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 spot in a kennel 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 (financially). We believe that 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!)

  If you would like to help with our ever-growing vet bill, donations can be sent directly to:

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SUNDAY MARCH 30 2003

Julie is much better

      Julie, who had the upset stomach and diarrhea yesterday, is feeling much better today, and during her six p.m. meal, she appeared to be back to her normal self again, gobbling down her food at her normal super-speed.

Snowflake is having a hard time getting around now

      This sweet little old dog had severe arthritis and hip dysplasia and was nearly totally blind and deaf when she was rescued over a year ago from the median of highway 175. Shortly after her arrival to our Happy Home for Strays, she was diagnosed, by our previous vet, to have chronic renal failure and given just two to three weeks to live. With the help from another vet, we stablized her kidney problem and Snow has lead a happy life for over a year. Her hip problem has been mild until now.

      Although Snowflake has been taking medication to help with the arthritis and hip dysplasia, it's now becoming increasingly difficult for her to get around. When our doctor showed me her x-rays a few weeks ago, he was amazed that she could walk at all, let alone run as she sometimes used to do. (There's a video on this website of her running a month or so ago.)

      Maybe this is just a series of "bad days" for Snow. We give her medication for her achey bones, just as a human would take on the days when his or her arthritis kicks up, and we can tell this little old dog is happy. But we are very concerned that she can't get around very well now.

Snowy "snags" a GRUB!

      Yuck! While I was outside with Snowflake this evening so she could "take care of business," she was slowly walking around the big play yard, sniffing the lawn when suddenly she lunged forward and grabbed something in the grass right in front of her. I was right beside Snow, and when she took the lunge I glanced down and saw what looked to be a Big White Slimy Grub!

      To grab anything from Snow's mouth, such as a juicy grub, is a foolish and very dangerous thing to do, so I quickly picked Snow up hoping she'd drop the goopy, fat worm, but this just made Snow chomp on the thing and then swallow it! I know I saw a big smile on this little old dogs face when she looked up at me!

Blind dog, Freckles, is going for eye surgery tomorrow

      This sweet little dog, who has no eyes, will be going for surgery tomorrow for the doctor to permanently close her eyelids. She gets painful infections so easily because of her partically opened eyelids, so to avoid further infections the doctor said Freckles needs to have the lids permanently closed.

      Freckles' surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning, and the only thing Freckles will be upset about (having to go through this surgery) is not being allowed to have her early morning meal!

Straydog UPDATE posted SATURDAY 3/29/03 at ~10:30 p.m. CT

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

SATURDAY MARCH 29 2003

EVENING UPDATE:

Julie got sick today, and we took her to clinic

      Julie ("our" diabetic eight-year-old dog) wasn't feeling well today. She had an upset stomach causing her to vomit and have bouts of diarrhea. Because Julie is diabetic, I wasn't sure if this played any part in her illness, so I called our vet. He thought it was important to see her this afternoon and said he'd meet us at his clinic (which is closed Saturdays and Sundays) at 2:00.

      Usually Julie is quite hyper and climbs all over me while traveling in the car, but today she rested quietly in the back seat with me while Bill drove--another indication that she was just not herself today.

Dr. Morton examines Julie

      The tests Dr. Morton did on Julie showed that there is no problem with her kidneys, and everything else was fairly normal too, but she did have a slight fever, and this along with her other symptoms suggested a mild infection, so Julie will be on antibiotics for a while, and we'll watch her closely for the next few days.

These two Aussie pups (Terry the black and white one on the left) and Tina (who has a little color) were found in the middle of the road--DUMPED!

      Yea for little Puppy Terry! He and his sister, Tina, went to Adoption Day along with a some other pups, and Terry was adopted! Terry's new dad said that if Terry does get lonely, he just might come back and adopt Tina too, but for now Terry will have lots of chances to play with the man's adult daughter's two adorable little Shelties, who should keep Terry happy. While Guy was at Terry's new home, he met the daughter and the two Shelties and said that Terry had a ball with his two new furry little friends.

Tina, Terry's sister, meets three-month-old Kimberly

      We didn't want Tina to miss her brother, Terry, so as soon as Guy and the unadopted dogs arrived back at Straydog from our Adoption Day in Dallas, we put three-month-old Kimberly in the kennel with now single-dog Tina. (Kimberly joined us a week ago yesterday). The pups got along just fine! They had a fun time getting to know each other, and both have a funny, jumpy kind of way of playing. They'll be very happy now, and we won't have to worry about Tina missing her brother. Puppies need to be with other puppies (as well as other dogs and people).

*Click here to go to the HTML version of our April 2003 Newsletter

*Click here for the PDF version of our April 2003 Newsletter
(from which link you or any printing company or copy center can print copies. Please print or have printed a bunch of copies and distribute them to your dog-loving acquaintances.)

*Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

LAST WEEK:

SUNDAY March 23 2003: (1) List of vet stuff to do tomorrow; (2) New mother dog, Rosie, and her eight little puppies are doing beautifully; (3) Fence-board divider used to give Rosie a break.

