www.Straydog.org UPDATE posted SUNDAY 12/28/03 at ~8:30 p.m. ct usa

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28 2003

Rainy and chilly all day, and neither man nor dog liked it

     But as I continue to reiterate, the routine went on as usual.

     I didn't even think to take any photos today as it was so gray outside. Photos taken on bright sunny days are far superior to photos taken on dimly lit days, but I should have taken at least one.

     I was just thinking about how on cold rainy days like today I used to cry in awe of Pat's dedication sometimes watching her through the window over the washing machine in what we now refer to as the kennel office (originally our home), when Pat would be finishing her day (while I was preparing dinner) as Pat worked with the dogs in the cold rain. That was during the winters of 1994, '95, '96 and '97, before we had employees. During those early years Pat, herself, did almost all the outside work with the dogs, and I worked my regular job in Dallas, trying to make enough money to pay for everything, which we somehow did for several years, until our shelter population reached 24 dogs. At that point in time The Dallas Morning News published their first article about Straydog, and we received a lot of donations, and our shelter grew and grew and grew. In the months before Pat's death she often said that she wished she could take the remaining, nine-plus-year-old original Straydog dogs and move to a new place, with Pat, herself, having only the responsibility of having to take care of those 10 or 12 sanctuary dogs, which one person (who can stay at home 24 hours a day every day) can manage alone.

     But Pat created a system that can take good care of 75 or 80 dogs on a relatively low budget, and, thank goodness, people who cannot take in 10 or 12 sanctuary dogs want to donate to the no-kill shelters who are taking in the bunch of dogs that the contributors themselves, for whatever reason, cannot take in. So we continue our mission.

Another email from the lady who rescued the dog with the broken jaw:

Rescued dog may not need surgery

Erin,

Dog is alert, can eat & drink. Fracture may not require surgery. Will board for the weekend. Call me at #xxxxxxxxxx to discuss. My e-mail address is: xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com.

Thanks for your help.
Marsha D.

Erin needed a full day off, and I refuse to bother her. She needs a day off. She will report on her conversations and correspondence with Marsha tomorrow ...