Saturday Night Out

It wasn't a wild night out on the town but we were out and it was night! Husband Bob and I looked in on Annie and her family before bedtime and the little brown puppy was pooping blood. I'll spare the details, but we knew that wasn't good. We called the vet and after just a few questions, Dr. Vinson said to meet her at the clinic. With Little Girl and stool samples from Annie and her in tow, off we went. Tests indicated the puppy doesn't have parvo so that was wonderful! Three week old puppies usually can't survive parvo. Further tests indicated Annie is "saturated" with hook worms and whipworms and the parasites were passed to the babies through nursing. Last night the poor little puppy was poked, prodded, injected and treated for dehydration. The vet said it was good we acted quickly and she's hopeful everyone will come through. Our house has taken on the appearance of a pharmacy - puppy formula, lots of syringes, antibiotics and worming medication for Annie and eight puppies.

The last time I wrote, Husband Bob had brought home a lost lab. What a tornado he turned out to be! Had we had to keep him, his name would have been Chaos! What a sweet, lovable dose of busy!

Today promises to be beautiful weather for the end of January. It will be a perfect day for Jas, Maggie, Brandy and Pennie to run, explore and sniff butts at the dog park.

Husband Bob called and started the conversation with, "You aren't going to be very happy with me but I've become just like you!" What in the world was he was talking about? Bob was on his way from work this evening when he saw a puppy running in and out of traffic at B Street and Willow. Cars were weaving and honking but only one car stopped. Bob was sure the puppy was about to get hit. He stopped and picked the puppy up and drove home. His comments on the phone were: "The puppy's trying to eat my cell phone!...He's climbing on the dash! I'm not making this up!" Bob arrived home safely with a darling black lab puppy that appears to be about 4 - 5 months old! We called the police station and no one has reported him missing. He'll be spending the night here and I hope he will be reunited with his people tomorrow. In the meantime, Big Boy has climbed all over anything taller than the floor, joined Bob at the computer (and pulled the speakers off the desk) and is trying to get the other dogs to play with him.

Annie ventured into the kitchen for the first time today. She was scared but mastered her fear of walking on vinyl. I predict that Annie will become more adventuresome every day - as soon as Big Boy the new puppy goes away!

Three of Annie's puppies have names now and I'm contemplating the others. The new names? Duck, Elka and Mark. The day we got Annie I gave her a stuffed toy that looks like a duck. Annie carried the duck around and kept it with her in her bed. After the puppies were born, she still kept the duck close and at times it was hard to tell the duck from one of the black, brown and white puppies. So, he's Duck. Elka is the girlfriend of Friend Larry and she's very passionate about animals. Elka has jet black hair so of course our blacestk female puppy is now Elka. Mark is our little black puppy with white markings. Mark is named after the Telegraph news reporter who wrote about the puppy mill where Annie was saved from and Mark stayed vigilant in keeping the public interest in the puppy mill.

Life is good!

January 27, 2010

Back at It

Saturday morning our computer died - no warning, no goodbyes. Just dead. I didn't realize how much I would miss the computer until I didn't have it. We're back among the connected now.

Yesterday the puppies started opening their eyes; it's a gradual process that takes a few days. Several of the puppies have progressed to standing on their wobbly legs and taking a few steps. Crawling is still the most reliable transportation though.

Annie had her stitches (Cesarean) removed Saturday. She doesn't walk on a leash so I had to carry her in and out of the vet clinic. The vet, again, said not to expect too much improvement in Annie's emotional state too quickly. We talked about how Annie had moved her puppies around and the vet saidshe was trying to hide and protect them. The trip to the vet must have been really difficult for Annie because she moved her puppies all weekend. I know Annie was stressed, but worrying about and searching for puppies was pretty stressful for me too!!

Annie's new hiding place is behind the freezer. She spent a lot of the weekend hiding there but for some reason this morning Annie acted like a new dog. She jumped up on me when she saw me this morning. She came into the family room for the first time in three days, she tried interacting with the other dogs and she even followed me into the kitchen. After a few seconds she ran back to the puppies but I was really proud of her courage and curiosity.

For those of you who don't know, the woman who had the puppy mill where Annie came from surrendered 10 more dogs and that makes around 90 dogs total. Any dogs still in the poor living conditions of the mill is too many and I'm hopeful that the woman will give up the rest. I've been told that USDA is going stay vigilant and watch her very closely.

