Christmas Puppies

Bert and Ernie joined us right after Halloween. Ernie went to his forever home just before Christmas and Bert, just after Christmas. They came to the rescue with mange, something I wasn't prepared to deal with, so they stayed at the care center for the first couple of weeks. Our last pups had just left and we had been puppy free since the middle of August. I wasn't ready for more

Then the email came. Three dogs needed foster homes. A tiny six year old chihuahua and two twelve week old Maltese mix puppies. After checking with the powers that be in the house (my husband, who said, "it's up to you" and my daughter who said, "when?!"), I wrote back and said we could take either the chihuahua or the puppies. I was kind of hoping for the chihuahua.

We got the puppies. At about 2 and 3 lbs, they were tiny fluffy white and cuter than cute. There is something unreal about Maltese puppies. The way they cock their head, the way they bounce around the house, the way they curl up on our laps; they look like stuffed animal toys come to life.

They had finished the medication for their mange, though they were still on antibiotics for secondary infections. Their fur was thin and Ernie had bare spots and scabs. They smelled awful. They needed regular baths with medicated shampoo, We bathed them daily for the first month. Ernie needed to wear a sweater or jacket to protect his delicate skin, And they both needed to play.

Ernie decided he liked to help me with my knitting. It made it a challenge to finish those slippers, but he looked awfully cute. It's amazing what you can get away with when you're a cute puppy.

Bennie didn't quite know what to make of the puppies at first, but he eventually warmed up to them and took on the task of keeping them busy. Or was it the puppies keeping Bennie busy? 

The pups were guests of honor at the Santa Speedo Dash in northwest Denver. Emma is holding Ernie here because Bert met his forever mom and they spent the whole time getting to know each other. Bert came back with us and spent the holidays at our house.

Our grandchildren gave Bert a bath on his going home day. He was one clean puppy!

We're without puppies now and Bennie is an only dog again. It's nice to not have to worry about trying to house break wee ones and nice to sleep in. I think we'll be taking a break from having fosters for awhile.

Unless... 

The Dog Who Didn't Want To Be Adopted

We are used to getting attached to the puppies we foster. It's inevitable, especially as we often have them for 3 months or morel We tell ourselves we can't keep all the puppies we fall in love with or we'd have dozens of them and we can't keep fostering newborns if we have too many of our own. So we plod along, taking care of the wee beasties, falling in love, and saying goodbye.

Sometimes one of the beasties snuggles their way into our hearts in a special way. Sometimes they are the ones who get attached to us. We tell ourselves, it's the breed; certain breeds will bond quickly and be very loyal to their humans. We know this.

We think we have everything under control, then one little pup jumped on my lap and rested his head on my chest, looking up at me as if to say, "I love you Mommy". He followed me everywhere and, when visitors came, made it clear he wanted nothing to do with them. 

It was charming, but we were concerned, too. We knew we couldn't keep him, so what was going to happen when it came time for him to be adopted?

The first attempt failed. The adoptive family came to meet him and we handed him over. He fought to get away until they finally put him down and he ran straight to Emma's lap. Not completely satisfied, he even barked at them.

It's the breed, we tell ourselves. Don't fall for it. It's just a loyal breed. He'll get attached to his adoptive family, too. But how will he ever be adopted if he won't go to anyone else?

                                                                 
At the big adoption event, we were sure a cute little Min Pin like him would be adopted. Instead, there were so many people and so many dogs, he was overwhelmed. He seemed to melt into us so he wouldn't be seen. When others tried to pick him up, he cried and fought to get away. I fought back tears. What were we doing here? It felt like we were abandoning our baby!  

This was dangerous thinking. What happens if a dog doesn't want to be adopted? Do they stay a foster dog forever? I'd never heard of that happening, not with our group. On the other hand, he did get along so well with all of us and Bennie.... and... and... 

Finally, Emma and I needed to leave. It was a pre-arranged family gathering, but it was the excuse we needed to leave the little pup there at the adoption event. There was one staff member who seemed to understand the pup's needs and we entrusted the wee beastie into his care.

Half an hour after we left, little pup was adopted. So much for loyalty. Without us there, he went to other people just fine. I wasn't too offended. The rescue group (Life is Better Rescue) took a photo of him with his new "Mom". He looks happy. We're sure he'll bond with her very, very quickly. 

