The good the bad and the doggie...more puppy pics

The puppies continue to grow, which is the most educational experience I have ever had with dogs. All the books I read don't tell you anything on the first couple weeks of life for the dogs...

The terrible cough/cold Wanda (the mom) came to us with got to the puppies. I had high hopes when she was all the way better that they weren't gonna get it and a day later runny noses and little coughs were every where.

Some of the puppies were obviously sick and some started losing weight. We feed some of them formula now to help keep them stable along with medicine twice a day. Unfortunately Rott Pott, was the sickest and stopped eating entirely, even feeding him bits at a time made him throw up. He added away last Tuesday. Another shot to the heart. I was getting worried every morning to go downstairs to the puppy room.

I try to think about the healthy pups and how fantastic it will be to watch them find forever homes. Regardless this week was a terrible one. I was in a slump but yesterday I went to a mutt strut to support the rescue and saw some of Ruby's (the pregnant dog we saved off the street) puppies 6 months old chubby and happy. It reminded me how amazing rescuing these dogs is and how I am doing the right thing even if its impossibly difficult at times.

So we have our runt captain who is hard to keep healthy and stable but besides that the other six puppies are doing wonderfully so I'm getting high hopes again that we are in the clear...the puppies all have their eyes open and have started to play and show personalities its really just amazing...here's some pics....

Fragile lives adorable pups

So I was totally excited to blog about the millions of insane things that happened since the puppies arrived but it has been hard for me to muster the guts to do it.

We brought home Wanda and nine absolutely itty bitty puppies on Saturday and we did everything we could to make their lives more comfortable. Wanda was pretty sickly, my primary goal has been keeping her fed and giving her all her medicine and TLC.

Unfortunately all the good intentions cannot prevent accidents, one of the puppies had a nose bleed from an accidental bump. We took her to the emergency room but when they are that small, and young there's nothing to be done. She was keep alive by machines and once she was taken off she passed away. Definitely one of the worst moments of my life. It was tragic and made me question everything I've been doing trying to save the dogs...Even though I was told this is common and there's nothing I could have done that would have  changed it I felt devastated.

But after some words of encouragement and understanding, from vets, shelter managers and close friends/family I realized I have eight more puppies that need a safe place to stay, and a mom that needs a nurse :). So I'm back on the case. Wanda is mostly house trained, but she keeps sneaking the occasional poo or pee in the most unlikely of places so that's fun. The good news is she is great with my dog and my cats and children A+++.

She's getting much better, her recovery from what ever doggie flu she had has been slow going but it's finally on its last legs. We have a designated puppy room (heater included) that needs clean up very often. But sitting in there among the little bundles makes me so happy (even if they are smelly as can be). I can't wait till they open their eyes should be just a couple days. Pic below:

 We have temporarily named the pups.

Rott Pott- looks like a mini rott.
Samson- My fav.
Captain- started out the runt of the litter but he's gotten much bigger.
Stanley- formerly Dot because of his one white dot but dot was a girly name.
Terese- Tri colored female.
Diamond- Shes got a diamond on her chest.
Bandita- She has a bit of a zorro mask going.
Speckles- Whines a whole bunch.

Newest Adventure

Hello all!

The summer was not dog less but it was doggy lite for sure. Working a full-time job and performing in the Circus on the weekends makes it hard to keep up with my "gotta save them all" spirit.

 A quick update

Carter ( my jumpy black lab foster ) although initially returned by owners who weren't quite ready for him has found a happy home with a man and his son and a big backyard huzzah!

Ruby's (The dog I found pregnant on the street) puppies have all been adopted. That's 11 happy healthy abnormally large pups finding rescue homes. Ruby is still at the shelter but is actually one of the only dogs I've ever met that seems to like the shelter so she's ok waiting for her forever home.

Harley- an eight month old Black Lab mix. He was a local stray I didn't get to blog much about, by much I mean at all. He had spent multiple days on the street, had fleas (fun adventure for all the animals and people in the house) as well as scars and some sort of skin condition. Regardless we took him in got him in decent help and fell in love with him but before we could decide whether to just keep him we found him a home that really/needed and want him.
I actually cried he was impossibly hard to give away and if the home hadn't been so wonderful I don't think I could of, but he's in a great place. Wow he was a fantastic animal, already house trained and he knew lots of tricks. We put signs up everywhere and posted him on lost dog websites, I can't imagine the terrible people that didn't wan this dog back but I'm glad he got away from them. He was my first independent rescue and it was very exciting.

Bizmark- My pekingese formal puppy mill resident. We worked on clearing up some of his extreme fears, He had spent all 5 years of his life in a puppy mill crate used as a breeding stud. Although he marked everything in sight the first couple of days, we definitely made amazing progress. He learned that not all people are horrible AND how to walk on a leash and climb stairs for the first time.






Any ways- what inspired me to blog is my newest doggie adventure. Wanda a mixed breed with 9 itty bitty puppies. The shelter was crowded and having a hard time keeping Wanda and her pups healthy, they needed a stress free, illness free environment to level out in. So now I have a total of 11 dogs in the house. The pups will be here at least a couple weeks so hopefully I will have some fun stories to tell their eyes haven't even opened yet....for now I'll post pics of all the pups in this update. I'm sure I'll have more to share soon....