Puppies, puppies, puppies!

[Apsara]

Date: 7/5/2006 5:06:00 PM
Author: wallermama
And yes, petfinders.com is the best. It''s how I found out about the agency we got Waffle and the pups through...

Again, thank you for this wonderful act. You ARE making a difference.

PS I always think of fostering...but I am afraid it''d turn into a circus here.

 

[IrishAngel7982]

I love fur babies! So cute! And waffle is adorable also. Thank you for helping those babies!

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 7/3/2006 6:29:53 PM
Author: wallermama


Waffle is a total sweetheart. For a dog with a questionable first couple of years of life, she is a trusting sweetie. She walks well on a leash, knows ''sit'', is learning not to bark at every noise (with, I must admit, the training assistance of my trusty water squirt bottle.) Her only quirks are oozy eyes (a la white poodle red-orange eye streaks) and a tendency to go hysterical when she sees anyone on a bicycle. It still surprises me that she is OK with us touching her puppies, etc.

And OH the puppies! One is a totally agressive guy a good half pound heavier (we call him Bear) and a little sweetheart that we call Bumble. Bumble is the one that I''ll have to work really hard not to keep....he''s the one in the last pic. Bear spends a lot of time whimpering and Bumble seems to think his job is to cheer his sad brother up.

Aww... I REALLY like waffle. And isn''t it amazing how precious their personalities are... they are such distinct individuals! I agree that it''s a good idea to expose them to children... and as you and waffle are such good mommas I''m sure you are making sure the interactions are safe.

I''m so glad they are doing well... post more pics when you can!

BTW: LOVE petfinder... we found Sheila through them... and so many people have adopted from us through them. Such a wonderful service.

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

A puppy update! A "pupdate!"

The mama Waffle developed a horrid case of kennel cough and stopped eating or drinking for days. But the 4th day of antibiotics finally helped and she is on the mend.

The puppies are growing! Here is a pic of the cutest puppy ever, Bear. They think this pup might be the world''s first chihuahua rottweiler mix

 

[SoonIHope]

WOW. WOWOWOWOWWWW. I think I''m going to have to agree with you on the cutest puppy ever thing!!!!

More pictures pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!!!!!

And glad to hear Waffle''s on the mend!!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

And here is my heartthrob Bumble...he''s just such a sweetheart. A true "people dog".

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

And Mama Waffle!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Oops! And here is mama waffle!

The rescue folks want to adopt them out a week from saturday so I have a week and a half to change my mind and keep Bumble or Waffle or both or Bear or all three

 

[Sundial]

Oh Wallermama you''ve got to keep at least one of those adorable puppies! All three dogs are just precious, but that picture of Bear is just too cute!!!

 

[Morticia]

Thanks for the "pupdate". Those puppies are too cute and I''m so happy to hear the mama is feeling better.

Again, that is such a wonderful thing you are doing.

 

[Gypsy]

Aww honey. They are amazing. SO cute... so hapy Waffle was home with your when she got ill. Such a good mama... and those BABIES! That fat little Bear! Oh and bumble.

Here''s my theory on keeping fosters... will it prevent you from fostering in the future? Cause I would hate to have that happen. But perhaps... you could see how they do with at the agency... and if any of them are there and not getting adopted, you could bring them home? That''s what I always do. When an animal is a project for me (BOB right now... oh such a love) I promise myself that I can have them if they are still unadopted in X amount of time. So far... haven''t added any to the brood. But it''s a personal thing.

 

[galeteia]

Nothing brightens one''s day like a pupdate!!

 

[AmberWaves]

Bumble looks like he may have longer and curlier hair than Bear! I just want to nuzzle the dickens out of them! You''re not in southern CA, are you? I''d love to take one of these little guys!

 

[Linda W]

I am so glad mama is doing better. If it were me, I would end up keeping all 3., but that is me. All three are so precious. It would be so hard to let them go.

 

[Gypsy]

Some places will ship animals to new owners.

Date: 7/11/2006 5:37:24 PM
Author: AmberWaves
Bumble looks like he may have longer and curlier hair than Bear! I just want to nuzzle the dickens out of them! You''re not in southern CA, are you? I''d love to take one of these little guys!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Date: 7/11/2006 5:46:43 PM
Author: Gypsy
Some places will ship animals to new owners.

Date: 7/11/2006 5:37:24 PM

Author: AmberWaves

Bumble looks like he may have longer and curlier hair than Bear! I just want to nuzzle the dickens out of them! You''re not in southern CA, are you? I''d love to take one of these little guys!

I''m in San Francisco.

The rescue people said that the puppies will be gone as soon as they hit the website....people send in applications for "pre-adoption" and by the time I bring them back it will basically be to get neutered and meet their new owners.

Mama Waffle wouldn''t go quite as fast, but any small well-behaved dog goes quickly. If she was a 60 lb wild untrained lab, it wouldn''t be easy.

