Linda reports Friday, May 20, 2011 ­ Wildflower Festival
For the past seventeen years the Wildflower Festival turns the north east part or Richardson into a music and art heaven. This year Straydog is very excited to be a part of this renowned event. As I've stated before, you never know what is going to happen at these events until you get there, find your location and begin setting up ­ this includes the weather. David, Tom and I arrived at the check-in headquarters and received our booth space assignment around 1 PM.
 
The fun at Wildflower was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday night and to wind down at midnight. Knowing how involved set-up day can be coupled with extended hours we elected not to bring any of our special doggies with us until Saturday. Based on so many unknowns, a smaller than usual space (10 x 10), and a very concerning weather forecast I did not contact any of our supporters to assist us this weekend. In retrospect I have a feeling this could have been a big mistake ­ one that means there are good things happening ­ like lots of visitors, so if any of you are in the area and want to join us for a short period, please don't hesitate to show up!
 
By 5:00 we had completed set-up, and wouldn't you know it, the rain and wind started pounding us. In attempts to secure covering for all of our exhibit materials and tables the three of us were drenched in a pouring rain. The wind becomes another menace playing havoc with the tent panels and the table skirts, luckily we had recently began packing all of our materials in plastic boxes so all the items stored under the tables survived well. As my dad use to say, "A little water doesn't hurt anyone," but I don't think he was factoring in major winds! As luck would have it, the consistent pouring rain subsided around 6:30 p.m., but the sky's remained ominous ­ but The Show Must Go On!
 
The night hours at Wildflower lend themselves to the concert attendees, but we were very fortunate to have many visitors at our booth. I am always touched when visitors share stories of their pet rescues and how much joy they have brought to their lives and rounded out their families. The evening created many opportunities for us to share the story of Straydog, remind individuals to teach spay and neuter, and to fight against abuse and abandonment.
 
During the later part of the evening I had the opportunity to visit with a mother and her three young daughters. One daughter, Jessica, a very beautiful eight-year-old, was pulled to our booth immediately when she saw the banner with our logo. After her mother joined us, she informed me that Jessica had determined at the age of five that she was going to be a vet and when other children would play Doctor Jessica would play Vet. When Jessica saw our latest newsletter with the beautiful picture of Snowball on the front cover, her first obvious question was what had happened to Snowball's leg and why was she lying there like that? After asking permission from her mom I explained that Snowball had been hit by a car, and the driver didn't care enough to stop and seek help. So Straydog found out about her and rescued her. Because Jessica was one sharp young lady, I showed her the story in the newsletter and told her she should read it.

My thoughts were she would take the newsletter home, and it would be a 50-50 chance of whether or not it was ever read. This young lady immediately took up a chair in our booth, sat down and got comfortable and read the article! It only took Jessica a few minutes to read through the article, and when she finished she was in tears and full of questions. With Jessica being a very caring person and having such a large heart, I felt it was better to look to her mother for direction in this situation. Working off each other Jessica's mother and I explained the mission of Straydog and I wanted to reassure Jessica that there were many rewarding times in the rescue world as well. So I shared with her a few short stories of adoptions and how happy those families were to have a rescued dog as a part of their family. After our visit, (which I know Jessica would have spent the night there) Jessica proclaimed she was going to be a vet who managed a shelter ­ and then she explained she was going to start talking with her friends to make sure their pets had been spayed or neutered. WOW! ... What a young advocate. Somehow when Jessica walked away, I really felt this wasn't a dream for the dynamic young lady but a determination! Thank you, Jessica, for filling my heart with warmth. You are one very special young lady!
 
After a long and wet start we shut down our booth at 11:15 and headed to dry ground and a warm bath. Saturday is predicted to be a very busy day, and the weather is supposed to be on our side, if you have any spare time please visit the Wildflower Festival and stop by our booth. (We are located next to the Game Zone in 2212, an end booth).

Linda Reports Saturday, May 21, 2011 ­ Wildflower Festival
We arrived at Wildflower this morning hoping that the skies would be bright and there would be no more rain. It took a little while for the skies to brighten up, but we only suffered with short showers in the early morning. Of course the Texas wind never goes away, and we are going to have to find a way to battle with that problem during our outdoor events, as we have printed materials for distribution, and we don't like having paper cyclones.
 
Unfortunately, with the weather conditions still unknown at 10 a.m., we decided it best not to bring any of our dogs to the show. It is often lonely when we don't have one of our furry fellas to share with the public, but we must do what is best for everyone involved.
 
The day began with our arrival at 9:30 a.m., and set-up required quite a bit of cleaning up from rearrangements we had on Friday night due to the never ending rain and wind. Once we had re-dressed the tables and booth space and grabbed a large cup of coffee from a nearby booth the show was set to begin!
 
Official opening was 11 a.m., and the event was anticipating a fast packed fun day, and that it was. As I repeatedly say, these events provide us with the opportunities to meet so many wonderful and kind people. There are so many people who share the Straydog mission and they are always enlightened to learn of Straydog and to hear our story. I know that after signing up for our newsletter these individuals will become dedicated followers such as you and enjoy following the life stories of our dogs.
 
Bill always addresses the necessity to spay and neuter in his updates and the newsletters, so I am not sure why I find it surprising that there is still such a lack of education focused on this vital need. It is really hard to educate the unknown that the cost of spay/neuter is minimal compared to the cost of caring for yet another litter of puppies, not to mention the time and commitment required. At the same time it is a good feeling when a visitor asks where they can take their pet for a low-cost alteration or shots. If anyone is aware of vets or locations that offer these reduced cost services, I would be very grateful to hear from you as I am attempting to compile a list of resources to share at these shows.
 
