This concludes Doodle Diary...the
2nd year
Mera's puppies are finally here!! Not sure if she is finished yet so better get back to her. This is what she has so far: 1 gold female, 1 cream female, 1 cream male,
1 chocolate female, 1 chocolate male, 1 black female, 3 black males. One of the black males is only 5 ounces that is almost 1/2 the size of the next smallest one. She
also has 1 cream female that died at birth.
Sebastian the rescue Goldendoodle sure had a big day today. He went to the vet to see about the full thickness skin tear on his side. The vet said it didn't look bad at
all and should heal up quickly. Sebastian got an antibiotic shot, rabies shot, immunizations, de-worming, and micro chip. He also got antibiotics to take at home. He is such a
good dog and didn't complain at all. His new family spent the whole day driving here all the way from Maryland. They are very excited.
Mera sure looks huge when she lays down. It was so cool a minute ago...she was laying sprawled out on her back and I could see her belly moving where the puppies were
moving.
I think Velvet is getting ready to start her cycle.
*yawn...Bryony just got me up. She said Mera is concerning her and she thinks she is going to have the puppies. So far Bry has been accurate when it comes to the dogs having their pups.
We are getting things ready to have pups.
The worm report: There is still one pup who has worms. His/her stool is mushy-like with spaghetti-looking worms in it. there...that concludes today's worm report.
Today someone came to see Sebastian, the Goldendoodle I helping to re-home. She found an open wound on him that looks like it has been there for a couple of days. His hair
was covering it and he doesn't show any signs of pain. I cleaned it up and put antibiotic drops on it. He is going home tomorrow.
I didn't get to bed until after 12:30 this morning. Then I got up at 3:30 to check on the puppies, then got up for the day at 4:30am. I took Kami to the airport. She
flew to Houston with out any problems (that I know of). I decided I don't like shipping puppies. It isn't because I'm afraid something bad will happen. I feel comfortable
with Continental Airlines. I hate shipping because there is no way of letting the puppy know everything will be o.k. I can't communicate to her that there is a family
that is very anxious to meet her and they will be waiting for her and will love her and hug her and kiss her and squeeze her. For all she knows she is on the way to the
glue factory. I hated leaving Kami there. She made it o.k. though. Last I knew she was taking a nap with her new daddy.
Bryony had me call Ally and ask her to bring Kori back to us. Bry misses her too much and wanted her to stay home.
Today we took in a Goldendoodle puppy that needs to be re-homed. Instead of retyping his story, I'm just going to copy and paste it here from the "needs a home" page.
Yes, that is right...we got 3 more dogs today...Kori, Mera, and the Goldendoodle
pup. Anybody want a dog?
We went to look at a house and a piece of property. We liked it but the sellers are not interested in selling it on contract or hold the mortgage for us. Since I'm not
working outside the home I doubt we can get a mortgage. Man, we desperately need to move, just wish we could afford to.
A little after 10 pm I heard from the Canine Crossroads of America person. She is the founder of that organization that trains dogs to be service dogs. That is where Kami
is going. Actually that is what we talked about. We decided Kami will fly to Texas tomorrow. That was a last minute decision. I stayed up past midnight getting her
and all the paperwork and everything ready.
Let's see...what all happened today?
Kori went to camp this evening. She is going to Ally's house for a few weeks to work on training and also to grow and mellow out a bit. She gets a little rough with the puppies
even though she isn't meaning to.
What else happened today? I don't remember. I'm sure something happened but just can't remember.
Oh this is so gross...I haven't written about anything gross lately...I de-wormed
the puppies last evening. De-worming is when the puppies take medicine that flushes worms and parasites,
if they have any, out
of their bodies. Either Holly's puppies did have worms, or somebody came along last night and scattered a plate full of spaghetti in their pooping area. eewwwwww!
Evidently one of the pups (probably Kori) unplugged the phone yesterday. I didn't realize it was out until later on. Turns out I missed a call from
someone interested in
Baby's available pup. I hate that I miss that call. The voice mail system that I have doesn't notify me of a message until I pick up the phone to make a call.
So I didn't even know the message was there until this morning when I called to reschedule Kanga's flight home. I hope I can get in touch with that family today.
Speaking of Kanga. She is moving to CA to a new breeder. I can't find their website. I will have to look for it and add a link.
Jill is awake now. I better go tend to her.
Today is almost over. Let's see...what all happened today...
There is someone, Ally, in the next town over who is going to be a guardian family for us. Her puppy is not ready yet so she is going to take Kori and train her for us while waiting
for her pup. That is so wonderful and I'm so excited. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how we were going to get her trained. ...no...I can't do it myself...
I don't have the patience or desire to do training. I'd rather tube feed a newborn puppy then teach her to come when called (when she is old enough).
...and speaking of Kori... She is such a good girl (most of the time). This morning when she went to the garage with me, Holly's puppies were fussing a little. Holly
wasn't going in the area to be with them, so Kori jumped in with them. She was great. She jumped in and sat in a position so they could pseudo-nurse from her. She even
licked them, just like a mom would.
A perspective guardian family came over today. There are going to guardian the red male from Holly's litter that I have decided to keep for stud.
Our first service dog is graduating next week! He is going to his new home to start work next
Friday! I'm so excited. His family called to tell me all about it. They
invited me to the press conference they are having. This pup is Miles, from our litter born last winter.
I have been working on litter training Holly's litter. I use big shallow metal pans. It seems Jill knows what they are for. She was playing with a new (not yet used) one in the
living room this evening. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like water running. I turned around and there she was...her pants were down around her ankles...she was
squatting over the pan...and peeing in it. Oh, did I tell you what else Jill did Saturday at the doodle romp in front of others? She put her face in the doggie water dish and got a
drink of water. I just love my 3 year old human child. She is so funny.
I de-wormed the puppies again this evening. Hopefully there won't be a plate of "spaghetti" in their area again in the morning.
The carpets are kind of clean. I spent 5 hours cleaning them. They still stink a little, but not as bad.
The garage was in pretty good shape this morning. It looks like Baby's pups and Holly went outside to potty during the night. It was so nice not having to get up 3 times
during the night to let them out.
Still no signs of puppies. Mera is showing no signs of labor. Since Bryony is camping this weekend I fixed up her room for Mera. Now she has her own quiet comfortable place
where she will be spending her time. I think I will go double check the due date.
Baby's puppies, Kami, Kanga, and Hobbs had another clean dry night last night (that is more than can be said for Holly). I took the pups (and Holly) outside to go at 11p, 1:00am,
5:00am, and 7:30am. Even Holly's pups are going outside. Now if they would just teach their mom to go outside and not inside.
There is a doodle romp in Indianapolis today. I'm going.
Oh Man, do I ever feel bad. I made a stupid basic mistake. I figured Mera's due date 63 days from the first day of her cycle. It is supposed to be 63 days from breeding.
Another calculation is 58 days from the last day the dog will stand to be bred. The latter calculation puts her due date August 5th, the former puts it July 30th.
I wouldn't feel so bad if this was Velvet's litter. She lives here with me anyway. What is really bad about this is Mera is someone else's pet. She is the dog for 3 boys
(2 young'uns and 1 grownup boy). As in nursing, it only takes making the mistake one time and I will never make it again. Sorry Greg, please come get Mera or I can bring
her to you this evening.
We had fun at the Doodle romp today. We took one of Holly's puppies, the available male.
I spent the evening putting Bryony's room back in order. After that I fixed up the garage for Holly and her pups and Baby's pups. It is pretty nice if I do say so myself.
There is a fenced in area between the garage and house and they can go out there to potty during the night if they need to.
Nothing new going on here. Mera had fun playing and romping with Kori for a few minutes this morning.
Holly is not wanting to spend as much time with the puppies now. I have been expecting this for about a week. Now she just wants to visit them periodically but not for any
extended periods of time. Velvet actually stood and let Holly's pups try to nurse from her. That is great.
I spent the evening fixing up Bryony's room for Mera's delivery. Bry and Rick are out of town camping this weekend.
Still no Mera pups. She is laying around more than usual today. When she went outside Kori was so excited to see her. She (Kori) kept jumping around Mera and biting on
her. Usually Mera loves to play, but today she just stood there looking annoyed. A couple of times Mera actually growled at Kori to tell her to leave her alone. Kori
wasn't getting the hint so I had to separate them.
Right now Mera is lying here chewing on a bone. Kori is lying on the couch looking for something to play with. Holly is sitting by me and keeps on nudging my arm with
her wet nose in an attempt to get me to pet her. She smells like urine so I'm sure Koby has been peeing on the girls again. Velvet and Koby and hanging out in my
bedroom. All the puppies are napping in the utility room.
Did I mention that Holly's puppies are eating solid food now? They are still getting most of their nutrition from her still. Speaking of Holly's puppies. I'm
frustrated because I have been expecting the results of the DNA tests any day now. That is going to tell us which puppy has which sire. The lab guy called the other day
tell me the sire's samples are contaminated and they have to start all over. That means the pups will be almost 8 weeks old before we know if they are going to be
standards or mini's.
The neighbor is shooting a BB gun at Holly and Mera!! gggrrrrrrrr!
Oh now this is really rich. The animal cop just left. The neighbor turned me in for not feeding my dogs. I just ordered a side of beef mostly for the dogs. I also free feed
high quality kibble and leave the food out at all times in at least 3 different places so they will always have access to it. I better hurry up and get Kami and Kanga out
of here before the neighbor goes any further bonkers.
Nothing happened with Mera. She is no longer acting like she is in labor. She reminds me of a first time human mom. In and out of labor and taking forever. At least
she is acting like she feels good. She is still running around and playing, just not quite as much or as fast. She still seems to smile.
Enough about Mera. Today's top Stanger's pet story is all about Bunny the Pet Rat (that we originally paid $2.99 for).
Well, it is late. Mera doesn't act like she is in labor. I'm going to sleep in a chair next to her just in case.
Mera finally started acting restless and uncomfortable around 9pm or so. I thought for sure she was starting active labor. I got her birthing area all ready. All the
equipment and everything is ready for her to show up and have the puppies. I took her out there and sat in the box with her and let her sniff all round to get used to
everything.
I slept in the living room with Mera. I didn't want to miss anything if she needed me.
Ugh! There is no way Mera is pregnant. She actually looks skinnier today than she did on Friday. I have been palpating her abdomen trying to feel a puppy just so I will
know for sure she is pregnant. I haven't been able to feel any. All I can feel are her stomach muscles.
I just can't stand it anymore. I Have to know for sure if she is pregnant or not. Well, actually I'm pretty sure she isn't. In that case I would just as soon she go
back to her family. I called the vet today and they will let me bring her in for an ultrasound. This is going to be so depressing.
Oh my goodness!! Mera is for sure pregnant! We were able to see little puppies in her. It is so obvious we could even see their spines and see the hearts beating. How
exciting. The vet just said she is having "a bunch" of puppies. That is subjective. A bunch could mean 4 to one person and 12 to another. We will just have to wait and
see. She is due in 2 days. That means she could have them any time. He said the reason I can't feel the pups is because she is holding her stomach muscles so tightly.
