Superstar Puppies!

On Saturday the puppies were part of a photo shoot for a new photo book that photographer Melissa McDaniels is currently touring the country and shooting photos for. Also participating in the shoot earlier in the day was Catty (known as Franny when she was in foster care) who was a mill breeder dog for 4 years before her Kentucky mill was shut down and she was rescued by New Rattitude.

Melissa has produced three photo books so far, Deaf Dogs, Rescued in America, and Pit Bulls (soon to be released) and is working on the Puppy Mill Photo Book which is planned to be released in early 2012.

The boys did pretty good thanks to lots of treats, peanut butter and an hour and a half time slot. Surprisingly Reuben, the most energetic of the pups and most skittish around people, did the best and stopped and showed his cute little worry wrinkles and tilted his head in the best, innocent puppy pose ever. I know you better, you little terror! You didn't fool me with your cuteness!! Alex did great too, showing off how well he could walk around on only his hind legs. Jasper and Hoagie were pretty concerned about the white paper that was the backdrop and kept walking "off set" to go hang out with their brothers which seemed a lot more interesting than a spot of crinkly paper where treats fell from the sky.

To learn more about Melissa McDaniel's Photo Book Project check out her blog or go to the Photo Book Project Website.

Pupdate: Hoagie

The little man went to the vets today for x-rays. He was anesthetized, and several shots were taken of both legs to make sure the other leg didn't have any hairline fractures and his left broken leg is straight and has started to heal. Then he was splinted and good to go for 2 more weeks.

I got a call from the vet as I was tooling around Trader Joe's and am happy to say that Hoagie's bones are nice and straight and they can see new bone starting to grow in there so things are starting to knit back together. It was all I could do not to dance down the aisle.

I figured that he must be feeling a bit better. He is starting to use the splinted leg a bit during potty breaks, isn't sleeping as much and is VERY upset about being confined to his crate when what he really wants to do is wrestle with his brother and tear around. He tilts back his head and has an ear shredding howl that he lets out to make sure everyone is aware that he would like to be let out of his crate.

In this photo you see him trying to chew his way out although he's recently lost many of his baby teeth so it's more like he's gumming his way out.

Broken puppies

It is with a sad heart that I announce that one of my 2 newly rescued pups has broken his leg. So far he is the 3rd puppy of the group of 15 that were rescued by New Rattitude to have a nearly spontaneous fracture like this so all the dogs are now on restrictions for movement.

The reasons for these breaks is likely a combination of things: malnourished mother providing their initial sustenance, bad nutrition after they were weaned, bad breeding practices causing genetic issues, and not being allowed to move around enough (tight crating) which is needed for the musculoskeletal system to develop properly.

They won't always be fragile though. The pups are just 4 months old and are now on top quality foods, supplements and will slowly be getting more and more exercise as their bodies are strong enough to handle it.

Send healing thoughts to young Hoagie who will be going to the vet tomorrow for his leg to be checked and resplinted. It was a pretty bad break of the radius and ulna and we are hoping that with limited exercise and the splint it will heal properly. Hoagie is NOT happy about having to be back in a crate and restricted from running and wrestling.

Holy puppies, Batman!

The puppies have arrived in WA and I've come up with an idea for a new comic book villain - it would be a pack of cute puppies. They lure unsuspecting victims in with their cuteness and just when there is no turning back, they throw their heads back, stun people motionless with a high, piercing screech and then shoot liquified, bacteria laden poop in their direction.

After a night of several trips out for potty breaks with 4 loud puppies I will be happy to take them all to the vet today for neutering. They deserve it and I hope it slows down their mouths a bit when I pick them up tonight.

Happily two pups, Alex and Jasper, biggest and smallest, will be heading to their foster homes tonight after I pick them up at the vets. Reuben (the most fearful) and Hoagie (the loudest) will stay on and hopefully start to settle in more so everyone can start getting a bit more sleep.

As expected the pups are wormy and one seems to have giardia but overall they seem phsically very healthy and their coats are fairly nice.

More news as they settle in.