Empty Nest (sort of)

Today was the end of it- the last little long-eared, black and tan baby found his forever home today and for the first time since September there are no beagle babies in residence. It's always bittersweet to say goodbye to the last little pup, but mostly I'm just so proud of Little Tiny Hope for keeping eleven babies alive and well. I send them with wishes for a future full of enticing smells, yummy treats and soft beds for napping. 

Harvey, at least (pictured right with his new boy, Carson) is well on his way.

As for the bathroom that formerly housed Hope's Double Digits, well, Annie and her Angels are making sure it continues to serve its dual purpose. Thank goodness there are only four of them!

The Dawning of the Dogs

There comes a moment in the lifetime of every litter of puppies when everything changes. All at once, they go from being unfocused little balls of fur with bobbing heads and wobbly legs to actual tiny dogs. There is no mistaking "the moment." It's the first time you walk into their room and the entire litter is sitting up staring at you like they have just woken from a vegetative state and are wondering what's next. Their eyes are focused, their legs work and they have (in the blink of an eye)developed opinions. This is the day they begin to attack pajama legs and chew on toes, the day they cry to be picked up and start growling at the toys they have suddenly noticed are scattered about about their bed. It's all uphill from here!

Hope's babies had their "moment" this week. I was working on the computer when Pam called to me from their room (aka the master bathroom). She said simply "It's happened," and I knew what she meant. I jumped up to investigate and there they were, eleven pairs of eyes clearly focused and eleven little puppy brains visibly plotting the havoc they would wreak over the next few weeks. Stay tuned, it's going to be interesting.

Eyes Wide Open and Taking Baby Steps!

Like clockwork on day ten of their lives, little eyes started popping open. By the end of day eleven, the baby pool whelping box was a sea of unfocused little eyes. They are also up on unsteady legs and a few of the more adventurous are doing laps around the pool and peering over the edge.

Yesterday we had our first attempt at eating real food. I filled a baking pan with a mixture of water, canned puppy food and puppy formula and introduced the puppies one by one to the joys of eating. The first one peed in the pan. Several of the puppies, however, thought it was the greatest thing they had ever experienced and ate quite lot. We'll keep working on it. With so many puppies and such a little momma, we have to get them off of her and into a food dish as soon as possible.

Momma Hope is doing wonderfully. She zooms around the yard a bit in the mornings and plays with some of the other dogs, udders flaping in the breeze. She is eating well and continuing to take fabulous care of her little ones, protesting quite adamantly when I remove even one from her circle of care (aka plastic baby pool).

She doesn't like to leave the babies even to eat, so we have learned that the best way to keep her eating and drinking enough is to put her food and water bowls on an elevated stand next to the pool so she can just crane her neck over to eat without actually exiting the pool. She has us trained.

Hopeful Momma Dog

Hope's shelter picture arrived in an email just like about 35 others that day, same as every other day. One look, however, at her sad, hopeless eyes and GIANT belly and I knew I had to do something to save this sad girl and had to do it quickly. We got her transported to us the day after she arrived in the shelter and I brought her home and set her up in my bathroom.

I named her "Hope" because when I saw her in person the only thing I could think was "I hope she makes it through childbirth!." She was so emaciated, so dehydrated and so weak I couldn't imagine that she could physically handle the birthing process. We treated her for a terrible case of tapeworms and hand fed her puppy food for a day or two and then I turned her care over to the wonderful staff at the Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates. When I took her in for an exam they xrayed and found "at least 10" babies in that giant belly! They put her on IV fluids to combat the dehydration and the next day started her on some drugs to stimulate the contractions. The first baby came immediately.

Throughout the whole long day Hope was too tired to actually push her babies all the way out herself. She got help from her favorite vet tech each and every time and then happily took over the feeding chores. There was a scary period when puppy number 8 was twisted in the birth canal and not moving and everyone prepped for a c-section, but to their great surprise the puppy found its way into the world on its own and nubmers 9, 10 and 11 quickly followed.

So Hope is home now with her 11 babies and we are lining up the baby bottles to start helping her feed them. We can't wait to see whether they are rottweilers or coon hounds!

Spring and Summer Update

In real life, happy endings can get complicated. Spring, Summer and babies struck gold when they landed in Peggy's Puppy Palace, but since it's reality and not a movie they didn't just live happily ever after. Eight out of ten of the puppies became ill with the canine herpes virus and did not survive. The herpes virus is transmitted via the mother during birth. The mother will usually show no symptoms or possibly a slight upper respiratory ailment, but the puppies usually become ill between 1 and 3 weeks of age. There is no treatment and once a puppy becomes ill it is a certainty that he or she will die. Anyone who has ever cared for a litter of pups with canine herpes is forever changed- we hold our breath for the first three weeks of every subsequent litter!

For happy ending number two, Spring and Summer are happy, healthy and about to go to a new home together. Baby Zena the warrior princess is already in her new home and Baby God Zeuss is well on his way.

As for Peggy and Dave, they have proven their mettle by not abandoning future puppies who need them and are ready to welcome the next group, though they might hold their breath for just a little while...

Spring & Summer: It takes a Pack to Raise a Puppy

Spring and Summer are two lab mix females who were recently rescued from a home in WV with their pups. The twist is that Summer is actually Spring's mother, Spring having been born to her less than a year ago. Well, as happens when folks don't spay/neuter their pets, Summer got pregnant again and so did her teenage daughter. At the same time. Maybe by the same male. Where is Jerry Springer when you need him I ask??

When rescued by animal control, Summer and her remaining nine babies (she gave birth to twelve)were living outside in a travel crate covered by a tarp. Spring was in the tool shed with her one baby. One baby, I say. Wait. Did you see how many she has nursing in the photo? FOUR. Spring and Summer, you see, are happily sharing parenting responsibilities for the brood of ten puppies. When Spring feels she needs a few extra puppies on her side of the room she just walks right over and borrows a few from Summer and carries them to her own bed. Summer doesn't object. Probably,she is grateful for some help with all of those hungry mouths.

These two moms struck gold when they got delivered to Peggy's Puppy Palace aka the home of Peggy and Dave, puppy fosters extraordinaire. They will now be able to raise their extended family in safety and comfort while all of them learn about love and trust. Best of all, since every single baby will be spayed or neutered before it goes to its forever family, we can say for certain that the cycle has ended.