MONDAY March 24 2003: (1) Big trip to the vet clinic; (2) Leo has recovered from swallowing piece of toy; (3) Stuffy toys removed from most kennels; (4) Jesse-Bear came to me for petting!

TUESDAY March 25 2003: (1) Puppy Rex is very sick, and it could be parvo virus; (2) Rex and his sister, Star (also looking sick), go to the vet clinic; (3) Parvo test is negative; (4) Rex stays in house kennel; (5) By mid-afternoon Rex is feeling a little better; (6) In the evening Rex starts howling for his family; (7) Sister Star is brought in to keep Rex company. (8) Disinfectant City

WEDNESDAY March 26 2003: (1) Nikki appears sickly and scared to death; (2) Nikki is much more standoffish than Jesse; (3) Puppy Rex is better today;

THURSDAY March 27 2003: (1) Another rescue mission is planned for the remaining dog of the Tenison Golf Course Family of Strays; (2) Newsletter is "hot off the press; (3) Newest arrival, Kimberly, is sick and is rushed to the doctor; (4) Later Kimberly seems okay.

FRIDAY March 28 2003: (1) Puppy Kimmy is doing much better today; (2) Every spare moment goes to working on mailing of newsletter; (3) Nina (long-time contributor) donates a riding lawn mower.

 

 

 

WEEK BEFORE LAST:

SUNDAY March 16 2003: (1) Mother Lab and 8 tiny pups coming tomorrow; (2) We are full and running low on funds, but ...; (3) Pam Mitchell visits; (4) Davey doesn't look well today.

MONDAY March 17 2003: (1) Mother dog and eight puppies are here; (2) Rosie is a very good mom; (3) Davey is doing okay today! (4) Snowflake is on the mend too! (5) Alice has her first heartworm treatment.

TUESDAY March 18 2003: (1) Pat's email down; (2) Short rainstorm gets everyone wet; (3) Old Davey seems happier and stronger today; (4) Rosie and her eight pups have tremendous appetites.

WEDNESDAY March 19 2003: (1) Goodbye, Davey; (2) Our veterinarian helped Davey (whose colon cancer finally overtook his will to live) go peacefully to sleep forever.

THURSDAY March 20 2003: (1) Pit Bull female caught in bait trap at Tenison Gulf Course; (2) Straydog to the rescue; (3) "Nikki" went straight from the pound in Dallas to our vet clinic in Athens; (4) Several strikes against Nikki; (5) Sally and Alice to go on home visit Friday; (6) Mama Laura goes to the Big Play Yard for the first time; (7) Jesse says, "No! I don't want to go to the park!"

FRIDAY March 21 2003: (1) Recent arrivals, Sally and Alice, are adopted! (2) A very unexpected event occurred on the way home from the home visit resulting in the adoption--we found another stray puppy; (3) Before we left the clinic, we went to see Nikki in her clinic kennel; (4) More trouble hits us--Leo is sick; (5) A couple of hours later Guy returned with Puppy Kimberly.

SATURDAY March 22 2003: (1) No adoptions today, but a tentative adoption is set for next Saturday; (2) Guy calls reporting he'd stopped at Alice and Sally's new house to drop off medicines, and they were on the couch with the dad; (3) Pam Mitchell calls with sad news about Papa Dog (of the Tenison Golf Course family of strays; (4) Papa Dog dies in Pam's arms; (5) Mama Dog Laura and son, Jesse-Bear, are here and are doing fine; (6) "Rainbow Bridge."

 

PREVIOUS WEEKS

*Photo Pages and Videos

 

LAST WEEK:

[Tons of photos to come]

 

WEEK BEFORE LAST:

(1) Davey (and Heather) in the park on Sunday, March 16, 2003

*MPEG Video: Davey plays dog ball in the Big Play Yard Monday (3/17/03)

(2) Cassie and Blind Chocolate Chubs stretched out asleep in their kennel

(3) Jesse-Bear plays in his kennel pool with a baseball cap

*MPEG Video of Jesse playing in his kennel pool with a baseball cap

(4) Pam Mitchell visits Mama Dog Laura and Jesse-Bear (3/16/03)

 

PREVIOUS WEEKS

*SUNDAY UPDATES: Headlines Linking to the Last 185 Consecutive Sunday Updates of our Straydog website, which is also updated nightly before ~11:00 Central Time U.S.A.

*Adoption Day Saturday, April 5 - PetsMart on Central at Parker in Plano, Texas

*Our Dogs for Adoption - Volunteer Shannon's page

*Our Dogs for Adoption listed on Petfinder.org, kept up to date by volunteer and member of our Board of Directors, Susan Southerland, Esq.

*Our Mission & How We Got Started

*"Goodbye, Danny Boy." - An example of the only acceptable use of euthanasia

*DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE

*Click here for continuation of our homepage with no changes to the continuation in several weeks