So, without further ado, this is the journal I have been keeping, transcribed into the ether for your viewing pleasure.
Saturday, August 1st
Today, the receptionist at White Angel Animal Hospital arrived at the clinic to find an Office Depot box on the doorstep. Inside it were two fuzzy black puppies with a note stating briefly that the owners couldn't care for them anymore and requesting that we find them a new home. Being the sucker that I am, of course I agreed to take them. The note didn't specify how old they are or what breed, but they look a lot like Border Collie mixes, probably with some Australian Shepherd somewhere in there. Both of these breeds are the kind of dogs that, when they're good, they're very very good, but when they're bad, they're horrid. They have strong tendencies towards being skittish and mouthy, and I believe that a large part of that is inadequate socialization and bite inhibition during their crucial formative stages. So...a chance to bring these dogs up right? Couldn't pass it up. The next step is finding a home or homes where people can provide these dogs with continued socialization, positive reinforcement training, gainful employment through herding, agility, and/or other dog sports, and of course, the love and stability that all dogs need to be healthy and happy.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, their names.
The bigger of the two is already bossy. When the receptionist peeked into the box, she growled at her! These puppies' eyes are barely open, and already she's growling! She also threw a temper tantrum when I turned her over on her back. She did NOT like it and struggled the whole time. Being primarily Border Collies, she needed a good Celtic name, so I named her Brigit, after the Celtic goddess of fire. She's a firecracker, for sure!
The smaller of the two is definitely the calmer, more submissive one. She instantly cuddled up underneath my arm, and when I turned her on her back, she went limp and fell asleep. So I named her Siobhan, which is Celtic for "the grace of God". She's definitely the more gracious of the two.
Brigit weighs 2.2 lbs and Siobhan weighs 2.0 lbs. I went to PetSmart to get them some formula, but they didn't have bottles! So, their first meal was fed to them from a syringe, and of course they both aspirated milk. Just starting out and already I'm having to start them on a round of antibiotics! Which of course means that their lovely, normal stools are going to turn into diarrhea in the next day or two. Might as well start them on probiotics now. And, for good measure, I went ahead and gave them a dose of dewormer. Dr. Zilkha did an exam and said that they appear to be healthy. Since their eyes have only just opened and their ears are still closed, we think they're probably under two weeks old. That means they're still within the age range for early neurological stimulation. Sure, it might not be as effective as if we'd been able to start them off with it at 3 days old, but it will be better than nothing! They did surprisingly well with it, actually. Obviously, Siobhan was more relaxed about the supine position than Brigit was, but they both did pretty well. This is going to be fun!
Whatever circumstances occurred to prevent these puppies' previous owners from caring for them any longer, they certainly did a good job to begin with. Both girls have soft, silky fur and nice, round tummies. They were clean and well cared-for, and I'm excited to continue where they left off.
Sunday, August 2nd
OH MY GOD, these girls needed a nail trim in the worst way! They are eager, active eaters and have clawed me to shreds every time they've eaten. My hands and forearms look like I was on the losing end of a cat fight. So in addition to their regular grooming regimen, we did a little mani/pedi, too. They didn't seem to care, but *I* feel so much better!
And, as I predicted, they started in with the diarrhea today. Good thing I bought some puppy probiotics; they're going to need it!
I also bought them baby bottles today because my search for puppy bottles proved futile and syringe feeding got really old, really fast. They suck down those bottles at an alarming rate. My little piggies.
It's funny how apparent their little personalities are at such a young age. After being fed and cleaned, Brigit goes off and takes a nap a couple of feet away from me and Siobhan crawls up to me and snuggles right into my arm pit. I'm trying to foster a little less independence in Brigit by feeding whomever gets to me first. I open their crate door and call to them and clap my hands, and Siobhan comes running, so she gets to eat first. At first, Brigit would just kind of hang back and cry, but I've noticed that she is starting to catch on and participate in racing to me. She hasn't won the race yet, but at least she's trying now. Which is great. I have no desire to break her spirit, but I do want her to learn to enjoy human company and accept human dominance. She was less pissy about the supine position with our early neurological stimulation tonight, but still not quite thrilled.
Monday, August 3rd
Brigit won the race to be fed for the first time this morning! Also, they're growing like weeds! Brigit is now 2.6 lbs and Siobhan is 2.5 lbs.
Tuesday, August 4th
I got the cutest pictures of the girls this morning.
They are sitting up and starting to walk vs. crawl, and after Brigit ate this afternoon, she started wagging her tail. Their eyes are also open enough now that I can distinguish between the iris and the pupil, and I can even sometimes see the sclera. And when they are looking at me, I can tell that they are actually focusing on me, not just staring blindly into space. Their ears are still closed, but I think they can hear a little bit.
Their tri markings are starting to come out, too. Brigit is starting to get little brown eyebrows, like her sister!
Wednesday, August 5th
I didn't get much sleep last night because the puppies were up all night whining their fool heads off. Especially that Siobhan. She is a real whiner. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them, but this morning when I went to feed them I discovered that they had sprouted teeth overnight! Last night when they were chewing on my fingers, it was just gums; this morning, little baby teethlets! What's odd is that their ears still haven't opened, and usually the ears come before the teeth. Either way, now that they're walking and have teeth, I'm going to guess that they're beyond 17 days and past the point where early neurological stimulation is useful. So they got 5 days of it. Better than nothing, I suppose. I think this is definitely true, since by now Brigit completely accepts being placed on her back and actually seems to enjoy it. And best of all, today after breakfast, she came up and started snuggling with me! This is the first time that she has sought out human contact for something other than food! Hooray for Brigit!
I worked another shift at White Angel today and we offered the puppies some gruel. They were ok with it, but both of them found the can of undiluted canned food and devoured the entire thing between the two of them. Sooo...it looks like it's time to start supplementing the bottle feedings with canned foods. Let the weaning commence!
My girls are huge. They weighed in at 3.0 lbs each. Siobhan has caught up with Brigit, but B still looks bigger.
Gimme!
ReplyDeleteYou can haz friend for Brodis?
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