Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11 2004

Results from this morning's call to Dr. Aiken in New York are not written up yet

     Erin and Juana were both in on the call, and they are comparing notes now, and they will write up the report, which we'll present here in tomorrow's update. There are no emergencies with any of the dogs they talked about, which include Rudy, Happy, Sunny and Rocky.

Emails between Marian and my daughter, Erin, concerning the location of our shelter and why we divulge our location only to scheduled guests:

Marian wrote:

Several weeks ago when leaving our lake home and heading for church, we stopped because a poor little dog who had just had puppies was trying to eat something dead off the road on HWY 198. I got her to come to me, but I immediately said, "I know of a place that will help this dog. I have sent money to them, and I know what they do." Do you think that anyone in the area had ever heard of your organization? NOPE! I called the Humane society in Athens, and they had never heard of you; Gun Barrel had no listing for you. I was very frustrated because no one had ever heard of your Straydog organization. Gun Barrel was where I mailed my check to, but they had nothing on you.

Now I am home, and I want to know how you are listed and how one goes about contacting you if you are needed to help an animal. The Police didn't know either. I told them you were near Eustace, and still no one could help me.

I would really appreciate a reply. I will send money but if no one can reach you when needed, that is a different matter totally.

Sincerely,
Marian

Erin replied:

I'm sorry, Marian!!! That must have been very frustrating. Our phone number and email address are listed on the website, and that is how people get in touch with us. We answer the phone 24 hours a day, and I answer emails daily. We receive many phone calls every day from people who need help trying to find out what to do with rescued strays, and we try to help everyone as best we can. If we are too full to take the dog, we will help distribute the dogs' photo and bio or story to a loop of people who can help, our 'internet loop of friends of animals'. We'll also work with these people and dogs through our Adoption Days at Petsmart. Two weeks ago a young lady who just couldn't keep some rescued dogs did find good homes for them through us. She was very happy that they went to good homes.

We offer the folks telephone numbers for good boarding, good training, good vets, low-cost spay/neuter clinics that we know do a good job, and ideas for behavioral problems, and names of trainers who could help further with this! This helps a great many people help a great many dogs!

We do not advertise our shelter in the area in which we live because our shelter is in the country and people dump dogs all along the roads in these rural areas. We just recently discovered two abandoned dogs chained to our fence. One had gotten loose and luckily stayed close by and didn't get hit by a car or shot by a neighbor.(The poor dogs are covered with mange, as you probably read about on our website updates.)

We would be overrun by dumped dogs if we advertised where we are located. We already are too well-known, as probably once a month someone does come up to the shelter with a dog they don't want. This is how we took in the two pugs, the Chihuahua with biting problems, and others. We don't have the room or finances to take in so many dogs at once, and we would run out of room and finances very quickly if we advertised our location. When we have no extra kennels outside and no extra crating inside the hospital trailer, what are we to do? But, when we adopt a dog out and there's a free kennel spot, then we can say yes to one or two of the many calls we get daily.

I hope this makes sense. Many other people have often wondered why we don't have our name up at the driveway and put ads in the local papers, etc., but it is because we have to balance the newly found abandoned or sick or unwanted dogs we take in with the ones we can adopt out.

Thank you for writing!
Erin

Marian replied:

Wow, thanks for your fast reply. Yes, I do understand most of what you were saying, but I don't even know your website. Would you be so kind as to send that to me. I only read about you in the Dallas paper, I think. By the way, my husband did go back to our lake home and get food and water for the pup so it would have something to eat and stay off the road. Then later a man walked down to our place and told us that the dog lived somewhere around there. We took more food back the next day too. Stupid, stupid people! I will never understand people who mistreat animals. I only know that our prison system is full of people who started out doing that and went on to other things.

Sincerely,
Marian

Erin replied:

Our website address is www.straydog.org. Look at the pictures of Jack and Jill at their recent eye vet examination. They are favorites of mine! There are so many people who let their dogs just roam and who don't care enough to neuter them too. It is really sad.
And I've heard, as you were saying, that a lot of people abusers have been animal abusers.

Tell us what you think of the website. You'll see our recent Adoption Day photos on today's update. Every day we have a new journal entry.

Thanks for caring about the pup. I hope she's going to be all right.

Erin

Marian replied:

Thanks and I have added your web site to my list of "favorites." Oh, my, I could never go to your place. I would want them all. I have gone from a deer, a rabbit and one dog to six Shelties, and now we're down to one Sheltie and a stay that someone dropped off by our home near Dallas, and she is neat. She is a golden retriever/chow mix and is really pretty. We had one Sheltie that should be written up in vet medical books, because she had inoperable cancer, and the vet only gave her a year to live, but with God's help and wonderful vet and monthly chemo treatments and tablets every other day, she lived a good quality life for four years and 11 months. It cost us about $250 every month to keep her alive, but she was worth every bit of it. She had been hit by a car and left on the side of the road and someone saw her and took her to my vet. We had five Shelties at the time, so they knew who to call!!!! When I get a chance, I will send more money to help with the care of your babies. Thank you for having such a big heart.

This is probably more info than you need, but a year ago Feb 16, my two dogs got into a fight at our lake home. My daughter and I tried to break it up and had our hands in the big dog's mouth(the stray that we took in and love very much). A long horror story made short: our daughter had a broken finger, I almost lost the end of my middle finger, broken and just hanging on slightly, a severely injured thumb on the right hand and middle finger on the left hand and many broken nails. I can't tell you how many people asked me if I was going to give the dog away or put her down. They just don't know me. I could have lost the end of my finger and I would still have her. The Sheltie is old and went after the young dog, and the young dog did what most dogs would do. I had to give a police report in Athens emergency room. She is not aggressive at all. There is a big difference between an 85-pound dog and a 22-pound dog, plus age. They had been living together at the lake home just fine until a visiting dog got into the picture. Now we keep our two separate and love them both very much. I still don't have a finger nail except half way out, but, hey, two specialists told me I would never grow a nail at all.

I'll send a check as soon as I get my check book and remember to do so. Hope the web has your mailing address, because I don't have it.

Thanks,
Marian