Probably tomorrow I will move Baby's babies back in the living room and fix up the garage for Mera's delivery. I won't leave Mera and the pups out there but that is where she will
deliver. Her guardian family wants to be here for the delivery and there isn't room for more than one person in the utility room. Holly's litter has outgrown the
utility room, so after Mera delivers her pups then she and Holly will trade places.
All the puppies are so cute. Kori (our 4 month old Goldador) actually sat with Holly's puppies and let them try to nurse from her. She had about 6 of them hanging on her. It
was so funny. She is a funny puppy and still nurses from Holly. Holly is such a good girl. She takes excellent care of her puppies. She also goes to visit Baby's puppies
several times a day and lets them nurse from her. That is when Kori gets her free meals from Holly. It is a funny sight to see. Holly stands up to nurse Baby's pups. Kori
is so big that she has to lay down to nurse from her.
2 of Baby's puppies went home today. They are 8 weeks old and doing very well. My sister drove them to their new homes in NJ. That leaves 3 of her puppies still here.
2 are spoken for and one still needs a family to claim him.
Holly's puppies are so cute. Now whenever I go to town on a real quick errand I take a pup with me. I take a different one each time so they will all get used to car
trips and seeing other people and things.
Bryony and I actually made it on TV. When I heard president Bush was in town I just knew we would get canceled again. We didn't. I had Velvet with me, the vet doing all the
talking held Kami one of our puppies, and Bryony had Kori the Goldador. It went o.k. I wasn't thrilled with everything being said and I guess I didn't look terribly thrilled.
I didn't realize the camera was on me or I would have smiled. Kori behaved perfectly until we went on air, then she wanted to play and bark with the puppy sitting next to
her. Oh, well, it was kind of fun and was a neato experience.
Mera came back today. She is here to have her puppies. She sure doesn't look very pregnant.
FOX 59, a local TV station from Indianapolis called a few minutes ago. Bryony and I are going to take Velvet, Kori, and one of Baby's puppies to be on the morning
news show We are going to be on at 8:40 am for a 4 minute segment. We won't be talking. We will just be handling our doods while a vet is talking about the
different mixed breeds and what they are being used for.
Oh, yikes, Bunny the pet rat is hurt. We have to go take him to the vet right now. ... o.k. We are back from the vet. Bunny has a great big tumor that we
knew about. Well it seems he has chewed it and it is open now. It is yucky now. and...um...coff...choke...he is having surgery a week from today. The vet
explained to me that it is actually more expensive for him to do a surgery on a rat than on a dog or cat. gads...I must really love Bryony. When the vet was
explaining why it is so expensive to do surgery on a rodent I could just see it in Bryony's face that she "knew" I would never pay money for her ($2.99) pet rat to
have surgery. We are having family issues now with Bryony feeling like I put the dogs first, so of course I am going to try to help her pet. What else could I
do right now?
Hobbs and black nose girl, 2 of Baby's puppies, had surgery today. They aren't broken anymore, now they are fixed.
July 12,
2005
...
The puppy from Baby's litter we were going to keep and place in a guardian home is going to Texas. We are going to co-own her with a service organization. They are going
to train her to be a service dog and will be breeding her also. They will be using all their pups for service/therapy dogs. That is great.
Today I fixed up an area in the garage for the puppies. I put Baby's puppies there. They do get house time but at night they sleep in there. It is climate controlled and
I am keeping a radio on for them. After they all go home I will move Holly and her puppies out there and Mera can have her pups in the utility room. It is time that I
have to start putting my family before the dogs. They don't like living in a smelly noisy too-crowded-with-dogs-and-puppies house (they certainly do have a point) so I
am trying to regain control of our house from the dogs.
Today we cleaned Bryony's room. She is a teenager and it is time she has her own space that will be just hers. I got out everything that has to do with the dogs and
we won't be having any more puppies in there. I'm not exactly sure what we will be doing when we have more than one litter at a time.
So many people are asking how it went on the Today Show. I'm not embarrassed or terribly disappointed. It isn't like we were canceled because of a stupid ball game or
something. I would have felt bad about that.
Mera went home today. Her family came back from vacation. She still doesn't look pregnant. They will bring her back a week from today. Sure hope she pops out and
starts looking pregnant. Now I'm really nervous for not doing the ultra sound. The vet said it wasn't necessary to do one because he could
definitely feel pups in her.
Oh well, I guess we will find out for sure in a couple of weeks when she does/doesn't have puppies.
The driver picked us up at 7:15 am. When we got to the NBC Today Show studio they had us wait in an area off the kitchen area. Someone was there getting ready to do
a cooking segment. The food smelled great. Anyway, Sandra was the researcher who found us and were responsible for bring us out there. She told us the order of our
segment and how it would work. We were going to start with Katie Couric and ...um... that one guy each holding one of my puppies. They were going to start the segment by
talking about my doods! So we were just sitting there waiting for it to be our turn when one of the other breeders asked me if I thought we would be able to go on or they
would cancel us because of the London bombings. I had no idea what she was talking about. She told me what happened and we realized the entire show so far had been
devoted to that. Sandra told us she thought we would probably be canceled but she wanted us to wait just in case. We then heard her go tell the guest cook she was
being canceled. Then they canceled Suzanne Somers and we got canceled too. They decided it would be inappropriate to do a happy puppy story in the middle of all the
terrorist bombing coverage. We waited for awhile for them to decide if we were to stay the night and appear Friday. In the end they decided not to have us stay. Sandra
said hopefully they would have us back another time. There were a lot of people that came over and talked to us. I really should watch the show sometime. I had no idea
who was who. Maybe that was good in a way because I was not at all nervous talking to them.
After we knew for sure we were not going to appear on the show we went outside to hang out at Rockefeller Plaza. I was carrying a puppy and had Velvet on a leash. Beth
had the other puppy and had her two Goldendoodles, Buddy and Guy, on leashes. We were swarmed with people wanting to see our doods and hold them and talk to us. I
couldn't keep up with everybody who wanted to talk to me. Hope I wasn't rude to anybody. A few people wanted to write me a check and take a puppy right then and there.
Nope, couldn't do that. It is a week too early for the pups to go home and I want to do a better job at screening prospective families. Sandra was there and
saw how popular our doods were. That is good so maybe she will be sure and invite us back for another go at it.
We were only a few blocks from Central Park. As much as Beth and I wanted our doods to have the experience of peeing there, we were too tired. We ended up going back to
our rooms and relaxing for a couple of hours before the driver picked us up and took us back to the airport. Well, o.k., we did go get lunch (cheese cake and pop from
Lindy's). I was so proud of Velvet. She didn't seemed nervous or bothered by anything. There we were walking down the sidewalks of New York City with horns blowing,
sirens going, strangers coming up and petting her, and grates to walk on. Nothing bothered her. Well, it did bother her too much to pee on the pavement. She only peed
2 times the entire time we were gone. Once when we first arrived at the airport at Newark. We found a nice grassy/rocky area where she peed. The other time was when
we returned to Newark for the return flight. She went in the same spot as the day before. She didn't poop the entire trip. The puppies on the other hand...they didn't
care where they peed or slept. They did both on the floor at NBC.
All in all it was a fun exciting trip. I really hope they call us back.
Today was so exciting. There was to much to do to get ready to leave for NYC to get nervous about being on national TV for millions to see. Oh I hope I don't trip, or
get my words mixed up, or not be able to think of a word.
Velvet had to go to the cargo building. Thank goodness the same nice people that I prefer dealing with were working today. I just hated sticking Velvet in the kennel
and leaving her there. The last time she was put in a kennel and put on a plane she ended up in another country and went to a different home with different people (that
was when she left Australia to come live with us). I wanted to be able to reassure her that I would be there for her when she got off the plane and that we would go
back home tomorrow. She didn't seem worried at all.
My traveling companion was Beth, the founder of IDOG.biz (the Indiana Doodle Owners Group). She does search and rescue with her doods. She brought her 2
Goldendoodles. They got to travel in their kennels next to Velvet. She helped me with the puppies. O.k. now...Beth told me not to tell anybody...but I told her
"Of course I'm going to put it in my Doodle Diary"...we almost missed our flight for a really stupid reason. Our flight was delayed 1 hour making the new departure time
5:25pm. For some reason my brain was thinking we were boarding at 5:25, not rolling down the runway at that time. So, at about 5 after 5 we decided to take the
puppies to the bathroom so they would be empty and comfortable for the plane trip. When we returned at 5:20 we saw a few people boarding and thought they
must be the first class people. We sat down and waited for them to announce general boarding. Then they closed the door, then they locked the door. Still it didn't
dawn on me the plane was about to leave. I just kept waiting for the announcement for boarding. Thank goodness Beth had sense enough to go ask if it was time to
board yet. They said we are about to miss the flight and we better get going. whew! we made it. Isn't that the stupidest thing? We were busy talking to people about the
puppies. We were a hit where ever we went .
When we got to the airport at Newark a driver was waiting on us. We were treated very well, it was great. Velvet, the puppies, and I got to our room about 11pm. I
ordered room service, then stayed up 'till 1:00 am combing out Velvet.
Holly is such a good girl. She is doing well with Baby's puppies. When we brought Baby's puppies home I knew our adult doods would pitch right in and finish raising
them. Honestly I thought Velvet would do most of it. It turns out Holly is doing most of the puppy raising. Although today a couple of the pups tried nursing from
Velvet and she didn't stop them.
Velvet and 2 of the pups went to the vet for their pre travel check up. They all got along terrific. When I talked to the Today Show person she mentioned she
didn't have many little puppies scheduled to appear on our segment. I so kindly and generously offered to bring 2 pups. She liked that idea. Yeah...now I can
take Kami and black nosed girl. That will make a labby straight coat F1B, a curly coated F1B, and an Australian Multi gen. I'm so excited.
After we went to the vet we went to the self serve doggie wash. Velvet and both pups got a bath. I was surprised there was no conditioner there. It is going to take
forever to comb out Velvet and get out all the mats. After their bath I looked and looked for matching collars and leashes for the 3 of them. I didn't see just the
right one so I decided to wait until tomorrow to get them at another store.
We have decided which one of Baby's puppies we are keeping back for breeding. We are keeping the silky straight coated girl.
Bryony named her Kami. Now we just need to find a guardian
home for her. any (local) takers?
I still haven't decided which pup to take to NYC to be on the Today Show with me. I'm thinking either Kami or the curly black nosed girl. She is so cute and she
doesn't have a family yet. If she goes with me then I can put "As seen on TV" next to her picture on the puppies page. I am taking Velvet. Rick can not go with me.
pout pout There are too many people on that segment and it would be too crowded if everybody and their spouses and dogs came. Although I am disappointed, I do totally
understand.
We took Kami with us when we went to our friends house for the holiday. They breed mini
Goldendoodles. We want to take her with
us everywhere to get her used to going places and seeing other dogs and people because she is probably the one going with me. She did just fine.
The pups are doing great. I have started crate training them and so far they haven't messed in their crate.
Today is my mom's 75th birthday. Happy birthday Mom. I love you.
