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The Puppies






All In The Family
December 1999



        
        Brandy                      Noodles                     Elijah                        Chopper     

Born
November 4,1999

Brandy is a yellow lab mix,
Noodles is a lab/sheperd/mastiff mix,
Elijah is a yellow lab/pyranese mix,
and Chopper is a chocolate lab mix.
You are probably wondering how we knew what breed they were.
Its not easy.
You look at them and see what you think they are,
and hopefully when they grow up
you have been at least half right.
They weighed nine pounds when they were three weeks old
so we knew that they were going to be big dogs.
When I took them home to foster them
my only thought was to give them a chance at being adopted.
But the closer the time came to take them back,
the more I acted like a mother hen.

When you work in a shelter, you hear all kinds of reasons
and excuses for people to turn in their animals.
One of the main reasons is because the puppy got to big.
All puppies are cute and cuddly when they are eight weeks
but they grow up.
It breaks my heart to see these animals brought in by
their owners because they are too big.
Its your heart that has to be big, not the size of your house.
So as Christmas drew closer, I would make an excuse not to take them in that day.
It was hard because the shelter was full of puppies at this time of the year.
And finding a good home is not always possile.
So I was very torn with my little ones,
wanting a permanent home for them,
and being afraid for them when they would grow up.


The first moment I saw Chopper
I knew that I would like to adopt her.
However I also knew that she would be the first one
to be adopted because of her color.
So I decided I would take them all in the first of
January and we would see how it went.
Of course I was right and Chopper was the first to be adopted.
She is now spayed and likes to sleep with the horses.
Her owner told me she thinks she is one of them,
she plays with them and eats with them.
Hew new owners wanted a dog that was going to be big and they had a little baby
that they wanted to grow up with Chopper.
I only hope that Chopper is doing well
and loves her new family as much
as we love her brother and sister.

Brandy was adopted a week later.
She is now called Holly, and she is beautiful.
Her new Mom works in a vets office
and takes excellent care of her.
And her Dad is a wonderful pet owner
showing love in his every word and jester.
I was recently at the clinic where
Holly's Mom works and she had Holly there for the day for a checkup
and asked if I wanted to see her.
I could not believe that she
remembered me,my scent and my voice.
Her owner was amazed at how well behaved she was being for me.
She sat down at my feet and looked into my eyes
as if to say, thank you.
She gave me kisses and hugs and I started crying for this
wonderful animal that had found such a loving home.
I had fostered her to give her a chance,
and she had become the winner.
It was I that need to say "Thank You, Holly."

I will tell you more about Noodles and Elijah on the following pages>
as they were not adopted.
I want to add a list of reasons why people do not want
to get their animal spayed or neutered before
I go on with the puppies.
If you know someone that is using one of these reasons as an excuse,
please forward or print this list off for them.
It could save an animals life.
Also consider fostering for your local shelter.
Please believe me when I say that all shelters need
respondsible and loving folks to help them out.
And remember, its always the animals that come out ahead.

TEN WORST EXCUSES TO NOT SPAY OR NEUTER A PET:
  1. Just one litter and we'll have fluffy spayed. (Studies show that virtually the entire pet overpopulation stems from the "just one litter" mentality)

  2. My dog doesn't run loose so he doesn't need to be fixed. (Murphy's law says otherwise)

  3. We always find homes for the puppies. (And that means an equal number of puppies at the pound will be killed)

  4. I want the children to witness the miracle of birth. (Then watch Animal Planet or the Discovery Channel)

  5. My dog is so wonderful and unique, there should be more of her. (The shelters are full of wonderful and unique dogs, most of whom have a few days to live)

  6. It's not natural. (There hasn't been anything "natural" about dogs since we domesticated them thousands over years ago and took control of their training & reproduction)

  7. I just couldn't look my dog in the eye if I had him castrated. (Watch it, you're anthromorphising)

  8. A female dog should have at least one litter for medical reasons. (Medically, factually and ethically indefensible)

  9. Neutering my dog will make him fat & lazy. (Too much food and too little exercise make a dog fat & lazy)

  10. Fixing my pet will change its personality. (see #8)
    11.
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