It's Time To Eat.......Well, Almost

The puppies are all doing well and gaining weight. Not tons of weight but a slow steady gain and that's good. Knowing Bella doesn't have a lot of milk, tonight I decided to offer formula in a tiny saucer to the pups. What a mess!

Here's Rose, the larger of the two girls:


She was sort of laying down, almost like if she were nursing:

Aren't her colors beautiful.

Then she tried it with one foot in the bowl and tried to lick it off the paper towel:


Rose had the most interest of the four pups. The boys, Vinnie and Paulie, just took a tiny bit.
Anna had a few laps too. Here's a picture I took of her this evening. Her coloring is a bit darker than Rose's. You can already see the hair growing up & fanning out above her nose.


To me they look like pure Shih-Tzu. I don't see anything else in them. Of course the only way to know for sure is a DNA test. Regardless, they're darling.

Last night at 1:45 I was awakened along with the entire house. I heard a puppy crying and knew immediately what had happened. One of the pups had crawled out of the bed, got "stranded" and had a fit. When I went into the kitchen Bella was just sitting there watching. She's pretty small and maybe the puppies are too big for her to pick up. So I put the puppy back to bed and then put myself back to bed!

This evening I saw a funny thing. Bella was outside of the bed when one of the puppies crawled right up to the edge of it. Bella went over and sort of pushed the puppy back. Pup turned around and stayed in bed. They're so cute and Bella is so good with them.

That's all for now. Hope you liked the new pictures.

Update on Bella & Pups

The puppies are now 16 days old. Eyes are open, ears up and they crawl around. Their time is spent eating and sleeping. They're still too young to play.

We have good news. One of the little girls has an approved home so is spoken for. Her new mom hasn't decided which girl. She wants to see what their personalities are. "Aunt Kelly" is very excited too. Plus there's Lilly who will be the sister/buddy/best dog friend for this lucky puppy. It's a great home.

Bella isn't producing enough milk so I supplement the pups with tube feedings. The minute they're 4 weeks old I'll start offering them food. They look good though and are healthy. No problems at all other than not enough milk from Bella.

Here's a picture I took of Bella today. She likes to take a break from the puppies and now feels comfortable enough to wander the house.
Sorry for the blur in the photo. She was moving or maybe it was that I didn't hold the camera still enough. I think she looks so much better than when she first came here. She's no longer worried or afraid. I guess you could say she's at home and has left the past behind.

Eyes Are Starting To Open

This morning when I picked up the smallest puppy to weigh her I looked at her face and there she was staring back at me! Her eyes had opened. I was so surprised. She now has a name: Anna. She's the smallest of the four.

By this evening the other girl, Rose, was starting to open her eyes. They boys? Well, maybe tomorrow.

Here's Anna. If you look closely you can see her open eyes. The fur around her eyes is dark and of course her eyes are too so it's kind of hard to see them. Her ears are still topsy-turvy: one up, one down. Isn't she cute.


Good night!

New Pictures

It's easy getting a picture of Bella. The puppies are another matter. They squirm but somehow I managed to get two of the boys and two of the girls.

First, here's Bella with her pups. I keep trying to trim the hair that grows up and covers part of her eyes but she's not having any of that.


Now, the boys:
You'll notice their ears are starting to drop. They're 11 days old now and right on schedule. In a couple days we should see their eyes open.



The girls:



Today two of them are up to a pound in weight. Actually one weighed 17 ounces. They're healthy as can be and doing great.

Keep checking back.....

The Puppies Continue To Gain Weight

Yay! Today they're 8 days old and doing great. This morning the smallest pup weighed exactly 11 ounces. The largest came in at 13.3 ounces. I weigh them twice a day on a digital kitchen scale. Weight gain is a key indicator of how they're doing. By keeping a close eye on it should things start going in the wrong direction I'll be right on top of it.

Bella is also doing great. She spends most of her time in the bed with her babies. When she wants to go out for her business she gets out of the bed and waits for me to come in the room. When she sees me she wags her tail & gets all excited. Considering her background I didn't know when she'd be house-trained. Would it take forever? No. Last week she finally "got it" and no longer does her business in the pen.

Today when Bella was outside she broke into a run; I mean a real loping run. I had the thought that I bet this is the first time she's ever been able to do that. When you're stuck living 24/7 in a wire cage exercise is no more than a distant dream. She's finding out that life can be good.

To be continued.......

Four Little Puppies Doing Very Well

Bella's four remaining puppies are doing well. Now that her milk has come in she's able to take care of their nutrition. That lets me off the hook. They didn't like the bottle and were very fussy about it. So for 3 days I was tube feeding all four to supplement what they got from Bella. All has gone according to plan........and prayers.

The coloring of the puppies is very pretty. They're white with brown. A couple have darker browns, the other two have lighter shades of brown. They're darling and getting pudgy. Their weights range from 10 - 11+ ounces now.

If Bella isn't laying with them they huddle.


To be continued......

