Straydog UPDATE posted SUNDAY 11/10/02 at 9:00 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10 2002

Danny urinated a little bit this afternoon--all by himself!

     Shortly after Caregiver Bobby took Danny Boy to the big play yard for his afternoon "playtime," he radioed me by walkie-talkie saying that Danny Boy had just urinated a little bit! (Danny has been unable to urinate on his own for several days now because of the growing tumor on (or near) his urethra, and we've had to use a catheter on him twice a day to eliminate the urine.)

     This is really Big News, and I rushed outside to see for myself. Bobby held up the plastic half ball that Danny had urinated in, which showed the little trickle of urine inside the the ball. (This is Toby's favorite ball, by the way, but as you probably know dogs are not very respectful of each other's items or territory.) We cheered for Danny's success!! Then as Danny walked around the big yard, we watched him closely from several feet away, and every time he squatted (he still strains to urinate), Bobby and I got on our hands and knees to see if we could see any urine, and we did! It wasn't much, but at least it was some!

     Tonight when Bobby helps me use the catheter on Danny Boy, we'll see how much less urine there is than usual, which will help us know how much he passed by himself today. Hopefully the tumor is shrinking a bit.

     This was such good news, I telephoned Bill, who was in his car half way to Houston, where he'll be working at his regular job this week. (I'll be emailing this update to Bill, and he'll put it on the website tonight from his hotel room.)

Person may come to see Amber tomorrow

     A young lady called this afternoon inquiring about Amber, whose picture she had seen on our website. The woman said she'd be here tomorrow afternoon to visit with Amber for a while. There may be a possible adoption here, and if the woman thinks she would like Amber to become her companion, we'll make the home visit this coming Saturday to see how that goes.

Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 11/11/02 at 7:47 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

MONDAY NOVEMBER 11 2002

Danny begins one of two treatments to help his bladder

     Danny jumped happily into the van this morning, and down the hill we went on our way to the vet clinic to begin one of the treatments (via catheter) that will help Danny's bladder. While we sat in the doctor's waiting room, I brushed Danny's pretty fluffy golden red fur. Waiting for the doctor makes for a lot of "quality" dog-brushing time, and Danny looked beautiful by the time we were called in.

     Danny was a very good dog for the doctor, as usual, and after the treatment was finished, we came back home bringing along some of the same medicine the doctor used so that I will be able to continue doing the same treatment for Danny at home once a day for the next several months.

     Tomorrow (or the next day) Danny will go to our vet for the administering of some special IV fluids. These IV fluids will be given slowly during a three-hour period, after which I'll be able to bring Danny home again. We'll go through this process once a day for three days, which will complete this treatment. Danny may or may not need it again.

     We'll keep you posted on his progress.

Straydog UPDATE posted TUESDAY 11/12/02 at 10:00 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 12 2002

Danny goes to the clinic for his IV fluid treatment

     This noon I took Danny for the first of three IV fluid treatments, which should be helpful to him and make him feel better as we take on the challenge of trying to shrink the cancerous mass which the doctors say is blocking his urethra. Danny has been urinating a tiny bit on his own yesterday and this morning, which seems like some improvement to us, but our local doctor keeps telling me I am "reading too much into this."

     I walked with Danny as the doctor led Danny to "his room" to begin the IV fluids, and I gave Danny a pat on his furry head telling him I'd be back in several hours to pick him up.

New Arrivals Krissy and her little Shepherd puppies leave the clinic and come to our shelter

     After getting Danny settled the vet tech and I walked to another part of the animal hospital to pick up Mother Dog Krissy and her two little, three-month-old Shepherd mix sons, Pepper and Pepsi, who had been staying at our vet clinic these last two weeks while the three of them were treated for a bad case of sarcoptic mange, which is very contagious. The doctor said they were well enough to come to the shelter now, and we had their kennel all ready for them, so home we came.

     When we arrived, we carried the puppies and walked Krissy to their kennel and fed them a good meal, which always lets new arrivals know right away that this is where food is and that there will be no need to dig out to try and find it elsewhere.

     I spent a lot of time with the new family today, and so did Kim, Guy's wife, who had been here helping me out with office work. The puppies are shy as they haven't had much human contact for probably the whole three months of their young lives, but with all of us spending a lot of time with them it won't take long to bring them out of their shells.

     Krissy (the mommy) on the other hand is already very friendly and loves attention! It is really nice to have this family here now so they can receive the love and attention (and good nourishing food) that they had been needing for a very long time before I rescued them along the side of the highway two weeks ago.

UPDATE on Danny's return from his vet visit this evening

     I was supposed to pick up Danny from the clinic at 5:00 this evening, but when the clinic called saying he wouldn't be ready until 6:00 p.m., Guy and Kim (who were still helping me with the dogs plus office work) went to get Danny while I stayed at the shelter to give Julie her scheduled insulin and meal and to take care of Snowflake, who usually requires a couple of final outings before bedtime.