It's nice to see the days getting longer. After work, it's a race to get home, change clothes, bundle up to face the cold and wind and get to the Bark Park for a bit of fresh air before dark. The four big dogs (Jasmine, Maggie, Brandy and Pennie) love running and sniffing. Their friends Gage the white German Shepherd, Mystic the Bloodhound and Shera the Husky were at the park to run and chase with this evening. It's so much fun to see the delight of being a dog!

Hello All! This is Molly hacking into my mom's blog...The computer at the Mayber Dog Farm took a dive and is no longer in service. My parents hope to be back on-line sometime Monday. My dad said today that Annie is still trying to hide the pups but all are still doing well.
Thanks so much for reading my mom's blog! It really means a lot to me...Check back in a few days!
Molly

Two Steps Forward One Step Back

The Dog Farm is thriving. The four Mayber dogs are happy because they're getting extra treats - to make up for the attention Annie and her brood have taken from them. Don't feel too badly for Jas, Maggie, Brandy and Pennie. They still get to the dog park every day and get lots of loving, just not so much one-on-one time.

Annie's puppies are a rolly-polly 12-days old now. Everyone is doing great.

When we got Annie from the puppy mill, the veterinarian told us not to overstimulate Annie with new experiences to quickly. Because of that, we've limited Show-and-Tell but last evening a neighbor came to visit the nursery. Annie retreated to under the table and watched from a distance as our friend lovingly held three of the puppies. I don't know if that's what caused today's change in behavior, but oh, dear. Bob went to check on Annie this morning when she started barking. She had taken one of the puppies out of the bed and he was lying on the floor. Bob returned the puppy to the bed and we thought everything was okay. I went to tell Annie bye before I left for work and she had taken another puppy out and he was on the floor. Thank goodness for my understanding Boss Lonnie who let me come home early for lunch to check on the puppies. Of course, the first thing I saw when I walked in was a completely empty dog bed! Where could eight puppies and a momma dog have gone? It was only a minute when I found that Annie had moved her entire family. Two puppies were tangled in a sheet, one was under a blanket and all of them were crying. As I put each puppy back into bed Annie was working just as hard to take them out. Chaos! My determination was greater than Annie's because I won and Annie gave up. All I can think of is that maybe Annie wasn't ready for the neighbor to hold her puppies last evening and maybe she thought she needed to move them away. (I'll check on the family every little bit until I know Annie's okay with things again.)

Last night was Paws-itive Partners' young people's group, Paws-itive Kids. We had twelve kids from age 7 to 16. The kids who attend are there because they love animals so every meeting is animal-themed. Last night we talked about puppy mills and how awful it is to raise dogs and puppies in that environment. I told them a little about Annie. On the less serious side, we had a lesson about wild animals and a wild animal sanctuary three hours from North Platte in Keensburg, Colorado. We had fun activities like animal trivia and snacks, of course. What a smart bunch of kids. I have to work really hard to keep ahead of them!

Friend Pat created a Paws-itive Partners facebook page and asked if I could put my dog blog on the facebook. Remember, I'm the one who didn't know what a blog was until Daughter Molly created this one for me. Unless someone else volunteers to come to my rescue, getting the dog blog on facebook will have to wait until Molly comes home to visit again. It's terrible to be so handicapped at the computer!

Thanks for your interest, comments and emails about life on the Dog Farm. :)

Progress

It's been nice to be off work for the three day weekend. Most of my time has been spent doing dog/puppy things. As you can see in the pictures, momma and babies are doing great! Growing everyday. Annie is a good mom and she's very attentive to the puppies. How do you like the close up picture of the puppy? Don't you just love that cute little baby tongue!

The picture of the brown dog is our Brandy. She's wearing her melancholy face in an attempt to make you feel sorry for her. Brandy had just been told to go lay down. Annie didn't want her so close while she was feeding the puppies. Poor Brandy - rejection hurts.

Bob and I were sitting on the floor near Annie's bed this morning - letting her get use to Bob. Annie got all her courage up and went to Bob to accept a dog treat. Of course, she ran back to her bed to eat the treat. After getting the first treat it got easier and Annie went to Bob three more times for treats. Annie's making progress.

Sunny Side Up

I just went to look at the puppies and Annie. One of the little boys was laying on his back, tummy-side up and basking in the sunshine. It's just the perfect Sunday afternoon activity - napping in the warmth of the sun pouring in through the window. To celebrate their one week birthday yesterday, we had a weigh-in. Most of the puppies have doubled their weight in their week of life. The vet suggested buying a food scale to monitor the puppies' weight - they've already outgrown the 16-ounce scale.