Gypsy....would keeping a pup prevent me from fostering again? Maybe. But I''m not sure I am cut out to be a repeat fosterer until the kids are bigger, anyway. Yesterday I was standing in my robe with the fog droplets dripping on me at 5:45am letting the whining puppies out to pee, and I heard my one year old wake up and start crying, so I''m corralling three dogs un the stairs so I could dash to the baby. No, can''t keep all 3.

But I have some time to think about it and talk to DH. Of course, the kids vote for keeping someone, but aren''t really old enough to take the upkeep burden off of me.

The pups seem to have different dads, according to the vet. Bumble does have longer wavy hair, almost spaniel like. Bears is short but thick like a lab.

How do experienced foster parents ever give up all of the pups!!!

 

[Gypsy]

Well, by all means! If repeat fostering isn''t in the cards. KEEP ONE! LOL. Different dad''s huh? Waffles, you dog you!

But which one to keep??? Which one breaks your heart to lose? In all my time at the shelter there have only been two cats where, dispite finding them great homes, I still have regrets that they are not MINE. So... I guess, you just have to talk to everyone and see which one is going to be ''that dog.'' Or which two.

 

[Mara]

we talked about fostering for local westie rescue, but we decided it would not work out for multiple reasons...primarily that we already have a dog in the home, and she is excellent...but she is also a ''follower''. meaning i''d be afraid if we fostered a westie that had behavioral problems or something and portia picked up on them then i''d have to undo her bad habits learned. also what if we got a dog who had ''issues''...i don''t know that i could deal with trying to un-train bad habits learned, and have another dog in the house at the same time. lastly, if we got a real gem of a dog, it''d be really hard for me to let them go...i''d want to keep every dog we fostered because i just am a sucker for a westie faces!

so instead we donate to the local westie rescue, at least it helps them with foods and necessities for those who can foster. maybe someday in the future we''ll do it but for now we decided nay. i still kind of wish we could though. esp since i work from home part of the time anyway and have a flexible schedule.

 

[hlmr]

OMG Wallermama - bear IS the cutest puppy ever!!!! He is SOOO cute!!!!! What a honey!

 

[littlelysser]

Those pups are so cute it is just PAINFUL! I am so jealous.

Tough call on which to keep. Have you made any decisions? For what it is worth, we have two dogs, a pure bred Ibizan Hound and a rescue Cricket Dog (She''s a muttski) and they are both faboo. But I think my FI and I would go NUTS with three dogs! Two is MUCH easier than three, and honestly not a whole lot more difficult than one!

One finaly word of totally unsolicited advice - keeping littermates can sometimes get tricky. I know of two friends who adopted puppies from the same litter and there was a lot of issues with dominance and some pretty nasty fighting between the dogs.

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Mara, I totally think supporting your westie rescue is fabulous. Fostering is great, but those agencies need financial support to do anything at all. I hear you on the personality clashes and stepping on Portia''s toes. That is a serious consideration...

Littlelysser, if we kept any of them, it would be puppy Bumble only. He is the one that speaks to me. When Waffle is off barking, and Bear is SUV''ing around the backyard exploring, Bumble is the one sitting on my shoe, waiting for me to notice him, waiting for love.

I have heard that about littermates. And Bear is so dominant that I could see them struggling, too.

Thanks, everyone, for listening to me gush!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Wallermama, I''ve been wondering if you might add a furry member to your family permanently... Did you decide to keep Bumble?

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Date: 7/17/2006 11:06:21 AM
Author: Dee*Jay
Wallermama, I''ve been wondering if you might add a furry member to your family permanently... Did you decide to keep Bumble?

Dee*jay, thanks for asking. I''m sitting here with my kids....missing the dogs.

When it came down to make the decision, my husband and I had a heart to heart and knew that it was not the right time to keep a dog. The most illuminating moment was when the early dog wake-ups, plus the nightly human baby wake-ups, plus the puppies getting independent enough to be very difficult to contain and too young to let free-roam much, led me to a break down one morning where I was exhasted and screaming at my human children for some little mistake they had made and went off to cry on my bed by myself. Classic "bit off more than I can chew" moment.

So the pups and mom went back for their neutering/spaying/shots and to be adopted as soon as Mama Waffle was through her antibiotic course.

It was, and is, such a hard decision. But I know it was the right one and we promised each other than next summer, when my youngest is older, we will start fostering again or will adopt our own. And I''m still proud that we were able to give the pups a good start and a good experience with kids.

but.....

WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!

 

[widget]

Aaaaah! My heart goes out to you guys...but it does sound like it was the right decision.

Wallermom: I''d forgotten that it was you who was fostering these darlings! Had I remembered, I would have asked you how y''all were doing last Friday!

You can take heart that they''re ALL adorable, and will get snatched up quickly.

You and your family are HEROS for having done this!! Bravo!

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