This morning I went to Coyote Creek Kennels in Clayton, Indiana and brought back 5 of Baby Grace's pups. She is one of the F1's I brought back from OK. I got
3 females and 2 males. 1 of the girls is going to California to a breeder. We are looking for a guardian home for the one we want to keep and breed.
What an emotional high today has been.
This afternoon someone from The Today Show in NYC called. They would like to fly me, and adult dood, and a puppy out to be on the show Thursday July 7th. They are doing
a segment on new breeds of dogs. I will be only one of at least 6 others so I probably won't get to say much. I'm so nervous. When I am nervous or really tired I
tend to say stupid stuff. (hmmm, most of this diary has been written late at night when I've been really tired...like right now) What if I sneeze and a booger hangs out
of my nose? What if my zipper is undone? What if I'm so nervous I stutter or can't think of the word I want to say (that happens often to me)? I
shouldn't think like
that. I love these dogs and am passionate about them. Maybe I can take Velvet and keep my arms around her the whole time. She will probably keep me relaxed.
What should I wear? One of my first thoughts was to call Jake's dad (she was a puppy from Andria and her dad made a really cool t-shirt for me) and see if he would
express make/ship a new shirt for me. Then I thought I shouldn't wear a t-shirt. What dog should I take? I can't take Koby because he is a working man. Velvet is the most
wonderful perfect dog ever, but as in intact female she occasionally acts not
very nice to the occasional other intact female. I suppose there is a reason why not-nice human females are referred to as female dogs. I also thought about asking
if I can take Latte' (Velvet/Koby pup from May 2004 and an absolutely stunningly beautiful dog). She lives in Iowa and that would be a bit far to go to get her. I did
call a family in Indianapolis who has a Koby adult pup who is from Australia and was born before Koby moved here. His name is Tegan. If we can work it out so his
human mom can go too then he will go. I felt really weird calling them and asking if I could take him. Here I am, a stranger calling out of the blue and asked if I could
take their child out of state to be on TV. Beth, the founder of the Indiana Doodle Owners Group, is going too. She is taking 2 or 3 of her doods.
Mera is pregnant! She is due July 20th. She is really skinny and always has been. She was bred with a 35 pound multi gen.
Oh now Holly is just nasty. I was bent down palpating Mera's belly (oh, forgot to mention, Mera is here while her guardian family is on vacation). Holly was standing there
um... licking Mera's private area. All of a sudden, with no warning, Holly looked up and licked me right on the mouth. oooo ppphhhtttt!!!
and speaking of nasty...have I mentioned lately how nasty Koby is? When the doggie girls pee, he doesn't wait until they are done to mark the spot where they peed. Instead,
he just pees on them as they are peeing. I am certifiably doodle obsessed. Today I was told I am obsessed with the dogs and the breeding business. Later when I mentioned this to Bryony she very dramatically put her hands on her hips and said
"Really! Why I never would have guessed". Humpf! Aren't all doodle breeders obsessed with it? Don't the puppy buyers want their breeders to be obsessed? I love it
and I don't want to change it.
I ordered more doggie supplies today. Man, you would think I had enough already. It is addicting and I can never get enough.
I was up 'till midnight working with the new pups. The DNA testing kits arrived this evening. Before I could collect their DNA I had to find a way to somehow
permanently identify them. I thought they would be too small to micro chip so the other day I bought a tattoo kit. I thought I would tattoo a single digit in each ear. Since there
are 9 puppies I was planning on marking one "1" and another "2" etc... I made a half hearted attempt to do that but just couldn't. Their ears are just so tiny and hairy
that it didn't seem like it was going to work. I tried it on the side of one of my hands first. Actually it didn't hurt very much. Still, I ended up micro chipping them.
It went much better than I expected. This is what I did one at a time: First I started the pup's individual health and charting paper, started his puppy vet record,
weighed the pup, collected the DNA, marked the DNA envelope and paper, then micro chipped the pup. That doesn't seem like it would take very long but it did. It was about 25 minutes
or so per pup.
One of our puppies went to prison today! We are so proud. He was selected by the director of Indiana Canine Assistant & Adolescent Network (ICAAN) to be part of
their program. I'm not sure I can explain it very well, but the basic idea is that they place puppies with trained inmates. The inmates train the pups/dogs to be
service dogs. It is truly a wonderful program. The inmates are able to devote all their attention and time to the dogs. That is great for the dogs. It is great
for the disabled person to get a trained dog to enable them to be more independent. win/win/win Our pup will be a service dog for a disabled child. He (the pup) will
be getting his own page on the ICAAN website and it will track his progress.
Our other available pup went home today too. He is also going to have a great life as a boy's dog. There is nothing quite like the bond between a boy and his dog.
This dog will be invited to go on the family camping trips, and their other family outings.
I'm so tired. I didn't get much sleep last night. I tried having the 3 older puppies (Kori our
Goldador, Blue Boy, and little Black Boy) all sleep in separate areas.
They did not like that one little bit. Kori has slept in a crate by herself so she would have done just fine. They other 2 have never slept alone and complained most
of the night. I thought it was time they sleep alone to help them get used to it for when they move to their new homes.
Speaking of the puppies finding new homes. It is time for them to either find new families or to get a job. Have you ever heard of the program where prisoners
train dogs to be service dogs for disabled people? It is such a wonderful program and I am honored and thrilled that the director of ICAAN is coming here tomorrow to
look at my puppies and their parents. ICAAN usually places dogs with disabled children. I hope to be able to donate a couple of the puppies we have now with them.
Breeding for service and/or therapy is my main focus. The 2 puppies that I donated last winter are still in boot camp and are doing very well.
Oh, I forgot to tell you, Koby is all ours now. We no longer co-own him. He is completely ours.
The newest puppies are so cute. I put collars on them but most of them have come off already.
The older puppies are doing well with training. They do still have accidents in the house if I don't watch them closely enough, but they are not messing in the crate at night.
Oh, I am so excited! I bought a file cabinet! Now I can file stuff and not have piles of important papers stacked around.
Holly must be feeling really good. Last evening as I was cleaning the back yard I was tossing the doggie toys up to the house and Holly was running after them.
She thought it was great fun, but really she wasn't helping. I am just so glad to see her acting and feeling so good so soon after having 9 babies.
It is like Christmas. I ordered a bunch of vet supplies 2 days ago and it all arrived today. $720 worth of stuff. This is great. I got fecal tests,
hemostats,
feeding tubes, immunizations (several kinds), Kennel cleaner, internal parasite medicine...and a bunch more.
Today I moved Holly and her babies to the utility room. Then I moved the older puppies to a kennel in the living room.
I contacted several service organizations to see if they need/want a Labradoodle. One of them did want the puppies but their puppy raiser is going on vacation so the
timing is not right.
June 23,
2005
...
I invited Mera to come here and stay with us while her family goes on vacation. That will be a good time to bond so she will feel more comfortable having he puppies
with me. It will also be a good opportunity to take her to get an ultrasound.
June 22,
2005
...
Holly and her pups are all during terrific. I am absolutely thrilled with this litter. I have never had cream puppies before and
now we have a whole litter of them. Well, a couple are red, that is great too.
Speaking of a cream litter, Bryony and I went to Coyote Creek Kennel to see Baby and her puppies. We got to pick out our 5 puppies. We get 3 females and males. I
microchipped ours so we will be sure to get the correct ones. I will be bringing them home in about 1 1/2 weeks and let Velvet and Koby finish raising them.
Another of Andria's puppies went to her new home this evening. Oh! Speaking of Andria.... We got to see her. She lives with Baby. She was really excited to see us. She
was especially excited to see her puppy that we brought with us to deliver to her new home.
June 21,
2005
...
Holly had her puppies today!!
Wow, I must be psychic. So glad I picked her up last night. I woke up at 6:30 this morning and thought I better go out to the living room to check on Holly just in case. Before I
actually crawled out of bed I heard her cry. That was odd so I bolted out to the living room just in time to see a soaking wet new puppy roll off the couch onto the floor.
I woke Bryony up and she helped me get supplies gathered. It seems to me that each litter has taken us by surprise and I always promise myself that we will be better
prepared next time. Bryony said we could move Holly in her room just temporarily. That was so nice of her and that is what we did. I went out to the garage and brought
in and set up the whelping box. It is so nice and sets up in seconds.
Holly ended up having 9 puppies, 5 boys and 4 girls. 2 are white and 2 are red. The rest are somewhere in-between. She kept having them when I left the room. She would
get out of the box and have them standing up on the carpet. At one point during all this I had to go to the doctor. Bryony had to help Holly. A puppy was
stuck and Bryony pulled it out, broke the sack, and suctioned out the nose and mouth. I am soooo proud of Bryony.
Anyway, all is well in the end. She has 9 cute healthy puppies.
June 20,
2005
...
What a busy Doodle evening I had. After I put Jill to bed I went over to see Deni and Koby's puppies. They are so cute. When I left there I went on to Indianapolis to
pick up Holly so I could bring her home. After I picked up Holly (by then it was 10:00pm) I went back to pick up one of Deni/Koby's puppies to bring home.
Speaking of Holly...she is due to have her puppies on Sunday. I had made arrangements to pick her up this
Wednesday. However, I've been having much anxiety about her maybe
having her puppies early.
_______________________
June 19,
2005
...
We left the hotel early so I could get some work done. We have a litter of puppies due to be born a week from today. Holly is having her mixed up litter. I
am looking so forward to that.
Blue Bones went home today. That leaves us with 3 puppies. I am going to donate 2 of them for therapy/service work. _______________________
O.k., I just couldn't stand it any longer. My husband and I were supposed to be staying in a hotel for 2 nights and one full complete day. Just he and I.
No kids, no dogs, no work, just us. I didn't bring my laptop, cell phone, or paperwork. I knew if I brought them I would work. I couldn't stand not
knowing that the pup made it safely and that the family likes him; so my husband and I slipped home so I could check my emails and call that family. The
pup (Sweetest Boy) did make it safe and sound and the family is already madly in love with him. Whew! O.k. now I can enjoy the rest of the weekend.
_______________________
The Sweetest Boy flew to CO today. My husband and I left town before I had a chance to see if he made it safely and if the family likes him.
_______________________
Remember what I said about not being able to ship or receive a pup without having some type of problem? That is still true. I took a pup to the airport but the
plane was delayed 3 hours so they said he could not fly out tonight. I went over to another airline but they have a temperature
restriction. I had to call
the family, let them know, they reschedule for tomorrow.
_______________________
That just isn't right. Why is it that the only puppy that pooped on the carpet this morning is the one that lives here with us? This morning I let all the pups and
dogs out to do their business. A couple of the pups sneaked inside and Kori squatted
and pooped right here instead of doing it while she was outside.
Andria and one of her girls went to live at Coyote Creek today. sniff* I miss Andria already
_______________________
Indy, one of Andria's pups went home today. This one is going to be spoiled too. Actually I think they all are.
oooo yuck, one of these doods has gas. They are all sleeping here.
Andria and one of her girls are going home tomorrow. They are going to live with Baby Grace. Speaking of Baby, I need to go see her pups. I get about 5 of them.
