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Juana reports ...      Edited and posted by Bill

     Today was a good day for most of us here at Straydog. It was a nice warm day (high of 76 degrees and sunny). Only Susie-dog was unhappy. She has been very lonely missing her Sir Anthony.

Anthony's having his surgeries

     I left Anthony yesterday at the clinic so they could do his various surgeries today as soon as they could get to him. I called the clinic early in the morning asking how Anthony was doing, and Vicki said that so far he was okay and that the doctor would call us as soon as the she was done doing his surgeries.

Peppy-girl is doing very well

     It's incredible that our newest rescue Peppy-girl is doing so well getting along with Missy and Vern. They share their beds all the time. Sometimes we see Vern sound asleep with Peppy, sometimes Missy and Peppy are sound asleep together, and sometimes all three are in the same bed next to each other. It is very cute to see how these three are getting along so well.

     Now every time we take Peppy, Vern and Missy to the park, we also take Noble and Cici--all five together. The caregiver/walker, of course, stays in the park with the five of them to monitor them, and they all are doing well together so far. Cici hasn't messed with the three little Chihuahuas, which is good, and Peppy doesn't try anything with Cici either, so we are good there.

Conrad meets a new friend, Big Pup DeeDee

     Since Big Pup Tony got adopted last Saturday, I've been trying to think who might be gentle enough to be with Puppy Conrad, and after a little thinking I remembered that DeeDee has been missing her friend, Oscar, who's in the hospital trailer recovering from his neuter surgery. DeeDee, of course, gets along with Thunder and Stormy, but now she has gotten used to being with Oscar, and we know that she misses him. DeeDee is very sweet and very docile, so we tried her with Puppy Conrad this morning. We first introduced DeeDee and Conrad in the park, and that went well. They did just fine together. They ran and played together all over the park. DeeDee was sure happy to have someone to play with, and, of course, Conrad was also very happy to have someone to have some fun with. Conrad knows the routine here at the shelter, and he knows exactly what's going on. He is a very smart boy and learns very fast for being deaf and partially blind. We sure love him a lot.

     It was also wonderful to see how DeeDee played so very gently with Conrad. Most older dogs seem to know to be gentle with small pups, and Conrad was very happy to have a new friend. But after playing together for a while back in DeeDee's kennel Conrad would start barking and barking, trying to get us to take him back to his kennel, where Tony and he used to be together. It was sad, but I know Conrad will get used to being with DeeDee for now.

     Our next challenge will be trying to match Conrad with somebody else as soon as Oscar gets back outside again and can go back in the kennel with DeeDee. We know for sure that Oscar will not tolerate Conrad. Oscar is so jealous and territorial, and I've been amazed that he has gotten along with the doggies he has gotten along with so far. He really has gotten very protective and possessive of everything he thinks is his property--including his dog friends.