Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

SATURDAY MAY 15 2004

7:41 A.M. UPDATE

Rocky is scheduled to come home today!

      Tina took Toby and Angel to Dr. Reeves' clinic Friday afternoon for acupuncture treatments to help their terribly arthritic backs, hips and hind legs, which treatments do indeed help them, and while she was there, Tina got to visit quite a while with Rocky.

      Tina reported that Rocky was out of his cage/kennel walking all around the building on his own, wagging his tail and apparently feeling fine. Later by phone the doctor told Rocky's dad, my son Joe, that if Rocky continued to improve as he has in the last couple of days, the old fellow could come home Saturday afternoon. Joe plans to drive from Dallas to Tyler to pick up Rocky this afternoon and bring him back to Straydog, where Joe will spend the rest of the weekend with his old pal, Rocky.

      More to come in the NOON UPDATE.

NOON UPDATE

A lot of extra medical care and tender, loving care bring Rocky back

      Just one month ago (on April 16th) we had to rush Rocky to Dr. Reeves' clinic, where the doctor diagnosed him as a very sick dog, who might not make it through the night. I had to make the decision to either go all out and try to save Rocky or let him go right then. Pat would not have hesitated, and I did not hesitate. I made the same decision I would have made if Rocky were human. "Please do everything you can to save him, Dr. Reeves."

      Four weeks of tests, one surgery and many other therapies along with lots of ups and downs have brought us to this point: Rocky's okay (at least for now) and is coming home. This has been an expensive effort, and my son, Joe, is going cover Rocky's entire vet bill. We will celebrate Rocky's homecoming tonight at Straydog with lots of treats and extra attention for Rocky.

Late morning call from Dr. Reeves: Rocky's sick again this morning and won't be coming home today

      Rocky threw up his breakfast and now isn't feeling too well, so Dr. Reeves said Rocky needs to stay at the clinic at least until Monday. Very disappointing news! Let's hope this is just a minor setback.

Caregiving

      I came up to Dallas last night to visit with my dad and stay over night with him. (I'm doing this update in my room at my dad's house.)

      Dad (who's 95) has a housekeeper/friend named Beverly (a very nice woman in her early 50s) who comes in two days a week, cleans the house and goes out for lunch with Dad. Beverly has recently taken a job as a caregiver for people who cannot care for themselves, and after Dad explained to me all the things Beverly has to do in her job, I said that her job description sounds very much like the job description of our employees at Straydog--except we're taking care of dogs.

      Most humans agree that we have the responsibility to take care of our fellow humans if they cannot care for themselves. We at Straydog and our supporters (along with many, many others who've never even heard of Straydog) believe that we humans also have the responsibility to take care of helpless animals.

Today's Adoption Day results to come in the Sunday Update

At the top left of the first page of Section E ("Texas Living") in today's Dallas Morning News there's a short piece by Aline McKenzie that hopefully will encourage some senior citizens to adopt an older dog:

Pair seniors, mature pets

With May being celebrated as "Older Americans Month," the Humane society of the United States wants to remind us about older pets such as dogs, cats, rabbits or birds. Having a pet can help keep older people active and receiving affection, and has been shown to have medical benefits, including lowered blood pressure, reduced bone loss and improved blood circulation. The society advises that seniors look into adopting an adult or senior pet, rather than a rambunctious younger one. Older pets have a calmer, more reliable temperament and may already be house trained.