Heartbroken

“I would find it too difficult to give them back.”

Katie and Taylor at 4 weeks old

This is the most common reaction when I say I’m fostering puppies. And the most common reason people have for not doing it.

And yes, it is hard to give them back. I’m heartbroken. We even spent the weekend after giving them back agonising about adopting Taylor, before deciding that three dogs was too much, especially as she will be so much bigger than Ollie and Mia.

Katie and Taylor at 10 weeks old

I worry about them because of their breed more than any other puppy we have fostered. I wonder what kind of life they will have and hope with all my heart that they find a wonderful forever home who will love them as a member of the family.

It’s hard to give them back, but it’s worth it. And it gets easier each time and also with time. It’s so rewarding knowing you’ve given them a good start in life. And surely the pain of giving them back is worth it for all the joy they gave us while they were here. And the pain is worth it knowing that you gave two homeless puppies the chance at a better life.

So do it, if the only thing holding you back from fostering is the thoughts of giving them back, just do it.  As Garth Brooks once sang: “I could have missed the pain. But I’d of had to miss the dance”.

Week 5: Heart Breakers

My girls are going back to the shelter in the morning. Oh crap, here come the tears already. And they really are heart breakers. Look at their little faces, so full of love and fun. They are going to make amazing pets for the right family.

And I am going to miss them like crazy.

This is a short post because it’s just too hard. But they needed someone to look after them and we stepped up to the plate. We’ve watched them grow from weak four week old babies into boisterous, strong, fun and beautiful nine week old puppies. They’ve spent more than half their lives with us. The transformation has been really amazing, these girls are such a joy to have around. Even if I’m the only one in the house who thinks so. Mia has been very stressed at having them here, so I hope she won’t gloat too much tomorrow.

These heart breakers will be available for adoption through the DSPCA, subject to a suitability assessment, home check and adoption fee.

Week 4: Actual Dogs

I’m pretty sure there is nobody out there waiting for my next blog post. But in case you were wondering why my weekly update on the foster puppies is late, I had a nasty bug. So, although the update is late, the photos were taken at the weekend, heading into Week 4. I’m feeling much better now thanks, but there were a few days there where I could hardly move from my bed.

The title of the post really says it all. My brother commented “They’re actual dogs now.” It’s the exact same phrase that had been going around my head. They’re 7 weeks old in these photos and all of a sudden they have developed personalities and are into everything. They’re not just pooing machines anymore. It has been an amazing transition, from baby puppy (sleep, eat, poo, maybe some play) to proper puppy running around the place, into everything. They recognise us now and recognise the sound of the food bowl, more importantly.

Katie  (above, the brown one) is the crazy one and will fling herself around the place without a care in the world. And she is so moany. They’re both very vocal, but if Katie is not happy about something she will let you know. She’s hilarious but totally nuts. Taylor (below, the white one) is much more laid back and calm. She’s still puppy crazy but is a bit more cautious. She loves to give kisses and loves to climb into your lap for a snooze. I can actually imagine her trying to climb into your lap as a full grown pit bull.

And they are growing so much. Every time I look at them they’re bigger. Taylor, the bigger of the two, isn’t much smaller than Mia now. The puppy barrier needs to be reinforced daily but is really helpful at keeping the carpet clean and keeping peace in the house.

They got their first vaccination this morning. And then we only have them for another week. I’m already dreading it. I wouldn’t say we have completely bonded; they are more interested in each other most of the time, they didn’t have personalities for most of the time they were with us, they’re kept in the kitchen even when we’re in other parts of the house, I always knew they’d be leaving so only gave them part of my heart. But that part of my heart is going to be devastated when they leave.

Week 3: Puppy Prison

I can’t get over how quickly these puppies are growing, every time I look at them I think they’ve gotten bigger. They’ve been here for two full weeks now, although it feels so much longer. In a good way. There is quite a lot of cleaning with two puppies and my husband in particular was getting fed up with constantly scrubbing the carpet.

We have a carpeted area in our kitchen, as well as tiles, which make keeping them off the carpet even more difficult. So on Friday morning I fashioned a very large puppy gate using kitchen chairs, trellis and boxes. We’ve had to reinforce it a few times and is a bit unsightly but it’s working a treat. They are kept on the very large tiled area, we can climb over it and Ollie and Mia can jump up onto the chair and down the other side.

Look at those faces. It’s hard to stay mad for long. We still bring their bed and water into the sitting room with us but only when supervised. And they get toilet breaks every time they wake up. Accidents on the tile are so much easier to clean up.

Ollie and Mia still aren’t very bothered with them. I think they feel ganged up on with two of them. And the girls are inseparable. Katie and Taylor are really looking forward to seeing their namesake performing in the Olympics tomorrow too.

Here’s a picture of Mia, because she’s been feeling a bit left out and looks so great after her grooming.

Week 2: Pooing machines

Katie and Taylor have been with us for a whole week now and we’re heading into week 2. The changes in them are amazing, they are so much more sturdier, there are no more worms and they have grown so much.

They’re eating really well and they’re full of energy. All this good quality food has turned them into pooing machines, hence the blog post title. However, because they’re being fed the good quality food their poos (and excuse me here, I’ll try not to get too graphic) are less frequent, more predictable, more solid and less smelly. All reason enough to invest in good quality food for your pooches in my opinion!!

We’re keeping accidents to a minimum by taking them out the back straight after eating, and as soon as they wake up, when they are guaranteed to need to go to the toilet. I wouldn’t say this is house training, they’re a bit too young yet. But it saves us the constant cleaning and it is hopefully setting up good habits.

They pretty much sleep, eat and poo. But the gaps between sleeping are getting longer and longer and it’s so funny to watch them tumbling and wrestling with each other. They’re also getting more interested in toys in the last day or so. We have plenty of puppy toys left over from Ollie and Mia, which is great because puppies need soft toys that won’t damage their teeth. There are no real discernible personalities yet but they’re beginning to emerge.

Ollie is still pretty much ignoring their existence, but Mia is becoming more and more curious. She still isn’t playing with them and growls if they get too close but every so often I find her inching closer and closer to them to have a sniff. With each of our other foster pups it has taken about a week for her to really start playing so there may be hope yet.

Week 1: Gratuitous Puppy Pics

Last week I talked about fostering, why animals might need a foster home and what is expected from foster parents. This week I’m putting my money where my mouth is and I bring you: cute puppy pictures.

Meet Katie and Taylor, two four week old Pit Bull X puppies. They are named after the Irish World Champion [and now Olympic Gold Medalist] female boxer Katie Taylor, because strength and power can be feminine too. I’m not going to go into the politics of Pit Bulls here other than to say I personally believe there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.

Katie

These guys will stay with us until they are nine weeks old and ready to be put up for adoption. They are adorable and I am totally in love already. They are so tiny and ideally would still be with their mother until they are eight weeks old. The Dublin SPCA have given us a crate, blankets, hot water bottle, toys and food. They’re on extra special baby puppy food because they’re so young. When we go our or during the night we have the crate set up in the utility room and the settle down pretty quickly.

Taylor

When you get over the constant cleaning up after them they are so much fun. They want to be in your arms all the time and love wrestling and playing with each other. You don’t need a telly when there are puppies around. I’ll try and post an update every week on their progress, they’re going to grow very, very quickly.