Gatsby seems to be on the mend. He felt really badly Thursday through Saturday, picking at his food and sleeping most of the day, but by the time we were ready for bed on Sunday night, he was ready to run through the apartment playing with his toys and our shoes. He had his second vet visit yesterday and the vet said he saw improvement. He has another week of antibiotics to finish to completely get rid of his kennel cough and cold, and his ears are still a bit sensitive, but he is doing better. We have set up an appointment on the 28th for his neutering, and will start the heartworm treatment sometime after that.

For at least 30 days after that, we have to keep him quiet. I think this will be the hardest part, as he loves to run around the house, jumping up on the couch and jumping back off during his "laps."

As far as the animal shelter situation is concerned, Janel contacted the national beagle rescue organization, and the general consensus is that, yes, some county animal shelters suck, particularly the ones that euthanize (no-kill shelters are much better run), but there is very little recourse. On the media side, Janel is friends with a photographer for the local ABC affiliate and is also friends with the roommate of a reporter for the same station. And, crazy coincidence, this reporter adopted the dog that shot its owner last year... Trigger... that story still cracks me up... Janel has met Trigger and says he is a really nice dog... you would never know he shot someone.

Anyway, the problem with this area is that it is very much run by good ole boys, and there are a number of stories that get passed up because someone knows someone, or is related to, or owns the location or has loads of money. At this point, aside from a possible letter to the newspaper, we are just focusing on getting our new little buddy well.