Volunteer Amy on the far left and Straydog's ownTina (who volunteers to go to adoption day on Saturdays, one of her two days off) in the white T-shirt
Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2 2003
Bad news and good news on the results of Davey's colon biopsies
The bad news is that the colon biopsies Dr. Deen sent to the diagnostic laboratory indicate "spindle cell sarcoma" (cancer). The GOOD NEWS is that "the features of this sample suggest low-grade malignancy." After Dr. Morton, our regular vet, got the lab results from Dr. Deen, Dr. Morton called a veterinary oncologist, a Dr. Harris. She said that this type of cancer won't respond to chemotherapy and that it's in a very bad place for radiation. Dr. Harris also ruled out surgery because of the large number of tumors, indicating the cancer (tho low-grade) has spread significantly in the colon.
Dr. Morton says that with this kind of low-grade cancer Davey may live a year or more , and Dr. Morton suggests we do nothing at this time other than to continue a high-fiber diet, which Dr. Deen had already prescribed (along with certain meds) for Davey's colitis.
Having had a lot of experience cooking a very high-fiber diet of whole cereal grains (including brown rice, barley, oats, and other grains) and lightly cooked vegetables (including broccoli, carrots, leafy greens, cabbage and many other vegetables) both Bill and I have already begun cooking special meals for Davey, which so far he enjoys very much. This is a very inexpensive therapy, tho the amount of cooking involved is somewhat time-consuming.
Yesterday
...
Straydog UPDATE posted SATURDAY 2/1/03 at ~9:41 p.m. CT
A Note from Bill
on Saturday, February 1, 2003 ...
At a couple of minutes past
eight this morning we were all startled by what at first sounded
like a tremendously loud series of explosions. Pat and I were
in the house getting harnesses and rabies tags and paperwork ready
for Adoption Day, and we immediately ran outside to join the kennel
crew/caregiving team expecting to see a gasoline truck on fire
somewhere nearby or a downed airplane, but the horizon everywhere
(360 degrees) was clear of smoke. No one had any idea what could
have happened. The only thing in the sky was a jagged contrail
that started and stopped abruptly. We thought that that contrail
must have been left by a jetliner that must have passed over quite
a bit earlier. The rumbling continued like distant thunder for
what seemed like several minutes even after we went back inside
the trailer house. We turned on the news right away, but there
were no reports on anything for at least 10 minutes. Then finally
the reports came about the Space Shuttle Columbia. No debris landed
anywhere near us that we are aware of, tho we are located
in the path of the fallen debris. It deeply saddens us all that
seven lives were lost in this horrible accident.
Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1 2003
FOUR pups adopted this Adoption Day!
Wow! Today our dog sitting volunteers set a new record of four adoptions, happening all on this Saturday afternoon, February 1, 2003!
Little four-month-old siblings, Bonnie, Blake and Melinda went to today's Adoption Day at PetsMart in Plano along with older pup, eight-month-old Lab mix, Doodles, and young dog, Billy the Border Collie. The morning went by with no adoptions, but by 4:00 this afternoon, the four pups were all settled in their new homes! Susan Devers and Sue Knudsen made the home visit with Doodles, "who will be so spoiled!" Susan Devers added after telling me about Doodles' wonderful new mom and dad and the nice home she'll be living in as a pampered house pet.
While Susan and Sue were on the home visit with Doodles, two families came into PetsMart to look at the younger puppies. One couple fell in love with little Bonnie, and another family wanted to adopt Melinda and her brother, Blake, together! [Bill got photos of all this and will post them Sunday.]
Susan and Sue came back from the Doodles home visit just in time to take Bonnie to her new home, while Guy took Melinda and Blake to their new home. Everything turned out perfectly with all the pups and their families, and Susan, Sue and Guy said it was easy to see what a wonderful life Doodles, Bonnie, plus Melinda and Blake (the pair adopted together) will have.
This has been a wonderful day for adoptions. Maybe Billy and some of the other fellas here will find their forever families next Saturday (February 8th). We will be at the same Petsmart (Central at Parker in Plano) then too.
*Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
*Photo Pages and Videos
LAST WEEK:
(1) Melinda and Cassie socialize outside while Chubs naps in the house (1/26/03)
(2) Old Davey meets a young and rambunctious Heather in the park (1/29/03)
*MPEG Video: Old Davey and young Heather meet in the park.
(3) Davey and Heather are not going to become kennel mates
*MPEG Video: Heather runs and romps alone in the park
WEEK BEFORE LAST:
*MPEG Video: Brigitte, Gidget and Justin's 1st trip to the park
(2) Davey goes to the Big Play Yard for his first playtime visit
*MPEG Video: Davey sniffs the grass in the park.
*MPEG Video: Davey runs around in the park
(3) Carolyn and Frank Pope visit Straydog, our Happy Home for Strays (1/22/03)
(4) Puppies Melinda, Blake and Bonnie are getting bigger
(5) Davey moves into his "new" kennel
(7) Chubs and Cassie learn to go down the ramp to their outside kennel
(8) More of Chubs and Cassie learning to go down the ramp
(9) Melinda and her siblings try to play with Toby thru the fence
(10) Blind Chubs and his sister, Cassie, in their outdoor kennel
*Adoption Day Saturday, February 8, 2003 - We'll be at the PetsMart at Central Expressway at Parker in Plano, Texas.
*Our Dogs for Adoption - Volunteer Shannon's page
*Our Dogs for Adoption listed on Petfinder.org
*Our Mission & How We Got Started
*"Goodbye, Danny Boy." - An example of the only acceptable use of euthanasia
Special-needs
dogs (including puppies) continue to increase our vet bill!
If you would like to help directly with the vet expenses, 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. (Or you may send a donation directly to Straydog Inc., P.O. Box 1465, Gun Barrel City, Texas 75147.)
As always we thank you, very, very much, for your help.
List of some
of the items we're in need of:
One of our supporters emailed us recently suggesting that we post a "wish list" on our website, and here it is:
We Always Need:
Postage Stamps, paper towels, bleach, dish soap, X-large Rubber Gloves, a few Pointed Shovels and Garden Rakes, Dog Leashes, various sizes of Snap-On Dog Collars (not the buckle collars) and various sizes of Dog Harnesses ... plus a lot of other stuff.