JANUARY 1999

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1999 - Spunky won't let Emily into their shelter

6:30 p.m. - This has been some evening! I finished the afternoon dog rounds a little bit early because of the cold, windy, drizzly weather and during the last doggie check of the evening I noticed that little Emily was the only dog sitting out in the bad weather. Why? Maybe she just wasn't ready yet to go into the warm, dry, shelter that she shares with her kennel companion, Spunky.

I came into the house and started to prepare dinner, but I was still worried about Emily, so I looked out the window to check on her again. It was beginning to get dark now, and there she was, still sitting in the misty rain. Spunky was in the shelter and I could see him lying in his doorway. Long ago, because of Spunky's occassional intimidating looks toward Emily, we had to divide the inside of their shelter by separating each doghouse in the shelter with a board partition. This worked out fine for her. She could get to her doghouse in the shelter without Spunky looking at her. Then, when we put the big doggie doors on the fronts of the shelters as winter approached, we had to make Emily her own seperate little doorway into her side of the shelter so she could get to her doghouse without having to worry about passing Spunky. (Other than this problem, these guys are best buddies.)

Now, though, something is obviously wrong. I "suited up" and went out into the drizzly, cold weather to check out the situation. When I looked into their shelter and doghouses I spotted the problem. It appears that Spunky has now taken over the whole big, two-doggie shelter. His toy ball was in his doghouse and his toy bone was in Emily's doghouse. Emily knows that both of these toys are off limits to her so with Spunky's toy in her house she was afraid to go into her side of the shelter and into her house. Removing his toy from her house would not do any good now, because he had staked his claim to the entire territory. The former duplex was now a single-dog shelter.

A light rain was beginning to fall and Emily was getting drenched. The only thing to do was to hurry to the barn and pull out the extra doghouse to put in the kennel for Emmy. I dragged the house to their kennel and placed it far away from their shelter, in a protected corner so the wind and rain could not blow in. Then I filled it with fresh hay (which we have stored and covered on the porch). I took out the towel which was tucked under my jacket and dryed Emmy off, plopped her in the doghouse with a bunch of tiny milkbone treats and told her to stay there. "Precious" Spunky was snuggled in the doorway of his house intently watching all that was going on.

With little Emily finally settled I hurried back to the house and looked out the window into the darkness. I could barely make out in the dim light of the security lamp nearby that Emily was no where in sight. Thank Goodness! She had stayed in her new sleeping quarters. These guys can cause such problems! Now we'll have to make her her own little sheltered area. It's always something!

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1999 - Michael goes for hip X-rays

This has been another busy day. Randy went home sick this morning, and it's Pete's day off, so it's been a full day of doggie care for me having to do all the work usually done by all three of us.

The first thing on the agenda this morning, since the dogs had all eaten, was to get one-year-old Michael to the clinic for an early appointment to have his hips x-rayed. Because this loveable, big fellow is part Rottweiler and thus subject to hip dysplasia, I was very worried about his hips. And sure enough, that was the diagnosis.

Michael had his operation on both hips this morning and was doing just fine when I called this afternoon to check on him. Tomorrow Michael can come home and because he and his companion, Mary, don't rough around when they play, Michael can immediately go back to his kennel with Mary. He'll have to be walked on a leash for the next two weeks, though, when he goes to the big play yard to play.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 13, 1999 - Mommy Dog and her pups are out of quarantine

Big day for Mommy Dog (her official name now) and her two puppies! They have been in quarantine for two weeks now and no health problems have developed, so today they can leave their quarantine kennel (aka the New Arrivals' Kennel) and move to a nice, big kennel. Oh Boy! We get really excited around here on these special days!

First we moved Mommy Dog in so she could meet her neighbors, Johnny and April in the one adjoining kennel and Jack and Nickie in the other adjoining kennel. After the first few minutes of scowling and growling by all the adults, everyone settled down and there was lots of happy tail wagging meaning all was well, and they all got along just fine. Once all was ok with the big guys, Randy and I carried the pups in to be with their mother. Happily settled, Mommy Dog and her two little puppies had a fun time checking out their new kennel.

