Straydog UPDATE posted WEDNESDAY 2/26/03 at ~9:28 p.m. CT

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26 2003

View toward the big play yard from our trailer door Wednesday morning

Leo (Blind Freckles' son) looking thru the icy chain-link fence (2/26/03)

 

New arrival, Jesse (formerly known as Bear, the golf course stray) is now at our Happy Home for Strays

      We were glad that the roads were clear enough today, after the ice "storm" we had yesterday, because we wanted to go to the clinic to pick up Jesse (formerly known as Bear), who is the first of the family of four "Tenison Golf Course Strays" to be rescued.

      When Bill and I arrived at the clinic, Dr. Morton wanted to show us the x-rays of Jesse's hips, which I had asked the doctor to take since I had been told that Jesse might have been hit by a car. Dr. Morton explained to us, as he showed us the films, that Jesse's hips are in perfect condition, which is a big relief. [See photos to come.]

      Then we went to Jesse's kennel at the clinic, and I picked up the frightened big pup and carried him to the examining room. "Other than being a very frightened pup, the fellow appears to be okay," Dr. Morton told us again adding that he is a very handsome fellow and that he is a little younger than the doctor had originally thought. The doctor now estimates Jess to be from eight to 10 months old.

Jesse does look beautiful now

      Jesse had had a bath and his thick fur had been brushed until it was soft and silky smooth. There were no more mats and no more ticks, and he smelled so good. Now that Jess had had his bath, and was dry, Dr. Morton gave him a treatment for ticks to make sure to get them all (see photo to come), and Jesse was ready for the ride home.

      The vet tech, Donna, carried Jesse to the van, and the young fella and I sat in the back on the floor of the van together. I wanted as much close contact with him as possible because I knew when we put him in his kennel, he'd be shying away from us until he gradually grew to know and trust us all. So I petted Jesse and talked to him all the way to our shelter, about a 14-mile trip.

      When we arrived, we put Jesse in his kennel, and just as I thought he'd do, Jess went right inside his big shelter and turned to peek out at me through the doorway. I hurried to prepare a bowl of food for him and set the bowl inside his shelter. Only when I moved away from the food, would Jesse come to eat.

Jesse (formerly known as Bear) at his shelter door at Straydog

Jesse started eating after Pat left his food inside Jesse's shelter.

      Throughout the rest of the afternoon all of us went to visit Jesse often. We'd go into his kennel and sit a short distance from him, as he "hid" in the safety of his new shelter home, and we'd talk to him, telling him what a pretty boy he is and how happy we are that he is here. The last time I was in to visit Jess, he was snuggled in the hay of his dog house, which sits inside the shelter, and he looked at me this time, but made no move to come to see me. (Photos to come of some of this.)

      After Jesse feels a little more comfortable here, we'll introduce him to either Gidget or Brigitte. He needs a little friend.

      At this time there has been no report of any of the other Tenison Golf Course dogs being caught/rescued.

 

Justin goes to his new home!

      This afternoon Justin's new mom and dad, Volunteer Shari and her husband, Chaz, came to our shelter to take their adorable little puppy-dog to his new home to become a companion to them and their dog, Mactavish, and to meet their family cat. The temperature was in the 30's and a slight mixture of misty sleet was forecast. When Bill asked the couple how the roads from Plano were, Chaz responded the drive was mostly bad, and "for us to come all this way on the icy roads in Plano shows just how much we want Justin."

      Justin had already met the family pet dog, Mactavish, during one of our recent Adoption Days, and Mactavish and Justin had gotten along beautifully. Since Justin is still a pup, none of us anticipate a problem with Justin and the cat, and Sheri happily filled out the adoption form. (Photos of all this to come.)

      After the adoption papers were filled out, Justin was officially adopted. I put Justin's collar on the adorable pup, and he was all ready to start his wonderful new life as a happy house pet. Chaz put Justin in the back of their car and gave him many new toys to play with during the long ride home. Justin thought this was really neat, and he picked up a cute stuffy orange carrot and crawled on top of the thick quilt to chew on his new toy. Sheri and Chaz will be calling us within the next few days to tell us how all is going with Justin at his new home. What a wonderful life Justin will have now!