w w w . S t r a y d o g. o r g U p d a t e
POSTED SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AT 7:00 P.M. CENTRAL TIME U.S.A.
Straydog Inc., The Late Pat Arnold's Happy Home for Strays, a No-Kill Dog Shelter
P.O. Box 1465, Gun Barrel City, Texas 75147 * (903) 479-3497 * EMAIL: straydog@straydog.org

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

TUESDAY AUGUST 3 2004

7:00 P.M. UPDATE

Puppies Autumn and Winter move in with Rover

     With Old Happy in an indoor kennel (probably for the duration) her longtime kennel mate, Rover, was left alone in a kennel, so we introduced Puppies Autumn and Winter to Rover in the park. Old man Rover tolerated the pups and even ran around with them a little, and whenever the pups got too rambunctious and annoyed Rover a little bit, he let out a low growl, which made them back off and show him the respect he certainly deserves as a mature, older fellow.

Rover's little tail is wagging as he meets Puppy Autumn. Puppy Winter watches from the puppy kennel above.

After the leashes are removed, Rover pretty much ignores the pups and goes on about his park business.

     After we were sure the three of them were compatible in the park, we walked them to Rover's kennel, and the pups had a grand time exploring their new home while Rover seemed again to tolerate the pups, though he didn't seem overjoyed having these two kids as his new kennel mates.

The pups follow Rover into his (and formerly Happy's) kennel.

[MORE PHOTOS OF ROVER AND THE PUPS TO COME]

 

Both Ol' Pup (who kennels with Angel) and Susie (who kennels with Anthony) have been limping the past couple of days

     This is a very common malady here at Straydog, and it's usually a bruise from a slip or rough play that goes away after a day or two after putting the dog on the pain killer Rymadel. But this morning after having been on Rymadel since we first noticed their limping, both dogs were worse than yesterday, so we took them to the vet this afternoon.

Old Pup (left) and Susie are about to get into the van to go to the vet.

     BAD NEWS for both dogs:

   Ol' Pup

     Ol' Pup has a big bump on his right hip, which in the x-ray looked to Dr. Morton like it might be an osteo sarcoma (bone cancer). Also both of Ol' Pup's hips, which have been very arthritic for a long time, are getting worse and are so bad they cannot be repaired -- even if he doesn't have cancer.

   Susie

     Susie's knee is okay. She was holding it up due to hip pain. The x-rays show Susie's hips are very bad and will need hip replacement surgery. She's had hip dysplasia for years, and her hips have degenerated a great deal over time.

Our list of dogs lined up for surgery is getting pretty long

     Sometimes I think that Pat foresaw what is now happening: More and more of her yet-to-be-adopted original rescues -- those who have become our sanctuary dogs -- are getting older and older and are having more and more medical problems.

     We are very grateful to those who have already called pledging to help us with these upcoming, very expensive surgical bills. When we get all this sorted out and get second opinions on all the hurting dogs, we'll publish a list of the dogs, their surgical needs and the cost of each operation.