Straydog UPDATE posted SUNDAY 11/3/02 at 7:00 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3 2002

Puppy Jimmy "survives" the night without his brother, who was adopted yesterday

     As most of you who follow our website know, three-month-old Puppies Jimmy and Joey are brothers. Joey was adopted at yesterday's Adoption Day in Dallas, and Jimmy was not. Last night Jimmy had no companion in his kennel, and he was very sad. We put different pairs of Freckles' pups (first Lucy and Louie and then Leo and Luke) in with Jimmy when he returned from Adoption Day late yesterday afternoon, but both pairs missed their mommy (and Freckles, who is blind, was in a state of panic hearing her babies crying to come home), so the pups were put back with their mom.

     In last evening's update I left off telling how I had brought sad little Puppy Jimmy in the house with me to keep him from crying, and the forlorn little fellow fell asleep on my lap as I was typing last night's update. I didn't know how I'd solve the problem of keeping the pup happy through the night, but I had to figure out something.

     As soon as I finished working at the computer, I scooped the tiny pup up and cuddled him as I carried him outside to his shelter, trying not to wake him--fat chance of that! His house inside his shelter was nice and warm, having been warmed by the heat of the heat lamp, which had been turned on a couple of hours earlier, and as I laid him in his house he looked up at me, his big baby brown eyes wide open now, as if to say, "I'm not staying here by myself, am I?" As soon as I left the little fellow, I felt him at my heels pawing at my pant legs wanting to come back inside with me.

A big doggie biscuit solves the problem

     I picked him up again and brought him inside with me while I got a big doggie biscuit (the kind I give to Danny Boy), and then I took Jimmy back to his shelter and put him inside his house with the big treat, knowing that that huge "cookie" would keep him happy for quite a while. That did the trick. He ate the big biscuit (which probably took him a half hour), and then he must have curled up and gone to sleep for the night inside his house, because when I peeked outside at his shelter to check on him a while later, all was quiet, thank goodness!

SUNDAY MORNING

Freckles says an aggressive "NO!" to Jimmy

     This morning we wanted to see if Blind Mother Dog Freckles would accept Jimmy into her family of four pups, which would then be the solution to Jimmy's loneliness. So when the caregiver took Freckles to the park on her harness and leash, I brought Jimmy to the park to meet her.

     While the caregiver held Freckles on a loose leash, I held Pup Jimmy as I talked to Freckles telling her, "Here is another little puppy for you to meet and maybe be a mommy to, nice Freckles, good girl," etc., but as soon as Freckles caught scent of this new pup, she immediately lunged aggressively at him, and I whisked Jimmy out of her reach as she snapped at him. Then she became very panicked and began her frantic circling, as she does whenever she becomes frightened of any situation that is new to her. This is the type of behavior I expected from Freckles over any new dog or pup. She perceived this "new" pup as an intruder, so while I took Jimmy back to his kennel, the caregiver held Freckles close to calm her down.

SUNDAY EVENING

Jimmy gets visiting pups to keep him company for the rest of the day

     I've spent most of the rest of the day swapping out two of Freckles' puppies at a time to be in Jimmy's kennel with him. When the two current visitors fuss to go back home to their mom, we exchange them for the other two. So far this has kept all the pups (and Freckles) happy.

     Hopefully tomorrow the two pups still in quarantine at the vet clinic will be able to join Jimmy, and the problem will be solved, at least for a few days.

     As we've said many times before, there is never a dull moment around here!

LATER SUNDAY EVENING

     After spending this long, cold, wet and dreary day switching Freckle's little puppies back and forth from Freckles' kennel to Jimmy's kennel (seemed like every half hour) to keep little Jimmy company, I think we've finally found a match for Jimmy: Chocolate Puppy Luke has been the least fussy of Freckles' four kids during the time he has spent with Jimmy today, and now at 5:30 p.m. after Luke and Jimmy ate their third warm meal of the day together, Luke is curled up next to Jimmy (just like Joey used to do), both pups sound asleep in the hay in the small outside-the-shelter puppy house. (Jimmy's big dog house is in his heated shelter). I find myself tiptoeing around this house so as not to wake the little tyke up with hopes he will be content to spend the whole night with Jimmy.

