Straydog UPDATE posted TUESDAY 5/20/03 at ~9 p.m. CT

Pat's Daily Dog Log

TUESDAY MAY 20 2003

A cool, rainy, overcast day with no special events

     Nothing special to write about except Sweet Sassy Katie. I took Katie to the park today as her caregiver on one of her several scheduled daily outings. And I started thinking about how old Katie is and how bad her arthritis is getting, and I thought I'd better write about her tonight:

Sweet Sassy Katie needs a good home

     We'd love to have all of the many dogs at our Happy Home for Strays be adopted by loving families, but there are some dogs, like Katie, who need a wonderful home maybe just a little bit more than the other dogs.

Katie is one of our Senior Citizens

     Katie was brought to our shelter on May 14, 2000 by a woman named S.J., who had found Katie aimlessly wandering around in a big field. Katie's once wavy black fur was so tightly matted and full of burrs that it was easy to see that she had been a wandering stray for quite a while. So this kindhearted woman took the matted dog right to her vet for a checkup. Katie is possibly a Boarder Collie mix (according to one vet) (and Bill thinks she has some Poodle in her), and she had just a few health problems such as arthritis and a heart murmur.

     S.J. couldn't keep Katie as her house is already full of strays, and when she couldn't find a good home for Katie, S.J. contacted us.

Katie has been with us for a little over three years

     Katie has been with us for three years now and has earned the nickname of Sassy Katie, because of her playful sassiness, and also because she will not let us brush her or even attempt to trim her toenails. Also during this time she's had just one kennel companion, but she became irritated with the fellow and let us know she preferred to be in a kennel all by herself.

     Even tho her arthritis affects her a lot, she has many good days when she gets around with no problem, and she acts playful and happy and silly and sassy, and then there are many days when her hips ache, and it's hard for her to stand up.

     Every fall we pray that some wonderful person will come along to adopt Katie before winter hits, so she can become a much loved house pet and will be able to spend the cold winter days and nights in her new family's home, where she'll be cozy and warm. But three winters have come and gone, and no one has wanted Katie. We do all that we can to help keep Katie warm at our Happy Home for Strays during the cold weather. We have a heat lamp in her shelter and a heating pad in her dog house, which is inside her shelter, but I'm afraid this won't be enough for her next winter.

Katie's arthritis is gradually getting worse

     In spite of keeping Katie on the medication to help her achy bones and the medication to help ease the pain on the days that her arthritis bothers her, she continues to have more and more bad days, and we can tell she is getting no better.

     If Katie is not adopted by next winter, we will have to make room in our house for Katie to stay. She deserves to be comfortable and warm and sleep on a soft bed, and this year we will make sure that this happens for her.

     If you have room in your heart and your home for this precious dog, please contact us, Pat or Bill Arnold, at 903/479-3497