Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 6/16/03 at ~9:30 p.m. CT

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

MONDAY JUNE 16 2003

[Thanks again to daughter, Erin, for doing today's update while I was interviewing for a part-time Spanish teaching position at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens (Texas) to help supplement my Social Security and pension. Although our Board of Directors has always wanted both Pat and me to be paid for our efforts at Straydog Inc., I want to continue to remain financially disinterested in our cause.]

Jack and Jill digging to China!

     Boy, do these little special-needs pups have FUN, whether romping in the big play yard , sitting in or playing in their swimming pools, or just licking and loving on (and sometimes trying to pull down the pants of) their caregivers, all of whom we think have fallen in love with the little fur-babies. (It is still very hard to believe that Jack can't hear or see anything, and Jill can't hear and has only some vision in her right eye. They behave as normal puppies behave. It is incredible!)

     Caregiver Joel said that two or three times a day he fills in their "digs," though none of their previous holes have ever been THIS big!

Pepsi to be returned (yet again)

     Chris and Ryan are very heartbroken that the adoption of Pepsi won't work with their family. Dogs are very territorial, and Divot decided that he didn't want to share his territory after all! Also cats are sometimes too big for their britches. Sammy (the cat) is a little too bold. It sounded like Sammy wanted to play with Pepsi like he plays with Divot, but Pepsi hasn't developed his 'cat manners' yet! Pepsi plays way too rough with the kitty! (Luckily Sammy is okay, though, after a few bouts of rough play).

     What Straydog needs to do in the future is insist that there be a gated, separate area for the new dog in a home with a kitty. This will be a place where lots of nose sniffing can happen but no other physical contact until the animals really know each other and the people really know what the animals' behavior will be. Some contact, playing if they want, while the doggie is on a leash would be good for several weeks or even a few months. Cats can get themselves into big trouble if an environment without monitored contact is not imposed.

     It takes time for animals to make adjustments to new additions to the family. Without knowing exactly what to do and what to expect there is heartbreak now on all sides of this adoption. Maybe in the future Straydog can figure out a way to better prepare families with multiple animals. It's hard to know how these things will really work, and we thank Chris and Ryan for trying their best to make this work. They were thinking of Pepsi, not wanting to have him go through a lot of turmoil with Divot and the other dogs, who don't seem to want to share their space with him now.

Puppies getting much bigger

     Tomorrow Pepsi will move back in with his mother, Krissy, and Puppy Rudy, who was put in Krissy's kennel after Pepsi's adoption yesterday, will go back with his mother, Rosie, and brother, Benny. Rex is still okay being away from his family, and he is very much enjoying the company of still-timid Nikki. Rex is a beautiful brown pup with tiger-like stripes.

     These pups are getting bigger, and it's difficult for the caregivers to get in and out of Rosie's kennel with all three pups excitedly jumping on them. Maybe Rosie and just two pups will be okay. That is what we'll have to do, because we have no more kennel space.