Archive for the ‘fostering dogs’ Category
2 more puppies coming
Fluffy, Ruffy, and Ani have left but now two of their siblings are arriving tomorrow afternoon! How cool is that?
They have been checked out and are healthy as can be (thankfully) and we hope that the stay at our house will be a brief 2 weeks.
SO, keep your ears open for anyone looking for a pup!
Puppies are leaving, but one remains
- Ruffy needs a good home
So sad. Anialduln (Ani) left on Sunday of last weekend and it looks like Fluffy is soon to part us too. That leaves poor little Ruffy…I figured he’d go last. He is such a sweet heart and so mellow and easy going. He’ll make some family with kids a great companion. Please, if you know of anyone looking for a sweet puppy, let them know we’ve got him.
So, Ani left and got a clean bill of health from her new vet! Yeah. Here she is getting her “time to go home” bath.
 Ruffy lounging in the sun |
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Much ado about nothing
Ringworm is contagious. Yes that is true. And there was enough of the fungus on Fluffy‘s hair to grow a culture in the dish. Yes, that is also true. But does that mean the pups HAVE ringworm? If they show no signs does that mean they have it? If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it fall, did it really fall? Ok, maybe that is taking it too far. But really, as I prepare myself mentally for the yellow puppies and the smell of sulfur, I must ask myself, “why?” If we hadn’t tested the flaky skin on Fluffy we would not think they were sick. They don’t have any symptoms. We haven’t caught anything, nor have our dogs. Really, all we have is part of a story…a beginning line so to speak. But a very compelling one to many people. Sigh. So, I will dip the puppies tomorrow. I will withstand the smell and mess and unsightliness of it. I will do it because it is the right thing to do. Then I will bleach the heck out of the room and bathe my dogs with a anti-fungal shampoo. Because it is the right thing to do. But I keep thinking, if it weren’t for that opening line, I’d have a completely different story here, “The puppies are so healthy and ready to go!” Something to think about.
Puppies on the mend
Ruffy and Anialduln
The pups were strangly quiet Saturday night. I got home from work at 6pm and didn’t hear a peep all night! I began to worry. I finally went in around 9:30pm and woke them all up from what looked like a deep sleep. They sat up slowly, blinked their eyes and just looked at me for a long moment. I said, “Hi puppies?” And then they sprang to life, jumping out of the plastic swimming pool filled with blankets and toys and running to jump on my legs. Whew. But there is something not quite right with them. They are too sleepy, their bellies too bulgey, overall they’re just too quiet. And they have diarahea. I have to remind myself that ALL the puppies I’ve ever fostered have had some sort of intestinal illness. And that it isn’t my fault! So, tomorrow, Monday, it’s back to the vet wtih a fecal and a plea for antibiotics. My diagnosis? Coccidea. The ever present illness. I’m fairly certain that’s what it is.
Fluffy and Ruffy at play
Anyway, they are alert and playful when they’re awake and very interested in me. I hold them and they look deeply into my eyes as if to say, “So, who ARE you anyway?”
“Fluffy” is black with thick, fluffy fir. “Ruffy” is black and a little leaner. “Anealduln” is the cream colored puppy.
Puppy news and names
So, they are barking like crazy right now! My son LOVES playing with this group and I must say that I’m really enjoying them as well. As long as they don’t infect my home and family with ringworm, this will be easy sneezy! Really, I had no idea how much work I was doing when I fostered entire litters with their mama. Three puppies are so easy to handle, they make a small mess – especially these dogs, they are tiny compared to what I’m used to, and they don’t completely overwhelm you with snapping mouths when you sit down. Really, this is fine. I could do this all year round! Except, puppy poop does smell rather stinky. Don’t like that so much.
Ryan and I are arguing over names. I like the names for the leads in the TV show I Carly: Freddy, Sam, and Carly. The names are cute and fit their personalities well. Ryan wants names like “Anealduln” (for real, he’s been after me for an entire year to name a puppy that – his own made up name), Crusty, Wet Head, Crazy, Bitey, Barky, Ice Cream, Miss Puppy, Ruffy, Missy, Cutie … sigh. He was the one to name past puppies “Chocolate Cookie Wrinkly Face, and Madame Puffykins.
It is clear that these puppies miss their mama terribly. When they saw my adult dogs they started crying frantically and trying to get through the baby gate we have set up. It was really sad for me to see because I really like how nature works – how when I raise the litters, by the time they all leave they are done with their mamas and really don’t react much to her. It tells me that this group was separated from their mama far too early. For whatever reason, she wasn’t part of their lives for as long as they needed her. I am hoping that they are clear of ringworm and that I can bring my own dogs in to help them remember that side of themselves. For now, they are learning how to play with kids, how to come when called, and how to keep away from the mop.
Puppies again.
So, we’ve got three new puppies at our house. Here’s their story (as much as I know and I’ll ever know):
swaddled puppy
Their mama was a pregnant stray that was hanging around someone’s home. They let her live in their garage and there she had 7 puppies. Then, when they were 6 weeks old, she “ran away” and “got hit by a car” and died. So, no mama. H.E.L.P. split up the group and we got three of them. They are really small for 7 weeks so they look like they’ll be around 40 lbs. when full grown. They seem well socialized to people, not afraid and in fact very willing to follow and interact. So the original family did a lot right. Thank you to them, whoever they are.
But they all have a weird and very scabby thing going on with their skin. I gave them all baths and tried my best to scrape the scabs off with a flea comb but it was really difficult. It is really strange, I haven’t seen anything quite like it before. The vet said that it might be “ringworm” and that if it is I shouldn’t worry about trying not to get it because I likely already have it. Yikes. But then he said that he believed it was unlikely going to be ringworm. So I bathed them all and they all screamed bloody murder. Then I swaddled them in big towels and laid them in my son’s arms with a space heater on them all. They all promptly fell asleep – except Ryan. Then I cut all their toe nails and re-combed the one with the worse scabs and fed them. They are really quiet in their room now. Probably pee is everywhere.
They have little short ears and fluffy fur. The little black male has a blue spot on his tongue! Maybe some Chow in them? I’ll have to do some research to see what other breeds have blue spots on the tongue. There’s one yellow female and one really fluffy black female. They are so cute. It is nice to have puppies again and to have so few! What an easy time this well be – if they all turn out to be healthy…
