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Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

TUESDAY JANUARY 27 2004

Temperatures in the low 20s this morning!

     It's cold out there! All the water buckets began to freeze around midnight, Jason, our overnight man reported. The dogs don't seem to be bothered by the cold. In fact this morning they seem to be more frisky than usual, playing and tussling with each other. Maybe they're just exercising to keep warm.

Kerry, alone now since Henry's adoption Saturday, waiting for the sun to warm things up a little

A kennel person has already broken up Kerry's ice and scattered it on the ground by the bucket.

Kerry's water bucket will be iced over again soon. At noon the temperature was still in the 20s.

Tina breaks up the ice in Anthony's water bucket.

Report from the clinic on Jordan and Baby Girl

     I called our vet clinic at 2:30 yesterday afternoon to find out when we would be able to pick up Jordan and Baby Girl. Linda, the receptionist, put me on hold to go check on these two new arrivals, and almost immediately Dr. Morton came on the line. He told me he had just finished the spay surgery on Baby Girl, and he was dismayed that he could find only one ovary. He said this was the first time in 30 years of practice that this has happened to him. He said he was getting worried that he was staying in there too long looking for the missing ovary, so he gave up and stitched up the young female, and said we'd have to keep an eye on her, because if she does still have one ovary, she'll come into estrus (heat) again, at which point he would have to operate again.

     Dr. Morton said we could pick the dogs up later yesterday afternoon but that they would still be pretty "drunk" from the anesthetic. I suggested we leave them there over night as it was going to be so cold last night, and the doctor said fine.

     This morning when Juana called to see if the new dogs were ready to pick up, she was told that Baby Girl had chewed out her stitches during the night and would now have to remain at the clinic another day.

     The clinic had gotten the results back on the other tests: (1) No heartworms, thank goodness! (2) They do have hookworms, which are easily treatable; and (3) They have demodectic mange and will be dipped for this today and then again every two weeks for a total of six treatments.

     We'll be bringing these two Black Labs home from the clinic tomorrow. They get to spend another night in a warm inside kennel.