We have new puppies!

I have been remiss in keeping up the blog. A lot has happened, but the only thing I want to cover right now is our new litter of Yorkshire Terriers! Raina had 4 which surprised us. She was so miserable and looked like a bowling ball on legs. We figured she would have 5 or 6. From now on we are going to get an x-ray before the due dates so that we know how many puppies to expect.

The picture was taken before their tails were docked. Raina had a very easy delivery and is an excellent mother. She has not figured out how to pick them up. One was accidentally pushed out of the bed today and Raina came to me for help.

These puppies should be smaller than the last litter. The father, Andy, is a teacup Yorkie. He only weighs 4.6 pounds. I had some concern about he and Raina being able to mate. I definitely underestimated Andy's abilities! It's exciting and I will keep the blog up to date as the pups grow. I'm ready to hear the growl of Gremlins when they are about 5 weeks old and I let them loose in my room.

The cats go to new homes

I love all animals, but I am allergic to cats. I had Harley and Eliot because of a family member who got Harley and could not take care of her. I got Eliot from the shelter to be a companion to Harley. Lately living with them had become very uncomfortable. I was zonked on Benedryl most of the time.

I waited until the right people came along to place them in new homes. Harley is living with another cat named Bugs. She is fitting in very nicely.

Eliot went to a lady who fell in love with her from her picture. I turns out that Eliot likes children since she has chosen the son as her favorite.

I am so happy they have new homes. I didn't brush them or hold them like a good cat mommy should. They each live in homes where cats are properly appreciated.

We do have another cat in residence temporarily. His name is What, as in "that is not what I sent you to Walmart to get" and that is exactly how he got his name. My daughter-in-law's parents have sold their house and are living in a horse trailer/camper. It's a little small for both their dog, Reuben and the cat. So Mr. What will be staying with us for a while. He spends most of his time in my son's office/studio. It makes him feel safe from all of the wild dogs. My son put up a window shelf for What and I loaded the bird feeder on the front porch. What spends a lot of time bird watching now.

A couple of the girls are in heat

We are hobby breeders and are excited when we have a dog ready for breeding. First was Kitty Cat, but she is only 8 months old and it is too soon for her. Then Raina showed signs. She will be going to Dahlonega the week of Christmas to meet her mate. When she returns home hopefully she will be pregnant. The puppies would be due in late Febrary. I am very excited.

I enjoyed caring for her last litter and have been having "puppy fever". We are expecting Hamburger and Mim to come into heat too. When one female starts, the others follow shortly after.

I will have to be making a lot of puppy soup in March when the babies start on semi-solid food. I let the puppies run loose in my bedroom. It means a lot of newspaper on the floor, but it is so much fun to be raising puppies. I cried when the last puppy left the last time.

I put a lot of time into the puppies and can't help getting attached to them. I am not allowed to name them, so I give them nicknames. The Yorkie puppies get colored neckbands at birth so we can tell them apart. By the time they are 8 weeks old they look different and have personalities. The colored neckbands allow me to give the new owners a history in pictures of their puppy from birth. I wish I had that for Raina. I expect the Bostons and Cavalier puppies to look different at birth unlike the Yorkies. I will still use the neckbands. It just the systems analyst in me that needs that. I'm excited.

A death in the family

I feel awful. The squirrel that Shannon has been hand feeding died. I was supposed to take care of it today while Shannon was working. I was still a little groggy when she was leaving for work. I couldn’t remember if she said to feed it at 1 and 6. Around noon I decided to go check on the squirrel. I had a little trouble finding him. He was on the bare heating pad. I was afraid that he had been burned, but he was not. He was lethargic, his ribs were showing and his skin was flaccid. I gave him a little formula anyway. To keep a closer check on him, I brought him to my room. I fed him an hour later and he took a little then. The next time I tried to feed him, he was gone.

Shannon was so successful with the first squirrel. I feel like I may have let her down. I should have called her before she got to work. Then I would have at least known for sure the last time the squirrel had been fed. Well, good-bye little fellow.

I'm am too anxious

I goofed the other day. Mim has a bump on her belly and I mistook it for her being pregnant. I had a long talk with her yesterday and told her it was time for her to come into heat. Get busy! She just looked at me with those big buggy eyes of hers. I love the Cavies. I always thought that the breed was really beautiful. I just didn't think I would ever have a pair of them. I can't wait for puppies!

We may be pregnant!

I am so excited! We have been waiting for one of the female dogs to come into heat. I have been privately disappointed about Mim because Deb and Charles had assured us that she would be coming into heat any time. Today I was petting her and for some reason got the urge to feel her tummy. Her teats feel like they are filling with milk. I think she is pregnant! It’s possible we missed the whole thing. She may not have spotted which was the first sign we were looking for. Since she and Merlin are together almost constantly, they could have mated during the night and we would have missed it. When they first got here, Merlin was trying to mount Mim every 5 minutes. In the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that the behavior has dropped off considerably. I want Sean and Shannon to feel her belly too to see if they think I might be right.

