Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

WEDNESDAY August 31 2005

5:00 P.M. UPDATE

Juana's daily report from Straydog ...

     As we say in Mexico, "No hay fecha que no se cumpla, ni plazo que no se venza," meaning that there isn't a date that isn't going to be be reached and a due date that it isn't going expire. So today Fancy is finally out of quarantine and she got to go to the park (just like the rest of the doggies) for the first time.

     Fancy really enjoyed sniffing all aromas. She played, she ran and had fun, but "I'm all by myself," she seemed to realize. So we first tried her with Jimmy (left a single in a kennel when Jeannie was adopted recently) who was very excited to walk to the park for a second time today. (His original turn to visit the park was earlier this morning.) When Jimmy saw Fancy, he started wagging his tail, right away liking this girl. Fancy on the other hand was scared of Jimmy at first. Neither showed aggression toward the other. We walked them on leash for a while, and we let them off later on. Jimmy just wanted to make friends with her, but Fancy wasn't sure at first. Finally she realized that Jimmy wasn't going to hurt her, and she started to play with him. After they ran around the park for a while, Fancy got hot and jumped into the pool. Jimmy just looked at her like saying, "Come on! Let's run some more!"

     They played and ran for a little while longer, and then back they went to Jimmy's kennel, where Jimmy and Jeannie had been living for almost several months. Fancy met Scruffy and Manchas thru the fence. She also made friends with her neighbors, and everybody else in Central Kennels was good with Fancy. Fancy is a very sweet doggie, and we hope somebody will come along soon and adopt her into their forever home.

     Patch is doing okay, but we need to get his staples out (from his stomach surgery). I will make an appointment tomorrow and will also ask doctor to please check him out. We're pretty sure the blood in his stool lately is from eating grass, but we want to be sure he's okay.

Erin reports ...

   TUESDAY

     Tino (four-year-old I rescued as a kitten from the outside patio at Tia's Mexican restaurant in Dallas) got upset at another male kitty in my home a few days ago, and as I tried to calm him, Tino bit me on the palm of my left hand. (My mistake. I should have known better.)

     It hurt bad! Four little teeth marks, plus scratches in my left palm!

     I washed it and let it bleed for a little bit, then put a Band Aid on it.

     My husband thought it best to go to the hospital, where I received an updated tetanus vaccine. The doctor also wrote a prescription for antibiotics and gave me one pill ($35) to begin with right then. The doctor told us that 80% of cat bites get infected and this could be very bad news for my hand! He wanted to take x-rays of my wrist and recommended a hand surgeon in case I needed one! (The bite didn't seem that bad to me!)

     I've been soaking my hand a lot since the kitty bit me and have been taking the antibiotics and nothing seems infected (three and a half days later).

     In the meantime Plano Animal Services by law needed to be notified of this bite, so the hospital notified them and Animal Services left a note on our door the next day saying that Kitty Tino must be placed in quarantine by Monday at noon!

     On Monday morning I called Animal Services, but they were closed, so I brought Tino to Straydog where at my apartment next door (where the kittens all used to be) Tino could be totally alone, away from people and all other animals. This morning I also called again and told Animal Control about the quarantine set up for Tino here at Straydog. They said they'd get back to me here at the shelter, but as of Tuesday we haven't heard back yet. They took the address here and our phone number. Dr. Maxam said she'd be happy to look at Tino for me and update his rabies vaccine when he is out of quarantine. I gave them Dr. Maxam's number too. Animal Services said it would be a 10-day quarantine.

     Tino has been an inside cat (since his rescue as a kitten outside the restaurant) and has been vaccinated for rabies, but the State has this protocol anyway that must be followed for every scratch or bite that is reported.

     Tino is pretty lonely. Hope this time goes by quickly!

   WEDNESDAY

     Tanya with Plano Animal Services called me this morning and said that Tino will need to be boarded at a registered quarantine facility. They cannot check on him way out here in Gun Barrel City! I'm checking into different possibilities. Plano Animal Services is a very nice facility. I've visited it several times (once when picking up black lab Puppy Crunch who was given up to the Plano shelter instead of being returned to Straydog).

     Tino would be in quarantine there with a separate ventilation system with only other cats in the same situation (the ones who have bitten their guardians)! They'll give him his special food. They'll talk to him when they are cleaning his kennel. It's only $5.00 a day at Plano Animal Services, whereas with one of the vets I use in Plano, they told me $25.00 a day plus an expensive exam! I doubt they have a separate ventilation system.

     The only thing is that at Animal Services they won't let me see Tino except through the glass and they said that this is harder on the quarantined pets than not visiting at all.

     September 6th Tino can be released. They would like him there by noon tomorrow.

     I wouldn't want them to make a mistake and put him down thinking he didn't belong to anyone, but I think Plano Animal Services has a lot of pride in their facility and in doing good for the animals. I'll call a couple other vets too and make a final decision tomorrow morning.

     When I arrived at the nursing home this morning, Dad was in a wheelchair in the hall pushing and pulling himself around with his feet. Before I could get to him, he'd started going into the wrong room. As I greeted him, I asked where he was going, and he said he was tired and wanted to get back in bed. I told him his room was the next one down the hall. At first he wouldn't believe me and refused to let me move his chair, but I finally convinced him, and he held his feet up while I wheeled him into his own room.

     I helped one of the techs get him back in bed, and he was very happy and went right to sleep for a nice nap.

     The physical therapists told me Dad had had a good session in the therapy room and was making progress.

     His speech is also improving every day.