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"All Stray Dogs to Lucky Dogs ... NOW!"
w w w .
S t r a y d o g
. o r g
Pat and Bill Arnold's Happy Home for Strays, a No-Kill Dog Shelter
Straydog Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Non-Profit Corporation - DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
Pat and Bill Arnold receive absolutely no remuneration whatsoever from Straydog Inc.
(The Arnolds donate all their time and effort to Straydog. Complete financial records are available on request.)
P.O. Box 1465, Gun Barrel City, Texas 75147 * (903) 479-3497 * EMAIL: straydog@straydog.org
Two more blind dogs join us as
Straydog operating fund is
running in the negative!
September 2002
LEFT: Helen is a seven-month-old, deaf and nearly blind Great Dane puppy, who arrived August 24.
RIGHT: Freckles is a totally blind, pregnant mixed breed, rescued September 1 by a woman who found the
little dog running in circles in the middle of the road after apparently having been dumped.
Straydog from the air - view from the east
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Photos repeated from the back cover, which is often damaged going thru the mail
Helen, who is totally deaf and nearly blind
Freckles, totally blind and pregnant
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A Note from Bill Arnold ...
The Friday, August 16, 2002 Cover story of the "Life" section of USA Today entitled "Come. Sit.
Stay." by Laura Bly (readable at www.USAtoday.com) is about Best Friends (the largest animal
sanctuary in the United States), and several of the items in the article made me feel a whole lot
better and a lot more sure about what Pat and I are trying to do and the way we're trying to do
it. Here are a few quotes:
(1) "... the sanctuary's high-profile proselytizing for spay/neuter and adoption
programs has helped slash the number of cats and dogs destroyed in U.S. shelters
and pounds from an estimated 17 million in 1987 to less than 5 million last year
[2001]."
(2) "Best Friends adoptions go through a stringent review that tends to put a
damper on spur-of-the-moment alliances [as between volunteer caregivers at Best
Friends Animal Sanctuary and the animals they get to know and might want to adopt].
(3) "Best Friends now boasts about 1,500 furred and feathered residents (including
1,200 cats and dogs) and an annual budget of $14 million--sustained largely through
donations from the non-profit's 250,000 members."
I include the third quote above because we are indeed grateful to our 1,600 loyal contributors,
many of whom have been supporting us since the March 13, 1997 article about us was published in
The Dallas Morning News. It is you all, our loyal contributors, who sustain us, donating $198,646
in 2001 to help us pay our total expenses of $200,017 for 2001, as we maintained a population of
65 dogs (plus or minus one or two), which total population has remained (through August 2002) at
between 63 and 67 dogs as we continue to take in one or two desperate dogs only after we adopt
out one or two dogs.
We at Straydog are trying to show what has to be done to provide a decent home, a home that
includes at least minimal necessities (including medical care) for a once-homeless dog.
We continue to publicize how expensive it is just to provide minimal care to homeless dogs. Pat
and I are doing this for no pay. We keep our readers up to date as to what's happening at
Straydog (as much as possible under our time constraints), and we keep stressing that the only
humane way out of this overpopulation tragedy is SPAY and NEUTER.
Please continue to support us. We will continue to row this lifeboat (Straydog) to shore,
dropping off rescued dogs into the arms of good adopters, and we will continue to fill the
space left vacant by each adopted dog with another desperate homeless dog for as long as
we can hold on. We believe our example (and the example of all other no-kill shelters) must
be publicized in order to wake people up and make them aware of the necessity to SPAY
and NEUTER their pets.
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We're holding our shelter population at no more
than approximately 65 dogs, and we're having to
borrow money to survive!
September 22, 2002
Dear Friends,
The above headline really tells it all. If we're going to keep going (not growing, just going),
we've got to be continuously raising money. One of our contributors wrote recently criticizing us
for not having learned to set a limit on the number of dogs we take in. Until we reached our
current shelter population of 65 dogs (which limit was established almost a year ago now), this
gentleman had a valid point. The fact is that over and over again we tried to set limits--first at 10
dogs, then at 15 dogs, then at 20, then 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and finally 65. If we had set an
absolute limit of 10 or 15 dogs way back in 1994 and had held to it strictly, the two blind dogs
we've just taken in (and many of the other dogs we've rescued and found good homes for) would
most probably no longer be alive.
We continue to say YES to the dogs who have absolutely nowhere else to go--unless we have
no kennel space and no recent (or pending) adoptions to free up kennel space. As we've already
said, there's no money in our budget to construct more kennels and to pay for additional help to
care for additional dogs. For the past year we've been taking in a dog ONLY after we've adopted
one out. (And having to say no to desperate, homeless dogs when we've got no space is very, very
difficult.)
You are the people who have made it possible for us to save the lives of our newest arrivals:
Helen, the Great Dane pup, who is deaf and nearly blind and had been left in a dumpster to die
when she was three months old, and Kalli, who was half starved and very sick when she was
rescued, and our newest arrival, Freckles, who was abandoned on a country road in the middle of
the night, a totally blind little dog, frightened and helpless, left to fend for herself and her
soon-to-be-borne puppies.
These dogs owe you their lives. The many other dogs who were rescued and brought to our
Happy Home for Strays owe you their lives too, for without your help, saving these dogs and
pups would not have been possible.
We desperately need your continued financial support just to maintain Straydog at its current
population. Please help us again soon.
Sincerely,
Pat and Bill Arnold
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EXCERPTS FROM PAT ARNOLD'S DAILY DOG LOG - Late August/Early September 2002
THURSDAY
AUGUST 22 2002
An abused Boxer named Kalli and a deaf and nearly blind Great Dane pup named Helen need
Straydog's help!
Here we are, our Straydog operations fund (which is our only fund) is low, the number of
rescued dogs in our shelter is near our self-imposed limit of 65 dogs, our never-ending vet bill is
currently almost $2,000, and yet we are making room for two dogs who need our help.
