New Photos FROM THIS PAST WEEK:
(1) Blind Puppy Chubs and Sister Cassie play in the snow and ice
(2) Blind Puppy Chubs and Sister Cassie play in the snow, continued
More New Photos & Videos:
(4) Ice and Snow Photos from Tuesday, February 25th
(5) More Ice and Snow Photos from 2-25-03
(6) More Ice and Snow Photos from 2-25-03
(7) More Ice and Snow Photos from 2-25-03
(8) Ice and Snow hangs on thru Wednesday 2-26-03
*MPEG Video: Mandy and Bear run in the iced-over park
*MPEG Video: Rhonda drains water hoses before freezing nights
More New Photos POSTED AT 6:30 P.M. MONDAY
(9) We look at Jesse-Bear's x-rays and go to his clinic kennel
(10) Pat picks up Jesse-Bear's in his clinic kennel
(11) Jesse-Bear receives tick killing medicine from Dr. Morton
(12) Jesse-Bear comes "home" to Straydog
(13) Rhonda drains hoses + Misty & Fritz in the park
(14) Justin is adopted by Chaz and Shari Miller (2/26/03)
(15) On Jesse's 2nd day at Straydog he lets Pat pet him in his kennel (2/27/03)
Straydog, our Happy Home for Strays
(The hexagon is the "Big Play Yard," which we usually refer to as "the park")Straydog is a "lifeboat" for rescued dogs. A vacant kennel spot is an empty seat in our "lifeboat," so please, if you're interested in adopting a dog, see our "Dogs for Adoption" links below, or call to inquire about dogs you may have seen recent photos of but who may not yet be included in our "Dogs for Adoption" links. And please continue to support us. We will continue to row this "lifeboat" to shore, dropping off rescued dogs into the arms of good adopters, and we will continue to fill the space left vacant by each adopted dog with another desperate homeless dog for as long as we can hold on. We believe our example (and the example of all other no-kill shelters) must be publicized in order to wake people up and make them aware of the necessity to SPAY and NEUTER their pets so that homeless dog-rescue "lifeboats" will no longer be necessary. (Ditto for cats!)
Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
SUNDAY MARCH 2 2003
The sick mother dog of the four Tenison Golf Course Dog Family is rescued!
For several weeks Pam Mitchell has desperately been trying to catch and rescue these dogs now known as "The Four Tenison Golf Course Dogs." Straydog agreed to bring the dogs to our shelter as they are rescued because no one else will take them in. We now have one of the two, eight-month-old siblings, Jesse-Bear, who was rescued Friday (February 21st) and is now at our shelter. Still on the loose were the mother and father dog and Jesse-Bear's sibling--until today.
For Straydog today's rescue mission began as soon as I read the URGENT message that Pam had written last night and had sent to several of us who have been involved in the rescue of these dogs. The message began: "MAMA DOG ALERT - IMPORTANT"
The message from Pam went on to say:
"I found mama dog today in a wooded marsh area. She appears to be very sick, moving slowly and is not traveling with the other dogs. She is keeping her distance. It seems she is in pain when she moves, although she is walking on all fours. . . . ."
Pam's note went on to say:
"Can we catch her tomorrow [Sunday]? Can anyone get their hands on the [sedative]. ... What can I do? The mother dog needs our help. I know she is bad off if she is not traveling with the other two dogs. She has always been the leader of the pack. You can tell she is in distress. Please Advise"
The emergency rescue mission begins
After reading the above message I called Pam right away saying that as soon as any of us could find someone who had the dog sedative that we needed for the rescue, I would have Guy and Randy come to help her try to catch the dogs with sedative-in-food method of rescue. (I couldn't believe that I had a container of the pills, but it was outdated!) Pam and others had tried catching the dogs in traps, which is how Jesse-Bear was caught, but the other three dogs were just too smart for this trick. Now with the mother dog being so sick, we had to do something to help her immediately.
Another hour went by during which time Pam and I frantically tried to find someone with the sedative, and I also found out then through my calls to our vet clinic that our vet was out of town, so I couldn't obtain the sedative from him. The vet tech who was there at the clinic caring for the dogs in kennels finally answered the phone and said she'd be at clinic again in the afternoon, so if we did catch any of the dogs, she'd be there to admit the dog(s) if we could get them there before 4:40, which was her regular time to go home.
Finally Pam called saying she had managed to get the sedative, which set the rescue wheels in motion, and Guy and Randy left immediately for Tenison Golf Course.
This was Guy's day off, but when emergencies arise, his dedication to the welfare of dogs shines, and he is always available, as is Randy, and they are both great with dogs. I knew they both would be a tremendous help to Pam.
Billy Lawson arrives to help too!