They are 3 weeks old now and really cute I hear. Their eyes are open and they are walking around.
I need to check on Holly and see how she is doing. I bet she is just now beginning to show. Her pups are due June 26th.
_______________________
June 12,
2005
...
I am so proud of the puppies. They are doing well with potty training. This make 2 mornings in a row that there was only 1 little accident by the back door. When I let
all the dogs and puppies out in the morning they have been following Andria back to the potty spot and have all been "going" out there. They look so cute with their
little tails up in the air all pooping at the same time.
O.k. guys, I really hate to tell on myself, but part of the point of this diary is to tell the bad stuff too. I have heard back from some of the families that some of
the puppies have had problems. I hate that so bad. I try so hard to make sure they are in perfect condition when they leave here. Out of 13 puppies that have gone
home I have heard from 4 that had problems. These are the reported problems: (they didn't all have all these problems) ear mites, round worms, Coccidia, Giardia, and
incisional infection. Man, I just hate that. When I took the pups to the vet for their final check I even told the vet I wanted to make sure they didn't have worms or
any problems. With Andria's pups I told the vet that a couple of Velvet's pups had problems. He said he checked thoroughly and didn't find any problems. Well, I did
try.
_______________________
Another Andria baby went home today. This one is also going to be so spoiled. I love it when that happens.
June 10,
2005
...
Today's shipping problem: Mera came back from Canada today. I went to the cargo building to pick her up. They told me I had to go to customs to clear her. I went to
the customs building and they said I had to go back to the airline's cargo building to get her paperwork then come back. After running back and forth like that we
finally got it straight and got Mera back to her family. I advised them to stop and get pickle flavored ice cream just in case she is pregnant.
Josie went home today. She is one of Andria's chocolate females that we placed in a guardian home. She will give us some beautiful babies in 2007.
June 9,
2005
...
It is not possible to ship a dog without some type of problem. That is the rule. Today Raven, one of Andria's puppies, went home. I shipped her out using the same
airline I used last week for 4 others. Today they wouldn't let me tape the paperwork or food to the top of the crate. They also wouldn't let me put in the extra towel.
I really didn't understand all that because it is a rule that there has to be a baggie of food taped to the cage so they can feed the pet in case of a delay or something.
I wasn't happy at all. Anyway, she made it to her new family just fine. Jake went home today. She is one of Andria's black females.
June 7,
2005
...
Help is on the way. I hired some help. A fellow homeschooler mom and her teenage son are coming over tomorrow to help me clean and stuff. I hope they don't
take one look at the house and run away. Well, I doubt if they would. The mom grew up on a farm and really, our house is not as bad as a barn.
Noodles the Bridegroom and Zion had their hips tested today. The vet said one of them looks excellent and the other does not...yikes... We will just wait to see the
official report. It was a real hassle picking them up today. The hospital where they were was swamped with emergencies. I waited for about 2 hours. Then I heard
the receptionist telling someone that 2 more emergencies were on the way in and a pup with Parvo Virus was on the way in. As soon as I heard that I got up and
told her I would be back tomorrow. She said to wait and she would get my dogs. I told her we HAD to be out of there before the Parvo came in. She got my dogs and
we were out of there really quickly. I didn't even stick around for all my paperwork. I haven't said much about Kori the Goldador. She is just cute as can be. She looks just like that litter puppy on the Advantix commercial.
The one with the pup at camp.
June 6,
2005
...
O.k., got all the running done today that needed done. Just didn't get all the computer and paperwork done. Tomorrow is another day.
Snuffy is going home in the morning. He is one of Velvet's chocolate boys. He is moving to Rochester.
3 of Andria's girls are getting spayed tomorrow. Raven, Jake, and Indy will have
laser surgery.
Noodles the Bridegroom and Zion (each in guardian homes) are going to the vet tomorrow. They will spend the night then have hip testing on Tuesday.
Wow, it looks like we will have a busy day running tomorrow. Let's plan this out. Snuffy has to be at the airport at 5:00am. That is an hour drive each way. Then I have
to hurry home to get the pups that being spayed and take them to the vet 1/2 hour away in the
opposite direction. They have to be there by 8:30am. Then I have to go back
home to pick up Rick so he can take me to the car rental place. I have other running around to do. Then I need to go home to order some doggie supplies. Then at
1:30 I have to pick up the Bridegroom and Zion and take them to the vet that is just over an hour away. After I drop them off I have to go back to the vet that is 1/2 hour
away on the other side of my house. It will be a very productive and expensive day.
Today is my birthday.
A family came today to pick out a puppy. At first they were looking at Velvet's 3 available chocolate males because they are available and can go home now. They pretended to act irritated that none of them are ugly.
They said they couldn't decided because they are all so cute. In the end they decided on one of Andria's black girls. Turns out they really wanted a black pup but
were looking at the boys because they could go home now. They will come back next weekend to take her home.
Andria's pups had their shots this evening. The girls all did great, but the boy cried. The biggest girl weighs 9 pounds, the little boy weighs 5.5 pounds.
This was a nice way for Valerie's pup to transition away from the litter. Bryony and I have been here with her for a couple of days while she got to know her new
family. Plus she had Cinders here with her for the first night. By the time we left today she already seemed used to her new family.
My cell phone battery died yesterday and I forgot to bring my recharger.
The flight back was uneventful. When we got back I couldn't wait to check on the puppies. They are all alive and doing very well. I have a million
emails to go through.
Today is my Sweetie's 45th birthday. Happy Birthday Rick!
Valerie and Glenn are such great hosts. We are having a great time. It was wonderful not having to get up in the middle of the night to check on dogs or puppies. I did hear
crying pups in the night but I though "those are not my puppies" and went back to sleep.
We took Cinders to her family today. They seemed to like her.
Today didn't start off so much better. Since we didn't get home until around midnight last night I had to scurry around to get things finished this morning before we
headed to the airport to personally escort 2 pups to Florida. We (Bryony and I) were late getting to the airport. They had already given our tickets away and they said they
only had 1 seat left. They went ahead and took both our suitcases and said to hurry to the ticket counter to see if there was anything they could do to get our other seat back.
My sister who took us to the airport dropped us off then went to park. She only heard part of the conversation, I didn't realize that. Bryony and I were both able to get
seats on the flight but we had to hurry to the gate because they were already loading. We were not able to wait on my sister to get there to let her know. We went ahead and
hopped on the plane. In the meantime my sister is looking for Bryony thinking she didn't get to go. When she couldn't find her she didn't know what happened to her or what
to do. She ended up leaving not knowing if she just left Bry stranded at the airport or what. I didn't know any of this was going on. I felt really bad when I found out
what Teri went through.
Anyway, the pups flew in the cabin with us and did great. I ended up putting both pups in the same bag and they seemed to do much better that way. We stayed with Valerie
and Glenn of Memory Lake Labradoodles. We are placing a breeding pup with them on a co-own basis. I am going to teach them everything I know about breeding Labradoodles
the responsible way. The other pup stayed with us for the night and we are taking her to her family tomorrow.
This was a day from Hell.
We were a little late getting started, but that was o.k. We were going to be able to make up for the time since it was during the night and not much traffic.
Rick got a 1 1/2 hour nap before we left and slept in the car while I drove. I was really sleepy but after we stopped at a convenience store and I got some
munchies and a drink I felt much better. After driving for 2 2/1 hours and making great time, the
transmission went out on the van. Yikes! I limped it to a truck stop.
We called around to the car rental places but none opened until 8:00am. We couldn't wait that long so after a few minutes we decided to try to make it. The van
did o.k. for about 20 miles then would only go about 15 miles an hour again. We limped it to another truck stop. We knew then there was no way we were going to be able to
make it through Chicago construction (that will be a nice place if they ever get it finished) traffic. We layed back and took a nap and waited for places to open. Mera
missed her flight. I called Cocoa's family to let them know we were not going to be there as planned. At 8:00 we found a tow truck to take the van back to Anderson - at
$2.50 a mile and we had already come 2 1/2 hours ! Man! We then rented a van. While we were waiting for rental to arrive and while we were making a bunch of calls I
had the puppies and Mera tethered up outside to the van. They were able to play in the grass but eventually decided they liked playing under the van it was cooler there.
It was also ready dirty and dusty. By the time we were ready to load up the rental the pups were a mess.
It was 10:30 a.m. by the time we got to the airport. I made a bunch of calls on the way up to reschedule the flights. We also had to figure out what to do with Mera.
What we decided was to send her to the same place as Meadow (one of the puppies). That family offered to take care of Mera overnight and take her back to the airport in
the morning to send her the rest of the way up to BC. That is so nice of them. Speaking of Meadow...she and the other puppy that were to go out on the 11:00am flight
missed their flight. I had to reschedule theirs too.
So, anyway, we got to Air Canada at 10:30. The 2 pups going to Ottawa were the only ones to make their flights as scheduled. I thought this was going to be a really
quick easy drop off...but no. They had no record of their flight being book. I must say they were just about as quick and efficient in person as they were on the
phone. All those hours on hold and talking to people on the phone was a total waste of time. They finally got the flight booked and the 2 pups on their way. It took about an hour.
I thought there was going to be a problem because she about had a cow when I mentioned there were 2 pups in the crate. It was fine in the end.
Then we had to find our way over to Continental. O'Hare is not a dinky place. I called Cocoa's family to come and meet us. I figured we would be done shipping all the rest before
they could get to us. So we took Mera plus the 2 puppies (well 3 pups, we couldn't leave Cocoa in the car so we carried her in with us). After about 45 minutes when we
were just getting ready to finish up Cocoa's dad showed up. I know he was really anxious but these dood's flight was to leave in an hour and we really had to finish up.
O.k., we were all finished and making sure the pups were in their correct crate, I took Cocoa out of Mera's cage, handed her to her dad, put - or should I say shoved -
Mera in her crate. Oh my goodness...she was too tall for that crate. They wouldn't accept her in that crate. I didn't even think to check the height. The crate we
got for her is for dog's up to 70 pounds and she is nowhere near that. She is tall and skinny. They didn't have any crates for sale. The flight was leaving in an
hour so there was no way we could make it to a store and back. She had already missed one flight. Rick ran over to the airline next door to see if they had crates
for sale. While Rick was doing that I finally tended to Cocoa and her new daddy. I felt
badly because I was so upset and distracted by the Mera situation (or really, upset by the whole day) that I wasn't able to focus totally on them. After they left
Rick returned empty handed. They had crates but wouldn't sell him one since we weren't shipping with them. doodoo heads that is the airline I had a bad experience when
shipping one of Deni's pups. I won't ship with them again. Then we went over to another airline. They sold us one. Yeah! She wasn't supposed to, so I can't put in a
plug for them. I don't want anybody to get in trouble. It was $139.00 for that crate. I don't understand why they are not supposed to sell unless we are shipping through
them. They are obviously making a profit. Oh, well. I will have to remember them next time we ship. They were very nice and helpful. We ran back to Continental with
the new crate. Got it all fixed up and but Mera in it. They had a van waiting and loaded up the crates in the van. Really, I just love using
Continental. They are always
nice, friendly, and helpful. Earlier while we were waiting for paperwork at least 4 different cargo guys came up at different times to check to see what flights our pets
were going on and where their final destination was. I liked that. They were also friendly to them. Mera was on a leash instead of in the crate right up until...well
until the end. These doods are such doods. They are so happy go lucky. It was really noisy in the cargo building. There were forklifts zooming around and clanking.
