Straydog UPDATE posted SUNDAY 8/17/03 at ~7:41 p.m. CT

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

SUNDAY AUGUST 17 2003

We received the following email today from Larry, Jed's new dad

Erin and Straydog crew,

Just a quick note to let you know how Jed is doing. I've only had him for 24 hours now, but I don't see how introducing a new dog could go much smoother. The worries we had about the cats have turned out to be unfounded. Jed has shown absolutely no aggression toward any of them. Even when the kitten playfully grabbed his tail he just ignored it. One of the cats even slept next to him for awhile last night with no problem.

I'm still working on details of feeding (since I've been used to just leaving food out all the time), but it shouldn't take long to get into a routine. For now, I'm feeding Jed at the times listed in his paperwork and will slowly move them to match my schedule.

Jed has laid claim to the futon, but it does seem to bother one of his back legs a little when he climbs up on it. I'll set up some kind of step to help him out.

Other than that, I just need to get a bigger water bowl. Jed drinks serious amounts of water!

Regards,

Larry

Jack's mom called missing him tremendously

     Jack's mom, Lauren, called this morning to see how Jack is doing. She feels terrible that he's not home with her. She wanted to know my experience with aggressive dogs, and I asked her how Jack behaved at home with her. No problem whatsoever, she said. Jack only shows aggression when they're out and encounter other dogs or when strangers and/or strange dogs come to visit. On the other hand, Lauren said, when she walks Jack at night, he is very protective of her, and she feels comfortable and safe having Jack with her on these night walks.

     My response was that (in our experience) you can't have it both ways. If you want a dog with a docile personality (a Lab or a Retriever or an Australian Shepherd, for example), the dog's not going to be a great deal of help protecting you while walking him alone at night, and the dog's not going scare off burglars who might be trying to get into your house. (There are, of course, exceptions to this rule as there are to every rule.)

     Pat and I always had both kinds of dogs, I told Lauren, and you just have to handle them differently. You have to be very careful with an aggressive dog around strangers, children and strange dogs, but you can also sleep well at night knowing you're safe in your home.

     Lauren feels so bad about having brought Jack back to Straydog that she is seriously thinking about coming to reclaim him next weekend. I told her that we would like nothing better than for Jack and her to be reunited and for her to care for him taking every precaution not to let him get into situations where he could even possibly bite a person or attack another dog. (A dog's guardian [owner] is responsible for the dog's behavior--not the dog himself.)

     All of our staff have made friends with Jack, and he's behaving just like a normal dog around them. Jack is not a vicious dog by any means.

The days are so hot that we're starting one caregiver/kennel helper's shift at nine tonight, and he'll work till six a.m.

     Pat and I used to talk quite frequently about moving the whole operation to nights during the hottest months, but we never got around to it. We're already starting the first shift at four a.m., with the "second shift" coming in from 7:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m., but in the extreme heat of the afternoon the dogs would rather just sleep in the shade rather than receive special attention from the caregivers.

     So, we'll start out with one employee staying over night, going from kennel to kennel, caregiving each set of dogs and cleaning the kennels. This individual's duties will also include checking on the six "hospital" dogs every 15 minutes so that Erin and Shannon and I might be able to get a little sleep.

     We'll let you know tomorrow how this first night goes.