Of Dogs And Puppies
For anybody interested in where the puppies went, this is the update post.
The first puppy to sell was Ava. My son's behavioral therapist wanted a puppy when she found out Mandy was pregnant.
Their dog had died of old age and she has a teen son who wanted a new companion. They picked Ava out when she was two weeks old.
Her son then asked her frequently, "Is she ready yet?"
They picked Ava up when she was eight weeks. They brought along an old quilt to rub on her Mama so she had something that smelled like her.
On the way here, they dropped about a hundred bucks at PetSmart. Ava had a new pink bed, a collar, food and other accessories.
Ava, who is now named "Moose", is going to be a therapy dog.
The second puppy to leave us was Tony. Tony is now named "Samuel L. Jackson" after the owner's favorite actor. Coincidentally, Samuel Jackson is one of my favorite actors too.
Tony's new owner has a child in the same class as my youngest daughter. We had already met, but didn't realize it until she got here.
She picked Tony because he had a curly little tail. The vet told her though, that it may have to be amputated for medical reasons. I offered to exchange puppies with her, but she was already bonded with him. If he has to have it removed, I will be paying half the costs.
Before she picked up Tony, she had already purchased a crate and a gate for him. She knew he was dominant and has been putting in the extra work required for a dominant dog. He has to sit before being petted or fed. I'm glad he went to somebody who was willing to put in the extra time.
Nicole was the third to be sold. She was the sweetest little girl. She was also Andy's best friend. I know he missed her.
Nicole went to an older lady who works part time at a school library. She had lost her parents and husband in the space of a year and a half. It had been a year since she had been widowed and she wanted a companion.
Her last dog had died of old age. Her father had owned a Boston as a child and she had always been interested in the breed. She even brought an old picture of her Dad with a Boston.
She took Nicole to school with her and the kids enjoyed it very much.
The fourth one to sell was Andy. Andy moved to Reno, Nevada.
His new name is Chester.
The family he went to has a young son. They were obviously a very active family.
Chester will be going camping and to the beach with them.
They said he is already house-broken and he loves to chase the leaves in the back yard. Their son likes to get up with them for his one a.m. potty break.
They couldn't be more pleased with him.
Last, but not least, we placed Dottie. She went to the family with four kids.
They had an adult pug dog who was already playing with her the first day. Plus the kids were enjoying her immensely.
I sent paperwork with all the puppies with our phone number and e-mail. If anybody has any questions or concerns, I am available.
I offered lifetime placement assistance. If for any reason, somebody can't keep one of them, I will help find him/her a new home.
They had three days to get a vet check and return the puppy if there were any health issues.
They were immunized and their dew claws were removed. They were socialized and healthy.
They went home with a towel that smelled like Mom and a few days serving of Puppy Chow.
The adopters had to answer this lengthy list of questions, stolen from the internet.
Your name and address?
Have you ever had another pet?
What happened to it?
Do you have a pet now?
If yes, then how long have you had it?
What size is your current pet?
If you have another pet, is it altered?
Will you be altering (spaying/neutering) the puppy when it reaches sexual maturity?
Do you own your home or rent?
Do you have a fenced yard?
If you currently have a pet, name and phone number of your veterinarian. Adopters who provide a veterinary reference are given priority.
Will the pet be a member of your family or a gift for someone else?
Do you plan on crating the dog? For how long each day?
If the pet has an accident in the house, what type of correction do you plan to use?
How many hours per day will the pet be alone?
Do you have children?
How old are they?
Have they ever been around pets?
Will the puppy be living inside or outside?
The first test was that people be willing to answer these questions. If people wanted to buy a puppy with no questions asked, I felt they could go elsewhere.
This may be part of the reason the puppies took so long to sell. It was worth it to find good homes for them.
Between immunizations, dewclaws, tail dockings, vet bills, puppy chow and the damage done to my front bathroom, I think I actually lost money. :) It was expensive emotionally too.
But this wasn't something I did for money, in fact this wasn't something I had planned on doing at this time.
Since I was irresponsible and my dog got pregnant, I hope I handled the placing of the puppies in the most responsible way.
I feel good about the homes they went to and I am thrilled that my hubby let me keep Cecil.
The first puppy to sell was Ava. My son's behavioral therapist wanted a puppy when she found out Mandy was pregnant.
Their dog had died of old age and she has a teen son who wanted a new companion. They picked Ava out when she was two weeks old.
Her son then asked her frequently, "Is she ready yet?"
They picked Ava up when she was eight weeks. They brought along an old quilt to rub on her Mama so she had something that smelled like her.
On the way here, they dropped about a hundred bucks at PetSmart. Ava had a new pink bed, a collar, food and other accessories.
Ava, who is now named "Moose", is going to be a therapy dog.
The second puppy to leave us was Tony. Tony is now named "Samuel L. Jackson" after the owner's favorite actor. Coincidentally, Samuel Jackson is one of my favorite actors too.
Tony's new owner has a child in the same class as my youngest daughter. We had already met, but didn't realize it until she got here.
She picked Tony because he had a curly little tail. The vet told her though, that it may have to be amputated for medical reasons. I offered to exchange puppies with her, but she was already bonded with him. If he has to have it removed, I will be paying half the costs.
Before she picked up Tony, she had already purchased a crate and a gate for him. She knew he was dominant and has been putting in the extra work required for a dominant dog. He has to sit before being petted or fed. I'm glad he went to somebody who was willing to put in the extra time.
Nicole was the third to be sold. She was the sweetest little girl. She was also Andy's best friend. I know he missed her.
