Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log
SUNDAY JUNE 6 2004
NOON UPDATE
Erin's Adoption Day Report ...
No adoptions Saturday but lots of action at both the "Dog Day Afternoon" event and at our Adoption Day at PetsMart
The Operation Kindness "10th Annual Dog Day Afternoon" event at Bob Woodruff Park in Plano (Texas) seemed to be very successful. There were many, many dogs and many rescue organizations set up with their flyers, cards and some doggies.
We first brought all the dogs slated for Adoption Day at PetsMart out to this "Dog Day Afternoon" event and walked them around from 9:00 a.m. until 10:20 a.m. Little Louise barked at the first two dogs she saw in the parking lot, but then when we got closer to all the dogs milling around on the grass and sidewalks of the park, Puppy Louise didn't growl or bark anymore. She just sniffed the other dogs, drank and walked in the large water bowl we'd brought for the dogs, and she wanted to eat cookies and be petted.
There was a tennis ball tournament in which each dog contestant needs to get as many tennis balls out of the water as possible. We entered Penny into this contest, and though she's a great ball dog player, Pat Seward and I didn't know Penny didn't like water, so she failed this test! She wouldn't go in the little swimming pool for even one tennis ball, so she was disqualified!
When I called and told this to Juana, who was running the shelter back at Straydog, she said that she had taught Buffy how to go in the swimming pool for tennis balls. Buffy was a great dog ball player who liked water, and we sure miss him. (Buffy died of cancer in December 2003.)
Tina and I then left Bob Woodruff Park for Petsmart (Central at Parker in Plano) at about 10:20 a.m. with all the dogs except for Penny and Scooter, who stayed with our volunteers at the "Dog Day Afternoon" event. No dogs were adopted at either location, but next week we have a home visit scheduled for both Scooby and Louise. In two weeks we have a home visit scheduled for one of Angie's tiny lab pups.
These tiny puppies got very worn out at Petsmart. We've never brought dogs so young here before. We may wait two more weeks to bring the pups again. We saw the PetsMart vet and got the pups checked out for worms, etc. Only little Mia had coccidia. Her treatment will last 10 days, and Angie already has the medicines.
Email from Ann Story, Sam and Baxter's mom, who's still looking for a job (Can anyone help Ann?)
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 14:33:40
-0700 (PDT)
From: "Ann Story" <annsdawgs@yahoo.com>
Subject: Just saying Hello
To: www.straydog@straydog.org
Every few days I spend so
much time reading the Straydog updates and looking at Straydog
pictures that I use up most of my allotted hour on the DeSoto
library computer. Then I have to get another log-in number and
wait for the next available computer to do what I was here to
do in the first place! Keeping up with Straydog is certainly a
lot more enjoyable. I wondered a couple days ago how Scooby's
mange was healing, so it was great to see his pictures and how
remarkably he has healed. He's such a cute little rascal. About
Rocky, I thought several weeks ago that his endurance was being
stretched beyond his limits when he went in for treatment, and
all those days afterwards when his prognosis went up and down
(it seemed on an hour-by-hour basis), but it's obvious that he
has a lot more spark in him. He looks really good--and happy.
I'm sure all of you were
as disturbed as I to see the news report of the 300+ dogs rescued
this week from the puppy mill. I have no words harsh enough for
people like that! They make money off the agony of defenseless
dogs who later end up having to be cared for by organizations
that can't get enough funding to save them.
I went last Monday to see my dogs Sam and Baxter, who are being so well cared for by Joyce Penner (whom I count as one of my blessings). Joyce wasn't at home, but her German Shepherd, Luger, was a pleasant host. He has generously shared half of his pen with my two boys, who were really glad to see me. The looks on their faces were so sweet and, seemingly, joyous. I can hardly wait to have them with me again. It's thoughts of Sam and Baxter that keep me going through the frustrations of trying to find a job and of not having a home (I'm still with my mother in her one-bedroom apartment in a retirement center). My extensive legal secretary background is scaring away some employers with whom I apply.(Maybe they think I just enjoy filling out those long application forms!) And, I can't get any law firms interested in me since I've been out of the field for so long (4+ years). I would love to answer Straydog's plea for summer help, but it's too far for me to travel every day. I'm hoping to hear from a man who needs a secretary/housekeeper to live on a ranch (he's out of town right now). That way, I'd have a home for myself and my doggies. If not, I'll have to ask Luger if he's willing to share with me, too! Looking forward to reading updates on Monday. I hope adoption day is successful, and I will keep all of you in my prayers. Ann Story
Hang in there, Ann! Everything will eventually work out.
Might any of our Straydog supporters be looking for a summer job?
We need a couple of part-time dog walker/caregivers for the summer. You have to love dogs and be big enough and strong enough to handle dogs (as our volunteers do at Adoption Day). Straydog is about one hour and 15 minutes southeast of Dallas. The jobs will pay $6 per hour and may require five or six hours of work every day out in the hot sun. Call Juana at 903-479-3497 if interested.
