All Quiet in Puppy World

Not a lot going on right now with the puppies - they're just eating and growing. At this point they weigh between 4 and 5 1/2 pounds, which is great.

Their foster mom says that they're doing really well, starting to show their personalities. At this point, they are more excited to see her in the morning than they are to be fed (now that's love!).

Connie is spending more and more time inside the main part of the house with the family, really enjoying some adult time. While she's been so devoted to the pups, she clearly looking forward to when they move out on their own (and she gets her own home).

And the Boys!

And a few updated photos of the little boys as well. There are also more new photos on their Petfinder page!

The Girls...

We have some new puppy photos - these are the three little girls. Check out their Petfinder page for more updated photos! We'll post the boy photos here tomorrow.

Adventures in Dining

It's always exciting and messy introducing babies to their first solid food, and puppies are no exception. First step, soak some dry puppy food in water until it's soft and mushy. Second, pour the food in a large shallow pan. Third, add puppies. And I do mean "add the puppies" - the first time I literally put their front paws into the dish. What happens next varies. Sometimes one smart puppy figures out right away that this ushy mushy stuff is food and starts licking at it. Most of the time though the puppies just walk through the bowl getting themselves nice and messy (sometimes they crawl on top of one another in the bowl, it's a little like mud wrestling). Clean up isn't a problem though, as soon as they've had enough fun and food, I let their mom join them. She finishes off the puppy mush and then licks the puppies clean.

The little white girl puppy took to the food on the very first try and by this afternoon - the third day and the sixth meal - all of the puppies showed some interest in the food. Maybe not coincidentally, the three smallest puppies eat the most - perhaps the two fat boys are so full of mom's milk they can't be bothered with puppy mush.

Puppy Socialization

I take this phase of puppy fostering very seriously. Proper and consistent socialization is key to the development of a friendly, well behaved dog. My husband, two daughters and I make a point of holding and petting the puppies many times during the day.

My next door neighbors have two wonderful gentle children, five and three years old. Yesterday they came over to meet the puppies for the first time. Sitting on the ground, they held the puppies in their laps. The children were thrilled and the puppies enjoyed their gentle pets and sweet voices. The three year old boy was not happy when it was time to go home.

The Joy of Puppies

The puppies are now three weeks old, their eyes and ears are open, and best of all they're ready to start making human friends. Dogs are amazing creatures, after years of selective breeding, they are hardwired to crave and depend on human companionship. All that is required is for their human friends to reinforce this innate tendency with gentle loving contact. These babies are no exception - when I say "what sweet babies" in my sweetest voice, they wag their tails and move towards me. If one of them is feeling lonely or neglected by mom - they are babies after all - she'll immediately stop crying if I pick her up and cuddle her.

For the Petfinder pages for the puppies, click here for the boys and here for the girls.

Another (Related) Success

Connie has spawned another successful rescue (in addition to Randy) - a wonderful couple who applied to foster Randy has taken in Layla. Layla has a similarly heartbreaking backstory - she originally landed in a shelter as part of an abuse case. She spent 2 years there while the case made it's way through the courts. When that was through and her time was up, a solo rescuer pulled her.

Unfortunately, the rescuer had a bigger heart than she did capacity to help animals, and Layla spent the next couple of years in an outside kennel with lots of other dogs. She didn't have a place to go indoors in the winter (and pit bull coats are *not* made for outside living), didn't get any attention and developed a bad skin infection.

When we found out about Layla, we brought her to the northern VA area for vet care. Her skin condition cleared up with regular care, but finding a place for a 10 y.o. pit bull is not easy. However, she's now spent the last week in a home; above is a photo of her with her foster brother, enjoying a sunny nap. (Layla is the white dog in the back; her foster brother she's snuggling with was adopted from the same shelter Connie and Randy had been at.) More pix and info about Layla are here.