Yet Mera and the pups seems totally oblivious to it all. The pups just wanted to play, Mera just wanted to lay around and look around and get attention. Finally
finally finally with
1/2 hour to spare before the flight left, they were ready to go.
Whew! We were too tired to really feel any relief that they were off. Well, and with the kind of day we have been having I really didn't trust they would make it.
Now we were able to concentrate on the important stuff, like eating. We hadn't yet today and were really hungry. It was 1:30 in the afternoon. That was the best Big Mac
I had ever eaten. Rick made arrangements for one of our employees to meet us at the car rental place to take us back home. After we got there we had to wait several hours
for her to get there. It was 10:30pm before we got home. It took us 21 hours altogether and it should have only taken 14 hours. It also cost $1,701.00 (plus gas) (plus a new
transmission -
but that doesn't count) and it should have cost around $867.00 plus gas to get there.
We will not be taking puppies to O'Hare again. From now on we will only go to Indianapolis.
Working working working so hard to get everything ready. Every minute counts now that we are down to crunch minutes. Sent Rick to Costco to get puppy food since
we are down to our last bag. Also sent him to the pet supply store to get a kennel to ship Mera (guardian home multi gen who is in heat). Oh, did I report the
change of plans for her? Instead of having Da Vinci's stuff shipped to us and doing artificial insemination, we are shipping Mera to him in Canada for a honeymoon in
person (or is that "in dog"?) We are taking her to the Chicago airport when the others go. The problem with that is she has to be there no later than 6:00 am. That
is the only flight that will get her to the final destination before it is too late in the evening. So, our goal is to get to the airport at 5:15 a.m. to meet Cocoa's
family then do what we need with the others. We will need to leave at 1:00 a.m. yuck
At 10:00 p.m. I was finally able to put together the puppy books that I make. The printer started warning about "low ink". Well that is a bummer but it is usually days before
it starts saying "very low". At 11:00 pm it was completely out of black ink. Now what was I supposed to do? We had to leave in 2 hours and there was still much to do.
It is 1/2 hour drive to get to someplace open that might have the ink cartridge that I needed. I didn't have the time to spare. I put the books together without all of
Velvet's test results. I'm hoping the families will be so taken by their puppies that they won't even notice. Really I'm not missing too much. Just a few things. At
1:00 I'm still working hard and just getting ready to pack and put together the crates and prepare them for shipping. This is a new day.
Busy busy busy working on preparations to send out the puppies. Yes
I know I said that yesterday, but there is so much to do and so many
puppies to prepare. I really need to hire some help. I'm not just
saying that, I really do. There has been a slight change in plans for Mera. She is flying out
to Canada on Tuesday to honeymoon with Da Vinci of Morning Smile
Labradoodles. I am so nervous, I hope everything goes well. Tai, the
breeder there has been so helpful. I was on hold with Air Canada for
about an hour. She ended up calling from Canada, made the arrangements,
then had them call me to confirm. Tonight I was up 'till midnight trying to load the pictures and
label them. The computer kept locking up so I just went to bed. We have to leave for the Chicago airport by 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. Today was devoted to working on getting Velvet's puppies ready to go
home. I made flight arrangements for 1) Keeper - Canada, 1) green
stripe girl - Canada, 3) Kili - CA, 4) Meadow - going to boot camp in
Seattle before going home in Canada. 5) Cocoa's family is meeting us at
the Chicago airport. Snuffy is flying to Rochester on June 6th. That
may sound like no big deal to make these arrangements but altogether I
spent 2 hours on hold with Air Canada. I had to spend a long time on
hold with the other airlines too. Puppy flights cannot be made over the
internet, they have to be done over the phone. I would wait on hold for
15 or 20 minutes with one airline only to be told they only ship pets
on certain aircraft and those aircrafts don't go where I'm needing to
ship. Then I called the puppies' families and let them know when the
pups were coming and hoped like crazy the times would work because I am
loath to sit on hold again to make new arrangement. I still need to
email all the flight info to the families. I should be doing that
instead of updating the website. Was up 'till midnight shampooing the carpets again. Bryony's friends
were over today when I was out (yes, she got in trouble for that). She
said one of them stepped in dog poop inside and was thoroughly
disgusted and asked when was the last time we cleaned this place. Today the rest of Velvet's boys get neutered and Koby goes to the
groomer. I'm beginning to wonder if it is a bad idea to shave him down
just now. We are having people almost everyday coming to took at the
doods. They won't be able to see how he really looks. Oh well, summer
is coming and he will feel better with a short 'do. Speaking of Koby, he is a good babysitter. A few minutes ago I heard
some puppy growling and snarling and another puppy yelping crying. Koby
ran over to the commotion and started barking and breaking it up. A
couple of the bigger pups were picking on the littlest pup. After the vet's office we went to pick up Koby. He went to the
groomer today. He got shaved down and his face is trimmed way down. The
really funny part is his tail is shaved clean. He has a skinny curled
up rat's tail. This evening the new guardian family that is taking Andria's
chocolate female came to see her. All the pups were in the back yard
and I had been inside cleaning their areas. When we got to the back
yard I glanced around and couldn't find her (her name was Susan and is
now Josie). I figured she was probably playing behind the dog house or
something. I went from casually looking around to outright searching
for her. Here they were to see their puppy and I couldn't find her
anywhere. It wasn't like they were here to pick out their pup. No, they
were here to see a specific pup and I couldn't find
her anywhere. I kept thinking about that time we lost JR when a family
was here. This was worse. I kept thinking "what must they be thinking".
Well, we did find her right in the yard. She and some of the others had
been in the wood and weed pile. I have been on hold with Air Canada for over an hour now. Do you
suppose they are closed and are just telling me they will be right with
me just to string me along? This is so frustrating. I can't book our
trip to San Francisco until I book all the puppy flights. I can't book
any of the other flights until I book the ones going to Canada. I get a
human with Air Canada. She keeps telling me call is very important to
them and that they will be right me. Do you think she is telling me the
truth? Those little Dachshund puppies are cute little buggers. They are
like mice, so tiny. It didn't work with Velvet feeding. I ended up tube
feeding them about every 1 1/2 hours. Didn't get any sleep last night.
Normally I would really enjoy hand raising puppies. Right now just
isn't a good for that. When Weir called to check on them I asked if he
could come and get them. When he came up he was surprised to see how
healthy and active and vigorous they are. He didn't expect them to make
it, at least not the littlest one. He had never tube fed pups before. I
showed him how and also suggested he try rotating them in with Baby's
babies. That is what he ended up doing. He called shortly after he got
home to say he moved Baby's biggest puppies out of the way and plugged
in the orphan pups. They latched on right away and Baby even cleaned
their bottoms. They were just too weak do nurse yesterday. I think tube
feeding them gave them a good jump start and now Baby has taken them in
and they will be just fine. Whew! I got out of that one. A couple families came at different times today to look at the
puppies. One of the families had called with their initial inquiry as
Andria was having her pups. They came today to pick out which one they
want. Their pup's name is Indy. Rick shampooed the carpets again last evening before we got home.
That was so nice of him. This morning was much like yesterday's morning except without all
that puppy poop. Today when I rushed home from work there was someone
here waiting on me to see the puppies. I was a few minutes late. After
she left I got a phone call. That deserves a new paragraph. My friend Weir of Coyote Creek whom we went to see yesterday called.
They had to rush their pregnant Dachshund to the vet. She had 5
puppies, one died. She went septic and after they got her home she
died. He is bringing the other 4 puppies here for me (and Velvet) to
raise. Yikes, I better find a place for them and get ready. They will
be soon. oh, but first I have to clean the puppies areas. The pups are
still outside and I don't feel comfortable with them out there by
themselves. Oh my goodness. It is just crazy here, just crazy I tell you. *side
note...as crazy as it is here, I love my life...* I just feel bad for
not spending as much time with the puppies' new families as I would
like. This is like a different life from last year when I was able to
take and post new pictures practically every day and email the families
several times a week. I knew the names of everyone in their household
and where they lived. Now...
well, I am honestly having a hard time keeping track of names and
states, and what puppy they are getting. A few families I have emailed
more often and I know them a bit better. This morning I finished shampooing the carpets at 12:30 in the
morning. Then I went to bed and got back up at 5:30 a.m. I was not too
happy with myself. I had put the puppies that had surgery in a kennel
in the living room to keep them away from the others and to help keep
them clean. I must not have secured the latch because when I got up
they were scattered around the living room and there was poop
everywhere. I picked up the poops the best I could but there were some
mushed into the carpet. I had to hurry and go to work. At 10:00 I
finally was able to get out of work to rush home just a few minutes
before a family came to see the puppies. As soon as they left I cleaned
up the puppies areas and we left to go see Baby Grace and her puppies.
It is only supposed to be a 2 hour drive but it took 4 hours to get
there. We did stop at a place that makes collars and leashes and put in
a special order. That only took 20 minutes. Also I was able to make
some phone calls to puppy families. Anyway Baby is at Coyote Creek. We
co-own her. The pups are beautiful. We were not able to get much
business accomplished because Jill went with me. They also breed
miniature long haired dachshunds. By the time we left there it was too
late to make it to Holly's (apricot F1, guardian home, bred to 3 studs
a month ago) ultrasound appointment. I had to call the vet to give them
my credit card number and tell them to go ahead without me when her
family brings her in. Holly is pregnant. We got home around 8pm. Jill
went right to bed as she didn't nap all day. Then I read through some
emails and tried to respond to some. The computer mouse was not
working. It was sooo frustrating. I then attempted to schedule some
puppy flights for next week. I called Air Canada. I was able to find
some schedules but couldn't book them. The policy is that live animals
cannot be booked more than 3 days ahead of time. All in all it was very
frustrating. Even though I had so much to do on the computer, I
couldn't because of the broken mouse. I went to bed early, it was only
11pm. Yeah! Mera is just starting her cycle!
_______________________ I just got back from dropping off 5 puppies to get spayed/neutered.
The vet has just switched over and does laser surgery now. That sounds
like that is great news...but...that almost doubles the price. For just
1 or 2 dogs that is not such a big deal. I took in 5 pups today, taking
3 pups next week, and 7 the week after that. That is 15 puppies for an
additional $1500.00. Oh well, I am anxious to see if there is a
difference in how they get along. Ellie is doing very well in her new home. She had no problems on the
flight and came right out of the crate with her tail wagging. She has a
playdate today with her new best friend Murrey. I was an emotional
wreck yesterday but feel much better today. Andria, Koby, and Velvet all have appointments with the groomer in
an hour. Rick and I have decided that we want to personally escort some of
the puppies who are going home next week. Bryony
and I are going to personally escort the 2 who are going to Florida.