Kalli is a Boxer who was rescued a few days ago. She was found half starved and was taken
immediately to a vet by the young woman who had rescued her. The doctor put Kalli on IV
feeding right away. Today the news was not so good: Kalli is responding to the IV feedings alright,
and she is improving, but she was tested for heartworm disease, and the results came back
positive for heartworms. I received a very tearful phone call from Kalli's rescuer telling me the
sad news. The woman was very upset as she went on to say that she just couldn't afford the
treatment and she didn't know what she was going to do now.
[Our plan had been for Kalli to be boarded at the woman's vet clinic until Kalli had regained
her health, and once she had recovered, the plan was to have her spayed and then bring her to us
and we would take care of her, giving her foster care for several months until the woman
relocated. Once the young woman was settled, she would come for Kalli.]
The rescuer of Kalli was extremely upset, but I told her not to worry, that everything would be
okay.
We will still take Kalli, I told her, and we will have our veterinarian treat her for heartworms,
and when Kalli is healthy again, we will have her spayed. Everything will be okay. [We are the
ones who will worry about paying our vet and making room to take in this terribly
neglected/abused dog. But this woman will take care of this dog for life as soon as she is
relocated.]
Kalli is coming tomorrow
The rescuer of Kalli was very relieved that we would still take the pathetic little Boxer, and she
will be bringing Kalli to our Happy Home tomorrow, and we'll take Kalli right to our vet clinic.
There she will receive the best of care and when she is better, she'll undergo treatment for
heartworm disease, and when she is able, she will be spayed.
Helen, the seven-month-old Great Dane pup who is deaf and nearly blind, is coming Saturday
afternoon for a trial visit
This precious big pup was found by a wonderful couple, who have also rescued several other
dogs. They haven't been able to find homes for any of the dogs, and they are desperately trying to
place them all in homes or no-kill shelters as soon as possible. When the woman heard about us,
she emailed me, giving descriptions of the dogs, hoping we could help by taking one or more of
them in.
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Helen is the only dog of the group who has special needs. The others are healthy and happy
and sounded adorable. Helen sounds just as precious, but her handicaps (being deaf and nearly
blind) make her much less adoptable. We certainly know this from experience. These are the
kinds of dogs we always try to help (if we have a space), so we offered to take Helen.
Saturday afternoon this Great Dane pup will be brought to our shelter, and we will see how she
reacts to things here.
FRIDAY
AUGUST 23 2002
Kalli arrived mid-afternoon
Kalli gets a treat from her rescuer, who will be coming back for Kalli after relocating to a new home.
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In the last three photos on the previous page Kalli's mom, Shannon, cries as she tells Pat how badly the dog had
been abused before Shannon was able to rescue Kalli. The previous owner finally said, "Go ahead and take the dog.
She's had her pups," which pups the man had undoubtedly already sold as there was no sign of them anywhere when
Shannon rescued Kalli. Kalli had been chained to a tree and was so skinny she could hardly stand up. Kalli's mom says
goodbye to the beautiful Boxer. Shannon will pick Kalli dog up after Shannon relocates to her new home. Kalli will be
happy during her stay here, and we'll fatten her up!
SATURDAY
AUGUST 24 2002
Adoption Day at Canine Commissary on Lower Greenville in Dallas
Many nice people came to our adoption day today to see us because of Larry Powell, columnist
for The Dallas Morning News, who mentioned several important things about our shelter,
Straydog, in his Thursday (August 22, 2002) column. Many nice folks came to see the dogs we took
to Canine Commissary in Dallas, and many left generous donations. Thank you all!
Daniel is tentatively adopted!
This is exciting news. The new owner of Daniel wants us to hold the fellow for him for two
weeks, after which time Daniel will go to his new home. Daniel is here with us for now. More on
this adoption as it unfolds.
Daniel, a beautiful Chocolate Lab
While our Adoption Day was going on at Canine Commissary, I stayed at our shelter to
welcome the seven-month-old, part albino Great Dane pup, Helen, who is deaf and nearly blind.
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We spent most of the day preparing the kennel for Helen. Because she is part albino, she needs
lots of shade, and Randy (with Trey's help) put a shade cloth covering on the top of the kennel,
which makes most all of her kennel shaded from the hot sun now. It took hours to get the fence
top on the kennel and then to spread the shade cloth and secure it, but the men got done in time
for Helen's arrival, and all was ready for her.
After Trey spreads the shade cloth over the kennel top, he and Randy fasten the shade cloth securely.
Helen arrives, and all goes well
Helen and her rescuer, Heidi, arrived about two-thirty, and we walked Helen around our big
play yard for a little while and then went to her kennel. This precious dog, who (we were told)
cannot see or hear, gets around amazingly well. I don't think she bumped into a thing! Heidi was
pleased that Helen's kennel is so BIG! (The large size of all the kennels surprises everyone.) Heidi
had rescued this Great Dane pup from a dumpster, and it was very easy to see how attached Heidi
had become to the big pup, but Heidi and her husband just could not keep Helen, she said. After
spending a while with Helen in Helen's new "home" (her home until she is adopted), Heidi left
feeling relieved that Helen would be just fine here.
Caregivers Bobby and Angel get acquainted with Helen.
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What I know about Helen now is that she is a big, beautiful, lovable, affectionate pup! We all
spent lots of time with her this afternoon, and she appears to have settled in just fine.
It's hard to believe Helen can't see or hear. Apparently she points her head according to what she smells.
Pat gives Helen some hugging. The big pup loves lots of attention from everyone.
A call came in today (before Helen arrived) asking if we could please take a stray "Collie"
This woman said she had found the stray a month ago and that she had spent all four weeks
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trying to find the little dog a home and couldn't. She had called everyone she knew, and all the
shelters she called turned her down because they were full. Geesh! We are full too!
