I had gotten to him since the chase began. As I walked toward him, he turned to look at me and then took off running full speed away from me, and I soon lost sight of him after he ran across the road and into a wooded area. He was a really frightened fellow, and frightened dogs are really hard to catch.

     Hopefully some kind people will see this skinny Black Lab in their yard and put out food for him and will continue to feed him. This is one way to gain a fearful dog's trust.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

TUESDAY OCTOBER 28 2002

MORNING UPDATE

Diagnostic specialist calls about Danny's lab work

     After I'd already emailed last night's update to Bill (who edits and puts my updates on our website) at his regular job in Dallas, Dr. Bronstad called to tell me the results of Danny's tests, which had just come back from the lab.

     The doctor said that the mass in the urethra "appears" to be cancer. (No biopsy was done on this mass, just some cells were withdrawn from it and sent to the lab.) The doctor went on to say that the only way for us to know for sure is to do a biopsy on the mass but that this could do more harm than good, so there is really no way of knowing for sure if this tumor is cancerous.

     Then the doctor asked if Danny was taking the medication he had prescribed and asked how Danny was doing. My answer was that Danny is improving every day. He went through two days of having diarrhea, but then this afternoon his bowel movement was absolutely perfect! Danny is eating now, looks perky and happy and is feeling good. The doctor responded that this is good news and means the medication is working. It is possible, he said, that the medication (which is an anti-inflammatory and a pain killer) will shrink the mass, which is what we want it to do.

     This sounded like very good news to me, but the doctor said that even tho there is a remote chance that the mass is not a carcinoma, it does appear to him that it is cancer. Well, we're going on the happy note that there is the chance that it is NOT cancer, and we'll continue to think positive!

     Danny is to stay on the medication for one month and then go for a recheck of the prostate to see if the mass has gone down in size. (I think it has gone down in size already.)

     More to come later.

EVENING UPDATE

Boarder Collie Billy's heartworm test comes back positive

     The news of a rescued adult dog having heartworms just doesn't surprise me anymore, and when Dr. Morton called to tell me that Billy tested positive for this disease, it was certainly bad news. I suspected it, but, of course, I was hoping the test would come up negative.

     Billy is young and healthy, the doctor said, except for this heartworm disease, so he suggested we begin treatment for heartworms in a few weeks, which will give Billy time to fully recover from his neuter surgery, which was done yesterday.

     Billy and Amber are having a great time playing together. She loves her new kennel companion and now she is happy again.

     Rover also seems to be happy to be back with his best bud, Old Happy!

A mommy dog and her two little puppies are rescued from the road

     At the risk of having my "driving privileges" taken away from me (per my wonderful husband, Bill, after my big chase yesterday trying to rescue the skinny Black Lab who slipped away from me into the woods), it is with some hesitation that I write this update about a precious family of three I found in the middle of the road today.

     The small buff colored mother dog seemed very quiet as she lay along the roadside while her two little mangy puppies were playing with each other right in the middle of the road. Driving on and leaving this helpless mother dog and her puppies behind was simply not an option for me.

     The pups looked to be about seven weeks old, and their skinny little bodies were covered with fleas and ticks. Mange from head to tail took the place of their once soft puppy fur. When I saw the pathetic little pups, I thought of the six little puppies the same age we are caring for here at our shelter. They are all healthy and happy and have had their first puppy vaccinations. They have shelter and warm hay beds to sleep in at night and good food to eat every single day. They have many people here at our Happy Home for Strays who will love and care for them until they are adopted by good families. These sick little pups deserve the same kind of good care and so does their mother.

"Krissy" (as I named the mother) and her little pups, "Pepsi" and "Pepper" are now safe at our clinic

     The mommy and her babies are safe and warm at our vet clinic now. They are in a kennel together and have been fed a good meal, and the doctor will call us tomorrow after he examines the whole family.

     Again, I shudder to think of the tens of thousands of others out there who will be rescued by no one. This tragedy has got to be stopped! And it could be stopped for a fraction of the cost of just one jet fighter plane.

A Note from Bill ...

If you can find any candidates for any offices anywhere who in their campaign speeches say anything about trying to stop the ongoing homeless dog (and cat) tragedy via any kind of a spay and neuter program (rather than allowing our society to continue killing the homeless [or leaving them to die], which is the current method of dealing with the problem), please let us know who these candidates are, and please vote for them.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30 2002

The reports of all Danny's vet tests have been faxed to Snowflake's vet, Dr. Tina Aiken and to a cancer specialist

     When I spoke with our vet yesterday after he had received the results of the tests done by the diagnostic specialist in Dallas, our local doctor said he'd like to send these results to a cancer specialist to get her advice on how to continue with the treatment for Danny. When I asked our doctor if he would mind faxing the papers to Snowflake's doctor too, he said he would be happy to oblige, adding that if Danny does have cancer, it's curing the disease that is important, and not which Doctor does it.

