Dogs Rescued from White County, TN Puppy Mill

Week 2

Monday, February 23, 2009

It's been a full week since they were rescued, and all of the dogs are really starting to show their true personalities. They have settled in very well and everyone seems to be very happy and content. They are all enjoying having nice soft places to lay indoors, that's for sure! Today they got to try some chew hooves. Boy were they a big hit! They really enjoyed them! There were plenty for everyone, and then some. One of the boys tried to pick a fight with one of the other boys but it ended all by itself within seconds. These babies are learning they don't need to fight to get something, there is more than enough for all.

So about the personalities of the dogs.... who should I start with?

Simba, we'll start with him. Simba is such a mellow and happy boy. He is very easy going and we truly think he would get along with any dog. He's just such a gentle boy. And truly loves hugs and affection. I think he is going to be a loyal companion to someone. To be honest, if I was looking to adopt a dog, he'd be the one. He's awesome. He is still starved for affection. Seems he just can't get enough of it. Well, they all are actually. There is a lot of making up to be done for time with no attention.

Romeo, oh Romeo.... what a great boy. Happy bouncy energetic active lover boy. What more can I say. He's a gorgeous boy with a gorgeous personality. I really like Romeo. I've been saving the name Romeo for a very special dog and this boy is it!

Rocky is the all black boy. He has such a beautiful full coat. He is not that large of a boy underneath all that long hair. Looks are definitely deceiving. Rocky is a bouncy energetic starved for love boy. I think it will take a little more time for him to feel like he has gotten enough love and affection. He's so happy when he's picked up and held that he almost jumps for joy right out of your arms. Sweet boy who obviously had to fight to get enough food and water at the mill. I was very worried about him the first day he was here. He was not feeling so well and had stomach upset. But by the next day he was fine. He's still a little underweight but we're working on that! I don't think it will be hard to get him to the weight he should be at. He's a good eater!

Elvis is not a puppy, but he sure acts a lot like one. This is one happy boy! It is so obvious that this boy is glad that he is out of the puppy mill! He's enjoying everything and I suspect that he will live life with gusto and enjoy every day! He loves to play! and he seems to get along really well with Skipper.

Skipper is the cutest little guy! Play play play! bouncy bouncy bouncy run run run jump jump jump; Happy go lucky carefree boy Skipper has such great potential!!!!!!! I do think Skipper might be an alpha male, but it's hard to tell. He tries to dominate Parker, but doesn't try with Elvis. He's not neutered yet... we have more vet appointments this week. Once he's neutered and we watch him more with the other dogs we'll be able to tell if he's an alpha male. It wouldn't be bad if he is an alpha male, it would just mean we wouldn't want to adopt him to someone who already has an alpha male or alpha female.

Parker.... oh Parker, what a sweet dog. He is so sweet. He wraps his paws around you and hugs you. OMG, precious like I have not seen before. He's a happy playful loving boy. and he's incredibly gorgeous. This is a boy you have to see in person... pictures do not capture his gorgeous looks. If there's a dog I think people will be clamoring to adopt, I suspect it will be Parker. I'll try to get some better pictures of him so maybe you can see what I see in person. Quite an attractive and strikingly pretty dog! But don't tell him I called him pretty. LOL

Preston. I have never seen a chocolate colored pom until rescuing this group. I'm thinking that it might just be my new favorite color of poms! Preston is a sweet and calm boy, wanting nothing more that to love and be loved. He's been having fun exploring the house, but he also doesn't explore very long before he is right back by us to see what we are doing and if we missed him yet. Truth be told, he doesn't want to go too far from us. I can't figure out how this boy is so very nice having come from a puppy mill. My guess, Preston and Angelina (the other brown pom, which I have started calling them "cocoa puffs") were indoor pets that got a lot more attention than the other dogs. They both seem well cared for and definitely used to living in a home.