It's the breed.

  

Dog Fireworks

We had seven dogs in our house on the 4th of July. Bennie, our own lovable chiweenie pup; Grover, the last of the last litter of orphaned pups we raised by hand; and Kaylee, the Mama poodle mix with her four 4 week old puppies, more fosters.

What could go wrong?

River

Mal

When I offered to help foster Kaylee and pups (Mal, Wash, Inara, and River), I knew it would be a bit of a challenge to get Kaylee to accept Bennie's presence. She's a good mama dog and doesn't let strange dogs near her pups. She's not aggressive towards people, just other dogs. That said, the first day and night went well. Kaylee and Bennie politely sniffed each other's butts, and kept a careful distance from each other, observing each other furtively.

The next night, which was the 4th of July, we had plenty of fireworks indoors. Bennie started getting curious about the puppies. Kaylee was not pleased and decided to attack Bennie whenever he came close to her offspring. They didn't hurt each other and I mistakenly thought the first incident would solve their argument and Bennie would keep far away from her wee ones. Nope. Outside, Bennie deliberately started a fight with Miss Kaylee. I scolded him and told him                                                        he should be much more welcoming to our guests. He looked at me suspiciously
                                                   and curled his lip at Kaylee.

Wash

Inara

As soon as we came back inside, Bennie decided to go visit the pups. Kaylee objected rather strongly and attacked. Again, neither were hurt, but it sounded like they were tearing each other apart. This startled my husband and, though he rarely swears, he made up for it that night. It put Grover on alert, meaning he had to join in with nonstop barking. It startled me because, well, any sudden loud noises startle me and this was a combination of dog snarls, swearing, barking, and puppy yips.


We decided quickly that Kaylee and her pups would stay across the street at our neighbor's house. Deb was Kaylee's primary foster mama and we were filling in while Deb was out of town. Kaylee was immediately more relaxed at Deb's house. What had gone wrong?

Bennie and his pups

Mama Kaylee

I hadn't figured in Bennie's status as favorite Uncle. In his short life, he has spent 10 out of his 15 months in the company of tiny puppies; his brothers and all our foster pups. We had included Bennie every step of the way with the wee fosters and he had taken his job as Uncle Bennie very seriously. Kaylee's pups were just more wee ones for him to care for. He just couldn't understand why this ... dog... got in his way. He  thought they were his puppies.

We finally got everyone calmed down that night and I tried to convince Bennie the pups belonged to Kaylee. He wasn't totally convinced, but he agreed to drop the custody fight as long as he got visitation rights.

(ps.. who knows where the names come from?)

Why is the Hen Crowing?

We bought chicks in the spring of 2010. We bought 14 chicks. They were all hens. Though we had a rooster for awhile, Napoleon, the bantam Mille fleur who ruled the roost with an iron claw met his Waterloo years ago.

The six hens who are still with us, 7 years later, are still laying about 6 eggs per week. It's unusual to get any eggs from them at this age, but we never forced them to lay through the winter. Hens have a finite number of eggs and forcing them to lay all year will shorten the number of years they will lay.

A month of so ago, we noticed one of the hens seemed to have gotten bigger. Was this just our imagination? It had always been a large bird. Then one day, we heard a strange noise coming from the back yard. It sounded like... crowing? Okay, it sounded more like an attempt to crow, but definitely not a sound our hens have ever made.

So we kept watch on the big one. Gradually it developed a larger comb and a really large wattle. The wattle is the red bit that hangs right below their beak. The comb and wattle are also bright red. It was strutting, yes, strutting across the yard. No self respecting hen would ever strut. Now it's starting to grow those lovely tail feathers in a darker color with a distinct pattern on them. Not much to see yet, but the potential is there.

Here you can easily see the difference between our hen and our new rooster. I've started using "he" instead of "she".

It's nice to have a rooster in the flock. They will stand guard while the hens eat and they are more alert and watchful for predators. Napoleon had a specific crow for times when he wanted the hens to get in the hen house immediately, with no arguments. We'll see what this rooster will do.

There is an explanation for all this. Nature has provided hens with two gonads, only one of which develops into an ovary. The other remains an ovotestis... in other words, a gonad with the potential to be either an ovary or testis, but won't develop unless the working ovary becomes damaged. The estrogen level will go down when the ovary stops working and then the testosterone level goes up, and the hen starts to look and act like a rooster. It's called Spontaneous Sex Reversal and is explained well in the link I just gave you. 