     [For those of you who haven't been able to follow our daily updates, Dr. Aiken is a D.V.M. who also practices Alternative Medicine, and she saved little old Snowflake's life when Snow developed chronic renal failure. Our previous local vet had sent Snow home to die after she had spent seven days on IV fluids at their clinic, and the doctor said there was nothing that could possibly be done for her--she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't drink, she was dying. Dr. Aiken took over Snow's care and Snow is alive and well now, almost one whole year later!]

     Now that Dr. Aiken has all of Danny's test results, I'll be talking with
her soon to see what course of treatment she'd like us to take for the fellow.

     Sorry we couldn't get more of an update on for Wednesday. Bill's 93-year-old father had back surgery today at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, and Bill (our "webmaster") spent the whole day and evening there. His dad came thru the surgery just fine and is looking forward to the rest of his life free of back pain caused by bone spurs which were removed today from one vertebra.

Straydog UPDATE posted THURSDAY 10/31/02 at 7:47 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

THURSDAY OCTOBER 31 2002

New mother dog and her two pups have checkups

     Krissy and her little pups, seven-week-old Pepsi and Pepper, had their checkup yesterday, and the mange that covers the pups' little bodies is Sarcoptic Mange, which is very contagious, but easily treatable and will take about two to three weeks to clear up. The mom and pups were treated for flea infestation and worms, which all homeless dogs and pups seem to have and all were given their vaccinations. We don't yet know the results of Krissy's heartworm test.

     Krissy is a small mixed breed, a year old and weighs about 45 pounds. Her buff colored fur is short and wavy, and she'll look beautiful after she has a much needed bath. Her kids, Pepsi and Pepper, are German Shepherd mix and what little fur they do have is black and brown.

Misty goes for allergy injection and I visit with the new family

     I took Misty for her allergy injection today (Or was it yesterday? I'm so busy all the time the days just run together.), and I while I was there I also visited with Krissy and her little pups and took a chew bone for Krissy and some toys for Pepsi and Pepper. Krissy is very friendly and was happy to get a toy.

     The skinny little puppies were in a kennel right beside their mom and were lying stretched out on the cool concrete floor, peacefully sleeping. (They are separated from their mom at feeding time the vet tech said.)

     When they heard me talking to them they woke up but didn't come running to the gate for attention like Dakota and Pepper (or Freckles puppies) do. These little ones are shy, probably because they haven't been around people for these first seven weeks of their lives, and they just sat there staring at me.

     I gave them the toys and they weren't quite sure what to do with the yellow stuffy teddy bear, or the little pink ball that went rolling across the floor in front of them, but it won't take long before they figure out the stuffy toy is a fun thing to tug away from each other, and the pink round thing is neat to carry around in their mouths, then drop and chase. They had a soft blanket in one corner of their kennel and bowls of food and water in another corner. What little fur they have, is black and they look like Shepherd mixes.

    I also saw Dakota and Perry (the 10-week-old puppies being boarded for while in quarantine). They ran to their gate and jumped up and down excitedly, happy to have a person come to play with them! They are so healthy compared to Pepsi and Pepper, but the two new little fellows will soon have their black fur again, and with good food and a whole lot of loving they will be happy healthy puppies soon.

Both Danny Boy and Snowflake vomit today

      They both got sick at different times and in different places, but thank goodness they both seemed fine later in the day.

Freckles four pups plus Jimmy and Joey play together in the park

     It's a riot to see them tussling with each other! I took lots of pictures, which Bill will process and upload onto this website this weekend.

The furnace in the trailer is on the blink

     The repair man didn't have the part needed to fix it, and the part won't be in till next week. I baked a potato in the gas oven and the heat from that hour of cooking will suffice for heat tonight. The inside dogs (Toby, Blackie, Snowflake and Danny) all like it crisp and cool anyway, and I've got enough blankets. (Bill, as you know, stays at his father's house near Dallas, where Bill works his regular job during the week.)

This Saturday we will be at Canine Commissary at 15th and Custer in Plano.

     The following Saturday we will be at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville in Dallas, and it will be a big Puppy Adoption Day!