Yes, yes, I know... it is a terrible sacrifice to have to go to these
places. But what can I say? I'm just that kind of person. It is 10:30pm and I'm just now vacuuming then I need to shampoo the
carpets. Yeah! Mera is just starting her cycle!
_______________________ My baby is gone. I can't believe I did that. I was fine when I took
Ellie to the airport this morning ('course it was 4:00am and I only had
2 hours of sleep so I was numb). Ellie was on her leash as we walked
from the van to the building. She got scared and slipped out of her
collar. That freaked me out. She ran out in the road and just stood
there looking at me like "help me mom...what are you doing". She was so
scared by everything. She let me come right up to her and put the
collar back on, thank goodness. Of course then I tightened it and put
her in the crate. The crate was extra large and way bigger than needed
for shipping (I wanted my baby to be comfortable on her flight) so that
made it really heavy to drag. Anyway, we (we, meaning Ellie and I...we
went alone)made it to the ticket counter and filled out all the
paperwork. I was just fine, not too sad. Then the baggage pet man came
to get us. I went with them down to the baggage area. She was sitting
in the crate on this little loading dock thing and I was sitting beside
her talking to her. After a few minutes the little dock door raised and
the cargo inspector guy came out. I got Ellie out of the crate and held
her in my arms and talked to her. I could tell she was scared. She
wouldn't even give me any kisses and that was unusual for her. When the
inspector guy was finished I had to put Ellie back in the crate and put
the special locking strap on to keep the door from opening in flight.
Then he and another guy moved the crate over to the other side of the
door. Then I stood there and watched as the door slowly lowered and my
baby Ellie was gone for good. Oh man...I sobbed and cried loud and hard
all the way back to the van. When I was in the van I cried even harder.
How could I do that to my baby. How could I just stick her in a crate
and send her away like that. she was scared. What if she is so scared
that she barks and growls at her new family. What if she bites them
because she is scared (she has never bitten anyone and it isn't her
nature, but she is scared). What if her new family hates her? What if
they think she is ugly? Altogether it cost $518 to ship her including
the crate, health certificate and actual shipping charges. They
wouldn't pay that to send
her back to me. If they don't like her what if they just take her to
the pound? I cried for so long. Finally I was able to calm down enough
to decide to go back inside and get Ellie back. That was it, I was
going to drive her to Maryland instead of shipping her. Well, I
couldn't get her back because the plane was already on the runway.
Man....how could I give up my baby like that? What kind of cold hearted
monster am I? All kinds of thoughts were going through my head...I hate
this breeding business, I'm not going to keep doing it...I'm never
going to do anything extra to save a pup again...I'm going to call
Ellie's new family and tell them Ellie died then call the airline have
them ship her right back to me...I'm a terrible rotten person and there
must be something wrong with me. I remember when Ellie's first family
came to get her and I didn't even cry. I thought I was terrible for not
crying. I wonder if the difference now is that I got to meet that
family and watch Ellie be friendly with them and give them kisses. I
didn't just abandon her on a plane and send her to unknown strangers.
When I shipped puppies I was a little sad and almost cried. Those
feelings were nothing like this. O.K., enough....then I started
thinking about Jill's (our human 3 year old daughter) birth mom. she is
a wonderful girl (the birth mom). There is nothing wrong with her. She
made a huge sacrifice in giving us her baby. Giving up a dog is nothing
compared to giving up a baby. I just kept thinking of her and seeing
how torn up she was the first time she met us to approve us to adopt
her baby. That helped put things in perspective. Baby Grace had her puppies! She had 12 pups, all
white/cream/apricot!! She had 7 girls and 5 boys. We are going to keep
one for breeding. She needs a guardian home. We went to Brewer's Labradoodles and Goldendoodles yesterday and got
our new little Goldador puppy girl. She is so good looking. Her name is
Kori. Since we have not been able to find a guardian home for her
Bryony is going to keep her. ]
I've been so busy today. We took Ellie to Petsmart today to get a crate
to ship her in. We just got back from taking her to the all-night vet
to get her health certificate. She is leaving on a jet plane at 6:05 in
the morning. We have to be there at 4:15 am. It is 1:00 am now so I
have to get up in an hour to get ready and go. I ran out of duct tape
so have to stop on the way so I can finish taping the stuff to her
crate. I better get to bed and get a quick nap. Oh man, I can't believe I did that. I had so much to do last night
but didn't get anything done. Last night was the first night in a long
time Rick has been here so we had family time instead. Now I feel so
guilty. O.k., so far 3 particular puppies are spoken for. The families have
confirmed. There is another one I submitted to the family but haven't
heard back yet. Guess what!! Baby Grace is in labor! It looks like she will have her
puppies tonight. She is the F1 I sent to live with another breeder. We
will get some of the puppies. Ellie is on hold. Oh man, I can't believe I did that. I had so much to do last night
but didn't get anything done. Last night was the first night in a long
time Rick has been here so we had family time instead. Now I feel so
guilty. Ellie is on hold. The puppies are so big and so cute. The allocation process has
begun! The 2 chocolate girls from Andria's litter are spoken for. I am
keeping one (
she needs a guardian home) and the other is moving to NJ. One of the
chocolate girls in Velvet's litter is moving to Morning Smiles
Labradoodles in British Columbia. One of the black girls (my favorite
in this litter) is moving to Ottawa Canada. We will co-own a black
female who is moving to Florida. My task for this evening is to weigh
the pups, do shots and deworming, and work some more on who belongs to
who. All the pups are in the kitchen and one of them is most unhappy
about that. He can see us and he wants out now. Man, that is a piercing
bark/whine/cry.
At lunch time today a friend called to tell me there was a chocolate
male goldendoodle at the local kill shelter. Of course I high tailed it
right up there to bail him out. As I was driving I was planning what I
was going to do with him. I figured I would call the vet and take him
straight there to be boarded (it would be a very bad idea to bring a
pup from a shelter to our place because he might have kooties) for a
week to be sure he is healthy and also to get neutered while there.
When I got there they needed to see my drivers license so I could adopt
him. I was in such a hurry that I forgot it. As I was driving back home
to get it my friend called to say she was going to go ahead and adopt
him for her daughter's boyfriend. That worked out very well. I just
hated to see him in that environment. Now all is well. Andria has a home now. She will be moving to California after her
pups are weaned. Ellie still needs a home. I thought I found a family for her but it
seemed to have fallen through. I am going to Ohio this weekend to get a puppy. That is just what we
need, eh? She is a Goldador. Her mom is a Lab and her dad is a Golden
(she is not a doodle). She needs a guardian home. What should we name
her? You know you are a breeder when you can think poop is cute. As I was
cleaning up Andria's pup's poops this morning I caught myself thinking
"oh these are so little and so cute". Now this is really weird. All of Velvet's pups, the little poodle
boy, and 5 of Andria's pups are in the kitchen. Andria is in there
letting all of them take turns nursing from her. She even made sure all
the poops are cleaned up. I really like her. Velvet is in Andria's
pup's area laying down letting the remaining 3 nurse from her. OH,
that's right, Jill is in the kitchen too. oops, spoke too soon. Now
Jill is out. She is playing with Ellie now. May 14,
2005
...
Man, lightening zapped the power source of my computer and my
husband just got it fixed. The puppies all had baths today. They didn't like it too much but
didn't verbally complain about it. Every time I play with the puppies I
try to figure out which one is Raven, Kili, Keeper, Indy, Susan, and
yet-to-be-named. We are getting closer to figuring it out. I'm waiting
for the color DNA test results to come back to make the final
decisions. The coats have started changing on a couple of the puppies. I'm so
afraid they are going to go through an ugly stage. What can I do with
puppies that do that? That happened to a couple of them from the last
litter. I kept one and put her in a guardian home. I saw her a couple
of weeks ago and was suprised at how cute she is now. Andria and Ellie both really need homes. Speaking of Andria, she is
such a good girl. Today she got to go around Velvet's puppies for the
first time. At first she stood there and let them nurse from her. Then
she laid down for them. It was great, there were some of her puppies
and some of Velvet's puppies nursing together from her. A couple of
Vel's pups were climbing all over her. She just laid there smiling. There were 20 puppies in our kitchen today while I cleaned the
puppies areas. I cleaned Bry's room and the utility room. Then I bathed
each puppy before putting him/her back. I got confused and ended up
having 12 pups in Velvet's area. Well, 13 counting the new Poodle boy
who is staying there too. Good thing all the pups are microchipped.
Andria's biggest pup looks like one of Velvet's smallest pups. I got
them all straightened out and everyone is back where he/she belongs. Ellie is laying by my feet chewing on a bone. Velvet is standing
outside her room (the door is open) looking like she is trying to
decide whether or not to go in and check the pups again. She just came
out of there and the Poodle boy is crying still. Andria is with her
pups (oh, they are starting to eat solids now). Koby is sleeping in his
bathroom. May 10,
2005
...
My poor baby. Now Jill is sick. This has been a
stay-at-home-and-hold-Jill-all-day kind of day. May 9,
2005
...
I had so many plans for this evening after Jill went to bed. I was
going to email everyone who is getting one of the puppies to let them
know it is time to make travel plans for the puppies. I was also going
to finish the puppy booklets I am making for the families. ...was going
to...but I don't feel good and I need to go to bed. nite... May 8,
2005
...
Ellie has been doing very well. Koby is such a great daddy and plays
with her. Andria has been letting Ellie go in and check out her
puppies. They live in the utility room. A little bit ago Ellie was
sitting just outside the room, the door is wide open, and just watching
the cute little pups. It was funny. She would cock her head to one
side, then quickly look at another pup and cock her head to the other
side. She sat there for quite awhile just watching. Righ now she is
laying down by me chewing on a stuffed Neopet. Bry won't be too happy
about that. Bryony has staked claim to Velvet's litter and Jill has claimed
Andria's puppies. Jill is so cute with them. She has one of those
Little Tykes coup cars in the house. She gets a pup and puts her beside
her on the seat or in that little carrying area in the back of the car.
Then she rides around the house with the pup. The pups just sit there
and look around and enjoy the attention. May 7,
2005
...
Ellie is back home with us now. She is doing very well, but I will
need to work on obedience training with her. My kingdom for a website that will load pictures. Now is not a good
time to not be able to post new pictures. _______________________ May 5,
2005
...
Ugh! I don't know why the pictures won't load. I've done everything
I can think of. Today I did the chroma color gene test on the potential breeding
dogs. I also put collars, microchip, and deworming. I'm really fighting to stay awake. It is really late and I need to
go to bed now. nite May 4,
2005
...
Today I cleaned the puppy areas. I guess I don't really need to
report. It goes without saying that I cleaned their areas. Velvet's puppies are eating solid food now. I feed Costco's brand
"Kirkland Super Premium Puppy food". That brand is just like the brands
I was paying $36.00 a bag for, only this is cheaper. I prefer to feed
raw meat and bones but I don't expect my puppy buyers to do that so I
just feed bagged food. Andria's puppies has their eyes open now. They are also walking
around and just starting to get adventurous. They are starting to
wonder out of their area. I will need to rearrange their area tomorrow
or the next day. One of them even played with a tiny beanie baby I gave
them. She was so cute. I have spent a long time working on the puppy books I make to send
home with the puppies. I thought it would be a good idea to make them
up before hand and mail them to the new families. Speaking of getting new puppies. We should be getting our new puppy
soon. What name should we name her? She needs a guardian home. May 3,
2005
...
