Straydog UPDATE posted SUNDAY 5/11/03 at ~9:00 p.m. CT
Pat's Daily Dog Log
SUNDAY MAY 11 2003
Two pups left over from an animal auction were going to be dumped on the highway!
The flea markets in this area (we've heard about) that sell (or auction off) puppies and dogs should be shut down and/or fined! We recently heard that a nearby flea market, which sells puppies and dogs in addition to goats and chickens and other animals, during their "Saturday Evening Auction," turns loose at closing time the little puppies and dogs who haven't been sold during the auction. We've never been to this flea market "auction night," so we have no first-hand proof that this is true, and we certainly haven't wanted to believe that this could happen.
One of our employees saves two "leftover" frightened little puppies from being dumped
Danielle, one of our employees, called at 7:00 this morning to say she had been at the "animal auction" flea market yesterday evening and ended up rescuing two "left over" frightened little puppies from being dumped! Danielle explained that she had stopped at the flea market on her way home from work yesterday evening to see if she could find a few gardening tools at the flea market booths, and while she was there, she wandered over to watch the auctioneer at the"animal auction," who was was trying to sell two puppies to the people sitting in the bleachers in front of him.
Danielle said that the terribly frightened little pups were being passed around to all the people sitting in the bleachers and were handled roughly as they went from one person to another, and when none of the people showed any interest in buying the confused puppies, the auctioneer then offered to pay anyone $10.00 per puppy to take the pups off his hands! This brought about a quick response from one woman, who immediately accepted both of the frightened little pups, receiving $20.00 from the auctioneer along with the puppies.
After the auctioneer left for the evening, the woman told her friends that she really didn't want the puppies and now that she had the money, she was going to let the puppies go and would just abandon them along the side of the highway as she left the flea market grounds.
Danielle saves the puppies
Danielle said she was horrified to hear that the puppies would be dumped on the roadside, and she knew from the woman's tone that she was serious, so Danielle said she walked up to the woman and offered to take the pups in order to save their lives, even tho she knew she would not be able to keep them. The woman gladly handed them over to Danielle.
This was the reason for the early morning call, Danielle explained. She had kept the puppies in her laundry room over night, but she didn't know what to do with them now, and she was wondering if....
The two puppies are safe at our vet clinic now
I told Danielle not to worry, that we'd take the puppies and I'd try to get in touch with our vet to see if it would be possible for Danielle to take the puppies to the clinic on her way to work this morning. Because it is Sunday our vet clinic is closed, but Dr. Morton always will meet us there for any type of emergency we might have, even if it's just to take in new arrivals. With these pups coming from a flea market it stands to reason there is a good chance they could be sick. Parvo virus, of course, immediately crossed my mind.
Dr. Morton was at his home when I called after getting off the line with Danielle, and he said to have Danielle bring the pups to the clinic right away. If she arrived before he got there, the vet tech would admit her, and he would meet Danielle there shortly to examine them.
A while later the two little puppies were safe at our vet clinic. By the time Danielle had arrived, Dr. Morton was there to meet her. (This is one wonderful doctor!)
One little puppy may be sick
As anxious as I was to hear from Dr. Morton about the condition of the pups, I somehow missed his phone call to me an hour or so later to tell me how the pups were. I would have asked the doctor a bunch of questions including: What is the condition of their health? How old are they? What kind of pups are they? But because I missed the call, Dr. Morton left a message saying that although their coloring is good, one of the little pups is very lethargic, or she could just be terribly frightened. She has a runny nose and wanted no food, both of which symptoms could indicate sickness. The other little pup appears to be okay. She ate well and is playful. Both puppies were very thirsty and did drink water. Dr. Morton may call me later today, if there is any change. If not, I will be at the clinic first thing tomorrow morning to see the pups and ask all the usual questions. (I will also take along my cameraman [editor and husband], Bill.)
Tomorrow I'll see the puppies; today we will prepare a place for them
Since we had no adoptions yesterday, we have no kennel space for these little frightened pups, so we'll have to improvise for the time being.
For now Betsy will have to give up her outside "recovery kennel"
Betsy, who broke her leg three months ago, is in the very last stages of recovery as her leg continues to heal, and recently she has been spending her days outside in a medium-size kennel (okayed by the doctor), which was a perfect size for her--roomy enough to move around, yet not big enough for her to run and play during the remainder of her confinement period. At night Betsy has been staying in the big kennel in the kitchen, which she doesn't mind one bit.
Now that Betsy has gone through this long recovery period, she should be able to go back with her big brother, Buddy, in another week or so, according to the doctor. We'll start walking them together on leash in the big play yard soon--probably tomorrow.
So, what we will have to do to make room for these little pups is to keep Betsy during the day in her house kennel, where she stays at night, so that the pups can use the outside "Betsy kennel" for their home. We'll give Betsy lots of trips outside to the big play yard to keep her happy for the two weeks remaining in her "confinement period," until she can be returned to her original kennel with her big brother, Buddy.