     It was dark when Guy and Kim retuned with Danny at 6:30, and Guy said that after they arrived at the clinic and the doctor brought Danny into the waiting room, Danny came bounding over to Guy and gave him big, slurpy doggie kisses! This means that the fellow is feeling pretty peppy!

     We still needed to catheterize Danny (the second and last time of the day), so we took the flashlight with us to Danny's kennel yard right outside Danny's end of the trailer, and after this procedure was finished, Guy and Kim left for the night, and I took Danny to the big play yard for a little sniffing around fun. He is feeling better! I could tell by the way he trotted around the big yard.

     Tomorrow morning Danny goes to the clinic again for the second treatment at 9:30. Recent arrival Boarder Collie Billy goes too to have his stitches removed (from his neuter operation), and the doctor might want to begin Billy's treatment for heartworm disease tomorrow also.

We're in for a cold night

     It's late now and all necessary heat lamps are on in the shelters for those dogs and puppies who especially need the extra warmth. It will be in the 30s tomorrow morning. We sure wish we could provide a little heat for all 65 of them!

Straydog UPDATE posted WEDNESDAY 11/13/02 at 10:00 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 13 2002

Wounded stray Husky needs medical attention

     When I checked email messages first thing early this morning, I found a message from a man who lives in a nearby town who said that he and his wife had found a wounded Husky mix female a few days ago who appears to have been shot in the leg. The couple have been taking care of the weak dog as best they could these few days, but haven't been able to find the dog's owner, and they said the dog needs immediate medical attention, which they have not been able to give her due to the expense. The man went on to say that they didn't have the heart to take the dog to the local pound for fear that because the dog is hurt, she would be euthanized immediately. When they heard about our no-kill shelter, the man emailed us right away.

     There was also a phone message this morning on our answering machine from the same gentleman, which he had left last night, saying the dog's leg had begun to bleed more and the man was very very worried and was waiting to hear from me.

     Since it was four a.m. when I got these messages, I didn't want to call the man right away, so I emailed him saying we'd make room for the Husky and to take her right to our vet clinic this morning. At 6:00 a.m. I did call and left the same message--that we would take in the dog and for the man to take her to our clinic, if this was possible, and to please try and get in touch with me again ASAP.

     If this dog had been a healthy dog, not in need of medical attention, I would have told the couple what I've had to tell five other people this week who've called about the apparently healthy dogs and pups they've found and wanted us to take: We Are full and cannot take in any more dogs or puppies at this time. But a wounded dog in dire need of medical attention made me stretch our limit.

     Finally the man called at 7:00 this morning and told me that the gunshot wound was bad and that the dog's leg was very swollen and the open wound was bleeding. I told the man to take the dog to our vet clinic, and he said he would have the dog at the clinic within a half hour.

     I called the clinic and told them about the dog coming in and that I'd at the clinic at 9:30 with Danny for his scheduled 2nd IV Fluid treatment.

Danny and three other dogs go to the clinic

     Danny's health seems to be improving a little. His stools were very good this morning compared to practically no bowel movement at all for the last three days, and he can even urinate a tiny bit by himself now, which to us is improvement! (We still use the catheter twice a day.) The treatments that Danny Boy gets at the vet clinic for his cancerous tumor (of the prostate) seem to be helping him a lot.

     Billy, a recent arrival who was neutered two weeks ago, was due to have his stitches removed and begin the first treatment for Heartworm Disease

     Misty was due for her scheduled bi-weekly allergy injection, and little Puppy Perry needed to have the doctor look at his eye. I think he has an infection.

     Dr. Morton took care of the dogs one by one, and I put them back in their crates in the van, one by one, and then after the doctor took Danny to a room for his treatment, we went to see the Husky, now named "Frosty."

Frosty the Husky

     Frosty is a beautiful Husky. Her fur is blended shades of silver and frost, but when the doctor brought her out of her kennel, the thing I noticed most was her swollen hind leg and the open wound where she had been shot. She was holding her leg off the floor. I walked over to her, and as I knelt down to pet her, she looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. The doctor and I, practically at the very same time, expressed our feelings toward the inhumane subhuman who had shot this precious animal.

EVENING UPDATE ON FROSTY:

     When I went to pick up Danny around 4:00 this afternoon, the doctor was in surgery and unavailable, but he had asked the vet tech to show me the x-rays of Frosty's leg, and the tech explained that the bone was so shattered by the bullet fragments still in her leg that it would be an extremely difficult surgery to try to repair the bone, and there was a possibility that Frosty's leg might have to be amputated. But the doctor wanted to discuss all this with me tomorrow before doing anything. They had already given Frosty something for pain and an antibiotic and had stopped the bleeding.

     At least Frosty is in good care now at our clinic. It is so hard for me to believe there could exist in the world a human so cruel that he could shoot a dog.