How different feral puppies are from tame little pups. These two feral puppies are still very frightened of people and run to hide when we go into their kennel. Tame little pups would come running up to us to be held and petted.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1999 - Something is wrong with Julie-Doggie

Yesterday afternoon just as Randy was on his way to feed Julie and Dallas (while I was feeding my half of the dogs), he frantically began calling for me to come quick! Something was wrong with Julie-Doggie. I hurried to her kennel and saw her wobbling on her legs and foaming at the mouth. I ran into their kennel and held her close to me for a moment and then checked her mouth to see if something was in it. I had no idea what could be wrong with her. Seconds later she was fine. No wobbling, no foaming, she was on her feet and ready to eat. It seemed to us that she must have had some kind of a seizure.

During Julie-Doggie's examination early the next morning at the clinic, the doctor said as he was checking her over, "It looks like this is your first epileptic dog." He thought that Julie had probably had seizures before too, but so seldom that he did not prescribe any medication for them. (We may have seen the very end of a seizure four months earlier, which I had called the clinic about, but we'd seen nothing unusual since.) What a shocking bit of news this was! We will put her on the grains and vegies diet too and will check out a natural way to treat dogs with epilepsy.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 1999 - And another new doggie joins our Happy Home for Strays!

Today we heard from a nun who pleaded with us to please save a little stray dog. She said that this fellow had been wandering her neighborhood for weeks and she was very worried that he could be hit by a car or picked up by animal control and taken to the pound to be euthanized. How horrible to be put to death just because someone decided they no longer wanted the responsibility of caring for you. It was such a heartbreaking situation and she was so desperate to find help for the dog that we agreed to take Danny Boy, as she had affectionately named this stray.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1999 - New stray, Danny Boy, arrives

So, once again, after deciding we could not take in any more dogs, we still made room for this special fellow. And, once again, it was because of your donations that we were able to do so--new kennel, shelter and doghouse cost Straydog Inc. over $800. Danny Boy has settled in nicely in his kennel. The sister's discription of this sweet, loveable dog was just a tad different from what Danny Boy turned out to be--not that it matters though. This "little" stray, as she called him, weighed in at 85 pounds! He is a loveable, BIG fellow with a wonderful disposition. During his checkup the doctor told us that Danny Boy appeared to be healthy and that his limping is due to severe arthritis. We'll just add Danny Boy to our list of grain-and-vegie-eating doggies who have similar problems, and give him the same medication for his hip problem as all the other hip-problem fellas are on--Rimadyl and Cosequin. We'll get him to feeling better fast, and there's lots of fresh hay in his doghouse to keep him extra warm.

SUMMING UP THE MONTH OF JANUARY:

Our new kennel helper Pete is a great addition to our Happy Home for Strays. The dogs all love him very much, especially big Teddy Bear, who has become his best buddy. In addition to spending four hours walking the bunch to the big play yard everyday, Pete does a fantastic job cooking the special grain and vegie dog food and feeding the fellows, among all his many other duties. Thank you, Pete!

Julie-Doggie is doing fine, and she hasn't had any more seizures.

The little feral puppies, Briar and Bobby are growing fast! They are getting used to us now and no longer run from us when we go into their kennel. Little Bobby gave me a tiny little puppy-dog kiss on my nose this morning. Boy did that make my day!

We now have two wonderful dog helpers, Randy and Pete, which assures us that all of the 43 fellas get lots of attention and that the mountain of kennel work gets done daily. The dogs are walked everyday, two at a time, to the big fenced play yard where they play and run and have doggie fun. The dogs are fed twice a day, necessary medications are given, kennels are cleaned throughout the day, fresh hay fluffed into doghouses when needed, poopers picked up constantly, and the big water drinking buckets (as well as swimming pools in the summer) are scrubbed and refilled daily . The many doggie digging holes are filled when they get too big, and many reminders are given to the diggers about not digging too close to the fence! We are interacting with the dogs constantly in one way or another all day long. They all get lots of petting and loving attention--and treats!