     All is well.

A LITTLE LATER SUNDAY EVENING

     Luke finally woke up and realized he wasn't home with Mommy Freckles, and started fussing, so I took him back to Freckles' kennel.

     Then I gave Jimmy another BIG dog biscuit, and he seems okay for the night.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

MONDAY NOVEMBER 4 2002

Puppies Dakota and Perry come home from their quarantine stay at the vet clinic

     It began pouring down rain as I drove to the vet clinic early this morning to pick up Puppies Dakota and Perry. They've spent almost two weeks there, being boarded for their quarantine period, and now these healthy little pups can finally join Jimmy at our Happy Home for Strays. Their company will keep him happy for sure, especially now that he'll be able to curl up with them at night (as he was accustomed to do with his brother, Joey, who was adopted Saturday).

     When I arrived home with Dakota and Perry and we put them in the kennel with Jimmy, they all took off running playfully together. It was such a cute sight to see the three happy pups. I took pictures of them, even tho it was such a gray, rainy day. I hope the photos turn out okay.

Julie gets her insulin in the rain

     At 6:00 this evening it was still pouring down rain and dark outside as I went to give Julie her scheduled meal and insulin in the kennel she shares with her buddy, Jed. After I tended to Julie, she hi-tailed it back to her shelter and in thru her dog house to get out of the rain.

Coming back from Julie's I checked on Old Katie

     Katie tends to worry us a lot in bad weather because she likes sleeping outside, and sometimes she seems to forget about the weather. Hoping she was not outside in her scoopy hole in this downpour I sloshed thru the puddles by the light of a flashlight to Katie's kennel.

     I was relieved when I didn't see Katie outside in her kennel yard, but the flashlight was dimming, and I wanted to get a better look to see where she was, so I went into her kennel. Katie is totally deaf, but I didn't want to take any chance of waking her if she was inside her shelter, so I opened her gate as quietly as I could and tiptoed to her shelter door. Katie's heat lamp had been turned on earlier, and when I peeked through the flaps of her dog door I saw her curled up, sound asleep in her big hay bed beneath the warmth of the lamp which is attached to the ceiling of her shelter. It was really good to see that Katie was in her shelter, content and warm. The cold wet weather really affects her arthritic hips.

     Katie has two beds in her shelter. She has the big hay bed, which is a doggie play pool filled to the brim with fresh hay, which is where she prefers to sleep (and where she's sleeping tonight), and she also has a dog house with a heating pad on the floor inside. We want to make sure she is comfortable and warm so we give her the choice of either place to snooze, and she usually prefers the big hay bed.

The three little pups are warm and dry too

     The next stop during my "downpour rounds" was to check on Puppy Jimmy and the two new additions, whose kennel is right beside our house (the long white trailer in the aerial photo). I had also turned the pups' heat lamp on inside their shelter earlier this evening, and as I got close to their kennel, I could see the puppies through their lighted puppy door, playfully tussling around in the hay, warm and dry as the rain continued beating down fairly heavy.

Freckles and family go to bed early

     Freckles and her pups turned in quite a while ago. Freckles doesn't like wet weather at all, and when she goes inside her shelter at night to go to bed, her four little kids follow.

A note from Bill ...

     In bad weather like this, reading Pat's journal entry above makes me think about all the homeless dogs and pups out there with no shelter. Their cousins, the coyotes (who are plentiful in our area), know how to dig holes in the sides of hills to make dens where they keep themselves and their puppies dry and warm and safe. Dogs rely on us humans for their shelter.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 5 2002

Puppy Perry has kennel cough

     Yesterday before I brought Perry and Dakota home from the vet clinic, they were given a clean bill of health. This morning Perry had a hacking cough, which sounded like what the vets refer to as "kennel cough." To top this off little Puppy Dakota has a sore eye, which looks like it was probably caused from tussling around with his little playmates. He no doubt got clobbered in the fun and games!