Before this whole experience, I'd only placed 3 pit bulls - hounds and shy herding dogs are more my "thing" (since that's what my dogs are). But working with Connie and the associated dogs has really made me think more about helping these pups that die at such disproportionate rates in shelters, and are treated so much worse as a group than other dogs outside of shelters.

A Little Free Time

Connie does enjoy her yard time, sniffing around and stretching her legs a bit. The whole time we were outside the puppies were squeaking in the background so she could hear that everything was alright. She seemed to like some privacy for going to the bathroom (or maybe she just wanted a minute alone!). She is an enthusiastic and accomplished digger, so she'll either need a home where that isn't a problem (do you have a garden you need tilled?) or where she won't be spending time alone outside.

Body-Surfing!

Naptime

Weigh Ins

I met Connie on Friday for the first time - she's much smaller than I guessed based on the photos. She's about 37 pounds right now - she'll still lose some of the baby weight, then hopefully fill out some (you can see all of her ribs), so she should end up about 40 pounds. She's very sweet and submissive - she holds her tail low and it wags back and forth quickly at any hint of attention.

She's very attentive to her babies, checking on on them after each time she goes away for a drink, or they're taken away. Apparently she's nervous if people she hasn't met handle the pups, but after greeting me at the door she was fine with me there. I have photos I'll post tomorrow.

The two boys are the largest pups - they're both black and white and the larger weighs 3 pounds 2 ounces. The smallest girl - who is almost pure white - is only 2 pounds 2 ounces. Their eyes are starting to open but they can't stand up and walk around yet. Connie is really cute with them, curling up with them and resting her head on their backs.

It really does take a village

I received an email tonight from the Animal Control Officer who picked Connie up, so we have more of her background than we did previously. She was found on Clopper Road (in Montgomery County) one night in January, with the white and black pitbull whose photo is in my post from last week. Three police officers actually stopped traffic so the two of them could safely get out of the road. Connie and the male are named after the ACO's mother and father.

The ACO said she was so happy to see the pictures of the puppies and Connie since she and the other ACOs and Police Officers never really know how the dogs they've picked up are doing or where they end up. [Not that we actually know where Connie will end up yet, but, wherever it is, it will be a great home - we'll be looking for a very special adopter for this sweet girl!]

Unfortunately, thus far the male pit (Carl) hasn't been as lucky, since he's still at the shelter. Unless someone comes forward for him, his days are numbered. :-( The ACO says he's also very sweet, an outgoing guy - he jumped up to meet her when she walked over to him and bumped her with his head, and she had a headache all day.

The Wonders of Rescue

On the topic of Randy... what can I say? Rescuing Connie and Randy has been such an amazing experience. Neither one of these dogs should have made it out of the shelter - not that they didn't deserve to but really, there are so few who will work with pit bulls. And yet, looking beyond breed, in this big goofy body of his, Randy is gentle to the core; desperate to be loved and worthy of a rescue. I remember visiting him once at the shelter and through the chain link fenced-in runs, his eyes followed me as I walked through the entire room until I returned to him and then he licked my hand and scooted in to get as close to me as possible. I continued to visit my little "scooter" and he always seemed to remember me; he always welcomed me as though he didn't realize where he was and what could happen to him; always happy; never depressed. And every time I saw him, I loved him even more.

And Connie - so full of life; her body wiggling with anticipation of her next cuddle, despite her big pregnant belly weighing her down; her spirit never revealing the neglect she must have at one time suffered. When Randy and Connie met for the first time, they offered each other lots of kisses - who knew then that they would go on similar journeys?

Whatever Randy and Connie have experienced at the hands of humans may have been cruel but these two gentle souls are remarkably resilient. Sometimes you meet a dog (or two! or more!) who pull at your heartstrings and beg you to not leave them behind - they cause you sleepless nights filled with worry - until the day you pick them up from the shelter and drive them off to their first day into safety. That day and the day you see them go to their forever homes is one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences for a rescuer - and the miracle of all of the planets aligning to allow you to help these dogs is nothing less than wonderful!