Randy and Pete put in a full, busy, nine-hour day, and I am "on duty" 24 hours every day. (Bill and I live right smack in the middle of all of the many kennels so it's kind of hard not to be on duty, but this is how we planned it, and this is the perfect place for us to be in order to keep an eye on all our furry friends). Also the many scheduled trips to the veterinary clinic are a regular occurrance around here. These dogs are all wonderful dogs and this will be their Happy Home until we can place them with another loving family.

WONDERFUL DOGGIES AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
For more information please call us at: (903) 479-3497

DANNY BOY is just one of the many dogs that would like to be adopted by a loving mommy or daddy, grandma or grandpa. Danny has had all his vaccinations and is neutered. He is a Retriever/Chow mix, approximately five years old and weighs 85 pounds. Danny is very friendly and affectionate, walks well on a leash and loves to be brushed. We think he would make a good housedog. Health Problems: Severe arthritis, which can be helped by special diet and medication. Please call us if you have room in your heart and your home to give this special dog, Danny Boy, all the love and gentle care that he needs.

JACK is a black Lab. He has had all vaccinations and is neutered. He is approximately three years old and weighs approximately 75 pounds. Jack is extremely friendly, affectionate, gentle and a very quiet fellow. He loves to be held and petted. This big beautiful fellow thinks he is a lap dog. We are pretty sure he had been a housedog before he was abandoned or strayed from his home. Jack needs a new loving home where he can be a pampered housedog.

NICKIE is a white Lab mix (mostly mix). She is Jack's companion. She would like to be adopted into the same household with Jack. Nickie has had all vaccinations, has been spayed and weighs approx. 55 pounds. She is very friendly, affectionate and playful and loves to run. I think she would also make a good housedog. Nickie and Jack are best buddies and would like to be adopted together if possible.

MOMMY DOG is a Mix/mix (maybe a tiny touch of Shepherd). She has had all vaccinations and has been spayed. Mommy Dog is approximately two years old, weighs about 45 pounds, and is very friendly with adults who speak in a quiet tone. Loud noises easily frighten her. At this time she may not get along with other adult dogs, as companion dogs--probably because she had been abandoned and has had to be so protective of her babies while fending for them and herself in the wild. She would be a wonderful pet for an adult in a quiet household where she would be the only pet.

BRIAR & BOBBY--Mommy Dog's puppies, Briar and Bobby, are sort of a grand mixture of many breeds, maybe a touch of shepherd/chow and we don't know what else. They are about four months old and will have their last puppy vaccinations next week. They are too young to be spayed and neutered at this time. Bobby and Briar are now very healthy pups weighing approximately 25 pounds each. Probably they will weigh around 50 pounds when fully grown. These little feral pups are just now getting used to people. They are gentle and becoming playful but frighten easily.

The above dogs are just a few of those available for adoption from our shelter. Until they are adopted by loving, caring people, they will, of course, always have a home here with us at our Happy Home for Strays, where we treat all the dogs as well loved family pets. We keep their days busy and filled with fun for them.

As always we have checked all local and surrounding area newspapers to see if anyone has reported these latest arrivals as missing, and as always no one has.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND IF WE CAN'T TAKE YOUR DOG.

Every week we receive several phone calls and/or letters asking us to please take a dog. We are really sorry when we aren't able to help.

The calls vary: Some people ask if we would please take their old pet who has reached an age at which he or she are becoming hard to care for. Some call asking if we'd please take their family pet who no longer gets along with the children. Many calls and letters are from very nice folks who find a stray and need to place the dog somewhere.

Although we would love to help, the people who call are already caring for the dogs they call us about, so those doggies already do have someone watching over them.

Our Happy Home for Strays is for the dogs who have no one to help them. We give a loving, secure home to the helpless, abandoned, sick dogs we encounter who otherwise would surely perish. If you, dear reader, rescue (or already own) a dog, we're counting on you to somehow provide a decent life for the helpless companion animal. But please do not hesitate to call us or write to us about straydogs who need homes. Every time we do adopt one out, a kennel space becomes available at least for a short time, and we are more than willing to put your rescued animal on our waiting list.

God bless you all! And please let's all focus on the only humane solution to this tragic overpopulation problem--conception control via spaying and neutering.

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