I Finally Snapped

Blondie spent a lovely mother’s day with her surrogate kids in the pool and a tanning session.  Here she and Danica are enjoying the rays.

We knew that it was only a matter of time before I caved in and named a litter of puppies after Disney characters.   Well, today was that day.   Before you get all excited, there are 7 pure black ones that we cannot tell apart yet….so before we get collars, the name game is just a list.

We have one chocolate in the mix and another with coon hound markings.   Those two are clearly the leaders and not shy at all.

If you have been following my blog for any period of time, you’ll know that we love themed names and we had some doozies.

But, being that we are quickly approaching 900 puppy fosters now, I have dropped into the 7th pit of hell and named them after Disney characters.   I’m not proud of what I have done.

With that said, I got this litter on Saturday…6 girls, 3 boys= 9 total.

They are quite vocal and have LOTS of energy.   On Saturday they were separated from their mom and were quite shy and timid.  They would not come near us when we had social time that night.   This is going to be fun…..

But, the very next day, they livened up and came running to play…..and bite toes.   Damn do they bite toes.

Normally our introduction to being a water dog includes me grabbing one that comes too close to the pool and forcing them to sink or swim with me.

No, no…..not these little water bugs.

I let them out back, watched them run around on the grass and then went to go grab something.

Next thing I know, I hear several splashes and run over to see multiple puppies in the pool and going to the steps and getting out.

They kept jumping in the pool and would swim to the steps.   Rinse, lather, repeat.   Quite the sight.

One would get in and the others would stand near the edge and bark them on.   “you can do it!”.

They are all about 7-8 weeks old at this point and are ready to go to their new homes.   Very pretty, sweet and have lots of puppy energy.   I would recommend someone who is a tad more patient and/ or dog savvy for these guys.    Meet and greets start ASAP.

 

The Rug Rats

Ok, so let me start off by apologizing for taking so long in between posts. Lots has happened. Honey and crew have been adopted and the remaining pups were moved to another foster over a week ago so that I could take this bunch of rug rats!

Only 4 weeks old at the time (est), there are 8 of them (6 girls, 2 boys) and are definitely a boxer/ golden retriever mix. Beautiful.

They have been named (not by me) but truthfully most look so much alike that I cannot tell them apart by name yet. I simply refer to them as “the crazy one”, “big boy” or “damnit…stop biting my toes!”.

Yes….they love toes. Of all the things puppies do, the common theme seems to be my toes. As long as I have been fostering, there’s always a litter of toe biters.

And when one figures out how much fun it is, the rest are all about it too.   Poor toes.

Another common theme amongst the puppy groups is that no matter how many bowls of food are out there, they all gravitate towards one.

This group is great about eating together and there is no growling or barking……

They just slam their little heads into the goat milk covered dry food and go nuts.   Yes, their entire heads!   Quite the spectacle, let me tell you.

They are now almost 6 weeks old (we are guessing since they were dumped at a shelter in El Centro with no mom and we have no positive way of knowing.)

I love the markings on the two girls that are not tan.   Very unique.

The rest have really cool little white or black marks on toes, tails, noses.

This is their first appearance and are not on the site yet.   Meet and greets are happening as soon as this weekend.   They will be ready to go home by next week.

 

 

Here Comes the Honey Boo Boo

Yes…..I finally snapped. Let’s start with that.

We got little Miss Honey last Saturday as well as her 6 pups who are just now 5 weeks old this Sunday.

She’s as sweet as any dog we have ever fostered and just fits in with everyone. Blondie and Nook let her take toys, play with bones, and sleep on their beds. Not sure what she is as she has the body of a greyhound but markings of a shepherd. Beautiful for sure. LOVES her rawhide bones.

The pups are way noisier than she is. I decided to name them after people in Beatles songs and 4 out of the 7 are from the “White album”. Honey is from the song “Honey Pie”. I’m creative dammit!!! Better than most of the god awful names that are inflicted upon us. I should start refusing to foster puppies with bad names already…..”yeah, I’m not fostering a dog named ‘Oregano’….sorry”

 

Where were we again? oh yeah…Beatles Song names. We have Desmond (m) and Molly (f) from “Ob-La-Di, Ob-la-Da (Life Goes on)” (White album)

We have Jude (m) from “Hey Jude” (a single)

We have Rocky (m) from “Rocky Racoon’ (White album)

We have Maxwell (m) from “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” (Abbey Road)

And finally we have little Prudence (f) from “Dear Prudence” (White album) who is a spit fire! She has so much personality and might be the cutest of the litter too. This little girl is 100mph or nothing and just plays her little heart out.