The woman added that she could not keep the dog any longer, and we were the only hope for
the little furry fellow. Thinking that we would surely find a good home for at least one of our
dogs today at Adoption Day (which would make a space for this fellow), I told the woman to meet
our group at Canine Commissary, and we would bring him home with the dogs who don't get
adopted.
So, we went to Adoption Day with four dogs and came home with FIVE!
Guy asks the new fella, Little Max, who is very shy, to look at the camera. [Max has since been adopted!]
Little Max and Amber meet inside Amber, Melissa's and now Little Max's kennel. Later Brooke pets the two.
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The woman and her little "Collie," which is more of a cute little Sheltie, arrived at the store
about 3:00 just as Guy and our group were getting ready to leave to make the trip back to Straydog.
Since none of our dogs had been adopted (Daniel won't be going to his new home for another
two weeks), Guy and the woman walked her dog with Amber and Melissa to see if the three of
them got along, and they did, so when Guy and the dogs arrived home, the new fellow joined
Melissa and Amber in their kennel. We had already moved in the third dog house, and all was
ready for this new arrival.
Puppy Sweetie joins Helen in her kennel, and they get along great!
In the photo on the right Helen apparently "looks" with her nose at Sweetie.
Toby and Sweetie say hello as Helen seems to be watching, and then when Helen comes over to sniff Toby, she
doesn't realize that Toby has begun to move, as she's still "looking" at the spot where she first "saw" Toby. She
still perceives Toby as being where he was a second earlier. If she sees at all, it's certainly not much.
Since Helen needs a companion, and even though she's as big as she is (about 100 pounds and
only seven months old), we decided to put four-month-old Puppy Sweetie in with Helen, and
after a little apprehension at first on Sweetie's part these two got along just fine! Sweetie thought
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this big white pooch was just a BIG new friend. Little pups are like little human kids: they are
very accepting of everything and everyone.
Helen walks toward Sweetie and their shelter. Then she "looks" toward Toby who's lying in his yard.
Toby observes his new neighbors as Helen observes Toby. We all wonder what sort of image she "sees"?
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Sweetie becomes a permanent kennel mate for Helen
We knew right away that having these two pups together was perfect for both of them, and
after seeing how happy Helen was with her tiny, playful friend (and how well Sweetie was
behaving with Helen) we made the decision that Sweetie would be Helen's kennel mate (and
little seeing-eye buddy), and Sweetie will stay with Helen until the day Helen is adopted. Most
likely the two will need to be adopted together, as were Stevie, the blind dog, and his seeing-eye
buddy, Little Pete.
[Back in 1998 we found Stevie a little kennel mate, Pete (a then-homeless puppy on death row),
so Stevie would be happy. They were both adopted together two years later. (Go to the PREVIOUS
WEEKS link on our website and look at the late August and September 2000 editions for the
adoption of Stevie and Pete.) (Helen and Sweetie are in Stevie and Pete's original kennel, by the
way, right outside our sliding glass door.)]
Helen and Sweetie have lots of new toys to play with, and they both love the bright pink stuffy
toy the best. They've had lots of fun sneaking it away from each other. Sweetie, of course, has the
advantage here. She waits until Helen drops the toy. Then she slowly sneaks up behind Helen (or
under Helen) and grabs the stuffy pink toy and runs off with it--with Helen in "hot pursuit." It is
beautiful to watch them play and very interesting to watch Helen "read" (or "see") what's going
on in her world apparently mostly by smell and feel alone.
Helen plays ball!
During one of my many checks on Helen later in the day, I noticed that she was carrying her
new tennis ball around with her. Then she started playing ball--all by herself! Helen would walk
with the ball in her mouth, and suddenly she tossed it in the air in front of herself, then took a
few silly, playful steps toward the ball, found it easily by sniffing the ground and picked it up in
her mouth and tossed it again! It was so cute to see her play.
All three new arrivals settle in for the night, along with the others
By 7:00 p.m. [Saturday] all was quiet, and I made the final check (I thought) on the new arrivals.
Boxer Kalli was sound asleep in her scoopy hole beneath her porch top. New arrival, sweet Little
Max, was curled up in his freshly made scoopy hole beside Melissa and Amber (we are so Glad
that the three of these fellas get along), and Helen and her pal, Sweetie, were sleeping rump to
rump in their scoopy holes, and this time Sweetie had the stuffy toy beneath her head. All
appeared just fine.
You learn how to get to a dog-in-need fast!
Caring for so many special-needs dogs has been a real learning experience for me, and it didn't
take long to realize that in order to quickly get to a dog who's demanding attention fast, such as
little old Snowflake when she wakes up in the middle of the night in her kitchen kennel and
starts fussing to go out to go potty, or when any of the outside special-needs dogs require my
attention fast, I need to sleep in my clothes, which really isn't much of a problem. After a long,
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hard day out with the dogs, you shower, dress in casuals, have dinner and go to bed! Simple.
Sometimes you wear your shoes to bed, sometimes not. It depends on if you're expecting
interruptions in the night and how fast you can get your shoes on your feet when an emergency
does hit.
All was quiet until 9:00 p.m.! That's when the "Helen Alert" went off!
I was sound asleep when Bill, who had been up processing dog photos on the computer, woke
me saying, "Something is wrong with Helen! You'd better come and look."
As I mentioned above, Helen and Sweetie are in the kennel that is right next to our trailer. We
had originally built this kennel close to us especially for Stevie (who was also blind), because we
can see the whole kennel from our doorway, and because of Stevie's handicap, we wanted to be
able to keep an close watch on him. This is why we chose this same kennel for Helen.
