Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 11/25/02 at ~8:47 p.m.

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

MONDAY NOVEMBER 25 2002

Freckles is spayed and comes home from clinic

     This morning I took Blind Mother Dog Freckles to the vet clinic to be spayed, and her little son, Leo, for went along for his second puppy vaccination. The whole staff at the clinic is so wonderful, and they know that Freckles (being totally blind) frightens really easily, so the doctor was going to do her surgery shortly after I arrived with her, and to keep her away from the loud barking and growling sounds of other dogs in the regular dog kennel area (which would have been extremely frightening to Freckles because she cannot see) Donna, the vet tech, carried Freckles to the Cat Quarters, where the whole section of cat kennels is quiet. When Donna came back, after getting Freck settled, she said she'd put Freckles in a nice kennel that is just the right size for her (being sightless) so she will feel secure.

     After the doctor examined Leo, and gave him his second puppy vaccination, Leo and I came back home.

     Late this afternoon Freckles was ready to come home from the clinic, so I made the 32-mile round trip once again. Freckles, who's not feeling too good after her surgery, is now snuggled in her warm, hay-filled dog house inside the shelter she shares with her son, Leo. The shelter had already been warmed up by the heat lamp, and Freckles will probably sleep soundly all night with Leo snuggled up close beside his mother.

     By now it was after 5:00 p.m., and Tina and I had to rush to take care of Danny Boy, having to use the catheter on him while it was still light enough to see. After his procedure Danny had his turn to trot around the park again, which is his most favorite thing to do.

     It was dark by the time I came back into the house with all of Danny's "stuff" to wash and put away, and Snow was fussing to go out, so I carried her to the Big Play Yard so she could take care of business while I tended to Julie (the diabetic dog) giving Julie her scheduled insulin injection and meal.

     Snowflake was sitting at the play yard gate waiting for me in the darkness when I came back to get her after taking care of Julie, and I scooped Snowflake up and carried her back to the house. She's content and happy and sound asleep now in her doggie bed with her blankets all bunched up beneath her--just the way she fixes them every night, and all is finally quiet--thank goodness.

     A special thanks to our kennel team members/caregivers Guy, Tina and Rhonda, who all stayed past their scheduled shift, to help out in order to cover for the employees who were out sick today. I couldn't have managed without them.

Email from Kalli's new mom

     We got this cute email message from Kalli's new mom:

From :
"Judy"

To :
<straydog@straydog.org>

Subject :
Kalli

Date :
Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:12:04 -0600

Hi Pat, Just wanted to give you a quick update on Kalli! She is doing
great! She found the toy box right off and has toys all over the house!
Bonnie and Clyde are adjusting well so far, they love to run and play
with her in the back yard. We took all 3 of them on their first walk
together yesterday so Kalli could get familiar with the neighborhood.
Rolfe rigged up a leash that all 3 of them can be hooked up to and they
do really well as long as Kalli is in the middle. She is eating good and
yesterday she did not have one "accident" in the house which was really
good so soon. She sleeps by the side of our bed on her own quilt and
just snores away all night! This morning I got out of the shower and she
was snuggled down on my side of the bed! We will see what happens today.
We are at work, and they are staying inside, I get off a little early, so
hopefully they will be fine till I get home. She is so sweet. It is hard
to imagine anyone treating her the way they did, and also for her to be
so trusting and loving towards people. She also has a brand new collar
to match the other 2,of course! I will let you know how Kalli is doing
as the week goes on. Take care, Judy