I wonder if this is more common with older birds? If so, might we see more of our old ones transition to a different gender? I wonder what would happen if all six did this? They've lived together too long to start cock fighting now, so I suppose they'd just roost around in the evening, drinking beer and smoking cigars...

...and practicing their crowing.

Puppy video and photos from Emma

This is Grover, one of the three in the litter we are fostering. We've been amazed at how they jump and turn and twist around and run. They are incredibly athletic little guys. Thank you to Emma for the videos and photos!

Springs in his legs lifeisbetterrescue.org #puppies #dogs #terriers #fosterpuppies #lifeisbetterrescue

A post shared by Emma (@capnstarwhale) on May 12, 2017 at 9:53am PDT

Click on the arrow for more photos

More from today #puppies #dogs #terriers #fosterpuppies #lifeisbetterrescue

A post shared by Emma (@capnstarwhale) on May 13, 2017 at 7:26pm PDT

The puppies enjoyed being outside for a while today, with lots of water and shade of course. #puppies #dogs #terriers #fosterpuppies #lifeisbetterrescue

A post shared by Emma (@capnstarwhale) on May 13, 2017 at 7:23pm PDT

When a Cat Decides to Sleep with You

I stayed with our grandchildren last night. It was our sleepover party at their house because their parents are both out of town. Everything went well with the children. They know their routine so well, they probably could have done it themselves. I know their routine quite well by now, too. It works. All three children were asleep by 7:30 pm. There wasn't a sound from them until early morning.

I didn't know the routine of their inside pets: Mosie, a chocolate lab who barks when nervous; Clancy, a Jack Russell mix with the resulting agility and intelligence; and Enkidu, a large black cat. Honestly, beyond feeding them, I didn't think about them too much. It was enough to think about the children.

There's a tipping point when things start to happen. Being woken up a few times is annoying. Being woken up 5 or 6 times is maddening. After this, it just becomes comedy. Here is a recap of my night:

9:30 - went to bed (on the couch) thinking I'd get a little extra sleep
10:30 - got up because I had forgotten to get an extra blanket for Mattheus. He was asleep, but it was a cold night. I didn't want him to get cold.
10:45 - Clancy left Mattheus' bed and curled up on my feet.
11:30 - Heard Enkidu meowing loudly outside. I had forgotten to let him in. Got up, opened the  front door. No cat. Called. No cat. Opened the back door. No cat. Called. No cat.
12:25 - Enkidu meows again. This time I decide to ignore him.
1:15 - Enkidu meows seriously. I get up and open the front door. He's there. He comes in. I go back to the couch and find that Clancy has gotten tired of being disturbed and is back sleeping with Mattheus.
1:20 - Enkidu lands on me - 15 lbs of solid cat. I picked him up and plopped him on the floor, telling him, in no uncertain terms, he is not going to sleep with me.
2:30 - Mosie puts her cold wet nose on my cheek. She is wriggling around and desperate to go out and pee. I pull my legs out from under Enkidu and get up to let Mosie out. Then I come back to the couch. Enkidu jumps up and settles on my knees.
2:35 - Get up to let Mosie back in. Enkidu has abandoned the couch temporarily. I have a sneezing fit and stay up to blow my nose.
3:00 - Enkidu jumps up on my belly. I put him on the floor again, again letting him know I'm not going to put up with his nonsense. For the next half hour, Enkidu finds every little toy on the floor and bats them around. I hear something fall off a shelf. He is definitely pissed.
3:30 - Enkidu jumps onto my chest, starts purring loudly and kneads my chest with his claws. It's a warning. He is clearly letting me know if I give him the shove one more time, I will have a cat on my face. I let him stay.
4:30 - Rodrigo the rooster starts crowing.
5:00 - I hear Lucien calling "Papa, Papa". I go to him, letting him know Grandma is here to help.
He smiles and says, "Hi Grandma. It's just so dark in here." I turn on the small star lights for him and he smiles again, "that's better," curls up and pulls the blanket up around him.
5:45 - The children are all awake and ready to get dressed for school. I'm up for the day. It was almost a relief!