Straydog UPDATE posted WEDNESDAY 4/30/03 at ~8:47 p.m. CT

Pat's Daily Dog Log

WEDNESDAY APRIL 30 2003

Julie dog has an epileptic seizure

      Most days we just never know what's going to happen around here. This morning at about 7:00 when Tina was about to take diabetic Julie and her kennel companion Jed to the big play yard for their turn to play in "the park," Tina called us over the radio announcing with urgency that something was wrong with Julie.

      Because Julie is diabetic I grabbed the honey thinking she was having a diabetic seizure. As I neared Julie's kennel, I could see that she was having a seizure because of the way she was shaking while Tina tried to comfort her, and I quickly squeezed a good amount of honey on my fingers and rubbed it around the inside of Julie's mouth.

      As soon as I did this, I remembered that Julie has also had epileptic seizures and that this could very well be the cause of her seizing, and I wondered if I had done her much harm by giving her a mouthful of honey when her blood sugar was probably not out of balance!

      Tina went ahead and took Jed to the park, and within a few minutes Julie was back to normal, and I took her to the big play yard to join Jed.

      I called our vet and talked to him about this seizing episode, and I told him that I had given her honey before realizing that it was probably an epileptic seizure. Dr. Morton suggested we just keep a close watch on her for now.

New arrival, Redd, has been adopted by employee, Joel!

      Caregiver Joel is the Straydog employee who drove to Mesquite (Texas) to pick up the rescued stray named Redd on Monday, April 21st, and Joel's heart went out to the pathetic, skinny stray dog. Joel wanted to give Redd foster care, which we arranged after Redd's initial vet check and spay surgery at our clinic.

      It seems that after just two days of foster care, Redd had adopted Joel, and the feeling is mutual with Joel about adopting Redd. It was last Saturday that the Adoption Papers were signed allowing Redd to become a forever companion to Joel.

      The following is a note that Redd "wrote" to us (with a little bit of Joel's help):

Dear Pat and Bill,

Hello, I am Redd, the puppy [frightened young dog] you helped to save. I just wanted to thank you for a few things. The first is for saving my life because if it weren't for people like you to help me, I would not have made it this long. Thanks for caring like you do. I want to say thank you for saying you would take me into your shelter, and I know you would have given me a good home there, but thank you for letting Joel come and pick me up, because we both fell in love right away. Thank you for letting Joel foster care me. I have a big house to play in now, and I figured out that I am the boss and what I say goes. I have two big beds to sleep in, but I choose to sleep with Joel. I have my own blankets and pillows too. I have a big back yard to play in, and I have so much fun hiding from Joel. I have a TV with cable and my own radio that plays good country music. I also know that Joel is a really good cook, and I got three meals brought to me in bed on my first day with Joel. Thank you for giving me a life that I have always wanted and dreamed of.

Thank you for everything. I love it right here and I love Joel!

Redd