I was out to the kitchen door in a flash (having gone to sleep with shoes on) and in the light
from the trailer I could see Helen frantically pacing back and forth, and then she'd stop and tug at
the fence with her teeth. This was not good. As strong as she is, she could easily break a tooth (as
Misty had done when she tugged at her fence during a bad storm, splitting her tooth, which had
to be removed).
I hurried outside to Helen's kennel and went in to calm her. She was in a state of panic, so I
stayed with her for quite a while, reassuring her all is okay, giving her lots of petting and hugging.
Then Sweetie woke up and came to join in on the petting, wondering what all the fuss was about.
When Helen seemed okay, I came back into the house and watched from the glass doorway.
The fence tugging continued. Not wanting Helen to think I was rewarding this behavior by
coming to pet her after she tugged at the fence, I got a cup of water and every time Helen tugged at
the fence, I opened the door and tossed the water toward the big pup, a little of which would land
on her nose, which was just enough to startle her, and she'd back away from the fence. I moved a
chair to the kitchen right beside the sliding glass door and spent the night in a slouched sitting
position where I could easily see what Helen was doing, and when she'd tug at the fence, I would
toss some water. Finally Helen gave up and went to lie down beside her little pal, Puppy Sweetie.
SUNDAY
AUGUST 25 2002
We'll make it work with Helen. She just needs time to adjust and we'll get through it. (We may
loose more than a little sleep over this, but we'll make it.)
We'll just continue to keep a close watch on Helen at night to break her of this fence-tugging
habit. (Bill is taking a week of vacation from his regular job this coming week to try to get another
newsletter out, so he's volunteered to sit up and watch Helen and Sweetie's kennel while
working at his computer, which Bill has positioned right in the middle of the sliding glass
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door were he can see Helen's entire kennel.) We're sure it's all just the newness of being away
from the home Helen knew and had gotten used to for the last four months, where she had been
an inside/outside dog. Now she suddenly has to stay outside all the time in a confined area (even
tho it is a big kennel), and she is in new surroundings, which she needs to learn about--new
smells, a new routine to fall into. All of this has to be difficult for her. So far she is handling the
daytime schedule absolutely beautifully.
Helen and Sweetie play just like all pups
Helen and Sweetie look like they're really serious, but they're both being very gentle with each other.
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After a very sleepless night for both Helen and myself, the day has gone beautifully. Helen acts
as if she has been here forever, and the two pups have played non-stop all morning. Sweetie
playfully grabs onto Helen's legs, and Helen turns and puts her whole mouth over Sweetie's
head during their playful tussles with one another. The two of them chase each other around and
around their kennel and play keep-away with their favorite stuffy toy. They're having a great day.
Look at Sweetie's back legs trying to push on Helen!
Helen often pushes her muzzle against Sweetie's body (as in the photo on the right). Sweetie bites Helen's ear!
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We are so thankful that the person found and rescued Helen from the dumpster that day, and
we are happy that we are able to help Helen now. She is a very special, loving, wonderful big pup.
A big, Gentle Giant. It is unbelievable how well she gets around!
Little Max (we have a Big Max already) is settling in good too
This adorable dog is a beautiful little Sheltie. His long black and white fur is very tangled, tho,
and he needs a good bath and a bit of grooming to remove the mats. We want him to feel just a
little bit more at home before we put him through a bath, so this will come in a day or too. We
did have to put something on him, as well as the other new arrivals, to handle their flea and tick
problem.
And the "starving little Boxer" named Kalli is doing well too
She is not starving anymore. Kalli has a terrific appetite and is gaining weight. Tomorrow
morning I'll be taking Kalli to the doctor for a thorough checkup. As soon as the doctor thinks
she is healthy enough, she will undergo treatment for heartworms, and later she will be spayed,
or in the opposite order, whatever the doctor thinks is best for her.
One of our dedicated volunteers (and the adopter of pretty Foxhound, Beauty) has offered to
take care of all of Kalli's vet expenses. Thank you very, very much, Nina.
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORT OUR HAPPY HOME FOR STRAYS!
Because of your help and donations to our shelter, we are able to make sure these special needs
dogs, and all of the dogs here, receive the medical care they need to get them on the road to
recovery. We could not do this without your help.
MONDAY
AUGUST 26 2002
A Note from Bill ...
It's just past midnight (and now officially Monday morning). I'm sitting here in front of my computer, looking
beyond the computer screen thru the kitchen sliding-glass door at Helen and Sweetie's kennel, and Helen just got up
out of her big hay-filled wooden "box" in her and Sweetie's shelter, in which both Helen and Sweetie sleep together,
and this beautiful, white, deaf and presumed blind Great Dane walked around the kennel, sometimes touching the
fence with her nose, sniffing and feeling it, but most often stopping just short of touching the fence. (If she can't
see, she must be able to smell the fence, or anything else, as she approaches it, or as it approaches her! It's hard to
believe, but Helen has much less trouble navigating than Stevie, who can hear better than any dog I ever knew.)
After she sniffed around a bit, Helen went over to the grassy end of their kennel and went potty (piddle-only).
Then she came back around the back of her wooden shelter, without bumping into anything, and she again "looked
around" a little bit [presumably with her nose, but watching her you'd swear it was her eyes], and then she went
back under her porch top and climbed back into her "box" inside the shelter.
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I also noticed this evening that if you talk to Helen real close to her face, she can feel and smell the breath of
your words, so I exaggerated breathing out as I said, "NO BARK!" (when she was barking for attention after
bedtime) and "NO TUGGING ON THE FENCE!" (when she was biting and tugging at the fence while Pat was over in
the big play yard (the park) with Julie after Julie's six o'clock meal and insulin shot), and along with a little spray
of water from a squirter bottle on Helen's nose after a few bitings and tuggings on the fence, in addition to Pat's
having tossed sprinkles of water in Helen's direction last night, Helen seems to have learned very quickly not to bite
and tug on the fence. ... We hope ... That's why I'm staying up late tonight (at least till Pat gets up at about two
o'clock this morning).
