Our plans were to head for Michigan on July 4th to see family and to do some summer shows in northern Mich. About a week ago we stopped at a rescue shelter to take a look at 2 boxers that were listed on the Carolina Boxer Rescue as URGENT, meaning death was eminent. We met the boxers, one male and one female and found them to be beautiful, friendly dogs, not deserving the fate that awaited them. They were found as strays and had been in the shelter for 3 weeks, sharing the same cage and getting vertually no exercise. Both were extremely under weight. Well, we left the shelter with both dogs wagging their tails.
We planned on fostering the dogs through the Carolina Boxer Rescue and they were so happy that we took both dogs, they waived the house visit and other particulars. They did want us to make an appointment with the vet to schedule vaccines, neutering, and spaying. They would pay the vet bills since we were fostering.
The vet saw the male first and took care of his shots etc. When she examined the female, she wanted to take x-rays of her stomach area, as she seems bloated. While the x-rays were being developed, she checked her out and guessed her to be between 1 & 2 years old. The male was about 3 years old. When the tech came in with the x-rays, we were congratulated on being new parents. X-rays showed 7 puppies with skeletal formation of puppies around 50 days or more, gestation being around 60 days, she was due at any time from one or two day, to two weeks. We were in shock. We spent the last week making a whelping box and getting all the information we could get on having puppies. We have had the boxers now for 9 days. We named the male, Joe & the female, Jazzi. They are great dogs. We've had some housetraining issues, but they're getting better. Unfortunately, they are both heartworm positive & they will start those treatments as spoo0n as we can.
I will miss not going to Michigan this summer, but after the puppies are adopted out, we'll see Michigan in all of its fall splendor !!
Waiting for the big day, will let you know how the puppy delivery went.
Shirley Baker
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Jazzi had her pups this morning..all 8 of them!!!! And they look like Joe, our other rescue. We were told at the kill shelter that they were both strays and were brought in around the same time. These boxers were hanging with each other for awhile !!!!!!..that's why Jazzi won't do anything without Joe. She was great with the delivery ( thank God) this was a dry run for me, and after reading about some of the complications that could occur during delivery according to puppies 101, I was frantic. The puppies are beautiful. Happy we did what we did.....our summer isn't the way we planned it, but we're happy to have dogs back in our lives. Will post pictures soon. Thanks to all of you animal lovers....you can relate to all of this !!!!
We just had a lengthy discussion on my Facebook page about the Thundershirt! It's based on the work of Temple Grandin, the woman who had an Oscar-winning movie made about her life recently.
One of my friends has used a small-ish t-shirt on her dog as a "Thundershirt" and found it to work really well to calm the dog down.
Good luck with the pups, and please post pics if you can! Sounds like Jazzi and Joe are lucky dogs to have found such a loving home. :-)
It's great hearing from all of you, and thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm hoping for an easy delivery. My female is so young herself, I hope it works to her advantage. We lost 2 boxers 2 years ago & decided that by fostering, we could give several dogs a good life. We may not be able to let Jazzi & Joe go to another home. If we decide to adopt them ourselves, we would still be able to foster one other dog. Last night, Joe could hear the fireworks in a neighboring park...he was not happy. We had to turn the tv on full blast to muffle the BOOMS coming from the nearby park. More fireworks are scheduled for tonight. Jazzi is tired from this whole pregnancy deal and has managed to sleep through the noise. It probably helped having me in her bed too !!! What a life...will post the puppies when they arrive.
Congrats Shirley. You have done a wonderful thing. I'm not sure I understand the Fostering thing. Does this mean that the dogs will eventually go to another family when you get them healthier? That would be so hard to give them away. We have had numerous cats and a dog while the kids were little. All but 2 were drop offs. One kitty was dropped off in the winter after a big snow. I don't know what is wrong with people. That kitty is now 12 and he is the best cat ever.
Good luck with the pups. Don't forget to post a few pics. I'm sure we would all love to see them.
Jacki B
Good luck to you and the dogs. We've had our rescue dog for 18 months and she has changed our lives. She was abandoned in the Everglades and it took a week for her rescuer to get her into a car. She has a few issues and is exceptionally needy but she is a trip and a half. She is the perfect art festival dog. Sits quietly while I am looking at things in a booth, and if I spend a lot of time in one booth, she just lays down till I am ready to move on.
I always thought I would get a rescue greyhound but Matey came along and chose us.
You are going to have the best summer!
I have no info on Reggie's past, just that he had been in a shelter for about 6 wks, moved to a second one to give him another chance, and I saw him the first day he got there. He adapted quickly but has some quirks and trust issues. He was thin and scared when I got him, but he has come into his own and a handsome and good boy! I would never get a dog any other way than a rescue! Too many wonderful dogs need homes! Side note... he has been painted and photographed by so many friends and is on several artists websites (tee-hee!)
Hi Megan & Donna
Thanks for your posts. This is our first experience with rescue dogs & the pure affection they are showing us is wonderful...I'm sure they both have sad stories and we will never know what happened to them before we got them. We will try hard to make them trust again. Sounds like Reggie has a great home. Greyhounds are wonderful dogs. When I did the Ann Arbor Street Fair when I lived in Michigan, the greyhound rescue group was always there. I would love to hear other rescue stories.
Congratulations! Beats a trip to Michigan shows in my book (tee-hee!). Rescue dogs are the best. I adopted Reggie (a 50lb terrier mix) and have had him for 6 yrs now (was a yr old when I got him). And Megan.. love greyhounds! One of the most beautiful, gentle, breeds. There is someone in my town that fosters and has 2 of their own. I am like a little kid when I see them headed down the block and I run down the stairs to see them! Reggie was supposed to be a greyhound. I decided to get a dog after I had to put my 2 20yr old cats to sleep. Did my research, found a recue group, etc. Then on a trip to the local shelter to get my "animal fix" I saw Reggie. Sometimes animals find us when we least expect it!
Congrats to both of you on giving these loving animals a second chance. Rescue dogs/cats are the best!
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