     So, since I had to take these two pups to the vet clinic, I took Jimmy too, just in case he came down with anything weird during the 20-minute ride to the clinic.

     Pup Perry was given medicine for his cough, Pup Dakota had his eye treated, and Pup Jimmy appears to be just fine, thank goodness.

     Kennel cough is very contagious so these three fellows will most likely not be going to our Saturday Adoption Day until the cough has completely cleared up.

Danny Boy's getting worse

     It was shortly after I brought the pups home from the clinic that I took Danny Boy out to the big play yard. He has been having trouble urinating due to the increasing size of the cancerous tumor in or near his prostate, which squeezes his urethra closed making it impossible for him to urinate. I wanted to watch him very closely to see if there had been any improvement. As he walked around the park, he obviously wanted to urinate, but he couldn't.

     Danny needed emergency help, so I called the clinic, and they said to bring him right in. Dr. Morton immediately demonstrated how to use a catheter on Danny (so that I would be able to do this procedure at home) and Danny finally was able to urinate--a lot, poor sweet fellow. Being able to relieve himself (via the catheter) he should also feel better, which may help his appetite, Dr. Morton said. The doctor sent me home with several catheters, prescribing that we catheterize Danny twice every day.

     When we arrived home I put in an emergency call to Dr. Aiken's clinic in New York. (Dr. Aiken is Snowflake's doctor.) I thought Dr. Aiken was still away and said I'd speak with another doctor about Danny, but Dr. Aiken was at the clinic, and she took my call.

     Dr. Aiken could only agree with everything the other doctors were doing for Danny. She said this type of cancer is very common in dogs, and there is just nothing that can be done to cure it. The one thing that we will strive to do is to give Danny a better quality of life right now. We will help him be able to urinate (via the catheter), which obviously makes him feel much better, and Dr. Morton will confer with Dr. Aiken about Danny, so we will have these two great veterinarians doing all they can to help Danny.

     Please be assured that we will not let Danny suffer if (or when) that time should come, and right now we will do all that we can for Danny, just as we've done for Snowflake and for several of our other once-upon-a-time rescued strays. We don't give up.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 6 2002

Danny's two doctors get together by phone

     Yesterday after I put in the emergency call to Dr. Aiken, she called me back at almost 4:00 p.m. I remember the time clearly because it was then almost 5:00 in New York, and their clinic closes at 5:00 p.m.

     Dr. Aiken (who is a DVM and also practices alternative medicine with renowned DVM and alternative medicine veterinarian, Dr. Martin Goldstein, who is author of the book The Nature of Animal Healing) told me during yesterday's conversation that she would be happy to confer with our vet here, Dr. Morton, about Danny's care, and Dr. Morton had already told me that he'd be happy to speak with Dr. Aiken. Dr. Morton is a very open-minded doctor.

     Dr. Morton and Dr. Aiken finally got together by phone today, and after sending faxes to each other they have worked out a plan for Danny's treatment that will give Danny a better quality of life for his remaining months.

     The first part of the therapy for Danny is three-day stay at Dr. Morton's clinic next week, where Danny will be receiving "special" IV fluids and at the same time have a catheter in place. Dr. Aiken says that these fluids will be very beneficial to Danny's health and will give him the boost he needs to make him feel better, which will increase his appetite.

     Hopefully all will be ready for Danny to be scheduled for the beginning IV fluids this coming Monday.

     Today Danny seems okay. I guess this is the best way to describe this precious big dog right now. He won't eat the nutritious home-cooked food that I offer to him many times throughout the day, but he often loves to eat the large size IAMS dog biscuits, so we do give these to him whenever he wants them. He loves to go to the big play yard and appears happy, just not hungry.

     We thank all of you who have written and have called inquiring about Danny's health. Let us assure you all (as I said yesterday) that we will not let Danny suffer. We have been through this before, and we are well aware of when it's time. Right now Danny is feeling okay, and he should be feeling even better after his three-day stay at Dr. Morton's clinic.