New arrivals Boxer Kalli and little Sheltie "Little Max" go to the vet for their checkups
When we arrived at the clinic, the groomer took Little Max to her grooming room to begin
working on trying to get the mats brushed out of his thick fur, while he waited for his turn to see
the doctor. So Kalli had her check up first.
Kalli's checkup shows she has an infection
We didn't know that Kalli had been a nursing mother dog until she arrived at our shelter
three days ago--last Friday afternoon. The day after she arrived here (Saturday), we noticed
swelling in her breasts and became concerned. I had made the appointment already for her to see
the veterinarian today (Monday), the earliest I could get her in, and I was glad to have the doctor
see her this soon.
After a careful examination the doctor said that he believes that Kalli's pups were taken away
from her before she had time to wean them, and this is what lead to mastitis (inflammation of
the breast, or mammary gland). The doctor prescribed antibiotics for this problem, and drops for
her ears, and he did a skin scraping on the unusual little sore-looking areas on her hips to see if
she has ringworm. He also treated her for infestation of hookworms, which she has, which is the
reason she is anemic. Kalli also weighs 52 pounds now so she is doing a good job of gaining the
weight she needs.
Sweet little Kalli. If she isn't getting better in a few days, I'll take her back to see the doctor
again. Once the infection clears up, then we'll see about having her spayed, and then we'll have
the heartworm treatment started.
Little Max saw the doctor next, and his report was much better!
Kalli curled up on the cool tile floor to wait while Little Max saw the doctor. When the
groomer brought Little Max in the room he looked beautiful! The groomer had brushed all the
tight mats out of his fur, and his hair was fluffy and mat-free. He looked so much better, even tho
he still needed a bath, which I will give him at home, when I can get to it.
Little Max's checkup turned out to be much better than sick little Kalli's. The little Sheltie
weighs about 45 pounds (I need to recheck his weight) and is about three years old, and he appears
to be healthy, thank goodness. The doctor took a heartworm test, but we won't know the results
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of that until tomorrow. We left Max to be neutered, and I'll pick him up tomorrow morning
when I take new arrival Helen for her checkup.
New arrival Helen has settled in, finally!
Last night was her second night here, and there were no problems at all! Helen's kennel is
right beside the house, and Bill stayed up last night (till I got up), setting up his little "office" right
in front of the kitchen sliding-glass door so he could keep a good watch on Helen in her kennel
throughout the night (letting me get some sleep). Bill moved a folding chair into the kitchen and
made a desk out of two large boxes of dog biscuits for his laptop computer to sit on. With a cup of
coffee on the kennel top beside this little "office station" he was set to take care of any problem
that might arise with Helen.
Helen slept almost the whole night through, except for getting up one time to go potty
As Bill worked the night away on his computer, Helen slept soundly in her huge hay bed box
with her little friend, Sweetie, curled up beside her. They slept peacefully through the whole
night, except for the one time Helen got up to go to the bathroom, as Bill describes it in his note.
When I got up at 2:00 a.m. to take over my shift, which begins with special care for Snowflake,
and diabetic Julie, and house dogs Toby, Blackie and Danny Boy, Bill headed for bed. All was quiet
the whole night through, Bill murmured as we passed each other going opposite directions, Bill
to bed and me outside with Snowflake in my arms.
To see Helen and Sweetie sleeping together in their big hay bed box is beautiful. When we take
dogs in sight-unseen, we are never sure of their exact size--like Danny Boy: From what we'd
heard about this fellow, we assumed he was a six-month-old Golden Retriever pup, and he
turned out to be a five-year-old, 85-pound Retriever/Chow mix!
Having heard that Helen was a pup about seven months old, weighing about 100 pounds, we
knew she would need a BIG BED, because she would be growing even more, so Randy moved a
previously used big "hay bed box" into Helen's shelter. He had made this big box for big Rottie,
Buddy, who weighs in at 125 pounds. Buddy doesn't need the box now since he has other sleeping
accommodations, so this would be Helen's new bed. It's a half a wood box (just two sides of a
square--an "L"), with no top on it. It's just a nice big firm box with part of the front cut low so dogs
can easily get in and out of it--perfect for Helen. Randy fastened it to an inside corner of the
shelter (completing the square), and we put fresh hay in the box and had it all ready when Helen
arrived.
We must have already said a zillion times how much Helen and Sweetie play together and
how much they love each other. This is another reason Helen has settled in so fast. She knows
her little friend is with her all the time.
Helen goes to the big play yard today and gets around beautifully!
Helen had a ball in the big play yard today. She was out with Sweetie in the early morning, and
I took them out again at 5:00 tonight when it was cooler and not sunny. Helen gets around so well
20
one would suspect that she is not totally sightless. She never once bumped into the trees or the
fence or the little swimming pool or the drinking water bucket. Every time she came within an
inch of anything in her way, she'd just veer slightly away from the obstacle, and she'd keep on
going, trotting over to me occasionally for a little reassurance that all was well. Then off she'd trot
again. I did observe Helen trip over toys on the ground as she would pass over them indicating
she couldn't see them. We're looking forward to Helen's vet visit tomorrow to see what the
doctor says about her eyes.
TUESDAY
AUGUST 27 2002
What a downpour!
It's been raining hard all day, which makes for a whole lot of kennel work for all our team
members as they have to build up the washed away sand along the bottom of the kennel fences
during severe downpours. At one point when lightning began streaking across the dark gray sky
very close to our shelter, the dog walks came to a halt, and everyone headed for the office. It's a
good thing that Guy, Tina, Trey and Bobby were all here today, because there was major wash-out
of sand, and the crew was back at work doing build-up in the rain as soon as the lightning moved
on.
