Straydog UPDATE posted WEDNESDAY 5/21/03 at ~9:35 p.m. CT

Pat's Daily Dog Log

WEDNESDAY MAY 21 2003

Busy day: Five of the dogs see the vet PLUS a hit-and-run puppy is rescued

     This has been another really busy day at our shelter--first with a trip to the vet clinic taking the dogs who needed to see the doctor for one reason or another, and then, in the afternoon we received a pleading email message from a woman who'd picked up a puppy who had been hit by a car and needed immediate help.

Angel, Buffy, Benny, Rudy and Misty visit the vet clinic early this morning

     Bill and I arrived at Dr. Morton's Small Animal Clinic in Athens (Texas) with the van full of dogs and pups shortly before nine o'clock this morning.

     We took Black Lab Angel for what appeared to be another ear infection, Misty for her bi-weekly allergy injection, Puppy Rudy needed his vaccination and his brother, Benny, needed to have a re-check for the eye irritation he's been experiencing, which appeared to be clearing up. Buffy wasn't scheduled for today's trip, but he woke up this morning with a swollen eye and a quarter-size raw area above his eye. The only thing we could think of that might have caused the swelling and raw spot would be some sort of an insect bite, and he needed to have it looked at.

One by one the dogs see the doctor

     Misty was a good girl for her allergy injection (as she always is).

     After we put Misty back in the van, Bill and I carried in Puppies Benny and Rudy for their turn. Rudy got his third puppy vaccination, and Benny's eye was checked, and it's getting much better, the doctor said.

     Angel was examined next, and Dr. Morton prescribed medication for her ear infection. Buffy saw the doctor last, and Dr. Morton said it could be possible that Buff had been bitten by a wasp or bee but that because Buffy had been rubbing and scratching the sore, his eye had become swollen and the sore spot had gotten so big.

3:30 p.m. Guy rushes to pick up a hit-and-run victim

     A couple of hours after we returned from the vet clinic, we received an urgent email message from a woman who had rescued a little Sheltie puppy who had been hit by a car.

     The woman, whose name is Sara, was driving her child to school this morning when she saw a puppy begin to veer out into traffic, and the car ahead of Sara "side-swiped" the pup sending the little fella tumbling to the shoulder of the road.

     The driver of the car that had hit the pup didn't stop to help the victim, so Sara immediately pulled over and rescued the puppy from the roadside.

     Sara took the puppy home, and because the puppy cried for nearly an hour, Sara thought the little Sheltie mix was probably hurt badly (tho the pup appeared okay), and since Sara could not afford to take the pup to a vet, or even keep the puppy, she was hoping we could help.

"Tinkerbell" (as Guy named her) is now safe at our vet clinic

     Because our clinic was scheduled to close at 5:00 this evening, I didn't think we'd have time to drive the 45 minutes to pick up the pup and then make it back to the clinic before it closed, so I called Dr. Morton to describe the condition of the puppy to him to see if we should wait until tomorrow to pick her up from Sara, but the doctor said to just get the pup now and he'd wait for us. Guy left right away to go get the pup.

Tinkerbell appears to be okay

     After Dr. Morton's careful examination of the puppy he said she did not appear to have any broken bones, but she did have huge burrs embedded in both ears and this along with the shock she was experiencing from the accident were the reasons she was in so much pain. She'd most likely have to be sedated in order for the doctor to be able to remove the burrs.

     Dr. Morton wanted to keep the little pup overnight for more observation, and in the morning they would bathe her and then she should be ready to come to our Happy Home for Strays.

     I'll call first thing tomorrow to see how she is doing. Guy said the pup is a cute little girl about six months old. Right now she is hurting and very frightened, but we are so glad she will be okay. (See photos of Tinkerbell in tomorrow's update.)