Update on Willow
Here is a note from Lisa on Willow (below) and my response (above)…
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Lisa, this is wonderful news. I know that the readers will like to know about her life. Thank you for keeping up with her and hanging in there. Rescuing isn’t easy – in fact the kind of rescuing you did with Willow is the hardest – you got her in the throws of such huge transitions – just into rescue, having pups, loosing her pups to their new families, and all those accompanying hormones! And then she had those persistent illnesses, and needed to be spayed. Really, you took on a lot. It has been really helpful to hear of your struggles during this time – I have learned a lot that I will be able to use with the next mama that needs a home. I’m still learning and I am sorry I wasn’t able to foresee all that you were taking on. Again, thank you so much for hanging in there with her. I am so pleased she is loved, cared for and may be an international dog some day!! Wow.
Keep me posted and photos would be great.
-Kristin
Hi Kristin. I love the web site. We loved seeing all of Willow’s puppies. They are absolutely adorable. Willow is doing great. She just got spayed finally a few weeks ago. Between the infections and then her going into heat, we couldn’t get her spayed until now. She has really come a long way since we got her. She has calmed down a lot and she is very loving toward me and the kids. She finally let my husband pet her in January before he left for Germany. He is coming home for a visit next week so we will see how she does with him after him being gone for so long. We are still undecided about whether we will take her with us. They really love dogs in Germany and Switzerland and they go everywhere including restaurants and stores. She is definitely not trained for that! But we will see as the day draws nearer. We will not leave until July, so we have some time. We have to figure out where we will be living and if it is suitable. Also we will have to find someone to take care of her when we come home for vacations. That may be a challenge. If we can work out the details, we will take her with us. We love her so much in spite of all her anxiety issues. It sounds from the descriptions on the web site that her puppies have all turned out well. I think the one person was right about their being bloodhound in their lineage. I have always thought that about Willow with her somewhat droopy eyes and her insistence on smelling everything persistently for long periods of time ! Thanks for checking on her. I’ll try to find some pictures to send on to you, but rest easy and know she is being very well cared for and has evolved into her role as queen of the house!
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…
New puppies coming!
Guesssss whaaaat?!
PUPPIES ARE COMING!
Stay tuned.
Pictures of Lily
Here is a note with cute photos of Lily (from Chloe‘s group):
She finally had hair long enough that when she got her nails clipped they gave her little bows..
- Lily with bows