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1 2002

Krissy's heartworm test results are Negative!

     Late Yesterday afternoon the clinic called with the wonderful news that Krissy's heartworm test was negative! This is really great news. (Krissy is the mother dog found this past Tuesday lying at the side of the road while her mangy puppies were playing in the middle of the road when I luckily happened to come along and rescue them.)

Today puppies Jimmy and Joey go for their third puppy vaccination, and Julie goes too for her BSL (blood sugar level) check

     Around 10:00 this morning I'll be taking diabetic dog, Julie, to the clinic for the vet to check her blood sugar level, and puppies Joey and Jimmy will go too for their third puppy vaccinations. I'll be visiting all the other fellas who are being boarded there: pups Dakota and Perry and the new mom Krissy and her puppies, Pepsi and Perry.

     I think we've mentioned that this Saturday we'll be at Canine Commissary at 15th and Custer in Plano, Texas, and the next Saturday we will be at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville for our big Puppy Adoption Day!

Puppies Here, Puppies There--We Have Puppies Everywhere!

     We have six puppies at our shelter, and four puppies (two sets) at our vet Clinic (plus Mommy Dog Krissy).

     For the Puppy Adoption Day next Saturday (November 9th) at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville in Dallas we'll have seven puppies going: The 12-week-old puppies (Lab/Retriever mix) Joey, Jimmy, Perry, and Dakota, who is sort of a Heeler mix. Also three of Freckles' adorable puppies will be going: Little Lucy, Louie and Leo. We have to leave one puppy here (Luke) so Blind Mommy Freckles won't become distressed by having all of her pups gone.

     Krissy and her two seven-week-old pups will finish out their two-week quarantine period, and their sarcoptic mange problem needs to be cleared up before they can go.

Danny Boy seems okay this morning and Snowflake is fine too

     I don't know what upset both of these dogs yesterday afternoon--they had upset stomachs as reported in last evening's Thursday Update below--but they were both okay later in the evening and this morning they seem fine.

     Danny is still a very picky eater but other than that he is doing okay. He seems happy and perky and his bowel movements are better.

Cold weather is coming and we are as ready as we're going to be

     Last night we had the heat lamps turned on in the two puppy shelters--the shelter housing Freckles and her kids and the second puppy shelter where Joey and Jimmy stay. Old Sassy Katie has her heat lamp on above her dog house and the heating pad inside her dog house is turned on. Happy (who has arthritis and prefers to stay warm) and her kennel mate, Rover, have their heat lamp on at night too. Plus all the fresh hay in all the dogs houses helps to keep all the dogs warm. Maybe some day we'll have a heated kennel building.

EVENING UPDATE

Puppies Joey and Jimmy went to the vet clinic along with diabetic Julie

     Julie needed to have her blood sugar level checked again at the vet clinic and the little 12-week-old pups, Joey and Jimmy, were due for their vaccinations so off we went.

     Julie's blood sugar level is fine the doctor said, and the pups were given their third puppy vaccinations and had their little puppy examinations which show that they are healthy little fellows, so they will be going to our adoption day tomorrow at the Plano Canine Commissary.

I also checked again on Krissy, Pepsi and Pepper

     The vet tech said that the new arrival Mother Dog Krissy is doing okay, and her little mangy puppies are beginning to play with their toys. Also the pups have had their first treatment for sarcoptic mange.

Candy and Melissa dug as I was writing this update

     I'll have to finish this report tomorrow as Candy and Melissa dug out of their kennel again just a short while ago this evening, and helping "correct" that situation took up all my computer time!

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2 2002

Today we started the new Winter Schedule for our Happy Home for Strays

     Because colder weather is upon us, instead of beginning our day at 3:30 a.m., which is the start time on our Summertime Schedule in order to be able to get the morning meal in and all dogs walked to and back from the big play yard by 11:00 before the heat of the day sets in, we are beginning the day at 5:30 a.m and will still end at 5:30 p.m. Now we finish dog walks/play time (in the big play yard) by 1:00 p.m. The rest of the daily routine of the dogs is the same as before but the caregiving is split up by different caregivers to make sure all the dogs get the same loving attention that they've always gotten. It'll no doubt cause some confusion for the first few days, but soon everyone will get used to the new schedule and all will go along smoothly--or at least as "smoothly" as it's ever gone around here.

Saturday Adoption Day

     Today we took little, three-month-old puppies, Joey and Jimmy, along with adult dogs, Melissa, Amber and Jed.

