Pee Pads are for Puppies

...at least this seems to be Bennie's impression. At seven months old, Bennie is the senior pup in the house and much wiser than those tiny bits of fluff and claws (and now teeth) we brought home two months ago. He knows if one is going to pee in the house, one chooses an out of the way corner of the good carpet or the blanket that was just washed and dried two hours ago.

He's actually doing fairly well with the house breaking. This morning, he even went out in the rain to do his business rather than lower himself to using the pee pad. It was the first time he's ever ventured outside while it was raining. 

When we raised Bennie and his brothers, it was like having quadruplets; the sibs all played together and developed at the same rate. This time, it's more like having a three-year-old and twin babies... twin babies who happen to be very different sizes. 

Bennie has been our helper from the beginning.

 He was the official face cleaner after every meal.

And very patiently cuddled with tiny Mei Mei when she was sleepy.

End of a Journey

Our last little puppy was adopted today. Hammie, aka Alvin, was given a spot on the local news channel's "Pet of the Week" segment. We cleaned him up, trimmed his toenails, and dressed him in a bow tie. It was probably the bow tie that did it. When the family came to pick him up, their 11 year old dog was also wearing a bow tie.

It's quiet around here... at least for the moment. Bennie will have to get used to being an only dog. He has never slept alone in his kennel. There was about 5 minutes of whining and howling before he dropped off to sleep tonight.

His new family promised to keep in touch. We've been so lucky! All the adoptive families have kept in touch. The couple who adopted Bertie - now Cooper - have sent photos from their camping trip and filled us in on how he is doing. Franklin - now Leroy - comes to visit now and then.

The woman who adopted Hammie has a 9-year-old daughter who is very excited to meet her new puppy.

And what happens next? I'm helping out now and then, cleaning cat cages at Life is Better Rescue. I suspect we'll foster other dogs, too, though right now we'll let Bennie figure out he's the one who's going to stay put.