Chief... oh Chief. My little problem child. I knew immediately that Chief was going to be the first boy to be neutered. He kept wanting to hump all the other males, and they wanted no part of it, especially Rocky. We've had to separate Chief from Simba, Rocky and Romeo. It was not working well at all. Chief now has his own area to run around in and sleep. He's gotten better since he was neutered. Give it a few more weeks and his hormones will level out. Aside from that, Chief is a cutie pie! He just loves watching all the goings on. He starts barking when we take out dogs out the front door to go potty. Almost like he knows they are going for a walk and he wants to go. We'll be trying leashes soon so who knows, maybe he will take to it or already knows how to walk on a leash. But for now we are taking them out the back door where it's fenced. Chief is the first one to greet me when I get home from work. Oh so many kisses when I get home. So sweet!

OK, so that is all the boys. 8 of them. 4 are neutered. 4 yet to be done! we have appointments this week and are also on standby in case of cancellations.

Now for the girls. Oh, the girls. Wonderful sweet girls!

Joy........ exactly what her name says.I totally enjoy this girl and it is such a joy to have her here. Joy is so sweet. How did a girl from a mill get to be so sweet?! She greets me when I come home and gives gentle kisses. She is not pushy and will back off if all the dogs are crowding to see me, but so loves the affection she's getting. Joy is very happy and content. She loves having a soft bed to lay in. She and Sunny and Jolie have a nice big area where their beds are and have run around room in the kitchen. Joy comes up and kisses my leg when I am in the kitchen. She needs a little confidence boosting, but not much. Very pretty and loving doll.

Jolie...... another very very pretty girl. We think Jolie is an alpha female. We're still studying her. Jolie is a quiet happy girl, but will push right to the front of the group when she wants to. She loves having "slumber parties" every night with Joy and Sunny! They have their beds all lined up along the wall in the kitchen. Jolie loved the choo hooves today. She just laid in her bed and chewed and chewed. Even when the other dogs were all running around and playing, she chewed! lol Jolie reminds us a lot of another pom we fostered not too long ago. Very very loving girl. She seems to really enjoy everything.

Sunny. What a ray of sunshine in our world! Her disposition is fabulous. Cheerful sweet calm playful loving. What a pretty girl too! This girl is always cheerful and happy. I could hold this girl for hours and we'd both enjoy it greatly! She was the first one to really "come around" and relax. She has adjusted very well!!!! Sunny watches everything we do and is very curious about all the new things she is getting to see. At the mill, Sunny was in with two other dogs and there were dogs above them and on both sides of them. She must be amazed at having the freedom to run around in so much more room!

and last, but definitely no least, is Angelina. She is going to make a wonderful little friend for someone! Angelina has slept in bed with my sister every night since she got here. OMG, this girl is PRECIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Angelina has a BIG secret that we aren't quite ready to share with the world yet. Our rescue members know, but we aren't sharing it here yet. We will.... soon.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Well Parker is mommy's little helper! He LOVES the mop. He tries to pounce on it and go for a ride. There is a lot of mopping going on so he's having fun! The girls are enjoying toys. They don't seem to care that Lara performed squeek-ectomies on them. Sunny and Preston finally got the courage up to follow our dogs outside all on their own! They enjoyed it very much! Joy, Jolie, and Parker almost came out on their own, but then changed their minds. We have a small fenced area where they can run around a little. We haven't tried harnesses and leashes yet. We will soon tho. We just want to be sure everyone is feeling secure and confident first. In the meanwhile, with the washer broken we're using some heavy recyled paper I got at Walmart instead of the washable pee pads. Yes we're still having accidents in the house. It takes a while. The paper I bought to use in place of the pads is just not working out... the boys are chewing the paper up! Sunny is not happy with them and making her displeasure known by barking at them. It's almost as if she is tell them to stop chewing it up.Tomorrow the washing machine issue has to be dealt with and things will be much easier again. Also, it's been a week so we'll take a look at everyone's nails to see if we can trim some more off. They were all very long when they got here. And here's today's photo, which I just took a couple of minutes ago... Preston and Parker, who were watching me type this...