Guy is busy shoveling wet sand to build up the wash-out during the storm.
Bill and I had to cancel our early morning appointment for Helen to see the vet for her
new-arrival checkup because of the bad storm, and we rescheduled Helen's appointment for this
afternoon.
By 1:30 p.m. the rain had slowed to a drizzle, and we got ready to go to the vet clinic.
We would also be picking up Little Max, who had had his new-arrival checkup and neuter
surgery yesterday.
21
Tray and I put the harness on Helen and walked her to the van. (Helen doesn't like leashes
around her neck. They seem to frighten her.) She stopped just as we got to the open side doors of
the van and let us know that she wasn't going any further. This is a "new" car to Helen,
including lots of new smells, and because it's a van, there's a much higher step for her to hop up
(or step up) to get into the van, so Tray lifted the big (nearly 100-pound pup) into the back of the
van, and I got in and sat on the floor beside her for the ride to the clinic. Bill was our chauffeur.
When we arrived at the clinic, Helen was just as hesitant about getting out of the van, so after
a lot of coaxing failed, we had to lift her out. We know she'll get used to the van, and after a few
more trips she'll be hopping in and out without a problem. This is one amazing pup!
Helen's check up shows she's fine
All the staff at the clinic commented about how pretty Helen is, and they were all surprised at
how well she gets around, not being able to see or hear. While we were in the waiting room,
Helen walked to the counter (Bill right beside her holding the leash), and she stood up putting
her paws on the counter top as if to "look" over the counter to see what was on the other
side--just as curious sighted and hearing dogs might do. One of the technicians said she thought
Helen must be able to see something.
Soon we saw the doctor. After doing his other routine checks the doctor examined Helen's
eyes, darkening the room before shining a light into each eye. He thought there was a slight
reaction to this test, and after leaving the examination room to confer by phone with the eye
specialist in Arlington (who had preformed surgery on Julie's eyes when she went blind last year,
removing the cataracts from Julie's eyes and implanting artificial lenses, which renewed Julie's
sight), our local doctor came back and said the probable prognosis was that nothing could be done
to improve Helen's vision, which at best was probably only the observance of light and shadows.
Both vets agreed that it would be a good idea for us to make an appointment for Helen to see the
eye specialist, and the eye specialist said that Helen could accompany Julie on the 9th of
September when Julie goes for her routine eye checkup.
The rest of Helen's examination was fine, and she is old enough to be spayed, so we'll make
the appointments for Helen and her little five-month-old pal and kennel companion, Sweetie, to
be spayed at the same time so they can also recover together.
Helen weighed in at 97.2 pounds, and she is about seven months old, the doctor said, and she
has more growing to do, he added with a chuckle. What a good report for Helen.
Little Max is fine too
After the technician brought Little Max to us, we put both dogs in the van (again having to lift
a very hesitant Helen), and we were on our way home again.
Kelli is getting better, thank goodness!
Kellie's swelling is beginning to go down, and she is back to her bouncy self this afternoon.
What a relief!
22
But the doctor called us tonight at seven o'clock to say he'd just received the results of Kalli's
blood work, and "we aren't out of the woods yet with her." We are just hoping the severe
infection continues to get better.
Kalli and Big Jed
WEDNESDAY
AUGUST 28 2002
Big Jed goes to see the doctor for his upper half and ends up having surgery on his bottom half
Jed is the wide, short, stocky, eleven-year-old Chow/mix we brought to our Happy Home for
Strays in order to save his life because he had nowhere else to go when his owner moved out of
the country. Jed would have been euthanized if a home hadn't been found for him the day we
were contacted, and we took him in.
This sweet fellow has been wheezing occasionally lately, which we thought could be caused by
allergies or maybe the damp weather, so to make sure, we wanted the doctor to examine the big
guy.
After the doctor examined Jed thoroughly, he said the occasional wheezing was most likely
due to allergies (as we had suspected), but what really concerned the doctor were the two small
tumors he found near Jed's anus. The doctor explained what they were (some medical name that
I have forgotten now), and he said they needed to be removed before they got bigger. This was
sure a shocking bit of news!
Since Jed was already at the clinic and the doctor could schedule Jed for the surgery this
afternoon, I agreed to have it done now. Jed will stay at the clinic for a day or two, and most likely
he can come home this Friday.
23
THURSDAY
AUGUST 29 2002
Jed's doing fine after surgery!
The doctor was busy with an emergency when I called this morning, but one of the technicians
said Jed was doing fine and should be able to come home tomorrow.
My Social Security retirement benefits to start coming next month
I was 62 and a half years old yesterday, and since I'm not ever planning on receiving any
income from anywhere, there's no reason to wait till I'm 65 and a half, so I went ahead and
signed up. The amount I will receive (a little less than $700 per month) will help with Straydog's
humongous, never-ending vet bill.
SATURDAY
AUGUST 31 2002
Five dogs (Amber, Dallas, Dobie, Melissa and Millie) go to Adoption Day
Five dogs left Straydog at 9:00 this morning headed for Canine Commissary on Lower
Greenville in Dallas along with Guy (the driver), his wife Kim (a volunteer) and our regular
caregiver, Brooke. There were also several volunteers (including Susan and Trish) waiting for the
van to arrive at 11:00, and our group stayed till 3:00 p.m.
All five dogs came back home from Adoption Day
It was a very slow day at Canine Commissary, probably because of the holiday weekend. We
thank Canine Commissary for having us at their store, and we thank all our wonderful
volunteers for giving up four hours of their Saturday to help the dogs, affording each dog a
four-hour window for a possible adoption.