So far one graduating high school student has answered our "help wanted" ad (first posted in the Wednesday 5/27/04 update)
We'll be having Whitney Heard out for the "audition" (which includes going into each kennel and meeting with each and every dog for their approval) as soon as school's out.
Any others out there who may be interested in working for Straydog this summer?
Previous Daily Updates
Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS OF PREVIOUS UPDATES
(Click on any day below to see the update of that day)
LAST WEEK
* Erin's Adoption Day Report ...
* No Straydoggers adopted, but two of Angie's pups were adopted;
* Two skinny pups were found living under a bus stop bench in West Dallas [PHOTOS TO COME];
* Email from Lana Isom concerning 73-year-old rescuer, Jesse Evens;
* Patch and Whiskers are doing fine;
* Both Lucy and Gordo (two of General Manager Juana's kids) came to help their mom today [PHOTOS]
* A year ago today at noon, with my consent, the hospital took Pat off life support;
* Thank you, Cher, for the following very kind email message you sent to us yesterday;
* Would Pat be proud of us and happy with how we've continued her mission?
* Thanks to everyone for your continuing support over the past year.
* Rocky continues to improve, though he hates taking his meds [PHOTO];
* Erin and Tina are at Dr. Reeves' clinic in Tyler with six dogs this morning;
* Thelma (who became Coco for a short while) is being returned;
* Do we need a new adoption form?
* Email report on Sassy from her new dad;
* Thelma has been picked up and is now at Pat Seward's home;
* We just got Pat Seward's email a little after eleven o'clock this morning;
* Puppy Thelma is back at Straydog and moves in with Scooby [PHOTOS];
WEED BEFORE LAST
* Erin's Adoption Day Report: 5 dogs adopted!
* First Baby Girl was adopted;
* Second adoption of the day: Puppy Thelma;
* Tiger, Angie's rescue from within her neighborhood, is now kenneling at Straydog [PHOTOS TO COME];
* Email from a woman whose son will build some dog houses for Angie;
* Email from Renate containing the "Rescuer's Creed" by Susan M. Pearson.
* Patch to have his first surgery today on one hind leg [PHOTO OF PATCH];
* Rocky's slowly gaining more and more strength every day [NEW PHOTOS TO COME];
* With all of the adoptions Saturday (three from Straydog) we're mixing and matching kennel mates;
* Keeping up with which dogs are in what kennel must be difficult for you readers;
* Patch's first surgery went well;
* Puppy Thelma is now Puppy Coco [PHOTO];
* Operation Kindness's 10th Annual "Dog Day Afternoon";
* Baby Girl's back in with Sandy, and Jeannie's back in her hospital kennel;
* Thanks to Pam and Gary Bollinger, who visited last Friday looking for another older dog [PHOTOS].
* Patch is progressing well and is ready to come home;
* An injured dog named Whiskers;
* Yesterday's vet visit to Dr. Reeves' clinic in Tyler;
* Because Rocky's improving so well, he didn't make the trip to Tyler;
* Might any of our Straydog supporters be looking for a summer job?
* Patch and Whiskers won't join us till Friday;
* Update on Patch and Whiskers;
* Two people need some fencing for their dogs;
* Rocky's doing better, though he stays inside sleeping most of the time;
* Old, Sassy Katie's still hanging in there
* So far one high school student has answered our "help wanted" ad posted in yesterday's update.
* Patch and Whiskers will arrive this afternoon about three p.m.;
* Rocky continues to do better [PHOTOS];
* Response from Bill about the SPCA suggesting postponing spay surgery because of coupons!
* Patch and Whiskers arrived at Straydog late yesterday afternoon [PHOTOS];
* Adoption Day goes till three this afternoon at PetsMart in Plano.
3 WEEKS AGO
* No new updates on Rocky yet;
* Erin hasn't been able to get Straydog emails for three days;
* One potential adoption yesterday at Adoption Day;
* EVENING UPDATE: Rocky should be ready to come home tomorrow or the next day.
* Skipper, Erin's latest rescue, has developed a big swelling after his neuter surgery [PHOTOS];
* Jason, on overnight duty last evening, rescues a stray on the way to work [PHOTOS];
* Emails from Straydog supporters who are trying to help Angie and Jessie;
* Katie's still doing okay and will go to Dr. Reeves for acupuncture today [PHOTO];
* Bill Wheeless memorial note;
* Erin's report on our vet visit to Dr. Reeves' clinic (with lots of PHOTOS to come);
* Update on Blackie and Skipper, who went to see Dr. Morton Monday evening;
* Rocky's eating well, but he tires so quickly;
* An email to (and response from) Erin regarding contributions toward Patch's surgery;
* Another email regarding donations to Angie;
* Wishing for a foster home for Lydia;
* Rocky continues to do well [PHOTO];
* Patch's first surgeries are scheduled for Monday [PHOTO];
* Original proposed foster home for Patch is not going to work;
* Angie needs metal buckets, bungee cords, 12- and 15-foot cables and wooden dog houses;
* We received an email from Henry's family: Henry's doing fine!
