Straydog UPDATE posted SUNDAY 6/29/03 at ~9:25 p.m. CT

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

SUNDAY JUNE 29 2003

Bobby is not being the perfect hospital recovery room patient Emily has been

     At 4:00 this morning Bobby got me up by barking in his kitchen kennel to take him out to potty.

     At 5:30 a.m. Guy came over to prepare and give Julie (the diabetic dog) her insulin, and Guy also took Bobby to the park to walk him. (Bobby has to stay confined and walked on a leash for the next 11 weeks before he can go back with his mother and his sister, Briar.)

     At 7:00 a.m. Bobby again was taken out to potty--this time by Caregiver Michael. Bobby was also fed and given pain medicine.

     At 9:00 a.m. Bobby was fussing in his inside kennel, and I tried to get him to go out, but he wouldn't move.

     At 10:15 a.m. Bobby still refused to go outside, but he continued to fuss.

     At 10:35 a.m. suddenly Bobby wanted to go out and willingly let me put the leash on him and escort him out the kitchen door. He urinated a whole lot as soon as he got into the big play yard.

     At 11:30 a.m. Bobby again fussed to go out, but he did not go to the bathroom.

     At 12:25 p.m. Bobby went out to visit his mom and sister, who were enjoying their first of two daily outings in the park. Bobby urinated and wanted to go back to his regular kennel with his family, but we had to bring him back inside.

     At 1:45 p.m. Bobby again fussed to go out, but he wouldn't do anything but sit by the gate hoping we'd put him back with his family, which we cannot do. His operation cost $937 (including a 10% discount thanks to Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center), and if he damages the work done by the surgeon, we'll have to do the operation all over again, so he's just going to have to fuss and be taken out many, many times daily.

     At 3:00 p.m. Bobby went out with his family for the second time and did some bathroom duties.

     At 4:15 p.m. Bobby went out again but no bathroom.

     It's now evening and Bobby's been out several more times, but I've been too busy with all kinds of other things to log the balance of his outings. Finally Bobby has been resting quietly from about 6:30 p.m. on. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day as he gets used to being in the house.

     Some of you may remember that when Bobby had his other knee surgically repaired back in 2000, Pat also had a rough time trying to keep Bobby happy, and finally she had to construct a small kennel right next to his mother and sister's kennel so he could be close to them without being able to move around too much and re-damage his repaired knee. The first night outside alone Bobby (wearing an E-collar) somehow broke a small hole in the fence trying to get back inside his family's kennel. Pat had to go out and sleep with Bobby in this special outdoor kennel till he got used to his new "situation."

     Because of the "Bobby situation" Shannon has offered to stay and work on Straydog office work all night tonight (and subsequent nights if necessary) in order to be able to tend to Bobby whenever he starts fussing during the night. Then I'll get up early (as usual) so Shannon can go home and get some sleep, and I'll take care of Bobby all day (with the help of the caregivers) till Shannon gets back tomorrow night. So, now we have an over-night shift here at Straydog, and it will continue as long as it takes.

     You may also remember the story of the rescue of Bobby, Briar and their mother, Momma Dog. The pups were about 10 weeks old when they came trotting up our side road following their mother, who is a regular, domesticated dog. The real tragedy is that these two beautiful siblings had not had human contact until we rescued them, and if puppies have no human contact during this early period of their lives, they will behave as feral dogs for the rest of their lives--very, very afraid of strangers and new situations.

Bobby lets new caregiver, Angel, put the leash back on him because he would NOT go to the bathroom on leash. We stayed close to him to stop him from running. Bobby was hoping to go back to his original kennel with his mother.

 

Bobby goes out of the park gate while his mother and Briar are getting unleashed in their kennel in the background.

 

Bobby (guided by Michael) reluctantly walks back toward the house and his kitchen kennel.

 

Bobby in his kitchen kennel

 

Emily continues to be a model hospital recovery room patient

     For four weeks now Emily has been inside the house and has behaved quite well most of the time, sleeping all night every night and rarely fussing to go out.

Emily in her new living room kennel

Still no word about the desperate puppies from near the Oklahoma/Texas border

     All we can do is hope the woman named Karen has found safe haven for the pups.