*Adoption Day Saturday, May 31 - PetsMart on Central at Parker in Plano (Texas)
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
FRIDAY MAY 30 2003
Emily goes to Dallas for her knee operation
Bill and I left at a little after seven o'clock this morning with Emily in the back of Bill's car on the 83-mile trip to Dallas Veterinary Surgery Center where Dr. Darryl McDonald would be performing surgery to repair the cruciate ligament tear in Emily's right knee.
By 9:00 a.m. we were at the surgery center on Trinity Mills Road just west of the tollway in Dallas, and we saw Dr. McDonald right away. We know him well as he has performed surgeries on several of the other dogs in our care over the years, and this vet is a wonderful specialist in this field.
Emily is a very active little dog!
Our question is always, "How could this have happened?" And Dr. McDonald's answer is that this type of injury is an "athletic injury," and in a way we should feel good because it shows that we allow the dogs to have a lot of room to run and play, which is very important for them to have a happy life, and because of their having the room to be athletic, these injuries can (and unfortunately will sometimes) occur. Dr. McDonald added that the shelters that keep their dogs in small cages never have this problem, which is often very expensive to repair.
Emily is certainly a very active little dog, and she shares a big kennel with her very active, bigger friend, Pokey, a good-size black Chow mix. These two fellas are inseparable companions and are always tussling around together and chasing each other around and around their big kennel yard.
We left Emily in Dr. McDonald's care and will pick her up tomorrow
We've been through enough of these surgeries in the past with other dogs (including Sandy, Ol' Pup, Bobby and Susie) to know the post-surgery routine really well. We know that Emily will come home with a thick cotton "cast" on her entire leg and this cast will have to stay on for two weeks. (And the cast cannot get wet!)
Emily will have to be kept quiet for a total of eight weeks, which means she will be confined to our big recovery kennel in the kitchen. She'll be able to go outside for several short walks every day, and we'll also have her go outside when her kennel mate and pal, Pokey, has his turn in the play yard. Both dogs, of course, will have to be on leashes so that Emmy won't take off charging around the play yard!
The last time our daughter was over and saw there were no dogs in the Recovery Kennel, she asked why we leave this big kennel up in the kitchen when it takes up so much space. Well, managing a shelter with 65+ dogs and puppies, and sometimes very tiny puppies, we never know when this inside kennel will be needed. It seems to remain empty for only short periods at a time, and it has often come in handy for emergencies. (We also often have as many as three kennels in the kitchen and living room/office areas.)
*Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
CURRENT WEEK:
* Outdoor shelter work continues even on rainy days [PHOTOS].
* Rex is returned a second time;
* Nikki meets Puppy Rex, and for the first time she comes out of her shell [PHOTOS];
* Little Rex misses his mom and is returned to Rosie's kennel.
* Blackie goes to the vet with Puppies Annie, Amy and Willie [PHOTOS].
* Sweet Sassy Katie goes to the clinic for mat removal and a bath;
* Back at the shelter Katie shows off her "summer-do" in the big play yard [PHOTOS];
* Nikki and Rex are having a ball together [PHOTOS]
* Old Blackie is much better today.
LAST WEEK:
* Puppy Willie moves in with Amy and Annie [PHOTOS];
* Willie starts out as the "tough guy," but the girls quickly put him in his place! [PHOTOS]
* More mixing and matching: Puppy Benny visits Puppy Kimberly and gets homesick at sunset Sunday;
* Puppy Benny is rushed back to his mother [PHOTOS];
* Kimmy gets a new friend: Little Puppy Willie [PHOTOS];
* Rosie and her kids are digging under their corner-cut feeding gate.
* Tinkerbell has her spay surgery while under sedation for removal of burrs from her ears;
* Tinkerbell comes home to our Happy Home for Strays [PHOTOS].
*Adoption Day Saturday, May 31 - 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