R.I.P. Tony & Mella

Yes, we lost them both. Late last night within minutes of each other they both passed. It was apparent yesterday afternoon that these two puppies were not doing well. All was done that could be done but sometimes a higher power has the final word. They will be missed and at least we know they were loved and never spent a minute in a puppy mill.

First thing this morning I had Bella and the four remaining puppies at the vet's office. Needless to say, losing two at the same time spooked me so I wanted all the others checked out asap.

Bella is now on medication to help her produce more milk. In the meantime I'm supplementing all four puppies with the bottle. This evening "Aunt Maria" came over to help give Bella and the puppies fluids. IV fluids are given under the skin. This will keep them all well hydrated until Bella is producing more milk. Bella is very good about getting fluids. The puppies are another story. They're healthy & vigorous and would never stay still while getting poked with a needle.

I have to name these puppies. Maybe tomorrow.

Proud Mother

Her she is with her babies. There are only five babies in this picture. It was taken when Tony was getting his bottle.

"Aunt Maria" came by today with toys for Bella and the puppies. For now, the ones for the puppies are put up. In about a month, they'll be old enough to play with them.

I was noticing another puppy getting fussy while nursing. It's a girl with coloring similar to Tony's. She's now getting bottle fed to supplement her nursing. Her name is Carmella; we call her Mella for short.

The Runt

The runt is now called Tony Soprano. Compared to the others he's so tiny maybe this will help convince him he really is big and strong. A tough guy!

At birth he weighed 5.1 ounces, this morning 4.4 ounces. I expected a bit of weight loss but that's too much. I made up the goat's milk formula I use for bottle babies and started supplementing him. He took right from the bottle and drank 4.5 cc, nearly a teaspoon. Yeh! Then I gave some to Bella and she loved it.

Here's Tony:

He's so cute and tiny.

The others haven't been named yet because yours truly is having trouble telling them apart. I can sort of figure it out seeing as there are 3 girls and 3 boys. If they were all the same sex I'd be sunk.

All is well. Keep checking back.

The Puppies Arrived!

At 6:10 this morning the first one came along. By 9:20 all six were born.
The picture will crack you up. You'll see why:


Not a tan puppy in sight! I kept thinking "the next one" will be tan but Mother Nature had other ideas. Regardless, they're darling.

All are doing well. The runt weighed 5.1 ounces, the largest pup 7.5. Most came in around 7 ounces.

To be continued later when I've had some rest.

Bella Chimes In

Look at me. Do I look worried?

There I was chewing my bone, looked up and there was the camera. I'm fine. Sooner or later the puppies will arrive. I'll surprise everyone.

I was told "Aunt Maria" was asking about me and the puppies. To think I've gone from nobody in the world caring about me to having an aunt. What a life!

Keep checking back.

Food Fit For A King....Or A Queen

No puppies yet but the time is drawing near. Her temperature at noon was 97.9 She won't touch dog food yet looks hungry. This morning she wouldn't even get out of her bed until 10am. I was getting concerned so gave her some Ben & Jerry's vanilla ice cream. She loved it. The ice cream gives her liquids, protein and calcium. A hit!

By lunch she still wouldn't eat any dog food so I made her a scrambled egg with cheese. She ate. Again, loved it. Then she wanted to go out so we walked around the yard for about 15 minutes. When she finally sat down we went back inside.

Later this afternoon she had that hungry look to her. I tried a couple of dog treats which she normally loves. Wouldn't touch them. So I looked in the freezer and there were two fillet mignons that a friend gave me. Yes Debbie, I gave one to the dog; medium rare. Bella was out of her bed sniffing before that steak was even off the stove. She ate every bit. I would have taken a picture but it was gone before I had a chance to grab the camera.

I figure after her earlier life of total neglect a bit of pampering won't hurt a thing. And, good nutrition can only help Bella and the puppies.

It WILL be tonight, right?

Keep checking back.

Bella Has A New Bed

I realized the green bed she had wouldn't be big enough for all the puppies......when they finally arrive. A phone call to a couple rescue group members and voila, problem solved. One good thing about being part of a large group is that there's always someone who has what you need.

Marie brought over the bottom to a large carrying crate. It's perfect and Bella loves it. Have a look:


We're all thinking tonight should be the night. She is soooo big and getting uncomfortable, her temperature is down and she's lost interest in food.

Keep checking back for updates.

A Note From Bella

It won't be long. I'm big as a horse, or is it a house? I now waddle around and even one step to go outdoors is a big deal but somehow I manage to clear it.

I had a new experience. My mom gave me something I'd never seen before. It smelled divine, was big and looked like I could eat it. I had no idea what it was but boy was I excited. My tail even made those new movements that it never used to do. I heard my mom call it "wagging" and it made her very happy. She got her camera:


It's a BONE! A real bone with marrow and lots of good things on it to chew. I had the time of my life.

Oh, in that picture you can see how big I am. Today I'm not eating much food and have started scratching my blankets. I'm getting ready.

To be continued......