Nicole went to an older lady who works part time at a school library. She had lost her parents and husband in the space of a year and a half. It had been a year since she had been widowed and she wanted a companion.
Her last dog had died of old age. Her father had owned a Boston as a child and she had always been interested in the breed. She even brought an old picture of her Dad with a Boston.
She took Nicole to school with her and the kids enjoyed it very much.
The fourth one to sell was Andy. Andy moved to Reno, Nevada.
His new name is Chester.
The family he went to has a young son. They were obviously a very active family.
Chester will be going camping and to the beach with them.
They said he is already house-broken and he loves to chase the leaves in the back yard. Their son likes to get up with them for his one a.m. potty break.
They couldn't be more pleased with him.
Last, but not least, we placed Dottie. She went to the family with four kids.
They had an adult pug dog who was already playing with her the first day. Plus the kids were enjoying her immensely.
I sent paperwork with all the puppies with our phone number and e-mail. If anybody has any questions or concerns, I am available.
I offered lifetime placement assistance. If for any reason, somebody can't keep one of them, I will help find him/her a new home.
They had three days to get a vet check and return the puppy if there were any health issues.
They were immunized and their dew claws were removed. They were socialized and healthy.
They went home with a towel that smelled like Mom and a few days serving of Puppy Chow.
The adopters had to answer this lengthy list of questions, stolen from the internet.
Your name and address?
Have you ever had another pet?
What happened to it?
Do you have a pet now?
If yes, then how long have you had it?
What size is your current pet?
If you have another pet, is it altered?
Will you be altering (spaying/neutering) the puppy when it reaches sexual maturity?
Do you own your home or rent?
Do you have a fenced yard?
If you currently have a pet, name and phone number of your veterinarian. Adopters who provide a veterinary reference are given priority.
Will the pet be a member of your family or a gift for someone else?
Do you plan on crating the dog? For how long each day?
If the pet has an accident in the house, what type of correction do you plan to use?
How many hours per day will the pet be alone?
Do you have children?
How old are they?
Have they ever been around pets?
Will the puppy be living inside or outside?
The first test was that people be willing to answer these questions. If people wanted to buy a puppy with no questions asked, I felt they could go elsewhere.
This may be part of the reason the puppies took so long to sell. It was worth it to find good homes for them.
Between immunizations, dewclaws, tail dockings, vet bills, puppy chow and the damage done to my front bathroom, I think I actually lost money. :) It was expensive emotionally too.
But this wasn't something I did for money, in fact this wasn't something I had planned on doing at this time.
Since I was irresponsible and my dog got pregnant, I hope I handled the placing of the puppies in the most responsible way.
I feel good about the homes they went to and I am thrilled that my hubby let me keep Cecil.
posted by Caro at 12:25 PM
17 Comments:
Impressive. I am very proud of you and I think its SO cool that you made them answer questions and that you were picky about homes. Rock on! You are a very good Doggy Grandma. :-)
Thanks, Techie!
It makes me feel good to know where they went.
BTW, I like your new pic.
Wow... you obviously loved those little boogers. I can't blame you. They looked so so sweet. When my cat unexpectedly had kittens we couldn't bare to part with any of them so each of us in the family took one. It is such a wonderful experience. I can see why it was hard for you to say good bye. At least you have the satisfaction of knowing they are happy where they are.
it sounds like you were VERY responsible. good for you. and i love the idea of a dog named samuel l. jackson. jennifer garner named her dog martha stewart.
SO nice to know a bit about their new lives!
And I know I am tired, but it took me three readings to work out what was meant by 'altered'! My first impression was 'genetically modified', then I thought 'plastic surgery'... lol at my denseness!!
We always just say desexed here.
Sounds like a lot of work...but obviously worth it!
Perhaps those questions also need to be answered by parents-to-be?!
You are such a good mom to all your kids.
We get all our pets at the pound and even there they are very careful and have a long questonaire. You did the right thing.
I am SO SO glad you were very careful about whom got the pups.
After spending 5 days with a Boston, I can see why you have to be picky. This breed needs ALOT of exercise, attention to diet and housing and lots of emotional support. They can't be alone alot. I'll email you about the 5 days I spent with The Gizmo. Amazing!
And I'm glad you're down to 3 dogs. That's ALOT!
And did I say I'm so impressed with how you nurtured and let go of these puppies?! I wish all pet caretakers were so good.
Kristin - What a neat thing you did with the kitties!
Bearette - I wonder why she named her dog Martha Stewart. Were its poops shaped like artwork?
Bec - Hee hee. Desexed sounds like a better term to me.
Candy - The only name I didn't like was "Moose." That seemed kind of silly for a tiny girl dog.
Vernicious - Sounds like a good idea to me.
Paula - Thank you.
MsCellania - I was just at your blog. Do you suppose we were posting at the same time? :)
I sure think you did:)
I love how you know everything thing about them and their new homes. You did a great job!
My mum adopted a dog from and the owner had the same lifetime policy.
That shows me she and you really care.
I'm glad you got to keep Cecil too!
He's so cute!
What a great way of screening the new parents of the dogs. I agree with Vernicious Knids, perhaps there should be such rigorous screening for parents!
I'm sure the dogs will have very happy lives thanks to you.
hee. apparently she worships martha stewart. her studio is near our apartment and she has signs tied to posts with carefully curled yellow ribbons.
Yeah you got to keep Cecil!! You did an excellent job with the puppies.
And to think. you offered me your kids no questions asked. Hmmmmm
You were so responsible in the way you handled this-- and I especially love the lifetime placement assistance. You're definitely one of the good guys. :)
And now can we see some Cecil pictures?
Thanks all. And Liz let me find 'em and I'll post 'em.
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