24
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2002
Another blind rescued stray joins us this morning
At 5:00 this morning an emergency call came in from a woman named Shanna, pleading with
me (almost to the point of being hysterical) to please help a blind dog she had just found in the
darkness in the middle of the road near her house. Shanna's voice was shaking as she went on to
say that "something is terribly wrong with the dog's eyes! They are all pink inside--like she
doesn't even have any eyeballs. She can't see! She is walking around in circles! Please, can you
help her?!" she pleaded.
Shanna said she'd discovered the dog when she woke to her own eight dogs barking at
something. (Shanna and her husband live in a rural area on a quiet country road, which is often
used as a "dumping ground" for the unwanted pets of inhumane humans. Shanna and her
husband have already taken in eight dogs and pups who had been cruelly abandoned in their
area.) Shanna said she picked up the sightless, frightened dog and carried her to her yard and then
called us.
Get the dog to a safe place
This is our advice to everyone who calls us about the strays they try to rescue when they don't
know what to do with the dog or pup. Getting the dog into a safe environment gives everyone
time to stop and think and try to come up with a plan. If they can't secure the dog at their home,
then they should try to board the pooch at a vet clinic.
I told Shanna I would see what we could do about bringing the dog here.
At 6:00 a.m. the dog is safe
Shanna called me again an hour later to say that the dog was now safe in her mom's fenced
yard. The problem Shanna faces is that she can't keep the dog at her house because of the eight
previously rescued strays she already has. Shanna's mom has several dogs too, and right now
those dogs have to remain in the house so that this new blind doggie has a temporary safe place
to stay (in the mom's fenced yard). They stressed that they needed to take the dog somewhere
right away, and they feared that because the dog was blind, and "possibly pregnant," she wouldn't
have a chance of surviving anywhere but at our shelter.
Shanna knows us already. We took in two pups she found a year ago, Hope and Hannah (who
have since been adopted into good homes), and Shannna said she hoped we could take in this
dog because she knows that any dog coming here will always be safe.
We make room for the little blind dog, whom I named "Freckles" per Shanna's description
We have one "sort of extra" kennel located by our house, which we use for little Snowflake on
occasion, and which we also use for Julie twice a day while Julie waits for her special food and
25
insulin. We figured that Julie could get her insulin and meal in the "feeding gate" area of her and
Jed's kennel, so this kennel is more or less "available" and would be perfect for a small blind dog.
Freckles joins our Happy Home for Strays
Freckles arrived about 9:30, much sooner that we expected, so we were in the process of
"Freckle Proofing" the kennel--preparing it for a blind dog--when Shanna and her mom arrived
with the small blind dog.
Freckles, a pregnant, blind, formerly homeless dog
In her kennel Freckles walked around in circles as she familiarized herself with her new
surroundings. She did bump into her shelter and the fence, but she was so cautious as she slowly
felt her way around, that she barely touched the things that were in her way, so she didn't hurt
herself. We discovered that she is frightened of a cloth leash so we all helped guide her as she
mostly circled her way around her kennel yard.
I think that once she becomes familiar with the things in her kennel (her shelter, dog house
and drinking water bucket) the circle-walking will stop. Right now this sweet little dog has gone
through a horrific experience by being taken away from the home she knew and being cruelly
abandoned in the middle of "nowhere," as it must have seemed to her, not knowing where she
was and not being able to see. We just hope that the loss of her eyesight was not caused by abuse
of any kind.
Can you imagine the fear and panic she went through until Shanna rescued her? And most
likely Freckles was "dumped" because she is pregnant, and her ignorant, inhumane owners just
"threw away" this precious dog to get rid of their "problem."
26
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3 2002
Freckles sees the doctor
The doctor saw us right away, and he looked at Freckle's eyes first. After a careful examination
of the pink mass that we were hoping was just a covering over Freckles' eyes, he said that she has
no eyes, which is most likely caused from a birth defect, which is hereditary, which means there is
a big chance that some or all of her puppies will be born blind too. We were hoping that
something could be done to restore Freckles' sight, if this was even a possibility, but now it's clear
that nothing can be done to help her see.
After the rest of Freckle's examination the doctor said that the puppies will probably be borne
in about three weeks and that Freckles seems healthy enough to give birth without any problems.
Freckles is about two years old and weighs 39 pounds. She is a mix of Heeler and something.
The doctor treated her for hookworms and ear mites, which is what all strays seem to have, and
he did the blood work, which results will come back tomorrow, to see if she has heartworms.
Freckles is such a sweet little dog. She still walks in circles, but sometimes the circles she makes
are getting bigger, and sometimes she will walk several feet in a straight line. She knows where
everything in her kennel is now, and she likes to sleep in her hay-filled dog house at night.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2002
Jed's tumor was cancerous
Jed had had two tumors removed from his anus about a week ago. The results of the biopsy
show that one tumor was cancerous and the other tumor had some long medical term, and the
doctor ending up saying "which can be a precancerous change."
So, for Jed we just keep a close watch on him to see if more tumors develop, and if they do,
we'll handle the situation just as we did this last time. The fellow is feeling fine now. We'll also
put him on a strict healthy diet.
Freckles has heartworm disease
I wasn't a bit surprised when I saw "POS" typed on the lab test results of Freckles' heartworm
test. Certainly this is not good news, but it just didn't surprise me. Whenever we take in an adult
stray, we worry about heartworm disease; whenever we take in pups, we worry about Parvo
virus. This sweet little dog has so much going against her. This news was not good to hear.
The plan for Freckles will be: First she'll have her babies, which are due in about three weeks,
and after they are weaned (about eight weeks later), we'll have her spayed. After she recovers
27
fully from the spay surgery and is really feeling good, then we'll have her treated for heartworm
disease. Six months from now this little dog will have recovered from everything, and she will be
available for adoption. Who knows, a kind-hearted person, or family with a whole lot of love to
give, may be looking for a special little dog just like Freckles.
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2002
Helen and Little Puppy Sweetie, were spayed this morning and are doing fine!