I finally took pictures of the baby squirrel. (It’s a good thing I started telling about the squirrel; I was supposed to be feeding it!) Its little tummy is so translucent that the formula I feed it is visible through the skin. It has a good appetite and eats well. It was actually digging its way out of the towels in its carrier when I went in to get it. I’m glad its fur is growing. It’s not quite so ugly now. Since Shannon was hand-raising a squirrel so recently, we still have baby cereal for when it is ready to start on something more solid. The more perishable foods like strained sweet potatos and apple sauce will need to be purchased when the time comes.

News on the Cocker Spaniel puppy

I was wondering the other day how the Cocker Spaniel puppy was doing. We had not heard from the Buckholts since the day they picked her up. I received a lovely email today. Besides that we have another squirrel in residence. Someone walked into PetSmart with another baby squirrel that had fallen out of its nest. I will have to take a picture-it is UGLY! I got to feed it twice today. I never fed the first squirrel. This little guy (my guess) eats better than the first one. I had to make him pee and poop after he ate and he produced so much urine that it got on my clothes!

GOOD MORNING MAMA MARTA!

WE WERE SO GLAD TO GET AN EMAIL FROM YOU-----THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD PICTURE OF ME, MOM SAYS!

BUT THEY HAVE BEEN TAKING LOTS OF PHOTOS OF ME TO PUT IN MY ALBUM, SO MOM ASKED DAD TO MAKE THEM SO THAT SHE CAN SEND THEM TO YOU AND SHANNON TO LOOK AT!

MY WT WAS 8LB WHEN I HAD MY 9WK SHOTS AND CHECK UP----IT WAS A GOOD ONE, JUST THE FACT THAT THE PATELLA, MY KNEECAP IS A LITTLE SLIPPERY, BUT SHOULD NOT CAUSE ANY PROBLEM, BUT A SURGERY IF WHEN I GET OLDER AND I SHOULD NEED IT----

OF COURSE MY EARS HAD MITES AND MOM AND I HAVE BEEN HAVING FUN USING THOSE DARN DROPS 2XDAY, BUT LOOKS LIKE WE GOT RID OF THEM------I GO TO THE DR TODAY FOR MY 12 WK SHOTS AND MOM SAYS SHE KNOWS I HAVE GAINED SOME LBS-----I AM HEAVIER TO CARRY WHICH I LOVE TO DO----

I AM EATING WELL, JUST HAVE A FEW PUPPY PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE ALL TRYING TO WORK THROUGH-------WITH SANITY!!!!!!

LEXI, MY SISSY AND I LIKE TO GO AT SOMETIMES OVER NEW TOYS AND LOTS OF BONES MOM GETS US-----SHE MIGHT BE SMALL BUT OH MY, SHE THANKS SHE IS A GREAT DANE!

I THINK WE ARE LEARNING TO LOVE EACH OTHER AND SHE LETS ME KNOW SHE IS THE ALPHA DOG HERE, BUT MOM SETS HER STRAIGHT THAT, MOM IS ALPHA!!!!

I SLEEP IN A HUGE CRATE AT NIGHT BESIDE DADDY AND DO WELL----

I AM USING THE PEE PADS GREAT! ONLY A COUPLE ACCIDENTS BECAUSE I MOVED MY BUTT OVER TO FAR AND KIND OF MISSED THE PAD!!!

I LOVE TO RIDE IN THE CAR ON OUR DRIVES AND I LOVE THE NEW BOOSTER SEAT----

NOW SISSY HAS ONE TOO----

I HAVE GIVEN MOM SOME NICE MARKS ON HER HANDS AND ARMS WHEN I WANT TO PLAY AND MOUTH BUT MY TEETH ARE VERY SHARP, SO WHEN I GET ROWDY AND OUT OF CONTROL OR EXCITED, I NOW HAVE A MUZZLE FOR TIME OUT

AND IT HELPS ME CALM DOWN AND BEHAVE----

WE WENT TO THE PARK AND I WALKED ON THE LEASE VERY WELL---ALL THE KIDS LOVED ME AND SAID HOW CUTE I AM----I WAS VERY GOOD WITH ALL THE PEOPLE!!!!!

WE WILL GET THE PHOTOS OFF TO YOU ASAP

AND YOU WILL SEE HOW I HAVE GROWN

MOM GOT MY PEDIGREE AND HISTORY, BUT NOTHING WAS WRITTEN ABOUT MY MOM-----

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHERE SHE CAME FROM? LOTS OF STUFF ABOUT MY DAD

IT WAS VERY INTERESTING

I LOVE YOU ALL FOR ALL YOU DID FOR ME AND FINDING ME A NEW HOME----

WE'LL GET BACK SOON

"LILLY LEE" AND MOM!

After I cried when the last Yorkie puppy left, I wanted to check on the other pups. I just need to email a couple of people. Maybe I will learn to let go of them after a couple more litters. I feel better when I know the puppies are being properly spoiled.