Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

THURSDAY JUNE 3 2004

NOON UPDATE

Thelma (who became Coco for a short while) is being returned

     Russell called us telling us that his roommate is now working too much overtime to be there to take Thelma out during the day, and Russell can't come home for lunch either to let Thelma outside. He leaves for work at 6:15 a.m. and doesn't get home till very late. Russell has rigged up a shade board and blanket to cover the shade board in the small patio
area at his apartment, and he has two large water buckets out there for her, but he doesn't like the situation. Thelma is out there alone for over 12 hours a day, and she won't even go to the bathroom on the concrete. She waits for her guardian to get home.

     Pat Seward and her husband, Greg, are organizing the return of Thelma, to see if we can pick her up earlier than Saturday while we're at Adoption Day. There were storms last night when we were talking with Russell, and we knew Thelma was safe inside with him then, so it will be most likely that Russell will turn the dog over to Pat Seward tonight at five p.m., when Russell happens to get off work a little earlier than usual. Pat and Greg will play 'rotating dogs' at their home until I (Erin) can pick up Thelma and take her back to the Straydog on Friday. Back at the shelter, if Thelma and Louise no longer get along, we can try Thelma or Louise with Scooby, now that his mange is all cleared up! Thank you Pat and Greg!

Do we need a new adoption form?

     We will have to add more questions on our adoption papers, though we already have one that says, "Who will be responsible for the dog?" And Russell said that he would be. But, really, I guess he was counting on the roommate to make it work out the best. Perhaps we will need to interview all roommates and spouses too, before adoptions can become official. Sometimes people think that they want a dog before really knowing what having a dog entails, and so some returns are bound to happen, I suppose. We are welcoming Thelma's return and won't have to worry about her anymore (till her next adoption anyway)!

     At least Angie's lab puppy Sassy has really found her forever home!

Email report on Sassy from her new dad

Erin and Bill,

Just wanted to let you know that we took our new baby to see Dr. Overton in Allen, TX. He is a great vet. He loves animals. Highly recommended. He said the only thing he was concerned with was the tape worms. He said that the tape worms wouldn't have made Sassy so skinny, so it must have been the other worms she had before being wormed with the Strongid-T. He gave Sassy one little pill while she was there to dissolve the film around the tapeworms so they can be digested by the puppy's system.

Sassy is eating better now. She is very playful with our other little ones. I think they are coming together very well. She LOVES June Bugs. She is a June Bug hunter. Dr. Overton said that she is probably only seven weeks old, so we are holding off on the other shots for now. The doctor said Sassy also may be so skinny because she wasn't able to be weaned properly being that she is so young. She also has another parasite, coccidia, which Dr. Overton said all puppies are born with, so he's not concerned with that. Overall, he said the pup seems very healthy and to let her eat until she is ready to pop, as much as she wants, whenever she wants until she regains her size. We thank you guys so much for bringing this little bundle of joy to our lives. Sassy says hi to her brothers and sisters and to Angie and everyone at Straydog!

Chris Plunkett
President
Arnett Energy Capital, LLC
Ph.(800)393-1895 Fax(972)982-8251
http://www.arnettenergycapital.com

Erin's Vet Visit Report ...

Yesterday Tina and I drove six dogs to Tyler to visit Dr. Reeves, and we talked with the doctor about three others

   Puppy Scooby

     Puppy Scooby's mange is healed up, Dr. Reeves said and gave Scooby his second Parvo and Distemper shots, making him just about ready to go to Adoption Day! We might wait one more week to really let the vaccinations kick in.

   Leo

     Leo's skin problems look like ant bites the Dr. said. He couldn't find any signs of mange under the microscope. We are to give Leo and Freckles baths and some supplements, flaxseed oil, antioxidants and a homeopathic medicine for skin itching.

   Anthony

     Anthony's skin problems are fungus and possibly sarcoptic mange, though again the doctor couldn't see any conclusive evidence of mange. We are to get a non-toxic product at the nursery for fungus, and after Anthony's bath, cover his coat with this product and let Anthony 'drip dry'. We also will use Ivermectin for the possible sarcops since he's been scratching and this looks pretty bad. The doctor said it may help to boost his immune system, so it sounds like it's not a terribly toxic drug. Ivermectin is more toxic to horses, Dr. Reeves said.

     Anthony has little bump on his mouth that we're to watch, and Tina noticed some growths on his chest that have occurred in the last few months. The doctor would like to remove those sometime soon. Dr. Morton said that the type of cancer Anthony had on his jaw last summer isn't an aggressive kind, but I'm still worried. Another supplement that we're using for Rocky we can use for Anthony as well in order to boost his immune system against possible recurring cancer. It's called Transfer Factor.

   Tiger

     Tiger is such a sweet and strong Pit Bull. She's been in quarantine at Straydog since we took her in a week ago Sunday. I called Angie today to ask if Tiger needed to be heartworm tested and Angie said yes. We did a fecal test too and found out Tiger has hookworms, whip worms and heartworms. The doctor will have her on an Ivermectin protocol to help get rid of all of these worms. Ivermectin will kill the hooks and whips and the baby heartworms. Tiger didn't have a lot of baby heartworms, because the doctor didn't see anything on the direct smear. Maybe Tiger doesn't have a high number of heartworms at all. She is about five or six years old the doctor said. Tiger got her Rabies booster, and has already been spayed so now we'll work on the worms!

   Toby

     Toby is getting worse, but we have boots for him, and a strap that we use under his belly to help him walk. The doctor stimulated Toby with acupuncture treatments again today. Toby has such a positive attitude about life. He is a very happy dog and doesn't seem to mind his problems at all. At least he doesn't have skin problems anymore. We're looking into getting Toby one of those carts so he can get around the park on his own when (or if) he finally totally loses the use of his hind legs.

   Angel

     We were running out of time today at the clinic, so we didn't take Angel in to see the doctor. We reported that the homeopathic remedy and supplements and popping Angel's shoulder really seem to be helping. Angel is digging a lot, which she does when she feels good. We will take Angel again for her acupuncture for her joint stiffness next trip.

   Patch and Whiskers

     Patch and Whiskers are to have their stitches out soon. I told Dr. Reeves that we are giving Patch a sedative every day for his hyperactive behavior, and asked him what less toxic product we could use. We could put 1/3 the human dose of the herbs Kava Kava and Valerian in his meals and see if this will calm Patch down, Dr. Reeves said.

     I'll be calling Dr. Arnold today to see if we need to make an appointment with him to see Patch (and Whiskers) this week or if our closer vets could take the stitches out and assess the situation!

   Bobby

     Dr. Reeves received the x-rays from Dr. Morton for Bobby and will let us know about what he thinks after he sees the x-rays from Dr. McDonald too.

A very nice email from a longtime supporter

Dear Arnold Family,

I just wanted you to know that I have been thinking of you, especially the last three days. I remember that Friday night as if it were yesterday when Pat wrote her last entry and the picture of her holding Emily. I also remember that Sunday evening when I read the tragic news that Pat had died.

I'm sure Pat would have been so proud of all of you for the wonderful work you have done since her death.

Sincerely,

Ginny D.

Thanks, Ginny!

I'm almost a week behind on the photos

     Hopefully this afternoon (among a million other things I have to do) I'll be able to get some of the recent photos on.