I mentioned previously that Annie's puppies were born by Caesarean but I didn't tell you that I helped with the delivery! The whole thing was so unplanned for a Saturday at the clinic because there was only one veterinarian and two techs working. When Annie needed surgery, the vet asked if we (Friend Levaun was with me) had ever seen a Ceacerean and of course we hadn't. The vet said we were going to help! Suddenly things got very busy and fast paced. The vet explained what I needed to do to aggressively rub/clean the puppies to start curculation and how to shake (literally) breath into them. Quickly. She sedated Annie, prepared her for surgery and we were ready for the puppies. The puppies started coming and coming and coming. At one point, I asked how many there were and the tech said she quit counting at six! Oh, dear, this isn't what Iwanted for rescue puppies! With a litter of rescue puppies, you hope for a small litter because of the difficulty of finding good adoptive homes. Finally, all the puppies had arrived. Nine beautiful, squeaking, squirming puppies! The experience of seeing the surgery, helping with newborn puppies and witnessing the flawlessness of the veterinarian and techs is something I will remember for a long time. It was a privilige to be part of it.

Several people have commented they've enjoyed reading about the dogs and puppies. I asked Husband Bob if he'd read any of my dog blog. He hasn't. Why? "Because I live it everyday!" :)

Growing Fast

Last night was our monthly Paws-itive Partners Humane Society meeting so I didn't have much time with our big dogs or Annie and her puppies. I don't usually like going out once I get home after work, but I always have the enthusiasm for getting to Paws-itive Partners. It's so gratifying to hear about the pets we've been able to help from one month's meeting to the next. I love my friends in PPHS.

Math and statistics weren't ever of much interest to me but for some reason I like to think about the multiples of so many dogs and puppies in our house. We have 13 tails in varying degrees of wag, 26 ears and 52 feet! Our very own canine army.

I don't know why Husband Bob accuses me of spoiling the dogs. It makes sense to me that everyone has their own tastes. The puppies have supplemental formula, Annie has high calorie food, Brandy and Pennie eat sensitive skin food and Jaz and Maggie have to watch their figures with special trim line kibbles. You should see the kitchen counter with all the dishes lined up preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner!

The puppies are getting bigger and stronger everyday. They're creeping faster and their little legs are pushing more. I weighed one of the puppies last evening and Annie had a fit that that I took him away even for the 30 seconds. One of the puppies has developed a brown undercoat and he's looking quite handsome. I think the puppies will have semi-long hair. Their coat's have become very shiny.

In one of the previous blogs I mentioned attempting to engage Annie in dog play. I shouldn't have said anything about it because Robin and Nora sent comments requesting pictures of my butt-in-the-air pose! You can rest assured you won't ever have to be subjected to seeing that. No 8 x 10 glossies of me, thank you very much!

I picked up Little Boy's ashes from the vet clinic today. Even though his time with us was brief, he's back home where he belongs.

Now, if I can figure out the digital camera, I'll send you today's photos of the puppies. :)

Tuesday

It's been a quiet day at the Dog Farm, as Molly affectionately calls our house. Annie is settling in after the weekend of birthing a very large family. The veterinarian didn't know if Annie was going to produce milk but she is and the puppies are nursing well. We might have to suppliment with puppy formula but so far all the puppies are eating well. They're beginning to make little squeaking sounds that are so nice to hear.

Just a few minutes ago, Annie poked her head around the corner and into the room. You can't imagine my surprise! This is incredible progress for such a timid dog. Of course, as soon as Annie and I made eye contact she ran back to her bed - but at least she's developing a curiosity and courage to go with it. I'm so proud of her. With this kind of progress, tomorrow Bob's taking Annie her breakfast so we can start working on Annie getting more comfortable with him. Food is usually a very good way to build trust.

The rest of my dog family consists of Jasmine, Maggie, Brandy and Pennie. Jasmine was our first rescue dog. Before she and her four 12-hour old puppies arrived I'd never been around a new puppy, much less cared for one. All I knew was if I didn't take Jasmine then she and her puppies were scheduled to be euthanized. I'm here to tell you, if I can foster then you can foster. Maggie was our second foster dog, Brandy our fourth and Pennie was our sixth. Some would wonder why if the four girls were fosters then why do they still live here. It's simple. I'm a foster failure! A major foster failure. It's not as bad as it sounds, it just means the dogs stole my heart and I couldn't let them go. Their status went from foster to adoptive very quickly. Jas and Maggie are black labs, Brandy is a German shepherd mix and Pennie is a corgi. It's quite a sight to see four dogs hanging out the Jeep window on their way to the Bark Park.