They are really small, even for 5 weeks old and are quite agile too. They’ve already started weaning off of mom and are playing with toys.

The towels in the bed end up all over the play pen as well. Funny stuff.

They are still way too young to go home just yet but meet and greets will start happening the week after next.

A Farewell to Pedro

Well, we knew that it was only a matter of time before this day would come…..and no matter how much you tell yourself that the end is near, when it actually happens, you still are sad. He had been struggling for a few weeks and was getting weaker by the hour. We knew that it was only a matter of time. Thursday night when I got home from work, he couldn’t get up.

We’ve had Pedro for almost 8+ years now and were told when we adopted him that he was roughly 7-9 years old.    Here he is sporting a gift from a couple that adopted a puppy from us and he wore his little sombrero every “Cinco de Meow”.

He even had a bow tie that he purchased via internet alongside his dvd of “Magic Mike”.  I’m pretty sure that he watched the DVD when were not home and sang along.

To know why Pedro was such a special presence in our life because he was such a non stop talker who was not afraid of anything.

 Pedro was a lover from the get-go and would talk to me each morning the ENTIRE time. “hey! How was your day? Got any catnip?”.  You’ll notice a common theme in these pictures is Pedro and the myriad of puppies that come through our house.   He loved other animals….and people.

After spending almost a month in the shelter without being adopted, we decided that he could join our little family which I already had a cat.

We started fostering puppies and he fit right in. Our other cat did not appreciate the biting and rough play of a puppy…but Pedro loved it.

We added two dogs of our own and he and Blondie became best friends.

He liked his spots in the house and enjoyed a good pillow.

He was really upset when Blondie took his pillow and made herself comfortable. Always a talker.

We still foster lots of dogs as you’ll notice from this blog and Pedro got to meet them all.

He actually sat and begged like the rest of the puppies. Bad cat.

He would just chill out and hang right in the fray with all of the action.

Some were really intrigued by this little critter who was not afraid of them.

He took a lot of abuse, was barked at, ears nibbled on, tail swatted……but he kept coming back for more and would cuddle with them when they settled down.

He was obsessed with going outside and would scratch at the door constantly at our old house until we let him out in the courtyard to sunbathe or talk to the neighbor cats.

We fostered kittens occasionally and he LOVED that. So happy to be the cool older uncle.

Last year he got cancer in his chest and had a golf ball sized tumor removed. Here he is sporting the vest after his surgery.

He already had hematoma on his head which cost him his left ear before we got him.

He was a lover of everyone and made himself comfortable with all guests that came to his house. He had so much to say and was quite chatty and even vocally aggressive when it came to his kitty treats.

The poor little guy was such a part of our lives and those puppies that we fostered. He will be missed.

Smellier by the Dozen

Yes people, I am running out of unique puppy names, newspapers and perhaps my sanity. Just kidding…..I have plenty of newspapers.

So, the great puppy game of musical chairs took place on Thursday and I cleared out my garage for the arrival of Momma Cinnamon and her 11 puppies. (for those of you who counting at home 11+1= a dozen)

Mom is beautiful although we are having trouble picking out what mix she might be. Super sweet and has the body of a yellow lab, but the coloration is so unique. Translation…who knows? She got fairly snippy with the pups, who are 5-6 weeks old now, especially about food and her beloved pig hooves. GREAT with people and had no issues with other dogs that she interacted with.

So, after mom was done taking the abuse of feeding 1 hungry pups 4-5 times a day, we sent her to another foster where she coul enjoy some R&R before being adopted.

As for the pups…..

They are all over the place. Some brown, some brindle, some black and one yellow.

They enjoy chasing each other around and can really run fast around the garage during play time.

photogenic and love biting (some more than others) toes.

The big guy looks like snoopy….and we call him the “Regal Beagle”…..don’t ask……if 26 years of shock therapy hasn’t solved my issues, I’m not sure you’ll have much luck. Let’s just agree that I’m “special” and call it a day.

Where were we? Oh yeah…puppies! So….there are 6 girls, 5 boys, which is kinda cool as we have had so may lopsided litters lately. All girls, all boys, 9 boys & 1 girl, or 7 girls & 2 boys.

We think they really look like labs…..chocolate, black and yellow. Still do not have official names just yet, so they are not on the site. Still more than 2 weeks away from adoption age.

The ears are really expressive as usual but they are not as big as most litters.

