It's funny how a quick decision can change your life forever. Everyone knows that I am an animal lover. What I didn't realize is how far that love would take me. Two weeks ago, I rescued a pregnant lab/shepherd mix from the Tipton County Animal Shelter. We have tentatively named her Bella.
Bella is a beautiful girl, with a sweet temperament and a hearty appetite! Her time to deliver the puppies came last week on the 21st of September. She gave birth to 7 beautiful babies, and we were privileged to be able to watch the birth of the last two. Out of the 7, six are boys and one is a girl. They are doing well and we feel blessed to be able to enjoy them at our house.
While we do enjoy them, it is becoming a challenge to keep bedding clean and to find space and time for it all. The puppies are not demanding at this time, but Bella is! She was malnourished when she came to us, and although the shelter tried to tell me that it was the pregnancy pulling her skin taut, I knew better. Bella is eating 4 times a day now, but is finally starting to fill out. Her ribcage is barely visible, and her spine doesn't stick out like it did. She is warm, dry and comfortable. She has playmates, a family and more then enough to eat. She is a good mom, and I feel like a good granddog mom.
I have been fortunate to come into contact with some really good people who have helped me out with donations of both food, treats and money for the vetting costs of getting these beauties ready to be placed into their forever homes. Good Dog Rescue in Memphis is going to help us to adopt them all out, probably in the New England area. Every one of these babies will have their shots and wormings before I let them go, and I will be a part of the adoptive process. Every applicant is carefully screened, and the prospective adoptive family will be talking to me to find out about the dog. Really, I know it's a good thing, even if it will be hard for me to let them all go. I have to feel comfortable about who is getting the babies, as I will not stand for them to go to shelters after all the care they are getting here.
The puppies had their first bath today. And boy, they didn't like it. But I want them to get used to being handled, and I want to make sure they are clean, warm and well-cared for. Bella is good about letting me handle the puppies. I think she knows I will not hurt them, as I will not hurt her either. Today I ordered a play yard for the puppies, because they have already doubled in size, and they are only a week and a half old. God help me. I will put a small wading pool in the middle of the play yard, put a warm blanket on one side, and let them roam around. The play yard is 3 feet tall, about 25 square feet, and has a door so I can let Bella in whenever she wants. I know the puppies will become very active once their eyes are open, so I want to be ready. AND I want to contain the mess! The only other thing I have to worry about is the cats. I will have to make sure they are all contained and don't get into the pen. That's another battle in itself. I have two cats that would potentially jump into the pen, so those are the ones I will deal with. Maybe securing a blanket on top of the pen will discourage the cats. Anyway, I'm trying to be prepared.
The other dogs are doing all right with Bella, except for the times when Bella has threatened Rocky a little, but Rocky has to be threatened now and then. She's a bird dog, and it would be natural for her to get one of the babies and hurt it. She's killed birds, squirrels and rats, and I think she had a hand in killing a coon that came in the yard. She's a handful, but she keeps rodents away. I just don't want her to mistake the pups for rodents.
It's a learning experience. Who knew that rescuing this one dog could give my family such a good healing experience from our losses in the last year? It's certainly been a long time coming. Maybe karma is changing in my direction now. Here's to hoping!
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
2 comments:
Bella looks a lot smaller than I imagined when you described her. Maybe it's just the picture. Either that, or the puppies are bigger than I think.
She was all curled up in a ball here. She hadn't learned how to stretch out and let the puppies nurse yet. However, she still had to birth 2 more in this picture. :)
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