Thank you to those who emailed and texted Mollyand me expressing sympathy on the loss of Annie's puppy Sunday morning. Your thoughts are very much appreciated and it's nice to know there are so many friends and family who also love pets.

:)

Sweet Annie

This waif of a dog was one of 80 rescued from the puppy mill between North Platte and Hershey just about two weeks ago. She arrived at our house the day after the bust and became Annie. The rescuerers said Annie wasn't socialized - that would become known as an understatement! Annie had probably known only one person and that person hadn't been nice to her. At our home, Annie hid behind the waste basket, sat with her face in the wall, cowered and was afraid of noises. She tensed up if we tried to touch her. She'd never been inside. How do you teach a 4-5 year old dog that people are good? The answer? You think like a dog and you act like a dog so she will feel more comfortable.

Now, some won't be at all surprised that I could think and act like a dog and others will decide I'm over-the-top insane. The first couple days all we did was meet Annie's physical needs such as food, water and shelter. Then I started spending time laying on the floor near her bed. She didn't seem as afraid if I was low to the ground. Annie began letting me pet her and slowly she seemed to like the touch even though she looked away and avoided all eye contact. A few days later, I crawled into Annie's bed. She was okay with that. Annie's eyes seemed dull and sad. I was sure she needed happiness in her life. My goal is to teach her to have fun. I want her to learn how to enjoy. One morning I was on the floor on my hands and knees and I bent my arms, put my head down and my butt in the air like a dog who was signaling wanting to play. I said Annie's name repeatedly in a soft voice and Annie came toward me! She sniffed my head, we nuzzled noses and Annie wagged her tail before hustling back to her bed. Ah, progress.

Last week, Annie made an unplanned trip to the vet and she was diagnosed anemic and she was having liver problems. She was put on IVs and the time it took for her to have a saline drip gave Bob and me the chance to visit with the vet about helping Annie. We've been told not to expect noticible social improvement too quickly and not to overwhelm her. Giving birth to her new family over the weekend put us back a bit, but Annie's coming out of her shell. She wags everyday and today she barked for me to come see her. When I went to her she approached and wanted to be petted! Annie's being taught love and she's responding. :)

Daughter Molly created my blog so that I could share with you all the fun of dog chaos. I hadn't intended to write the following, but Molly said my friends and family would want to know. Last night, one of Annie's precious puppies died from respiratory failure. He was the first of Annie's puppies to be born and he was the first foster puppy we've lost. There have been lots of tears and sadness today but somehow, when I look at Annie and her other eight beautiful puppies I can accept that life is fragile and we were blessed to have Little Boy in our lives even for a short 36 hours.

We'll have to wait to see what tomorrow brings in the World of Dog!

The Beginning

Welcome to my blog! What started this?! Me, I'm the person who doesn't Facebook and can barely email. I am the perfect example of someone who is a "computer illiterate." Why am I starting a blog? Several friends and relatives asked me to update conditions of a momma dog and her puppies. With the help of daughter Molly and the amazement of husband Bob, we are giving blogging a try!

Molly would say my dogs and other dogs are my life. Actually, my two-legged family members are also my life. I'm just more vocal about the dogs and spend a lot of time trying to save the dog world, one dog at a time! My main goal is to help animals through spay/neuter so that we can reduce pet overpopulation. To reduce overpopulation will reduce unnecessary euthanizing.

On December 30th, 2009, the USDA arrived in the North Platte area to 'bust' a puppy mill. Approximately 80 dogs were saved from horrendous conditions and most were transported to shelters in other parts of the state. Believe it or not, some shelters have more requests than they have dogs! Sadly, the dog authorities allowed the puppy mill owner to keep 20 dogs. Ahhhhhhhh!

My husband has allowed 'just one more dog' to come into our home as a foster dog. Her name is Annie. She's a four year old border collie/blue heeler/cocker spaniel mix...aka mutt. Annie was very pregnant when she was rescued - and that's how this blog began.

On January 9th at 08:25 a.m, Annie had one little black puppy before labor stopped. Two hours later, we were on our way to the vet. Annie ended up having an emergency c-section and, enter eight more puppies. Welcome to life little ones! Annie has one brown puppy and eight black ones with various white markings. 24 hours old, they each weigh between 8 and 9.5 ounces! All the puppies seem to be doing well.

Tomorrow I'll tell you more about Annie.