Almost 8 weeks

The puppies turn 8 weeks old this Saturday and that means they are ready for their first set of puppy shots. Boy, this has gone fast. It seems like only yesterday that they were squirming around on their bellies. I've been meaning to post for quite awhile, even have a bunch of notes for a post but I never have time thanks to their penchant for tromping through their poop overnight which requires a pen cleaning and five puppy baths each morning. It's a good thing they are so dang cute.

So here's a photo of them at 6 weeks old. As per usual most of their ears are inside out. L to R are Dax, Rom, Sisko (back), Worf (middle) and Milah Jo (front, lying down). They are mostly weaned now, although Star is still having trouble letting go and is still quite protective of them. Their little personalities are very apparent now, which is fun. Anyhow, I have to run now - time to feed the puppies - again.

Holiday Hugs Drive

We know that money is tight this year for a lot of people, but here's a way that you can make your money do twice the good. Over the holiday season we have a "Holiday Hugs Drive" going on over at the New Rattitude Website. A generous donor has offered to match holiday donations to New Rattitude's vetting fund up to $1,000. So if you make a $25 donation that means $50 will be put into the vetting fund. Pretty cool, huh? We've already had about $650 in donations. Remember, you can donate in someone's name for a holiday gift. New Rattitude will send a card to the person whose name you are donating in letting them know that you have donated money in their name to New Rattitude and telling a bit about how we use donations.

Another way to help us earn an extra $1,000 would be to tell everyone you know about the shelter challenge over on www.theanimalrescuesite.com . The contest ends on the 20th, I believe so we only have a little more time to widen our lead. The 2nd place group for Washington state is VERY close to our vote count and we don't want to lose this at the last moment like we did last time. E-mail everyone you know and ask them to vote for New Rattitude, WA (Northwest Region) daily.

The dogs here are doing great. Franny is now reliably house-trained and the puppies are now reliably NOT house-trained and making many messes, many times a day. Star is less enthused with her role as momma now that the pups are 6 weeks old. She is still nursing them a little but spends more time out of the puppy room than she used to.