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" (and sanctuary) 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 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's Daily Dog Log
SUNDAY MAY 4 2003
Kind of a gray day, but it brightens up somewhat by mid-afternoon
Today started out sort of gray and misty, but by mid-afternoon the sun was beginning to shine, and the very light misting rain finally stopped.
More dogs get groomed:
Kennel companions Max and Molly are first on the list
I took a little time away from writing thank-you letters in my living room office today to do a little more grooming to some of our furry residents, and a very good time to do this is when the various pairs of dogs are brought to the play yard for their exercise fun. Max and Molly were first on the list to get brushed and have a toenail trim today, and Max needed a few small mats removed from his silky long fur.
Max is a beautiful golden-haired Chow mix, and he usually holds very still while I trim his nails and brush his fur. If we keep him brushed daily, he will never have a mat, but if we miss a day or two, his fur begins to tangle. Max was a good fellow and I managed to get all his nails trimmed and two small mats removed.
Molly was next
Molly has beautiful, very thick, fluffy white fur, and she is another dog who needs a thorough brushing every day. If we can manage to keep her brushed, she doesn't get mats (true of any of the long-haired dogs), and she always looks so pretty after a good brushing. Molly held still for me too, at least while I trimmed her nails, but she decided that the nail trim was all the grooming she wanted this morning, and as soon as I finished her last toe, off she ran to play.
Molly and Max have been together as kennel companions for a long time, and because of this, they are inseparable now, and will have to be adopted together.
Sir Anthony and his kennel companion, Little Susie, receive nail trims too
Sir Anthony, a big, handsome Lab/Coonhound mix, and his furry companion, adorable Little Susie, needed some grooming attention as well.
Susie is our little "ragamuffin" looking dog. Her long fur is very thick and somewhat of a mixture of being very course and silky smooth. It takes a good 20 minutes to get her totally brushed, and when she is brushed from head to the tip of her furry tail, she looks gorgous, until you let go of her! Then within seconds, as soon as she rolls on the ground or takes a "dip" in the doggie swimming pool, her beautifully brushed fur becomes tangled, and she has the appearance of the little ragamuffin dog again. Ragamuffin appearance or not she is a sweet little dog and looks adorable (to me) all the time.
Sir Anthony needs no brushing really, but he likes the attention, and does hold still for a few minutes. Nail trimming he isn't too fond of, but he lets me do it for the "cookie" he will get when the trimming is over.
These two companion dogs have been together at our shelter for a long time also, and because of the strong bond between them, just as with Molly and Max, Anthony and Susie will have to be adopted together.
Happy is doing okay
Senior Citizen Happy seems to be feeling much better today. (She was rushed to our vet clinic late afternoon Friday because her back left leg couldn't support her, and the x-rays showed advanced arthritis, and of course once again the vet saw the severe hip dysplasia in both of her hips.)
Today Happy is back to walking normally, which the doctor thought would happen, and Happy is feeling happy and playful today!
Nikki, is recovering progressively from her heartworm treatment
To those of you who continue to ask how Nikki is doing (the extremely frightened Pit Bull who is being treated for heartworm disease ) we're happy to report that we've had no more bouts of coughing from Nikki these last several days, and she is doing okay.
Yesterday
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Straydog UPDATE posted SATURDAY 5/3/03 at ~9:00 p.m. CT
Pat's Daily Dog Log
SATURDAY MAY 3 2003
Successful Adoption Day! Four puppies adopted!
This was a great day for four of Rosie's little puppies: Pebbles, Starr, Tiffany and Gizmo. They found their forever families today and are now settling in at their new homes as very pampered house pets.
Guy talked with the family who wanted to adopt Pebbles and said that the mom and dad and three children fell in love with the little tyke right away and immediately wanted to adopt him. After the adoption papers were filled out, they asked Guy to give them some ideas of what kinds of toys Pebbles liked so they could buy him his favorite things to play with. Guy said that about 15 minutes later he saw the family at the checkout with their shopping cart filled to the brim with bunches of toys and a pretty collar and matching leash, a puppy bed and absolutely everything else that a little puppy could possibly want to play with.