Straydog UPDATE posted THURSDAY 11/14/02 at 8:30 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14 2002

Frosty, the wounded stray, has surgery to save her leg

     This morning I took Danny Boy for his third IV Fluid treatment, and when I went to pick him up this afternoon, the doctor had just finished the two-hour surgery on the newly rescued stray Husky mix, Frosty, who had been shot in the hind leg. The doctor took me to see this beautiful, big Husky, who was still under the effects of the anesthetic as she lay on his operating table. Her left hind leg (that the bullet had gone into) was so swollen from infection that there were little holes in the stretched skin. The long incision from the surgery to repair the breaks in her leg went from her knee all the way up to her hip.

     The joint in that leg had been shattered by the 22 bullet, the doctor said as he showed me the x-rays that he had taken just before the surgery, and this is what really worried him, plus the femur bone had been broken by the impact of the bullet, and the doctor had had to put a plate on that to hold it together. This would normally be okay, but the broken bone also has a split in it, which isn't good.

     Dr. Morton wanted to do everything he could to save Frosty's leg from being amputated. He thinks the surgery may help but said we just don't know yet. Frosty will have to stay at his clinic for probably two weeks so he can watch her closely as she recovers. I'll be checking on Frosty every day.

     No animal deserves this horrible act of cruelty.

Straydog UPDATE posted FRIDAY 11/15/02 at 9:25 p.m.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15 2002

New stray Frosty is recovering at our vet clinic from gunshot wound surgery

     Frosty is doing well today, the doctor said. When the doctor checked on her this morning, Frosty was standing holding her wounded leg off the floor, and she even wagged her tail a bit. They have soft blankets in her kennel at the clinic, and they are taking very good care of her.

     We welcome donations to help with the rapidly growing vet bill for Frosty's surgery and care.

Who's going to Adoption Day tomorrow?

     On our trip to Adoption Day tomorrow at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville in Dallas we'll be taking two of Freckles' pups, Lucy and Louie. (See Lucy and Louie in the MPG videos below.) They are adorable, and we'd love to have them be adopted together, but we know this just may not be possible. One person called tonight inquiring about the pups, but she only wants one puppy. She'll be going to our adoption day tomorrow to look at them.

     Nine-month-old Black Lab, Amber will be going along with two-year-old small Shepherd mix, Melissa, and Dallas, another small Shepherd mix fellow, who's about six years old.

Straydog UPDATE posted SATURDAY 11/16/02 at 8:47 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16 2002

Little Lucy would not have survived if Pat hadn't tube-fed her during the first couple of weeks of Lucy's life.

Louie climbs on Sister Lucy's back while Brother Luke (who was adopted last Saturday) looks on with Leo resting in the background. (This photo was taken six weeks ago when the pups were quite a bit smaller than they are today.)

That's Louie on the right tugging on a knotted cloth with his brother, Luke, just over a week ago.

Luke, Louie, Lucy and Leo (Friday, November 8, 2002)

SATURDAY EVENING ADOPTION DAY RESULTS:

Little Lucy and her twin brother, Louie, are adopted together!

      Little Lucy and Louie went to Adoption Day today along with older dogs, Amber, Melissa and Dallas.

      A woman came into Canine Commissary to see Lucy and Louie, intending to choose one of them to adopt, and she finally decided on Puppy Lucy. As always, when people want to adopt small puppies, we tell them that two pups will keep each other company while the new "parents" are away from home, and we always ask if they'd like to adopt the siblings together. This woman thought she wanted only Lucy, so Susan Devers, one of our volunteers, took Lucy to her new home for the home check. Susan reported that all was just perfect for this little pup and that without a doubt Lucy would be one very pampered little pooch!

     A short while later as Susan was driving back to Canine Commissary, the woman called the store and asked our group to "Please hold on to Louie! We want to adopt Louie too!"

     When the woman arrived back at Canine Commissary to pick up Louie, she told Susan and the rest of our volunteers that Lucy had been so happy here at the store playing with her brother, Louie, but that after they'd gotten Lucy to their home, without Louie, Lucy was so sad they decided they did not want to separate this little brother and sister pair, so they decided they wanted to adopt Louie too--and they did!

     So back to the store they came with Little Lucy (who was all "decked out" with her cute new collar on) to pick up her little brother. How happy the pups were to see each other again! We're all really glad they were able to be adopted together.

Frosty the Husky continues to do okay

     The update on Frosty (the stray who had been shot in the hind leg) is that she is continuing to do okay after her surgery to repair the wounds and shattered bone. We continue to pray that she won't lose her leg.

     We'd like to thank all of you who have been so kind to call and email us with your kind words and donations for Frosty.

     If you would like to help with Frosty's growing vet bill, which includes the surgery and her stay at the clinic for the next two weeks (while she is recovering under the watchful eye of our vet), please send your donations to:

Morton Small Animal Clinic
1404 E. Tyler Street
Athens, Tx. 75751

 

and please make a note on your check that the donation is for Frosty so they'll be sure to apply your donation to our Straydog account.

     We thank you very, very much for your concern and your help.