Wednesday, February 25

Preston and Parker get neutered tomorrow so they both got bathed and groomed today because after their surgery they can't be bathed for about 10 days until they heal. Parker was ok with the blow dryer, but Preston did not like it at all. But both boys did really well for their baths. They are learning that being clean is nice.

A lot was accomplished today. There's a solution to the washing machine issue, grooming was done, and some play time was had. All in all a very good day, but it's been a full and busy one so we'll keep this short tonight. Have to be up early in the morning to take the boys.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Hurray! We have a working washing machine!

It's was an early wake up this morning to take Preston and Parker to get neutered. The boys were very good for the ride! They come home tomorrow and we'll have a nice soft place for them to rest and heal together.

Romeo somehow managed to get his collar in his mouth today! It really scared him and my sister had to cut the collar off of him. His collar did not seem like it was too loose on him at all, but he got it in his mouth nonetheless. Tomorrow we should be able to bath the 4 boys who were neutered last week and we'll fit them with harnesses. We got some wonderful harnesses that the clip for the leash is on the chest part of the harness. I think they will work out well for these boys in teaching them how to walk on a leash. We'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. We'll start slow. The main thing is to make it a happy fun event for them so they look forward to it.

Angelina will hopefully be having some really big news to share soon. We're still waiting for when she is ready to share her exciting news!!!!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Well it's time for Angelina to share her big news. Are you ready? Angelina is pregnant. We went to the vet to make sure everything is going ok with her pregnancy and we were able to determine the number of puppies she is going to have. Unfortunately, since she was bred in the puppy mill we do not know what her due date is. We're quite certain it will be very soon tho. We're supposed to get snow tonight, so if it's tonight hopefully there aren't any complications. Keep this sweet baby and her puppies in your prayers please!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Our adoption committee has been working 24/7 on reviewing and processing applications to adopt these poms. Seems we are getting multiple applications for some, and no applications for others. Our volunteers on the adoption committee are SO dedicated and work so hard. If you get a chance, please drop them an email at spradoptions@yahoogroups.com and thank them for all their hard work! In the meanwhile, I am sitting here reviewing applications myself. It's been an all day project today for most of us. If you applied to adopt one of these babies hang in there we're working day and night on this. We could definitely use more volunteers on the adoption committee and also need more foster homes. Vetting on all of the dogs will be totally complete by the 12th and we'll be working on a transport for right after that. Probably the weekend of the 21st.

Dogs that are completely vetted and ready for adoption now are: Simba, Rocky, Romeo, Chief, Preston, Parker. 

Dogs that will be finished with all vetting in this coming week: Elvis and Skipper

Dogs that will be finished with all vetting by March 12th: Joy, Jolie, Sunny

Thinking about adopting one of these darling babies and can't decide which one to choose? Fill out your application and send it in anyway and we'll help you figure out who would be the best match for you!

Sunday March 1, 2009

Well it's the end of their second week of freedom, and today they all learned what it means to play! Oh, it was such fun! Squeek! Squeek! Squeek! They were ALL into it! But Simba, what a character, he was really into it. He LOVES squeeky toys!!!!!!!!!!! He had such fun!We have these small football shaped squeeky balls from pet edge. Bought them a few years back. I wish we could get more after seeing them play like this today, but I don't see them on the website any more. They come in bright colors.... blue or red or yellow or green. These furbabies all had a blast!!!!!!!!! and we had so much fun watching them! So much love needs to be given to these babies and they so deserve it! We want to get them in forever homes as soon as possible so they can get showered with love and affection.

Here's some new pictures.....

These boys are happy! We're approaching the really wonderful part of doing rescue. that's the part where the dogs go from being unsure to happy and joyful. Actually, I think we're at that place already, don't you? Would you look at these happy faces!

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