Straydog, our Happy Home for Strays
(The hexagon is the "Big Play Yard," which we usually refer to as "the park")
(Photo taken May 2002)
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 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 "left over" 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.
Yesterday
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Straydog UPDATE posted SATURDAY 5/10/03 at ~10:00 p.m. CT
Pat's Daily Dog Log
SATURDAY MAY 10 2003
Some students from Highland Park High School raised $573 + a big bag of change (that we haven't had time to count yet) for Straydog, and they brought the money to us and helped us out dog-sitting at Saturday Adoption Day!
We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the students who worked so hard on their fund raising projects on behalf of Straydog, our Happy Home for Strays. We know there were many students who participated in these efforts to help our shelter, and I wish I knew all of your names so I could thank you personally. We appreciate your help very much, and we want you to know that the money you raised will go toward our never-ending and ever-increasing vet bill.
A special thanks to Clayton Dallas and Sam Bennette. They were two of the fund raisers, and these two young men offered their dog-sitting expertise during our adoption day today too. "They are both naturals with the dogs," Guy said, who is one of our adoption day group team leaders (and van driver). "Clayton and Sam were a huge help!" Many other students wanted to volunteer their dog-sitting services too, and we'd love your help on other Saturdays. Just give us a call when you're available.
Thank You Highland Park High School Students!
We don't yet know who's who, but they are Becky Blaylock, Roxanne Jett and Courtney Lane.
No dogs or pups adopted today
Many people looked at the puppies and dogs today, and several nice folks went home to "think" about one of the special puppies or dogs they saw today, saying that they might be in touch with us during the week. We're glad people want to discuss the adoption of a pet with other family members. Bringing any pet into the family should be looked upon as a lifelong commitment and should be very carefully thought out.
Rosie's two remaining pups, Rudy and Benny, in the puppy area with Volunteer Clayton and a little girl. Behind the little girl is Volunteer Cathy, who's sitting with Mandy. *More photos of our Adoption Day today (5/10/03)
*Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
LAST WEEK:
* More dogs get groomed by Pat:
* Max and Molly: mats and toenails [PHOTOS];
* Purebred Blind Chubs and Sister Cassie go in for spay and neuter surgery [PHOTOS];
* Kimberly goes in for vaccination and mange dip [PHOTOS];
* Emily, limping badly, goes to clinic; bad arthritis in right knee [PHOTOS].
* The work at our shelter never ends;
* We now do the mowing and weed-eating [PHOTOS];
* Caregivers/Kennel Team Members busy working [PHOTOS];
* Distant thunder causes Alice to tear a hole in her kennel fence, which Joel repairs [PHOTOS].
* Misty and Julie go to the vet clinic for regularly scheduled appointments;
* Too many unwanted dogs need homes!
* We may be taking in a mangy pup;
* Dogs we happen to rescue; Other rescued strays; owner-surrenders;
* The seven dogs we received calls on today;
* Temperatures in the 90s today;
* Military canines in Iraq, where it's a lot hotter than Texas.
# "Surrendering family pets? If it's not an emergency, please think about it first!
* We're glad we at least have room for the one puppy who desperately needs our help;
* Teddy Bear and Sunny get their ears "washed";
WEEK BEFORE LAST:
* 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.
* Four puppies adopted today at PetsMart in Plano (Texas);
* Little Ricky (now named Ernie) comes to PetsMart to visit our adoption group;
*Adoption Day Saturday, May 17 - 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