Our day was extremely busy. Tom, David, Matthew and I started out the day, and we took 10-minute rotating breaks until we left at 11:10 p.m. Our dear friend Todd C showed up to help us around lunch time. Erin came in the early afternoon with her husband Dana and helped to distribute materials as well. We gave out over 500 sample bags of dog treats which our wonderful vendors, Fuitables and Breeder's Choice, provides us at no cost! A very special thank you to both of these wonderful and caring vendors for making this generous donation.
 
We have many wonderful and longtime supporters who live in the Richardson and surrounding areas who took the time to visit with us on Saturday. In the confusion and commotion of the minute I try to write down our visitors name so I can remember to share who has visited us, but I am not the best at this, but it is always a pleasure to meet you in person and to hear your pet stories. Thank you for taking the time to come by our booth.
 
While attending these events we also meet representatives from other rescue groups, allowing us to share suggestions and concepts they are participating in. Visitors to our booth often provide valuable veterinary information and business resources, which I follow up on when I return to the shelter on Monday. We are very thankful for everyone's input and help. Thank you for working to keep the Straydog mission alive.
 
Tomorrow's weather is forecast to be clear with a little overcast. Let's hope for a dry day filled with fun-loving visitors! The Festival opens at 12:30 p.m., and we hope to see you there.

Sunday, May 22, 2011 ­ Wildflower Festival
We had an early morning reprieve, as the festival didn't begin until noon today. This provided us time to rest up from a 14-hour day on Saturday.

When we attended the Boat Show in early February, we met Mike, a search- and rescue-dog trainer, and his companion Sandy Cay. Sandy Cay is a beautiful young yellow lab who has been trained to work emergency crisis such as flood or devastation sites as well as potential crime scenes or missing person situations. Mike and Sandy Cay attend highly populated functions such as the Wildflower Festival to maintain and expand Sandy's discipline and refine her skills. It is really interesting to watch Mike work with Sandy and understand the value such a well-trained dog can be to our society, in addition to our loving companions.

During Mike's visit he shared with us a recent exploration that he and Sandy had worked in Fort Worth near the Trinity River and that two of the other rescue dogs in this situation had suffered from Rattlesnake bites. I was not aware that there is a preventive vaccine that is now available to lessen the severity of Rattlesnake bites. It doesn't, of course, prevent those nasty creatures from attacking our doggies, but it creates a barrier for the anti-venom. If you are located in the country, like the Straydog shelter, you may want to check with your vet for more information on this.

A wonderful thing happens when visitors hear our story and understand our mission: they are so excited to reach out to us and provide resources in many different ways.

Two young women have started a business, Three Dirty Dogs, which bakes wheat free, flour free dog treats along with other specialties. They heard that Straydog was at the festival and they visited us with a huge bag of treats to share with our visitors and our doggies at the shelter. After the introductions I visited their booth for a little bit and was very impressed with the work they are doing to create a clear salve for hot spots and to see the cute decorative items they are making on their own. After a visit they said they would send us some salve as samples to try on our babies who suffer from hot spots. Thank you Rebecca and Jessie.

Another group, The Velvet Snout, which is a doggie day care center located in Richardson, has reached out to us to participate in the Christmas Tree Angel they host, which takes place during the Holiday season this year. Sounds like a fun concept and an opportunity for adoption awareness.

We also had an opportunity to talk with three different publication columnists, authors who are willing to assist us in getting an article in their publications about the history of Straydog and the wonderful work and compassion that our caregivers provide.

I am not sure if our followers are aware of all the outreach that Straydog participates in. You all know we love our doggies and we extend special care for our shelter and sanctuary and, with your support we will go to any extreme to ensure the well being for these rescues. We are always working to make people aware of the need to spay/neuter and trying to provide resources with reduced rates for this process and necessary shots so we can share with the public. Of course the lack of spay and neuter then causes the homeless animal syndrome and the need for our shelter and shelter's like ours increases.

What you may not be aware of though, is the length that our organization will go through to assist individuals who must surrender a dog or dogs due to unfortunate circumstances and/or provide resources for cruelty situations. Erin (Bill and Pat Arnold's oldest daughter) was in attendance at Wildflower when we were approached by a wonderful woman who had a concern about her neighbor's dogs. This concerned dog lover didn't want to site abuse at this point but she felt her neighbor had close to 15 dogs with no outdoor cover and an empty swimming pool without any protective covering or fencing. When her daughter looked over the fence between the properties to check on the doggies, she wasn't able to see any water bowls either. This became very concerning to her, and she was in quite a dilemma as to which direction to go in. She was of course afraid if she contacted the city shelter they would confiscate the dogs, and then sadly enough if they weren't adopted they would be put to sleep. She said she just couldn't live with that. Erin advised her to call the SPCA who would investigate the situation and talk to the pet owners regarding their responsibility. Erin and Juana work our email and phone calls constantly to ensure our mission of caring reaches a large umbrella of individuals providing them with resources beyond our taking the dogs into our shelter.

So yes the Wildflower Festival was a very successful (and fun) event thanks to everyone for making this happen! We will be taking a few weeks off from the shows but David and Matt will be attending adoption events at several different locations. Please be sure to check our web site regularly to find a location near you.