The two dogs seem to be compatible as Darla Fort gently holds Helen while Winston tries to give his mom a kiss.
*Photos after Guy and Kim and the dogs got back from Adoption Day, Saturday evening
*New MPG video of pups trying to stop Pat from repairing kennel hole
Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
SUNDAY DECEMBER 1 2002
Helen must wait a few more hours, but she's a very patient doggie
Neal Fort just called at 12:45 from Texarkana. It'll probably be another three hours before they arrive.
It's almost five now, and we should be hearing from the Forts any minute now.
At five-thirty Neal called again, and they're still about an hour away. Lots of traffic between Texarkana and Dallas.
EVENING UPDATE
Helen has been adopted and is on her way home with her wonderful new family!
This is a dream come true for Helen (the nearly blind and totally deaf Great Dane pup). Her new family arrived around 6:30 this evening to meet Helen, introduce Helen to their dog, Winston, and (if all the introductions went well) to take Helen home to become part of their family. They have been waiting for this day since Darla first emailed us inquiring about Helen a couple of months ago.
Darla and Neal Fort are very compassionate people, and their hearts went out to Helen the minute they saw her pictures and read the story about her on our website--how Helen had been born deaf and practically blind and how she had been found in a dumpster when she was just three months old. Neal and Darla wanted to adopt Helen and take care of her for forever. We've kept in close touch by email, these past two months, and now Helen is on her way to her new home.
The introduction of Helen to her new family
It was about 6:30 p.m. and already dark outside when Neal and Darla arrived in their big SUV with their two young children, Darla's parents plus their family dog, Winston. Because we wanted to introduce the two dogs on neutral territory, we chose to make the introduction outside the wood fence that surrounds our 32 kennels filled with more than 64 barking dogs.
Bill had taken a flashlight and walked down to the entrance of the driveway to help guide the Forts in and halfway up our hill to the planned meeting spot, while Guy, who had come in on his day off just to help us with the introduction, took charge of handling Helen because she is so strong. Guy harnessed Helen and walked her outside of the shelter fence and down the driveway to meet her new family. Shortly after Guy left with Helen, I went to "borrow" one of Mother Dog Krissy's three-month-old puppies, Pepsi, and I put Pepsi immediately in with Sweetie, who had been Helen's companion, so Sweetie wouldn't fuss at the sudden disappearance of her best friend, Helen. Much to my relief Sweetie and Pepsi took off chasing each other playfully all around Sweetie's kennel. With those two pups happy, I went to join the others for the big introduction.
All ended up beautifully!
Darla and Neal fell in love with Helen immediately (all over again) upon seeing her in person for the first time. Then came the introduction with their friendly, sweet dog, Winston, who is a handsome four-year-old fellow. (You have to remember that Helen is deaf and she cannot see well at all--especially at night.) When they brought Winston from their car, the sudden smell of another dog startled Helen at first, and she was a little snappish, but after several sniffy greetings and several walks beside Winston, up and down our driveway (which was lit up by the headlights of both Guy's truck and the Forts' car), the dogs began to get along fine. The short walks, side by side, let Helen gradually realize that Winston was there close to her and that Winston was friendly.
With the introduction being a success (we were all so relieved!) the Forts got back in their car along with Winston and Helen. Their little girl and Darla's mom were in the back seat with Winston, Darla and their son were in the second seat with Helen (who was sitting on the floor in front of Darla, being petted and hugged by Darla, and Neal drove with Darla's dad in passenger seat up front.
I'm sure we'll be hearing from the Forts soon! Helen is in for the time of her life, living as a very pampered house pet with her wonderful new family.
Yesterday:
Straydog UPDATE posted SATURDAY 11/30/02 at 7:27 p.m.
Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 30 2002
Adoption Day is underway
Guy and his wife Kim (who volunteers every Saturday) left in the van a little before nine a.m. with five puppies plus Amber, Dobie and Melissa. The dogs and pups will be divided up between the two Canine Commissaries--the Lower Greenville store in Dallas and the store at 15th and Custer in Plano, Texas. We'll report this evening on our Adoption Day Results.
Driving from Montreal headed for Houston the Forts got delayed in a snowstorm raging across New York state
There was an email from the Forts in the inbox this morning (since I go to bed at seven o'clock, I don't get evening emails till the next morning) saying they'll now be arriving early afternoon tomorrow (Sunday). Helen's not worried. She's a very patient doggie!
EVENING UPDATE:
Puppy Perry is adopted!
Yea for Puppy Perry! Susan Devers made the home visit with this adorable pup, and her report is that Perry has a wonderful new home now, where he will be a very pampered house pet!
None of the other pups or dogs were adopted today (even taking two adoption day groups to two different stores!), but we're all hoping that next Saturday we will find more homes for more pups and dogs.
Sunday is Helen's big day, and Sweetie has a tentative adopter as well!
We'll have an exciting update Sunday evening about Great Dane Pup Helen and her new family, and then after Helen is adopted, we have a new home all lined up for Helen's companion, Little Puppy-Dog Sweetie.
Sweetie's new mom, Nina, adopted Foxhound, Beauty, from us near the end of March of this year, and last summer, on one of the adoption days when Nina was volunteering as a dog sitter and was in charge of Puppy Sweetie for the day, Nina fell in love with little Sweetie and wanted to adopt her. But then Helen joined us, and Helen needed Sweetie as her companion and play mate, so Nina chose to leave Sweetie here with Helen, until Helen's adoption. After Helen goes with her new family, Nina will take Sweetie.
Anticipating the upcoming adoption of Helen, we have already begun introducing Sweetie to the other pups here, and they all get along beautifully, so immediately after Helen leaves, we will put two puppies in with Sweetie, and this will keep Sweetie from missing Helen.
We try very hard to keep all the dogs and puppies happy here, and it can be difficult for the ones "left behind" when their playmate/kennel companions are adopted. If we don't have another "replacement" pup or dog, we "share" a fella, putting a compatible dog in with the newly-single dog for at least half the day every day. This way every dog (or pup) has a friend and learns to be friendly to other non-threatening dogs.
We'll write on Sunday's exciting adoption (Helen 's adoption) as soon as we can.
*Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
*Pat's Dog Log + Photo Pages - Previous Weeks
*Our Dogs for Adoption - Volunteer Shannon's page
*Our Dogs for Adoption listed on Petfinder.org
*Our Mission & How We Got Started
Special-needs
dogs raise vet bill!
If you would like to help with the vet expenses for both Danny Boy and Frosty (our most recent big-medical-expense dogs), you may send your tax deductible donations directly 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 Straydog Inc. so they'll be sure to apply your donation to our Straydog account.
As always we thank you, very, very much, for your help.
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