This one has bigger dreams and was practicing her solo for American Idol audition later this month.  “….and I-eeeee—IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  will alwaaaaaaaaaaays love….. youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUU”

The runt of the litter is brown and white and is mostly blind. She feels her way around the place and uses noises and smell to find her way. SUPER affectionate and loves nothing more than to curl up in a lap or be held.

How can you say no to that face?

Well, they continue to grow, learn how to play, interact and generally NOT bite toes. That is our mission.

They are still a few weeks away from being adoptable due to age, and I’m really confident that this litter will be gone rather quickly too. Submit your apps and come meet these guys. For now, we are just calling them Cinnamon’s pups.

Sammy’s Kids

Susie was adopted and so was half of her litter so I took in new mom Samantha (Sammy) and her litter of 4 misfits last week. Sammy is only 20lbs and is just as sweet and confident as a pup can be. Although, even with only 4 little monsters to tend to, she was done with being a mom.

First, the teething thing is not such a fun ordeal.

We think Sam might be a terrier mix and was so well behaved. Her pups came out looking like……

We think they might be Boston Terriers as they are small, have big heads and REALLY big eyes. Cute as they come, and very playful too.   2 boys and 2 girls in this litter.

They like being held, like to explore……and LOVE tennis balls.

All of them do.

What a fun time they had running around out back this weekend.

Sammy went home to a new foster on Saturday afternoon, so the pups got to meet their surrogate momma Blondie. Of course, they loved her.

They explored the yard and dared to go near the pool. Some were definitely braver than the others.   The first trip to the backyard is like freshman year of college.  You are away from your parents and need to try new things by yourself.  Luckily, these pups did not start binge drinking and wild parties just yet.   ” I don’t like the taste  of chlorine, but if the big dogs are doing it….”  We might be ok, but I’ll start to worry if I see empty bottles of pool chemicals around the puppy pen……wait……where was I going with this analogy again?   Dear god I need a life…..

Some just enjoyed a good lap to hang out on and enjoyed the weekend.

Then they’d go right back to playing with tennis balls and getting worn out. We’d drag their little butts to bed and they would crash.

 

Must be nice to be a puppy.

 

They are still only 7 weeks as of today, so they have one more week before they are able to head on home…..but given their size and cute-factor, they should be in high demand come Saturday.

 

As always, thanks for reading and feel free to spread the word to fellow dog lovers alike!

 

Cocktail Franks

Busy week here in puppy land and despite the fact that we did not have an adoption event on Saturday, still managed to get all 4 of the boxer pups adopted by Thursday night.   The attention that they drew was surreal.   So well-behaved and are now all safely in the new homes…..

Miss Jasmine went home to a new brother who she immediately fell in love with.   Churchill is a 5-year-old English bulldog and is breathing some new life and energy with a playmate around.

Pansy went home to not only one brother (a lab/ mastiff mix of 4 years old)…….

…… but also a bossy cat who showed her the ropes.   I’m telling you, these girls were so good with other animals and people, that it was so fun to watch the pictures come in.  

So now, we took in Susie and her litter of little wiener dogs on Saturday.   Susie is all of 18 lbs and is a great momma.   So gentle, good with people and (unfortunately) has no aggression at all with cats. 

Her pups are really fast at 8 weeks old and are REALLY small.   If they get to be 20lbs at full growth, I’d be shocked.  

We volunteered with a lab rescue because we enjoy the larger breeds that are not the pocket dogs and not yippy.

Well, thank goodness, because these little pups still do not realize that they are yippy dogs yet.   So playful and well socialized as they were born in foster care and lived a very happy life thus far.  

Clearly, the runt Jaya looks like a Pomeranian and NEEDS to be held or she’ll die….or at least that’s what she’d lead you to believe.

Jacobie has the markings of a dachshund and is by far the most playful.   Here he is enjoying a good game of biting the toy while on his back.    I don’t know…..I just look up and there is he having a ball by himself.

Joby is the female counterpart to Jacobie and is just as curious about things such as toys, newspapers being thrown down and my toes……again with the toes.

Jojo, Jora and Josie are almost all black and look every bit like the dachshund breed.  Big ears, long body and those noses.  

They are quite photogenic as well and really do like to run around and climb on laps.

Momma Susie still goes in and looks after them but does enjoy her time of being pampered as well.  She is so low maintenance and calm that you can forget that she is still a puppy herself at 1-2 years old. 

They are officially able to go home this weekend, and I’m sure that they will go rather fast, so get on the ball if interested.  Momma Susie is available for adoption as well.