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     Lacie reports ...        Edited and posted by Bill

Yucky weather at Straydog

      It was a very yucky day here at Straydog. When I woke up at 5 a.m., it was pouring rain. When I got here a little before 6 a.m., David Ford, the overnight man, said that the rain started a little after 10:00 last night, and it was still raining. It rained all day long. I should say that it poured all day long. It would slow down for a few moments and then start right back up. Even though it was a yucky day here at Straydog, it was a good one. We didn't have any emergencies and just two doggies had to be dropped off at Morton Clinic this morning.
 

Last evening a stray wanders into Juana and Bill's front yard

      Yesterday afternoon when I arrived at Juana's house after my day of work to pick up my baby, Emma, who had spent the day with Grandma Juana, Bill noticed that there was an unknown dog running around in their front yard. After going out and introducing myself to the dog, I noticed that the dog was sweet, but she was hungry. She had been trying to eat the cat food. The dog had no collar and she was a little on the thin side. We waited a little while, thinking she might be from the neighborhood, but the dog never took off for home, which meant she didn't know where home was. We all knew what that meant--a stray. Juana asked Gordie, if he would take the dog to Straydog, because it was supposed to storm tonight and she didn't want anything to happen to this poor girl. They got the doggie on the leash, and Gordie put her in the car and headed to Straydog--about 17 miles from Juana and Bill's house. Juana called David Ford, the overnight man, to let him know that Gordie was coming with the new rescue, whom we named Teresa. Juana asked David to put Teresa in the temporary kennel in front of Hospital Two, at least until we could take her to the vet today.

New rescue, Teresa, goes to Morton Clinic

      This morning I called Morton Clinic at 7 a.m. to see if we could drop Teresa off, so she could get her new arrival checkup. We were already planning a trip to the clinic with Champ for his surgery. Vicki said that would be fine. I had Jorge leave Teresa and Champ at the clinic at 9:00. It was around 3:00 this afternoon when Jorge went to pick Teresa up. When Jorge got back to Straydog with Teresa, he said that the only thing she had was hookworms and they wormed her and gave her her shots. I put Teresa back in the temporary kennel in front of Hospital Two and I also set a crate up for her in Hospital One, where she will stay for now, or at least until we can make room for her in an outside kennel. Teresa seems like a really sweet girl. She loves to be loved on and petted and she loves to play. All this girl wants is attention. Teresa is now safe with us. We will try to find her a home and family of her own or she will have a home here as long as necessary.

Champ's surgery went well

      Our Champ-man made it through his surgery today, and was doing pretty well. Dr. Terry called around 2:30 this afternoon and asked if someone could come and get Champ. She said that his surgery had gone well and that he was doing fine. He was really ready to come home, as he was very nervous at the clinic. Dr. Terry said that Champ's penis would bleed a little and that it would be swollen for a few days. She said that he needed to wear an e-collar. She also told us that it was very important that we go out with him on his potty breaks. We will have to make sure that he's able to relieve himself and make note of how much urine he is passing. I asked Jorge to pick up Champ and Teresa, who was ready also. When Jorge got back with Champ, the old doggie seemed a little down, but he was doing better than I thought he would be doing. We put Champ in his Hospital Two kennel, where he lay down. I asked Brandy (our Monday through Wednesday overnight person) to let Champ out and feed him around 6 p.m., as those were the doctor's instructions. I am so glad that our boy pulled through his surgery and that he's doing well. I hope that he continues to get better.

Even in bad weather we try to follow our regular routine

      Even though it poured just about all day long, we knew that our daily routine still had to get done. The first thing we all did this morning when we got here was suit up in our rain gear, after which we followed our regular daily routine today. We fed the doggies, cleaned their kennels and gave each dog some personal attention during our caregiving rounds. On rainy days a lot of the dogs just stay in their hay-filled dog houses inside their shelters, which frees our caregivers up to do more caregiving inside the hospitals.

Because of the rain our caregivers spent more time with the inside dogs

      Jorge and Lee did some extra brushing in Hospital Two today. I asked Jorge and Lee if they would brush the Hospital Two dogs and give them some extra caregiving time since it was raining outside. Every single doggie was so was happy to get some extra loving. Jorge and Lee brushed all of the H2 dogs, and now they look and feel a lot better. Thank you, Jorge and Lee!