Guy made the home visit with Pebbles and later told us all about the beautiful big house that is now Pebbles' new home, with a huge fenced yard for the fellow to play in, adding that "this puppy will be a very spoiled little fellow!"
Later in the day Guy called again and said that while he was on the home visit with Pebbles, many other people came to see the pups, and a family fell in love with Starr and Tiffany, wanting to adopt these siblings together, which is wonderful news. Susan Devers took these two puppies to be with their new family, and she told the other volunteers when she returned that the pups are going to be royally pampered little house pets now!
Little Puppy Gizmo was the next puppy to find her forever family, and Susan arrived back from taking Tiffany and Starr just in time to make the home visit with Giz, who now also has a wonderful, loving family to take care of her for forever.
What lucky little puppies. Maybe next Saturday more of our furry friends will find their forever families also!
Little adopted Puppy Ricky (whose name is now Ernie) and his mom and dad came to visit our group during our Adoption Day just to say hi!
Guy said it was a wonderful surprise to see little puppy, Ricky (now Ernie), (another of Rosie's kids who was adopted two weeks ago) come into the store with his mom and dad! The family came to visit our group this morning, just to tell Guy what a wonderful little puppy Ernie is. He's so sweet and lovable and affectionate, and they feel blessed that they adopted the little fellow. It was really nice to hear from them.
Thank you, PetsMart
A special thanks to PetsMart and all of their staff, who are always so nice and helpful.
Thank you, Volunteers
And a special thanks to our dog and puppy-sitting volunteers who help make these Adoption Days possible. We couldn't do it without you.
The only photos we took today were of the group returning from Adoption Day:
*Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
LAST WEEK:
* Garage sale held to benefit Straydog;
* On their 2nd day back Sally and Alice have a good time in the Big Play Yard [PHOTOS];
* Julie has an epileptic seizure;
* New arrival, Redd, has been adopted by employee Joel, and the dog writes us a letter [PHOTO].
* Laura and Rosie go to clinic for spay surgery [PHOTO];
* Puppy Rex goes for checkup and 2nd puppy vaccination and is adopted again;
* Three more charges to our vet bill today;
* Happy is rushed to the clinic when she can't get herself up from a lying position.
WEEK BEFORE LAST:
* Heather has visitors, but no adoption [PHOTO];
* Border Collie Billie adopted and picked up by new dad [PHOTOS].
* I visit new arrival, Redd, and bring Lassie home [PHOTOS];
* A bunch of pups and dogs go to the vet clinic;
* X-rays show Heather's hips okay;
* Rosie's six remaining pups get their exams and second puppy vaccinations.
* Redd goes to live at Joel's home;
* Puppy Rex is being returned;
* Nikki coughs up blood; rushed to vet;
* Rosie & six pups go to park 1st time [PHOTOS];
* Jack & Jill dig over to see Chubs and Cassie;
* Jack & Jill later meet Chubs and Cassie in the park [PHOTOS];
* No adoptions today, but three returns [PHOTOS];
* Rex (one of the returns) is accepted back into his family [PHOTOS];
*Adoption Day Saturday, May 10 - PetsMart on Central at Parker in Plano (Texas)
*Our Dogs for Adoption - Volunteer Shannon's page
*Our Mission & How We Got Started
*"Goodbye, Danny Boy." - An example of the only acceptable use of euthanasia
If you would like to help with our ever-growing vet bill, donations can be sent directly to:
A Note from Bill ...
We want to thank those who have already donated to Straydog after receiving (via regular U.S. mail) our April 2003 Newsletter. For those of you who are not on our mailing list (which we would be glad to add you to if you would like to receive hard copy in the future) we provide the following links:
*Click here to go to the HTML version of our April 2003 Newsletter
*Click here for continuation of our homepage with no changes to the continuation in several weeks
