Not much to report - the puppies are getting fat and seem content. At this stage, their eyes are still closed so all they pretty much do is sleep and eat. But with puppies, no news is good news - they're so fragile at this stage.

However, in (sort of) related news, the male pit bull we tested Connie with before we pulled her (to make sure she didn't have any dog issues) was sprung from the shelter tonight! He was in his final days, and a wonderful couple contacted us to see about adopting him! He's with a temp foster tonight, then he's heading to the vet tomorrow to be neutered, then off to his adoptive home.

The employees at the shelter were so excited that he was going to a home - they even added notes in his paperwork saying "I [heart] this dog!!" and "!!!!!!!!YAY Randy is leaving!!!!!!!!", and all came out to see him off. His paperwork is really heartbreaking, though - for all his butch bully looks, he's a timid boy who was clearly on his own for a while before ending up in the shelter for 4 months. His muzzle is pretty scarred, and he was thin enough when he came in that they switched him to puppy food. His temperament test is great, but shows a dog who hasn't been treated nicely but so desperately wants to be loved. The folks at the shelter called him "Scooter" since he'd scoot side to side in his cage, just trying to be near anyone who came in the room for the 4 long months he was there.

Randy and Connie (and her babies) are the best sort of rescue stories - sweet dogs that made it. But they almost didn't have a chance - pitbulls rarely make it out of shelters. Through some luck and with the help of a great foster (for Connie) and wonderful adopters (for Randy), though, both now have the opportunity to for great lives.

This makes all the rescue heartbreak matter just a little less.

Giardia

Connie's had diarrhea so we had her tested and it turns out she has giardia. It's been a struggle to keep her fully hydrated between that and nursing, but hopefully now that we're treating her it will be fine. We're hoping the puppies don't start showing signs of it, since they can't be treated until they're at least 2 weeks old and can get dehydrated really quickly.

A Group Photo

Sometime in the next week or so the puppies' eyes and ears will open up and they'll start learning to walk on their legs - right now they scoot around like baby seals! They are generally pretty quiet but when one of them rolls off of the puppy pile, s/he squeaks until s/he's managed to get back with the others again. They also squeal whenever Connie leaves the whelping box, which makes it very hard for her to get any kind of break from them. It isn't easy being the mother of quintuplets!

Naptime

Connie's Whelping Box

The sixth grade class at Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville built a whelping box for their class project this year! A whelping box is especially designed for mother dogs and their newborn puppies and has special features to keep everyone warm, comfortable and safe. This is so much cozier than the area I had created for them using a pair of old speakers, a crate and a bookcase.

The rails around the sides are called pig rails, they prevent a mother dog from trapping and smothering a puppy against the walls (this actually happened with one of my first foster dog families). The front panel is hinged so when the puppies are older I can put the side down to let them out. It's down right now to make it easier for Connie to get in and out herself.

Thanks to all of you who helped with the box!

Pup Update

Everything is very quiet in puppy land which is just as it should be. The puppies' eyes are closed, as are their ears, and all they pretty much do is sleep and eat. Connie is an exceptional mother. She only leaves the puppies to eat, drink and do her business, otherwise she's curled up around them. I only handle the puppies once a day when I need to put them into a cardboard box so I can change the towel they sleep on.

Connie is such a loving, devoted mother: as soon as I've moved all the puppies into the box she climbs in to join them - it isn't a very big box, so it's funny to see her try to squeeze in with them. My husband Steve has been taking her on walks but says that Connie starts whining after only five or ten minutes, she is so anxious about leaving her babies.

More puppy pictures

Connie is a very attentive mom, constantly grooming her pups and keeping tabs on them. She doesn't like to be away from them for long, especially when people are around, or (even worse) cats!

...and Another

Puppy Pix!

Connie is being a *great* mom, but also keeping up with her social schedule, greeting visitors then returning to nursing. It took her three tries to make it out the door to go to the bathroom because she kept coming back to make sure her pups were still safe. :-)

Reports from the Delivery Room

12:42 pm Water broke! I'm pretty sure that Connie's water broke sometime this morning and she isn't interested at all in eating, both pretty good signs that she's going to have the puppies within the next 12 to 24 hours.

12:58 pm Preparations: I made her a nice spot to have the puppies, a shower curtain covered with newspapers, sheets and towels and when I just checked her everything was all kicked and torn up! Poor girl must be feeling pretty bad right now if chewing up newspapers comforts her!

1:25 pm Puppy Number 1: Connie let out two huge yelps and out came the first puppy! He's black with a white stripe down his muzzle and I can't believe how active he is, he's crawling around everywhere!

4:28 pm 4 pups now: 2 black; 2 white with black spots (one with a spot on his eye!).

5:44 pm All here! These pups seem very vigorous...Number five just arrived, another black and white. To summarize: 3 females, 2 males; one white, two mostly black with white heads or facial markings, and two with black and white patches.

11:20 pm Update: Everyone is doing really well and Connie is a natural at being a mom, although I had some scary moments with two puppies when Connie bit off their umbilical cords too closely and I needed to tie them off to stop the bleeding (she actually chewed the thread off of one and I had to re-tie it).

Baby Daddy?

There's a beautiful, if skinny, unaltered male pit who was brought to the shelter with Connie. They think he might be the father of her pups. If he is, she likes 'em young - he's only 11 m.o.! While we'd love to get him off of death row, we don't have anywhere for him to go. We can get him temperament tested if anyone has interest in fostering or adopting him.

Connie had her babies today!

All five are out and wiggly - already tearing around the place: 3 females and 2 males; one is white, two are mostly black with white heads/facial markings, and two have black and white patches. Connie's been a great mother, licking the umbilical cords loose and generally cleaning up the pups as they arrived (at 1 hour intervals).

Meet Connie

Connie is a super-special girl who is expected to give birth to puppies this week. She was just rescued from a MD kill shelter, where she was slated to be euthanized since she's a single mom who has pitbull in her (we're guessing she's also part Australian cattle dog (blue heeler)). Even if she hadn't been on death row, though, a shelter is no place to raise puppies so we couldn't leave this wonderful girl behind!

Connie is really sweet, both with people and with other dogs - in fact, she charmed the un-neutered male pitbull we tried her with yesterday and gave him lots of kisses! She has been temperament-tested and passed with flying colors. She's also good with (ignores) cats. She's an attentive and somewhat timid pup who just wants to please her people. She is amiable and engaging and would love to curl up in your lap for lots of hugs and kisses.

We'll be looking for a home for this fantastic girl and for her kids when they are ready to be adopted.

Breed Estimate: Pit Bull Terrier/Cattle Dog
Sex: Female
Approximate weight: Unsure - she's not large framed but hard to accurately estimate her weight while she has a belly full of babies!
Approximate age: 4 - 5 years old
Location: Washington DC metro area foster home
Cratetrained: Unsure
Coat Type: Short
Personality: Complete and utter LOVEBUG