Straydog UPDATE posted THURSDAY 1/16/03 at ~8:11 p.m. CT

(Pat's Dog Log entry of Thursday posted 9 a.m. Friday)

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

THURSDAY JANUARY 16 2003

Icy cold weather headed our way

     All winter long all the dogs' houses are kept full of fresh, fluffy hay, and with the temperature expected to drop into the low 20s for the next two nights, every house was filled with hay again today.

     The dogs who need extra warmth because of their health, or old age, have heat lamps in their shelters, and the heat lamps are kept on, as needed, which maintain temperatures about 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature.

     We wish we had some sort of heat for all the dogs' kennels, but right now there are no funds to take care of this huge project.

New arrival, Davey, is warming up to his new life here (in the cold)

     We found out today that this big, older fellow loves to play with stuffy toys. I gave him a new long-legged, purple stuffy animal this morning, and he loved it! How cute it was to see him toss the toy through the air and then go chasing after it. Then this afternoon Guy tossed Davey's new ball to him and he took off after that too. They had a good ball game going for quite a while.

It's really wonderful to see the transformation that Davey has made in just one week

     This 12-year-old fellow, who came to us sick, hurting, frightened and confused, has turned into a very happy dog, who has begun to act like a happy-go-lucky, puppy!

     Could the fellow be spoiled now? Yep, he is! Everyone is trying hard to win Davey over and all the employees that go by his kennel kneel down outside his fence to talk to him and give him a dog biscuit treat. Davey is making many friends fast! Those of us whom Davey knows well go into his kennel and give him much hands-on attention often throughout the day, and soon everyone will be able to go into his kennel as he quickly learns that he has nothing to fear here, and that everyone loves him.

Here's an email message from Tony the Pony's mom and dad

Hi Pat and everyone at Straydog!

Today I am sending updates to all the people we've gotten our dogs from! Just wanted to let you know how well Big Tony is doing here and send along a photo of him from Christmas.

Tony has mastered the steps in the house, and one of his favorite things to do is run up and down the stairs with Molly. Of course Tony can only do this two or three times before he's all tuckered out, but he is SO cute when he's doing it. He prances - literally prances - he seems so proud of himself!

He's taken to playing a lot more, which is surprising. He and the other three dogs now run races around the back yard. It's like he didn't know what the yard was for and all of the sudden, he got this idea to RUN! He seems to be having a much better time with the other dogs, joining in all the other doggie fun.

Tony LOVES paper! He loves to tear up the cardboard tubes from paper towels, toilet paper, etc. For Christmas, he opened every single one of the presents! He could care less about what was inside, but he adored tearing up the paper. He would tear open the package, remove the toy and sit there tearing until the paper was all over the floor.

We've also discovered Tony doesn't like squeaky toys too much. On Christmas day, Belle Button picked up one of the new toys and just began making it squeak away. Tony decided he didn't like this and started howling. Of course the other three joined in and we had a regular chorus going! He tolerates some squeaking, but he doesn't like it when there's constant squeaking, which is what Belle loves to make happen.

Tony's also figured out that getting up on the furniture in the den is acceptable. He loves to sit with his head in Carl's lap (or mine) and he seems surprised that the couch is only a step up for him. He is turning into quite the little lap dog.

Well, that's our brief update. Tony is so much fun! When we take him for walks, people mention that he seems to always be smiling. And I think he is! He seems to have found himself, and Carl and I are always telling him that he's found his forever home. We say "No matter how much Pat want's you, you'll never go back to Straydog!" Well, maybe for a visit...

Old Davey is a gorgeous dog. Carl and I were saying that if we only had the room... And I think those three little strays you all rescued are gorgeous too, and they remind me of Bailey, our oldest. He was found half starved in a rainstorm. We rescued him on what was supposed to be his last day.

It just amazes me how people can be so cruel. What amazes me more is that these animals have such a forgiving spirit and an overwhelming desire to please, even after going through the worst of circumstances.

Such joy these kiddos bring to our lives. Thank you again for Tony and all the work you guys do out there.

Carl and Susan League
Bailey, Belle Button, Molly Jean and Tony the Pony