A day with the dogs.
Six a.m. and the first one starts to whine, time to get up. There are 20 of them, all different breeds, size and temperaments. As cages start to open all you hear is the banging of tails and the scrabbling of feet heading to the doggie door then out to the yard. Time for coffee........
 As you listen to them romping and playing you have time to plan out your day. You never do it the day before, because in the rescue business you never know what the day will bring till you are there. There are 2 slots open 1 in my home and 1 in the home that can handle mom and pups. The thought makes you a little sad because you know that means you are going to be heading to A.C.&C to choose some lucky kids that need a second chance in the worst way. Oh well you can think about that when you get there. Time for breakfast.
As you open the back door to inform them of this, you catch one of the babies pulling on one of the adults tail while there are trying to get a little privacy. The look on their face is priceless. "Mom, please make them leave me alone!!", "Who me? I’m too cute!"
Breakfast is always easy if you pick up the bowls and fill them the night before, just get them in there cages and serve. As you are putting the last bowl down, the first one is done so you start to pick the bowls back up. After breakfast it is nap time. It is the best time to go and get my daughter to school. It is about 7:30 and the day will be long so we have to go quickly.
After dropping her off I run to the other foster home as quick as I can so that I can help her set up, but nine times out of ten she is already ready. There are those times that I can help her, but not this morning. She has 27 dogs on property and when I get there they all want there fair a share of the petting. And they are going to make sure they get it. It amazes me again at how different they all really are.
Her morning has been a little more hectic then mine. It seems that one of the larger females is very crafty at getting the bread off the counter and one of the puppies ate our Presidents slipper, who also happens to be her husband.
We discuss everyone's health and progress on their training. This can take some time with 47 dogs to talk about. Everyone is healthy and the vaccines have all been given. We have figured out when we can spay or neuter those who need it. Although with going to get the new ones I know she will have to be giving out a whole bunch of medications tonight.
Time to go. Before I walk out she is sure to remind me that we only have room for 2. One mom and 1 dog. I keep repeating this to myself so much it is a chant in my head, "1 mom 1 dog, 1 mom 1 dog". I park the truck in the parking lot of AC&C and go in. The chant is gone. There are so many cute faces and they are all looking at you. How do you choose? Walking up A wing there are all the mom and pups, and in the last cage you see her. She is curled up in the corner with all of her little ones that are probably a day old. She is very sweet. She's also a total mixed breed and she has a discharge from her nose. You know the babies chances decreases the longer she is in there. AC&C try their best by giving them whelping boxes and blankets. If the mom is sick so are the little ones. She has done well, she has 9 babies. She is the one that needs you the most and so do they.
 So 1 down and your doing good. Keeping to the chant (or at least trying to). Then you walk down B wing and there they are. Three little mixed breed puppies in one cage. They all have the discharge from their nose and eyes and they are not that active. I know we only have 1 slot open but... oh well there is always room. Time to get the paperwork done and get them home.
As I pull up in to the driveway she is waiting for me. I see the look, and the first thing she asks is how many. Time for some fast talking. “ I brought home 3 plus the mom but they were in one cage so I could not just choose one so I took them all but it will be OK because they will all fit into my house and it will be fine, by the way you have 1 mom and 9 puppies and she is very very, cute.” She smiles in that way of hers like she KNEW I couldn’t go down there and just come back with 2. She understands me well.
Now it is time to get everyone settled . Her yard is split up into 3 parts. The side yard which is were the very young go the back yard and the field. In her side yard she has a house that we have turned in to a puppy house so this is where we start. The mom and pups go in to the house and the 3 go in to the yard next to the puppy house. Time for baths and time to start the medications that the need. We go slow and talk to them the whole time so that we don’t scare our new charges. This is when we start to get to know them and they get to start trusting us. By the time we are done they all have new names and a new spot in our hearts.
By now it is time to go get my daughter from school and time to go introduce the new ones to the house. When we get home the new ones are a bit scared at first by the ones who have been there for awhile but the older ones are use to it, they take their time becoming friends, and help them get adjusted to the whole idea of being part of a large pack. After about 30 minute the 3 become 23 and they are all in the yard having a great time. Especially the new ones who have been in a small cage for the last week.
As for me, time to clean the yard, do the laundry, find my shoe, ext.....
Now it is game time I think it is my kids favorite time of day. Today we are going to play the kibble game. This is where you place a couple of handful of kibble on the counter and flick it across the living room and watch them chase after it. We also have bobbing for ice in the water bowl and hide the treat. Bobbing for ice can get quiet messy so have towels on hand.
After game time it is dinner time. Again this is easy. Dogs love food and will go where they get feed quiet quickly. The new ones need a little help but by now they are understanding I don’t want to hurt them or scare them.
After their dinner, time to get dinner for us who walk on two legs. While our dinner is cooking you get to play referee to the couple of squabbles and get the paper back book from the puppies mouth. A couple of the wrestling matches can get a little out of hand if not watched. ( I think they have finally broke the couch)
When the dishes are done and they are taking their naps. It is time to get the new ones entered into the computer, catch up on whatever paperwork I have left from the weekend and update the websites.
It's now that time for the one-on-one loving that never works out and always turns into a group playtime. My daughter and husband gets in on this because it is always the funniest time of the day. All of the babies being cute and adorable to see who can get the most attention. We are always laughing by the end of it. Then it is quiet time to get the settled for bed
. Nine o’clock time for the babies to go to bed. All you need to do is grab the cookie bag and they all start running. They have been watching and waiting for it. They know they can’t get their cookie unless they are in bed. The new ones are following the older ones lead.
After everyone ( but the less destructive ones) are put up it is quiet and peaceful. You have to sigh in relief. As I get ready to go to bed I tell so and so to get out from under the bed and leave the cat alone. I crawl into bed and close my eyes, and I fell this very warm soft body sneak up next to me and I hear one of the babies sigh in the room next to mine, and I remember why. Why I try to save as many as we can. Their hearts are pure and their eyes are innocent and they need us to love and care for them. In return they will love us and make us laugh, a fair trade off in my book. Time to pull the warm body closer and go to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day with new laughs and new games to make up.
Goodnight.
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