Bryony and I finally figured out why Andria doesn't like her. It is
so obvious I can't believe we didn't already know. Bryony lives with
Velvet's puppies so she smells like them too (to another dog - I can't
smell them on her). Anytime Bry ventures more than a few feet out of
her room Andria growls at her. On the other hand Andria will let Jill
pick up and play with her puppies. We discovered that today. Jill ran
down the hall toward Andria's puppies' area and pushed Andria out of
the way. I thought I was going to die, it was like slow motion, I
couldn't get to Jill fast enough to stop her. I was sure Andria was
going to tear her up. Nope. Andria just stepped out of the way and just
watched Jill pick up her pups. Then I sat back there and watched her
too. She was so cute. She (Jill, not Andria) got wash cloths and
covered up the puppies. She was saying "nite nite puppies. Cwose your
eyes now. Go to sweep puppies". (that reminds me - she calls Holly "Powwy). May 2,
2005
...
Today I spent much time rearranging Velvet's puppies living
quarters. I was going to move them to another part of the house but
Bryony said she really likes them in her room. She put her mattress on
the floor beside their box and that is where she has been spending her
time and where she sleeps. The puppies are now able to climb out of the
box and they like to climb up on the mattress with her. The problem is
they are not potty trained. It was just starting to get gross. I have
their area all fixed up now. They can't get out of it. Bryony is a
little dissappointed that they won't be climbing all over her now. May 1,
2005
...
The family Ellie is staying with reported she did not chase shadows
last evening after the romp. My theory is that since she hasn't been
allowed to have anything in her mouth - no toys to play with, no bones
or anything to chew, and hasn't had another dog to play with that she
has been resorting to chasing shadows to entertain herself. April
30,
2005
...
Today was the doodle romp in Indianapolis. It was put on by IDOG -
the Indiana Doodle Owners Group. I took Mera. Holly and Ellie were also
there. We had a great time. The dogs played and romped and had a blast.
There were no dog fights. We decided for Ellie to go back home with the
same family. They will keep her for one more week. That will be the end
of her chewing and activity restrictions. After that she can have
whatever she wants in her mouth. She will come back here until I can
find a wonderful home for her. April
28,
2005
...
Man what a long day today was. Spent most of the day with Zion
(alias Lincoln Manor Leather
from Deni and Koby's litter last year) and Noodles (alias Sierra Vista
BrideGroom, alias BG - I will be referring to him as BG). Both are in
guardian homes. They are both really cute.
BrideGroom has a perfect fleece coat and is turning silver. I am so
excited that he is ours. After the eye dr appointment we went to pick up Mera from another
vet. She had her hips tested and the vet thought they looked good. He
is not the one who gives the official score. That will take several
weeks to get back. As soon as Mera got in the car BG ignored Zion and
focused all his attention on Mera. He was ... um... trying to get very acquainted
with her. Picture it...we were driving down the interstate in
a car with a kind of hatchback. BG and Zion were in the very
back...practicing getting acquainted...right in the rear window for the
whole world to see. I was the only human in the car so there was
nothing I could. Well I did make sure I was in front of a big truck and
not in front of a car with children in it. That BG, what a stud in the
making. I seem to recall him trying to get frisky with one of our girl
dogs when he was only 8 weeks old. Ellie will be coming back home Saturday. The family she has been
with reports that she chases shadows
and her reflection non stop all day. Sounds like she needs a home with
another dog that she can play with. The good news is their son had no
allergic reaction to her. April
27,
2005
...
Mera is so pretty. Whew! Her guardian dad was sure pulling my leg.
They have her shaved down and she just looks so cute. I'm thrilled that
we will be breeding with her. She is at the vet tonight. She is having
lots of testing done. She is having 2 different methods of hip testing.
Different blood tests including, but not limited to, thyroid, heart
worm, and Von Willenbrand (doggie equivalent to hemophilia). She weighs
54 pounds. I'm really surprised Velvet and Koby have such a small
offspring. She is black but she looks dark chocolate when she is out in
the sunlight. She is so very sweet. April
26,
2005
...
Holly went to the vet today to be tested for STD's. That is usually
done before breeding but since we weren't planning on doing natural
there wasn't a need. Now we are doing it just to make sure neither of
them should start taking antibiotics. After her blood draw I took her
back home to her family in Indianapolis. They were so glad to get her
back. They missed her. Her next appointment is a month from now for an
ultrasound. Mera goes to the vet in Indianapolis tomorrow for blood work. She
will stay over night and have her hips tested wednesday. Her guardian
dad keeps trying his best to talk me out of breeding her. There is a doodle romp in Indianapolis this Saturday. The info can
be found on www.idog.biz Noodles the BrideGroom and Zion both go to the doggie eye dr
Thursday. I can't wait to see how they look. Did I ever tell you we are getting another puppy soon? She should be
ready to come home in the next couple of weeks or so. She needs a
guardian home. April
25,
2005
...
Guess what Guess what Guess what!! Ellie is cured! Her last surgery
was a complete success and her cleft palate has been repaired. Now she
is like a normal dog. Well...normal may not be a good description. She
is really weird about chasing her shadow. April
23,
2005
...
Wow, what a fun, interesting, informative, productive, and long day
today was. It is already the middle of the night and I have to get up
early, so here is the condensed version of today. My sister Teri and I
went back down to Kentucky to the Doodle Quest to get Holly. Kathy
waited for us to get there before she tried again to breed Holly. She
showed me how to collect from a stud while she collected from Joker,
her little reddish poodle stud. Then she showed me how to AI as she did
it to Holly. Then we decided to experiment and let Holly breed
naturally with Jack, a 45 pound white poodle stud. That means I will be
DNA'ing all the puppies because we could get some from each sire. How
fun. Well, I couldn't let the fun end once I got home. With the
collection and AI lesson fresh in my mind I decided to collect from
Koby and AI it in to Holly. That means this litter could contain
mini's, standards, and multigens. We could have reds, creams, and
chocolates. Talk about variety. _______________________ We (Bryony, her friend Ashley, my sister Teri who drove, and I) took
Holly to Ky to get bred. Holly is a perfect car rider. Anyway, we got
to meet Joker Holly's husband. He is a little cutie. It was love at
first site. Holly didn't seem to realize there was a size difference
between those 2 though. She needed a lesson from Baby Grace on how to
mate with a little guy. After doing their little chasing flirty pre
mating stuff she stood there flagging for him. She is 64 pounds or so
and he is around 12 pounds. The poor guy was able to reach up to sniff
her but that is all he could do. She didn't lay down for him like Baby laid down for her guy. Joker's owner, Kathy, showed me how to collect.
There was a problem with the extender fluid and that made the specimen
no good. Bummer. Since we couldn't AI her we tried to assist them in
natural breeding. We had a little marriage ceremony then I held her
front end still, Teri held her back end (Joker liked Teri and kept
licking her face), and Kathy got a box for Joker to stand on and helped
him. Since it had only been a few minutes since he had been collected
from, Joker was not able to
perform. Teri almost took it personally. He was looking at her and
licking her and not able to...never mind. I don't like where this is
going. While all that was going on Bryony and Ashley were outside
looking at all the animals. Teri and I are going back there by ourselves tomorrow. Rick doesn't
know it yet, but he gets to have the girls all by himself all day
tomorrow. It is a 4 1/2 hour each way trip. It was even longer because
we got lost. April
22,
2005
...
Man, there has been so much doodle stuff going on around here
lately. I am much too sleepy to be able to report it all now. I have
been running the dogs hither and yon. Holly has ovulated. We are taking
her to KY tomorrow and Sunday to breed (AI). The pups are getting so big and so cute. Today's dog expenses - $359.00 April
21,
2005
...
Off topic - Today we met with Jill's birth mom and birth g-ma. We
are getting to feel much more relaxed around each other. April
20,
2005
...
Today I picked Holly up from the vet in Noblesville and took her and
Velvet to the doggie eye doctor in Indianapolis. They both have great
eyes. That is good. I didn't have time to take Holly on to her house.
We had to hurry back home for Bryony's horse riding lesson. After that
I took Holly back to about a block from her eye doctor where we met up
with her family. That was nice of them. It saved me from the worst of
the Indy traffic.
Velvet and Koby's puppies are so cute. Their eyes are opening and
they are starting to walk around. Actually, some of them have even
figured out how to climb out of their box. It seems too early for that. Hey! I just realized something. A guy was supposed to come over this
evening to give an estimate on ripping up our carpet and laying tile.
He never showed up. It is midnight now so I know he isn't coming. humpf
April
19,
2005
...
Andria's pups went to the vet today. They had their dew claws
removed and he checked them out. He said they look good. Well I knew
that already. Oh! Now that's just gross!! Speaking of Andria. She just
came in here and sat and slid her butt along on the carpet. You've
probably seen a dog do that before. Well, it seems she had some poop
stuck to her bum. Now there is a 2 foot long smear of poop on the
carpet. Holly's progesterone level is 2.7 today. She is getting closer to
getting married. Today's vet expenses were $651.00 April
18,
2005
...
Bummer, now we have 19 puppies. I was up all night with one of them.
Bry was up half the night helping me.
I even did CPR and he came back around. I just went to get cleaned up
real quick and he was dead when I check on him. This time CPR didn't do
any good. Oh my gosh...Jill is playing with him...gotta run What a busy busy doodle day today was. Ellie's (hopefully) new
family and I met at the hospital and we got to talk with the surgeon
who did the surgery. Ellie was released today. She is wearing a cone
again. The surgeon was able to repair the hard and soft palates. As
long as it heals properly she will be able to be normal. Well, as
normal as a dood can be. She was also spayed. She goes back in a week
for a follow up. At that time the surgeon will sedate her so she will
be able to accurately assess the healing and know if it was a complete
success. After that I went home for a few minutes to do a little doodle work.
I scheduled appointments and drafted an email to the family that was
planning on adopting the little puppy that died this morning. I didn't
send it and decided to call them later instead. The next stop was to Indianapolis to pick up Holly. I took her to
Noblesville to the vet. This was the same vet who called Friday to say
Holly is not in heat now. There was another breeder there. The vet
asked the breeder to check Holly to see if he thought she is in heat.
As soon as I turned Holly around for them they both said (at about the
same time) "oh yes, she is in heat". Guess they didn't believe me. Then
the vet gave me a few pointers on drawing blood. We also discussed my
runt's ordeal last night/this morning. It was an informative visit.
