Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 12/16/02 at ~8:30 p.m. CT

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

MONDAY DECEMBER 16 2002

Six little puppies go to their foster homes tomorrow

     As I mentioned before, when we first learned about the six little puppies who were left homeless when their mother dog was shot and killed, I had tried finding foster care for the pups since our shelter is so full. No foster care homes were available at that time, which is the reason we took in the little motherless puppies.

     Yesterday I was really surprised when I received phone calls from two foster care people who now have room for the puppies. Each foster family has agreed to take three pups (this will indeed make it easier to care for this lively bunch), and the fellas will be going to their new homes tomorrow.

A Whole Lot of Diarrhea from the pups, so the three black little ones see the doctor

     When I got up early this morning, the puppies' big kennel was a mess! Diarrhea all over their potty papers. (It's a good thing I doubled the papers last night!) During the morning I kept a close watch on the pups to see which ones had the upset--and it turned out to be just about all of them.

     They ate well, they played normally and seemed fine, and healthy--except for diarrhea.

     By 9:00 I had them at the vet clinic. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with the puppies. After various tests the doctor said it was not parvo virus, they had no parasites and no other common puppy health problems, so the doctor prescribed something for all six of them to calm their queasy tummies and to help with the diarrhea problem. (I was thinking that maybe the good quality puppy food I had been feeding them could be too rich for them, but the doctor said no.)

     Hopefully all six pups will be back to normal tomorrow. The three black fellas will spend the rest of the day (and night) at the clinic since they were the "sickest," and the doctor and vet techs will keep a close watch on them. The doctor gave me three medications for the puppies still at our shelter, and tonight I'll triple the "potty papers"!

New puppy Bessie went to see the doctor too

     This new little pup went to the vet this morning too for her new arrival checkup and vaccinations and to have the doctor look at the skin wound on her neck, which was caused from the "noose" that was pulled so tight it had rubbed the skin raw.

      The doctor said this adorable, furry, rust and white colored pup is about three months old and is Border Collie mix, and she is adorable, he added. Bessie had the various tests done, and all checked out okay, and she was given her vaccinations. The doctor said the wound on her neck had begun to heal and should be okay now.

Puppy Leo's vet visit

     Then it was puppy Leo's turn to see the doctor. (Leo is Freckle's son.) He was given his last set of vaccinations too, and he is just fine the doctor said. Leo, as you may recall, will be staying with his blind mother because she probably will never befriend anyone other than her son. (Totally blind dogs have a particularly rough time in this world.)