     Please keep Danny in your prayers. Who knows? Perhaps Danny will experience what is commonly referred to as "spontaneous remission."

At least the sun is shining today

     There is not much else to report on today. Little Pups Dakota and Perry now both have kennel cough, but we have the medication to give them and will also give it to their playmate, Jimmy, because he most likely will begin coughing any day now. Dakota's sore eye is still sore, and we'll continue putting the prescribed drops in his eyes daily.

More rescued strays seeking shelter

     Two more people have called today asking us if we could take the stray dogs they have found, but I had to tell them we are full and could only put them on our long waiting list. Luckily the dogs are both small, and I gave the callers the names of other shelters that might be able to help them.

     There are literally thousands and thousands and thousands of homeless strays out there. Why is it taking everyone so long to wake up? We must spay and neuter and stop making more and more and more puppies and kittens!

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 7 2002

Danny is spunky this morning!

     Danny really puzzles me. He is feeling really GOOD this morning. His ears are up, and his tail is wagging. He was dancing around in "his" hallway wondering what I was bringing him for his breakfast, but he passed on the dry dog food I set down for him, and then only nibbled on the white meat fish I had cooked for him. I prepared several other dishes also, but he just sniffed and then turned away from everything--the rice and chicken I had warmed up for him from yesterday (which he had not touched then either), and he only nibbled at the Cesar's dog food. Then this sweet fellow looked up at me, ears alert, tail wagging and he danced around as if to say, "Okay, that's enough breakfast, let me outside now so I can go bark!" He is now outside running back and forth, barking at Bobby who is feeding Fluff, Buff and Muff and the other dogs.

Caregiver Bobby says he must quit his job because of Danny's illness

     Caregiver Bobby announced he is quitting his job here because he says he cannot bear the pain of knowing Danny is so ill. Danny Boy is a favorite of Bobby's, and it hurts him too much knowing Danny is so sick.

     I told Bobby that I understood, that it hurts us terribly too, but it is all part of caring for dogs and pups. We love them all deeply, and we give them a good life and try to find wonderful families to adopt them. While they are here, we take great care of them, and they get the the best medical attention possible when they are sick. We love them, we laugh at the silly things they do, and we all cry together when things like this happen.

     So today will be Bobby's last day.

EVENING UPDATE

Bobby changes his mind and is going to stay on

     We all talked to Bobby a lot today, emphasizing that Danny Boy needs him here for Danny's remaining months. Bobby finally said he was leaning toward staying anyway. He said he had just been so upset that Danny had to be so ill.

     We can learn a lot from our experiences with dogs (and cats), as they very seldom outlive us. They are like children who pass on before we do, which must be one of the hardest experiences to endure. But we must go on.

     Bobby is okay now, and he even helped me catheterize Danny tonight, because Guy had had to go home early with a terrible headache. Bobby stayed over to cover for Guy.

Danny likes weaners

     I went out today and got some all-beef wieners for Danny, and he ate a whole package of six. Today he loves them; tomorrow he may not.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8 2002

Dog Dallas went to the vet for an ear infection and another possible malady

     Caregiver Tina (perhaps a little overly sensitive because of Danny's condition) reported to me that she thought Dallas was having difficulty urinating. Dallas also was showing signs of having an ear infection, so I took middle-aged fellow to the clinic this morning. After I got him out of the van to take him inside, I walked him around the grassy areas near the parking lot, and he had absolutely no difficulty hitting every tree we came to.

     Dallas was treated for his ear infection, and since we were there, I asked Dr. Morton to check out his "plumbing" also, and Dallas is completely okay in that department.

Three of Freckles' four cute little puppies will be going to Saturday Adoption Day tomorrow at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville in Dallas

     I just came in from visiting with Freckles, the small mother dog (who is blind) and her four cute, fat little puppies, Little Lucy, Louie, Luke and Leo. Three of Freckles' pups will be going to Adoption Day tomorrow: Little Lucy (who is now as chubby as her brothers) will be going along with Louie and Luke. Leo will stay here with Freckles. She would probably go into a state of panic with all four of her kids away from her at once, and she may be very upset just knowing some of her pups are missing.

