Zaras List

July 26, 2007

We were on our way to the shelter to get a very pregnant Mom. Turned out she wasn't available. What do you do when you have a foster home waiting? You find another Mom. And so we found Honeycomb with her busy little bees inside anxious to arrive and make their mark.

The irony of this fabulous little girl is that she was on the euthanasia list. She'd been ok'd to be euthanized. She's young, under 20lbs, awesome personality and full of spunk. Yet, she was ok'd for euthanasia. It's not because of a shelter that is big and bad and wants to kill all the animals. That's the misconception. It's because during the summer months, people are dumping their dogs at the shelter at alarming rates. People decide to go on vacation and drop off their dog. People are moving and their dog gets a new home, too -- the shelter. But when you drop a dog off at a high kill shelter that is already housing between 4-6 dogs per run as it is, the odds are the dog won't make it out alive. No matter how wonderful the dog is. And that was almost the case for Honeycomb.

Our little Honeycomb has the best personality and she was the first to run up to the cage to greet us when we came into her building at the shelter. She jumped in our arms when we opened the cage door. She came to her foster home and settled in immediately as if she had always lived there. She met the resident cat and couldn't have cared less. She loves other dogs even while she's pregnant. Someone apparently mistook her for a Pitbull as they cropped her ears completely off (as is seen by folks who do ear cropping's at home on Pitbulls). Her foster mom mistakenly thought her ears were folded back. Nope. No ear to fold back. Sad. Her tail is partially cropped. Again, a sign that someone at home should have put down the knife! But this girl holds no grudge. She doesn't know anything different. She's a beautiful Miniature Pinscher. And she's already captured our hearts.
Watch for her puppies to meet the world in the coming week.

Aug. 9, 2007

As is the case with just about anything in rescue, expect the unexpected. There was only one 2 1/2 hour period of time that foster Mom said she couldn't be with Honeycomb if she were to whelp. Foster Mom had a long talk with Honeycomb and she thought they had an understanding that there would be no puppies between 6:30p-9p on Tuesday as there was an important sporting event to be attended. Apparently the wires got crossed as Honeycomb understood all the Bees needed to whelp during this time as the first arrived close to 6:30p and finished up just after 9pm. No sporting event this night but 7 healthy puppies have joined our rescue. So life once again proves to be unexpected and we all adjust!

Aug. 23, 2007

The pups are two weeks old. They are doing great! Killer is the only puppy that does not have his eyes open. Two of the boys Keeper and Buzz are pretty big pup and one girl, Hive, is right there with them. The rest are about the same size which to me is small. I swear my big breeds delivered pups their size at two weeks. I am starting to handle them a little more as they open their eyes and become more aware of things around them. a few screech loud which of course makes Honeycomb the protective momma nervous. Honeycomb is doing a little better about other people beside me come close to the pups. She even did okay while I took pictures and Brooke helped. Of course Honey was watching as Brooke held a few pups but never growled. So I would say that is an improvement.

Honeycomb’s personality is really showing through. She is full of personality, if she is not around her pups. She loves to play and tries to get Jake or one of the cats to chase her. She is also a talker. A few times she has jumped the gate in the puppy room to come upstairs in the middle of the night to get me because she needs out. She is such a sweetheart and loves to snuggle on my lap.

4 Sep 2007

The pups are growing, they are four weeks old today. Hive is really the Queen Bee. She has the most outgoing personality by far. She is taller than all but one of her siblings. She barks at her litter mates trying to get them to play. Like her momma she has a tail that wags all the time. Buzz is the biggest boy in the litter. He loves to play with his momma while the others are nursing. He likes to be held more than the others. Wax is a sweet little girl and the smallest in the litter. She is very docile and loving. Killer is not much bigger than Wax and is a very quite little pup. Keeper looks very much like Killer but is just a little bigger. Sting is a snuggle bug and will curl up to anyone or anything to sleep. Bumble is the odd man out. He looks nothing like his siblings. I don’t know what he looks like. He has little legs. He is a very shy little pup. He is very unsure when I hold him. I try to hold him often to help hem become more comfortable.

All the pups are eating food three times a day. Honeycomb would not leave her pups for too long the first three weeks of their lives. Now she is staying away from them a lot. She will still nurse them a few times but for the most part she is not interested. She is good dog and has gotten better about people being around the pups.