Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 3/24/03 at ~9:41 p.m. CT

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

MONDAY MARCH 24 2003

Big trip to the vet clinic

      The morning was cool and beautiful as we put Misty in the van to go to the clinic for her allergy injection and put Terry and Tina, who were going for their second puppy vaccinations, in their traveling crate in the van. I stuffed the long list of things to get from the clinic and questions to ask the doctor in the pocket of my shirt, and off we went.

Misty, Tina and Terry go in first

      After Misty received her allergy injection, and Tina and Terry got their little puppy checkup and vaccinations, I put them back in the van, and the doctor brought in new arrival, Pit Bull Nikki.

Nikki is ready to come home

      Nikki has been spayed now, and vaccinated, and as we've already reported, when she regains her health, she will begin heartworm treatment. For now she needs to rest, eat good nourishing food (she is 20 pounds underweight, our vet said), and she needs lots of tender loving care. The scars on her face and ears have let us know what a horrible life she must have had.

Leo has recovered

      Leo is fine, the doctor said. He "passed" the blob of stuffy toy that had made him so sick last Friday. (At least we're pretty sure it was a piece of the stuffy-toy that he had apparently chewed up and swallowed!) He was sure ready to come home too.

Stuffy toys are removed from most kennels

      All stuffy toys have since been removed from all the kennels of the dogs who are known as the "stuffy-toy-chompers," except for the little puppies, whose teeth are not yet strong enough to chew the toys apart. And of course five-year-old Susie still gets her pink "baby" stuffy-toy because she takes very good care of her baby.

The other recent arrivals are fine

      Little Kimberly is still very shy, but she will come out of her shell. She is a sweet little dog.

      Mother dog, Rosie, continues to take good care of her children, Pebbles, Ricky, Rex, Star, Rudy, Tiffany, Gizmo and Benny. Rosie likes her "private" half of their kennel, and she visits it often during the day when she needs a break from the kids.

Jesse-Bear came to me for petting!

      Wow! This sure made my day! After I arrived home from the clinic this morning and got all the dogs back to their kennels, Bill drove the van to it's parking area. As I walked by Jesse and Laua's kennel, both dogs ran to the fence to greet me, and I stopped to reach my hands through the fence to pet Laura and to try to pet Jesse, as I do every time I pass by their kennel.

      Laura came running up to get her petting through the fence, and to my great surprise Jesse came up for petting too! I couldn't believe it. He pushed his furry head right up against my outstretched hand for petting, so I happily pet the fellow.

      Then, I wanted to see if I'd get the same reaction from him if I went Into his kennel, so I went in to visit with them. Again Laura and Jesse, came up to me for petting. Jesse nuzzled his head in my hands, and I rubbed his neck and pet him for at least five minutes! This was absolutely wonderful. It sure doesn't take much to make us happy around here.