* Adoption Day today, where Tiger will join us;
* Adoption Day home visit for both Baby Girl and Kerry;
* Update on Lydia, Angie's rescue who is picked on by Angie's other dogs;
* An email to Erin about carts for dogs with hind leg disabilities [SEVERAL LINKS].
Mandy is one of our long-haired dogs who would rather be in Canada or Alaska than here in Texas! She would love a home where she could be inside the air-conditioning and on a loving guardian's bed! Mandy is very sweet and playful. She's is approximately seven years old and gets stressed out going to Adoption Days, so we don't take her often. Occasionally (but not often enough) we feature Mandy here on our update to give her another chance at someone seeing her who might want to adopt her. Some folks have written in about her, and contacted us, but no potential adoptions have worked out so far. Sometimes Mandy is picky about being friends with other dogs! Right now Mandy has a loving kennel-mate named Bear, so she isn't too lonely here at Straydog. But it's just not the same as being an inside member of a family that would be able to spend a lot of quality time with Mandy. Does anyone know of a nice home for Mandy? You can read more about Mandy via "Our Dogs for Adoption" link above, which takes you to our Straydog pages on Petfinder.org.
Spanna, Degenerative Myelopathy
help and information: Spanna
(has good cart links)
Doggon' Wheels - Wheelchairs for pets, dog carts: Doggon'
Wheels
Dog Mobility - boots, harnesses, equiwrap: Dog
Mobility
WHEELCHAIRS FOR DOGS: providing mobility for dogs with hind leg
disabilities: Wheelchairs
for Dogs
Ty-Lift Enterprises® - Specializing in Patented Animal Transport
Units On Wheels: Ty-Lift
Dog Cat and Handicapped Pet Care Products Services Support and
Classifieds: Handicapped
Pet Care
Thanks very much to those who have printed out even just one copy of the above three pieces of our newsletter and have passed the newsletter on to (or mailed it to) a potential Straydog supporter. If you can, please print out two or three copies (or five or 10 copies) and distribute them to potential supporters. If all 300 of our daily readers printed out and distributed just one copy, Straydog would be exposed to 300 new people. If all 300 of you printed out and distributed 10 copies, we would reach 3,000 new people!
First email from a reader who printed out and mailed out copies of our newsletter
Thanks a lot to longtime supporters Deana and Jim Hanson, who followed my suggestion to make copies of and mail out to friends the PDF files of our newsletter--with color photos too!
It probably won't happen anytime soon, but the technology is here to do away with mass printing and mass mailing altogether. It's already possible to read and print out entire books on the Internet.
We encourage others to do what Deana and Jim have done:
Bill,
We printed newsletters, and Jim put them in the mail today. Good luck! Please let us hear from you if your shelter runs short on anything. We'll try and help.
Happy Easter,
Deana and Jim
If you have a big enough list of people to pass out (or mail out) our newsletter to, you can simply call your local copy center (a Kinko's, for example) and tell them to go to this website (www.Straydog.org) and print out as many copies as you want of the three PDF files via the above three links. Then you can have the copy shop deliver the copies to you or you can go pick them up and do your own mailing of our three-piece newsletter. (And please never worry about the copyrights to our website materials. We want as many people as possible to make copies and distribute them!)
Expanding (or growing) our list of contributors will be our salvation
If a mailing list of 2,500 people can sustain our operation as it has, just think what a mailing list of 3,000 or 3,500 contributors could do.
Before the first article about Straydog was published in The Dallas Morning News (on March 13, 1997) we didn't know there was anyone else in the world who felt the way Pat and I felt about homeless dogs, and we had never asked anyone to help us. We believed that most people thought we were crazy. (And indeed many humans did and still do.) During 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and the first quarter of 1997, we (with no donations from anyone) paid all the expenses of taking care of all our rescues--a total population of eight rescued dogs in 1992 which had increased to 24 dogs at the time of the publication of The Dallas Morning News article in 1997. Pat and I always felt tremendous appreciation for the financial and moral support we began receiving from our supporters after that first article appeared in the newspaper. Six hundred people contributed more than $40,000 to Straydog (or the original "Arnold Stray Dog Fund") in March 1997, and from that point we continued to grow and grow and grow until we finally (two years ago) put a limit on ourselves of 65 dogs, which population has since swelled to 80+ dogs.
Thanks so much to all of our contributors! We couldn't keep this operation going without you. Pat always said you all would continue to support us, and you have. And we at Straydog continue to rescue, care for and adopt out homeless dogs exactly the way Pat would have wanted. Thank you so much for your continuing support! ... Bill Arnold