Guy and Randy met Pam at the golf course around 10 a.m., and Billy Lawson came to help too. Billy has been a long-time friend of Straydog and has often volunteered his services on our Saturday Adoption Days. We were all thankful for his help today! Everyone had walkie-talkies so they could keep in touch with each other if the dogs should begin to wander after eating the food with the sedative in it.
Around 1:00 this afternoon Randy called saying they'd caught/rescued the mother!
Randy said that the mother and sibling were the only ones to eat the food with the sedative pills in it. The injured father was there too, but he, as always, stayed a "safe" distance away from the other two dogs, who were taking the food from the rescuers. The group followed the dogs "for miles and miles" as they tracked the dogs through (and all over) the golf course, literally dodging golf balls as they whizzed by them just above their heads, wading through ponds, hiking up hills and down hills, running through the woods, getting smacked in the face with tree branches, running back through the woods again, walking across and along railroad tracks, climbing fences, and then, finally, the mother dog lay down. The group waited and watched her for a while, and then Guy made the move to catch her, and he did!
Guy said that she snapped at him out of fear when he grabbed her, with gloved hands, but after following the dog for such a long time there way no way he was going to let go of her, and he held on tight. Finally she quit trying to get away and Guy and Randy kept petting her until she calmed down. Then they got her to the van (via golf cart) and called us to say that Billy had taken her to an emergency clinic in Dallas (to make sure she was okay) while the others continued trying to rescue the other two dogs.
Not very good news about the mother dog
I called the Emergency Vet Clinic and talked to the vet who had examined the mother dog, and the doctor said that the mother dog is positive for heartworms and she had a lot of fluid in her belly because of the heartworm problem, which is not good news at all. The vet helped the dog by aspirating fluid, giving her some medication and then released the mother dog to Billy with medication, saying that there was nothing more she could do for the dog and there was no reason to keep the dog there since we'd be taking her to our vet clinic right away.
It was about 2:45 p.m. when Billy rejoined the group at the golf course with the dog in the van. Guy and Randy had to leave right away in order to get the dog to our vet clinic while the vet tech was still there. After they left, Pam called to say that she would stay to keep an eye on the other big pup, who was hiding in a large drain pipe, and she was so amazed that Guy had crawled halfway in the pipe in an effort to reach the big pup, almost catching him, but the dog had kept scooching away from Guy.
Pam called tonight to say she was so amazed at the dedication and determination shown by Guy and Randy to help the dogs. She wanted me to thank them again for their help in the rescue of the mother dog and to thank Billy Lawson as well.
To the person who paid the emergency clinic vet bill of over $400.00 for the mother dog's emergency examination, we Thank You!
Dr. Morton calls at 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Morton just called me saying he had just returned home and had seen that I had tried to reach him.
I told Dr. Morton that the mother dog was at his clinic and about her heartworm problem. He said that tomorrow morning he will examine her, estimate her age and evaluate the situation and discuss the various ways we may be able to help her. I'll be there too.
*Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
LAST WEEK:
*Photo Pages and Videos
LAST WEEK:
(1) Blind Puppy Chubs and Sister Cassie play in the snow and ice
(2) Blind Puppy Chubs and Sister Cassie play in the snow, continued
(3) Betsy goes to the vet for a check up of her broken leg
(4) Ice and Snow Photos from Tuesday, February 25th
(5) More Ice and Snow Photos from 2-25-03
(6) More Ice and Snow Photos from 2-25-03
(7) More Ice and Snow Photos from 2-25-03
(8) Ice and Snow hangs on thru Wednesday 2-26-03
*MPEG Video: Mandy and Bear run in the iced-over park
*MPEG Video: Rhonda drains water hoses before freezing nights
(9) We look at Jesse-Bear's x-rays and go to his clinic kennel
(10) Pat picks up Jesse-Bear's in his clinic kennel
(11) Jesse-Bear receives tick killing medicine from Dr. Morton
(12) Jesse-Bear comes "home" to Straydog
(13) Rhonda drains hoses + Misty & Fritz in the park
(14) Justin is adopted by Chaz and Shari Miller (2/26/03)
(15) On Jesse's 2nd day at Straydog he lets Pat pet him in his kennel (2/27/03)
WEEK BEFORE LAST:
(1) Heather meets Jeff in our effort to find her a kennel mate
(3) Boomer and Heather meet in the park (2/17/03)
(4) Boomer and Brigitte get together in the park
(5) Boomer and Brigitte start playing and seem compatible
(6) Buddy and Brigitte are introduced
(7) Blind Chubs and Sister Cassie get another leash lesson
(8) Betsy's back home from the clinic staying in the kitchen kennel
(9) Betsy goes out on a potty break
(10) Betsy's outing in the park
(11) Betsy and Snowflake wake Pat in the middle of a cold, rainy night
*Adoption Day Saturday, March 8 - PetsMart on Central 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