Last week was very difficult on my family and me. On Monday, we rescued two puppies that should never have been separated from their mother. We were told the mother was rejecting them. We named them Dash and Patch. They were as close as our twins have ever been. Those poor sweet babies were eaten up by fleas. It broke my heart. For those who don’t know, blue Dawn dish liquid kills fleas. Lather them up, leave it for seven minutes and rinse them off. Repeat that in two weeks and you’ll kill any possible eggs that may have been laid. Only the blue and only Dawn works to kill fleas. I was told by the manager of my local Pet Smart and after that I was assured by others. It did work. I got them some puppy formula and they were becoming nourished. However, on Thursday morning at five in the morning, I was awakened by the squeak of Dash. You see, they were so young they couldn’t bark, they could only squeak. His breathing was labored and I was so concerned. I cuddled and prayed over him for the next two hours until I had to get ready for work. My daughter, Keri took him to our vet. She confirmed he was flea free but was dehydrated due to the number of flea bites. She gave him fluids and nutrients. She said he wasn’t out of the woods. She was concerned that with the infestation the puppies had, their mother was most probably the same and she was concerned they had intestinal parasites passed to them from the mother through the placenta. Dash came home and was doing well. He was eating and even playing with his brother, Patch. In the late afternoon, Dash went to sleep and stopped breathing. Keri worked furiously to bring him back, to no avail. For no apparent reason, less than five minutes after Dash left us, Patch followed his brother. They both may have had parasites that stole their lives. Or Patch was too close to Dash to live without him. Either way, we were all completely devastated. I cried all night Thursday. If I think too much on their sweetness I still tear up.
I need to back up a moment and explain something. Almost two months ago, we lost a cherished pet, a dog named Chester. He had been a member of our family for about six years. He adopted us. He was found on a busy highway in a bad thunderstorm. A guard at the hotel Keri was Night Auditor for said he’d seen him wandering the highway and parking lot for several days. It had stormed all those days. He finally brought the dog in to the hotel. When Keri came on that night, Chester went to her and became her shadow for the rest of his life. We have no idea how old he was when we got him, we just knew he was a mature adult dog. He was loved and loving. He passed on having known how adored he was.
We grieved and I said we were not getting another dog until Keri was ready since she took his loss the hardest. Rescuing those precious puppies was simply a desire to give them a shot at life and were to be Steve’s, my fiancé and mine. Keri was getting the itch to get another dog. There are so many animals that have been abandoned or rescued by various animal shelters. Just like the tremendous number of children who need forever families, fur babies do too. So, I chose to complete an adoption form with one of our local pet rescue leagues. When those darling little pups flashed through our, as they did, we all knew our home was empty without a dog. We’ve had dogs in our home for over twenty-three years. I grew up with dogs and had them as part of my life until I was in my mid-twenties. On Saturday, Keri, my three-year-old granddaughter and I went to the rescue shelter to try to see if we could find a pair of dogs for our home. We wanted two so they could play together, and if by some stroke of craziness everyone in our house is out at the same time, they could keep each other company.
We were told at the shelter to wander through and ask about any that were together in a cage. We had also heard black dogs were hard to get adopted. We asked and were told that was true. I asked why and they had no idea. That’s all I had to hear. We went looking for two black dogs. There were three sets in the more than three hundred in just this one shelter. However, none of them would be good with kids. There were, however, seven black lab puppies that every time we passed their cage, the baby had to stop and play with them. They were wonderful with her and she with them. Decision made. They are seven weeks old and now very healthy. You see they were dropped off in a garbage bag, were suffering from heat stroke and almost dead. What is wrong with people??? They are now healthy, happy little pups. We are adopting one boy and one girl. We’ve chosen their names, Zoe and Zeus. They are all black with a dash of white on their chest.
I will be picking them up tomorrow. They were having their last vet visit today and would be ready for their forever home tomorrow. I wish I could not only take their five siblings, but every last dog in that place. I have a big house but not that big. What I pray is everyone reading this will either consider adopting, or guiding your friends and family to look at those darling little fur babies and bring at least one home to steal your heart.
It’s been our experience that animals who have been rescued are the most loyal and loving. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could find homes for these innocent gifts and be able to empty the shelters? Yes, I’m a dreamer. I have a picture here of six of the seven but promise to show off our babies on my site after we have them home. And no, this was not their cage. This was to keep them wrangled while their huge cage was being cleaned. Just one more day and I’ll be able to hold these sweet treats in my arms. I do hope I can sleep tonight.