Straydog UPDATE posted TUESDAY 4/22/03 at ~10:11 p.m. CT

Pat's Daily Dog Log

TUESDAY APRIL 22 2003

Morning trip to the clinic to visit new arrival, Redd, and to bring Lassie home

      This morning I went to the clinic to check on Little Lassie, and the new arrival stray dog, Redd, whom we had brought to the clinic yesterday. I looked in on Redd first, and the vet tech said that Redd permitted the early morning clinic "dog-walker" to put a leash on Redd, and after an initial response of fear Redd allowed the dog-walker to take her outside for a potty walk. This was really good news.

      Then the doctor came and talked to me about Redd and said he would examine Redd shortly and would have the vet tech give the forlorn looking dog a much needed bath. Dr. Morton said he would give Redd her vaccinations and preform her spay surgery too, and he would call me later to let me know the results of the checkup tests.

Lassie is well enough to come home

      Next Dr. Morton and I went to see Little Lassie, and the doctor said
she was well enough to come home, and (as he had said yesterday) it must have
been a bout of severe colitis that had made her so sick. Little Lassie will be taking medication for the next few days. She was really happy to see me coming toward her clinic kennel, and she was looking so much better and healthier than she had looked yesterday. She was happy to hop in the van for the ride back to our shelter to be with her best bud, Sandy.

The nearly blind and totally deaf little Aussie puppies, Jack and Jill, go to the big play yard for their first outing

      Sure, we'll just walk these hyper little fellas to the park on leashes. This was our idea, but the pups didn't think this was a good idea at all, and they put up such a tremendous fuss when the cloth leashes were put on them that we realized the leash training was going to take a lot of time, as it usually does with all puppies.

      Guy ended up carrying the two wiggley pups to the big play yard while I tried to take their pictures.

      Once the pups were put down in the big fenced play area, they didn't hesitate for one moment to run around and begin their very first investigation of "the park," which has so many new "aromas" to check out.

Puppy Jack amazed us

      What a fun time both pups had, but Jack really amazed us. He has (we believe at this time) no sight at all and is totally deaf (as is his sister), yet he took off running and sniffing as tho he had no handicap at all. He and Jill are as carefree and happy as Blind Puppy-Dog Chubs (who has no eyes). The three of them have no fear of anything.

      Jill has fairly good sight in her right eye, and she ran all around the yard checking things out. Jack had no problem either! He'd run for a short distance, then stop, raise his little nose up in the air to get a "picture" of where he was or where everyone else was, and off he'd trot to join me or Guy or his sister, Jill.

Rounding up these pups was easy ... today

      Until we figure out a touch signal to teach these puppies that it's "time to go home," we'll be chasing them down all over the park I'm sure. Today rounding these fellas up was no problem: Guy just swooped the pups up and carried them back to their kennel.

      The leash training and the time-to-go-back training will come.

[From Bill, the editor and "webmaster": More photos were posted Wednesday morning. I had to come to Richardson Tuesday to take care of my 94-year-old dad (who lives alone) after he called me at Straydog saying he needed me. I took him to the doctor, and he'll be okay. He's got a bad cough, and the doctor prescribed some medicine. I'll stay here and work remote till Dad's better. Pat uploaded the photos of Jack and Jill in the park Wednesday morning so that I could download and process them and get them on (or linked to) this page, which has now been done.]

Tomorrow bunches of pups and dogs will be seeing the doctor

      We have the whole morning "booked" solid at the vet clinic tomorrow for a bunch of puppies and some dogs.

      Rosie's six puppies are going for their second vaccinations; Jack and Jill are going for their second vaccinations; Puppy-Dog Kimberly is going for a dip treatment for her mange; Misty is going for her allergy injection, and German Shepherd Heather is going for hip x-rays. This is a doggie-van full, and the trip will take half the day.