     Adorable Black Lab mix Amber will be going too, and so will two-year-old Shepherd mix Melissa. That's our plan right now. It all depends on the number of dog-sitting volunteers we have for the day, but the pups will be going for sure.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9 2002

Lots of after-dark action last night at Straydog

     As night was falling last evening, right after Guy did his final check on all the dogs in all the kennels, checking for escape holes, locks on gates, etc., all was okay, and Guy left for the evening. Almost immediately after Guy left , near 6:00 p.m., the trouble started just as I went out the door with Julie's meal and insulin. As I stepped onto the ramp, I heard Helen barking an unusual bark (and she was the ONLY dog barking), so I looked toward Helen and Sweatie's kennel, and there was Helen, standing beside her little friend, Sweetie, both dogs at their fence with Sweetie playing kissy-face with some BLACK DOG standing right outside their fence. I did a double-take: Where did this dog come from!!??

     I set Julie's food down on the ramp and quickly grabbed a dog leash from inside the kitchen door, and walked as fast as I could (without running) to our entrance yard gate and called the dog to me. Then I realized that it was MILLIE (I've got to get new glasses) from three kennels down, who must have been making the rounds visiting her neighbors--first "the Family" (Mommy Dog, Bobby and Briar) who live in the kennel beside Millie (and her bud, Dobie), and then, as Millie worked her way toward the house, she also passed Johnny and his companion, April, and in the kennel beside this pair of dogs are Helen and Sweetie. As I said above, when I spotted them, Millie and Sweetie were giving each other sniffy greetings through the fence.

     Millie, the small, 40-pound Black Lab mix, came running happily to me when I called her. I told her "Good girl!" (for coming to me--not for digging out) as I slipped the cloth leash over her head and calmly walked her back to her kennel. (As I've talked about before, the other dogs who are observing this sort of situation are just waiting for me to panic and lose control. When I (or any of the caregivers) remain completely calm, the observing dogs remain calm and go back into their dog houses, probably disappointed that there wasn't a big commotion to start barking about.)

     As soon as I reached Millie's kennel, I saw the huge "escape" hole she had dug by "enlarging" the little drain hole which is made at the bottom of their fence line. This little drain hole has an 18"x18" very heavy concrete block over it, but Millie must have simply spotted the little hole and dug beneath the block, and out she went! The soil is so sandy and soft it probably took her only two minutes to make the hole big enough for her to scooch out. Thank goodness Dobie (who is quite a bit bigger) didn't follow her lead.

     I was wishing that Guy has still been here to fill this huge hole, so I could get Julie's scheduled meal and insulin to her on time, but that hole had to be filled (and covered again with something heavy) right away, or Millie would dig out again, right away, so I took care of that first, and then went on to care for Julie--a half hour late!

You'd think this story would end here, but NO!

     As I neared Julie's kennel at 6:30 (instead of 6:00), I heard the rapid clunk, clunk, clunk sound that I know so well. This clunking sound is sand hitting the side of a dog shelter, which meant that some dog was vigorously digging near his shelter, and as he (or in this case she) dug, the sand was flying beneath her back legs, hitting the shelter!

     It was Angel, another Black Lab, digging at her fence line in the kennel she shares with Old Pup, directly across from Julie's. Angel was digging a HUGE hole trying to get to a tiny, little gopher hole, that was just outside her and Puppy's fence. Puppy was standing beside her watching her every move, his nose and paws covered with sand, so he must have been in on the action too.

     Angel is usually very well behaved, thank goodness (and so is Puppy), and when I told her to "Stop Digging!" she stopped, and both dogs went to the middle of their yard and lay down, knowing I'd be in there to see them soon to "discuss" the "infraction" and fill the hole.

     Finally I took care of Julie and then went to visit with Angel and Pup, giving them lots of loving, which was all the "discussing of the infraction" there was, and then I filled that hole. It was after 7 p.m. when I got back to the house, and as soon as I walked in, old granny dog, Snowflake was waiting to go out--so outside we went. (I was thankful that at least the weather was beautiful last night.)