     At about three o'clock Guy called me saying they were going on a home visit with little Jimmy. We're still waiting to hear about the results.

[ADOPTION DAY RESULTS: Joey was adopted, and now Pat's busy trying to comfort little Jimmy, who misses his brother so much he won't stop crying. Pat's update will come after she figures out what to do with the little guy.]

Puppy Joey is adopted! Brother Jimmy is forlorn

     This adoption is wonderful news. After the home visit Guy called again to say that little Puppy Joey was adopted by a wonderful woman who had a handicapped little dog and wanted a playmate for her. What makes this woman so special is that she had adopted her handicapped dog because of the fact that the dog did have special needs.

     The home visit turned out just perfect and both dogs became Instant friends!

     No other adoptions today, and all the other dogs are home now and are cuddled up in their hay houses (dog houses filled with hay) sleeping--except for Puppy Jimmy, whose little companion (and brother), Joey, was adopted. Jimmy is now on my Lap helping me write this update!

Jimmy misses his brother, Joey!

     When Jimmy arrived home from Adoption Day with the other dogs, we put two of Freckles' pups, Little Lucy and her brother, Louie, in Jimmy's kennel with Jimmy so he wouldn't be lonely. All of Freckles' pups have played together several times during the day with Jimmy (and Joey), so this was nothing new to them. However, they have never been with Jimmy (or Joey) at night before.

Little puppies want their mommy!

     Jimmy was delighted to have Lucy and Louie join him after he arrived home, and the smaller pups also had a great time playing with their bigger puppy friend, Jimmy, for all of a half hour! Then Lucy and Louie began crying and digging at the fence wanting to get back to their mommy, and Blind Mommy Dog Freckles (whose kennel is just a short distance away) could hear her babies crying which put her in a state of panic knowing her babies "needed" her, and she frantically began running around and around in circles not being able to find (or get to) her puppies. This was not a good situation for Freckles, so I took Lucy and Louie back to her right away, and when the pups ran up to Freckles, she immediately began mothering them, sniffing and pawing at each pup to make sure they were okay.

     I then tried putting Freckles' other two pups, Leo and Luke, in with Jimmy, which again made Jimmy happy, but the results were the same: Leo and Luke soon wanted back with their mom. It was their bed time, dark outside, and they all snuggle up together with their mom in their dog house inside their heat-lamp heated shelter. Jimmy has a heated shelter too, and a nice big dog house full of fresh hay, but Freckles' puppies were all homesick!

We'll introduce Jimmy to Freckles' tomorrow in the light of day to see if she'll accept the lonely pup in with her family

     Tonight is just not a good time for Jimmy to meet Freckles. Because she is blind, she may feel that Jimmy is an intruder, and she could attack this little fellow. We have to remember that because she is sightless she "sees" things much differently from the way sighted dogs perceive things. We'll try the introduction between Jimmy and Freckles tomorrow.

     In any case Puppies Dakota and Perry, who are currently being boarded at our vet clinic in quarantine, will be joining Jimmy this coming week, hopefully Monday or Tuesday, if their runny noses have not turned into any kind of serious illness.

     This little ball of black fluff (Jimmy) is curled up sound asleep on my lap right now, the quiet ticking of the keys as I type this update soothing the unhappy little fellow. But as soon as I finish this update, I'll have to disturb him, to put him ... where?

     I'll first try putting Jimmy outside in his dog house inside the warm shelter, but I have a feeling as soon as I scoop him up off my lap to take him out, he is not going to be very happy. If this doesn't work, I'll try putting him in the extra kitchen kennel across from Snowflake's kennel. Toby always sleeps beside the pups or dogs who come into "his" house for whatever reason, which happens a lot around here. Toby sleeps beside the new visitor's kennel as if to offer comfort to them, so maybe this will work for Jimmy too. It's getting late, so I've got to make something work! I'll report on how I resolved the problem tomorrow.

Danny Boy Update:

Danny ate great today, but he is having trouble urinating

     Danny really surprised me today by eating four whole meals, but he is having difficulty urinating. He is under the care of our local vet and the specialist in Dallas, but they don't believe there's much hope for a cure for Danny.

     We'll be so glad when Snowflake's doctor in New York (Dr. Aiken) gets back from her vacation at the end of this week. I have an appointment to talk with her about Danny this coming Friday, and I feel confident that she will be able to get this wonderful (but very sick) fellow on the road to recovery. Please continue to pray for Danny. That may help more than anything else.