Holly is spending the night there. Her family will be unavailable
tomorrow so I wouldn't be able to pick her up if she needs to have
another level drawn or if she needs to get married. I was going to
bring her here until I thought about it. Koby is not a lazy stud. He
doesn't wait to be told to breed. If he sees a job that needs to be
done, he does it. This litter is very important and I want her to breed
with the right stud. After the vet's office I went to a new pet supply store. I am so
excited, they have a self serve dog wash. It is great. They supply the
shampoo, conditioner, big deep sink, and dryer. These pups are already
spoiled, I just spent $84.00 just on collars for the pups. Next stop, back home for a few minutes to do more doodle work. Then
I went to Connie's house to give her litter of puppies their injections
and to micro chip them for her. After I left Connie's house I went to another pet supply store and
bought 2 puppy play pens and metal walk thru dog gate. Altogether today
I spent $1,118.76 on the doods. I still need to place a large order
online for more supplies. Also within the next couple of weeks I need
to take Mera, Noodles the Bridegroom, and Zion for hip testing, eye
exam, and blood work. I'm also going to DNA test them and find out what
colors of pups they will have.
Most of the pups are doing better today. Only a few needed tube fed. April
16,
2005
...
O.k., here is a brief rundown on what happened yesterday. For some
reason Rick decided to stay home from work. It was around 2 in the
afternoon and I was working on the books at the bar and grill when Rick
called me from home. He said he was holding a puppy. Rick and I have a
great relationship
and we don't feel the need to report our every move to the other so I
figured something was up. I asked him which one and he said "oh I don't
know, number 12 I suppose". My body froze and my mind started racing.
...oh my goodness, did Andria just have 12 puppies? ... or, Then I
thought that since Velvet had 11 this must be Andria's 1st. Rick said
he had been at the computer on the phone and Andria was a few feet away
in the recliner chair. When he got off the phone he called for the dogs
to go outside. He said Andria didn't want to move but she finally did
go out. When they all came back in Rick heard a puppy noise then saw a
new little puppy on the recliner. He then took her back to her
designated whelping area. I rushed home just in time for her to have
her 2nd pup. She does it differently than Velvet and Deni. Andria sits
up to have her pups. She seemed to have a much easier time of it than
Velvet. She had 10 puppies in about 3 hours. Some of the pups needed a
jump start to get breathing. She rejected one of the pups right away.
When it came out she didn't open the sack or anything. She just picked
it up and set it aside. I got the pup breathing and took her to
Velvet's room and gave her to Velvet. That Velvet is the best dog on
the planet. She finished chewing the cord and cleaning the pup. Then
she nursed her. Still that pup died a couple of hours later. Out of 45
puppies total that was the first one that died at birth. Actually, Jr
was the only other puppy I've had that died. I keep nodding off here at
the computer. I better go to bed. April
15,
2005
...
We have our 20 puppies now! Andria had 9 surviving puppies this afternoon. I'm so tired I'm
about to fall out of this chair. Remind me to tell you all the details
tomorrow. Well, I guess I should at least tell you what she had. 8
girls and 2 boys. 6 black girls, 2 chocolate girls, 1 black boy, 1
chocolate boy. 1 of the black girls died. April
14,
2005
...
6:00 a.m. - Ellie has an appointment with the surgeon for a
consultation this
morning. The family she is with is meeting me there. Holly needs to
have another progesterone level drawn today. That is a 45 minute drive
each way to get her. and... Andria is having contractions! 9:11 p.m. - Ellie had her surgery today and it was a complete
success!!! She was able to close the palate (and spay her). Now the
real trick will be for it to heal without opening again. The surgeon
(and her staff) was so surprised and pleased with Ellie's growth and
good health. This morning she said Ellie has turned out much better
than she thought she would. This has got to be the most embarrassing doodle time of all. This
was even worse than losing a puppy in the kitchen cabinets when a puppy
buyer was here. ... Today after Ellie's appointment with the surgeon,
the family she has been staying with came here to meet the other doods.
When they were here someone from the gas company came to shut off our
gas. eee gads The day didn't get much better. Connie, Bryony and I went to Indianapolis. First we went to Costco
and got several huge bags of puppy food. Then we went to Holly's house
to draw blood from her for her progesterone level. I had a really hard
time and actually stuck myself with Holly's used needle. More blood
dripped from me than what I was able to get from her. How embarrassing. After I managed to get a few drops of blood from Holly we got stuck
in traffic on the was back to the vet. We had to wait at least half an
hour there before we could go home. Rick was really mad at me because I
was really late getting home and that made him late for band practice. Andria has shown no more signs of labor. April
13,
2005
...
Today is Jill's 3rd birthday. Happy birthday Jill! I was mistaken about Velvet's litter. They are not puppies. They are
piggies. I weighed them again last night and some of them have doubled
their weight in less than a week. Everyone of them are growing at an
appropriate rate. They are all getting big and fat and staying healthy.
_______________________
April
12,
2005
...
Holly went to the vet today for a progesterone test. That is a blood
test that will tell us exactly when to breed her. This is the first
time I have seen her since Christmas. She is really sweet and a nice
apricot color. At one point when we were at the vet Bryony told me I
looked like an idiot. I don't know why she said that. Holly was sitting
on the floor and I was standing over her and was practically on my head
looking at her (Holly's) belly. Bry said my face was all red. I was
counting her (Holly's) nipples. Or I should say: trying to count them.
She has a really hairy belly. Why was I counting them? Because some old
wife said how ever many nipples a dog has is about how many puppies she
will have. She has 8. Sure am glad twins are not the norm with humans. _______________________ April
11,
2005
...
Holly (F1 standard goldish Labradoodle who lives with a guardian
family) is in heat now! We will be taking her to Kentucky to breed via
transcervical insemination to a 15 pound red poodle. The timing is
great. Just when Velvet's and Andria's pups leave Holly will come here
to have and raise her pups. Andria is really showing now. I can feel individual pups in her.
Please continue with ...the 3rd year
July 31,
2005
...
_______________________
July 30,
2005
...
_______________________
July 29,
2005
...
teehee my sister sent me an email saying I need to post more about worms because she can't get enough of reading about that. She has such a weak stomach.
_______________________
July 28,
2005
...
Through no fault of his own, this sweet Goldendoodle needs a home. He
is 5 months old and appears to be standard size. He weighs about 40
pounds at this time. He has a chocolate hair coat with open waves that
does shed. He is house trained and has had basic obedience training. He
is $150.00 and must be neutered right away. His tail has been docked (I
didn't do it!).
This pup is not of my breeding. Here is his story: A
mom bought him for her daughter and husband as a surprise gift. Well, surprise...they were not allowed to have dogs in the apartment they were
living in. They landlord refused to let them keep him. The mom called
the breeder to try to return him. The breeder refused to take him back.
The mom even told the breeder she didn't want her money back, just
needed to return the pup because they couldn't keep him. Still, the
breeder refused. The mom then took the pup to the (kill) animal
shelter. An acquaintance of mine who makes regular visits to the
shelter to check out the dogs went there the day after he was brought
in. She called her daughter to come look at him. The daughter adopted
him for a surprise gift for her boyfriend (did they learn nothing?). Surprise, the boyfriend didn't want him. They have had him for over a
month now. The daughter just loves the pup and kept hoping the
boyfriend would come around. He hasn't. Sebastian is a typical
Goldendoodle and loves to be with people. He follows the boyfriend
around everywhere and sits or lays by him all the time. Boyfriend
claims Sebastian is too needy and he doesn't like that in a dog. What a
hardcore guy. They are asking $150 to help cover the adoption expenses,
vet bill, and training classes. As per the agreement with the shelter
Sebastian needs to be neutered right away.
Mera came back to us this evening. She is showing early signs of nesting and her family is going to be gone all day tomorrow. I really didn't want her to be home all by
herself.
_______________________
July 27,
2005
...
_______________________
July 26,
2005
...
_______________________
July 25,
2005
...
_______________________
July 24,
2005
...
_______________________
July 23,
2005
...
_______________________
July 22,
2005
...
_______________________
July 21,
2005
...
_______________________
July 20,
2005
...
Today is the day Bunny went to the vet for surgery to have his tumor removed. Yup that's right...we went ahead and let the vet do surgery. Bunny is Bryony's pet. She let
Jill name him when we got him. I thought that was sweet. Anyway, Bryony never reads this diary so I will go ahead and tell you the awful things I thought and said this
morning.
This morning when I remembered it was the day to take him for his surgery I was thinking about the different ways I could get out of it. I hate the thought of paying $150 for
surgery for a rat for a tumor that will likely grow back in a few months and the rat's life span will likely only last another 6 months or so. When I headed to his cage
I thought "Oh maybe he will be dead and I won't have to take him in...or maybe I could turn him loose outside and tell Bry he
died" (I wouldn't really do that). When I got to the vet's office I was joking around with the girls who work there (we are getting chummy since I go there several times
a week). I offered to let them feed him to their cat...suggested the vet put him (Bunny, not the cat) to sleep then just tell me he (Bunny, not the vet) died in surgery.
I'm sure there was more that I don't remember. Oh, the tech asked which I wanted -
laser or traditional-surgery. Laser would double the price and I don't think it would
make a difference to Bunny. Later when I went back to pick him up the tech was really excited and said "Yes! Success!" You know what my very first split second thought was?
Oh good he died and I don't have to pay. Then I stopped and realized that generally when a medical person refers to a surgery being a success, he/she is indicating that
everything went well and the person/animal lived and will be better. I am just awful. I'm going to get the horrible person of the year for thinking (and saying) these
things. Really I don't mean any of them. If I really didn't want Bunny to have surgery then he wouldn't have had it. I'm glad he is better. He is a really cool rat.
Today I kept imaging him in having his surgery. Think about how tiny and funny shaped the oxygen mask must have been. Can you just see him laying on his back with his little
arm stretched out and taped to a tiny armboard with a tiny IV going in it? His little hospital armband must have been so small that the writing on it was microscopic.
Do you suppose he pushed his nurse call button to ask for the bedpan when he was in recovery? Hey, he road out to me on the shoulder of a vet tech, he wasn't in a
wheelchair. Right now he is in his sparkling clean cage. Earlier today I had Bryony and her friend, Ben, clean and
disinfect it. Bunny's incision looks
great except he pull out most of his stitches. I think it will be fine. The tumor was just under the skin. The surgery didn't involve any
innards or muscles.
_______________________
July 19,
2005
...
_______________________
July 18,
2005
...
_______________________
July 17,
2005
...
_______________________
July 16,
2005
...
_______________________
July 15,
2005
...
_______________________
July 13,
2005
...
_______________________
July 11,
2005
...
_______________________
July 10,
2005
...
_______________________
July 9,
2005
...
_______________________
_______________________
July 8,
2005
...
_______________________
July 7,
2005
...
_______________________
July 6,
2005
...
_______________________
July 5,
2005
...
_______________________
July 4,
2005
...
_______________________
July 3,
2005
...
_______________________
July 2,
2005
...
_______________________
July 1,
2005
...
_______________________
June 30,
2005
...
_______________________
June 29,
2005
...
_______________________
June 28,
2005
...
_______________________
June 27,
2005
...
_______________________
June 26,
2005
...
_______________________
June 25,
2005
...
_______________________
June 24,
2005
...
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
We didn't get home until after 9:00 pm. It was a very long day. Total
vet costs: $422.76.
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
April
23,
2005
...
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________