     We could end this early morning update here, but I might as well add, that at 1:00 this morning all "heck" broke out with all the dogs barking, telling me there was some problem going on outside, so out I went in a hurry, with spotlight in hand to check on this situation, figuring it could very well be Millie making the "rounds" again, or Angel, outside her kennel, chasing down that little mole or groundhog. We have two security fences around our property, so if the dogs do get out of their kennels, these security fences keep them contained inside the shelter campus.

     Millie and Angel were In their kennels, and Prince and Bailey (the expert escape artists) were in their kennel, so I went to the barn, which is located in the direction where all the dogs were looking as the loud barking continued.

     As I neared the barn, I could hear the shrill screaming sound of cats fighting, and I saw that the neighbor's big tom cat had come to start trouble with our only feline, Star Kitty, the sweet, feral fellow who came with this property when we moved here. As usual when a cat "argument" occurs, which is not infrequently, I banged a board against the side of the tin barn, which makes a terrible racket, and always scares Tom Cat away, and immediately the dogs stopped barking. Geesh! What else will the night bring? I thought as I (half asleep) walked back to the house to try to get a little more sleep before the beginning of another day.

It's Adoption Day today and the pups will be going for sure

     I still haven't heard from our dog-sitter coordinator as to who our dog-sitting volunteers are, so I'm not really sure if Amber and Melissa will be able to go too, but at least Guy and his wife Kim will be taking pups, Lucy, Luke and Louie.

Pretty Boxer, Kalli, is having visitors today-- for possible adoption

     The couple coming today to see Kalli have two Boxers already, but Kalli's story tugged at their heartstrings, and they said that they have room in their hearts and their home for Kalli, and want to come and see her this afternoon. They know Kalli is recovering from heartworm treatment and that she will have the follow up checkup in a month, which makes no difference to them. And they already have been told what a sweet, affectionate loving dog Kalli is.

     The person who brought Kalli to us at the end of August, assuring us that she wanted Kalli and would come for her in November, has not kept in touch with us and hasn't answered my letter, phone calls or email messages regarding Kalli, so we are putting Kalli up for adoption. Kalli will be a Wonderful pet for some lucky person or family.

EVENING UPDATE

TWO BIG ADOPTIONS TODAY!

Puppy Luke is adopted!

     A wonderful woman came to see our dogs and puppies at Canine Commissary this afternoon and she fell in love with little Puppy Luke and adopted him. Luke's new mom did some shopping for Luke before they left the store, and then Susan Devers took Luke to his new home with his new mom for the home check. Everything is just perfect for the little fellow, Susan said, and Luke will be one very pampered, house pet. And Luke has a new little puppy friend to play with too!

Kalli is tentatively adopted!

     While our group was at Canine Commissary making Luke's adoption, we made a tentative adoption here when a wonderful couple (Judy and Rolfe) came here to visit Kalli, and they fell in love with her. They have two Boxers now, and they wanted Kalli to join their happy household. We'll be making that home visit the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. If all goes well with the three dogs, Kalli will be adopted and Judy and Rolfe will have a nice four-day mini vacation at their home to help Kalli adjust to her new home. I think Kalli will adjust beautifully, because she is such a happy-go-lucky pooch. We're all hoping the other two Boxers take a liking to Kalli too.

Freckles was fine with three of her four pups away at Adoption Day

     Freckles did okay without her three pups today, but it was a good thing that we left Leo with her. She stayed close to Leo all day, and Leo, who is somewhat of a mama's boy, was always at her side, as he missed his brothers and sister. Freckles and Leo two will remain a pair until the day Freckles is adopted, either by herself or with her little son. Freckles appears to be afraid of all other dogs (except her children, of course), which is totally understandable since she is blind. Freckles needs a companion to be with her, even more so than many of the other dogs here, and little Leo is a natural, perfect match.

     Freckles was sure glad to "see" Louie and Lucy when they came back from Adoption Day, giving them both a good "sniff-over," and she doesn't seem to realize Luke's found his forever home.