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7 2002
Daniel goes to his new home! No other dogs adopted
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9 2002
Helen goes to the eye specialist
The vet techs came in to do some preliminary tests on Helen's eyes to have those results ready
by the time the doctor came in to see Helen. (Helen was very well behaved during the entire
visit.)
Soon Dr. Paulsen came into the room and examined Helen's eyes thoroughly. After his
examination the doctor said that Helen can see a little bit. He went into lengthy explanation of
what the problems were with Helen's eyes. Mainly Helen's semi-blindness is caused by congenital
defects. Her corneal surface is flatter than normal, and her globes are smaller than normal, and
the doctor said something about how her lenses are not in the proper places and that her irises are
also affected. The doctor also said that there are no surgeries or therapies that would help Helen.
Her vision is more functional in the left eye, the doctor added, and that since she gets around so
well, there is really nothing to worry about. We agree. And now at least we know nothing can be
done for her, and we needed to find this out.
28
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13 2002
Freckles is having her babies at the "maternity ward" at our vet clinic!
Late this morning, during the hecticness of Mowing Day, Freckles went into labor. Suddenly
Guy called to me saying he thought Freckles was in labor. Randy and I went to check on her, and
she definitely appeared to be about to have her first baby. Because of the birth defect that caused
Freckles to be born blind, I worried about Freckles possibly having other problems inside her body
that might cause difficulty with the delivery of her babies, and I didn't want to take the chance of
Freckles having a difficult birth over the weekend when the clinic would be closed, so I called the
doctor. He wanted me to bring her right in.
The x-ray showed four, possibly five, babies and the doctor was concerned because the pups
were so big, and he was worried about the first little puppy, who seemed to be struggling to be
born. He suggested I leave Freckles in their care and told me to call back later to see how she was
doing, and he immediately began to tend to Freckles.
Since we were so short-handed (as usual) at the shelter, I was needed to help out, so I left
Freckles, hoping she'd have her little pups with no problems.
Freckles delivered four puppies--with one more yet to come
When I called the clinic later, the doctor said that Freckles had had four puppies so far and that
one of them was having trouble breathing so they were giving the pup oxygen. The other three
babies appeared to be fine, and Freckles was being a wonderful mother. The doctor added that all
the vet techs were in the "birthing room" (as they called it now, because of Freckles, he said) to be
on hand if Freckles needed any help. Thank goodness Dr. Morton was right there too!
"Baby Sunshine" doesn't make it
When I called again, I was given the sad news that the baby who had been having trouble
breathing, little "Baby Sunshine" (as I've named her), did not make it. The baby's lungs just
weren't strong enough the doctor said.
The doctor reported that the other three seemed to be healthy little kids, and he suggested I
come for Freckles and her three babies at 4:00 when I was scheduled to come to pick up Julie (after
her full day of blood tests to check her blood sugar level) and Kalli (who was ready to come home
from yesterday's spay surgery). Maybe, the doctor added, the fifth little tyke would be born by then.
The whole bunch of doggies and newborn pups come home
By 4:00 I was at the clinic, and I saw the proud, happy mommy and her three little babies. The
fifth pup just wasn't ready to be born yet, the doctor said, adding that sometimes it takes a while,
and he felt I could watch over her better during the weekend and to call him if there were any
problems.
29
So now it is 8:00 p.m., and Freckles is curled up in the big kennel in the kitchen, sound asleep
on her soft blankets with her babies snuggled up close to her tummy. It's amazing to watch this
small blind mother dog gently nudge her newborn babies up close to her tummy so she can nurse
them, and when she wants to change positions, she is very careful as she moves around. What a
good mommy!
Freckles had her last baby sometime in the night
At two a.m. when I got up, the first thing I did, of course, when I came to the kitchen, was to
check on Freckles, and there was the new arrival, another little white puppy! Whew! Born with
no problems, thank goodness! Now Freckles has two white pups and two brown fellows.
Freckles, a blind, formerly abandoned mommy with four beautiful babies.
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16 2002
Little Lucy is a weak, tiny baby
I've been more concerned about Little Lucy these last two days than the others, because the
more I watch this tiny baby, the more I've noticed that she is the weakest of the four puppies.
Little Lucy doesn't have much chance to nurse when her three "bigger" brothers scooch their way
next to their mom's tummy. Little Lucy just gets pushed aside and she doesn't have the strength
to "fight for her place in line."
Little Lucy gets rushed to see the doctor
Worried that Little Lucy may need supplemental feeding, I wrapped her in "dryer-warmed"
towels and took her to the vet first thing this morning. After examining Little Lucy the doctor
said she should have four supplemental feedings a day, and he showed me how to tube feed her
with puppy milk. The doctor also suggested I give some supplemental tube feedings to the other
three pups just to give them all a boost.
30
Little Lucy and her brothers are tube fed at home
Later in the morning when it was time to feed Little Lucy again, I tried really hard to remember
everything the doctor showed me in his office.
Pat inserts the tube into Lucy's mouth, over her tongue and down into her stomach and then injects the special milk.
Tiny Lucy gets a full "tube" meal several times a day. [A week later Lucy and her three brothers are all doing fine.]
A NOTE FROM BILL: As most of you know, we're not in the habit of having mother dogs give birth to their puppies at
Straydog. In fact this is the first litter born here. As you also know, we are constantly preaching and will continue to
constantly preach spay and neuter - conception control - to stop poor dogs like Freckles from becoming pregnant. But
Freckles' puppies are tiny dogs now with very special needs, and when we made the commitment to provide a home for their
blind mother, Freckles, we made the same commitment to Freckles' babies: a home and good care until they are adopted.
Straydog Inc.
P.O. BOX 1465
GUN BARREL CITY, TEXAS 75147
www.straydog.org

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